Night of the Cossack by Thomas Blubaugh

Cossacks were members of several peasant groups of Russian and Polish descent. They lived in autonomous communal settlements, especially in the Ukraine, until the early 20th century. In return for special privileges, they served in the cavalry under the czars. They were well known for their horsemanship. They raided villages for supplies, women and young men to increase or replenish their ranks. Eventually they became a part of the Russian army. (From the author's website)

  Nathan Hertzfield is a young Russian boy living with his widowed mother and younger brother. During the night a band of Cossacks raid his village. Many are killed while their houses are pillaged and burned. Nathan is kidnapped by one of the Cossacks, a man named Nikolai, and taken back to their camp. At first their relationship is somewhat turbulent.

“You're obstinate, little man. You'll make a fine Cossack.”

 Nikolai said, “I've questions for you. You were born in the village of Gagra, no?”

“Yes.”

“Good. You're Russian by birth.”

“Yes.”

“And you're a Christian?”

“A Christian? No.”

“What then?”

“I'm a Jew,” said Nathan proudly.

“A Jew, you say. You won't be when we return to camp.”

“How can that be? I was born a Jew. How can I not be a Jew?”

“The fact you're a Jew doesn't matter to me. You're young, healthy, and trainable. This is all that matters. You're going to need a new name. What is your name?”

“Nathan, Nathan Hertzfield.”

“Your name will no longer be Nathan Hertzfield. You're Stepan Ivanov now.”

The rest of the story is an exciting adventure where Nathan, now Stepan, becomes like a son to Nikolai. For many years they live together and become very close as they live the gypsy yet war like life of the Cossacks. As a lover of Russian literature I found the descriptions of the culture of the Cossacks informative and very interesting.

Stepan soon comes to understand why Nikolai wanted to hide his Jewish identity. It is 1904 in Russia and the Jewish pograms are underway. Eventually it becomes so dangerous that Stepan can no longer stay with the Cossacks or in Russia.

Living and running and fighting with the Cossacks is only one chapter of Stepan's life. War, political upheaval and danger from another Cossack boy who tries to pin a crime on him takes him across Europe in what is a kind of “Jewish underground railroad” where he meets many other Jews who are trying to make it to freedom and safe from persecution. Having to change his name more than once he finally makes it to America.

Thomas Blubaugh wrote this story about his grandfather who immigrated to America from Russia. He never met him or learned much about him so Blubaugh decided to make up his own story about his grandfather's life.

This book is an excellent coming of age story that would be wonderful for adolescent boys (and girls- I always read 'male' literature as a kid.) It is also a source of good historical fiction as it accurately portrays living conditions in turn of the century Russia, the plight of the Jewish people and how many of them came to America, via Europe.

Blubaugh's writing style is seamless and fluid. His characters are believable and interesting. On top of that it has a great story line. All the ingredients of a great book. It was easy and fun to read. I read it in a couple of days. I recommend this book to everyone.

 

Here is the latest link to the book on Amazon.

I received a free copy of this book by the author.  For more information you can go to Thomas Blubaugh's website:
http://nightofthecossack.com

For another review of this book you can visit the blog Reflections in Hindsight  here

Revelation Four Views A Parallel Commentary ed. by Steve Gregg

Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins by William Blake (1822)

    This is the latest book I’ve finished about the book of Revelation and the end times.  I’ve heard so much about different view points I was glad to come across a book that categorizes and defines each view point.  This book takes the entire book of Revelation and outlines each verse and step by step gives each view’s interpretation of that piece of scripture.

     Before delving into the actual book of Revelation, the editor gives a historical background, the years  people believe  the book was written,  and why John the Apostle is the author.  He also analyzes its structure as to how the different prophecies were grouped and the order in which they were revealed.

   The next section describes each end time interpretation.

       The four viewpoints included  are:  Historicist, Preterist, Futurist, and Spiritual Approach

Historicist View:  Revelation surveys the whole of church history.   It aligns specific historic events with certain details in Revelation.

     Those who teach this approach today are rare but Gregg includes it in this volume because it survives today in most of the classic commentaries of the past centuries.  Historicists of the past include:  John Wycliffe, John Knox, William Tyndale, Martin Luther, John Foxe, John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, and C.H. Spurgeon.

      Historicists believe that God revealed the entire church age in advance through the symbolic visions of the apocalypse.  For example, the breaking of the seven seals (chap 6-7) is often said to be the barbarian invasions that sacked the Western Roman Empire.  The Scorpion/locusts that come out of the bottomless pit (ch 9) are the Arab hordes attacking the eastern Roman Empire.  “The beast” (ch. 13) represents the Roman papacy.  (From the Introduction.)

Preterist Approach:  fulfillment is in the past, shortly after the time of writing.  There are two types of Preterism.

   The first type of Preterists are also called Contemporary-Historical.  They are also called hyper or full Preterists- and are not Preterists in the evangelical sense.  They believe that contemporary elements of John’s own day can be identified in the symbolic language he uses.  They do not believe in any actual fulfillment in ensuing events of the things prophesied in the Apocalypse.  They believe the date of writing to be during the Roman Emperor Domitian’s reign (A.D. 95-96).

 In contrast, Classical Preterism believes in the infallibility of Scripture and dates the Book of Revelation prior to A.D. 70.  Classical Preterists-also known as partial Preterists- point out many details in Revelation that they believe were fulfilled in the fall of Jerusalem, and see in later chapters the prediction of the fall of Rome and beyond to the second coming of Christ. 

