#basically restoring them according to the image others (and the person being resurrected) have in their mind

[butleroftoast]

A few medical headcanons.

The only known way to contain the Twins and their mayhem is to put them on a boat, as they both suffer from seasickness. They discovered this on an overseas deployment and are extremely annoyed about it. Robin feels it more intensely than Cherry, try as she might to push through it. [They must roll a con save upon boarding a water-going vessel. The DC varies according to roughness of water and weather conditions.]

All Skullduggans are surprisingly short on battle scars and war wounds. As nobles, they typically have access to a healer, and if they aren't able to reach one in time they're probably going to keep fighting to the death. With that said, the Marquis has two notable marks. Firstly, their nose was clearly broken at some point in the past -- it happened during a common brawl, when military healers weren't on hand, and by the time they realised they probably ought to get it looked at, the common healer's magic could only remove the pain.

The second is a scar on the little finger of their right hand. They like to tell people it was from an enemy's sword, or an assassin's dagger, or various other stories, but once again the truth is rather more mundane. They dropped a glass and, in an attempt to catch it, ended up slicing across the middle of the finger with the edge of a shard, nearly severing it. They no longer have much feeling in that finger. It doesn't bother them, they can still hold a sword, and it's been that way long enough that their brain has learned to compensate, so they no longer notice it in most situations. [They roll certain sleight-of-hand checks with disadvantage.]

My headcanon is that the chance of a scar after healing magic depends on time since the wound was inflicted and the skill of the healer. Injured on one turn, cleric casts Cure Wounds during the same round: no scar. Out of spell slots and have to wait until after a rest/no healer on hand during or after the fight: scar. There's also more chance of a scar if the healer is inexperienced or distracted (for example, in the middle of a hectic, busy battle). Basically, rule of cool.

[fleeting-sanity]

OC Talk #8

Force Powers List. 

Just to compile so I can check back and perhaps incorporate it in writing or art. In order from most proficient to weakest mastery. Leaving out Telekinesis as everyone has it. List is long! Might also update occassionally. Maybe.

Riornivo

Tutaminis / Barrier / Planetary Deflection.

Can catch lightsaber blades with his bare hand, deflects blaster bolts, absorbs Force Lightning, and the most advanced form is creating a shield which can deflect planetary bombardments, although it may cost his life. 

Healing / Revitalization / Resurrection.

What he loves and practiced the most. Advanced mastery enables him to completely resurrect a deceased person, which is also costly–puts him in a few days of coma or even death. He’d completely restore the body first, then concentrate in transferring the deceased’s Spirit back to their bodies. Doesn’t work with exploded ones.

Stasis Field.

Stops movement of every being in a wide range, and not as costly to use. 

Force Enlightenment. 

Absorbs knowledge pretty fast during his Jedi training, as he loves learning as much as healing. Not so much with combat techniques though. Sometimes can learn how by observing or experiencing the Force power by someone else in real time.

Force Empathy / Precognition / Vision.

Reads minds although he dislikes using it, able to see someone’s future hazily by interacting with them, and on a wider scale, events that will happen across the galaxy by meditating. 

Time Manipulation.

Basically the highest form of Force Slow. He stops time instead of increasing his own speed by the Force. He moves normally, but his surrounding slows to a standstill. Something he sneakily mastered from Valkorion. 

Mind Control.

Fully taking over someone’s mind, and unethical according to him. Only used it once on a Sith Lord out of desperation. Basic Mind Trick included. Also learned how to access and erase someone’s memories from his Stepfather.

Levitation.

If done purely by the Force, it’s still quite intermediate level. Since he obtained Brontes’ Architect Wings, he flies mostly using those tenta–wings. Very rarely so, as he wanted to keep the Wings a secret.

Mental Shield.

Basic mental block taught in the Academy when he was a Padawan. However, powerful Force Users can break through this and read his mind. On the more literal side, after the Patricide he strengthened his mental shield so much that it’s difficult to tempt, corrupt, or break him.

Force Cloak / Stealth.

Standard vanishing out of thin air. Can also shroud his presence and Force energy from others Kreia-style. Most used to avoid fights.

Sever Force.

Cuts other Force user’s connection to the Force. He learned it in the Academy, though it’s never used before.

Psychometry.

Witcher Geralt-style tracking skill. Common amongst Force users. 

Fold Space.

Can only teleport him and objects to nearby planets, he hasn’t quite mastered this one yet. When Cloak fails, he uses it.

Force Light.

One he wishes he truly perfected. He kept trying to use it on Sith and darksiders, although the success rate is pretty low. As long as he can decrease some darkside corruption, he’s content with it.

Force Crush.

He only used it on out of pure hatred after his Father forced him to the darkside. When it seems like Father’s dying, he healed him back and crushed him, repeating the torture until he’s satisfied. Scarred him for life.

Electric Judgement.

Weaker than Sith Lightning. Only used other than various forms of Telekinesis to incapacitate his aggressors.

———————

Rionnic

Force Scream.

He’s stoic and untalkative. So don’t make him Scream™ at you. Will irrepairably rupture your hearing. Also comes in different flavours–is it gonna be heavy metal, classical opera, or just straight up belting?

Force Speed.

Ataru Form movesets marries well with Speed, he mostly uses it on lightsaber swings and acrobatic evasions. Using an even faster version trained his body to withstand physical blows and inertia, paired with Force Body.

Force Choke.

Chokes the whole room. Hard to resist. Kinda used it a little too often on his twin brother during their earlier years after meeting each other.

Force Weapon.

Imbues wooden stick or other non-lightsaber objects with the Force so it could withstand blows from lightsabers and be used as a weapon. 

Shatterpoint.

Detects weak points and reads fighting styles of his opponents. Will exploit this to gain upper hand in combat.

Force Body.

Trained since he was an Acolyte. As most Sith, he got back up on his feet from hatred and rage. His body had endured so much physical torture during his days in the Academy.

Force Insanity.

Rarely uses it but won’t hesitate to break his subordinate’s minds with it. Learned through his sheer depression and trauma, not through conventional practice or learning.

Force Lightning.

Standard Sith Lightning. Also rarely used, as he’s more of a lightsaber expert. It’s mostly utilized as enchancement to his punches and kicks.

Force Stealth.

Learned from his twin brother. Useful for slipping out of crowds for a figure such as him.

———————

Aryuni

Precognition.

Senses danger precisely on who will it entail and what will happen from years to weeks before it happened. Gives her anxiety.

Affect Minds.

An aura of strange compliance emanated from her. It’s difficult to say no to her–which is quite dangerous, but she doesn’t realize she has this power. Her bubbly and humorous attitude reinforces it. She just thought people are inherently good.

Force Insanity.

She’s skilled in mind games, eventually, and naturally learning how to break people’s minds. It’s especially potent, as Force Healers have difficulty cleansing the corruption. Fueled by the bullying people hurled at her.

Force Empathy.

Good at sensing mood changes, but she’d attribute this to natural ability. Genuinely cares for those in service to her though.

Telekinetic Lightsaber Combat.

Can sometimes disarm people’s weapons from their hands. If she spots weapons lying around whether from defeated opponents, situational, or a result of disarming, she can telekinetically operate those weapons. 

Mental Shield.

If you peek inside her mind, it’s filled with memes. Endless memes.

Force Bellow.

Senya used this during their performance together at the Alliance cantina. She later taught Ary this technique for her singing performances.

Dun Möch.

Shrouds her true nature from uninformed enemies, acting defenseless to get them to strike first. With other opponents, she would try to out-logic or reason with if it’s something that could be resolved by a simple talk. 

Force Slow.

During her younger years this was still quite weak and difficult to control. As she got older she could slow her surrounding quite significantly, even halting blaster shots if she’s fast enough in anticipating it. 

Force Rage.

Found in the Mama Bear package. If she witnessed her children getting seriously injured, be ready for a violent scene… which is not pretty to look at.

——————— 

Avery

Center of Being.

If given time to fix her stance before a challenge or a duel, she will hold Senya’s Saberpike like how it’s posed with Senya’s Holostatue, preparing herself. A calm and focused Avery is a very formidable opponent.

Ionize.

Having Skytroopers every time everywhere with her, it’s important for her to disable them and other droids as she pleases. Learned this power from her twin sister, enchanced by her natural knack at machinations.

Cryokinesis.

She didn’t get the nickname Ice Queen just for her demeanor. She could drain heat from other living beings fairly quick, and there’s chilling aura emanating from her that the Knights dressed in heavy armors liked.

Mental Shield.

Basic mental training from Senya and the Knights, and learned a new perspective for it from Rio during her brief time in the Order. It’s important to shield her mind as Empress, the most you’d get from her is a string of mathematical equations. 

Force Bellow.

Learned from her Mother. She’d use it to startle her opponents mid-fight. Instances where it happened are blades lock, her being disarmed, after a feint, and being outmaneuvered. Handy in her Empress speeches.

Force Stealth.

Also to avoid crowds and for espionage. 

Force Lightning.

Golden like her Father’s. Stronger than standard Lightning, she uses it quite often but tries not to do so around her little brother.

——————— 

Avelyn

Force Empathy.

Senses mood changes like her Mother. Could also read minds, and she uses it often during diplomatic missions. At first she was reluctant on using it, but after several attempts on Zakuul, she’s not taking any chances.

Plant Surge.

Acts like Alter Environment, but with plants. Not many knew about this power of hers, and she had faint memories of flower crowns when using it. 

Force Lightning.

Quite strong. Could overpower a Sith in lightning clashes. But rarely used it as she thinks it’s a bit too violent and her little brother hates it.

Ionize.

She could destroy droids with ease, but at most just disables them thanks to her altruistic nature. 

Battle Meditation.

Enchances the newly rebuild Eternal Fleet with it, though would only do so when forced to. 

Force Valor.

Boosts others capabilities more than she utilize it for herself. 

Healing.

She’s still quite amateur with healing. Started learning it from Rio after the first coup. Could heal minor wounds and stabilize conditions.

Force Projection.

Projects images of objects and herself, although it only lasts for a brief period of time. Still practicing it whenever she had free time.

Force Choke.

Used when she was defending Zakuul from the first coup. Swore to never do it again, but deep down she knows she wouldn’t resist if push comes to shove.

Mental Shield.

Still quite weak, and she truly wants to improve at this Force attribute for diplomatic missions. If she could read minds easily, it shouldn’t be hard for her to build a mental fortress, no?

———————

Jurbiend

Force Cloak / Stealth.

Shrouds his Force energy, cloaks his physical presence, and cloaks others around him as well. Even goes as far as muting every noise they might make when moving. 

Force Weapon.

Since he loves to forge and design lightsabers, this comes in the package. Imbues solid objects to act as a shield against lightsaber blows, though it could still break if hit hard enough.

Mental Shield.

Perfected it, if you try to read his mind it’s just blank. White, empty space.

Mind Control.

Reads minds easily, accesses past memories, and all aspects of Mind Trick included. Can erase memories from people’s minds.

Force Speed.

Gets in a bout of speedy duel with his then unknown eldest Stepson. He was actually more nimble and precise than the Sith, but lost due to Rio’s resourcefulness.

Force Projection.

Malgus-style–scratch that it’s Naruto-style bunshin no-jutsu style doubles of himself. Still lost against Sithboi, but won him many battles over his enemies.

Sever Force.

Learned this Force feat after he became a Jedi Master. He intended to use it on his fallen Padawan but was forced to kill her instead.

Psychometry.

Handy in his archeology missions for those artifacts. Gets flashes of the place’s history.

Force Enlightenment.

Absorbs knowledge from datacrons, artifacts, classes, and libraries. Some of it might have contributed a little seed of darkness within him. He always be thirsty for knowledge, like his Stepson.

Alter Environment.

Still on amateur level. He could change the winds and weather a little, cause quakes, alter temperature, but only through concentration or meditation.

———————

Saxan

Force Drain.

Planetary Grandpa-style life essence drain, performed without rituals. During his younger years nobody except Dad knew about this power of his. Only used once out of rage, but luckily he was incapacitated before it reached far. Absorbing life essence made him stay young, apparently.

Force Destruction.

Majority of his Force powers are of destruction. He only had to close his eyes and he could topple mountains if he wishes so. 

Force Lightning.

Hates when Dad jolts him with a mild spark to get him off his laziness. His version was of a black and golden variant, strongest kind of Lightning there was at that time. Can summon black lightning storms from planets away, though he hates using it.

Force Choke.

Chokes massively, and uses it on his underperforming subordinates. 

Force Rage.

Since both his parents had this power, and Sax being the Inheritance Prince™, inherits it. Like a Sith’s darkside corruption, his eyes could turn red and it will take some time to cleanse the corruption. It’s feasible because he’s so lazy and apathetic he can’t even get angry for long.

Animal Bond.

Being an animal lover, he bonds naturally with animals, even the beastly ones. One of the very few things he cared about are animal lives.

