The Objects of The Sovereign Grace Advent Testimony (London)

The objects of the Sovereign Grace Advent Testimony (London) are:

1. To teach the nearing approach of our Lord's return. James 5:8.

2. To hold forth the Truth and to expose and resist error. Jude 3.

3. To note passing events in the light of 'The Scripture of Truth.' 2 Peter 1:19.

4. To unfold the Word of God by comparing Scripture with Scripture. Acts 17:11.

5. To encourage missionary endeavour, and all service for Truth. Acts 1:8.

6. To comfort and strengthen those who seek to stand with the Lord, apart from abounding lawlessness. 2 Timothy 2:19.

7. To call for separation from false ecumenism. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.


 What sound Christian would disagree with the above?

Mt. Sion or Mt Zion, or both?

Until digging deeper I had hitherto believed that Mt Zion and Mt Sion were interchangeable names for the very same location, much like, for example, Elijah and Elias, Isaiah and Esaias, Jonah and Jonas etc are interchangeable names in the OT and NT for the very same men; but is this so?
We all know where Mt Zion is, don't we? but what of Mt Sion?

"Mt Sion (the same is Hermon)" Deut.4:48 (RV).

Mt Sion was called "Sirion" by the Sidonians, see Deut.3:9, so Mt Sion is really an abbreviation for Mt Sirion which was also known as Mt Hermon as the Scripture teaches. The southern slopes of Mt Sion extend to the northern boundary of Israel, and as Dr Gill says in his commentary on Deut.4:48, "Here Hermon has another name Sion, and is to be carefully distinguished from Mount Zion near Jerusalem; it lying in a different country, and being written with a different letter in the Hebrew language. (My emphasis). "Carefully distinguished"?  rightly so! why then did the revisers change the phrase Mt Sion to Mt Zion in the only two places this term is mentioned in the New Testament? (Heb.12:22 & Rev.14:1). The noun "Sion" is mentioned a total of nine times in the Authorized Version (Deut.4:48, Ps.65:1, Matt.21:5, Jn.12:15, Rom.9:33, 11:26, Heb.12:22, 1 Pet.2:6 & Rev.14:1), and apart from it's first mention in Deut.4:48, the revisers changed it to Zion. What is the justification for this? for they are two different names, and locations!

It has long been Christian tradition that the Mount where the Lord Jesus was "transfigured" (Matt.17:1-8, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36) is Mt Tabor, however certain competent Bible expositors as Jamieson, Fausset and Brown write of the mount of transfiguration:

"A mountain-not Tabor, according to long tradition, with which the facts ill comport, but some one near the lake." (Emphasis mine).

Three apostles were with the Saviour when on the mount of transfiguration; James, John and Peter, and in the context of this event the Lord was teaching of His coming kingdom (Matt.16:28), so is it any wonder Peter was inspired to write "Behold I lay in Sion, a chief cornerstone, elect, precious.." 1 Pet.2:6? He saw the glorified Lord! Glorified in the same location as the mount contiguous with the heavenly Jerusalem! This is where the apostles "were eyewitnesses of His majesty" 2 Pet.1:16! Granted, he was citing Isaiah 28:16, where "Zion" is clearly delineated, yet Peter chose a different Hebrew name "Sion"! Similarly, John did the same in John 12:15 where the apostle cites from another OT prophet, Zechariah (quoting Zion-Zech.9:9) He writes "Fear not daughter of Sion: behold thy King cometh, sitting on an ass's colt."
Turning to Heb.12:22-23, we read that "ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and unto an innumerable hosts of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven..." Of Mt Sion, in Heb.12:18-20, it is said "ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them anymore..if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart." The elect are come to Mt Sion the heavenly city contiguous with where the Lord's glory was seen on earth, the believer puts his hope in the heavenly Sion, not the earthly Zion, for we are "strangers and pilgrims on the earth"; with Abraham we look for that heavenly city! (Heb.11:10-13).