   Another point favorable to the early-date Preterist approach is that the prophecies of Revelation exhibit many points of correspondence with the fall of Jerusalem as recorded by the eyewitness historian Flavius Josephus.  Since Josephus was not a Christian and probably never  read the book of Revelation, these correspondences seem to bolster the credibility of this interpretation. 

The Futurist approach:  Everything after chapter three awaits fulfillment in the future.

   The futurist approach is primarily a literal interpretation of Scripture.  Most futurists believe in a dispensationalist point of view.  They believe a world leader will arise, seeming to bring peace but will eventually turn out to be a world oppressor.  He will seem to help the Jews rebuild the temple but will then set himself up as the object of worship (the Abomination of Desolation who sits on the throne).

    He will demand that everyone comply and worship him and carry his mark on his arm or forehead.  Those that don’t won’t be able to keep jobs or buy or sell anything, including food.  There will be a seven years’ tribulation followed by the return of Christ where He will destroy this antichrist Beast and will Himself reign from Jerusalem for one thousand years with all the believers.

    At the end there will be one final battle with the enemies of God before they (the enemies) are completely destroyed and thrown into the lake of fire, along with Hell and death. (Revelation 20:14)

Spiritualist:  No single fulfillment: only transcendent principles and recurrent themes. 

     Spritiual appraoch includes all approaches that do not look for individual fullfillments of the prophecies of Revelation but which believe only that spiritual lessons and principles are depicted sympbolically in the visions.   There are many spiritualists who hold Scripture to be inspired and that John had visions revealed to him exactly as he claims, but who believe that their meaning is to be spiritually understood in a way that would be edifying to believers of any age.

To give one example of the four different approaches I’ll write out one excerpt of Revelation followed by the different viewpoints.  The following are all direct quotes from pg.202-207:

Revelation 10:1-4 

       I saw still another mighty angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud.  And a rainbow was on his head; his face was like this sun, and his feet like pillars of fire.  He had a little book open in his hand.  And he set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars.  When he cried out, seven thunders uttered their voices.  Now when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Seal up he things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.

Historicist:  After Rome fell to the barbarians in 476, as signified in the first four seals, the power of the papacy arose in its place in Western Europe.  The peoples and the system that sustained their authority became incredibly corrupt.  In fact, they became antichrist, the principal opponent of the pure faith of Christ in Europe.

   The rise of the papacy has not been mentioned in Revelation until this point.  The fall of the eastern empire in the sixth trumpet now turns our attention back to developments in the west.  The prophecies of chapters 10 and 11:1-5 are about the Reformation period in the early 16^th century. This follows naturally the identification of the second woe with the fall of the Byzantine (Greek) Empire in 1453. 

Preterist:   This mighty angel is, no doubt, Jesus Himself.  His face shining like the sun is a feature mentioned in the vision of the first chapter.  The rainbow, which is now on his head, was seen around the throne of God in revelation.  The second prophecy, contained in chapters 13-19 concerns the fall of Rome, as the first was concerned with the fall of Jerusalem. The things uttered by the seven thunders could have been too horrible to record or it could have been for John’s ears only.

Futurist: The descending angel is thought to be by some Christ Himself, The little book in the angels hand is interpreted as representing the authority given to the angel to fulfill his mission.   The sealing up of the prophecy illustrates a divine principle that while God has revealed much, there are secrets which God has not seen fit to reveal to man at this time. 

Spiritual:  The mighty angel who appears here is either Christ Himself or a special envoy of Christ bearing a striking resemblance to him.  This angel has a message for the whole world, indicated by his having a foot on the land and a foot on the sea...the seven thunders represents the voice of the Lord.  The sealing of the seven thunders, leaving them unwritten, suggest that the whole counsel of God has not been revealed or that never shall we be able to know and to describe all the factors and agencies that determine the future.

  

I’m someone who likes to be clear on different positions and I found this book fascinating, not the least of which of how I could see the different viewpoints not necessarily contradicting each other but rather complementing different aspects.  I could see how scripture could apply to the people of John’s time period but also how they apply to us today.  I saw how certain things could be taken as meaning certain epochs in history as well as historical figures but also how it could mean actual times in the future as well as spiritual principals that could be applied everyday.

   I don’t know why God wrote Revelation the way He did but one thing I do know:  how we should live our lives and be prepared to watch the signs and times is very clear.  Like the wise virgins, we better have enough oil in our lamps to keep them burning.  (Matthew 25:1-13)

Further links:

The Second Coming by John MacArthur

The False Prophet by Ellis Skofield

The Harbinger by Johnathon Cahn

The Apocalypse Code by Hank Hanegraaff

What is the abomination of desolation

Once an Arafat Man by Tass Saada with Dean Merrill

I reviewed a number of books about the American military.  Here's a story about a man from the "other side".

Tass Saada was an angry youth. A displaced Palestinian living in Qatar, he wondered when the Arab countries were going to make good on their promise. The promise that if the Palestinian families left Palestine, they would soon be able to return. After they defeated their enemies, Israel, that is. Well, the defeat never happened.

Tired of waiting Tass ran away from home to Palestine where he trained to become a member of Arafat's Fatah. By the age of seventeen he was carrying a high-powered Simonov rifle, was an elite PLO sniper and chauffeur for Arafat.