Force Stealth.

Practiced it since he was a kid, but a pretty standard one. Uses it to prank the people of the Palace, but some can see through his invisibility. Utilized in avoiding capture and fangirls too.

Force Speed.

Standard speed. Mostly used to escape people, especially his fangirls. 

Force Vision.

Because he sleeps so much, his dreams are often premonitions of events happening in the future, ranging from tomorrow to thousands of years later. Dislikes when he got these dreams, as most of them are foreboding and nightmarish.

Pyrokinesis.

He dances a little with his Saberpike to summon some conveniently sized meteors. It perplexed him as to why he needed to dance, because he tried it with other methods and it didn’t work. Perhaps he hasn’t mastered this technique yet.

———————

Vianiel

Force Body.

Her resilience even intimidated the Masters in the Order, she was badly injured more than once in missions but recovered and insisted on going on more missions.

Battlemind.

Coupled with Force Body, she stood back up, sometimes catching the enemy off-guard. During her later years, despite having not battled in a long time, she still fights with agility and precision.

Psychometry.

Used in her archeology missions, tracking emotions left behind and also vague history about the particular place.

Saber Barrier.

She slashes her two lightsabers in an X shape, forming a barrier that lasts around a second. 

Force Persuasion.

Basic persuasion, most used when she does her underworld missions. 

[gamerszone2019-blog]

How to Read Marvel's Absolute Carnage Crossover

New Post has been published on https://gamerszone.tn/how-to-read-marvels-absolute-carnage-crossover/

How to Read Marvel's Absolute Carnage Crossover

The dust has barely settled from War of the Realms, but already the next major Marvel crossover is brewing. Absolute Carnage officially kicks off on Wednesday, August 7, as Earth’s heroes unite against a deadly attack from a super-charged version of Carnage, Spider-Man and Venom’s eternal foe.Whether you’re a hardcore Marvel reader or simply have fond memories of the Maximum Carnage crossover and its tie-in video game, we have a full breakdown of this new superhero epic and how you can follow the story.

What Is Absolute Carnage?

Absolute Carnage might be described as a spiritual sequel to 1993’s Maximum Carnage. While its plot isn’t directly connected to Maximum Carnage, Absolute Carnage again features Spider-Man and Venom teaming up with a wide variety of Marvel heroes to deal with the threat posed by Cletus Kasady.

Art by Ryan Stegman. (Image Credit: Marvel Comics)

This time around, however, Carnage is flying solo. Where in the past Cletus Kasady was interested only in causing chaos and bloodshed, he now has a more specific mission. He’s intent on killing everyone who’s ever bonded with a symbiote, hero or villain. By absorbing the trace remnants of the symbiotes in their bodies, Carnage hopes to achieve his ultimate power and finally free Knull, the god of the symbiotes, from his eternal prison.

Marvel’s New Symbiote Mythology

If you haven’t been reading comics like Venom recently, you may not be aware of Knull or his place in the mythology of the symbiotes. The current volume of Venom has introduced Knull, a godlike being revealed to be the creator of symbiotes like Venom and Carnage. Knull existed in the black void before the Big Bang. He was angered when light and life exploded into being and invaded his endless dark realm. Ever since the Big Bang, Knull has been waging war against the Celestials and other cosmic deities, hoping to restore the perfect nothingness that used to be everywhere.

Venom’s 30 Most WTF Moments

During the course of that war, Knull created the symbiote race known as the Klyntar. The symbiotes exist as a hive mind controlled by Knull himself, and their weakness to fire and sound is basically a design flaw created from their original forging. However, the connection between Knull and his creations (also known as the codex) was severed, and now Knull remains trapped in a prison within the Klyntar homeworld, waiting for the day when he can break free and resume his war on creation. Through Cletus Kasady, Knull has found his most devoted and capable servant.

The Road to Absolute Carnage

Before getting to the main event, we should cover the essential comics fans should read to prepare for Absolute Carnage.

A Visual History of Venom

Most of the direct build-up to Absolute Carnage has taken place in the current volume of Venom, which is written by Donny Cates and mostly drawn by artist Ryan Stegman. That makes sense, as Cates and Stegman are also the creators behind Absolute Carnage itself. Interested readers should check out the first trade paperback, Venom by Donny Cates Vol. 1: Rex. This book collects the story that rewrites Venom’s Marvel history and introduces Knull. The second volume, Abyss, is less directly relevant to the events of Absolute Carnage, but it does deal with some important developments in Eddie Brock’s personal life.

Also key is a one-shot special titled Web of Venom: Cult of Carnage #1, from writer Frank Tieri and artist Joshua Cassara. This book, as much as any other, directly sets the stage for Absolute Carnage. It resurrects Cletus Kasady (following a brief period where he was dead and Norman Osborn inherited the Carnage symbiote), reveals the bond he’s shared with Knull since birth and establishes Kasady’s new mission of hunting down and killing every person who’s ever bonded a symbiote. That includes traditional Spider-Man characters like Peter Parker, Eddie Brock and Mac Gargan as well as other Marvel heroes like Captain America, The Thing and Wolverine. All of them are now in Carnage’s crosshairs, as he seeks to absorb their trace symbiote fragments, reassemble the codex and open a doorway for Knull.

Art by Danilo Beyruth. (Image Credit: Marvel Comics)

Finally, readers should also hunt down the recent Free Comic Book Day 2019 – Spider-Man/Venom comic. The Venom portion is handled by Cates and Stegman and acts as a direct prologue to Absolute Carnage. It may be tough to find a print copy at this point, but the digital version is available to read for free on Comixology.

Absolute Carnage: What to Read

The Absolute Carnage crossover officially begins with the release of Absolute Carnage #1 on Wednesday, August 7 and runs until early November. In addition to the core Absolute Carnage miniseries (which was originally announced as being four issues but has since expanded to five), Marvel will publish a number of other Absolute Carnage-branded tie-in books. Alongside those releases, both the ongoing Venom and Amazing Spider-Man titles will tie into Absolute Carnage. Marvel released this checklist for all the comics involved in Absolute Carnage:

Naturally, fans who want to follow the main story threads without buying dozens of tie-in books can follow Absolute Carnage alone and get a complete story. The rest of these books will focus more on how other characters like Spider-Man Miles Morales, Deadpool, Ghost Rider and Hulk are impacted by Carnage’s global attack. Amazing Spider-Man will build on the recent “Red Goblin” storyline from 2018, as Norman Osborn and his grandson Normie are targeted by Cletus Kasady.

If any tie-in book is worth prioritizing, it’s probably Venom. This is the only Absolute Carnage tie-in also written by Cates. This book will deal with Eddie Brock struggle to protect his son Dylan from an army of symbiotes.

What’s Next for Marvel?

As massive as Absolute Carnage is in terms of scope and importance to the Spider-Man/Venom franchise, it also serves as the next step towards a major mystery project Marvel has been teasing in 2019. According to this image, Absolute Carnage, along with War of the Realms and House of X and Powers of X, is a piece of a larger puzzle that culminates in a new project in December 2019.

What this mystery project might be is still anyone’s guess. We don’t expect Marvel to reveal much until their December 2019 solicitations are revealed in September. However, we wouldn’t be surprised if this book revolves around Knull. If Carnage is ultimately successful in freeing his god, then the entire Marvel Universe will have reason to fear the wrath of Knull. Marvel has already been making efforts to tie Knull to other Marvel characters through books like Thor and Silver Surfer: Black. That could all be in preparation for a Knull-focused crossover event to cap off 2019.

Another, wildly different possibility is that Marvel is setting the stage for an X-Men vs. Fantastic Four crossover. The two teams were shown butting heads in the recent House of X #1. With Charles Xavier’s recent power grab reverberating across the Marvel Universe, these former allies may find themselves becoming bitter enemies, with powerful mutant Franklin Richards caught in the middle.Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Source : IGN

[kingdomofthelogos]

God Cares “Why”

Read Nehemiah 12

There is a great distinction to be made between motivations and intentions. Intentions are what we plan on doing and would like to do, but motivations are why we do them. Therefore, motivations are much deeper than our intentions, for they guide us by a more rigid principle than do our daily intentions. Intentions are what we would like to do, but motivations are why we do the things we do. As we consider Nehemiah 12, I want us to consider the importance of our motivations and how they shape our service to God.

It is quite common for people to be good at starting projects but bad at finishing them. The reason for this is quite simple. It is much easier to intend on finishing a project than it is to be motivated to do so. Real motivation will push us to learn new skills, to persevere, and to invest in our work far more than will mere intentions.

Jules Verne is one of my favorite authors, and his novel Michael Strogoff: The Courier of the Czar exemplifies the importance of motivations over mere intentions. Michael Strogoff had been charged by the Emperor of Russia to smuggle a sealed letter from one side of Russia to the other, including across the challenging geographies of Siberia. His mission was to deliver information necessary to stop a revolution and save Russia. He was a stout and rugged man, one of the most capable in the Czar’s service. His journey would take about 3,200 miles, which is wider than across the entire continental United States. He had every skill needed, being a native of Siberia, but a terrible insurrection had broken out threatening to split Russia in half. At the height of his journey, and I hate to spoil a novel from 1876, he found that spies and traitors had learned of his mission, and captured his mother with the purpose of torturing her to get him to reveal himself.

Michal Strogoff, being at this point trapped among his enemies, found himself unable to bear the sight of his mother’s torturous execution. Revealing himself to save his mother, the traitors resolved to give him a fate worse than death. Feofar Khan, the villain attempting to destroy Russia, had Michael Strogoff’s eyes put out with a hot sword and his sealed letter taken from him to be handed over to the Russian traitors that would use it further their cause of destruction. Every aspect of Michael Strogoff’s intended plan fell apart; moreover, it would seem impossible, after such a horrifying calamity, for a blind man to achieve his goal as courier now that he was both maimed and separated from his letter, with its secret unknown to him.

Yet, He was not merely intending to serve his emperor, for he was motivated to do so. Therefore, through an act of unwavering courage and allegiance to both God and country, Michael Strogoff continued towards his destination with the help of a young lady. A young lady that he had once helped, would now guide him forwards on a seemingly impossible mission. Jules Verne teaches us in this novel, as with many of his others, the truth that service to God is not something reduced to our thoughts and person, but how we navigate life with honor before God. 

Similar to the story of this novel, St Angela Merici, who in the 15th century was known for her work in building schools and orphanages, once took a journey from where she lived in Italy to see the Holy Land, to see the places where Jesus walked. While still in the early stages of her journey, she found that she had become blind. Many of us would think her journey now pointless, since it would no longer be possible for her to see the places she intended to see. However, she was not simply a woman led by intentions. Her journey was not defined by mere intentions of seeing where Jesus walked; rather, she was led by motivations to come near to God. Thus, she kept on with her journey.

She made it to the Holy Land, and walked where Jesus walked, even though she was unable to see with her eyes. Her pilgrimage was true and her goal realized, even though her eyesight was gone. This is what real motivation looks like, it is the drive to continue in service to God despite the shortcomings of our intentions.

If we are simply relying on intentions and intentionality, we will often find ourselves losing energy when our plans fall apart. However, if we are motivated to the higher matters of God, we will find ourselves doing things we might never expect. Motivations will take us much further than will intentions, and motivations are much better predictors of our actions than are our intentions.

This is one of the reasons why motivations are much more important than intentions. The reason why we do things will have a larger impact on what we ultimately do than will our thoughts on what we would like to happen. In government, we regularly find people pushing for policies to solve a problem that actually make the problem worse. When this happens, people will often refer to their good intentions, and will then continue down a destructive pathway by shifting focus to the “good intentions” rather than changing course. This is why God commands us to have no other gods before Him, meaning we have no other moral authorities, motivations, or obligations that exceed our service to Him. God Himself is truth, and just as His laws of physics and mathematics bind together creation, so will His wisdom keep us on the straight and narrow; even, and especially, when His wisdom is in conflict with our desires of what we would like to happen. 

Motivations will have us correct our course if things go awry, whereas, intentions do not. If people fail to satisfy the goal of their motivations by means of a certain route, they will modify their actions accordingly. However, intentions do not require this. Even in the face of failure, if people are only serving intentions, they will feel no need to change course because they consider that they have already been sufficiently good. Since they consider their intentions good, they feel as if they have satisfied the virtue of good, and therefore have absolutely no need to modify their behavior. 

Nehemiah is motivated to serve God; moreover, just as God is holy and excellent Nehemiah must be holy and excellent. Just as God put in the work to speak creation into existence, Nehemiah is reflecting his creator by restoring the symbols of God’s covenant.  As a result, God’s people find themselves in joyous celebration as they hold a ceremony dedicating the city wall. This is not one of the routine holidays that one might observe annually and without the once-in-a-lifetime expressions found in a moment of unique achievement. This is a pinnacle moment of recognizing the truth, goodness, and beauty of living in God’s Kingdom. It requires endurance and willingness to overcome. It requires fear of God and God alone, recognizing that there is more to the world than what is immediately before our eyes. 

