A couple of days ago I read an interesting opinion: “In the beginning the church was a fellowship of men and women centered on the living Christ. Then the church moved to Greece, where it became a philosophy. Then it moved to Rome, where it became an institution. Next, it moved to Europe, where it became a culture. And, finally, it moved to America, where it became an enterprise.” -Richard C. Halverson, former chaplain of the U.S. Senate. He resumed a part of what’s going wrong with our ministries.

The church is a healthy place where we meet to learn about the Scriptures, to have communion and to praise the Lord, but lately we’ve been poisoned by tons of false teachings. The body of Christ was created by God, and it is a saint place! The Christian church itself is not the problem, but the leaders who pretend to announce the truth, the members who see and do wrong things and pretend nothing is happening. And you… you must decide if you’re a part of the problem or the solution.

In general, the Bible shows the reason why God has created us: love. The only reason one person serves God is for love. It’s impossible to serve Him without love. He gave us the choice to love Him or not. And that’s the issue: you can either serve God or not. But if you want to, do it right! The leaders have a great responsibility with the church members, so also do the mature Christians.  I’ve been a Christian for a couple of years already, and I’ve seen some things I just can’t agree with. It’s not my intention to point churches out, only some attitudes. And may God help me not to be accused of things I myself disagree!

Church signs

There are approximately 38 thousand different Christian denominations in the world. Now tell me: which one is right? If you answer that there’s more than one, I’ll make you another question: if we’re following the same direction, why are we divided? “There are contentions among you… Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?” [1 Corinthians 1.11-13] I can only see one reason for so much division between us: contentions. As today it seems to be almost impossible to unite the Jesus servants in just one church, at least we can recognize the brothers of a different church as our brothers. If my church truly follows the Bible and that other church also follows the Bible, we’re not better and so aren’t they. God won’t save church members, He will save true servants. And believe me, we will have some surprises on the Final Judgment Day.

Numbers

The Gospel is reaching places that were unreachable before, like Jesus said: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world…”
He also said that “many false prophets will appear and deceive many people”.
[Matthew 24:11] These guys talk about the Bible and walk like serious people and do all they can to please us, the church members. For them, having a full congregation is the most important, even the congregation is not compromised. On the other hand, if the serious pastors are very tough and show what’s wrong, some members don’t like it. We like to hear about blessings and prosperity, but correction is not always well-accepted. A leader wants to see the body of Christ increasing, but the reason for that makes all the difference. If the main reason is to glorify the name of God, we will see a healthy congregation, even it doesn’t grow. If the intention is vanity, we will see lots of mistakes, no matter the size of the temple. A mature Christian knows what I’m talking about.

The leadership of Moses

I admire the leadership of Moses because he had one mission and he accomplished it without betraying God’s principles. He accepted the challenge to lead approx. 2.5 million Israelites across the desert using the faith. He also suffered for the mistakes of the Israelites, and the “penalty” was spending 40 years until reaching the Promised Land, which was 200km from the place they initially were. Only 200km! In the end, only approx. 624.730 remained, and the generation who left Egypt didn’t make it to see the Promised Land because of their sins. For the business world, losing 75% of your followers is a huge loss, but not for Moses. He knew he had responsibility with them, but there was a bigger responsibility with God.  He continually saw the Israelites complaining and committing sins, but he never quit the cause or stopped fearing and serving God. The head of the group cannot be flexible when the followers are wrong, and nor the followers cannot be flexible when the leader loses the principles. If God wants you to be where you are now, don’t quit.

We must love the sinner and hate the sin, even because we’re sinners. That’s why the church must forgive when someone commits a sin but repents and changes. Moses himself sinned against God but repented.  No matter if we fall a thousand times in the same mistake, as long as we truly desire the change and fight for it. That’s one of the main reasons why we go to church. If that’s not our motivation, being in a church becomes only a social meeting and the congregation tends to be distant from God. In Brazil, for example, it’s estimated that there are 27 million evangelicals and 30 to 40 million of people who turned away from the church. Yeah, 27 millions of Christians against 40 millions of ex-church members. The substitution of members is continuous, and that’s why both groups continually grow: many arrived, many others leave and don’t go to any other church. For me, it’s a sign of a sick church system.

Christian Business

The moment to give tights and offerings is very special, with songs and prayers to bless the money. A succeeded testimonial showed on TV and radio is usually related to the financial life. For some denominations, poverty is a sign of curse. So, why was Jesus poor?? I don’t hear about Jesus’ preaching/life when the topic of the sermon is prosperity. And I don’t need to mention the several verses that warn us from accumulating money.

