In the last days we have to be careful so that we don`t give heed to deceptive doctrines and movements sweeping all over the world, because hard times will come, and many will be deceived. Jesus Christ, the Son of God is the only one who can give you true repentance, forgiveness and power to overcome the world. John Wesley 2Pe 2:2 The way of truth will be evil spoken of - By those who blend all false and true Christians together.
söndag 15 november 2009
John S. Torell comments Ulf Ekman
August 2003 Newsletter
IRAQ - A REPLAY OF THE VIETNAM TRAGEDY
John S. Torell
The credibility of George W. Bush is being attacked by forces beyond his control. Our president has been trapped by the people surrounding him. He has been betrayed by the American intelligence community. The World Government has spun a web around him and it will take a miracle of God for him to break out of it. President John F. Kennedy was murdered in our own nation when he started to question the enslavement of the United States to a sinister World Government.
President Lyndon Johnson was forced to not run for a second term when toward the end of his presidency 500 American soldiers were being killed every week in Vietnam. We are bogged down in a nasty guerilla war in Iraq with a current average death rate of one American soldier per day. This situation is not looking good for the US. The armed forces of the United States are stretched extremely thin, and if American troops are deployed to Liberia it will put a tremendous strain on the men and women serving in the US military. Already the morale is low in certain army units in Iraq because their stay has been extended. When morale is low the death rate increases because American soldiers come to a place where they do not care and then they become sloppy. In Vietnam it regressed to "fragging," when soldiers rolled grenades into the tents of officers. One such incident happened in Kuwait just before the attack on Iraq. This newsletter will examine what is causing current events and how it relates to Bible prophecy.
THE DRIVING SPIRITUAL FORCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST
As I have stated many times before, the city of Jerusalem is the focus for all political parties in the Middle East. The Islamic nations have been in a "Holy War" (Jihad) since the early 1900's; their goal is to take the city of Jerusalem and drive out all Jews and Gentiles. Zionist Jews have been working on a plan since 1898 to not only capture Jerusalem, but to be able to remove the Mosque and other Islamic buildings on the temple ground so that they can erect a new Jewish temple. Both Jews and Moslems are willing to die for their cause. Let us look at what God said some 2,500 years ago:
The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him. Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it. Zechariah 12:1-3
In previous newsletters over the years, including several articles in The Dove, I have discussed Zionism and how, since 1898, it has shaped world history. But Zionism is not only active in Jewish circles, it has spread to Pentecostal and Evangelical Christians who believe that God has commissioned them not only to bring Jews back to Israel but to do whatever is necessary, even to spark wars in the Middle East, to speed up the return of Jesus Christ. This is not a new concept. The Cabalistic Jews have for the last 2,500 years been working to bring "their messiah" back to the earth by trying to fulfill prophecies in the flesh. This also took place at the time when Jesus walked on the earth.
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And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.
Matthew 11:12
Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. John 6:14-15
ALL NATIONS CONVOCATION – JERUSALEM
This is a large gathering of Christians from all over the world who will come together in Jerusalem September 26 through October 10, 2003. The purpose of this conference, according to the organizers, is "to come through the twelve gateway regions of the world to build a wall of fire around and a shield of worship over Jerusalem and Israel." Prospective travelers are told to "plan and begin organizing a group now to join us from your city or nation to this world-wide watch through the gates to Jerusalem convocation and watchmen’s tour of Israel." The convocation is also known as THE MESSIANIC UNITED NATIONS CONVOCATION.
A number of American Christian leaders are listed on the invitation brochure. The most well known American Pentecostal minister in this group is British born Derek Prince who has lived in the United States since the early 1970's.
Sweden is represented by Ulf Ekman, a faith movement pastor. The worship music and singing is going to be led by Christian and Jewish singers and musicians. This in itself should raise a serious question; how can born again believers in Christ join in worship with Jewish men and women who have rejected Jesus Christ as the Messiah and cling to a belief that the Messiah is yet to come for the first time to the Jews? The Christian leaders of this convention have rejected Jesus Himself and his apostles, as it is clearly laid out in the Bible what is the truth:
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 14:6
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.
