Preparing for Halloween

By Tillie Carson

Well, it’s that time of year again: the time when you can’t drive down the street without seeing inflatable witches and ghosts everywhere. Over the years there has been a lot of controversy over Halloween. Should Christians celebrate this holiday or not? For many, the answer is yes. Halloween is just a harmless time when the kids can dress up in fun costumes and go door to door asking for candy. But for others, it goes much deeper. Many Christians I have met simply do not know the history of Halloween. Personally, I feel that it’s an important thing to know, so I would like to take you with me back in time to find the origin of the second most popular holiday in the world.

For several hundred years before Christ, the Celts inhabited what is now France, Germany, England, Scotland and Ireland. Celtic priests were called Druids. It is not  possible to separate Halloween from the Druids because they originated it. These Celts were eventually conquered by the Romans. Information about the Celts and Druids comes from Caesar and the Roman historians, Greek writings from about 200 B.C., and very early records found in Ireland. Greek and Roman writings about the Druids dwell heavily on their frequent and barbaric human sacrifices. The ancient Irish texts say little about human sacrifices, but detail the Druids’ use of magic to raise storms, lay curses on places, kill by the use of spells, and create magical obstacles. By 47 A.D., Rome finally defeated the Druids in Britain and outlawed human sacrifices. The few remaining Druids went underground.

Many people today think that Halloween was just the Celtic New Year, but November 1^st was the Celtic New Year. October 31^st was celebrated by the Druids with many human sacrifices and a festival honoring their sun god and Samhain, the lord of the dead. They believed that the sinful souls of those who died during the year were in a place of torment, and would be released to roam earth only if Samhain was pleased with their sacrifices. During their rituals they would dress in animal skins, or tree bark, hence the custom of the costumes and masks in an attempt to copy the evil spirits or placate them.

(Much of this information came from Davies*.)

 

Snap-Apple Night by Daniel Maclise showing a Halloween party in Blarney, Ireland, in 1832. The young children on the right bob for apples. A couple in the center play a variant, which involves retrieving an apple hanging from a string. The couples at left play divination games.

The Druids believed that during the time of Samhain the division between the 2 worlds (our world) and the spirit world became very thin.  This time enabled hostile supernatural forces to wander around our world as they wished.  Because some animals and plants were dying (the start of winter), it thus allowed the dead to reach back through the veil that separated them from the living.

“During this interval the normal order of the universe is suspended, the barriers between the natural and the supernatural are temporarily removed, the sidh lies open and all divine beings and the spirits of the dead move freely among men and interfere sometimes violently, in their affairs”   –Celtic Mythology” p. 127

Today neo-pagans honour the death of a god, who is then reborn (Sun god).  Samhain is one of the eight annual festivals, often referred to as ‘Sabbats’, observed by Wiccans.  Samhain is considered by some Wiccans as a time to celebrate the lives of those who have passed on, and in some rituals the spirits of the departed are invited to attend the festivities.

The tradition of trick-or-treat started when the Druids went door to door, dragging behind them on a rope the dead body of a male slave that they had bought and killed for this purpose. At each door they demanded the same thing: food for their feast. But many of the people were poor farmers who didn’t even have enough food for their own families, let alone a feast for Samhain. In those cases, the Druids took the eldest daughter or child for the sacrifice.  After getting an offering, they would carve demonic faces into pumpkins, or large turnips, and place a candle inside them. (Today we call them Jack-o-Lanterns.)  These were left at the door as a signal to the evil spirits that this family did their share and to stay away from them. If the farmers didn’t have anything for the sacrifice (no children) or just refused, then the priests would use the dead slave’s blood to paint a hexagram on the door. This signal told the evil spirits to kill one member in this house as punishment for not doing their share. Trick or Treat. The treat: either precious food, or more often, a precious child. The trick: One person in the household died that night, although most of the time it was out of pure terror!