To tell you the truth, I believe God is Almighty. I’ve been learning [on a hard way] that He doesn’t need us, we need Him. He can do whatever and whenever He wants to. I don’t believe Our Creator needs us to appeal for money to apply on His work. Tightening is a biblical obligation like any other, and shall we do for love. I believe God wants us to give mainly to teach us how to be generous and love the neighbor.  Contributing to the work of God is a consequence of loving the Lord. He doesn’t need [and I believe He doesn’t want] some preachers to do a brain washing and “touch our hearts” to touch our money later.

According to Pierucci, sociologist and docent at USP, that’s the first time in history that a church values the money to the point to its leaders exhibiting mansions is seen as a positive thing. Some theologians believe that the seven Asian Churches from the book of Revelation are actually seven eras of the Christian Church. The seventh is the church of Laodicea. See what is said about this one: “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich”. [Revelation 3:17-18] This church was visibly wealthy but spiritually dying. These same theologians affirm the era of this church is now.

A walk to forget

A certain movie was launched some years ago, “A love to remember”. It’s about a pastor’s daughter who started a relationship with a non-Christian guy, and suddenly he changes for her. The history is beautiful but with a completely wrong background history. Scientific studies reveal that the more similar the partners are the bigger are the changes to the relationship to succeed. We the Christians are not better than anyone, we just walk in a different direction from non-Christians. This film shows that no matter the religion of your partner, as long as there’s love. Everyone knows it’s easy to turn away from God if the person beside you is not Christian. The conception of right and wrong has been lost among some groups. For them, the most important is announce  you’re a blessed and happy person, even you’re not”. It could be called the theology of the rotten apple, with a beautiful peel. A just-converted Christian said once that it’s impossible that the Christianity has been made by human hands, because [among other factors] this is the only religion that shows we don’t deserve salvation, no matter what we do.

Along my Christian walk I’ve committed many mistakes. I don’t remember how many times I was in a church service and thinking how miserable I was. But like millions of others like me, I always repented and tried to change one more time. It still happens and will happen until I die. Jesus came for the sick people, so He came for everyone. It’s just like a hospital, people go there to be healed. Thank God I met and still meet people who tell me when I am wrong. Brothers and sisters who accept me as I am, but help me to change.

Can you imagine a patient who goes to a hospital but doesn’t want the cured?

“Hey doctor, I have pneumonia but I’m not here o be healed, I just like the view. Could you please provide me a comfortable bed and cable TV?”

Well, it’s the same with a person who needs God:

“Hey pastor, I’m a sinner but I’m not here to meet God, I just like the view. Could you provide me a good seat in this church, please?”

To the rest I say this [I, not the Lord]: think about what you’re doing in the body of Christ.

False prophets: you guys know the Word, so I have nothing to say. It’s between you and God.

True leaders: do what God called you to do, lead the members to the way of eternal Life.

Members: we need to decide who we are, and who we serve. Staying in the church and not living as a Christ follower is lying to yourself. That’s what I call the semi-Christian attitude, but God is not a semi-Father of anyone. Or you’re truly a son of God or son of the devil. Leaving the body of Christ is never the solution, if you want to be a follower of Christ.

Reference

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_denominations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Exodus

http://www.revistaenfoque.com.br/index.php?edicao=81&materia=1027

http://www.ihu.unisinos.br/index.php?option=com_noticias&Itemid=18&task=detalhe&id=4700

http://veja.abril.com.br/noticia/ciencia/os-opostos-nao-se-atraem-afirma-estudo

Image: catholicvote.org

]]> http://beyondopinions.wordpress.com/2011/09/25/the-theology-of-rotten-apple/feed/ 0 Vitor Aragão false http://beyondopinions.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/money-a-complicated-topic-for-the-christians/ http://beyondopinions.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/money-a-complicated-topic-for-the-christians/#comments Sun, 18 Sep 2011 11:54:29 +0000 Vitor e Miranda Aragão http://beyondopinions.wordpress.com/?p=61 Continue reading »]]> The world has changed, and also the Christian churches. The people say money moves the world, but it has also changed. Financial life must stop being an obscure subject between us, most of us need money. Some people talk too much about it, some other prefer do not talk about, but what exactly the Bible says about it? I decided to go deeper on the teachings of Jesus and Salomon. I would like to understand the arguments of those who preach about getting rich, not only to impose my vision about it. So, if someone who reads this post has a different point of view, please leave a comment!