Acts 4:8-13
The devastating bastard translation of the Bible, known as the "New International Version" (NIV) and its successor "the TNIV" is the accepted "Bible" in most American churches today, there is not much to worry about for these leaders. With a watered down Bible translation, doctrine is out the window, and all that is left for them is to teach that God is love, there is no judgment coming and that God has a special salvation plan for Jewish people. And the poor masses of Christians believe it! After all, have they not seen and heard this on TV – the god of this world. Just about every major TV evangelist is a Christian Zionist and they surround themselves with local rabbis as often as they can.
Each participant in this convention must pay their own transportation cost to and from Jerusalem and the accommodation price for the 15 days and 14 nights ranges from a low $750.00 in a dormitory to $1,650.00 for those who would like to have a private room. Although the cost may seem moderate for a trip like this, only people who are well-off financially could afford to go.
What they do not tell prospective travelers is that this convention is a joint project with the State of Israel’s tourist department and some Zionistic Christian organizations like the Christian International Embassy in Jerusalem. The Mossad and the Shin Bet (Israeli intelligence services) will add each participant to their computer files, to be used in the future if they need to recruit any of these "deceived Christians" for a service for the sake of Israel, all in the name of prophecy.
MICHAEL (MIKE) EVANS - A KINGPIN IN THE JEWISH LOBBY IN AMERICA
This Texas based Christian evangelist of Russian Jewish heritage is a kingpin in the American Jewish Lobby and has access to the White House as well as to prime ministers in Israel. In 1984 Evans released a book called, "Jerusalem DC," in which he laid out the case for the belief that Jerusalem is the capitol of Israel and that God has designated it so. Mike acknowledged in his book that he is working with the Israeli Government agency ISRAEL GOVERNMENT TOURISM ADMINISTRATION, which is also tied to another Israeli government agency, THE FOREIGN MINISTRY, known in Israel as the official propaganda ministry of Israel. Both agencies are tied in to the Israeli intelligence service the MOSSAD. This book is a valuable propaganda document for the State of Israel, to sway the believers in Christ living in the United States that it is their duty to pressure the American Government to accept and recognize Jerusalem as the capitol of the political state of Israel. The prime minister in Israel in 1984, Shimon Peres, wrote a foreword to the book. Mike Evans had also enlisted the support for this political agenda from Pat Robertson (CBN, 700 Club), the American Christian entertainer, Pat Boone, Oral Roberts(Methodists/Pentecostal faith healer and founder of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma), the American evangelist Jimmy Swaggart, Jerry Falwell (Baptist pastor and founder of Moral Majority); Kenneth Copeland (American evangelist/faith healer and graduate from Rhema Bible school), Ben Kinchlow (former co-host of the 700 Club) and Jan Van der Hoeven ( A Dutch Christian and Director of International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem.) All of these Christian leaders wrote "glowing" forewords in the book, stating their full support for this political document.
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In return the Jewish World Government rewards these men and their ministries indirectly through financial favors (donations) and protection from harassment by the media (except when a leader commits gross errors which cannot be covered, such as Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart). It is noteworthy that both Swaggart and Bakker have managed a come-back, despite the terrible mistakes they made. Almost all American evangelists or pastors who are part of the Jewish lobby conduct regular tours for Christians to Israel, with a handsome kick-back for the evangelist/pastor.
When President George W. Bush laid out his road map for peace in the Middle East just a few months ago, the Israeli Government immediately activated its Christian lobby in the United States, and Mike Evans did a massive e-mail campaign against the president’s plan. On May 25, 2003 Evans and his fellow Israel supporters lambasted President Bush, citing that God will destroy America if we do not support the State of Israel and that no land can be ceded to the Palestinians. Before negotiations had even started, rank and file Christians were told to visit the Jewish lobby’s website to find out how horrible the situation was, then immediately flood Senators and Congressmen with e-mails demanding that they reject the president’s proposal. Evans had enlisted the support of Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, Chuck Colson, Bill Bright (recently died), Dr. James and Shirley Dobson, Dr. Robert Schuller, Pat Robertson, Rev. Jerry Falwell, Dr. Jack Hayford, Kenneth Copeland and many more. According to Mike Evans, if President Bush’s peace plan was not defeated, judgment and disaster would fall upon America.