This chapter reminds us that it is good to achieve. Moreover, it is good to celebrate achievements and recognize that as creatures made in the Image of God we were designed to realize great and noble achievements. It is a work of the darkness to fool us into a false humility where we degrade ourselves for the purpose of degradation and do nothing but ebb away in pits of despair. 

Throughout the course of Scripture we find that our God is motivated towards achievement. Christ did not submit Himself to human existence for any small motivation; no, He died in order that He would conqueror death in an eternal victory for life. Jesus does not approach the woman at the well so that He may meet her in her sin and they remain there together, but that she might rise with Him above her own faults. Jesus did not eat with sinners and tax collectors that they might go on sinning and tax collecting, but that they might rise up from the pits of society to be righteous role models who heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out the demons and proclaim the Good News that can liberate all. God is a God of excellence, and we must never forget it. 

Our nation is possessed by a spirit with which people are motivated to tear everything down and refashion society according to their designs. This is basic idolatry; meaning, it is the simple exercise of exerting one’s person as the ultimate moral authority. This is not even a complex idolatry, if such a thing could exist, but the same self indulgent processes simply recurring in our modern time.

Paul states his motivations in Philippians 3:10-12, saying 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, 11 if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.  Paul’s motivation is true service to Christ Jesus, who is, quite literally and mysteriously, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Paul’s motivations are neither secret nor to remain his own, for he desires that all might walk with him on the Way of Life. 

If we go to Philippians 4:4-8, Paul then elaborates on what this motivation looks like in real life by saying, 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Paul is not giving them details on how they might organize a church service, but how they should structure their entire lives. When you are making dye, doing carpentry work, laboring in a field, or whatever it may be, you must excel with noble conduct, for your God is one of noble conduct.

In Nehemiah 12 we see a pinnacle moment of dedication along with the fruits of long labor. This moment was not achieved by mere intentions or intentionality, but by motivation towards what is true and noble. It required ingenuity and a willingness to rise to the occasion of doing things one had never before done. It required creativity and a willingness to get dirty in both battle and labor, while firmly saying “no” to those that are motivated by destruction. Let us consider our motivations, and how we might better serve God by focusing on why we do things and not merely what we would like to do. 

[godssea7-blog]

Here is what I believe to be the single most revealing verse in the book of Daniel: “I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things” (Daniel 7:8).

God reveals so much in this one scripture. This verse depicts the 10 horns that grow out of the fourth beast—the Roman Empire. It depicts a “little horn”—a great false church—coming on the scene after three horns are plucked up. The church directed the violent uprooting of the barbarians. The three horns picture three governments (the Heruli, the Vandals and the Ostrogoths) that came and went, and then suddenly the whole configuration changed from that point forward: The great church guided every succeeding resurrection of this Roman Empire, in an unprecedented church-state relationship.

God revealed to Herbert W. Armstrong that this verse was the key to European history. So European history is tied to Daniel’s image. The last seven horns comprise a church-state relationship, which began in a.d. 554—led by Justinian. Once you understand that, it is much easier to see where it is. Europe was ruled by a church-state relationship and is unique in this way. That is a super-critical key to understanding its past. This combine is called the Holy Roman Empire. It has produced the most destructive church-state relationship in human history!

This verse gives another picture to help us understand this last seven-horned system. It is unlike all the other beasts because it is ridden by a woman (Revelation 17:7). The Bible shows that a woman is the symbol of a church.

This is foundational understanding of the prophecies of Daniel 2 and 7 and Revelation 13 and 17.

But there is an even more dramatic truth contained in this verse—one that those wcgministers failed to see.

���Uncovering’ Prophecy?

In their 1984 sermon notes, the wcg ministers routinely used the phrase, “Mr. Armstrong saw” or “Mr. Armstrong uncovered”—as if he uncovered the prophecies he preached. That approach is dangerously shallow if God is not brought into the picture.

No man can see and understand such an all-encompassing prophecy! It unlocks over 2,000 years of European history. God had to work a spectacular miracle in Mr. Armstrong’s mind so he could understand it!

Don’t take that miracle for granted. God’s Church possesses astounding revelation—and the only reason is that God miraculously gave it!

Mr. Armstrong didn’t see these prophecies because of his advertising brilliance. Even he made that clear. He didn’t even take credit for being the author of Mystery of the Ages, for example. Mr. Armstrong said he was like a scribe, having that knowledge poured into his mind. When those wcg ministers proclaimed what Mr. Armstrong taught them, they would give God little or no credit.

The reason it is so dangerous to view this as something “Mr. Armstrong uncovered” is that it puts this understanding on a human level. Those men ended up following a human. That is the inevitable result of thinking on a human level: You will always end up following a human being, whether it’s yourself or another person.

There is nothing wrong with saying “Mr. Armstrong saw” something, if it is put in a clear context, where the emphasis is on God. But those ministers didn’t express it that way at all.

God’s ministers must remember to always bring God into the picture and to keep Him center stage! That is not easy to do. It’s very easy to be Laodicean and to drift into sloppy understanding. It’s easy to get excited about a little prophecy—but to not be nearly excited enough about what God is doing and about the Family He is creating!

God’s ministers must teach that everything works in accordance with God’s master plan, including every detail in our lives. God’s people will face some fiery trials, and they won’t succeed in them if they don’t see God in the picture. To endure trials, you must see God behind them. You won’t get through a fiery-furnace trial without this understanding.

Daniel and his friends flourished in their trials. Those Laodicean ministers have not. What’s the difference? Just compare what the Laodicean ministers were saying shortly before and after Mr. Armstrong died with the way Daniel wrote! Unlike the Laodiceans, Daniel was masterful at always keeping God in the picture.

The Laodiceans began to take the spectacular miracle of revelation lightly. They often left God out of His own revelation! Even though every iota of prophecy or truth is revealed by God!

The ministers’ job is to fill the prophetic panorama with God. Then God’s people get to know God. That is not an easy process.

The Laodicean ministers were looking to a man. When Mr. Armstrong told them to prophesy, that’s what they did. When his successor told them to “prophesy not,” that’s what they did! They obeyed both men!

If we are going to make it into God’s Kingdom, we have to get much deeper than that!

In our age, 95 percent of God’s people—and, shamefully, over 99 percent of His ministers—turned against God when a rebellious leader took over God’s Church. God’s government is a vital tool and a wonderful blessing, but human leaders can go astray. This puts a serious responsibility on each one of us to know where our Head—Jesus Christ—is.

Honor the Father

God is blunt with the Laodiceans. He tells them that the heart of their problem is that they did not honor their Father (Malachi 1:6). They lost the God Family gospel.

It is critical that we always declare the Father and bring the Father into the picture, as Christ did. A human leader in God’s office is important only to the degree that he follows Christ. The man can do nothing, apart from God. We must be able to see the Father and Christ in order to understand the family office they’ve established. If we remain focused on that, nothing will ever shake us! We cannot be deceived!

The wcg ministers saw and understood God’s prophecy in intricate detail—but they didn’t understand the great God who reveals prophecy!

If we don’t see God in His prophecies—including the new revelation He gives to His Church today—then we are wasting our time! We must recognize God in this education, and realize how truly spectacular it is!

False History of the False Church

The little horn has a history of being extraordinarily violent. The Laodiceans don’t see it that way today, but they will before long—they’re going to be victims of it!

Look again at Daniel 7:8. This great false church came up and helped behind the scenes in many ways to ensure those first three horns were plucked up and exterminated! It didn’t have any more problems with them after that. It was all done by what came to be called the Holy Roman Empire.

Prophecy tells us that this is a dreadful and terrible beast! The world is almost totally blind to European history. That ignorance is going to be costly.

We talk about Europe and the church; God doesn’t describe it that way—He calls it a politicalbeast and a religious beast! That’s not politically correct, but that is the truth of God.

So the crucial issue is not knowing that truth, but having the courage to proclaim it.

A Worldwide Church of God publication from 1984 by Keith Stump called The History of Europe and the Church is very revealing about how liberal and off track that Church was becoming on this vital prophetic subject. Let me share some excerpts with you.

Mr. Stump wrote, “As a corporal, Hitler was awarded the coveted Iron Cross [this came right out of the old Roman system] for personal bravery in World War i. Now he gathers a small following of fellow veterans bent on overturning the humiliating Treaty of Versailles and restoring Germany’s honor.”

Wait a minute. Was the Treaty of Versailles really “humiliating”? Perhaps some of the stipulations were too strong, but, after all, the world had just witnessed the death of 10 million people! And Germany started that war. For the most part, the Treaty of Versailles was right. Pushing it aside did not restore Germany’s honor! World War ii wasn’t about righting the wrongs of the Versailles Treaty. That war was motivated by the Holy Roman Empire’s desire to rule the world! Politically correct language like Mr. Stump’s only perpetuates the problem.

“For its part,” Mr. Stump wrote, “the Vatican is at first sympathetic toward fascism, though Pope Pius xi is critical of fascism’s use of violence.��� Pius xi reigned from 1922 to 1939; he died at the beginning of World War ii. He was replaced by Pius xii, about whom Mr. Stump says basically the same thing.

Is that true—that these popes were against violence? No, not when it was inflicted on their enemies!

“Like Mussolini, Hitler—a Catholic by birth—sees a need to come to terms with the Vatican. On July 20, 1933, the Vatican signs a concordat with the Nazi regime. … But relations between Berlin and the Vatican are strained. Pope Pius [xii] has no illusions about Nazism” (ibid). Oh really? Then why didn’t he ever speak out against Nazism? Why didn’t he strongly condemn the extermination of Jews? Why, after the war, did his church actually help most of the Nazi leaders escape?

These are provable, documented facts of history! Many historians know it. Yet God’s own people, from headquarters, wrote these lies!

“He authors several protests against Nazi practices. On March 14, 1937, Pius issues his encyclical ‘With Burning Anxiety’ against Nazism. It charges that the German state has violated the 1933 concordat, and vigorously denounces the Nazi conception of life as utterly anti-Christian” (ibid).

Did the church really believe Nazism was anti-Christian? Then why was it allied with the Nazis throughout the war? And why did it help most of the Nazi leaders escape at the end of the war? No other organization was even close! His statement is just blatantly false.

In Revelation 13 and 17 it states that this religious beast looks like a lamb and speaks like the devil! Remember, Mr. Stump is discussing the sixth head of this political and religious beast, the Holy Roman Empire.

Keith Stump and many deceived people see that the church looks like a lamb, but refuse to see that she speaks like the devil.

We must look at this history God’s way! It doesn’t matter what men say—what does Godsay?

You can envision that down the road we will become unpopular, because we are going to tell the truth about that history and end-time prophecy.

“In August 1939, Germany and Soviet Russia sign a non-aggression pact, guaranteeing Soviet nonintervention in Hitler’s ventures in the West. Hitler’s eastern flank is now secure. The stage is set. A catastrophe is about to engulf the world! In a final last-minute appeal to head off the outbreak of world conflict, the new pope, Pope Pius xii, declares on August 24, ‘Everything can be lost by war; nothing is lost by peace’” (ibid).

Keith Stump wrote as though the church was trying to head off World War ii. God’s version of these events is very different: He says the church was riding and guiding the beast!

The religious leaders weren’t guiding the politicians as much as they would have liked, but there has always been a conflict between the church and the state over ultimate control of that empire. The church wants to run the show, and so does the political head.

Mr. Stump tells us that the church was trying to remain neutral to help more of its members around the world. At the same time, the church was allied with a political beast that was trying to enslave the world! That is shallow and politically correct thinking, not to mention unbiblical and untrue.

Notice these shameful, disgraceful words from that publication: “Pledged to neutrality, Pius believes the Holy See can play a peacemaking role if it maintains formal relations with all the belligerents.”

Pledged to neutrality. First of all, that is a lie—the church was far from neutral. Sometimes neutrality can be just as evil as joining the wrong side! You can allow a lot of evil to develop if you’re neutral. God’s people must not be neutral! Neutral people do not last in the true Church! A person cannot be neutral between God and the devil!

Mr. Stump called it “the Holy See.” God calls it “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth. … [T]he woman drunken with the blood of the saints”! (Revelation 17:5-6).

We must be careful of saying the word “holy” referring to this beast. I sometimes use the term Holy Roman Empire so people know what I’m talking about historically—but it is anything but holy! Our writings make that crystal clear.

If that church played a “peacemaking role,” as Mr. Stump suggested, then I don’t know anything about history and prophecy!

Keith Stump described the pope as being “keenly concerned about the Jews.” Hitler’s Popewas written by John Cornwell, a Catholic. It is unusually authoritative because he had access to the Vatican’s own archives. That is an extremely rare privilege, given only to a tiny few people whom it trusts. He wrote that Pius xii had a history of being anti-Semitic, and I believe this is accurate. Why?