The first teaching on the New Testament about money is on Matthews, chapter 6. Jesus tells us not to lay up treasures upon Earth, but to lay up treasures in heaven. This teaching is confirmed on verse 33, when He says our priority must be seeking the Kingdom of God, and the rest will be given to us. On the chapter 10 He instructs His disciples not to own gold, silver, plumb or too many personal stuff.  On chapter 13 [verses 45 and 46] we can see the comparison between the Kingdom of heaven and a very valuable pearl that someone found, and decided to sell all he had to buy It. I understand these texts as advices for us to prioritize the godly things instead of material goods. The financial life books affirm that being rich requires lots of dedication. So, a conflict is established between this fact and the fact of no one can be good in everything, do you agree? To be excellent in a certain area you must to become regular in another one. Which area is preferable to be regular, the financial or the spiritual?

The book of Mark, chapter 10, the things become tenser. Firstly, Christ said to the young rich man that he needed to sell all he had and give to the poor. After he said it’s hard to a rich person to enter into the Kingdom of God. Also that it’s hard to those who trust in the riches to enter into the Kingdom of God! We conclude that it’s hard because most rich people trust in their riches and love the money. The more we like something, the more we miss it. If you’re a Christian and your priority is serving God and enter into the Kingdom o heaven, you don’t want to be rich and risk to lose all of it, right?

One good action doesn’t really matter if the intention is not good, according to the book of Mark, chapter 12.43-44. The poor widow gave much more than the rich people because she gave 100% of her money, and the other only gave what rested. This fact leads us to an intriguing truth: if we have too much, our selfish side “wakes up”, like an only son who gains all he wants. It’s better not to feed this side of ours, that’s why it’s better not to be rich. If that widow was rich, she probably wouldn’t give all her riche! Explanations are not needed for Luke, chapter 6.20: “Blessed {be ye} poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.”

The parable of the breads and fish of the book of Mark 6.38 is constantly used by some pastors to preach about abundance. Well, there were thousands of people willing to eat, so there was enough and not excessive food for the thousands of people who were there. We also find in the book of Luke, chapter 6.38, another very used text to justify God wants all of us to be wealthy: “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” First of all, this verse does not talk about money at any moment. It could be about time, love, dedication or money. Anyway we can consider the financial aspect and make a self-examination: if you’re very generous, give money to the poor only for love and don’t expect nothing back, there would have a chance for you not no corrupt yourself. But a person with such qualities normally doesn’t think about being rich, because he/she doesn’t want to take the risk to live without God.  Also, this kind of person doesn’t admit to have these qualities, he/she has to be humble.

The book of Luke also tells the history of Larazus and the rich man: “Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.” It shows that if you enjoys the material wealth, you won’t enjoy the spiritual wealth, and vice-virse. It doesn’t mean the poverty is the way to the salvation, but the wealth helps us to stay distant from God. The famous history of Zacchaeus, the rich chef of the publicans, is on the chapter 19. After meeting Christ, he decided to give half of all his money and restitute who he´s stolen. The financial interest of Zacchaeus suddenly decreased after this meeting.

The king Salomon was the richest man Who ever lived. In a general way, he shows different points of view about having money. One of them is the comparison with the spiritual wealth, to show how serving God is more important. For example:

Proverbs 24.33-34: “{Yet} a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come {as} one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man. {an…: Heb. a man of shield}”.

Proverbs 23.21: “For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe {a man} with rags.”

Proverbs 28.19: “He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain {persons} shall have poverty enough.”

Eclesiastes 5.18-19: “Behold {that} which I have seen: {it is} good and comely {for one} to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it {is} his portion. {It is good…: Heb. there is a good which is comely, etc} {all the days: Heb. the number of the days}. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this {is} the gift of God.”

And finally, here’s the verses that show that willing to get rich is definitely a wrong attitude. Like I Said before, the intention is more important than the action. By the following verses, we realize the poor people can also be too attached to money:

Proverbs 23.4: “Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.”

Proverbs 28.22: “He that hasteth to be rich {hath} an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him. {hasteth…: or, hath an evil eye hasteth to be rich}”.

Proverbs 30.8-9: “Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: {convenient…: Heb. of my allowance}

Lest I be full, and deny {thee}, and say, Who {is} the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God {in vain}. {deny…: Heb. belie thee}”.

Eclesiastes 5.10: “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this {is} also vanity.”

Eclesiastes 5.12-13: “The sleep of a labouring man {is} sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. There is a sore evil {which} I have seen under the sun, {namely}, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.”

