Truth Matters May 2014

There Are Blood Moons Arising

By Rev. Robert S. Liichow

Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. Jeremiah 10:2

 

The leader of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, TX Mr. Hagee has been very concerned about an astrological event, which recently began the appearing of four (4) “Blood Moons” manifesting above our earth until around October of 2015!  Hagee has been spewing forth various warnings about the appearing of these moons on his television program and naturally followed this series up with a new “book.”

Many people within modern evangelicalism are all atwitter over the four lunar eclipses; the first eclipse has already passed us.  It seems we Christians are “primed” to fall for this trick every time it is presented to us.  This reminds me of how many people got carried away with the end-time delusion spun by Edgar C. Whisenant the author of “88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will be in 1988.”  Over 4.5 million copies of his book were sold; many stories appeared of people who quit their jobs, etc. based on his convoluted theories.  When the date came and went Whisenant followed up with three more books predicting the rapture on 1989, 1993, and 1994, none of which sold nearly as well.

Who can forget Y2K?  That too was predicted to be the “end” or beginning of the tribulation etc.  Nor let us not too soon forget our departed friend Harold Camping who predicted the rapture on May 21, 2011.  When that date failed, he said a “spiritual judgment” occurred then but the rapture would be October 21, 2011.  Again, as with Whisenant, people quit their jobs, sold their belongings and waited to be zapped up to heaven.   Every time preachers have predicted the “rapture” or the “return of Christ” throughout Church history they have been wrong and those who followed their false teachings were spiritually hurt.  Hagee’s most recent end-time novelty is going to be another “failed attempt” to reveal that which is not for us to know.

Before we delve, briefly into Mr. Hagee’s theories of the future, let’s take a stroll through his past.

Who is “Pastor” Hagee?

John Hagee carries a large televised “footprint” in that his broadcasts are seemingly on every available Christian television network (he is seen by approximately 99 million homes).  He can be seen using elaborate stage props, huge big screens and loud lively music and musicians.  In other words, Hagee uses virtually every technique covered in last month’s issue manipulating those doctrinally unwary souls who attend his cavernous building.

Hagee holds a somewhat unique position among his fellow SINisters and HELLavangelists (albeit, my sophomoric attempt at humor) in that he actually received some form of theological education.  Virtually every other charismatic luminary on television has no formal education and at best honorary degrees bestowed upon them by Oral Roberts, who handed degrees out like a doting uncle on Halloween.

Pastor John Hagee received his theological training from Southwestern Assemblies of God University, a Bachelor of Arts degree from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas and earned his Masters Degree from North Texas University.  Pastor Hagee has received Honorary Doctorates from Oral Roberts University, Canada Christian College, and Netanya Academic College in Israel. He is the author of 35 major books including several on the New York Times Best Seller’s List. Among his works are commentary study Bibles, novels and numerous devotionals. His latest book is titled Four Blood Moons.¹

On the surface it would seem that Mr. Hagee should be theologically astute and a man of letters.  Upon closer inspection what do we really read? First, he attended an Assemblies of God University in Texas.  Thus, any theological underpinning he did receive was most assuredly the mainline Pentecostal positions regarding the Person and Work of the Holy Spirit, gifts of the Spirit, Church history from a dispensational point of view, and a belief in the position of natural Israel in God’s future plans.  His biography does not state whether he matriculated from here or not, i.e. it does not state he graduated with any degree from there.  He may have attended one semester for all we know.  Next, his web site cites he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree (B.A.) from Trinity University in his now home town of San Antonio.  Hagee does not mention what field he obtained his B.A. in, but let us assume he received one from their religious department.  The Master’s he cites is also from a legitimate school, but again he omits the field of study.  He may have a degree in Business Administration, etc.  At this time DMI does not know.  This much is certain Mr. Hagee does have three (3) “honorary” doctorates.  He and anyone else with an “honorary” degree should have the self-respect not to call themselves “doctor” when they have not earned that title.  Oh all these charlatans enjoy the additional layer of respectability and the alleged expertise that goes along with being called “Dr. Hagee.”

For all of this education one might think that Hagee would come out possibly as a mainline Pentecostal pastor and yet he did not.  John Hagee is seated near the head of the Word of Faith cult table.  Hagee is nothing more than another reincarnation of deceased “Dad” Hagin’s dismal doctrines, but with his own special twist to things —- Israel, which we will consider shortly.