THE MILITANT SWEDISH ZIONIST ULF EKMAN
This man has a very interesting life story. He was born in Gothenburg, Sweden December 8, 1950. According to the biography on his website, on May 28, 1970, just before he graduated from high school, he had a personal experience with Jesus Christ and became a Christian.
Later he enrolled in the theology department at the State University in Uppsala, Sweden. He studied ethnography, history and theology, and stayed at the university for several years.
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In 1976 he met his future wife, Birgitta Nilsson, the daughter of a Methodist minister, Sten Nilsson. He had become the leader of the Ashram movement in Sweden after serving as a missionary to India for 20 years. After he married Birgitta, Ekman was ordained in January 1979 as a Swedish State Lutheran priest. For the next three years he served as a chaplain at the University of Uppsala. In 1982 Ekman and his family left Sweden for the United States and spent a year at Kenneth Hagin’s Rhema Bible school in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Here Ekman was converted to believe the damnable theology that Jesus did not die for our sins on the cross, but that he died spiritually and was taken to hell for three days and nights, where the Devil beat "the tar out of him," and it was in hell that Jesus paid for our sins. This is also known as the JDS doctrine which is embraced by almost all the graduates from Rhema, including Kenneth Copeland, K.C. Price, Dick Bernal and thousands of other so called "faith teachers and pastors."
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After Ekman graduated from Rhema Bible school in 1983, he became a friend of the well known American missionary giant, Lester Sumrall(now with the Lord).
Ekman then moved back to Sweden, and settled in the university town of Uppsala. He resigned from the State Lutheran Church and started his own church, called LIVETS ORD (THE WORD OF LIFE). This took place in early 1983.
Ulf Ekman is a very dynamic speaker and a born leader with a very strong personality. Once the word was out that Ekman had started his own church, it did not take long before he was attracting large crowds. Most of his members were not newly converted Christians, but were members from other churches who were dissatisfied with the deadness in their own churches. Ekman brought in something new and exciting to Sweden, a strong faith in the Bible, lively worship and authority in the spiritual world. Most of all, Ekman was preaching faith and prosperity for the believers in Christ, and this was a great attraction for the Swedish people who were longing for action Christianity, not just a docile religion.
Many talented Christians came to his church and thus he was able to build up a great leadership and worship team. A popular young Swedish singer, Carola Haggquist became part of his church, bringing in still more people. Healing the sick became common and many people were healed. Ekman demanded a full surrender to Christ and his church, including financial support. People rallied around him and in no time he was able to set up a Bible school from which young men and women were sent out all over Sweden. They also went into Norway where they started affiliate churches. A denomination was born, which in Sweden was known as "TROSRORELSEN" (the Faith Movement).
The success of Ekman’s movement caused a firestorm in Sweden. He was attacked and criticized by the old Pentecostal denomination in Sweden, with its flagship "Filadelfiakyrkan" (the Pentecostal head church in Sweden) in Stockholm and its daily newspaper "Dagen." Ekman was attacked by the Swedish government (Social Democrats) and by independent Swedish Christian publications and denominations.
A strong attack came on Ekman for his theology that Jesus had to die spiritually. Our ministry at that time published a book in Swedish called, "Another Jesus," which was purchased by people in Sweden and given as information to warn people against this false teaching.