“In September 1943, Germans occupy Rome. The dilemma of Pius xii becomes even more acute. Nazi troops are now camped on his very doorstep. Public condemnation of Hitler could lead to reprisals—even invite a Nazi invasion of the Vatican. That could jeopardize the Holy See’s diplomatic efforts on behalf of the Jews and end any influence the papacy might have in favor of peace” (ibid, emphasis mine).

This booklet made the World War ii church appear to be a real peacemaking organization that loved the Jews. But look at the history of the Holy Roman Empire! It has been said that Charlemagne, the most-honored ruler of all, waded through a sea of blood to bring “peace” to Europe! He converted many people to Catholicism with the sword. Prophecy shows that this empire has a history not of peacemaking, but of making war—breaking things to pieces!

Jesus Christ is going to return and break it to pieces! That is exactly what the beast power deserves!

How could Keith Stump write about this history in such a way while also writing about Revelation 13 and 17?

These statements should never have been printed in one of our publications. It is shameful that anyone who once knew God would so treacherously misrepresent Him!

I was a minister in the wcg when this was printed, and if I read the booklet it must have been superficially. I simply don’t remember it. But I too should have been more aware of what was unfolding.

These Laodicean leaders knew that Mr. Armstrong would not agree with that booklet. So why did they write it? They were aware that Mr. Armstrong was nearly blind and would not read this booklet. That means they also had enough control over headquarters and this 91-year-old man to keep anybody from getting to him and exposing their satanic plot!

This is a black, black scenario of how Satan used these flagrant rebels. This was “the synagogue of Satan” about to become the Laodicean era in roughly two years. Revelation 3:9 also tells us that they “lie.” They told many lies to cover their rank heresy.

Anybody who truly knows this Church history knows that the father of liars—Satan—used these men to turn the Church away from God—it was a massive rebellion.

The Synagogue of Satan

“Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee” (Revelation 3:9).

If we do our job, the Laodiceans will humble themselves before our feet—return to what God revealed. God is going to make them know that He loved us.

What is it worth, as a human being, to have God say, I’m going to make them come back to what you believe, and make them know that I loved you! Isn’t that worth dying for?

Let’s get some background on this synagogue of Satan. “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars” (Revelation 12:1). This lady is really clothed majestically—clothed with the sun! The moon is her footstool. She has a crown of 12 stars (symbols of the 12 tribes of Israel). No man can adorn somebody that way—only God can!

The beasts are of the Earth. The great whore is adorned with worldly goods. But God’s Church is “a great wonder in heaven.” It is not of the Earth—it is of God!

This is the Church of God! The sun is a symbol of God’s spiritual light. We are about to change the world through that sun, and the power of God!

People had better be careful when they fight against us. Of course people will cause us problems—but the God we serve will have His vengeance! You don’t go up against the people God clothed with the sun without incurring repercussions from God!

Yet these men from God’s own Church would dare write and speak as they did, sounding so unlike their Father and their Husband!

Do we realize who we are? Who clothes us? Who builds our work facilities? How we answer those questions separates us from the Laodiceans.

“And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. … And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days” (verses 3, 6).

God’s Church endured 1,260 years of hiding out in order to survive the wrath of this great false church! That is the church Mr. Stump thinks is so “peace-loving.” Its leaders tried to bring peace to the world by killing God’s saints and spilling the saints’ blood all over their robes!

Historians call that period the Middle Ages. Many Protestants call it the Dark Ages. Quite a lot of them were killed along with God’s true saints. In many places in Europe, especially Spain, there are hardly any Protestants because most all of them were killed! Killed by this “peace-loving” church, guiding a political beast.

Let’s assess the blame as God does.

That is not just history. Ninety percent of God’s prophecy is being fulfilled in this end time. The darkest part of the Dark Ages is just now beginning to develop!

There is a perpetual battle between God’s Church and Satan’s primary church—his number one religious tool. That is why they are placed together in the 12th chapter of Revelation.

“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (verse 9). All those angels have become demons, and they’re on Earth, causing us trouble today.

“Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time” (verse 12). Satan was grievously troubled and full of wrath when he was cast down about the time of Mr. Armstrong’s death—so what did he do?

“And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child” (verse 13). He attacked God’s Laodicean Church with frightening success! He continues to ferociously attack God’s very elect, but can’t conquer them.

At this point in the prophetic timeline, the Prophet Daniel fills in a tremendous amount of detail! Daniel really unlocks this passage in Revelation.

When you put all the revelation together, it’s amazing how much God has educated us.

Antiochus

“For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant” (Daniel 11:30).

When Daniel wrote about “them that forsake the holy covenant,” he was prophesying about rebellious Laodiceans. Let’s not forget, Daniel’s prophecy is for the end time.

Anciently there was a physical Antiochus—but remember, there is also a spiritual Antiochus in Daniel’s end-time prophecy. “So shall he do” means that he too will “have indignation against the holy covenant.”

Anciently, Antiochus had just gotten defeated in a military battle in Egypt. He was in a rage. He desperately wanted to defeat Jerusalem! Likewise, when Satan was cast down in this end time, he came in a rage after God’s Church. He began by working with those who had “intelligence”—the scholars. They were transgressing, and Satan quickly got them to cast the truth to the ground (Daniel 8:11-12). He reduced them to probably the most pathetic Church of God ever!

As ministers, we have an awesome responsibility. There is no way we can fight this war without the power of God!

These intelligent people knew a lot—they were scholars! They wrote magazine articles and booklets, but they were teaching lies, within God’s sanctuary! Satan had conquered them.

“And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate” (Daniel 11:31). After polluting the sanctuary, the first thing Satan did was to “take away the daily”—he stopped God’s Work! The sanctuary must be polluted before Satan can ever destroy God’s Work.

If Satan can pollute one saint, he hurts God’s Work. We must always remember, his greatest passion is to destroy God’s Work—and to do that he must spiritually destroy God’s people.

That abomination was an army of rebels and demons within God’s Church, led by the “man of sin, the son of perdition” (or destruction), who had one purpose: to destroy God’s Work.

It’s not going to be easy to proclaim this message. But we must do it, and the more we do it, the more we’ll prosper; the more God will promote us. That is how God works. Daniel 11:31 calls God’s Church a “sanctuary of strength.” That is what we are. We are clothed with the sun! We have all the power of the Creator of the universe if we will just use it. There is a small remnant that uses that power; the physical and spiritual evidence is all around us in this great Work of God! The only way we can do this Work is if we tap in to that power.

You were called to be a part of that sanctuary of strength. God expects you to be strong.

Satan Preys on Transgressors

Daniel 8:23 refers to “the transgressors” in God’s Church. The word transgressor means they know about God’s law and willingly transgress. Those are the people Satan preys on most. He targets the weak, those who compromise, those who do things they know they should not do. He is right there to pounce on them.

Why was the Work destroyed? “[B]y reason of transgression” (verse 12). The Work failed because of sin!

As Mr Armstrong said, “sin is the absence of righteousness.” Nobody will destroy this Work if we are righteous!

However, if we have transgressors in the Church, you can be sure Satan will exploit that.

“And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries …” (Daniel 11:32). These people were corrupted by flatteries and vanities. They were saying nice things to each other: You’re doing such a good job—you’re such a wonderful minister—you have such a powerful vocabulary. Just remember to continue to prophesy not! They were led to destroy prophetic teaching so as not to be labeled a cult.

What kind of future awaits people who do that? It’s so painful, you cry thinking about it!

We all battle the problem of vanity. Someone can say something just to flatter us, and if we are not careful we can say, Yes, that’s right—I guess I am kind of a great guy.

If you are susceptible to flatteries, you will do wickedly against God’s covenant. That is human nature, and it is rampant in God’s Laodicean Church.

Laodiceans look to each other for praise—not God!

Of all people, God’s ministers must get rid of vanity. That is right at the core of what we are apart from God. We must be able to discern that.

The Anchor Bible translates “corrupt by flatteries” as apostatize—a great falling away. That is a better translation: God’s people simply fell away from God—to the tune of thousands. The flatteries had one, and only one, purpose: to turn people away from God and destroy the Work! At this point, they were not smashed, they were seduced.

Verse 32 concludes, “but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” They know the God of Genesis 1:26—Elohim. These people know the Hebrew word Elohim is a plural word like family. They know all about the God Family! They were taught that by the one who established the sanctuary in purity! They know their history and they are strong! Because they are strong, they do a work—they do exploits, which means heroic acts for God’s Work. Do you do heroic acts for God’s Work?

Look at how specific God is getting in this prophecy. The Revised Standard Version says that these people “stand firm and take action”!

You can either judge by fruits as God does, or you can listen to Satan’s flattering words. Jesus Christ’s Bride will not be led away by flatteries. She stays faithful to her Husband and does heroic deeds! She uses the power of God—Creator of everything!

If you look at what God has done through His people year by year in this small Work, you would have to say these are some pretty impressive exploits. But we will do many more heroic acts if we use God’s universe-size strength! The greatest work is still ahead.

“And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days” (Daniel 11:33). Even though “many” Laodiceans were thoroughly instructed, multiple thousands will still fall.

“Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries” (verse 34). In the midst of crisis, people will continue flattering and trying to work things out humanly—seeking to impress human beings rather than our Father—our Creator! That is disgusting to God!

God not only tells us that the Laodiceans fall, but how they fall!

When the Laodiceans fall, they will receive a little help from God’s very elect. God gives a tremendous amount of detail about exactly how this occurs. Many of us have lived through it (Revelation 11:1-2; 3:9, 14-20).

Now notice: “And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed” (Daniel 11:35). Now God directs His warning specifically to us—those doing the daily. Verse 33 says “many” will fall. That refers to the Laodiceans. Here it says “some.” The translators used the word some because they could see that it was a smaller number.

God is talking to the end-time Philadelphians directly! Daniel said this was for a “time appointed.” It’s for a specific time period—the Laodicean era. Right up to the very end, some of us will fall. Haven’t we all seen that happen? The word try in verse 35 means to smelt, like smelting metal—in a fiery furnace! It means a fiery trial. Even when people come into this remnant and understand, they can still fall.

Should we be shocked if some leave? God says it will happen right up to the end. We are in a war. And in a war, there are casualties. Will you be a casualty? It will happen “even to the time of the end.”

We can avoid failure if we follow the example of Daniel and his three friends.

“But in his estate shall he honour the [g]od of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things” (verse 38). We must look at these verses spiritually. This is still talking about the spiritual Antiochus. This individual who honors the “god of forces” is very human. He worships a different god than Mr. Armstrong did.

“In his estate” means he’s sitting in the seat of the God of gods. This is happening in God’s sanctuary. This sounds a lot like 2 Thessalonians 2:4. He’s in God’s seat saying by his deeds that he is God! Estate in the margin says “stead”; Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon says “in his place.” He is in the place of Christ. This man betrayed God. The first part of this verse should read, “But, as for the Almighty God, in his seat [the seat of the true God] he shall honor a god” of forces—the devil! He honors the people of gold, silver and precious stones; in others words, those who are “rich, and increased with goods” (see Revelation 3:17).

This spiritual rebel acts like the vicar of Christ—not representing Christ, but in the place of Christ! (The pope is also called the vicar of Christ.) What sin could be more grotesque and despicable? Blind Laodiceans don’t see this man for what he is. Where is such a horrifying deception going to lead?

Emergencies

Daniel 7:8 says the little horn will be a mouth “speaking great things.” This religious leader will talk about how he’s going to bring world peace. People by the hundreds of millions will believe him.

Because of that deception, people won’t listen to God’s real message of peace! Instead they will try to have peace by waging war.

As it says in Revelation, this beast looks like a lamb, but speaks like a dragon. Think about that. This is the worst kind of deception ever—looks like God, speaks like the devil!

The political beast also has a mouth speaking great things. Both will have super-huge mouths on the world scene.

Mr. Armstrong always believed the Holy Roman Empire would develop because of a crisis—mainly the failure of the dollar. Today the dollar is in real trouble. The chief economist at Morgan Stanley, Stephen Roach, was reported in the Boston Herald to have predicted at a meeting with select investors that “America has no better than a 10 percent chance of avoiding economic ‘Armageddon’” (Nov. 23, 2004; emphasis mine). Roach predicted a 30 percent chance of a slump soon and a 60 percent chance that “we’ll muddle through for a while, and delay the eventual Armageddon.” That is a terrifying economic prophecy!

We can be sure it is going to happen. The massively debt-burdened American economy simply can’t continue very much longer.

How long will the Armageddon be delayed? Until God’s Work is finished. Then God will protect His people who did that Work.