Hagee’s Fall “Up”        

Sadly, Hagee fell into the same sad satanic trap that seems to ensnare virtually ALL of these HELLavengelists, that of adultery.  Hagee was married, had two children by his wife and was pastoring a charismatic congregation within the Assembly of God denomination.  He ends up committing adultery against his wife with a much younger woman in the congregation:

John Hagee was the leader of the charismatic Trinity Church in 1975 and was the father of two children. John Hagee had an adulterous affair with a woman and admitted to immorality in front of his church. Pastor John Hagee then divorced the mother of his two children and married a younger woman (Diana Castro, now Diana Hagee) from that same congregation. Pastor John Hagee willfully abused his position of trust and power to take advantage of a younger gullible woman and cheat on his wife.  So what happened after John Hagee admitted to cheating and abusing his power? Did he repent and pursue becoming a better person and living a life based on Biblical principles? Did people stop following his ministry? The answers are very obvious. John Hagee married the woman he cheated on his wife with and immediately became the pastor of another congregation-the Cornerstone Church in San Antonio Texas.³

Hagee, instead of fighting for his marriage, receiving counseling and going through the process of restoration and seek to serve his neighbors in some other capacity; he does the wrong thing and jettisons his wife and family to take up with the other woman.

On Sunday May 11th, 1975 on Mother’s Day, after Hagee earlier left his first wife and church he began another church which he called “Castle Hills Assembly” (later calledCastle Hills). was dropped from the name because he was kicked out as a minister with the Assembly of God organization for his admitted adultery.⁴

Strangely enough, when his adulterous affair was exposed and he divorced his wife rather than repent openly of his sin his sinistry began to grow in their new location (about 2 miles from his first congregation)!  Hagee went independent, leaving or being asked to leave the Assembly of God denomination.  The crowds of thousands of people and the millions of dollars no doubt have demonstrated that “God” has blessed pastor Hagee’s actions and approves of his latest wife, at least in his own view.

Hagee Lives “Large” off the Largess                                                                                                                      

Hagee, like all the rest of the mega-church SINisters believes in living your best life now at the expense of his sheeple.  Ken and Gloria Copeland, T.D. Jakes, Joel and Victoria Osteen among other cathode-ray creations ALL live large off their followers in Texas, so why should Hagee be any different?  In truth, he is not:

Using his lies and deceit, Pastor John Hagee has grown into an enormously wealthy man. In the year 2001, his organization filed revenues of $18.3 million dollars with the IRS. What was John Hagee’s personal compensation package worth? More than $1.25 million dollars. His nonprofit organization, GETV, has a mission statement reading “Spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ”. Somehow I think his nearly 8,000 acre Texas ranch does not help that mission. Not only does Pastor John and his wife Diana Hagee own that sprawling ranch, but they also have a 5,275 foot, 6 bedroom mansion in one of San Antonio’s most exclusive gated communities (The Dominion). The house is appraised at $700,000. . . 3 of the 4 Directors who monitor the board of his nonprofit GETV foundation are his direct family members- his wife, Diana; his son, Matthew; and himself.⁵

Hagee, like all the others (Copeland, Meyer, Crouch, etc.) stacks his Board of Directors with family members who are no doubt well compensated (although board members of non-profits are supposed to be only reimbursed for their direct personal expenses).

His present church, Cornerstone Church started with 15 people and dedicated in 1987. To increase his political power Hagee formed Christians United For Israel (CUFI) on February 7, 2006. has now obtained over 75,000 members to this new Christ denying cult. How could anyone who confesses Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God belong to this Messiah rejecting organization? It is a contradiction! CUFI along with Hagee work hand in hand with American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a large Jewish organization that lobbies US Congress on behalf of Israel. one AIPAC member comes into a congressman’s office he/she represents 6 million Jews. When Hagee comes into a congressman’s office he claims he represents 40 million Americans. . .⁶

 

Hagee and Marching to Zion

As I wrote earlier one of the distinctions that sets Hagee apart from all the rest of the HELLavengelists is his support of the nation of Israel, whom he still views as God’s chosen people.  In his eyes, the Israelis can do no evil, are never to blame for any problems in the middle east and they are to be the future recipients of God’s great plan for them as a “holy nation.”  Thus far those beliefs are held by approximately one in four American evangelicals according to a Christianity Today article.

Hagee takes his support of Israel and the Jews much further than the majority of Christians in that he teaches a false doctrine called a “dual covenant” regarding Israel.  Hagee is shutting the door of redemption in the face of the Jews he says he deeply loves.  According to Hagee the Jews do not need to believe in Jesus as their Messiah to be saved because they have an “eternal” covenant with God through Abraham:

“I’m not trying to convert the Jewish people to the Christian faith… In fact, trying to convert Jews is a waste of time. Jews already have a covenant with God and that has never been replaced by Christianity.” (Houston Chronicle, April 30, 1988, sec, 6, pg. 1).