 

Druids at Stonehenge

“As darkness set in on October 31st, the clan of Druids would put on their white robes and hoods. They would carry sickles and Celtic crosses as they began a torchlight procession. At the beginning of the procession, a male slave was killed and dragged by a rope fastened to his left ankle. The Druids would walk until they came to a house or a village where they shouted the equivalent of ‘trick or treat.’  The treat was a slave girl or any female to be given to the Druids. If the people refused to a girl as a ‘treat’, blood was taken from the dead slave and used to draw a hexagram or six-pointed star on the door or wall of the village. Spirits of the ‘horned hunter of the night’ were invoked by the Druids to kill someone in that house or village by fear that night.”   --Meyer: Halloween and the Forces of Darkness

I find it very interesting to think about how the Israelites had to put lamb’s blood on their doorposts as a signal to the Angel of Death to pass over, and here the Satanists are painting with human’s blood on the door to tell demons to enter.

The tradition of bobbing for apples and giving out nuts came from a Roman addiction to the Druidic New Year’s eve. The Romans worshiped Pomona who was the goddess of the harvest. They combined their harvest festival to Pomona with Halloween.

Irish records tell of the fascination the Catholic monks had with the powerful Druids, and Druids soon became important members of their monasteries. Pope Gregory the Great decided to incorporate the Druids’ holiday into the church. He made the proclamation:

“They are no longer to sacrifice beasts to the devil, but they may kill them for food to the praise of God, and give thanks to the giver of all gifts for His bounty.”

Pope Gregory III moved the church festival of October 31^st to November 1^st and called it All Hallows, or All Saints’ Day. Pope Gregory IV decreed that the day was to be a universal church observance. The term Halloween comes from All Hallows Eve.

The founding fathers of America refused to permit the holiday to be observed because they knew it was a pagan holiday. Halloween was not widely celebrated in the U.S. until about 1900. In the 1840’s there was a terrible potato famine in Ireland which sent thousands of Catholic Irish to America. They brought Halloween with them.

Very little archeological evidence of the Druids has been found, but there is excellent agreement between the Roman and Irish documents. Both clearly state that the knowledge of the Druids was never committed to writing but passed from generation to generation by oral teaching. This was to protect their secrets. The same is true today. Nothing is put into writing. The druids continue on secretly with much the same traditions.

The widespread problem of harmful substances such as razor blades, drugs, poisons, needles, etc. being placed in the Halloween treats here in America is no accident. Every year the number of children hurt, killed, or just missing, rises. Testimonies of several ex-Satanists show that these children killed and injured by the “treats”, and sometimes worse, are sacrifices to Satan. Satanists throughout the world continue to perform human sacrifices on Halloween. Today, people think it’s fun to try to scare each other or be scared on October 31^st, but can you imagine the pure terror if you had lived there so many years ago? It would be the farthest thing from fun!

As more and more youth of the culture are getting pulled into movies like Harry Potter, role playing games like Dungeons & Dragons and computer role playing games like

 

World Of WarCraft – Tauren Druid

World of WarCraft, they are digging into witchcraft. More and more of the youth today are becoming full witches, a little at a time, and they all know that Halloween is the best time to celebrate Satan.

I believe that many of the Christians who celebrate this “helliday” do so in ignorance. What am I suggesting? Should we be afraid of October 31^st? Absolutely not! As Christians, we don’t need to fear the darkness of the devil, for we are protected by God Almighty! But I think that, perhaps, if more Christians knew the background of Halloween, they would not celebrate it. Let’s do what we can to show it to them! Let’s put it in pamphlets, hand them out at churches, and give them to trick-or-treaters that knock on your door. This year, let’s tell as many people as we can what they are celebrating. Let’s get this out! (Mom4Truth Note: In fairness to the original author of this article, I will leave this statement in, but I have to say that I disagree with this concept. We do not turn our lights on or open our door on this evil evening! We must not have anything to do with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather work to expose them!)

* Davies was a 16^th century writer who traced his family lineage directly back to Druid priests who fought against Caesar. He clearly describes the human sacrifices of his ancestors and the secret sacrifices still performed regularly by the Druids of his time.  In his writings, Davies indicated that he came under much persecution for putting in writing his information about Druids.

In addition, I found the following resources helpful as well.