Ulf Ekman had powerful friends in the United States. Since 1970, when the first "Jesus people" arrived in Sweden from California, Swedish people were hungry for the "live Christian faith" they saw in these Americans. American evangelists and well known pastors came and went on a regular schedule to Pentecostal churches in Sweden. Included in this were numerous "air lifts" of Full Gospel Business Men’s International Fellowship. Plane loads of American Christian business men swarmed all over the Scandinavian countries, sharing Christ and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. (My wife and I traveled extensively in Sweden and Finland from 1971 to 1983 preaching the Gospel and having tent meetings, as well as meeting in all kinds of evangelical churches).
The young Swedish Christians were hungry for the Gospel and the music that was brought in from the US. The people were ripe, tired of the stale Swedish State Lutheran church, and the stagnant free churches.
Ulf Ekman took advantage of this, and brought in Lester Summerall for a number of conferences. All the "heavyweights" associated with Rhema Bible school were there and many others which included some of the most well known persons in the Charismatic movement in the United States: Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Reinhard Bonnke, Robert Liardon, Phil Driscoll (trumpet player), Rod Parsley, the American Gospel singer Jessy Dixon, Morris Cerullo, Peter Ljunggren (Swedish/Canadian evangelist), Tim Storey, Bill Lofbom (Swedish/American evangelist), Richard Roberts (Oral Robert’s son), R. W. Schambach, John and Patricia Avanzini, Patrick Ondrey, Bob Weimer and T.L. Osborn. Ekman’s church took off and he established his own Bible school, patterned after Rhema, and hundreds of young spirit filled Swedish Christians came and were educated in Kenneth Hagin’s doctrine. They, in turn, fanned out and started new churches all over Sweden which were tied in with Ekman’s mother church in Uppsala.
Suddenly a new denomination had been born in Sweden.
Since Ekman and his followers received most of their new members from the old Pentecostal churches, Baptist churches and other free churches, it did not take long for a backlash to develop, and Ekman and his followers were classified as being a "cult," and lambasted by the Christian establishment in Sweden.
For a time it looked as though Ekman’s denomination was going to disintegrate. He had a quarrel with Kenneth Hagin and they broke off all fellowship. The media in Sweden kept beating on Ekman and his churches, and even the Social Democratic government started to come down on the big organization. Ekman had built his organization which included Bible schools, day care centers and Christian schools in a very short time.
Then something happened! Ulf Ekman became a Christian Zionist and immediately the media, the government and others stopped harassing him. Suddenly, finances were no longer a problem.
THE MOSSAD DISCOVERS ULF EKMAN
The Mossad is the intelligence service of the State of Israel, as previously stated in this newsletter. It is not only designated to spy for the State of Israel and assassinate the enemies of Israel, but it is also assigned to disseminate disinformation to the media in the world and to mold public opinion in both Israel and the rest of the world. With Mike Evans well established in the United States, the Mossad had been looking for a powerful Christian leader in Europe who could be enlisted to work for the Israeli Propaganda Ministry. They found their man in Ulf Ekman.
Exactly when Ulf Ekman became a Christian Zionist is hard for an outsider of the organization to know, but in the printed material that Ekman’s corporation produced, it became clear in 1991 that a shift had taken place in his theology. In their main publication "Magazinet" (the Magazine) March 1991, several articles appeared blasting what they called "Christian Antisemitism." Ekman was now preparing his followers to understand that if they wanted to continue to have God’s blessings, support for Israel was to be their highest priority as a ministry.
The Swedish Baptist pastor Sven Nilsson (Orebromissionen, the largest Baptist denomination in Sweden) wrote an article that Christians must reject the teaching that the Church of Jesus Christ has replaced God’s plan for Israel under the first covenant, and that God has a special plan for the Jews to be saved. Stig Hallzon (a member of a family that owned one of Sweden’s largest weekly Christian papers, and who in the past had taken a persuasive stand against Ekman and his JDS theology) wrote a strong article damning all attacks on Jews and making a strong point of the separate salvation plan for the Jews.
Another strong article is featured detailing the terrible plight of the Jews in Nazi Germany, using the story of the non-Christian Jew, Ferenc Gondor, a 63 year old Hungarian Jew who, as a child, survived his time in a concentration camp.