Mount Sion then, is contiguous with the heavenly Jerusalem, as Mount Zion is to the earthly Jerusalem, they are two very different mounts. Mt Sion is associated with "the Jerusalem which is above" Gal.4:26, "the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven" Rev.3:12, 21:2, 21:10. Mt Sinai "answereth to the Jerusalem that now is" Gal.4:25, and therefore to the earthly Zion in Jerusalem.

It can be established, therefore, that Mt Sion is north of Jerusalem, and I believe the heavenly city* will be visible from the earth throughout the coming 1000 year reign of Christ, we will see its glory much as we presently see the glory of the sun and the moon. The heavenly city will be some 1500 miles square and high! this almost takes one's breath away! Dispensationalists have long taught (since circa 1830) that there is a distinction between the Church and Israel, whereas the truth is they are one in Christ. The King will rule the earth from the heavenly city with His glorified saints who will be given their various cities to reign over, (see Luke 19:12-27). The "church of the firstborn" Heb.12:23; the glorified bride of Christ, that is all those purchased by His blood from Abel to the first resurrection, at His Second Coming, will be able to enter the twelve gates of this city, and thereafter, those mortals on earth saved by His everlasting grace during the millennium. From the heavenly city, I believe the saints will be able to see the expanse of the entire earth, as the Lord Jesus did in Matt.4:8 & Luke 4:5. Yes, we are not on a tiny spinning globe. The mount which Satan took the Lord Jesus up to, I believe must have been of an otherworldly nature like the heavenly mt Sion/Jerusalem-"in the heavenly places" see Ephesians 1:3,20, 2:6, 3:10.

"Beautiful for elevation, the joy of the whole earth, Is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, The city of the great King." Ps.48:2.

"Beautiful for elevation", surely the "elevation" here spoken of can only be the heavenly city in Rev.21:2? That is "Mt.Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.." Heb.12:22. The earthly Mt. Sion is north of Jerusalem, but there is something in the words "the sides of the north" which seem to speak of great height as well as a compass point? And essentially, as has been observed, Sion and Zion seem to be nouns that are inextricably linked to the very same place, for when we "are come unto mount Sion" the resurrected glorified saint will have God's law forever written in his heart in the heavenly city where there is no temple (Rev.21:22), and "out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem." this from the earthly millennial temple to all the nations on the earth, Isa.2:3, Mic.4:2.

The true believer, as "the father of faith" Abraham ever has his sights on the heavenly city, are we not all "strangers and pilgrims on the earth" Heb.11:13? Do we feel we belong here? Perish the thought! Do you feel you belong here in this wicked world held under the sway of the devil? It is written, "Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." Jam.4:4. As Abraham did, we should also "look for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Heb.11:10. We should "walk in the steps of of that faith of our father Abraham." Rom.4:12 (my emphasis). "The father of all them that believe." Rom.4:11.

*In this age of 'great knowledge' and scientific & technological 'advancement' it is passing strange that something as elementary as the shape of our earth is still up for debate, no? It can be seen with our own eyes that the sun and moon are disc-shaped, and the coming heavenly city is described as a perfect cube (Rev.21:16), essentially it is flat! is this a clue to the shape of our 'planet'?

Brexit!

I really cannot understand all the recent furore regarding Prime Minister Boris Johnson's actions shutting down parliament and whatever else he chooses to do regarding this stalemate on the people's vote to leave the EU back in 2016.
Johnson is Prime Minister! Let us look up what that little word "prime" actually means, shall we? Here goes!

"Of the first importance; demanding the fullest consideration: of the greatest relevance or significance." Dictionary.com (or any good dictionary) if words have any plain meaning, anymore!

As this man (or any other prime minister in times past, should he/she have done) has chosen to be bold enough to use the powers conferred upon him by the electorate, why then all the ongoing fuss about his so-called 'abuse' of said powers given to him? How then can a so-called 'supreme' court or any other court, or for that matter, or even Her Majesty the queen interfere on this? Johnson is the PRIME minister at this critical juncture of our history! For a court to overrule PM Johnson's decisions is to undermine the democratically elected position that he finds himself to be in! Granted, Johnson himself wasn't voted into power, per se, but the whole process which put him into this position as Prime Minister was entirely democratic!