Some people need to be in charge of high positions and deal with big amounts of money. However, the most people are not able to be rich because we could be easily corrupted by the human nature. And the few who are wise enough for that don’t put the wealth as priority. So, if you dream about being rich, I would say you’re included in the biggest group. Also, I couldn’t find anywhere in the Bible the incentive from God to all of us [or most of us] to be rich. I believe what God wants for us is the prosperity, which means having all we need, not exactly what we want. Not in excess, because it may become in vanity.

Reference

http://www.bibliaonline.com.br

http://www.ihu.unisinos.br/index.php?option=com_noticias&Itemid=18&task=detalhe&id=4700

http://www.christianadvice.net/the_bible_on_money.htm

Image: joeydevilla.com

The verse 24 says “No man can serve two masters… ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Or you only serve God or you don´t serve Him, pretty simple. And the god mamom is… money. So, you either  serve God or the money. This verse gives a clear answers for 50% of the cause for anxiety: the worry about money. Until someone proves me I´m wrong, a person is worried about money because is worried about your own life. And the verse 25 says as you DON´T serve the money, don´t worry about your own life, with food or drink, the body or clothes. Don´t worry. So, if you’re too concerned with the future, you do serve the money. And if you serve the money, you are anxious.

Anxiety [also called worry] is a mental state, characterized by feeling of fear, uneasiness and fear of a threat that only exists on the mind. It causes a long-term tension and makes the body reacts with heart palpitations, muscle weakness and tension, fatigue, nausea, chest pain, shrtness of breath stomach aches or headaches. In other words, anxiety makes us being afraid of what doesn´t exist, it bothers for a long time causes reactions that only makes our lives harder. That´s why Jesus told us not to worry, because it doesn´t help in anything, only brings trouble. Fighting something we cannot win is like being afraid of the own shadow. Being anxious is being a servant of the money, of anything visible, of yourself but God.  How to be free from anxiety? You shall not serve material things, the material things must exist to glorify to God through your management. If it seems hard [it is for me, a lot], let´s move on.

In the nowadays language, the verse 26 says the birds don’t seed, they don’t have bank account or refrigerator to stock food. They work but only worry about can be done on the present time. The work is important to live today, not in the future. The future doesn’t exist, don’t forget. You may have to spend 30 years to pay your apartment, but you just need to pay one month per time. The birds don’t suffer with stress or heart diseases. Believe me, any bird makes two nests because it’s afraid of losing one. They just make one. And we, who are superior to the birds, sometimes look like silly children who desire more and more. Please, don’t take me bad: I’m not against having bank account or refrigerators! If youreceive a monthly payment, manage our money well so you will have enough for the whole month. Planning is wise, obvious and biblical. Worring about what you cannot solve is as wrong as not preventing against you already know that will happen.

Have you ever realized the verses 28 to 30 are only about clothing? I believe the intention is not really the clothes, but living by appearance. Jesus told not even Salomon could clothe himself like the flowers. The richest, the most wise and maybe the most beautiful king never clothed as good as a flower, which is so fragile. One flower, that can suddenly disappear just like the clothes, the cars, the money, the houses and everything we own. One person dies and leaves all he/she built all the hole life. One earthquake destroys in ten minutes what is built in 50 years by the man. These are the things God doesn’t want us to priory. If we care too much about it, we have a little faith, we don’t trust in God to bless us.

God knows how the people have a bad time with anxiety. That was not for accident that He said 3 times for us not to worry i the text. He knows what we need and tells us to firstly care about the Kingdom of Heaven and his justice. Consider the spiritual questions as more important, and all the other needs [food, drink, clothes etc] will be given to you. Everything comes from God. No matter how we run, work, study or try, everything comes from God. The book of Isaiah chapter 45 proves that.

Christ goes against the human logic. He considers as secondary all the things we consider as primary. The main keys against the anxiety are praying and doing self-analysis. Think of something you really like. Your car? Your credit card? Your vídeo-game? It can be anything. Now ask why you like it so bad. What are the benefits? Am I able to change my nice car for a cheaper one? Or give some of my best and new clothes? What about selling some jewels and give the money to the poor? Give up a high salary to spend more time with my family? What’s better, a life full of “other things” or a life with God?

Here’s the last but not the least verse: ”Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day {is} the evil thereof.”

Reference

Holy Bible [King James version]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anxiety

Image: wellsphere.com

After reading 3 or 4 books about it, we conclude they’re amazing, they show how men and women are completely different, and we must understand the differences and learn how to live with it. If you are not into reading until the end, I abstract some of the main topics to help the sex war become a love agreement, “until the death separate us”.

