Not specifically related to any news event, but this article appeared on Reuters today. Around thirty to forty tourists per year suffer from an unusual complex that has become known as "Jerusalem syndrome", in which people are said to have either had a vision of the Messiah while visiting the Holy City, or act out one of the characters mentioned in the Scriptures. That's according to Dr. Gregory Katz, the head of the emergency unity in the Givat Shaul Mental Health Centre. Psychiatrists disagree on whether or not the phenomenon is strictly confined to the city of Jerusalem. Most cases usually have some form of psychiatric disorder in their past, and seeing the city of Jerusalem tends to excite their irrational behaviour. But some appear to have no previous mental illness, and in these cases, the cause of their disturbance it put down to "Jerusalem Syndrome".

Quote: "Katz described the syndrome's progression in an article published in the British Journal of Psychiatry in 2000. It starts with agitation and an urge to visit the city alone and ends with the need to don a toga and deliver a sermon at a holy place. He described a 35-year-old woman from a Christian tour group who, after three or four days without sleep, believed she was the Virgin Mary. The woman walked out of her hotel room dressed in a white sheet and began preaching about not committing sins. The episode lasts a few days, after which the person usually does not remember what happened, Katz said.

I was going to comment on one such instance in a previous article, in which a former British MI5 agent claimed to be the Messiah. I had written a lengthily article on it, but in the end I deleted it. I couldn't bring myself to finish it, because what the man was saying was so blasphemous, something inside me just couldn't bear to dwell on it. I guess that was the Holy Spirit. The Lord said that before He would return, there would arise false messiahs who would deceive many. It is no surprise then that people who have a "religious experience" could be indwelt by demonic powers and claim to be God or have seen visions of the Lord Jesus Christ. Sadly many of our own so-called evangelical leaders have claimed to have either seen Jesus Christ or God, and some have even predicted His appearance at their meetings. I needn't mention names. This is false teaching, and perhaps even demonic in origin. After His resurrection, the Bible states that Jesus Christ ascended bodily into heaven. He is now seated on the right hand of the Father (1st Peter 3:22). The angels who stood by the apostles at His ascension said, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven", Acts 1:11. When Jesus Christ revealed Himself to the apostle Paul on the Damascus road, Paul records that He saw a light and heard a voice speaking out of heaven (Acts 9:3). The martyr Stephen also had a vision of Jesus Christ standing at the right hand of God in heaven.

Acts 7:55-56
But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

And the apostle John had a vision of Jesus Christ, and again in heaven (Revelation 1:13). As far as I know, there is no place in the Scriptures where Jesus Christ appeared to anyone on earth after His ascension into heaven. The Bible does state that when we gather together in the Lord's name, He is there in the midst of us (Matthew 18:30), for the Lord Jesus Christ is God and can be present among us even though we may not see Him. But I don't see why Jesus Christ would appear physically on this earth prior to His coming to the air for His saints (1st Thessalonians 4:16-17). There is no doubt, the events we are witnessing today, with people claiming to be Jesus Christ or another messiah, are a proof that we are indeed living in the last days.

Luke 21:8
And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time draweth near: go ye not therefore after them.

Source Reuters

December 08, 2007 01:00 PM EST

Today CNN.com reports that Creflo Dollar is refusing to submit more financial documents that explain where donations to his World Changers Church have gone. The church brought in $69 million last year. Dollar's theology "teaches God wants the faithful to have the best in life, including material things."

Yet in 1st Timothy 6:3-10 we read:

We can clearly see that his doctrine is false by this passage. God never promised us worldly possessions beyond that which we absolutely need. We are to be content if we have food, clothing, and shelter. Beyond that, Jesus teaches us not to seek worldly wealth because when we do we could lose focus on him. Recall the story where a rich man asked what can he do to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus replied to sell all he had and give everything to the poor. The rich man turned away in sadness because of his great wealth. Jesus observed that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to gain heaven.

Jesus taught us not to dwell on earthly possessions, which rust and wither away, which we cannot take with us when we depart this life. Rather, he taught us to store up treasures in heaven where moth and rust cannot destroy it.