1. Celebrations – The Complete Book of American Holidays, Robert. J. Myers, (Doubleday & Co., 1972).
2. The Famous Druids, A. L. Owen, (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1962)
3. The American Book of Days, George William Douglas, (H.W. Wilson Co., 1948).
4. The Two Babylons, Rev. Alexander Hislop, (Chick Publications, 1998).
5. The Force, Dr. Alberto Rivera, (Chick Publications.1984)

* Complete Book:  Davies – The Mythology and Rites of the British Druids  (1809)

Hosea 4:6 (a)

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

—————————

Druids were recently recognised as a religion in Britain:  http://www.discerningtheworld.com/2010/10/03/britain-recognises-druidry-as-a-religion/

Each year on February 14th countless millions of people celebrate a day known as “St. Valentine’s Day.” Millions of heart-shaped cards and boxes of chocolates are given as gifts, and even churches have Valentine parties on this so-called “Day of Love.” In schools, from pre-school and kindergarten on up, children draw names from a box  and exchange heart-shapes notes which “pair off” the children and is said to be “all in fun.” People of all ages get into the act, and the words that are heard everywhere on that day are, “Be My Valentine.”

The sad fact is that most people never question the origin of the customs that they involve themselves with. Most people do not ask questions but do what everybody else does, never stopping to consider how the Almighty God of Heaven feels about their activities.  When we consider that Valentine’s Day is a day  of preoccupation with the heart, it is essential that we listen to the following words spoken by the Almighty, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his wages, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17:9-10

Christians should be known by their discernment  and should be asking questions regarding Valentine’s Day. What is the origin of this unusual day?  Why is there a preoccupation with the color red? Where did the heart shape come from, and what does it mean? These and other questions will now be answered, as we examine the roots and pagan origin of this popular day.

In the days of the Roman Empire, the month of February was the last and shortest month of the year. February originally had 30 days, but when Julius Caesar named the month of July after himself, he decided to make that month longer and shortened February to 29 days while making July a month of 31 days. Later when Octavius Caesar, also known as Augustus, came to power, he named the month of August after himself, and not be outdone he also subtracted a day from February and gave the month of August 31 days. To this very day it remains that way. The ancient Romans believed that every month had a spirit that gained in strength and reached its peak or apex of power in the middle or ides of the month.  This was usually the 15th day, and it was a day when witches and augurs, or soothsayers worked their magic. An augur was a person filled with a spirit of divination, and from the word augur we get the word “inaugurate”, which means to “take omens”.  Since February had been robbed by Caesars and had only 28 days, the ides of February became the 14th day of that month. Since the Ides of a month was celebrated on the preceding eve, the month of February was unique, because it was the 13th day that became the eve of the Ides that month, and it became a very important pagan holiday in the Empire of Rome. The sacred day of February 14th was called “Lupercalia” or “day of the wolf.”  This was a day that was sacred to the sexual frenzy of the goddess Juno. This day also honored the Roman gods, Lupercus and Faunus, as well as the legendary twin brothers, who supposedly founded Rome, Remus and Romulus. These two are said to have been suckled by wolves in a cave on Palatine Hill in Rome. The cave was called Lupercal and was the center of the celebrating on the eve of Lupercalia or February 14th.

On this day, Lupercalia, which was later named Valentine’s Day, the Luperci or priests of Lupercus dressed in goatskins for a bloody ceremony. The priests of Lupercus, the wolf god, would sacrifice goats and a dog and then smear themselves with blood. These priests, made red with sacrificial blood, would run around Palatine Hill in a wild frenzy while carving a goatskin thong called a “februa.” Women would sit all around the hill, as the bloody priests would strike them with the goatskin thongs to make them fertile. The young women would then gather in the city and their names were put in boxes. These “love notes” were called “billets.” The men of Rome would draw a billet, and the woman whose name was on it became his sexual lust partner with whom he would fornicate until the next Lupercalia or February 14th.

Thus, February 14th became a day of unbridled sexual lust. The color “red” was sacred to that day because of the blood and the “heart shape”  that is popular to this day. The heart-shape was not a representation of the human heart, which looks nothing like it. This shape represents the human female matrix or opening to the chamber of sacred copulation.