Remembering of 4 essential details:

1- It´s good to purchase at least one of the books. There are a few recommended in the end.

2- I agree with all those concepts, but I didn’t create any of those.

3- There are exceptions on the behavior. For example, I am a man and I talk too much. My wife locates herself on open spaces better than me.

4- I disagree with any feminist book that says we’re are the same, and the same for machist books that says men are better than women [these are worse]. We’re just… different.

1- Women can watch TV, talk on the phone and take care of the baby, while paint the nails!!

Yes, they can do a several things at the same time. The explanation consists in the brain connections: the hemispheres of the female brain are better connected than the male brain. This communication allows the women to do different things simultaneously. On the other hand, we [the men] get ourselves focused in just one activity. And we keep working on it until the end. So, next time you the woman call your husband and he doesn’t answer, maybe the poor guy is entertained with some world issue…

2- The woman gets home and unburdens her problems with the husband. And of course… he tries to find one solution! But who said she wants one solution??

Some researches confirm that women say approximately 3 times more than the men. It gives 20.000 words for girls, 7.000 more than boys. Well, my friend… next time your wife starts telling a problem, please don’t interrupt her with solutions, otherwise you’ll create one more problem. Just let her release some hundreds or thousands of words. After the [long] talk, she will accept your suggestions more easily. Not before.

And wives, when the husband gets home and doesn’t talk, respect it. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you anymore, it just his way to stress out. In other words, the male silent must be as respected as the female talk.

3- Parking the car, and complicated mission.

The vision and the general senses of the woman are better than men when we talk about details. That’s why they realize so easily when someone isn’t well, or are able to identify the baby signs, or can describe with so many details a closed ambient. On the other hand, the men’s vision is more developed for wider spaces. So, why men commit much more accidents than women? Imprudence…

4- Men like to protect, women like to be protected.

It’s easy to realize men are stronger than women. On the gyms, men work out to get stronger, and women work out to get thinner. Thank God we don’t need keep on fighting to protect our wives, but anyway women love the sensation to be protected by a man. Even the female normal fat percentage is bigger than the male one, and the male normal muscle percentage is bigger than the female. We can see this difference when a couple is going to bed. Men prefer to sleep turned to the most vulnerable side of the bed, so they can react in case of someone tries to invade the house. The sense of protection goes further when we talk about criticism. Men hate to be criticized when they don’t ask for help we understand as a weakness sign. A wise woman looks for the right moment to criticize or give advices. A good intention itself doesn’t necessarily generate a good result; it’s needed to be wise.

5- Love proofs can be traps!!

More often people get frustrated when they try to please the partner and he/she doesn’t give you the response you expected. Well, it happens because different people show love in different ways. And of course, expect love in the same way they demonstrate. According to some books, the main ways to show love are: saying pretty words, spending time, physical touch, gifts and service acts.

6- Why is a discussion so exhausting for both genders?

A discussion can make men feel challenged and confronted. He puts the romanticism aside, the tune of voice changes instantaneity and just concerns about solve the problem. When he “forgets” to be romantic, the woman feels offended and rejected. In the end the man feels she doesn’t trust him, and the woman feels destroyed emotionally. One possible solution is just stopping debating when the discussion becomes more serious. It’s better to cool down before go ahead. After a couple of hours you will see things more clearly and then. Easier to talk, isn’t it?

Well, this is the basic of how to have a good relationship, but nothing compares to a good book reading. The books I recommend are:

1- “Why men don’t listen & women can’t read maps”, by Allan and Barbra Pease

2- “Men are from Mars, women are from Venus”, John Gray

3- “The five love languages”, by Gary Chapman

Images: imgvid.wordpress.com

jakelinecpa.blogspot.com

May God bless you on the search!

Always I heard of legalism, I had a wrong idea of it. A legalistic attitude is not necessarily negative. According to the history, Legalism is a political philosophy that does not address higher questions pertaining to the nature and purpose of existence. It is concerned with the most effective way of governing society. The classic origin of the legalism is based on the belief that the population is selfish and ignorant, according to the book of Lord Shang and Han Fei-tzu, fom China [written centuries before Christ]. I would say it´s following a rational rule in a irrational way, sometimes. When we deal with human laws, it´s preferable to be legalist, it becomes easier to follow human rules. The armed forces always use legalist conceptions. If they wouldn’t use probably this area wouldn’t work. However, when we talk about biblical laws, the subject deserves a bigger attention.