In the Newsletter from "Livets Ord" (Word of Life), Issue 1, year 13, 1994, two major projects were introduced to the Swedish Christians. Ulf Ekman, in his editorial, tells his followers that the corporation has been given a former US Navy ship which is going to be used to transport Russian Jews from Russia to Israel and that Ekman is going to establish a Christian University in Uppsala. Both projects are going to be done with cooperation from the outside, the State of Israel and from Oral Roberts in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Ekman’s university is going to be affiliated with ORU in Tulsa.
THE AMERICAN NAVY SHIP
Most of the evangelists and pastors in the Jewish lobby will use prophecy as a tool to line up their rank and file members. Ekman proclaimed that in 1993 God had spoken to him that he was to work on getting Russian Jews out of Russia and down to Israel. According to God, this was a project that must be done quickly; it had to be done between 18 to 24 months. Then Ekman told his followers that God started to move on this project in 1987 when an American Navy transport ship was moth-balled on the US West Coast. The ship had been built in 1948, with the capacity of 1500 beds. An American couple had been told by God to buy the ship and to give it to Ekman’s corporation. Ekman’s corporation was to use its vast network in Russia and the Ukraine to identify, contact and offer Russian Jews a free trip to Israel. Buses, trucks and airplanes were to be used to get them down to the shores of the Black Sea, where the ship would take them to Israel. The ship had been named "Restoration" and registered in Panama. Ekman named this project "Operation Jabotinsky," and if someone else told him to name it this way, I do not know. Either way, it is an insult to the Christian faith.
Vladimir Jabotinsky was a Russian Jew, born in 1880. At an early age he became a Zionist. During World War I he persuaded the British Government to form a Jewish legion within the British Army, and enlisted in this new unit as a private and when the war was over he had advanced to lieutenant. He was in charge of the 1st company from the British army that crossed the Jordan river into Palestine in 1918. Once the war was over, he organized the first units of the Hagana, which in 1948 became the Israeli Army. In the bloody riots that took place in Jerusalem in April, 1920, he led his units in fierce fighting. In the eyes of the Jews, he was a freedom fighter, in the eyes of the British he was a terrorist. He was captured and sentenced to 15 years in prison, but only served one year. He became the founder and leader of the Irgun Tzeva’i Leumi militant group, which was a breakaway from the Hagana.
Jabotinsky advocated violence toward the Arabs and he and his followers murdered many Arabs. He died in the United States on August 3, 1940. Jabotinsky rejected Jesus Christ as his Messiah and died in his sins and went to hell. Ekman’s rescue ship for Russian Jews was named after this violent man, which Ulf Ekman called in his publication, ". . . one of the greatest Zionist leaders during the 20th century."
WHAT IS HAPPENING TO RUSSIAN JEWS TAKEN TO ISRAEL?
Ekman’s corporation only helps those Russian Jews who are willing to move to Israel. If they ask for help to move to any other country, they are rejected. Most of the Russian Jews are settled in enclaves in the occupied West Bank. This is a very dangerous area where few Israelis will live. Since its beginning, Ekman’s corporation has transported some 7000 Russian Jews to Israel, and the current rate is around 1000 Jews per year. The crew on the ship are Christians and they are strongly told that it is forbidden for them to witness to any Russian Jew about Jesus Christ. In order to get along with the government of Israel, Ekman and all others in the Christian lobby are careful not to talk about Jesus, but only to bring Jews to Israel, collect money and lobby for Israel. Ekman and others are telling their followers, "Don’t worry about the Jews, God has a special plan for them."
EKMAN’S NETWORK
His original church in Uppsala has, as of 2003, about 2,000 members. On this site are day care centers and Christian schools, kindergarten through high school. There is a Bible school and there is the University. TV and radio studios are busy, using local stations or satellites. There is a publishing house which is producing millions of books in different languages. These are distributed into a number of nations, particularly into Russia and its former client states, where five million books have been distributed. Every summer the church is sponsoring its "European Conference," drawing thousands of pastors, leaders and lay people from all over Europe.