When the Gnostic Catholic Church began to get a foothold in Rome around the 3rd century A.D., they became known as Valentinians. The Catholic Valentinians retained the sexual license of the festival in what they called “angels in a nuptial chamber”, which was also called the “sacrament of copulation.” This was said to be an reenactment of the marriage of “Sophia and the Redeemer.” As the participants of the February 14th ritual began their sexual sacrament, presided over and watched by the priests known as Valentinians, the following literary was spoken: “Let the seed of light descend into thy bridal chamber, receive the bridegroom… open thine arms to embrace him. Behold, grace has descended upon thee.”

As time went on, the Orthodox Church suppressed the Gnostic Catholics and manufactured “St. Valentine”, whose day continues to be celebrated in these modern times.

It should be without saying that the Christians should avoid Valentine’s Day like a plague.  In God’s eyes, it is still “Lupercalia”, the “Day Of The Wolf.” Men become wolves, as they carry on the Satanic rituals of fornication, which means sexual intercourse without marriage. We have heard of the “wolf whistle”, and we all know that wolves do not whistle. It is lustful men and women, who carry on Satan’s blasphemy  to this very day.

The shocking information in this tract can be easily verified at any public library.  If you want more information, please contact us at:

Last Trumpet Ministries International
PO Box 806
Beaver Dam, WI 53916

These tracts have been prayed over, and you will never be the same after reading this message. May our Lord Jesus Christ grant unto you a desire to walk in His truth.

Pastor David J. Meyer

The Two Babylons
Or
The Papal Worship Proved to be
the Worship of Nimrod and His Wife

by the Late Alexander Hislop

Chapter V
Section IV
The Rosary and the Worship of the Sacred Heart

Every one knows how thoroughly Romanist is the use of the rosary; and how the devotees of Rome mechanically tell their prayers upon their beads. The rosary, however, is no invention of the Papacy. It is of the highest antiquity, and almost universally found among Pagan nations. The rosary was used as a sacred instrument among the ancient Mexicans. It is commonly employed among the Brahmins of Hindustan; and in the Hindoo sacred books reference is made to it again and again. Thus, in an account of the death of Sati, the wife of Shiva, we find the rosary introduced: “On hearing of this event, Shiva fainted from grief; then, having recovered, he hastened to the banks of the river of heaven, where he beheld lying the body of his beloved Sati, arrayed in white garments, holding a rosary in her hand, and glowing with splendour, bright as burnished gold.” In Thibet it has been used from time immemorial, and among all the millions in the East that adhere to the Buddhist faith. The following, from Sir John F. Davis, will show how it is employed in China: “From the Tartar religion of the Lamas, the rosary of 108 beads has become a part of the ceremonial dress attached to the nine grades of official rank. It consists of a necklace of stones and coral, nearly as large as a pigeon’s egg, descending to the waist, and distinguished by various beads, according to the quality of the wearer. There is a small rosary of eighteen beads, of inferior size, with which the bonzes count their prayers and ejaculations exactly as in the Romish ritual. The laity in China sometimes wear this at the wrist, perfumed with musk, and give it the name of Heang-choo, or fragrant beads.” In Asiatic Greece the rosary was commonly used, as may be seen from the image of the Ephesian Diana. In Pagan Rome the same appears to have been the case. The necklaces which the Roman ladies wore were not merely ornamental bands about the neck, but hung down the breast, just as the modern rosaries do; and the name by which they were called indicates the use to which they were applied. “Monile,” the ordinary word for a necklace, can have no other meaning than that of a “Remembrancer.” Now, whatever might be the pretence, in the first instance, for the introduction of such “Rosaries” or “Remembrancers,” the very idea of such a thing is thoroughly Pagan. * It supposes that a certain number of prayers must be regularly gone over; it overlooks the grand demand which God makes for the heart, and leads those who use them to believe that form and routine are everything, and that “they must be heard for their much speaking.”

* “Rosary” itself seems to be from the Chaldee “Ro,” “thought,” and “Shareh,” “director.”

In the Church of Rome a new kind of devotion has of late been largely introduced, in which the beads play an important part, and which shows what new and additional strides in the direction of the old Babylonian Paganism the Papacy every day is steadily making. I refer to the “Rosary of the Sacred Heart.” It is not very long since the worship of the “Sacred Heart” was first introduced; and now, everywhere it is the favourite worship. It was so in ancient Babylon, as is evident from the Babylonian system as it appeared in Egypt. There also a “Sacred Heart” was venerated. The “Heart” was one of the sacred symbols of Osiris when he was born again, and appeared as Harpocrates, or the infant divinity, * borne in the arms of his mother Isis.