Once an Arafat Man is the incredible true story of how a young man filled with hate came to know the One who only had love for him.

After a couple of years, his father tricked him into returning to Qatar and confiscated his passport. He could only receive it back if he went abroad to get an education. Tass chose America. Even though he hated Americans because of their alliance with Israel, his defiant attitude made him go somewhere his father didn't want him to go.

He decided to marry an American girl for the sole purpose of obtaining a green card then leave her and America for good after he received his college degree.

When his American fiancee brought him to a priest for premarital counseling the priest asked point blank, “How do you know he's not just marrying you for a green card?”

The girl huffed, “I know him. He would never do that do me!”

In fact that was his plan. But things didn't go as planned. When his family found out that he married an American they disowned him. “How could you do this?” They shouted. “You are engaged to a girl here already! You have brought shame on her. You have brought shame on us!”

Even though it was not Tass' plan, it was God's plan. By staying in America he became a successful business man obsessed with success. The success did not ease the hatred or emptiness in him. Finally, a businessman whom he had become good friends with shared how he had become a Christian. What happened to Tass is what is reportedly happening to many Muslims world wide. He started having dreams about Jesus Christ.
 When he finally prayed to receive Jesus in to his life he came off of his knees a new man.

He began reading the Bible and was surprised to discover that it had more to say about the Arab people than the Koran.

I had run into some fascinating information about my people, the Palestinians. Our ancestor, I knew, was Ishmael-the firstborn son of Abram. Ishmael's mother was Hagar...

I had heard of at least some Christians who called Ishmael everything from a bastard to a brat, and had even nastier things to say about his mother. But that is not what I read in the actual Bible.

When tensions arose during Hagar's pregnancy, so much so that that she fled into the desert, she was not left to fend for herself. No less than “the angel of the Lord” came to her aid.

The angel instructed her to go back home and then promised:

“I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count.”

I leaned back in my chair and thought of all the people who trace back to this woman-not just us Palestinians, but all the Arabs. What a massive population we had become, just as the divine messenger had predicted.!”

“As for Ishmael, I have heard you; I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers.

When I read those words, I (realized) we Arabs were not cursed by God after all! The one God, the only true and living God, is the God of the Ishamelites, too.

I was feeling prouder of my heritage all the time, thanks to what I saw here in the Old Testament. The Christian book (actually the Jewish-Christian book ) was building up my self-esteem as an Arab! (Chapter 11 pg 115-117)

Now instead of being obsessed with success and material wealth. Tass' heart broke for his people who were so filled with hate, living in a darkness they could not free themselves of. He and his wife eventually settled in the Gaza strip where they started up schools and house churches for the poverty and war stricken Muslim families that live there.

I think I had always been brought up, as a Christian, to see Ishmael's birth as an act of disobedience to God. Perhaps it was, but I also remember God telling Abraham that Ishmael and his descendants would be blessed, (Genesis 17:20). It's time to remember that long before there was a Muhammed, there was a people blessed by God. A people that Islam has taken hostage. Let's pray for these people to understand who their true Creator is and His plan for their salvation.

I bought this book

Kindle store: $9.99

Other links:

Hope for Ishmael web site

Watch Tass Saada on youtube

Once an Arafat Man facebook club

Other book reviews on war:

Seal of God

Father of Money: Buying Peace in Baghdad

Two books on Navy Seals

Hope in Hungman: a Story of the Korean War

The Second Coming by John MacArthur

Michelangelo's "Last Judgement" Sistine Chapel

 I’ve been reading a number of books about the end times and the second coming of Jesus Christ. For years I’ve heard about futurist, milliniasts, amillianists, post millianists, historicists, spiritualists and lately preterists. A facebook friend has recently informed the rest of us that he is a hyperpreterist which kind of set me off on this journey. This book review is the fourth in a series that I will be posting of the various books I’ve been reading about the Book of Revelation and God’s final judgement on the earth.

While Hanegraaff’s book is mostly from a partial preterist stance, MacArthur seems to take a primarily futurist viewpoint. (I should point out that both Hanegraaff and MacArthur consider full or hyper preterism as heretical.) After debunking hyperpreterism in his chapters, “Why Christ Must Return,” and “Is Christ’s Coming Imminent?” he expounds on Jesus’ Olivet discourse recorded in Matthew 24 and 25 in chapter three, “Christ’s Greatest Prophetic Discourse.” This is a wonderful expository on this very important sermon Jesus gave his followers about the fall of Jerusalem- a prophecy that was fulfilled in 70 A.D.

The next couple of chapters go step by step through the gospels showing what must happen on earth to prepare for Christ’s second coming and a description of the tribulation.

MacAruthur’s next thrust is into the belly of those who believe they can know the day of Christ’s return. In his chapters “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? and “The Danger of Foolish Expectations”, he shows through scripture how it is unbiblical for anyone to assume they can predict the day when Jesus comes again. The final two chapters are about being ready like the wise virgins, not wasting the opportunity we have now to do God’s appointed work and how the final judgement is going to be when Christ separates the sheep (his followers) and the goats (nonbelievers).

The Second Coming is a highly readable, interesting and informative book about a hotly debated topic. I recommend it as an invaluable resource to anybody studying this subject.