Dollar, Benny Hinn, and others of that group they run with are all teaching man how to make their way into hell. Dollar's refusal and ultimatum to have congress subpoena him if they want more information is clearly evidence that he is not being a good steward of his parishioner's donations. A liar and a cheat will hide the evidence as much as possible.

I urge all who contribute to Creflo Dollar, or to any of the other "evangelists" he is frequently seen with (Rod Parsley, Benny Hinn to name two) stop contributing and let them experience poverty. God will turn them all over to Satan so that, hopefully, their sins might be revealed to them and they will follow God's word in Truth without compromise.

Mike Aivaz and Jason Rhyne
Published: Friday December 7, 2007

For devout Catholics fearful of a long stint in purgatory, a vast metaphysical holding area where the faithful believe they will go to be "purified" prior to their admittance to heaven, the Pope had some encouraging news this week: there's an easier way.

Pope Benedict XVI has decreed that Catholics can cut short their future purgatory stays by visiting a holy shrine in Lourdes, France, a site where believers say the Virgin Mary appeared to a shepherdess in 1858. Catholic pilgrims who visit Lourdes from now through next year, which will mark the 150th anniversary of the miracle claim, will receive an "indulgence" from the Pope, which he says will speed the trip to heaven.

"The door for indulgences is not always open, though, and for years after the Vatican Council reforms of the 1960s, they were rarely offered, until 2000, when Pope John Paul II started using them to attract pilgrims to World Youth Day," reports the New York Times' Mike Nizza. "The pilgrimage, which must be made in the next year, can be accomplished using Vatican charter flights that began over the summer."

For Catholics not in a position to jaunt off to France, prayer at other select sites during a ten-day span in February may also do the trick. According to the BBC, the Pope indicated that "believers who prayed at places of worship dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes from 2-11 February next year, or who were unable to make the journey, would also be able to receive indulgences."

"The spirit always has to be one of trust in Christ and trust in the words of Christ to his apostles," Father Jonathan Morris, a priest, told the BBC. "And those words were this: 'What you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven; and what you loose on Earth will be loosed in Heaven.' If those words are true, and if the Pope understands them correctly, indulgences really do work."

In 1998, Pope John Paul II announced that Catholic penitents would receive indulgences for such good deeds as quitting smoking, abstaining from alcohol, or performing a charitable act. "Indulgences are an ancient form of church-granted amnesty from certain forms of punishment, in this life or hereafter, for sin," the Times reported then. "The medieval church sold indulgences, a practice that drove Martin Luther to rebel, beginning the Reformation. They remain a source of theological debate between Protestants and Catholics..."

Christian leaders have formally responded to a letter that was sent by Muslim clerics to prominent leaders in Christendom and the Western world last month. In their letter the Muslim leaders called for greater understanding between the two religions. They warned that the very survival of the world itself may be at stake, unless common ground could be found between Islam and Christianity, which together make up around half the population of earth. "With terrible weaponry of the modern world; with Muslims and Christians intertwined everywhere as never before, no side can unilaterally win a conflict between more than half of the world’s inhabitants". The letter states that both Islam and Christianity admonish their followers to love the one true God and love their neighbour with all their hearts, and that this should form the basis for all future interfaith dialogue between them. Much of the letter is made up of verses from the Qur'an which proclaim the Islamic teaching that Muslims should worship only God and ascribe no partner to him.   

Quote: "Is Christianity necessarily against Muslims? In the Gospel Jesus Christ says: He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters abroad. (Matthew 12:30) For he who is not against us is on our side. (Mark 9:40) ... for he who is not against us is on our side. (Luke 9:50)
According to the Blessed Theophylact’s xxiii Explanation of the New Testament, these statements are not contradictions because the first statement (in the actual Greek text of the New Testament) refers to demons, whereas the second and third statements refer to people who recognised Jesus, but were not Christians. Muslims recognize Jesus Christ as the Messiah, not in the same way Christians do (but Christians themselves anyway have never all agreed with each other on Jesus Christ’s nature), but in the following way: …. the Messiah Jesus son of Mary is a Messenger of God and His Word which he cast unto Mary and a Spirit from Him.... (Al-Nisa’, 4:171). We therefore invite Christians to consider Muslims not against and thus with them, in accordance with Jesus Christ’s words here.
Finally, as Muslims, and in obedience to the Holy Qur’an, we ask Christians to come together with us on the common essentials of our two religions ... that we shall worship none but God, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside God ... (Aal ‘Imran, 3:64). Let this common ground be the basis of all future interfaith dialogue between us, for our common ground is that on which hangs all the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:40).