* The name Harpocrates, as shown by Bunsen, signifies “Horus, the child.”

Therefore, the fruit of the Egyptian Persea was peculiarly sacred to him, from its resemblance to the “HUMAN HEART.” Hence this infant divinity was frequently represented with a heart, or the heart-shaped fruit of the Persea, in one of his hands. The following extract, from John Bell’s criticism on the antiques in the Picture Gallery of Florence, will show that the boyish divinity had been represented elsewhere also in ancient times in the same manner. Speaking of a statue of Cupid, he says it is “a fair, full, fleshy, round boy, in fine and sportive action, tossing back a heart.” Thus the boy-god came to be regarded as the “god of the heart,” in other words, as Cupid, or the god of love. To identify this infant divinity, with his father “the mighty hunter,” he was equipped with “bow and arrows”; and in the hands of the poets, for the amusement of the profane vulgar, this sportive boy-god was celebrated as taking aim with his gold-tipped shafts at the hearts of mankind. His real character, however, as the above statement shows, and as we have seen reason already to conclude, was far higher and of a very different kind. He was the woman’s seed. Venus and her son Cupid, then, were none other than the Madonna and the child. Looking at the subject in this light, the real force and meaning of the language will appear, which Virgil puts into the mouth of Venus, when addressing the youthful Cupid:–

“My son, my strength, whose mighty power alone
Controls the thunderer on his awful throne,
To thee thy much afflicted mother flies,
And on thy succour and thy faith relies.”

From what we have seen already as to the power and glory of the Goddess Mother being entirely built on the divine character attributed to her Son, the reader must see how exactly this is brought out, when the Son is called “THE STRENGTH” of his Mother. As the boy-god, whose symbol was the heart, was recognised as the god of childhood, this very satisfactorily accounts for one of the peculiar customs of the Romans. Kennett tells us, in his Antiquities, that the Roman youths, in their tender years, used to wear a golden ornament suspended from their necks, called bulla, which was hollow, and heart-shaped. Barker, in his work on Cilicia, while admitting that the Roman bulla was heart-shaped, further states, that “it was usual at the birth of a child to name it after some divine personage, who was supposed to receive it under his care”; but that the “name was not retained beyond infancy, when the bulla was given up.” Who so likely to be the god under whose guardianship the Roman children were put, as the god under one or other of his many names whose express symbol they wore, and who, while he was recognised as the great and mighty war-god, who also exhibited himself in his favourite form as a little child?

The veneration of the “sacred heart” seems also to have extended to India, for there Vishnu, the Mediatorial god, in one of his forms, with the mark of the wound in his foot, in consequence of which he died, and for which such lamentation is annually made, is represented as wearing a heart suspended on his breast. It is asked, How came it that the “Heart” became the recognised symbol of the Child of the great Mother? The answer is, “The Heart” in Chaldee is “BEL”; and as, at first, after the check given to idolatry, almost all the most important elements of the Chaldean system were introduced under a veil, so under that veil they continued to be shrouded from the gaze of the uninitiated, after the first reason–the reason of fear–had long ceased to operate. Now, the worship of the “Sacred Heart” was just, under a symbol, the worship of the “Sacred Bel,” that mighty one of Babylon, who had died a martyr for idolatry; for Harpocrates, or Horus, the infant god, was regarded as Bel, born again. That this was in very deed the case, the following extract from Taylor, in one of his notes to his translation of the Orphic Hymns, will show. “While Bacchus,” says he, was “beholding himself” with admiration “in a mirror, he was miserably torn to pieces by the Titans, who, not content with this cruelty, first boiled his members in water, and afterwards roasted them in the fire; but while they were tasting his flesh thus dressed, Jupiter, excited by the steam, and perceiving the cruelty of the deed, hurled his thunder at the Titans, but committed his members to Apollo, the brother of Bacchus, that they might be properly interred. And this being performed, Dionysius [i.e., Bacchus], (whose HEART, during his laceration, was snatched away by Minerva and preserved) by a new REGENERATION, again emerged, and he being restored to his pristine life and integrity, afterwards filled up the number of the gods.” This surely shows, in a striking light, the peculiar sacredness of the heart of Bacchus; and that the regeneration of his heart has the very meaning I have attached to it–viz., the new birth or new incarnation of Nimrod or Bel. When Bel, however was born again as a child, he was, as we have seen, represented as an incarnation of the sun. Therefore, to indicate his connection with the fiery and burning sun, the “sacred heart” was frequently represented as a “heart of flame.” So the “Sacred Heart” of Rome is actually worshipped as a flaming heart, as may be seen on the rosaries devoted to that worship. Of what use, then, is it to say that the “Sacred Heart” which Rome worships is called by the name of “Jesus,” when not only is the devotion given to a material image borrowed from the worship of the Babylonian Antichrist, but when the attributes ascribed to that “Jesus” are not the attributes of the living and loving Saviour, but the genuine attributes of the ancient Moloch or Bel?