I bought this book.




or $8.69 on Kindle

For more information:

Grace to You web site
http://www.macarthurcommentaries.com/
youtube sermon on the second coming by MacArthur

Related Links:
The Apocalypse Code by Hank Hanegraff
The Harbinger by Johnathon Cahn
The False Prophet by Ellis Skofield

The False Prophet by Ellis H. Skolfield

This is the second book review in a continuing series about end time prophecy.  For the first review go here.

William Blake (1757-1827)

The Great Red Dragon and The Beast from the Sea c. 1805

(Revelation 13)

Ellis H. Skofield has written a book about the end times that differs from any book or position I’ve read before. He exhaustively explores the prophesies written in the book of Daniel in the Old Testament, connects them to the prophecies in New Testament scripture, primarily Revelation but also Jesus’ Olivet Discourse in Matthew and passages in Paul’s epistles.

Skofield uses certain time frames to discern who the Beast, the anti-Christ, the false prophet, and the Abomination of Desolation is. His logic and arithmetic are thought-provoking as well as staggering.

Much of what he has to say is too complicated and detailed to try to reproduce here but I will try to give some of the more startling calculations. By equating Daniel’s days with years Skofield arrives at the precise years that:

The Dome of the Rock is built on the site of the Jerusalem Temple (The Abomination of Desolation)
 

The year Israel became a nation

Who the leopard-bear-lion rulers are

 and

Who the Two-horned beast is to name just a few.

I find it interesting to see that Skofield asserts that the two witnesses described in Revelation are the Jews and then the Christian church. I can see where this makes sense in that for the first millennia, in a world steeped in paganism that had lost sight of their creator, the Jews were the ONLY group of people who knew the one, true God. They were the only people that held the gateway to the truth.

Then the Messiah came and His followers have been witnessing to God’s truth ever since and His gospel is spreading all over the world. So in one sense I can see how Jews and Christians can be seen as the two witnesses giving testimony to the one true God of mankind. I’m not saying I’m convinced, I’m just saying that on one level, what Skofield is saying is true. Whether these are the two witnesses being referred to in Revelation, I don’t know.

I should mention the Skofield is a Jewish Christian. That means to Jews he’s an apostate but to Christians a complete Jew who has progressed beyond “types and shadows”- which were the function of Jewish traditions and rituals- to what they were leading up to, namely the ultimate redeeming sacrifice of the Perfect Lamb of God that truly redeems us as a sacrificed animal never can or could.

Skofield asserts that the Jewish people are being purposely separated by God so they won’t assimilate. This is because He has an ultimate, wonderful plan for them in the final days of the world. It’s pretty exciting and joyful to think about.

Reading The False Prophet made me realize that everything that has been happening in world history has not been a random turn of events but rather leading up to a point: the Roman empire, rise of Islam (which, according to Skofield, figures prominently in the end times), the Roman Catholic church, Reformation, rise of Secular Humanism, Zionism and global economy and terror. Reading how Skofield matches these events with specific prophecies in the Bible causes goose bumps to rise.

The False Prophet would be considered a historicist approach to end time prophecy.  Whether one is a futurist, dispensationalist, preterist or any of the other myriad “ists” that interpret the end time prophecies a certain way, I strongly recommend reading Scofield’s book. It is heavy food for thought.

For more information:

The Beast of the Sea Tapestry of the Apocalypse

c. 1000 A.D.

A free download of this book can be found here  

http://www.ellisskolfield.com/

Other Links:
http://www.tribulation.com/thirteen.htm
http://endtimepilgrim.org/harlot.htm
http://www.lamblion.com/articles/articles_revelation12.php
http://www.raptureme.com/resource/ac46.html

The Harbinger by Johnathon Cahn

This is the second in a series of book reviews I'm posting on End Time prophecy.  For the first post you can go here.

I bought this book because Jonathan Cahn is the pastor of a Messianic church that I used to visit when I lived in New Jersey. At first I went out of curiosity because I had never been to a church that was comprised of Jewish people who acknowledge Jesus as Messiah. I continued to visit, however, because I was impressed with how in depth and insightful Mr. Cahn’s sermons were. Many people from my own church would join with members of Beth Israel and do missionary work in Russia, Ukraine, Cuba and Mexico. Although I never was able to go on these trips it was encouraging to hear the tremendous work God did in the lives of the people in these countries through our two church’s mission work.

Mr. Cahn’s book is a work of fiction that nevertheless holds a very real scenario and warning for our times. A man, Nouriel, meets a mysterious stranger who gives him artifacts that he calls harbingers. Each harbinger has a seal with either writing or a type of picture on them. Every time Nouriel is given a harbinger he must discover the mystery behind it and report back to the stranger.