No Christian in their right mind could agree to the above statement. The Muslims have indeed remained true to the Qur'an in their letter in calling Christians to submit to the will of Allah. While it is true that as Christians we worship only one God, the Scriptures declare that He has revealed Himself to us in three Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But the Qur'an denies the Deity of Christ, teaching that Jesus was a created being.

Quote: "The SIMILITUDE of Jesus before God is as that of Adam; He created him (Adam) from dust, then said to him: ''Be''. And he was.[3:59]  

Thus according to the Qur'an, any person who believes that Jesus Christ is God has committed an unforgivable sin, punishable by death. Of course the Scriptures do proclaim that Jesus Christ is equal with God... 

Philippians 2:5-7
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

The Lord Himself claimed equality with His Father, and it was this statement that caused the Pharisees to take up stones to kill Him (John 10:30-33). And the Old and New Testaments affirm that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh (Isaiah 9:6, Revelation 1:8). In our minds we have committed no sin, for there is only one God who exists in three Divine Persons. But in the minds of these Muslims, to say that Jesus Christ is anything more than a prophet is blasphemy. Well you would think that most Christian leaders would balk at such a request, to effectively deny the Deity of their Lord...

Not so. Over 100 prominent theologians, pastors and ministry leaders have so far added their signatures to a reciprocating letter, calling for common ground to be established between the two religions. Signatories include:- Jim Wallis - president of Sojourners, Rick Warren - founder and senior pastor of Saddleback Church, John Stott - rector emeritus of All Souls Church in London and Leith Anderson - president of the National Association of Evangelicals. The Christian leaders have asked the Muslims to forgive them for past sins such as the Crusades in the Middle Ages, and for excesses in the War on Terror. They called for deeper dialogue between them that will help reshape the two communities, so they will "genuinely reflect our common love for God and for one another".

Quote: "Christian leaders urged for an interfaith dialogue that moves beyond “polite” ecumenical talks between selected leaders. Instead, leaders of both faiths should hold dialogues to build relations that will “reshape” the two communities to “genuinely reflect our common love for God and for one another,” the Christian letter stated. “Given the deep fissures in the relations between Christians and Muslims today, the task before us is daunting. And the stakes are great. The future of the world depends on our ability as Christians and Muslims to live together in peace,” the letter added. “If we fail to make every effort to make peace and come together in harmony you correctly remind us that ‘our eternal souls’ are at stakes as well.”

No doubt Gnostics like Creflo Dollar and Kenneth Copeland would have no problem signing such a letter, for to them the "question mark" over the doctrine of the Deity of Jesus Christ was "always there". But the Scriptures plainly teach that any person who denies that Jesus is the Son of God is liar, and he that denies the Father and Son is antichrist (1st John 2:22). But they say, "Jesus is Lord"! Well didn't Jesus Himself say that not everyone who said, "Lord, Lord", would enter into the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 7:21)? And again there are many that have preached in the Lord's name and cast out devils, of whom it shall be said, "depart from Me, all ye workers of iniquity", Luke 13:27. Unfortunately prophecy is no longer being taught in our churches. The Blessed Hope of Christ's coming for His Church is too controversial for some, or else they ascribe to the belief that Jesus Christ came in AD70 and that the Church must now work to bring in God's Kingdom on earth. That view is not found in Scripture. The Bible teaches that Christ is coming back to set up His Kingdom, but first there must come a great falling away from the truth. This falling away will blind much of the world to end time events, preparing the way for the coming of the Antichrist and the one world religious system. I believe Christianity, Islam and Judaism will one day unite under one religious authority, headed up by the false prophet. Jesus Christ is coming again for His Church. Is He coming for you? Trust in Him for salvation today.

Revelation 13:11-12
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.

Source Sufism, Jesus in the Qur'an, Christian Post