Whatever is the point of having a prime minister elected by the people if he is under subjection to an unelected so-called 'supreme' court that no-one elected in the first place? A no brainer, no??

There is a "lot of water to pass under the bridge" before all hallows eve (Halloween) on October 31st 2019, when we as a 'united' nation are supposed to fully exit the European Union. Who knows what could happen before then (and after)? I know One who does know-the Almighty! There could be assassinations, and upheavals of all sorts, but rest assured, every minute detail recorded in the Scripture of truth will come to pass. The EU (Roman Empire) at the time of Christ's First Advent (ten toes) will be in full conformity as to all its workings prophesied in the future time of His Second Advent.

The Ever Hypocritical BBC...

From BBC News 29th August 2019.

Jo Brand battery acid joke 'went too far', BBC rules.

Jo Brand's controversial joke about throwing battery acid "went beyond what was appropriate" for a Radio 4 comedy show, the BBC has ruled.
The corporation has partially upheld complaints about the quip made by the comedian on Radio 4's Heresy in June.
Referring to political figures who had been hit by milkshakes, she said: "I'm thinking, why bother with a milkshake when you could get some battery acid?"

But the BBC dismissed complaints that her remark amounted to incitement.

Following the broadcast, Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, who had a milkshake thrown at him by protesters several weeks earlier, accused Brand of "inciting violence."

A BBC spokesperson said:

"We note the findings and that the BBC's Editorial Complaints Unit concluded the comments did not condone violence and that no subject matter should be beyond the scope of comedy."

"The comments did not condone violence"
Does the BBC not have any grasp of the English language?

"No subject matter should be beyond the scope of comedy"?
Maybe Ms Brand would like to make a few quips about Allah or the prophet Mohammed; the Koran, and put the BBC to the test on this? methinks a fatwa would be coming her way..rather pronto!
But then, she is not so daft, for she knows that to go down the road of jesting about Islam is completely and utterly out of bounds, it is forbidden ground.

Perhaps when the spokesman-oops! sorry-spokesperson made this statement it was taken as read that Islam, LGBTQ, ethnic minority groups, militant disabled groups etc, etc, were excepted. We wouldn't want to hurt their sensibilities for the hate speech brigade would be out in force!

As for white European Caucasians and anything to do with the Christian Faith....are we not fair game? sitting ducks by another name!

It is widely known that the BBC has a great many LGBTQ and multi-cultural/diverse ethnic minority employees, of which no doubt many are Muslims. The head of religious programming is a Muslim....

Its all random...isn't it?

This great 'theatre' that is taking place under the Almighty's feet; to the rank unbeliever and nominal Christian alike appears to all intents and purposes random and chaotic. However, to many that believe in biblical and absolute predestination; we see God's hand in every minute detail, in other-words, God's absolute predestination and election at work. Yet man is a 'free' agent to do as he will! Try outfoxing God-drive up to a junction planning to make a left turn, and then turn right in the last split second-I fooled you! you can change your mind as many times as you will, but God's sovereign rule will overrule man's 'free will' to bring His great prophetic plan of the ages to pass. Yes He will make the wrath of man to praise Him (Psalm 76:10, Exodus 9:16, Philippians 2:10). Shakespeare was right when he wrote "all the world's a stage." Many sing hymns in church and cathedral saying "how great Thou art" or "Almighty God" and such, yet think Him not so almighty as to order all events down to the last minuscule jot! Mighty, but not that mighty! When we say God in Christ is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, is this only in a partial sense? to listen to some, you would think so! Some Christians are even offended at the thought of God micro managing everything, but to those with the eyes to see it, it is everyplace in God's Book. Haman put a noose around his very own neck, yet he knew not that God had ordered it so! (Esther 7:10)*.