Using this story formula Mr. Cahn reveals disturbing truths about America’s history and possible future and their connection to Old Testament prophecies and harbingers that pertained to Israel. Much of the prophecies he refers to are in the book of Isaiah where the prophet warns Israel of their impending doom if they continue to worship idols and reject God. In the book, the prophet explains to Nouriel God’s purpose for Israel:

No other nation had been called into being for the will of God… No other people had been given a covenant… If (Israel) followed the ways of God, they would become the most blessed of nations. But if they fell away and turned against His ways, then their blessings would be removed and replaced by calamity, as they did and as it was. (pg. 16)

Nouriel goes on to explain the original purpose of America:

To be…an instrument of God’s purposes, a light to the world. It would give refuge to the world’s poor and needy, and hope to its oppressed.  It would stand against tyranny….As much as it fulfilled its calling or aspired to, it would become the most blessed, the most prosperous, the most powerful and the most revered nation on the earth-just as its founders had prophesied…but, like Israel, if the people fell away from God and turned against his ways, its blessings would be removed and replaced with curses.(pg19)

Nouriel then compares Israel’s devotion to idol worship of the Baals and Asherah poles to America’s idol worship:

"As God was expunged from American life, idols came in to fill the void-idols of sensuality, idols of greed, of money, success, comfort, materialism, pleasure, sexual immorality, self-worship, self-obsession. The sacred increasingly disappeared, and the profane took its place….the nation forgot its foundations"

“Some would call it ‘tolerance.’”

“Yes. The same tolerance that overtook ancient Israel.. a tolerance for everything opposed to God….a tolerance that mocked, marginalized, and condemned those who remained faithful to the values now being discarded…. A tolerance that put the profane on public display and removed nativity scenes from public sight..contraband, as if somehow they had become a threat- a strangely intolerant tolerance.” (pg. 21)

He compares the attack on the World Trade Center with the Assyrian invasion of Israel. Both, he asserts were warnings to the people that they need to return to the God of their fathers. Throughout the book Cahn compares Israel’s relationship with God to America’s. He quotes several sources showing that America started out as a country devoted to God-not privately but officially. He cites George Washington’s inaugural address which clearly states that without Judeo-Christian foundation, it is impossible to uphold the constitution. Washington gave this speech next to a wall where Wall Street now stands. After the speech, he and the crowd walked to his church which stands to this day at ground zero and was the only surviving building of the attack.

He also exposes some interesting facts about Israel’s response to the Assyrian attack and America’s leaders’ response to the 9/11 attack. In Isaiah, Israel’s response was to declare that they would replace the sycamores that had been torn down with cedars. The metaphor meaning that in spite of Assyria’s destruction, by their own will and might, Israel would rebuild itself. In the book, Nouriel’s prophet directly quotes Presidents Bush and Obama as quoting this very same scripture. He has references and sources in the back for those who wish to verify his assertions.

If you’re familiar with the Jewish year of Shemitah, which is a time of resting the land every seven years, forgiving debts and setting slaves free, then you’ll appreciate the fact that God promised Israel that they would face economic collapse if they didn’t observe Shemitah-which by the time of Isaiah they weren’t. In the book the second harbinger was the fall of Freddie Mac, Fannie May, Lehman Brother and Wall Street which happened on the anniversary of 9/11 seven years later. Both these real life tragedies happened on years of Shemitah.

Cahn makes many startling comparisons such as these. You may or may not believe all he has to say and I personally found it all very interesting and informative concerning the different Jewish promises and warnings as recorded in the Old Testament. However, I really didn’t need this book to show me that America was once a country that followed God and was consequently blessed and now that we are a country that has largely rejected Him that He is going to remove his hand of protection over us and 9/11 was the first harbinger.

In conclusion, I think this is a good book to wake anyone up who is open to its message.

Or Kindle for $9.68

For more information:

http://theharbinger-jonathancahn.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SVhZCh0yDc

Beth Israel

Paulette Harper delivers tenacious, life-

changing material. Completely Whole gives a very

practical, every day approach to becoming all Christ has

purposed you to be. The book touches on each area of life,

and gives the reader a sense of urgency to tap into one’s

purpose now! By comparing various Biblical characters

and scenarios, Completely Whole walks you through

your past and present, and thrusts you into your Christ-

purposed future. At the same time, Harper lets you know

that the fight isn’t over, but it’s all about how you receive,

process, and handle specific situations. (From the introduction.)

Ms. Harper has written an inspiring and encouraging book for those who think they have blown it, are suffering, who are strangers to God and need to come to the One who can make them whole.  Completely whole.

    In her book, Completely Whole, Ms. Harper covers a number of topics that are relevant to today’s seeker.  She begins her book by looking at life as a whole.  Why do things happen to us?  Are our expectations for a good life realistic?  What do we do when the fairy tale is replaced with painful reality?  Ms. Harper gives many biblical examples of people in the Bible from prophets to kings, their real life afflictions, and how God used them to make them the whole person he purposed them to be. 

     She shows how many of our trials are due to our abandoning God and falling into self-dug pits.  What do we do then?  How can we dare approach a God from whom we turned away?  She uses scripture to prove that no matter how far we’ve run, God is waiting for us to turn around and run back to Him.  She then gives strategies in how not to look back to where we were and how to fight Satan’s attempts to defeat us by reminding of our past.

    Her book includes steps to redemption and salvation and how God’s forgiveness makes us whole.

     Chapter six is a beautiful chapter on God’s love for us and how it compares to the worldly love we are always looking for and turning to instead of our Heavenly Father’s incomparable eternal love.

    She discusses the power of God’s word, its power and the power of our own words. Other chapters explore our faith and its integral part in our relationship with God.

     She concludes with finding God’s purpose for creating us and letting God provide direction to our life’s path that will allow us to be the complete person he has planned for us to be.

      I thoroughly enjoyed this book.   It is beautifully written and  I recommend it as a devotional for anyone who wants to grow, heal and be made completely whole in God.

I received a free copy of this book by the author.