The European Union has 28 members and wants to add more. Prophecy says it will end up with just 10 kings, or national entities. For years we have anticipated some kind of jolt, some catastrophic emergency, that would radically reduce it from its inflated size. We have even suggested, as Mr. Armstrong did before us, that the emergency could be sparked by economic collapse in the United States. This prophecy makes today’s electrifying events extremely important to watch. The global economic catastrophe that began to unfold in September of 2008 is hitting Europe in waves, creating massive social unrest and political disruption. Such unstable conditions set the stage perfectly for strong leadership to rise up and make radical changes.

Historically, an emergency is what has always bound church and state together in Europe! Then they have to depend on each other to be unified and strong. It is not at all difficult to see how present conditions could empower a strong religious leader and a German political head (or head of the EU) to pare down the EU from 28 to 10 kings!

Throughout the history of this church-state union, there has been tension and division. Even the fact that it is represented by two legs in the Daniel 2 image demonstrates that fact. That is why the church has been so instrumental: Religion has a way of pulling people together in an emergency.

The German empire collapsed in 1254. It was having all kinds of crusades down into the Middle East, and it just fell apart! That was a real emergency. What was the church going to do?

Then the church moved to the Habsburgs of Austria, and directed that empire.

Mr. Armstrong had a relationship with Otto von Habsburg, who was a descendant of Charles v, one of the rulers of that empire.

In 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses on a church building in Wittenberg, Germany, and called the Catholic Church heretical. That caused all kinds of division and a crisis. Something had to be done again. There was another emergency.

Germany was having a lot of problems in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. In 1789, one person in France said somewhat facetiously that there were 1,789 countries in Germany in 1789. That illustrates how divided it was.

What could it do? What could the church do? This was a real emergency. Well, it wasn’t too long before Napoleon came on the scene. The church got together with Napoleon, who led the fifth head of the beast. Napoleon went over to the Vatican and crowned himself. You could tell there was tension between him and the church.

Throughout history, emergencies have always brought the church and state together.

What emergency will bring them together this time?

The Beasts of Daniel 7

“In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another” (Daniel 7:1-3).

These four beasts are the same four successive, world-ruling Gentile empires that are revealed in Daniel 2. This chapter is simply giving more detail about the Daniel 2 image. Daniel is telling us who these world-ruling kingdoms are—and we can read our history books and verify it!

Isaiah 57:20 says that the wicked are like the troubled sea, which is exactly what these four beasts emerged from. This world is full of troubles and problems. When Adam ate from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden, he led mankind into a life of troubles. God never intended the world to be this way! It’s no world for families to rear children in! It must be changed!

The sea is of this Earth—these beasts are of the Earth, man-made. They are not of God. This is an intensely troubled world. Man must eat from the tree of life to even survive!

If Christ didn’t return at just the right moment, no flesh would be saved alive. Man will finally have to see that his sinning ways led him to this horrifying point—self-annihilation.

“The first was like a lion [not a rabbit], and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it” (Daniel 7:4). This lion-like beast is Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldean Empire. These beasts always come from the Earth and have a man’s heart. They reject God’s way.

“And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear [not an antelope], and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh” (verse 5). This is the Medo-Persian Empire, which took over from Babylon and also conquered Libya and Egypt. These really are dangerous beasts: They devour nations!

“After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard [not a deer], which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it” (verse 6). This deadly leopard is Alexander the Great, who took 30,000 men and crushed the Persian Empire, which had a 350,000-men army! What cunning cruelty! Alexander was Napoleon’s hero. He studied Alexander’s blitzkrieg warfare; generals to this day study it.

After Alexander died, four of his generals split the empire into four parts—a total of “four heads.”

That is how ferocious these beasts are! Keith Stump says they’re like “wild animals,” but even a deer or antelope is a wild animal. God calls them beasts—with the jaws and teeth of a lion, and the fierce claws of a bear, and the lightning-strike swiftness of the leopard!

These are dreadful beasts that conquer and enslave entire nations. It’s what these beasts do. But biblical Israel likes to think of them as harmless wild animals. Our nations do that because of their broken wills. They fear to face the extremely unpleasant truth. However, it’s only a matter of time until they must do just that. The only way these beasts go away is when they themselves are conquered.

The last of these four beasts is going to have all the deadly strengths of the first three!

The Laodiceans don’t want to believe that. They want to think the Holy Roman Empire is like a harmless “wild animal.” They will keep saying “They’re peace-loving people” until they are devoured! That’s what these beasts do. It’s their nature. The Laodiceans will learn their lesson by suffering the bloody gnashing and crashing of jaws against flesh of the last beast!

With the key of Daniel 2, we can understand Daniel 7 quite easily. We always need to keep that Daniel 2 image etched in our minds; that way we can understand prophecy much better.

The notes I received on these wcg sermons came from 1984, just when Mr. Stump had finished his booklet. The wcg ministers promoted the booklet heavily. They said, Make sure you read it, along with our teaching. Then you will really understand prophecy, and no one will deceive you.

A short while later, they themselves were profoundly deceived. What happened?

Cause and Effect

Mr. Stump wrote this: “On June 28, 1914, Archduke Francis Ferdinand—heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary—is assassinated by a Serbian in the Balkan town of Sarajevo. The great powers are caught in the webs of their alliances. The bloody event triggers World War i.”

Is that true? Do bloody events trigger wars?

What actually happened was, Germany goaded Austria and Hungary into increasing their demands on Serbia to the point where the Serbs couldn’t possibly meet them! And that led to war. This was another attempt by Germany to resurrect the Holy Roman Empire. That thinking has been there since the time of Justinian! Many historians recognize this. Winston Churchill, who knew war and was powerfully used by God to save Western civilization, is surely more reliable than most sources—and he knew it was Germany that started World War i! That’s why he was so alarmed before World War ii. It isn’t bloody eventsthat start wars, it is men—often evil men.

I’m not so naive that I don’t know who caused the First World War. I know enough about history to know that what Mr. Stump said is a deadly lie! People who listen to that are going to learn the hard way! Israel is going to die because of such reasoning.

That is the reasoning of Satan, protecting his number one tool, the Holy Roman Empire. The Laodiceans were commanded to conquer the devil, as Christ did (Revelation 3:21). Instead, Satan conquered them.

When America works with Europe today, its leaders act in total ignorance of history. Germany has a history of being dangerous when you least expect it.

To say that the war started because the powers were “caught in the webs of their alliances” is to say that nobody was at fault! It just happened—nobody could help it; nobody could stop it—you can’t blame Germany, or Austria, or Britain, or France, or Russia.

That is just how a Laodicean reasons!

The wcg fell apart, and few are willing to assign blame as God does. Mr. Armstrong died, and everything just fell apart, they say. You know how those things go—not much you can do.

God will never accept such rebellious and shallow reasoning. That kind of reasoning is why we keep having wars. There is a cause for wars. There is a cause for churches falling apart. There is a cause for a congregation prospering and being filled with joy, or becoming discouraged and unloving. There is cause and effect!

Remember though: God is putting these thoughts into the minds of the leaders of that Holy Roman Empire in order to correct biblical Israel for its evil. This whole world is terribly evil, and God is about to replace every human government. We all have evil human nature, but God commands us to overcome it. There are Germans who know the Holy Roman Empire is very evil, but are powerless to stop it.

God is no respecter of persons, or of nations. He loves the Germans, and will use them in a powerful way in the Kingdom of God. He loves all races equally. It would be almost blasphemous to say anything different of God! That’s His creation—those are His future Family members. But they are a tool Satan has used in this world.

“Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few” (Isaiah 10:7). Different nations have different temperaments. This is the way Germany’s history has been.

Germany also started a war with France in 1870 and conquered it. Many nations have been conquered by Germany. It often happened because the victims refused to face reality—like today!

Germany used the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand to go to war. You never know what it’s plotting. It’s prone to get into wars!

Foolish, sheep-like biblical Israel does not understand the beast!

In Isaiah 56, God describes the Laodicean watchmen: Beasts are all around the house of Israel, and these dogs won’t even bark! These Laodicean watchmen won’t tell people what’s really happening; they just want to smooth everything over and “prophesy not.”

The Treaty of Versailles did not sow the seeds of World War ii. Germany totally violated that treaty by marching into the Rhineland, which the Allies had made a non-military zone to protect France and the rest of Europe. Hitler decided to march right in. France and Britain were paralyzed, unsure of whether to stop him. They were overcome by dangerous pacifism.

Churchill said, If you don’t stop them there, soon you won’t be able to! They didn’t listen to Churchill, but who was right? Weakness sowed the seeds of World War ii. Hitler could have been stopped easily when he marched into the Rhineland.

You can’t negotiate evil away. We must challenge evil! When we see Laodicean attitudes, we have to speak out—as lovingly and discreetly as possible, of course. We must tell the truth and proclaim God’s prophecies!

If you think I’m being too alarmist, you need to study the history of the Holy Roman Empire and see what Satan is prophesied to do to physical Israel. Very soon, people who say what I’m saying now will be killed for doing so!

Mr. Stump’s reasoning leads to the destruction of nations and of churches! Look what happened in God’s Church because of the synagogue of Satan! Spiritually, that church has been totally destroyed. Mr. Armstrong warned us in the 1970s that history would repeat itself if we didn’t learn from that debacle. How right he was.

Ancient of Days

“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns” (Daniel 7:7). The last of these 10 horns is here. It’s also making a lot of noise.

Xinhua News Agency wrote this on Dec. 19, 2004: “The EU’s decade-long drive to develop its military muscle to back up its diplomatic weight took visible form as 7,000 peacekeepers in Bosnia and Herzegovina replaced their nato shoulder tags with the EU’s blue and gold colors.

“The mission, which started on December 2, marks the 25-nation bloc’s largest and most complex operation to date. Now, the EU’s military aspirations stretch much further as it seeks to erase its enduring image as an economic giant and a military midget.

“The military operation is seen as a crucial test of the military capabilities of EU nations, as well as their ability to act in unison, as the EU seeks to develop its own coherent military force independent of nato. …

“Although the EU has done a lot in enhancing its independent military role and capabilities, EU leaders have come to realize that Europe has lagged far behind the United States in armaments, intervention capabilities and abilities to cope with crisis. …

“Though the EU has a force of over 2 million troops, merely 2 to 3 percent of them can be employed to undertake a peacekeeping task as in Kosovo.

“Observers say that as things now stand in the EU countries, there is still a long way to go for the bloc to build an efficient independent defense and military intervention system to make the EU a ‘genuine tiger.’”

They have the economic power to do this quickly. The “great iron teeth” are beginning to appear. A major world crisis would produce those “great iron teeth” almost immediately. Let’s look at verse 8 again: “I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.”

Right after that verse about the little horn is this verse: “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire” (verse 9).

The wcg ministers didn’t include this scripture in their messages.

Notice how Daniel brings this resplendent Being into the context—describing even His garments and His hair! The Ancient of Days was real to Daniel! Daniel really did know God! This was his hope!

We see Daniel 7:8 being fulfilled with alarming detail today. Then verse 9—the next verse—describes the Ancient of Days: “whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.” This awesome and intricate description follows on the heels of the little horn—the last Holy Roman Empire is on the scene.

This fiery God is about to return and conquer the final Roman beast—which is rising powerfully on the world scene even as I write! It’s dreadful and terrible, and Christ is about to return and destroy it forever! If verse 8 has been fulfilled, then so must verse 9 come to pass—and very quickly!

Get ready now for the return of Jesus Christ. That greatest event ever to occur in the universe is almost here.

It is time for each one of us to wake up! Is this majestic, universe-rattling event a part of your daily thinking and acting?

The last horn is on the scene. And it is directly connected to the exhilarating Second Coming of Christ!

“A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened” (verse 10). It keeps getting more and more inspiring. The new world civilization is ready to burst on the scene. Such verses make the book of Daniel (and Revelation) fill our minds with hope—our hearts beat a little faster!

“I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame” (verse 11). The mouth of the political and religious beast will finally be shut! It is about to go up in flames. The Ancient of Days is going to put an end to it. Man built it—God destroys it.

“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed” (verses 13-14).

This is when Christ is coronated! He is going to rule over all languages and nations—He will have dominion over the whole world! His Kingdom will never pass away—never be destroyed!

Daniel kept bringing this vision into his writings over and over. Yet the wcg ministers barely touched on it! They never really saw beyond the smashed toes of the Daniel 2 image.

We are in the last hour. This new civilization is almost here! Christ is about to have dominion over the whole world. The suffering in this world is about to end forever.

How thrilling and uplifting to be a part of this. But being so human and carnal, we naturally set our hearts on riches and goods here and now. We must overcome that thinking. We have to get beyond men and see things as God sees them.

We should be far more excited about the Kingdom of God forever than we are about fulfilled prophecy today.

It takes a lot of work and praying to get ourselves out of the way. These are some of the most difficult scriptures in the Bible. Fervent prayer and Bible study are needed to plumb the depths.