This entry video in the “Democracy is…” contest sponsored by the United States State Department was one of 6 winners. Source: United States State Department…

The world is undergoing a huge transformation. Scripture speaks of a uniting of global governments, ultimately yielding their authority to the Biblical Anti-Christ. For those of you even alive for the last decade, you have probably felt the same sense of awe as you would consider the warnings in the Book of Revelation, wondering when, what, why, and how they would ultimately come to pass. I often wondered how a global consensus on religion could be made. Now it is ever-apparent before my eyes. We have arrived with the advent of pantheism, subjugated by transcendental meditation and/or contemplative prayer. And further solidified with the number of ecumenical accords being signed today; i.e. The Manhattan Declaration.

I wondered how a globe gone wild, with differing peoples, cultures, languages, philosophies could set aside differences in the name of unity. How could another Tower of Babel grow? We are sitting on the precipice of this looming entity, with one step in any direction forcing us off the cliff into intergovernmental, dictatorial, oblivion. We will soon be there. We have begun the descent. Global governments are meeting in ‘G’ this’ and ‘G’ thats, Bilderberg, CFR, the UN, The Tri-Lateral Commission, NAFTA, shall I go on? Each day we are inundated with the reality that God’s prophetic time-clock ever ticks forward.

The world, unbeknown to them, is getting ready to endure the most severe trial by fire it has ever known. Christ refers to it as being similar to the days of Noe (Noah). Unprecedented sin, wickedness, evil, hate, malice, fornication, homosexuality, murder, ungodliness. The end result was 8 people safely boarded an ark, shut away from the torrential downpour and eradication of humanity going on just inches from where they slept.

And this is the difference.

For those sealed in salvation by the shed blood of Christ Jesus, we are told to watch for His coming with hope and anticipation. For those who remain under condemnation apart from Christ, this Day is pronounced as a woe on you! Woe! on your foolishness to not heed the Truth of God’s Word and to not hearken unto the voice of wisdom! For at the end of that Great and Terrible Day of the Lord, you, who were meant for eternity, will be cast into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

But it is not yet too late. The hour is near, even at the door. I pray for God’s mercy upon you, that at this late hour, you may believe, repent, and be ye saved!

1 Peter 2:13-20 “Therefore submit yourselves unto all manner ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether it be unto the King, as unto the superior, Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent of him, for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that by well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, As free, and not as having the liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as servants of God. Honor all men, love brotherly fellowship, fear God, honor the King. Servants, be subject to your own masters with all fear, not only to the good and courteous, but also to the froward. For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what praise is it, if when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye take it patiently? But and if when ye do well, ye suffer wrong and take it patiently, this is acceptable to God.” 1 Peter 2:23 “Who when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not, but committed it to Him who judgeth righteously.”

In light of today’s Tea Party and government revolutions, how relevant do you think these verses are? Are they another we may toss in the trash heap of “that was then, this is now”?