Ms. Harper is a life coach and public speaker.  For more information:


Paulette Harper
That Was Then This is Now Video Trailer

More books by Paulette Harper:

Crash Course in Jewish History by Ken Spiro

    Rabbi Spiro is an Orthodox Jew who wrote this book based on courses he taught at the Aish HeTorah College of Jewish Studies in Israel.  It is his intention to give Jews a simplified historical line to trace their beginnings as a people to their place in today’s world.

     Because it is a “crash course”, Spiro’s book is easy to read.  In a nutshell, Spiro’s intention is to delineate Judaism from other people groups in the world.

     Now that’s not hard to do or prove.  Jews are the offspring of Abraham with whom God made a covenant.  God does not change or go back on His word.  His plan for the Jewish people will continue until its fruition.  It's important to note that Rabbi Spiro's conclusions differ to what the Bible states in Romans 1:16.  He claims the whole point of the Jewish existence is to usher in world peace. 

      The first part of the book gives a basic run down of historical events that are in the Old Testament.  He skims through the beginnings of the world, the Patriarchs, the Exodus, Moses and the law, the chronicles of the judges, prophets and Kings and finally the Babylonian exile.  This much I already knew from reading my Bible.  Nothing new there. 

     What was interesting was the information he gave concerning the four hundred year gap between the Exile and the Messianic Era.  Here we learn about the Men of the great Assembly, the rise of the Greek empire, the Revolt of the Maccabees, the Romans, Herod and the events that led up to the war of the Jews, the fall of Jerusalem and the Destruction of the Temple.  While these latter things were prophesied in the New Testament (Jesus’ Olivet discourse in Matthew 24) they are not recorded there, presumably because the New Testament writers had all been killed during the Roman Emperor Nero’s persecution.  Much of this I had  read about in Josephus’ books on the War of the Jews but Spiro gives a quick recount which makes it easier for people who just want the skinny on the subject.

       After this, Spiro gives concise accounts of the beginnings of the Talmud, the rise of Islam, the different Jewish groups that scattered throughout Europe during the Middle Ages up to establishing the nation of Israel and the heroic individuals that helped make this historic occasion happen. Spiro describes Kabbalism and the beginning of the Hassidic movement

     Spiro’s main thrust for the rest of the book is how the last two thousand years of has been one long onslaught of persecution and sorrow for the Jewish people.  It is tragic and heart rending to read about.  He doesn’t exaggerate, it is all sadly true.

     Because of the relentless persecution and numerous attempted annihilations of the Jewish people, Spiro concludes that Christianity is a false religion. He also asserts that Christians claim that God changed His mind about the Jews and rejected them in favor of Christians.  On the one hand, I can see how he would think this based on how some Christians or even certain Christian denominations have acted throughout history.   On the other, for all his research, he apparently didn’t take the trouble to actually read the teachings of Christ in the NewTestament to see whether these professing Christians were actually obeying Scripture when they persecuted the Jews.  He might have concluded that instead of Christianity being a false religion that, in fact, some people falsely profess to be Christians.  Jesus said you can judge a tree by its fruit. 

      Interestingly, in Chapter 39 (Origins of Christianity) Spiro claims that Christians have mistranslated the Bible because they used only Greek and Latin translations.  That is a false assertion-every modern translation of the Bible is from the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.  This is true even of the 1610 King James Bible. But then he goes on to say that the reason the United States have been a place of refuge for the Jews is because the Puritans who founded our country based their beliefs on Old Testament Scripture and, in fact, many of the founding fathers were Hebrew scholars! (Chapter 54:  Jews and the Founding of America) 

     Finally, he says it’s impossible to read the Bible without Oral Tradition and since time is taking us farther and farther away from Moses and Oral Tradition, the meaning of Scripture is becoming increasingly obscure.  So according to Rabbi Spiro, Christians are wrong because they don’t have an accurate translation of the Bible but then again, he asserts no one can really know what the Bible is saying anyway! 

        Also what I found fascinating was how Spiro acknowledges that the Messianic era began at the time Christ came to earth but doesn’t believe Jesus is the Christ.  He believes the Messiah is still coming and when he does, he will usher in world peace through the Jewish people.

     Yet Spiro doesn’t take into account the problem of sin.  Moses did.  What was the purpose of all those animal sacrifices?  What is the purpose of Yom Kippor and Rosh Hashanah?  Why did the animal sacrifices that were made to atone for the sins of the people stop at the ushering in of the Messianic era?  Isn’t it because the Messiah had in fact come and made the one and only atoning sacrifice when He sacrificed Himself for everyone’s sins- making animal sacrifices no longer necessary?  Does not Isaiah 53 prophesy this very event?   

    Rabbi Spiro ignores all of this and insists that the Messiah is only coming to bring world peace and he’s going to do it through the Jewish people.  He believes the time is very soon now that Israel is a nation again.  He never mentions mankind being reconciled to God. He also fails to share any belief Jews have of the after life. 

     A couple of other things I found interesting.  Spiro is against both the Hassids and the secular Jews.  Both have got it wrong, according to him.  Hassids have created an artificial legalism that isn’t necessary and the secular Jews have capitulated in an effort to assimilate with the Gentiles.  He insists this is also true of any Jew that becomes a Christian: it is merely an insincere effort to avoid persecution.  He doesn’t explain why Jews became Christians even when it caused persecution.  As it does for many today. Some Jewish friends of mine who have become Messianic believers (recognize Jesus Christ as Y'shua Mashiach) have told me that their families held a "shiva" for them.   This is a symbolic burial (literally “seven days of mourning”) for becoming an “apostate”.