Some of the speakers in the 2003 conference were the American evangelists John Bevere, Stephen Sumrall, Benny Hinn, Steve Hill(Pensacola, Florida) Thomas George, pastor from Dehli, India, and pastor Kong Hee from City Harvest Church in Singapore.
In 2002, Ekman resigned as pastor of the Uppsala church and Robert Ekh is now the senior pastor. However, Ekman is still chairman of the Word of Life Foundation (the corporation), and he is still teaching at the Bible school which has graduated more than 7,000 persons since its beginning. Ekman has started local Bible Schools in Russia, the Czeck Republic, Albania and India. Through their missionaries more than 700 churches affiliated with the Ekman corporation have been started in Russia and Eastern Europe.
Ulf Ekman is also the President of his university in Uppsala, and since 1997 he is a member of the Oral Robert’s University Board of regents. Since 1995 Ulf Ekman has been a member of the Board of Church Growth International (CGI), and international organization founded byYonggi Cho, pastor of the world’s largest church located in Seoul, Korea. Every year Ekman’s corporation sponsors pastor conferences in Russia, India and Singapore, where thousands of pastors gather to hear the latest from Ulf Ekman.
Over the years Ulf Ekman has written around forty books, which have been translated into a number of languages. Via cassettes, videos, radio, TV, and satellite channels, Ulf Ekman is heard around the globe. He has moved from being a local pastor in Sweden to become a world leader, being connected to every Charismatic and Pentecostal movement in the world. When he speaks, millions of Christians believe that they are hearing from a man of God. Ulf Ekman is the best agent living for the political state of Israel, AND A MAN TO BE RECKONED WITH WHEN THE ANTICHRIST APPEARS ON THE EARTH!
ULF AND BIRGITTA EKMAN NOW LIVE IN JERUSALEM
Ulf and Birgitta Ekman, who by the way have four sons, Aron, Jonathan, Samuel and Benjamin, moved to the city of Jerusalem in 2002. They are there to build up an educational center and at the same time the couple wants to learn more about Jewish culture. They are going to bring Christian group tours to Israel and give them a more in-depth teaching about the Jewish nation. The corporation decided in a board meeting in 2001, that they want to develop fifteen international centers, copies of what has been built in Uppsala, Sweden. These centers will coordinate mission work in their regions and thus enlarge the influence of the corporation in the Christian community worldwide. As a "General," Ulf Ekman will travel from center to center and make sure that they are running according to the rules and regulations of the mother corporation.
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Wherever Ekman goes, so does the propaganda ministry of Israel, increasing its power and influence on the world population. The marriage between Ekman and the Jews was made in hell. The Jews are happy, Ekman and his corporation will keep Jesus from the Jewish people and in return the Jews have a voice to the Gentiles. Do not forget the money angle; Christian tourists bring dollars to Israel and secret Jewish donations bring finances to their Christian lobbyists. This makes people happy in this world, but once in the Lake of Fire, there are payments to be made for eternity!
WHAT A DEAL FOR THE DEVIL!
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1. The seed of Abraham, Israel and the city of Jerusalem are not synonymous with "Jews." See July 2003 Newsletter.
2. For more background, see May 2002 Newsletter.
3. The branch of anthropology that deals descriptively with specific cultures, especially those of primitive peoples or groups.
4. The Ashram movement is influenced by hinduism, and Sten Nilsson and Stanley Jones introduced this system of "retreats," where fasting and meditation were introduced to the Christians attending the retreats.
5. "General" is what his organization called Ekman.
6. Pastor Torell’s Newsletter for July 2003 told how the World Government was like cancer and it also seems that the body of Christ is infested with terminal cancer. Pray for God to heal His body, the church.
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This article in the Sacramento Bee was published three days after this Newsletter was written.
Depending on your connection speed, it may take a couple of minutes to load.
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Any scripture references used are from the King James Bible.