I will not begin to explore his heretical concepts regarding the salvation of the Jews and their need to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as anyone else due to the topic at hand —- the Four Blood moons.

 And God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years” Genesis 1:14

 

The four “blood moons” are total lunar eclipses that occur in intervals of about six months, an event known as a tetrad, according to NASA. A total eclipse is a result of a perfect alignment of the sun, the moon and the Earth and causes the moon to glow dark red.  Each eclipse in the upcoming tetrad will occur on a significant religious date, Hagee points out, citing NASA.  “The first of the four blood moons will come on April 15 this year, during Passover. The second will be on October 8, at the time of the Feast of the Tabernacles,” Hagee said, according to the Daily Express London. “On April 4, 2015, during Passover, we will have another blood moon. Then finally, on September 28, during next year’s Feast of the Tabernacles, the fourth blood and final moon will dawn.” Hagee said to “have them fall on these exact dates is something that has to be beyond coincidental,” according to the Daily Express.7

There is no doubt that God has set the stars in the heavens for signs of His majesty and glory and for measuring time.  However, we are not told to look to the stars, moons, asteroids and comets for direction in this life.  If the alignment of the moon sun and earth point to some significant event, then why isn’t it presented to us in the scriptures?  Also, God’s timing is exact and as we shall see Mr. Hagee’s dating is not that “exact.”

According to Hagee’s research he says that God seems to never do anything major with the nation of Israel apart from “Blood moons” appearing.  He cites that in 1492, the year the Jews were expelled from Spain (his dates are off by a year but who’s counting?); 1948, Israel’s war for independence and statehood; and then in 1967 during the Six-Day war.  What Mr. Hagee does not mention are the many “blood moons” which have occurred in which nothing of particular interest happened to the Jews or their country. “The others were in 162/163 A.D., 795/796 A.D., 842/843 A.D. and 860/861 A.D. We don’t have any historical connections for these years at this time...”⁸  Something else he does not dwell on is the FACT that no one in Israel can even see this series of “Blood Moons” from Israel or most of the Middle East!  If these moons are such an end-time declaration to the people of Israel one would imagine that they would be able to look up, point at the moon and wonder.  Just a word on his use of “Blood Moons” —- well it does sound much more “sexy” than saying the coming “Four Lunar Eclipses” (a little NASA lingo).

What Texts Does Hagee Cite?

I listened to all three of his video teachings on these moons and 95% of what he shares is from the Old Testament and deals primarily with how great the Jewish people are and the coming judgment upon all the nations that hate the Jews (Germany, Iran, Russia and Turkey in particular).  He does not preach about needing to have faith in Jesus Christ as the Messiah of the Jews and the world.

Hagee boldly states that what he is presenting is a “new revelation from God.”⁹  To begin with what he is sharing is not “new” there are many other dispensationalists who’ve been studying this event out prior to Mr. Hagee.  One such bizarre person is known as the “Third Eagle of the Apocalypse” William Tapley!  Hagee admits that pastor Mark Blitz is the one who got him into this topic.  Also, he states in his opening teaching that he owes much to the scholarly research by two Jewish rabbis.  Hagee seems to believe that Jewish rabbis have a solid understanding of the O.T.!

And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:  But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. 2 Cor. 3:13-16

Being a rabbi is proof enough that they have no more “God-given” insight into the Holy Scriptures due to the veil which is upon their hearts.  Going to a rabbi to gain understanding of the O.T. is foolish when many solid evangelical O.T. scholars abound.  Hagee should know better.  He should know that the New Testament reveals the Old and not vice versa and he should know that the Bible is only understood by those in Christ (1 Cor. 2:14) and not the natural man, the person outside of Christ.  Hagee attempts to make the following verses fit his current moneymaking CONcept of these lunar eclipses.

And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.sun shall be turned into darkness,the moon into blood,the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. Joel 2:30-31

And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: Acts 2:19-20

Hagee emphasizes that God “speaks” to us by the stars, but are we “listening”?  God is NOT speaking to us by the moon or stars this is called astrology and it is strictly forbidden by God:

You are wearied with your many counsels; let them stand forth and save you, those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons make known what shall come upon you.  Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; They shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: There shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it. Isa. 47:13-14

The heavens “declare” the glory of God and leave man without excuse regarding the existence of God, i.e. natural revelation.  However, the moon and stars do not “speak” to us in any fashion nor do they control our lives or destinies.