     Do I recommend this book?  I don’t know.  I don’t think it is the most informative book out there-even for Jewish history because it is so superficial.  It certainly isn’t a reliable resource for Christians.  I think it’s value for me, as a Christian, lies in that it allows me to get inside the head of a Jewish person and understand why he and-I’m sure other Jews- think the way they do about themselves and how they perceive Christians.

I bought this book.

For more information or book reviews on Jewish literature and culture:
http://kenspiro.com/
The Chosen
Called to Controversy: The Unlikely Story of Moishe Rosen

Free book giveaway: As One Devil to Another by Richard Platt

  

  In his book As One Devil to Another, Richard Platt takes up where C.S. Lewis, in his book TheScrewtape Letters, left off. Here is another correspondence between two demons, an older “uncle” giving advice to his “nephew” as to the most effective and expedient means to “win a soul” to perdition.

“Uncle” Slashreap gives lots of good advice to his “nephew” Scardagger. Scardagger’s “client” is a young woman at a prestigious University where she is working her way through the academic circles and hoops in hopes of becoming an established member of the faculty and, in her mind, a confirmed “intellectual”. I’m sorry to be using so many quotations but I believe they are all appropriate. Scardagger’s objective is to smooth the way to academic success for this young woman so by the time she achieves her aims she will be hopelessly entrenched in an arrogant, elitist mindset that will act as an effective barrier to her ever being reached by the “Adversary”.

Unfortunately for Scardagger, the Adversary is just as intent on winning the young lady over to His side and even more so since she is His child and He made her for Himself. His tactics, however, are different than the demons. He uses patience and long-suffering-never imposing His will on her but waiting for her to “draw near to Him” so He may then draw near to her. He is not, however, above putting a few people in her path. One person is a much-loved elderly aunt whose opinions she respects. This aunt doesn’t pull any punches when she lets her niece know how pretentious she’s being.

Another person is an elderly gardener who gives a powerful yet loving testimony of his own walk with the Adversary. A final person is a young scientist who, much to Slashreaps horror and Scardagger’s chagrin, falls in love with Scardagger’s lady client.

Don’t think Scardagger isn’t trying. He throws another woman called “the Minx” in the path of his client. This Minx typifies intellectual snobbery and man abusing feminism all in one package. If Scardagger’s Minx does her job right, his client will fall under her influence and revert to the affected intellectual snobbery that scorns the supernatural, upholds secularism as the pinnacle of human enlightenment and sees men as something to use, abuse and then lose.

Things go awry here, too, for poor Scardagger. Just when the Minx almost has his client in her clutches she makes the mistake of mooning over some incomprehensible garbage that is being passed off as art at a museum they’re visiting. The absurdity does not escape his client who snorts with contemptuous laughter. Thus endeth the friendship and influence of the Minx.

Richard Platt’s correspondence between the two demons as they strategize over condemning a soul to hell offers a lot of perspicacious insight for the reader. His observations about the modern female and her obsession with looks and male desirability that ultimately leads to desperation and plastic surgery as she ages was right on.

He also makes bold comments on our culture’s present mores concerning homosexuality, university education, art, and ethics that govern people’s professional and personal lives. His language is stark and clear but done with an affable wit that makes his book fun to read.

My only objection is a couple of questionable theological points he makes where he seems to imply that demons could be redeemed if they only returned to God. I don’t see that anywhere in the Bible.

Aside from that, I recommend this book that, if not as charming as Lewis’ Screwtape Letters, still goes a long way in offering insight into a sin sick society.

Tyndale Publishers are offering a free copy of this book.

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Giveaway is limited to people living on the continental US.

The Apocalypse Code by Hank Hanegraaff

This is the first in a series of book reviews concerning the end times prophecies of the Bible. For the second post you can go here.

 While glancing down the wall on my face book page a post from a friend caught my eye. He was expounding on the prophecies of the Bible concerning the end times. According to him Biblical prophecy that described Christ’s return to earth and His final judgment on the world had been fulfilled 2000 years ago with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. This was my introduction to preterism.

Because I had never heard of this interpretation of Biblical prophecy and yet possess a deep, personal interest in end time prophecy I embarked on my own research of the different positions concerning the prophecies of the return of Jesus Christ in Old Testament books, such as Daniel, Isaiah and the New Testament, specifically Jesus’ own words in the Olivet Discourse and finally in the book of Revelation.

The first thing I did was dig out a book I had bought a year or so ago and had at the bottom of my TBR pile. It is by Hank Hanegraaff, also known as “The Bible Answer Man” to those of us who listen to Christian radio. The book is titled, The Apocalypse Code and is written primarily as a response to the dispensationalist viewpoint of end time scripture.

Because Dispensationalism is probably the most common viewpoint of the contemporary Christian church (Protestant or Catholic) I found this surprising and was interested to learn what Hanegraaff’s own stance was and how he substantiated it as well as how he would refute the Dispensationalist one.

For those who don’t know, Dispensationalism is the viewpoint that the Church will be raptured from the earth in the first phase of Christ’s second coming. This will be followed by a seven-year tribulation under the Antichrist followed by Christ’s second coming in which Christ and his saints will rule a thousand years in peace before the final judgment of the world.