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Inlagt av Leif Berg
Luther on ecumenism and papacy
History of the Papacy by J.A. Wylie: "...the Church (so-called) of Rome has no right to rank amongst Christian Churches. She is not a Church, neither is her religion the Christian religion. We are accustomed to speak of Popery as a corrupt form of Christianity. We concede too much. The Church of Rome bears the same relation to the Church of Christ which the hierarchy of Baal bore to the institute of Moses; and Popery stands related to Christianity only in the same way in which Paganism stood related to primeval Revelation. Popery is not a corruption simply, but a transformation. It may be difficult to fix the time when it passed from the one into the other; but the change is incontestible. Popery is the gospel transubstantiated into the flesh and blood of Paganism, under a few of the accidents of Christianity."
Martin Luther
Just as in the days of the Apostles, so at this day we are forced to hear from certain denominations that we (by our obstinacy to adhere to the truth) do offend against love and unity in the churches, because we reject their doctrine. It would be better (they say) that we should let it pass, especially since the doctrine in dispute is what they call non-essential, and, therefore (they say) to stir up so great a discord and contention in the church over one or two doctrines (and those not the most important ones) is unfruitful and unnecessary.
To this I reply: Cursed be that love and unity which cannot be preserved except at the peril of the word of God.
Just as in the days of the Apostles, so at this day we are forced to hear from certain denominations that we (by our obstinacy to adhere to the truth) do offend against love and unity in the churches, because we reject their doctrine. It would be better (they say) that we should let it pass, especially since the doctrine in dispute is what they call non-essential, and, therefore (they say) to stir up so great a discord and contention in the church over one or two doctrines (and those not the most important ones) is unfruitful and unnecessary.
To this I reply: Cursed be that love and unity which cannot be preserved except at the peril of the word of God.
The negotiation about doctrinal agreement displeases me altogether, for this is utterly impossible unless the pope has his papacy abolished. Therefore avoid and flee those who seek the middle of the road. Think of me after I am dead and such middle-of-the-road men arise, for nothing good will come of it. There can be no compromise. (What Luther Says, II: 1019)
Ah, my dear brother in Christ, bear with me if here or elsewhere I use such coarse language when speaking of the wretched, confronted, atrocious monster at Rome! He who knows my thoughts must say that I am much, much, much too lenient and have neither words nor thought adequately to describe the shameful, abominable blasphemy to which he subjects the Word and name of Christ, our dear Lord and Savior. There are some Christians, wicked Christians indeed, who now would gloss things over to make the pope appear against in a good light and who, after he does so and has been dragged out of the mud, would like to reinstate him on the altar. But they are wicked people, whoever they may be, who defend the pope and want me to be quiet about the means whereby he has done harm. Truly, I cannot do this. All true, pious Christians, who love Christ and His Word, should, as said, be sincerely hostile to the pope. They should persecute him and injure him…. All should do this in their several calling, to the best of their ability, with all faithfulness and diligence. (What Luther Says, II: 1072)
What kind of a church is the pope’s church? It is an uncertain, vacillating and tottering church. Indeed, it is a deceitful, lying church, doubting and unbelieving, without God’s Word. For the pope with his wrong keys teaches his church to doubt and to be uncertain. If it is a vacillating church, then it is not the church of faith, for the latter is founded upon a rock, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it (Matt.16:18). If it is not the church of faith, then it is not the Christian church, but it must be an unchristian, anti-Christian, and faithless church which destroys and ruins the real, holy, Christian church. (Luther’s Works, vol. 40, Church and Ministry II, The Keys, p.348)