Hagee would make much of the Joel & Acts texts (Peter is simply citing Joel) and the lunar four eclipses. The apostle Peter said of Joel’s prophecy “this is that” (Acts 2:16) — Joel was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost.  Peter spoke to a large gathering of men, many of whom lived in and around Jerusalem and others were there for the Passover.  Peter cites Joel being inspired by the Holy Spirit and I believe he is referring back to the event recorded in Mark 15:33 “And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.”  It is beyond me why sign-gift enthusiasts will simply not accept that this prophecy of Joel was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost period, end of story.

When Jesus was born there were not any tetrads of blood moons.  When He was baptized there is no mention of any moon activity.  On the cross all light was extinguished (there cannot be a simultaneous solar and lunar eclipse) and at His resurrection there is no mention of a moon nor at His ascension back to heaven.  The most momentous events in all of human history and yet no lunar reports are associated with them.

Allow me to sum up this latest end-time hype (yes, DMI most certainly believes that our Lord is returning, as to when we have no idea) with the following bulletpoints you can use to answer your family & friends caught up in this CONcept:

1. Israel, being on a LUNAR CALENDAR will commonly have Tetrad eclipse moon sequences.
2. If four lunar eclipses are a sign to Israel, then many very important past events like the birth of Christ, Destruction of Jerusalem, Hadrian’s and Hitler’s Holocaust were not marked by God with Tetrads!
3. Lunar eclipses are common on Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles.
4. Without fail, solar eclipses always occur just before the start of a new month. There is a one in six chance that a solar eclipse will happen on the Jewish New year around Nisan 1. Nothing special about the solar eclipse on Adar 29 2015 Hagee makes so much about!
5. Of the 8 lunar and solar eclipses, Hagee ignores three.
6. In 2014/15 there are 4 solar eclipses but Hagee highlights only one eclipse and ignores the other four.
7. Few of the eclipses start at the beginning of the Feast days only within the 7 day range for each.
8. Hagee says Lunar eclipses are a sign to Israel, yet none of the Lunar eclipses are visible in Jerusalem, except 1 which is only partially visible. The Bible never says solar eclipses are for the “world” and lunar eclipses are for Israel —- that is pure Hagee.
9. Hagee says Solar eclipses are a sign to the rest of the world, yet the one he says is a sign (after ignoring three others) is not visible by anyone on earth since it is centered entirely over the ocean near Greenland, except for the small population of people living on the Faroe and Spitzburgn Islands. Something like less than 4,000 people can actually see these events.  No one in the Middle East can see any of this, some “sign.”
10. There were four Tetrads where the four sequential eclipses coincided with Passover and Feast of Tabernacles that Hagee totally ignored because nothing significant occurred in that year!

Hagee and others are simply milking the latest end-time gimmick for all they can get from it.  Hagee twists most of the biblical texts he cites, redefines terms (like “sign”), ignores other historical facts that do not support his views and frankly LIES about specific dates trying to make them fit his neat little scheme.

Sadly, we have another year until October 2015 to put up with this nonsense.  Keep a sharp eye out for any possible “event” that Hagee can try to pound into his schema.  Russia started to get feisty with Ukraine during the first “blood moon” and we all know what that means, sigh.

 

End Notes

 

1. http://www.jhm.org/Home/About/PastorJohnHagee
2. Robert Tilton, Jim Bakker, Kenneth Copeland, Marcus Lamb, Jan Crouch, Paula White, Benny Hinn, and many other charismatic luminaries have been exposed as adulterers.
3. http://www.nairaland.com/227572/pastor-john-hagee-cornerstone-church
4. http://www.blog.joelx.com/pastor-john-hagee-cornerstone-church-ministry-heresy-divorce-dirty-deeds/910
5. http://www.blog.joelx.com/pastor-john-hagee-cornerstone-church-ministry-heresy-divorce-dirty-deeds/910/
6. http://jesus-messiah.com/hagee/john-hagee.html
7. http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Pastor-Hagee-Blood-moons-point-to-world-shaking-5391880.php
8. Obtained from http://watch.org/showart.php3?idx=104119
9. First YouTube video on The Four Blood Moons, by John Hagee – he states this early on.