The Old and New Testament commandments were done to be accomplished, but in love. That´s the main difference between the divine and the human laws. All the biblical laws derivatives from loving God above everything. If one commandment conflicts with another one, we must considerate the love and the faith. For example, when Jesus cured on Saturday, the pharisees accused him to transgress the Moses’s Law. In fact the Scriptures say we must rest on Saturday. However Jesus asked them if it was lawful to do good things on Saturday, and they silenced. He knew the pharisees were questioning Him with evil intentions. For attitudes like this we can better understand the legalism can be so prejudicial.

Legalism among the pharisees

Inside the Christian environment we always hear criticism between the pharisees. For a better understanding, those people were Jews and the Torah followers from the century II b.C. There’s no problem about being a Jew, much less about having the Torah as belief. The big issue consisted in using the Law to take advantages. The corruption took place inside this segment, and it probably was earned prestige among the population. They started to add impossible rules to be followed and became very demanding with the people. They forgot to love. Full of knowledge about the Law and distant from the Creator of the Law.

Legalism in the church

Various Christians have suffered with the abuse of power or even with the lack of knowledge of some leaders. One authority of one Christian church must take care about their actions, because they are always observed by the members. Authority is responsibility, first of all. I know types of churches that expel a person from the body of members when he/she commits the sin of fornication, without considering the regret. Thousands of Christians around the world were forbidden to get married because they’re divorced. Some leaders do not analyse the question and affirm that “if someone is divorced, he/she never will be able to marry again.”

While I write and search about this topic, I can just think of two origins for the legalism: love for money/power and ignorance. The Catholic church started to create laws with any clear biblical reason, such as the worship to Mary the charging to indulgences as way to reach the Heaven. Also some Protestant churches have done the same thing, using their authority to earn power and money from the people. It doesn’t mean that power always brings corruption, but every person, leader or not, must be extremely careful not to corrupt himself/herself. Some Jew kings were intact, some others corrupted. And there is an uncountable number of honest and committed Christian leaders [no matter the denomination].

How to fight the legalism in your life and in the church

There´s only one way not to permit the legalism to interfere your life and your Christian community: praying and studying God’s word. When we spend time examining the Scriptures, it becomes hard [or impossible] to be deceived. The lack of knowledge is condemned since the Old Testament, on the book of Hosea: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”.

Reference:

http://www.ebdareiabranca.com/2011/2trimestre/licao10ajuda02.htm

http://www.infopedia.pt/lingua-portuguesa/legalismo

http://www.vivos.com.br/233.htm

http://www.philtar.ac.uk/encyclopedia/china/legal.html

Images [adapted]:

www.saintcynic.blogspot.com

handsfrozentothesword.com

Satisfaction

If the world was destroyed today, how would you die? Satisfied?

We just live once. Have you thought about living in a pleasant way? That´s possible. The number of unhappy people with their lives is impressive. Definitely we weren´t created for the frustration.

What´s satisfaction

According to Wikipedia, satisfaction [or contentment] is enjoyment of whatever may be desired. That good sensation that something we wish happens. Among other things, we live to be satisfied. Dr. Robert Holden, an happiness expert, says the paths to the happiness are being focused in the present, letting the past go and make yourself a vow of kindness. Kind of similar to “don´t worry about the day of tomorrow”, “forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors” and “love the neighboor as yourself”. All based on the most famous book, the Bible.

We can get satisfaction when we forgive our debtors and practice the love. After that, the satisfaction can be found in different ways for different people. I have some good friends with the most varied wishes. One of them, for example, wants to be rich. Another one wanted to be a bus driver from one certain company. An another one wanted to leave his job and start over. Which one will be happier when they get what they want? I believe all of them will have the same level of satisfaction. Two of these guys already got what they wanted.

Einstein said life is like riding a bicycle. In order to keep the balance you must keep moving. I really like the movie “The pursuit of happiness”, with Will Smith. However, the author is wrong when he says that maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue, and maybe we can actually never have it no matter what.”

Not only the satisfaction, but the pursuit for satisfaction are two of the motors for life. The satisfaction must always be pursued and yes, it can be found, it´s a daily work. Just like the hunger: it doesn´t matter how much we eat today, there will be the need to eat again by tomorrow. And by the way, my friend who wanted to be a bus driver got there, and now he´s pursuing other type of job, because we wants to and needs to keep moving.

On the opposite side there is the frustration, which means common emotional  response to opposition that arises from the perceived resistance to the fulfillment of individual  will. When something expected doesn´t happen, so the frustration takes place. Being frustrated once in a while is perfectly normal, acceptable and even healthy. The big issue is when the dissatisfaction is routine in your life. So it´s time analyse your historical to find out what´s going wrong.