All this is to be noted carefully, so that we can treat with contempt the filthy, foolish twaddle that the popes present in their decrees about their Roman church, that is, about their devil’s synagogue (Rev.2:9), which separates itself from common Christendom and the spiritual edifice built up on this stone, and instead invents for itself a fleshly worldly, worthless, lying, blasphemous, idolatrous authority over all of Christendom. One of these two things must be true: if the Roman church is not built on this rock along with the other churches, then it is the devil’s church; but if it is built, along with all the other churches, on this rock, then it cannot be lord or head over the other churches. For Christ the cornerstone knows nothing of two unequal churches, but only of one church alone, just as the Children’s Faith, that is, the faith of all of Christendom, says, ”I believe in one holy, Christian church,” and does not say, ”I believe in one holy Roman church.” The Roman church is and should be one portion or member of the holy Christian church, not the head, which befits solely Christ the cornerstone. If not, it is not a Christian but an UN-Christian and anti-Christian church, that is, a papal school of scoundrels. (Luther’s Works, Volume 41, Church and Ministry III, Against The Roman Papacy, An Institution Of The Devil, p.311)
I believe the pope is the masked and incarnate devil because he is the Antichrist. As Christ is God incarnate, so the Antichrist is the devil incarnate. The words are really spoken of the pope when its said that hes a mixed god, an earthly god, that is , a god of the earth. Here god is understood as god of this world. Why does he call himself an earthly god, as if the one, almighty God werent also on the earth? The kingdom of the pope really signifies the terrible wrath of God, namely, the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place. (Luthers Works, vol.54, Table Talks, No.4487, p.346)
C. H. Spurgeon on Popery
"It is the bounden duty of every Christian to pray against Antichrist, and as to what Antichrist is no sane man ought to raise a question. If it be not the Popery in the Church of Rome there is nothing in the world that can be called by that name. It wounds Christ, robs Christ of His glory, puts sacramental efficacy in the place of His atonement, and lifts a piece of bread in the place of the Saviour....If we pray against it, because it is against Him, we shall love the persons though we hate their errors; we shall love their souls, though we loathe and detest their dogmas...."
-- C. H. Spurgeon
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Frälsningens väg!
Heb 12:2 Och må vi därvid se på Jesus, trons hövding och fullkomnare, på honom, som i stället för att taga den glädje som låg framför honom, utstod korsets lidande och aktade smäleken för intet, och som nu sitter på högra sidan om Guds tron.
Heb 12:3 Ja, på honom, som har utstått så mycken gensägelse av syndare, på honom mån I tänka, så att I icke tröttnen och uppgivens i edra själar.
Heb 12:15 Och sen till, att ingen går miste om Guds nåd, och att ingen giftig rot skjuter skott och bliver till fördärv, så att menigheten därigenom bliver besmittad;
Heb 12:16 sen till, att ingen är en otuktig människa eller ohelig såsom Esau, han som för en enda maträtt sålde sin förstfödslorätt.
Heb 12:17 I veten ju att han ock sedermera blev avvisad, när han på grund av arvsrätt ville få välsignelsen; han kunde nämligen icke vinna någon ändring, fastän han med tårar sökte därefter.
Heb 10:36 I behöven nämligen ståndaktighet för att kunna göra Guds vilja och få vad utlovat är.
Heb 10:37 Ty "ännu en helt liten tid, så kommer den som skall komma, och han skall icke dröja;
Heb 10:38 och min rättfärdige skall leva av tro. Men om någon drager sig undan, så finner min själ icke behag i honom".
Heb 10:39 Dock, vi höra icke till dem som draga sig undan, sig själva till fördärv; vi höra till dem som tro och så vinna sina själar.
Ord 25:26 Såsom en grumlad källa och en fördärvad brunn, så är en rättfärdig som vacklar inför den ogudaktige.
Upp 3:16 Men nu, då du är ljum och varken varm eller kall, skall jag utspy dig ur min mun.
Se Ljum, sammanblandad, mixad, förväxlad, utbytt, utväxlad, ersatt, avlöst, efterträdd, liknöjd, likgiltig!
2Ti 4:7 Jag har kämpat den goda kampen, jag har fullbordat mitt lopp, jag har bevarat tron.
2Ti 4:8 Nu ligger rättfärdighetens segerkrans tillreds åt mig, och Herren, den rättfärdige domaren, skall giva den åt mig på "den dagen", och icke åt mig allenast, utan åt alla som hava älskat hans tillkommelse.
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