I will confess, I was caught up in the “conservative” luster that seemed to shine so bright amongst Reagan one-liners and Churchill speeches. I was awash in red, white, and blue deception. I stood on the street corners, I shouted my slogans, I attended the rallies, and I proudly donned my ‘I Voted’ sticker every time it rolled around. I was amped and ramped to fight, what I observed, was the hostile takeover of America by radical leftists. I bought into that  fervor, and joined in banging the drums of patriotism.

I have confessed. (To the Lord, that is.)

I am called to be an alien, a pilgrim, traveling through until my dwelling place on High is realized. My Savior is busily preparing it for me. And, yet, here I stood with one foot planted in the Word and the other in the World.

God’s Word reads quite differently than what we see playing out before our eyes.

The Papacy completely violates this portion of God’s Word. From the moment Constantine’s vision set before him a red cross and the words, “In this sign, you will conquer,” the Roman Catholic Organism has succeeded in conquering and controlling world governments. Even the lyrics of the popular children’s tune, “Onward Christian soldiers, marching off to war. With the cross of Jesus going on before” melodiously tap out the hidden agenda of the Catholic Cult.

The Dominionists of today’s apostate church are doing the same. Teaching that we must conquer this earth and her kingdoms for Christ.

John 18:36 “Jesus answered, My Kingdom is not of this world; if my Kingdom were of this world, my servants would surely fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now is my Kingdom not from hence.”

We are merely sojourners, passing through on our journey Home. Christ’s commandment was not to go forth and conquer the nations, rather it was to go and make disciples of Him, baptizing them, armed with only the Sword of the Word. Christ’s Word says we are to shake the dust off our feet and move on if they reject it, not burn them at the stake!

Acts 23:5 “For it is written, Thou shall not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.”

Are Christians obeying this? I see professing Christians speaking evil of President Obama everyday. You are far too high on your horse, dear ones. For realize, that the Just came to die for the unjust. You and me. We were unjust until the blood of Christ put us in right-standing with God. We could be President Obama if it were not for the unmerited grace and mercy shown our lives.

We must be well-doing, obeying the magistrates of the land, as if we were doing it unto God Himself! We are to keep our heads down, walking in humility, meekness, and with a quiet spirit.

1 Peter 3:13-17 “And who is it that will harm you, if ye follow that which is good? Notwithstanding, blessed are ye, if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake. Yea, fear not their fear, neither be troubled. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and reverence, Having a good conscience, that when they speak evil of you as evil doers, they may be ashamed, which slander your good conversation in Christ. For it is better (if the will of God be so), that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.”

Even so, come Lord Jesus!

Dictionary.com defines it as: Of only moderate quality; not very good.

I can’t think of many areas in life in which we strive only for or celebrate mediocrity. The Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines mediocrity this way: A middle state or degree; a moderate degree or rate. A mediocrity of condition is most favorable to morals and happiness. He says, “We owe obedience to the law of reason, which teacheth mediocrity in meats and drinks.” Now, we owe no obedience to the “law of reason” as many Desists claim, however, we do owe obedience to God’s Word, which, in the like, teaches mediocrity in meats and drinks.

Having said this, I see this as the only area where mediocrity should be encouraged. In sports, we never cheer for the player who’s playing only mediocre. In business, the mediocre employee would be hard-pressed to receive anything more than a cost-of-living pay raise. In agriculture, mediocrity would mean the starvation of a planet of people. And yet, people practice mediocrity in the most fundamental aspects of life: marriage, parenting, and the worst of all, living out their faith.

Why is it that the arm-chair quarterback “Christian” couldn’t tell you the last time he picked up his Bible, nor what passage he read, but he cleaves to his big-screen and can tell you every stat for every player in the NFL?

Why is that the stay-at-home wife and Julia Child-wannabe can recite any of her best recipes, but couldn’t recite one verse of Scripture that wasn’t printed out on her coffee mug?

And why is it that a young mother can tell you every ribbon her child has received, but couldn’t tell you one iota of the essence of her child’s faith?

When it comes to God, faith, and obedience, we accept mediocrity. And we expect God to do the same!

Why is your “faith” nothing more than a Sunday morning romp with your friends? Why is all that God gets from you are tears in your eyes as you sing “You are worthy to be praised”? Is He worthy to be praised? And, if so, why is He not worth every bit of crucifying of your flesh?