Satisfaction is not a math equation. Satisfaction demands information and effort. Let´s say 50% of information and 50% of effort. Effort with no knowledge is insane and information with no effort is laziness.

Important steps towards satisfaction

Get to know what you want

In the movie “Alice in Wonderland”, Alice asks to the Cheshire Cat:

-Which way I ought to go from here?

-That depends a good deal on where you want to get to - said the Cat.

This dialogue shows the importance to know which destiny you should take. It´s common to find people without any plans. Planning is wise! Maybe [or probably] not everything will follow the schedule, and part of the plan will be changed. But you will know where you´re stepping in.

Well, I have a very courageous friend. He easily moves city and get into plans, different to most people in the world! But he commits a big mistake: he doesn´t keep on the same track for too long. By the first signs of difficulty, he jumps into another job and starts over again and again. Being focused means choosing one direction you know its worthy and follow it, no matter what. It´s also knowing there will be obstacles, which is normal. In fact, that´s also what makes us grow up.

Look for satisfaction on the right places 

Money brings comfort, not happiness.

Professional success brings status, not friends.

You must get married to firstly make your partner happy, not only to be happy.

Don´t expect anyone to change because of you. No one changes no one.

The pursuit of satisfaction is personal

Some people just want to have a simple job on a local restaurant. Others want to have a dinner in different restaurants around the world. In “Monalisa´s smile”, Julia Roberts interprets a teacher who tries to shows to her students they can be more than housewives. In the end, she realized some of the girls didn´t want to have a job outside, to be famous  or revolutionaries. They wanted to be… housewives [by the way, it´s a honorable work!!]. The person who lives to prove things to others have a miserable life. They´re condemned to keep changing their cars to show power, never repeating a party dress and always consuming, consuming and consuming. They´re too busy seeing what the others like and forget to ask themselves what they like.

Don´t walk in circles

Sometimes, all you need is right next to you. But your eyes are too busy looking to the wrong direction. Once upon a time there was a fisherman sitting on the lakeside. One friend approached and asked to him:

 -You could fish with two rods.

-What for?

-To fish more and have money to buy a boat.

-What for?

-To fish more and have money to buy a fleet of boats.

-What for?

- To be rich and one day fish on the lakeside.

-And what am I doing now?

Being content with every achievement

“Happiness is a journey, not a destination”. A war is made of battles, just like the satisfaction is made of small conquers, one per time. If you don´t satisfy yourself with little steps, you won´t satisfy yourself when you  get what you always dreamed about.

The right moment to be happy is now. Now is the only thing that exists. The past is remembrance is the future is project. None of those exists, only the present. Promising yourself to be happy WHEN you buy a house, WHEN you retire and WHEN you get married is lying to yourself.

Having a negative attitude preventing yourself from seeing every good stuff that happens and being satisfied. For example, having a bicycle and being afraid to fall and break the leg. Or having a car and being afraid to be robbed.

Pay the price

 “The difficulties are part of the receipt for the growing”. Once I heard of a woman who was frustrated. When she was a child, the director of her ballet school told she wasn´t good enough for dancing ballet: “You´ll never be a professional ballerina!”, these were his words. Years later, they met each other and finally she told how hurt she became because of that occasion. So he said: “You would never be a good ballerina anyway, because you quit on the first difficulty”.

And how to be happy

The temporary objectives only can bring temporary satisfaction. A long lasting state of happiness can only be achieved by an eternal source, God. Happiness is a mental state of positive emotions ranging from satisfaction to intense joy. Among many other authors, professor Andrew Clark from the Paris School of Economics and co-author Dr Orsolya Lelkes, from the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research found that life satisfaction seems to be higher among the religious population. The science showed what was already said millenniums ago: “Love God above everything”. Having a happy and satisfying life is not only possible, that´s why we were created for. You can find the complete manual for happiness on the Bible, probably in some shelf of your home.

 Recommended movie: “The Pilgrim Progress”, starring Dan Kruse. It´s about a journey towards the biggest conquer the human being can have.

Reference

http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2008/03/are-religious-p.html

http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Satisfaction-with-Life-Scale

http://portaldt.com/evangelicos-sao-menos-satisfeitos-com-a-vida-diz-pesquisa/

http://www.dicio.com.br/satisfacao/

http://www.dicio.com.br/frustracao/

http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felicidade

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happiness

Image: http://eshda3wa.blogspot.com

By Vitor M.S. Aragão

Colaboration: Miranda de Fijter Aragão

vmsaragao@gmail.com

miranda.nl@hotmail.com

Introduction

When we talk about emotional damages, we can divide all the human beings in two different groups: those who have and those who think they don´t have. Do you agree with me? … Your answer will give you a clue of which group you belong.