It is shameful for a minister to preach when he can’t get far beyond the human reasoning. If we can’t get God’s views in our minds and help the people think that way, we have failed.

A minister of God is to be a helper of the members’ joy! He is to help them grow in God’s pure joy.

“These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever” (verses 17-18). These verses too were skipped over by the wcg ministers.

If we are ready to rule God’s way, we will rule forever and ever and ever!

That is far more important than the Daniel 2 image! The Daniel 2 image represents humanity gone wrong. That is where Adam led us by taking of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil! We must get back to the tree of life so we can live and live and live!

The saints of God are mentioned in the context of the four world-ruling empires. The saints will rule forever, and we will see the beasts no more forever! Which is more important?

“And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them” (verses 20-21).

Once again, this old whore is going to get drunk on the blood of the saints. Though Laodiceans are saying nice things about that church today, soon they will become bloody victims of that murdering machine. Then they’ll know that what we are saying is right! They’ll realize that they lacked the will to fight for God and His truth.

“Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom” (verse 22). We live and yearn for this prophecy to be fulfilled. Our passion is not about who will lead the religious or political beast.

Verse 22 speaks about the magnificent news. Soon we will forget all about the Roman system and the Daniel 2 image. This is what we want to get excited about. This is what makes us eager to do battle against those who would try to destroy God’s beautiful, happy, abundant way of life.

God wants to give us eternal life. Anything else is a waste of time!

God is going to use that beast as a great educational tool for the Laodiceans. He loves them and wants them in His Family. What else can He do? He must teach them the difference between false religion and true religion.

What is amazing about these prophecies is that we are living through them now. Ninety percent of Bible prophecy is being fulfilled today. What an age to be alive! Most of us will get to see Christ’s Second Coming.

[delwray-blog]

