Web of Deception

Aging radio and television talk show host Larry King (77), recently interviewed Catholic Priest Michael Manning. In the interview, King (Jewish), asked Father Manning if he believed it is necessary to believe in Jesus Christ to go to heaven. As is the case with so many liberal spiritual imposters, he gave the universal restoration answer, “I have known many religious Rabbis, Buddhists, Hindus, who I believe will go to heaven.” Of course, this is God's business, all I can go by is the New Testament scripture which specifies that only the born-again believers in Jesus Christ will go to heaven: the way, the truth, the life (John 14:6).

My thought processes my entire life have been besieged with thoughts of Christian martyrs, the committed lives of Mennonites, Amish, Quakers, Catholic nuns and priests in their habits, and other saints of the Christian faith with whom I have been acquainted. It is beyond all comprehension that any human being capable of reading and understand God's Word, cannot become a believer in Jesus Christ. George Foreman, two-time world heavyweight boxing champion said, “when I became a Christian, I felt I had been raised from the dead.”

Recently, I heard Dr. Chauncey Crandall, a physician, supervising cardiologist at the Palm Beach Cardiovascular Clinic in Palm Beach, Florida, talk about his book Raising the Dead. He has lectured all around the world about the incident. Jeff Markin, auto-mechanic, in spite of their best efforts, died in the hospital emergency room. Dr. Crandall had been called in to see that everything possible had been done to keep this man alive, and was filling out the final report as the nurse was preparing the body for the morgue. As he left the room, God told him to go back and try once more to resuscitate this man. He went back and told the nurse to try to resuscitate this man again. Bewildered, the nurse said, “doctor, he is dead.” But to satisfy the doctor, the nurse began the resuscitation electronic procedure again, it had been forty-five minutes, and the patient came back to life. Today, the patient is alive, working in a local church, having been lead to Christ by Dr. Crandall. He went in to the blackness of hell, as one discarded, without hope.

Near death experiences, peeking into both heaven and hell have been experienced by many. With every Christian, you cannot give what you have, only what you are. We all have different versions of ourselves, understand the importance of putting forth the best version of yourself, demonstrating the importance of your life. Judas was chosen just as were the other 11, he saw the miracles, raising of the dead, healing of the sick, feeding of thousands. His feet were washed by our Blessed Lord, as were the others, yet for a bag of silver, he betrayed his Savior. Compare Judas and Peter, Judas went out and killed himself. Peter, warming himself at the enemy's fire, denied his Savior. He came back, repenting, became the “rock” of the church. An example for frail human beings everywhere. As an old man, he wrote that our faith is more precious than gold (1 Peter 1:7)

Why does it surprise us that evil men are caught in a web of deception, easily beguiled by Satan, loving selfish ambition. Filthy lucre, power-madness, more than anything else with which the human mind can be trapped, deceived. Colonel Kadafi, tyrannical, Islamic ruler for 40 years, now killing his people in the streets with his own military helicopters. The cheapness of life, not just with Muslims (Iraq, Iran, Egypt, etc.), Americans killing 3,352 babies every day through abortion. In order to become President, Lyndon Johnson involved in the assassination of President John Kennedy.

Since WWII, warfare has so cheapened lives, beneath the sand in the Middle East and North Africa, lives lost for the black gold (oil) which lies beneath the sand. Read your history, 100 years ago, the tyrants of the world, the power-brokers of the world, saw the increased value of oil. Russia's Stalin took over many of the oil fields. The money-kings of the world set up Hitler to straighten out Stalin. Along came WWII, with the mess of England, Japan, and America. Really, it has never ended, the power grab for oil, it is going on this very day.

2000 years ago, the madness for money, evident even in the life of Christ. The Sanhedrin, the Jewish Rabbis, were probably being paid off by the moneychangers in the temple. Jesus put on a tent of human flesh to dwell among us and show the decent way human beings should live. His own, killed Him on a cruel cross, and He said there, the eternal truth, “they do not know what they are doing.” He had told us to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:39).

Prisons are full of people; church house, school house, court house, even the White House are full of people who like to live in luxury off the hard work of others. In a marvelous land of opportunity, vacation time, retirement time has become more important than supplication time. An Islamic cleric said recently that the Islamic flag would eventually fly over the White House. Most Americans are concerned with retirement time being longer and more rewarding than their work time. Most government retirees, draw as much money in government retirement as they ever did in working for the government.

If only mortal man could understand his capability, his calling. Charles Lindbergh was brave enough to fly the Atlantic alone, on a small plane, and land in Paris in 1927. The man responsible for kidnapping Lindbergh and his wife Anne Morrow's only child, was brave enough to climb into his second story window, steal and kill their precious child. Many of us have been brave enough to fly over the great cities of the world, to see the ability of man, the domes of Rome, the neon frescoes of Hong Kong, the spherical minarets of Istanbul. When will we learn the Creator of life, even the life of man, instilled in him to be the benefactor of good, or yield to the deceptive web of evil.