YOU ARE MUCH MORE POWERFUL THAN CHANCE!

A man is so good that others look up to him as an example. Suddenly the good man becomes poor, ill health takes over and the people around him wonder why a good man should suffer such adversity. Events such as these elicit all kinds of theories. Some will say we are just like pawns on the chessboard of the gods! Fate just does with people as it wishes. Some have said time and chance happens to them all!

But are we really subject to chance? Somehow that thought runs against all sense of justice. But then the question remains; why do bad things happen to good people?

The human being is endowed with free will to choose the ways he wishes. In my mother tongue the human being is described as an entity who has the capacity to choose! In doing this, man uses the Power that streams through all that exists. This Power is from on High and is pure. As it flows through man, he has the freedom to put it to whatever use and for this he is accountable. This Power when put to noble use achieves that which is beautiful, it brings peace and happiness. If wasted or perhaps put into ignoble use, then the careless or evil minded one must give account to the Lord of all the Worlds the Dispenser of this Pure Power!

Man must simply reap what he has sown. We sow through our words thoughts and deeds. Now the thoughts are not easily discernible by others and therefore the person one sees as the “good man” may actually have a heart filled with hatred and vice! Many men are different in their inner life to what they allow the world to see. I am sure you are aware of this about yourself!

In addition to this is the fact that we live on earth more than once and all of the outings and departures form a single existence. Therefore the results of actions from a former life may now come home to roost in the present earth life. If the opponents of reincarnation are correct, then justice will require that all the for and against of a human being must play out all in a single earth life. This is however never the case! 

We do not need to despair concerning our ignoble past if we are now firm in our decision to do only that which is good. When we turn away from our willful disobedience and resolve to be obedient to the Laws of God continuously then our circumstances will change. The returning evil reactions from our past deeds will find no basis of attraction in us anymore and this works out as the forgiveness of our past wrongdoing. 

So we really have our destinies in our hands and are much more powerful than chance!

THE ANTICHRIST UNMASKED!

Are you still looking for the Antichrist in some man or institution? You are not alone. The prophetic number 666 which has always been linked with the Antichrist has been associated with some human beings and even institutions over the centuries. In 2015, a controversial photo of a baby with curls resembling 666 appeared in a Swedish newspaper causing a stir in social networks. Protestant preachers including John Wesley and Martin Luther have pointed to the Papacy as the seat of the Antichrist! Apart from this revered institution, another one that has been accused is the American Presidency. Every American President since George Washington has been suspected of being the one to usher in the end times. On the individual level, we have had Nero, Napoleon Bonaparte, Hitler and even Henry Kissinger / Mikhail Gorbachev. (Ironically, 85 year old Gorbachev has this bold birthmark on his forehead!). Today, Donald Trump is being labelled. Reason among others: the Trump family bought the most expensive single building ever purchased in the United States, at 666 Fifth Avenue, (remember the prophetic number 666) a street symbolic of money (Mammon), materialism, affluence, hubris and power!

But then who really is this Antichrist? Is he a human being or an institution? How can he be identified? If he is easily identifiable, will he be able to have followers? (Followers certainly will not be much as many know that by following the Antichrist they will incur the wrath of the Almighty)

I am happy to tell you that the Antichrist has been unmasked! Firstly, no human being or human institution can have the strength and power to become the Antichrist! The Antichrist, who is the only real enemy of God has actually been active among men for a long time. His aim is always to deceive man and lead man astray. He also works tirelessly against the salvation of man which can only be attained by man’s adherence to God’s Word of Truth. He earned the name Antichrist when he worked assiduously against Christ’s Work of Redemption. He did this by using the leaders of religion at that period. He fanned the embers of hatred in these people until they brought Jesus to the cross! Meanwhile, these people were under the delusion that they were serving God by silencing this troublesome Truth Bringer! That is the hallmark of the Antichrist. He uses mankind to achieve his aims while deceiving them that they are on the right path.

Today, those who serve him abound and they have no idea that they are under the rule of the Antichrist.

The Antichrist is Lucifer and his weapon has always been the same: enslavement of man through man’s intellect which is the product of the human brain. By this is meant placing the wishes of man’s perishable body (the brain being the highest part) over and above the Will of the Most High.

The sign that one has fallen into the hands of the Antichrist is not by physically bearing the mark 666 on one’s body, but it means leaving all decisions to the earthly intellect. Of course this has the result of behaving selfishly, thinking of only material gains and benefits and thinking less of the spiritual and God’s Holy Will. It leads to harming others, imposing upon them, corruption, malice, murders, wars and all the evil prevalent in the world today.  

As every human being carry’s the over-developed intellect within, let us not look outside again for the Antichrist but look within and put the Will of God above our own thoughts born of the flesh!

TODAY'S MIRACLE WORKERS

A man goes and kneels before another. The one standing then tells the kneeling one what he ate last night, he goes further to tell stories about the circumstances of the kneeling one which are otherwise confidential. The kneeling one now assumes that the standing one is a man specially called to be a prophet, a man set apart to help mankind from their afflictions. He puts all his trust in him and in some cases practically becomes a slave to him. All decisions that concerns his life must first receive clearance from this “man of god”!