MEN ARE RADICALLY CORRUPT

A favorite hymn of many Christians is Amazing Grace by John Newton. While this hymn is a favorite of many Christians, there are few Christians in the present evangelical community who know or understand the profound theology set forth in this hymn. The hymn proclaims the tremendous truth of God’s divine initiative in our salvation. John Newton had been a slave trader who had been miraculously saved and became a minister. Because of his past, he understood well what he was writing when he penned the words: “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see. T’was grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.” The words of the hymn emphasize that it is by God’s grace that our hearts have an understanding of God, have a fear of God’s justice and an awareness of our need, and that we are enabled to believe. In a study of the doctrines of salvation, an understanding of the doctrine of man’s radical corruption in sin is an essential starting point. Understanding man’s condition in sin and his need before God is the foundation for understanding and appreciating the grace of God in our salvation. Today, most Christians realize that it is by God’s grace that they are saved, but they do not comprehend the depth of their sin and the extent of grace that has been given them in their salvation. It is only when we realize the degree of our fallenness in sin that we realize the degree of grace that has been given to us in our salvation. This doctrine is not only crucial for understanding the grace of God in our salvation, but also for understanding almost every doctrine associated with our salvation. In historical theology, man’s condition in sin has been called “Total Depravity.” This terminology, however, is easily misunderstood. It does not mean that every human being is a bad as they could possibly be; that would be “utter depravity.” The phrase “total depravity” is attempting to communicate that sin affects every aspect of man’s being. Sin dominates every aspect of a person’s thoughts, actions, attitudes, and desires. Because of the misunderstanding associated with the term “Total Depravity,” many theologians prefer the term radical corruption. The term radical is derived from the Latin radix, which means “root.” Therefore, this term is saying that sin permeates the very core or root of man’s being. FALLEN MAN IS DEAD IN SIN Ephesians 2:1-3 strongly sets forth the degree of man’s radical corruption in sin. It states: And you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. This passage states that fallen man is “dead in sin,” that he has no spiritual life whatsoever. It is important to note that the Apostle Paul did not say that man is sick in sin or simply influenced by sin; he declared that fallen man has no spiritual life. I’ve often heard the illustration given concerning man’s condition in sin that he is sick in sin like a man deathly ill in a hospital bed. The man is near death, struggling for every breath, but he is still alive. A nurse comes in with a bottle of medicine that will cure him and restore him to perfect health. The medicine represents the gospel which is offered to the sinner who is sick in sin. She pours the dose of medicine into a spoon and holds it to the man’s mouth. Here is the offer of the gospel in evangelism. Now it is up to him to take the medicine and live or refuse it and die. In other words, it is up to the man to receive Jesus and live or refuse him and die. The main problem with this illustration is that the man is still alive. He is affected by sin; he is sick in sin, but he is not dead in sin. In order to make this illustration fit Ephesians 2:1-3, it would be necessary to put the man in the hospital morgue. He is in one of the little refrigeration units with a toe tag. The nurse comes in with medicine (the gospel) and stands by the dead man all day, but he doesn’t take the medicine because he is not alive. What he needs is a spiritual resurrection. He must move from a condition of being spiritually dead to being spiritually alive before he will be able to receive the medicine. This is exactly the pattern set forth in Ephesians 2:1-5. After stating that man is spiritually dead and exhibits that lack of spiritual life in his sinful disposition and actions, verses 4 and 5 proclaim: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved). . . .” Scripture declares that we were dead in sin and God acts first to bring about a spiritual resurrection making us alive in Christ. Colossians 2:13 reiterates the same idea. J. Gresham Machen, the great theologian of the early 20th century said, “Man, according to the Bible, is not merely sick in trespasses and sins; he is not merely in a weakened condition so that he needs divine help: but he is dead in trespasses and sins. He can do absolutely nothing to save himself. . . .” Charles Spurgeon in commenting on man’s condition in sin said, “What a dreadful inability sin brings with it! That simple command of the gospel, ‘Believe,’ the sinner cannot obey in himself. He can no more repent and believe without the Holy Spirit’s aid than he can create a world.” FALLEN MAN REPRESSES THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD AND BECOMES AN IDOL FACTORY Another important passage dealing with man’s corruption in sin is Romans 1:18-23: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power, and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.” This passage declares that fallen man universally suppresses or represses the truth of God (verse 18). Verses 19-21 state that all men know there is a God, that creation bears a witness to God’s existence and that witness is understood by every person. However, even though the witness gets through to everyone, everyone represses that witness. Why is that? Fallen man is hostile toward God. He does not want to acknowledge or honor God Rom. 8:7. Besides this basic disposition of the heart of fallen man, another factor is involved in this repression of the truth. People tend to repress or push out of conscious thought those things which are painful or unpleasant to them. The most unpleasant truth that anyone can face is that they are guilty before a holy God who will render to them perfect justice for their deeds. Therefore, fallen man represses the reality of God, does not honor God as God, and does not render proper gratitude to God. Julian Huxley wrote, “For my own part, the sense of spiritual relief that comes from rejecting the idea of God as a supernatural being is enormous.” An old story tells of a desert nomad who awakened hungry in the middle of the night. He lit a candle and began eating dates from a bowl beside his bed. He took a bite from one end and saw a worm in it, so he threw it out of the tent. He bit into the second date, found another worm, and threw it away also. Reasoning that he wouldn’t have any dates left to eat if he continued, he blew out the candle and quickly ate all the dates. Romans 1:18 proclaims that sinful man is just like the nomad; he prefers darkness and denial to the light of reality. Because the reality of being under the judgment of God is too difficult to face, fallen man represses the reality of God, does not honor God as God, nor render proper gratitude to God (verse 21). This passage goes on to say that after sinful man represses the knowledge of the true God, he sets up his own idea of God; he creates an idol. This could be an idol of wood, stone, or metal or it could simply be a false concept of God. Sometimes the repression of God is so profound that men make themselves the sum of all things and declare that there is no deity at all; they declare themselves to be atheists. John Calvin, in commenting on this propensity of the sinful human heart wrote: . . . but we are all alike in this, that we substitute monstrous fictions for the one living and true God. . . . almost every man has had his own god. To the darkness of ignorance have been added presumption and wantonness, and hence there is scarcely an individual to be found without some idol or phantom as a substitute for Deity. Like water gushing forth from a large and copious spring, immense crowds of gods have issued from the human mind, every man giving himself full license, and devising some peculiar form of divinity, to meet his own views. Calvin said that fallen man is an idol factory (fabricum idolarum). This repression of the true God and the creation of idols is a normative pattern for the heart that is radically corrupt in sin. Man, being dead in sin, exchanges the truth of God for a lie and worships and serves an idol. NO ONE DOES GOOD AND NO ONE SEEKS GOD Romans 3:10-12 also speaks of man’s dire condition in sin: “. . . as it is written, there is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.” In this passage, Paul puts together a series of Old Testament quotations that show the radical corruption of the fallen human heart. This section states that “none is righteous, not even one” and that “there is none who does good, there is not even one.” Some may object and say, “What do you mean there is none who does good? I know people who do all kinds of good deeds.�� What is the answer to this objection? It is important to define the term good in the same way that Scripture defines it. For an act to be good, it must not only be something God has commanded, but it must be done perfectly with perfect motives. An act may appear to be good from an external perspective, but if it is not done from pure motives, motives that seek to glorify God, it does not conform perfectly to God’s law. Jonathan Edwards said that we tend to do good things from enlightened self-interest. We understand that sometimes it pays to do good things. We are on time for work and do a good job because, in so doing, we don’t get fired and we may get a raise in pay. In this regard, we have a tendency to look at good works from an external perspective. We do not have the ability to evaluate the attitude and motives of the heart. God, however, does and he declares that no one does well according to his standard. R. C. Sproul illustrates this by the use of the term good with regard to dogs. We call a dog a good dog when it meets certain standards for dogs. It is a good dog when it doesn’t wet the carpet when it comes when you call it, when it doesn’t chew up your shoes, and when it brings you your paper in its mouth. We do not use that same standard of good for people. We do not say that Joe is a good man because he is housebroken, comes when you call him, doesn’t chew up your shoes, and brings you your paper in his mouth. The standards are different for dogs than for men. In the same way, God’s standards of good are different from our external standards. According to God’s standards, no one does good, not even one.4 When we understand the requirements of the Law of God, we are stripped of any sense of self-righteousness Romans 3:19-20. Many people are like Snoopy in a Peanuts cartoon. The cartoon shows Snoopy walking toward his dog house and thinking, “This has been a really good day.” In the next panel, Snoopy is sitting on his house and thinking, “I did everything right.” In the final panel Snoopy adds, “In my opinion.” People do everything right or they think they are good “in their opinion.” God’s Law takes the definition of good and the evaluation of our performance out of our subjective and relative perspective and places all our actions and motives under the scrutiny of God’s standard. This passage also states that “there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God.” I’ve often heard ministers and evangelists talk about the occult or new age movement and reflectively say, “The rise of the occult in our culture demonstrates the universal desire of man to seek God.” As we have just observed in Romans 1:18-25, the opposite is true. The rise of the occult and other false religious activities stem from man’s universal desire to repress the knowledge of the true God and create an idol. Closely related to this idea is the statement in Romans 3:10-12 that fallen man does not understand the things of God and he does not seek God. I’ve also heard Christians say, “So and so is not a Christian, but he’s searching.” The assumption is that a non-Christian is seeking after the true God of the Bible. The Apostle Paul, however, bluntly states that “no one seeks for God.” Michael Horton commented on this and wrote, “We cannot find God for the same reason that a thief can’t find a police officer.” How do we account for those people, who apart from God’s grace in Christ, seem to be seeking for God. First, it is possible that when we see this happening we are witnessing a work of the Holy Spirit effectually bringing the person to faith in Christ. There are those, however, who are seeking all types of religious experiences and have no interest in the God of the Bible. How do we explain this so-called “seeking for God?” As Christians, we know there are certain benefits that only come from a relationship with God through Christ. We have the assurance of forgiveness, an absence of the fear of death, the sure hope of an eternity with God, the promise of God’s care and fatherly love, and numerous other benefits that come from our relationship with God. When we see unbelievers seeking those benefits, we assume they are seeking salvation through Jesus Christ through whom those benefits come. However, the nature of man’s sin is such that he seeks after the benefits of a relationship with God while at the same time he flees from God himself. He wants the benefits, but he doesn’t want God. Therefore, he represses the knowledge of God, becomes an idol factory, and flees from the presence of the true and living God. R. C. Sproul writes concerning this idea: The Bible tells us repeatedly to seek after God. The Old Testament cries, “Seek the Lord while He may be found” Isa. 55:6. Jesus said, “Seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” Matt. 7:7. The conclusion we draw from these texts is that since we are called to seek after God it must mean that we, even in our fallen state, have the moral capacity to do that seeking. But who is being addressed in these texts? In the case of the Old Testament, it is the people of Israel who are called to seek the Lord. In the New Testament, it is believers who are called to seek the kingdom. . . . So what? The point is that seeking is something that unbelievers do not do on their own steam. The unbeliever will not seek. The unbeliever will not knock. Seeking is the business of believers. Edwards said, ‘The seeking of the kingdom of God is the chief business of the Christian life.’ Seeking is the result of faith, not the cause of it.” FALLEN MAN IS HOSTILE TOWARD GOD AND CANNOT PLEASE GOD Another important passage on man’s radical corruption in sin is Romans 8:7-8: “because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” In the context of this passage, those who are “according to the flesh” are unregenerate and those who are “according to the Spirit” are regenerate. Romans 8:9, shows this principle clearly: “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” Those who belong to Christ have the Spirit and are not in the flesh. Paul says that unregenerate people who are in the flesh are hostile toward God and are not subject to the law of God. He adds an important statement at the end of verse 7: “for it is not even able to do so.” Not only is the unregenerate, fleshly mind hostile toward God and his law, it also lacks the ability to subject itself to the law of God. Romans 8:8 states: “and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” Apart from God’s divine initiative, the unregenerate cannot do anything that is pleasing to God. He cannot obey his holy law nor can he repent and believe in Christ, acts which are certainly pleasing to God. James White writes: Paul does not say “those who are in the flesh at times do things that are displeasing to God, but at other times do things that are pleasing to Him.” He does not teach that “men are free to believe in Christ at any time” for obviously, such an action is well-pleasing to God. How can a person in the flesh do such things as repent, believe, turn from sin, embrace holiness, etc., when they are still in the flesh? The unregenerate man lacks the ability to please God. Something must happen first: he has to be translated from the realm of the flesh to that of the spirit. He must be raised to spiritual life so that he can do what is pleasing to God: repent and believe in Christ.” In 1736, in Northampton, Mass., Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon titled, Men Are Naturally God’s Enemies. This was a lengthy exposition of Romans 5:10. The basic thesis of the sermon was that man hated God. He said, They are enemies in the natural relish of their souls. They have an inbred distaste and disrelish of God’s perfections. God is not such a sort of being as they would have. Though they are ignorant of God, yet from what they hear of Him, and from what is manifest by the light of nature of God, they do not like Him. By His being endowed with such attributes as He is, they have an aversion to Him. They hear God is an infinitely holy, pure, and righteous Being, and they do not like Him upon this account; they have no relish of such kind of qualifications; they take no delight in contemplating them. It would be a mere task, a bondage to a natural man, to be obliged to set himself to contemplate these attributes of God. They see no manner of beauty or loveliness nor taste any sweetness in them. And upon the account of their distaste of these perfections, they dislike all the other of His attributes. They have a greater aversion to Him because He is omniscient and knows all things; because His omniscience is a holy omniscience. They are not pleased that He is omnipotent, and can do whatever He pleases; because it is a holy omnipotence. They are enemies even to His mercy because it is a holy mercy. They do not like His immutability, because by this He never will be otherwise than He is, an infinitely holy God.” Since fallen man is dead in sin, represses the knowledge of God and creates idols, is not righteous, does no good works, does not understand and does not seek for God, is hostile toward God and cannot submit to the law of God, and cannot please God, the grace of God is absolutely essential for a person to come to Christ. Sinful man left to himself and his own desires will never desire Christ. This is why in Ephesians 2 after the declaration is made that man is dead in sin, verses 4 and 5 proclaim that God is the divine initiator of our salvation: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” Notice that it does not say, “But you, because you were smarter than your neighbor, or more righteous than your neighbor had the good sense to come to Christ.” God takes the first step in our salvation; God initiates our salvation and makes us alive in Christ. It is only after God makes us alive in Christ that we desire salvation, have faith and repentance and have a genuine love for the true God who is revealed in Scripture. Charles Spurgeon said it this way: “I take it that the highest proof of Christ’s power is not that he offers salvation, not that he bids you take it if you will, but that when you reject it, when you hate it, when you despise it, he has a power whereby he can change your mind, make you think differently from your former thoughts, and turn you from the error of your ways.” FALLEN MAN DOES NOT NATURALLY HAVE THE MORAL ABILITY TO COME TO CHRIST: In John 6:44-45, Jesus proclaimed man’s inability to come to him apart from God’s initiative: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to me.” This statement begins with a universal negative, “No one can come to Me. . . .” It is universal because the phrase, “No one” refers to all people. The word, can in this phrase refers to ability. I remember early grammar lessons that taught the difference between can and may. Can refers to ability while may refers to permission. Perhaps you had the experience in the first grade of asking your teacher, “Can I sharpen my pencil.” The standard reply was, “I’m sure you can and you may.” Jesus said that no one has the ability to come to Him on their own. Jonathan Edwards made a distinction that is helpful in thinking about this issue. He distinguished between natural ability and moral ability. God provides certain natural abilities to members of his creation. For example, he provides the birds with the ability to fly. Fish have the ability to live underwater and extract oxygen from the water through their gills. God provides the fish with fins and gills and the birds with feathers and wings. Human beings do not naturally have that equipment. Human beings, however, are given the natural ability to make choices. God gave people minds that can receive and analyze information. Man’s corruption in sin does not strip from him the ability to choose what he wants. In the fall, however, man did lose his desire for God and his inclination toward the good. In this regard, a person can intellectually understand the law of God and its obligations and he can understand the content of the gospel. The unregenerate person, however, does not want to obey God or to come to Christ. He could choose Christ and the things of God if he wanted them, but he has no desire for them. This is where Edwards made the distinction between natural and moral ability. Man has the natural ability to choose God, but he does not have the moral ability to do it. The things of God and the gospel are foolishness to him 1 Cor. 2:14 and he has no desire for Christ. R. C. Sproul writes concerning this moral inability: The ability to make righteous moral choices requires righteous desires and inclinations. Without a righteous inclination to the good, no one can choose the good. Our choices follow our inclinations. For man to be able to choose the things of God, he must first be inclined to choose them. Since the flesh makes no provision for the things of God, grace is required for us to be able to choose them. The unregenerate person must be regenerated before he has any desire for God. This is what Jesus was addressing when He said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. . . .” Fallen man may look at Jesus and be impressed with his moral teaching; he may think that Jesus is interesting, but, apart from God’s divine initiative, he will never come to Christ for salvation. He has no desire to submit to God or to believe the gospel; he lacks the moral ability to come to Christ. After Jesus said that no one has the ability to come to him, he gave an exception clause, “unless the Father draws him.” What does the word “draw” mean? Some have proposed that it simply means “to woo” or “to entice.” Using this meaning, Jesus would have been saying that God’s action in salvation is merely that he encourages a person to come to Christ. This is a necessary encouragement for a person to come, but it is not an effectual action; it does not guarantee that a person will come. This explanation is incorrect. First of all, in John 6:45, Jesus said, “Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to me.” Jesus saw this drawing of the Father as not only a necessary condition for someone to come to salvation but also as a sufficient condition. Everyone that is drawn by the Father will come. It was not merely an enticement or encouragement to come. Second, the Greek word translated as draw is elko. Gerhard Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament defines elko as “to compel by irresistible superiority.” The linguistic and lexicographical meaning of elko is “to compel.” Therefore, elko is a forceful verb. To see the force of this verb, let’s consider two other passages in the New Testament where the word is used. In Acts 16:19, Paul and Silas are attacked by the owners of a slave girl after Paul cast a demon out of her: “But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities.” In this verse, elkois translated as dragged. Certainly, Paul and Silas were not enticed or wooed into the marketplace. They were forcibly seized and compelled to come. Another passage where elko is used is James 2:6. James is addressing the problem of favoritism in the church. He is rebuking his readers for honoring the wealthy and disparaging the poor. He writes in verse 6: “But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court?” Again, elko is translated as drag. In both of these verses, the linguistic meaning of elko as “to compel” is reflected in the translation and the context of the verse. Jesus was not saying that the Father merely woos or entices a person to come, but that there is an effectual action that compels a person to come. This same idea is set forth just a few verses later in John 6:63-65: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason, I have said to you, that no one can come to me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” Jesus said that the Spirit gives life and the flesh profits nothing. Martin Luther commented that when Jesus said that the flesh profits nothing that doesn’t mean a little a little something. Jesus emphasized that it is the Holy Spirit that brings spiritual life to a person. In verse 65, he again speaks of man’s moral inability to come to Him unless it has been granted by the Father. For a person to come to Christ, the ability to come must be granted or given by the Father. No one can come to Christ in the flesh. Without God’s divine initiative, no one can come. John Murray writes concerning John 6:44-45, 65: In John 6:37 Jesus says, “Everything that (pan ho) that the Father gives to me shall come to me, and him that cometh unto me I will no wise cast out.” Jesus is here speaking of coming to him which consists in faith and which has its issue in the salvation that reaches its apex in the resurrection at the last day. The former is shown by vs. 40 and the latter by vss. 39, 40. It is therefore of the faith in Jesus unto salvation that he speaks in vss. 44, 45, 65. Now, obviously, as men are confronted with the gospel the most elementary demand, the demand that is the only avenue to the fulfillment of all other demands, is to believe in Christ. But of that Jesus says man is incapable. It is a psychological, moral, and spiritual impossibility apart from an efficacious drawing which is of the nature of a gift from the Father. It is therefore of that faith in Christ that Jesus says, “No one can come unto me except the Father who sent me draw him” . . . and “On this account, I said to you that no one can come unto me except it was given him of my Father.” Nothing, therefore, can be plainer than this, that the act of true and simple faith in Christ is impossible apart from the drawing and gracious gift of the Father. FALLEN MAN IS SPIRITUALLY BLIND: 1 Corinthians 2:14 states: “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned”. This verse declares that a person who is unregenerate does not have the ability to understand or accept of the things of God. Again, the Scriptures confront us with something that fallen man does not have the ability to do in himself. Not only can the person without the Holy Spirit not accept or understand the things that come from the Spirit of God, but they are foolishness to him. Simon Kistemaker comments on this verse: The spiritual things relate to sin, guilt, forgiveness, redemption, salvation, righteousness, and eternal life. To the unspiritual person, these things are meaningless, irrelevant, and even foolish. They have no place in a life that is limited to the present world. . . . “And he is unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” Paul speaks about an inability that is caused by the absence of the Holy Spirit in the life of an unbeliever. Granted the unbeliever can excel the Christian in various ways: Intellectually, educationally, philosophically, or even morally. He may be a worthy citizen and a leader in society who shuns the sensuous excesses that characterize other people. Yet, the non-Christian is unable to understand spiritual matters. He lacks the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit to enlight his understanding. Apart from a divine action of God, the unregenerate person considers the message of the gospel foolish and has no desire to accept the things that come from the Spirit of God; he is spiritually blind to the things of God. Summarizes these points: “Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation: so as, a natural man, being altogether averse from that good, and dead in sin, is not able, by his own strength, to convert himself, or to prepare himself thereunto.” This is the same pattern we observed earlier in Ephesians 2:1-5. Verses 1-3 declare that man is dead in sin and lives out that sinful condition. Verses 4 and 5 declare: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved). . . .” Paul said the same thing in Ephesians that Jesus declared: Man does not have the moral ability to come to Christ in his flesh; a divine initiative is the necessary first condition for salvation. Fallen man is spiritually dead, spiritually hostile, and spiritually blind. He does not have the moral ability to come to Christ, unless the Father draws him. The action of being drawn to Christ is coupled closely with the Holy Spirit’s work of making a person alive in Christ or regenerating him. Once a person is made alive in Christ, he has the desire for Christ and he comes to Jesus. That moral ability to come to Christ, however, is the result of the Spirit giving life. The Westminster Confession declares: When God converts a sinner, and translates him into the state of grace, He freeth him from his natural bondage under sin; and, by His grace alone, enables him freely to will and to do that which is spiritually good; yet so, that by reason of his remaining corruption, he doth not perfectly, nor only, will that which is good, but doth also will that which is evil. The will of man is made perfectly and immutably free to do good alone in the state of glory only. Understanding this strips all boasting and claims of self-righteousness from man. If you are in Christ, it is because God has shown you mercy and initiated your salvation. Charles Spurgeon, said, “If God requires of the sinner, dead in sin, that he should take the first step, then he requires just that which renders salvation as impossible under the gospel as it was under the law, since man is as unable to believe as he is to obey.” The result is that God alone gets all the glory and praise for one’s salvation. The second stanza of the hymn Amazing Grace reflects these points: “‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved; How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed!” When you see real faith in your life, you are seeing a manifestation of God’s grace operating in your life. This truth is described in a poem that was discovered in the pocket of Major John Andre after his execution during the Revolutionary War. It was written in his death cell, so these words are literally a dying man’s testimony: Hail, Sovereign Love, which first began the scheme to rescue fallen man! Hail, matchless, free, eternal grace, which gave my soul a Hiding Place! Against the God who built the sky I fought with hands uplifted high– Despite the mention of His grace– too proud to seek a Hiding Place Enrapt in thick Egyptian night, and fond of darkness more than light, I madly ran the sinful race, secure, I thought, without God’s grace. But the eternal counsel ran: “Almighty Love, arrest that man!” I felt the arrows of distress, and found I had no Hiding Place. Indignant Justice stood in view; to Sinai’s fiery mount I flew; But Justice cried with frowning face, “This mountain is no Hiding Place!” Ere long a heavenly voice I heard, and mercy’s angel soon appeared; He led me, with a beaming face, to Jesus as my Hiding Place! On Him almighty vengeance fell, which would have sunk a world to Hell; He bore it for a sinful race, and thus became their Hiding Place! If you are in Christ now, it is because God has taken the first step in your salvation and drawn you to Jesus. This eliminates all claims of self-righteousness, boasting, or spiritual pride. It is only as we understand our desperate need that we realize the mercy and grace we have been shown in our salvation. Understanding these truths should move our hearts to give God all glory and honor for the work he has performed in our lives and the mercy we have received. In fact, the more you understand the biblical teaching concerning man’s condition in sin, the more you will bow in worship and sing, “Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!”