There is a secular proverb that contains much wisdom (many of them do!) "it is not what you know, but who you know". This is said in regard to perceived fortuitous events where gain, be it financial, or fame, or both, can be had due to the fact that you are within a circle of influence. Oftentimes in the past I would bemoan the fact that I had lost out, not through any perceived lack of skill or knowledge on my part, but because I didn't have the right contacts. For some reason, I wasn't within their circle or network as it were, and try as I would to be in it, somehow it just didn't happen. It is in "the old boys network" so to speak where in the upper echelons of society; friendships and acquaintances are formed through the private/public schools and universities where you "rub shoulders" with the 'right' people. This is the top (one percent?) of society where your background and privileged upbringing make all the difference, many contacts are formed within the elite private/public school network. At the present moment some two thirds of prime minister Johnson's cabinet went to fee-paying private schools such as Eton. Is this any accident? Certainly, some 'break the ranks' from the state system and rub shoulders with these elites, but the truth is, they are never accepted as "one of the boys", they remain outsiders. Back in the mid 1980's I fell on the wrong side of the law, and needed to enlist a barrister, whom my solicitor employed from London (there were only two Barrister houses back then-London & Cardiff; for England & Wales). 'Fortunately' having gotten ahead financially early on in my business, the cost wasn't a problem to me, but it was only then that it hit me how different I was to the solicitor/barrister class! I distinctly felt different, that they were almost looking at me as if I were a piece of dirt on their shoes! They spoke in a different way, used words I had never learned, had certain airs and graces which I never did (or have), I subsequently learned that they were the product of private and university education, to all intents and purposes, they were aliens to me! listening to them converse, they just as well had been speaking in Hebrew-I was Shibbolethed! (Judges 12:6).Having had a state-education from a working class background, you really are in a different class to these people, and they know it, and we feel it.

But, for all this 'advantage' "not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty, and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in His presence." 1 Cor.1:26-29.
Let us praise God for this!

It is no easy thing for a 'successful' worldling to humble himself and "become as little children..to..enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matt.18:3. Many years back I was a guest on a few occasions to a Masonic lodge for an evening black tie event; the masons would have "worshipful brother" and "worshipful master" prefixed to their name cards at dinner! What a way to become pumped up with pride!?
There is no school like God's school: "The truth shall make you free." John 8:32.

It can be clearly seen from Scripture that the "grace and favour" of the world is a major stumbling-block to entering God's mansions in the kingdom of heaven. God doesn't play dice, and "The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD." Prov.16:33.
I remember my mother telling me that a great, great grand mother on her side of the family was a French noble-woman that was executed by guillotine in the French Revolution. It mattered not how you would disguise yourself to escape the revolutionaries, as soon as you opened your mouth, or they looked at your hands to see whether they had been worked-they knew! I have never bothered to search the family tree, to what end? A neighbour once told me some years ago that he went to Somerset House in London to see how far back his lineage went, to which I said "don't waste your time, we all came from Adam and Eve!" As Del Boy would say "do you Adam and Eve it?"

*God is not mentioned by name in this book, yet we see His unseen hand throughout. If Saul had obeyed God and executed Agag, Haman the Jewish adversary would never have been born! (1 Sam.15:3). I believe the only other book He is not mentioned by name is Song of Solomon.

Jephthah's vow, and why we shouldn't be rash when making promises, especially to God!

What a barmy vow from the ninth judge of Israel?
Whatever 'possessed' him to say it to the Almighty God?

"And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, if thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, then it shall be that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, it shall surely be the LORD'S, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering."
Judges 11:30-31.

The biblical narrative then goes on to say that "the LORD delivered them (Ammon) into his hand."
Job done, Jephthah journeys triumphantly back home...

"And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me, for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back."
Judges 11:34-35.

Mizpeh/Mizpah-(watchtower/lookout) is a town in Gilead.