Choosing to follow after the Lord and walk in obedience should disrupt every aspect of your life! It should cause you to question every decision, every word, every action, every detail of your life. Do you have behaviors that aren’t righteous? Do you have books in your home, music in your home, that don’t please the Holy God? Do you profess Him and live like a hypocrite? Do you play video games and watch every movie at the theater? Does your faith consist of nothing more than a ‘Jesus’ bumper sticker on your car? If the world saw you, would you look different? Or would you look just like them? Before you answer that, think about it. What about your life looks different? Your dress, your speech, your choice in activities, your marriage, your children?

Why do you dare to live out your faith with such mediocrity? You think your “liberty” won’t be a stench in His nostrils? He is Holy! He calls us to be Holy! ARE YOU HOLY?

Sin is not the question here- we will fall. Iniquity is the message. Willful, deliberate, ongoing sin- disobedience, rebellion, idolatry, wantonness, stubbornness, pride, covetousness, lying, lasciviousness, filthy talk, licentiousness, vanity…mediocrity. These should not reign in your hearts, dear Christian.

Stop wasting God’s time! If you aren’t committed to allowing His will, his purpose, His plan to ruining all of yours- you are wasting His time. You cannot expect your mediocre works to stand before an Holy God!

We are told that our works will be tried by fire. Some will be refined and made more beautiful and some will burn up and burn away.

So, what about yours: Gold or Grass?

It is the system which is so careful about the feelings of others, that we are never to say they are wrong. It is the system which is so liberal that it calls a man a bigot, if he dares to say, “I know my views are right.” This is the system, this is the tone of feeling which I fear in this day, and this is the system which I desire emphatically to testify against and denounce. From the liberality which says everybody is right, from the charity which forbids us to say anybody is wrong, from the peace which is bought at the expense of truth – may the good Lord deliver us!

~ J.C. Ryle

Knots Untied, “Only One Way of Salvation” [Cambridge, England: James Clarke & Co., 1977], 30, 31.

“You cannot make your children love the Bible, I admit. No one but the Holy Spirit can give us a heart to delight in the Word. But you can make sure that your children are acquainted with the Bible; and remember that they can never become acquainted with that blessed book too soon, or too well.

“See that your children read the Bible reverently. Train them to look upon it, not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the Word of God, written by the Holy Spirit Himself—all true, all profitable, and able to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ.

“See that they read it regularly. Train them to regard it as their soul’s daily food—as something essential to their soul’s daily health. I well know that you cannot make this anything more than a form; but there is no telling the amount of sin which a mere form may indirectly restrain.

“See that they read it all. You need not shrink from bringing any doctrine before them. You need not assume that the leading doctrines of Christianity are things which children cannot understand. Children understand far more of the Bible than we are apt to suppose.

“Fill their minds with Scripture. Let the Word dwell in them richly. Give them the Bible, the whole Bible, even while they are young.”

~ J.C. Ryle

The Upper Room, “The Duties of Parents”, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1970], 290-92.

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[This post is part 3 of 5 in the series Five Tips For Raising Godly Children. To purchase Ryle's 34 page booklet The Duties of Parents, please visit Reformation Heritage Books]

Come, brethren and sisters, we must wake up, even if we have been asleep ourselves, and we must do so because we are in an enemy’s country; it will not do to sleep here. This side of heaven we are in every place and at all hours surrounded by foes. What did the Master say? “What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch!” Be like sentries at your post, for otherwise the enemy will soon betray you.

Will you not grieve the Holy Spirit if you are lethargic? Will you not dishonor your Master if you fall asleep? Remember, also, that the devil seeks your destruction, and can never do you so much mischief awake as he can if he finds you sleeping. Let the growling of the old lion arouse you. If nothing else will bestir you, remember the fiery darts of the wicked one. Saul would not have lain so quiet if he had known that Abishai was holding the spear over him, and longing to pin him to the earth: yet this is the condition of professors who are given to slumber. Samson would have scarcely slept on Delilah’s lap if he had foreseen that his hair would be cut, and his eyes put out by the Philistines. Up, then, ye drowsy professors, for the Philistines are upon you!

From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled “The Alarum.”