If the standing one has a gift to heal with the magnetism of his body which often can have a salutary effect by the laying of hands or other bodily contacts then he is proclaimed a miracle worker and followers will flock from home and abroad. He too will want to live up to expectations and begins to teach and preach many a times offering empty words…

But what really is the value of the ability to see the ethereal world which is on the same level with man? What also is the value of the activities of the many so called miracle workers and healers? Many of them are not even endowed with real and beneficial healing powers but are people with low level radiation, who make many words and mysterious gestures, and who imagine they are accomplishing great things.

All of these may be of interest to the individual, but they operate within low limits. Receiving healing for physical ailments on its own do not translate to the true healing of the soul. Being able to see, hear or feel the invisible world have little or no value when it is a matter of the spiritual ascent and maturity of mankind! However, to ascend spiritually, to inwardly grow and mature, and to seek God’s Kingdom is the real purpose of life. To be born anew is the real miracle!

...and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.

I have heard many people say that they are permitted to command the Almighty! Honestly, I did not for a fraction of a second feel comfortable with such an assertion. How can a creature command the Creator of all? I decided to conduct my research into this and soon discovered that the protagonists of this thought relied on Isaiah 45.11 where it is written: Thus says the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: Will you question me about my children, or command me concerning the work of my hands? 

To me, the riddle has been solved. This quotation did not say that one can command the Almighty but on the contrary posed a question which was to make a point that man cannot question the Lord at all! I then shared my findings with a friend who is a protagonist. He listened carefully but was not persuaded. He later showed me the same passage which reads:  Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.

I was surprised. This quote supports the protagonists! I subsequently realised that I have relied on the Revised Standard Version (RSV) of the Bible whilst my friend was working with the King James Version (KJV).  Be that as it may, what is written still needs to be properly understood. So I decided we needed to examine the statements before the verse 11 to understand its context. This exercise revealed that such rhetorical questions have been asked earlier on in the passage. For example:   "Woe to him who strives with his Maker, an earthen vessel with the potter! Does the clay say to him who fashions it, 'What are you making'? or 'Your work has no handles'? 

Given this context we see clearly that a creature cannot begin to issue orders to his Maker. Man should stop all arrogance and presumptions when thinking of God. We need to bow down in humility before the Omnipotence and Omniscience of the Most High!

And He rested on the seventh day!

In Scripture we read that by the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.

Some have explained that this does not mean that the Omnipotent Lord of all needed to rest, but simply ceased creating on the seventh day as He will never be tired. Others link it to the Sabbath day: we also need to rest on one day of the week.

But we also see that many scriptural writings ascribe human characteristics to the Almighty! The Lord is portrayed as jealous, repenting of His deeds, angry with the wicked, and even walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and from whom the human couple could attempt to hide.

While all these might be able to bring partially to the level of human understanding the unfathomable Majesty of the Most High, the fact remains that human words and expressions remain inadequate to explain the Creator. The danger also remains that these attempts could form in man a totally incorrect concept of God.

The Lord can be seen in His Work of Creation in which we have our existence. He speaks to us through His Creation and thereby shows us His Will clearly. To recognize this Will is our duty. And before now, the Son of God in His Holy Word showed the right way to do so.

Remember that Christ Jesus did not concern Himself with creeds. Let us therefore wake up, look around us, and in listening to our inner voice, move away from shackling dogmas and wrong concepts! Only this can open the way to pure understanding!

Man shall not live by bread alone!

In this well-known statement of Jesus we are guided on how to resist the temptation of living a one-sided life. It admonishes one and all that we have to balance the pursuit for our earthly goals and pleasures with high spiritual aims as well.

After all, man is spirit when stripped of all his material coverings and it will be of little gain to give all attention to the body and starve the inner core of attention. Of what benefit will it be for a man to gain the earth (material benefits) and lose his inner core – the spirit?

A whole lot of us live the one sided life blindly. We have even confused our earthly pursuits with the spiritual to the extent that all our religious activities are geared towards achieving one purely material earthly goal or the other. When majority talk of seeking the face of the Lord in prayer and when fasting, it is all about the next promotion, making money, exam success, finding a viable spouse and so on.

While these are desirable, they are like earthly bread and we are not to live by these alone but by the Living Word, the spiritual bread which refreshes, enlightens and revitalizes our spirit. We should grasp the Holy Word aright, resolve to do only that which is good, and give purity to our thoughts so that all the rest can be added unto us! We shall become sound in body and soul and we shall be able to soar upwards and find our way back to the Eternal gardens of the Most High!

Can a loving God create hell?

The answer already lies in this question.

The Almighty is Love! All that emanates from Him is therefore pure and good. Since no evil can proceed from the Creator, then He did not create hell which is the dwelling place of evil men and their abominations!

The power of the Lord flows through all that exist. It flows through what we call nature and all creatures. In the case of man, in addition to his ability to receive this power, he is especially endowed with the ability to also direct the power and use it in any direction of his choice. Man has the free will to press the power which is neutral to good or evil purpose. He uses this same power when he is thinking, when speaking and for all his deeds.

A very important aspect of the activity of man is his ability to think and also use his intuition. The products of his thinking and that of his intuition have real forms! These can be beautiful and benevolent forms or evil forms. The propensity of the majority of mankind for evil made such obnoxious forms to mushroom and gather in huge centres that is now known as hell. Thus hell is the handiwork of men alone and is not a Divine institution!

Man is responsible for using the power of his Creator in such a wanton way and is therefore compelled to live in his self-created hell after his departure from this earth as he cannot escape from the consequences of putting the pure power of God into wrong use.