Now, I know not what sort of household Jephthah maintained in Mizpeh, but I can only believe that being the 'king' of all Israel that it was not an insignificant dwelling place (not bedsit land!). He would have had many servants running the place, and it may be that he thought it would be one of these 'dispensable' hirelings that may have come "to meet me". Perhaps he had never once seen his only child near the front of his mansion? it may be that upon going to war with Ammon, he commissioned a guard to protect his household-a sentry at the front door? The guards may have allowed Jephthah's daughter to have the run of the place, ever having their watchful eye over her, but on the day of his return, she heard the returning cavalry, and the guards let her enthusiastically go out to meet her father? We can speculate on these things, but the Bible doesn't tell us any more than it does; in any event, Jephthah should never have made such a rash vow.
Our words have consequences, oftentimes things we say in jest come true! hence the secular proverb "many a true word spoken in jest." Certainly, the true Christian should have few words and choose them wisely (especially when praying to God), and before making any promissory undertaking to whomever, verbal or written, should make sure he can fulfill it.
"I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." Matt.12:36-37.

These "things were written aforetime were written for our learning .." Rom.15:4.  "Now all these things happened unto them by way of example; and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages are come." 1 Cor.10:11 (RV).

Commentators are divided as to whether Jephthah actually offered up his daughter to the LORD for a "burnt offering" for such an "offering" was not prescribed in God's law, and would be an abomination to Him. Such sacrifices were pagan and were offered to Molech. Idolatry prevailed at the time of the Judges,  Having said this, verse 39 says Jephthah "did with her according to his vow which he had vowed." Some think that Jephthah had a house built for his daughter where she lived in isolation perpetually "bewailing her virginity"; it is said that the convents were built to house nuns in the Romish tradition came from this account.

Medical advice only half right?

Further to my last post, the following is an excerpt from the New York Times March 16th 2003.

DR. Lisa Sanders, M.D. writes:

"A decade ago, I stood alongside my 99 fellow freshmen as we were welcomed into the ranks of medicine in a 'white coat ceremony.' Here, on our first day of med school, we were presented with the short white coats that proclaimed us part of the mystery and the discipline of medicine. During that ceremony, the dean said something that was repeated throughout my education: half of what we teach you here is wrong-unfortunately, we don't know which half. At the time it was hard to believe. Within those walls, in the anatomy lab, in the lecture hall, you feel that you are being shown the secrets of how the body is put together, how it lives, how it works, how it dies. It has the feel of authority and certainty. Like math, it has a feeling of inevitability. But now, as a practicing doctor and teacher of residents, I relive that dean's aphorism daily. Medicine is, and always has been, an evolving discipline. And this necessarily means that what we know about medicine is constantly changing; that medicine is forever putting forth, and simultaneously upending assumptions. This is particularly true at this moment. Virtually all of our medical therapeutic options are being questioned, evaluated and re-evaluated by researchers across the globe."

Dr. Sanders admits that some top professors in medical school acknowledge that "half" of what they teach may be wrong. So in which "half" are you going to put your faith?

It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. Psalm 118:8.

THINK!

Seventy percent of doctors treating Medicare patients flunked an exam on their knowledge of prescribing for older adults (Public Citizen Newsletter, July 2002).

In 2013, of the 43,982 drug overdose deaths in the United States, 22,767 (51.8%) were related to pharmaceuticals ("Prescription Drug Overdose in the United States: Fact  Sheet." CDC.gov, March 2, 2015).

Doctors with the worst malpractice records keep treating patients: Among the nearly 100,000 doctors who made payments to resolve malpractice claims from 2001 to 2011, roughly 800 were responsible for all the dollars paid and their total payouts averaged about $5.2 million per doctor. Yet fewer than one in five faced any sort of licensure action by their state medical boards ("Thousands of doctors practicing despite errors, misconduct." USA Today, August 20, 2013).

The cost of drug-related injuries and deaths in the U.S. are estimated at $136 billion annually, with ADRs (Adverse Drug Reactions) occurring for about 5-20% of hospital patients (Modern Pharmaceutical Industry: A Primer, 2010).

And I am sure things are no better this side of the pond!