[thefabulousfulcrum]

The Perils of the New, Shiny George W. Bush

The cuddly George W. Bush who paints pictures of dogs and Jay Leno is a war criminal. He doesn’t deserve an inch of rehabilitation.

via Jacobin

by Branko Marcetic

George W. Bush has to be high in the running for the worst president in the history of the republic, and he probably would’ve reigned unchallenged for at least a few decades had Hillary Clinton’s inept campaign not led to her defeat. As it is, the less than two months of Donald Trump’s volatile presidency suggests his full four years will at least be neck and neck with Bush’s eight.

Still, Bush’s presidency was historically disastrous, which makes it understandable that since Trump’s ascent, Bush appears to be waging an understated media campaign to rehabilitate his image — one which the media has happily assisted him with.

Trump’s insanity has led many liberals and other former Bush opponents to start “reconsidering” Bush’s presidency. Slate imploredBush to “speak to his party” about its latest descent into Islamophobia. “Compared to Donald Trump, George W. Bush looks like a paragon of statesmanship,” Francis Fukuyama wrote in 2015. Photos of everyone from Hillary Clinton to Michelle Obama embracing Bush have gone viral, while the former president recently yukked it up with Ellen Degeneres on her talk show.

More recently, Bush earned accolades for saying he didn’t like “the racism” and “name-calling” of the Trump era, and that the media was “indispensable to democracy” — fairly innocuous comments that are apparently grounds for heroism when stated by Bush.

Much of Bush’s rehabilitation is, as the Washington Post recently documented, both a result of the fact that next to Trump, just about anyone compares favorably, and because of a nice speech Bush delivered in 2001 as he prepared to murder and torture thousands of Muslims, telling Americans that “Islam is peace,” speaking out against recent hate crimes, and assuring American Muslims he wouldn’t resurrect Roosevelt-style mass internment. (It is apparently  an admirable and statesmanlike thing to pledge not to round up innocent people in camps without due process based on their religion).

Bush and his supporters have often said that history would vindicate his presidency. It hasn’t and it won’t, even if Trump takes us to new lows.

Style Over Substance

Let’s get the basics out of the way: The cuddly George W. Bush who struggles to put on a rain poncho and paints pictures of dogs and Jay Leno is a war criminal.

In 2011, he had to abruptly cancel a visit to Switzerland after the risk of a criminal complaint against him for torture became a very real possibility. The same year, a seven-member war crimes tribunal in Kuala Lumpur found Bush and former British prime minister Tony Blair guilty of “crimes against peace” in absentia. Richard Clarke, a former top counterterrorism official under Bush, is on the recordsaying he thinks he and his administration committed war crimes.

Contrary to Bill Maher’s recent assertion that Bush was an “honorable man” who liberals “cried wolf” over, the well-known broad strokes of Bush’s presidency are enough to show that Bush was easily one of the most vicious presidents to ever take office. Bush and his underlings sold a campaign of outright lies to the public in order to embroil the United States in a totally unnecessary war that killed between 150,000 and 1 million Iraqis and destabilized an entire region.

He instituted a worldwide torture regime that continues to be stain on the United States’s global image, and which ensnared numerous innocent people. He instituted a vast, secret, and illegal surveillance apparatus, most of which survives to this day. He (just barely) spearheaded a government response to one of the twenty-first century’s worst natural disasters — visited on a majority black city — that was slow, often incompetent, and clearly racist.

Bush’s actions killed and maimed far more Muslims than his nice words ever saved. But this has always been the rub: liberals’ preoccupation with symbolic gestures and saying the right thing also led them to largely give Obama an eight-year pass for carrying out policies that were as bad as — and in some cases, worse than — Bush’s.

It’s also worth noting that the things liberals and radicals hate about Trump, such as his promises of torture and war, weren’t policies he invented. Trump didn’t institute torture or establish Guantanamo Bay — his loveable, goofy predecessor did.

These few things alone should be enough to disqualify someone from being suddenly revered as some kind of elder statesman. Yet Bush’s record was even worse than this.

It’s great that Bush promised not to sweep up hundreds of innocent people in a dragnet in a highly publicized speech. But in reality, this is exactly what he did, rounding up and detaining at least 1,200 people, some for as long as eight months. Many of them were Muslims and most were from Middle Eastern, South Asian, and North African countries; some of them citizens, some of them visa holders. A tiny fraction of them were actual security threats with tangible links to terrorists.

As Human Rights Watch detailed, the administration denied many detainees basic rights like the right to an attorney on the basis that they were non-citizens. In one case, a North Carolina Muslim convert, who was a member of the National Guard, had married a Yemeni man who was visiting the United States. He was detained by the military, while she was accused by soldiers of being a spy and pressured to take an honorable discharge; in another, a US citizen from Palestine was sent home with a leg monitor that served as a constant source of humiliation.

The Bush administration also introduced a secret program, the Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program (CAARP), blacklisting people from certain Muslim-majority countries from becoming citizens, residents, or otherwise immigrating to the United States. The administration also spied on prominent Muslim Americans, including Bush supporters and a former member of his administration, one of whom was actually at Bush’s side as he delivered his now-vaunted “Islam is peace” speech. It instituted the notorious no-fly list which in theory keeps security threats off planes, but in practice keeps small children, a senator, Cat Stevens, and other Muslims with similar names to terrorists off planes.

Anyone alarmed by Stephen Miller’s televised declaration that the president’s powers “will not be questioned” should be reminded that this mindset was the core belief system at the heart of, and pioneered by, Bush’s presidency.

This philosophy, espoused by officials like John Yoo, David Addington, and Dick Cheney, was that of a powerful presidency unencumbered by Congress, international treaties, and other checks on executive power. It was something Cheney had pushed ever since, in his view, Watergate had neutered the presidency, instructing Reagan’s incoming chief of staff in a 1980 memo to “restore power & auth to Exec Branch” and “get rid of War Powers Act.”

Whether or not Bush personally subscribed to this ideology was unimportant; either way, Bush aggressively claimed new, extreme powers as president, including the right of preemptive war and the power to indefinitely detain anyone without due process — a colossal abuse of power both at the time and in the context of two centuries of US history.

A True Friend of the Press

Bush’s anger at the “name-calling” of today’s politics and his defense of the importance of a free press should theoretically come as a shock to anyone who lived through his presidency. Bush was hardly a paragon in this respect.

There was the time Bush was actually caught “name-calling” a reporter for doing the job he now considers essential, calling the New York Times’s Adam Clymer a “major league asshole” without realizing it was being picked up by a microphone. Clymer had had the temerity to write articles that suggested Cheney’s charitable donations were less than the average for people with his net worth, and that Bush ads claiming he had a prescription drug plan had “zero” accuracy. Bush refused to apologize for the insult, offering only “regret that it made it to the airways.”

When Bush found out someone had used the domain www.gwbush.com (you can see it here in its heyday) to make a website critical of Bush, complete with a fake image of Bush snorting cocaine, Bush’s reaction was: “There ought to be limits to freedom.”

Bush’s administration also had a habit of bombing journalists, particularly Al Jazeera.

Bush officials tried to delegitimize Al Jazeera’s reporting on the US siege of Falluja in similar terms to Trump, with a military spokesperson terming their reporting “propaganda,” “lies,” and “not legitimate news sources.” Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called their reporting “vicious, inaccurate and inexcusable.”

Under Bush, the United States bombed Al Jazeera not once, but twice: first in Kabul in 2001, when its office was destroyed for reasons the Pentagon couldn’t explain, even after the news agency had given authorities the location of its office; and again in 2003, this time in Baghdad, after the location had again been disclosed to authorities. In the latter, one journalist was killed.

The same day, an American tank killed two Reuters cameramen after it shelled the Palestine Hotel, where more than one hundred journalists were staying, and US forces attacked an Abu Dhabi TV office. According to the International Federation of Journalists, by 2005, sixteen journalists and other media staff had been killed by US forces in Iraq.

The UK’s Daily Mirror later reported, based on a five-page “Top Secret” memo leaked to the agency, that Bush had told Tony Blair in 2004 of his intention to bomb Al Jazeera at its headquarters in Qatar and elsewhere. The memo never saw the light of day, as the Blair government threatened to prosecute any outlet that wrote anything more about it. Prior to this, the Bush administration had detained and tortured a completely innocent Al Jazeera journalist in Afghanistan, keeping him locked up for a total of seven years, six of those in Guantanamo.

Bush loved the adversarial press so much, he continually tried to undermine it by planting pro-administration propaganda in media outlets.

At least four different reporters were paid by the administration to promote various Bush initiatives. Armstrong Williams was paid $240,000 to promote Bush’s No Child Left Behind education reform plan and to try to get other black journalists to do the same; columnist Maggie Gallagher was being paid $21,500 by Health and Human Services to promote a Bush initiative encouraging marriage, which she did in outlets like National Review; conservative commentator Michael McManus received $10,000 to do the same; and a freelance writer got at least $7,500 from the Agriculture Department to get articles published in outdoors magazines that put a glowing spin on federal conservation programs.

These efforts were particularly pronounced when it came to the Iraq War. The Bush administration planted hundreds of pre-packaged video news releases in local news broadcasts that mimicked the style and appearance of actual news stories, promoting the Iraq War (as well as a host of other administration programs). It also paid a contractor to pay Iraqi journalists for favorable stories and to insert articles by American soldiers in Iraqi magazines.

A Familiar Pattern

Besides this, what makes the sudden push to rehabilitate Bush particularly puzzling is that in many ways Bush’s approach to government was identical to Trump’s, both in its penchant for scandals and its pro-corporate approach.

His anti-environmental policies were no different from Trump’s, with Bush gutting regulations, pulling the United States out of a landmark international climate deal, and staffing various environmental posts with individuals who had worked in industries opposed to their missions. The administration appointed ninety-two lobbyists to its transition advisory teams in 2000 and 2001.

Bush’s administration was so mired in endless scandals, there was at one point talk of “scandal fatigue.” These ran the gamut from a secret energy task force chaired by Dick Cheney that relied on recommendations from the fossil fuel industry, to Karl Rove helping a GOP strategist secure a job at Enron, and a Bush aide’s involvement in the Jack Abramoff corruption scandal. There was also the administration’s ties to Halliburton, which couldn’t account for $1.8 billion it had billed the government for contract work in Iraq and Kuwait.

Bush may be dismayed at racism today, but this didn’t stop him from kicking off his 2000 South Carolina campaign at Bob Jones University, which banned interracial dating and called Catholicism a “Satanic counterfeit.” Nor did it stop his campaign from launching a whisper campaign there accusing John McCain of fathering an black child with a woman who was not his wife (his daughter had been adopted from an orphanage in Bangladesh).

As president, Bush would choose Martin Luther King’s birthday as the date to announce his opposition to affirmative action. Even if you care only about symbolic actions, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more pointed symbol than that.

If all of that is not enough, consider this: while governor of Texas, Bush set a record for sending people to die — 119 in five years — after promoting and signing a law limiting prisoners’ rights to appeal. Some of these people included Betty Lou Beets, who killed her husband after a lifetime of abuse, and a convicted rapist who had a mental age of six, had suffered similar childhood abuse (including being forced to drink his own urine out of the toilet), and didn’t even seem aware he was being put to death. Compassionate conservatism indeed.

Bush may not have gone around openly bashing immigrants or shouting his Islamophobia from the hilltops. But if that’s the standard we’re now going to use for decent statesmanship, we’re in trouble. Bush was an arrogant, dangerous president whose recent mild comments criticizing the guy who turned his brother into a national joke in no way outweigh the discriminatory, destructive policies he put in place over eight years, nor the lasting damage he did to the world by launching an illegal war which bathed the Middle East in blood and whose disastrous consequences we will be living with for decades. If the media can’t remember that, one shudders at the thought of how they’ll treat Trump when someone even more reactionary than him ascends to the presidency.