 

 

“Christian” Movies Effective or Fallacious?

by Rev. Robert Liichow

Recently there seems to have been a whole spate of moving pictures produced by various SINisters in conjunction with Hollywood and none of these recent attempts are biblically sound.  First, we had to suffer through “The Bible” on television and after each episode Facebook and other sites would fill up with citations of all the erroneous non-biblical tidbits thrown in.  Roma Downey one of the people behind the series is at best a “New Age” Christian.  Then we had the epic “Noah” foisted upon the unsuspecting flock.  This “adaptation” of the biblical account turned out to be a call for climate change and was filled with incidents (the attack of the “rock” people?) that never occurred. Now, the heretic T.D. Jakes is financially backing a film version of Todd Burpo’s mythical visit to heaven.  What is more it seems that Jakes worked out a deal with Sony Pictures to produce this epic tale.  Here is their official statement on the movie:

Based on the #1 New York Times best-selling book of the same name, HEAVEN IS FOR REAL brings to the screen the true story of a small-town father who must find the courage and conviction to share his son’s extraordinary, life-changing experience with the world. The film stars Academy Award® nominee and Emmy® award winning actor Greg Kinnear as Todd Burpo and co-stars Kelly Reilly as Sonja Burpo, the real-life couple whose son Colton (newcomer Connor Corum) claims to have visited Heaven during a near death experience. Colton recounts the details of his amazing journey with childlike innocence and speaks matter-of-factly about things that happened before his birth … things he couldn’t possibly know. Todd and his family are then challenged to examine the meaning from this remarkable event.

DMI debunked this latest trip to heaven several months ago in a previous issue of “Truth Matters.” As always, the problems with these kinds of accounts is that they ALL undermine the sufficiency and supremacy of Scripture, and add to the Bible (extra-biblical) new information while also being contrary to Scripture. I am not going to re-hash what was written about 4 year old Burpo’s account suffice it to say that it does not agree with the teachings in the Bible regarding heaven.

What I find frustrating is that multitudes of people who probably do not regularly attend church will attend one of these movies and assume it is fairly accurate (we’ve been well programmed to accept what we see on a big screen) having no solid biblical foundation to even make that judgment call.  I do not like hearing false teaching or simply “ignorant” preaching nor do I enjoy visually seeing that which is false and misleading. . . and I REALLY RESENT paying $7.50 a ticket and then $5.00 for small popcorn!

Brothers and sisters I know we are bombarded daily with anti-Christian messages and we live in a time when the Church is suffering great persecution globally and now even in our own country the heat of ungodly hatred is beginning to be felt by many of us.  Because of this pressure it is easy to want support and get “excited” about something even just a little bit Christian.  Yet I warn that we should not get excited about something that is merely positive versus being true.

Can God use motion pictures?  Yes, He can, after all He even uses the devil (what you don’t think Satan is autonomous do you?) but that does not mean that He is using these movies.  Anything that speaks against the clear writings in the Bible is something that our Lord is not involved in.  If we would learn about our Lord and His Word, then let us assembly where He promised to be —- in His Church.  He has placed pastors and teachers in our midst to be His vessels of instruction.  Live face-to-face one-on-one human interaction is the general manner in which our Lord shapes and forms us into His people.

Some will argue that God can use these movies to engender conversation between Christians and non-believing attendees.  Again, He can, but in order to do so the Christian has to correct all the unbiblical information “included” as well as rectify any heretical concepts presented in the film(s).

In closing, let me state for the record that certainly God should be glorified through all the arts, in music, literature, dance, video, etc.  However, when the Word He has given as the revelation of Himself to humanity is marred by error and nonsense then it ceases to bring Him glory and thus should not be supported by His children with their time (non-renewable) or their treasure (better spent).

Meet Brothers Paul and Kenneth Makete

Brother Paul Makete is on the left and his 10 year old brother, Kenneth, seated is on the right.

DMI met Paul Makete on Facebook.  Many people from India, Pakistan, and Africa seek support on FB, many of them are sincere, but some are not.  Paul and his brother are orphans, Paul looks after his younger brother.  They are Christians, Lutherans in particular.  The reason DMI prayerfully decided to begin to support these two brothers is because Paul NEVER asked DMI for money, he simply wanted to become friends.

Since meeting Paul and learning about him, his pastor, their schooling DMI has decided to support Paul & Kenneth as best we can.  To date: DMI has sent Paul & Kenneth some school supplies, Bible study materials and some other items.  Their lives in Uganda are very difficult and even what little we can provide means a great deal to them.

Those of you who finically support DMI please know that a portion of your gift will go to help Paul & Kenneth.

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Everything DMI does is based upon the financial support we receive.  Those who do give are subsidizing EVERY READER who does not give.  Ironic how many conservative “Christians” bark about how those who work are “PAYING” for all the others on welfare ——- while never applying that SAME STANDARD to themselves as they feed off that which cost them nothing and is paid for by others.  Please pray about your stewardship towards DMI.

People can make donations by simply going directly to PayPal using tracy.liichow@gmail.com.

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