Most of Hanegraaff’s book involves disputing this viewpoint in favor of partial preterism (though he doesn’t explicitly call his viewpoint such).

There are two types of preterism: partial and full or hyper- preterism. Preterists holds to the view that the eschatological events prophesied in Scripture have already taken place. Partial preterists fall safely on the side of Orthodox Christian doctrine because they still believe in the bodily return of Jesus Christ, the bodily resurrection of the dead, and that the final resolution of sin is still in the future. Full preterists presume ALL prophecy, including the second coming of Christ and the resurrection of Christians, has been fulfilled. Hanegraaff himself clearly labels this latter belief as heretical.

While I don’t feel qualified to dispute or agree with many of the points Hanegraaff makes, I found this book had much to recommend it. Even though too much of his language is inflammatory and reactionary against Hal Lindsey and Timothy LaHaye (author of the Left Behind series) there is still a lot of good exegetical teaching that I valued.

For one, his discourse on how to interpret the Bible (is the passage to be taken literally? Metaphorically? Figuratively? What is the cultural context? Who is the intended audience? Etc.) was clear and methodical and as good a defense in understanding scripture as any I’ve ever read.

While I never considered Christ speaking specifically against the Pharisees and the judgment against the priesthood in his Olivet Discourse, I now understand that He was prophesying the eminent destruction of Jerusalem and the temple that effectively ended the priesthood, tribal identity (since the genealogy records were kept in the temple) and the animal sacrifices.

What I would have liked more on was discussion on the end times yet to come. He hardly mentions it at all and if it weren’t for a passing mention of his belief in Christ’s ultimate return I would have been left wondering where he stood on that doctrine since he asserts the seven year tribulation and the beast refers to the persecution of Christians under the Roman Emperor Nero’s reign.

Anyone interested in different viewpoints of end time prophecy and scripture study would benefit from this book. I am also reading another book that goes step by step through the book of Revelation accompanied by each end time view point: Preterism, Dispensationalism, Historical, and Futuristic. I will review this book when I’ve finished it.

For more information:

Hank Hanegraaff's web site equip.org

Partial preterism

Full preterist view

Opposing viewpoints:

Why I am not a preterist

A response to the preterist interpretation of scripture

Unashamed to Bear His Name: Embracing the Stigma of Being a Christian by R.T. Kendall

    Tradition has it that St. Francis bore the stigmata of Christ on his body.  Stigmata refers to the marks on Jesus’ hands, feet and side of His crucifixion.  This became a sign of special favor or holiness in the Catholic Church.  In actuality, stigmata has a very different meaning.  The original meaning means stigma and it is why Christ’s crucifixion marks were called, “stigmata.”  Stigma is to carry shame.  The cross was a shame.  It was the most inhumane, humiliating, shameful death reserved for the worst of criminals.  Jesus took this shame, this stigma, upon Himself to save a sin sick world from eternal death. 

   In Unashamed to Bear His Name: Embracing the Stigma of Being a Christian, the author, R.T. Kendall, restores the original meaning back to its proper place.  The fact of the matter is, in today’s society being a Christian does carry a stigma.  The media has done a great job stigmatizing Christianity with shows that make Christians out to be idiots at best, judgemental busybodies in the middle, and raving lunatical zealots, “murdering in the name of God” at the other end of the spectrum.

   But I won’t blame the media for producing that attitude in the average person.  Every person is responsible for thinking for themselves (and what they give an audience to).  Be that as it may, in modern thinking, there is a general negative attitude, a stigma, to being a Christian.  The book has fifteen chapters and each chapter discusses a different stigma Christians bear.  He shows how the Old Testament, the Gospel, bearing Christ’s name are all offensive to our post modern culture that specializes in deconstructing everything to the point that their only solid conclusion is that it’s impossible to know anything.  Well they believe it’s possible to know one thing:  Christianity is false, Christians are naïve or delusional, and many are bad people trying to hurt the rest of the world with their narrow-minded thinking.

     Other chapters talk of the stigma of No Vindication (having your name cleared from a false accusation); the stigma of the Holy Spirit-here Kendall points to certain Christians that balk at visible signs of the Holy Spirit working in people’s lives if it gets outside their personal  walls that delineate Spiritual manifestation. His final chapter is about living outside the camp.  In Judaic law unclean people such as lepers or people who had committed certain crimes or in any way were unclean had to live outside the camp of Israel (when they were still a nomadic nation) He shows how many Christian denominations began “outside the camp”:  The Wesley brother’s were kicked out of the Episcopal church, thus beginning the Methodist church.  Martin Luther was kicked out of the Catholic Church which eventually led to the Lutheran denomination and so on.

      Kendall includes his own testimony by telling us about his strict, legalistic upbringing in a certain denomination and the stigma he had to endure from family and friends when he left that church because of his personal convictions.  He became pastor of Westminister Chapel in London for many years where he had to break traditionalist thinking and carrying the “stigma” of reaching people in old fashioned street preaching and changing the demographics of this venerable church. 

    

     Christians of all denominations will be edified by Kendall’s admonishments and encouragements when he reveals how bearing Christ’s stigma is not a cause for feeling defeated but for rejoicing in sharing the sufferings of our Savior and will feel renewed strength to pick up their own cross and follow Him.

I received this book for free from Baker Publishers.