But why to bring out something that´s untouched for so long? For a obvious and simple reason: to live in peace with ourselves, with God and with the other who surround us. Take a look on what the Bible talks about it: “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” [Hebrews 12.14-15].

An ancient japanese proverb says “we stumble on the little rocks, because we quickly see the big ones”. In another words, we worry too much about things apparently more threatening. We forget the more simple threats, but also deadly. Because they don´t generally* cause great tragedies, like a heart attack, we imagine there´s no need to solve it. And we live together with these illnesses that kill us little by little along the years. Well, it´s curious that a heart attack is caused by excess of fat we eat day by day, along the life.

Life is an unique journey for each person, but we all are subjected to suffer emotional damages and carry them. However, the biggest problem isn´t the damage itself, but the marks it leaves, and also how we react. It´s like a book shelf that all the books are put randomly, with no logic order. The main idea is learn how to manage in a simple and general way the emotional damages, and give solutions. How to set your emotional shelf.

How to set your emotional shelf ?

I present in this study the innitial steps for the healing for the emotional damages. They are basically the same that helped me to solve a low self-esteem problem I carried during years. I got these information through talkings with professionals and reading of books about the theme. I highlight “Healing for emotional damages”, from the pastor and psychiatrist David Seamands.

This study only treats emotional damages in general. Because of that, counselings with a serious pastor and the help of a psychologist [a christian one, in my opinion] are important. Very important to say that human beings are subjective. So, never judge other person for thinking his/her problem is small. The interpretation of one experience varies from one person to another.

*Along this study, you will read several times the words “generally”, “probably” and other that give the idea of not applicable to 100% of the cases, because they really aren´t. So, pray to God and ask Him if these conceptions applicable to your life.

1. How the shelves are [dis]organized

No one buys a disorganized shelf, because it comes empty. First, we place in somewhere it pleases us and then we put the books. The original idea is organize the books, divided by section, more or less like a book store. But along the time, we place the books anyway, specially when the shelf is full already.

Now imagine that your emotional side is a shelf: when you were born, your mind didn´t have most of the information you have today. The time passed by, you lived experiences and accumulated information. But none of all experiences were good and none of all information were correct. And you didn´t have time or wisdom to come back and correct the mistakes, yours or other´s. So, just like a full and messy  shelf, your life has things to put in order, right?

Some people hide their traumas behind their best qualities. For example, a well-succeeded professional, with great results on his job but isn´t a good father. Or a woman who´s very dedicated to her friends and doesn´t give attention to her husband. They´re rarely criticized by people from outside, and don´t think they need to change. Or they don´t want to.

Some other people decide to guilt the responsible for the trauma. If it´your case, I tell you that this point is pretty complicated, for one reason: maybe someone else caused the problem, but you are the responsible of the hurt you have today! For example, John is 35 years old and still guilt one old classmate because this guy bulled him 20 years ago! Or Mary, who says that any man is trustful because she saw her father betraying her mother, or an old boyfriend betrayed her. John´s old classmate, the father and the old boyfriend are responsible for what happened in the past, but they´re not responsible for what happens today!

I´ve learnt one thing: the change only happens after you recognize there´s a problem. So, I believe* it depends on you to change or not. After you admit you must change, God will change you.

Let´s return to the book store. Why are the books always in order? Why is it hard to find dust on those books? Why is an library an pleasant enviroment? [at least for the book lovers]? Two answers: cleaning and arrangement. The employees collect the books put in the wrong place and and replace it. And in the end of the day they clean the store. And how can it be applicable to someone´s life? One possible answer is on the lines below.

 *I just wrote based on what I saw and read. However, the way God works is not limited to our minds, that´s why I wrote “I believe”. As God is Almighty, He can work however He wants to.

2. Taking the books out of the place

The more the books are out of order, the harder it is to reorganize. The same way, the longer the trauma exists the harder it is to solve, and the victim is being emotionally destroyed little by little. And as the time passes by, the trauma becomes deeper and coexist with the victim, and it´s harder to be free from it. It´s like a painful disease: in the very beginning, the patient suffers to much and desires it to disappear. If it doesn´t disappear, the patient readapts his life so he can live with the pain. In analogy, the messy shelf becomes part of the house…

When Jesus began to preach, “the people living in darkness have seen a great light”. And after He heals and teach about the good news, “Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him.” [Mt 4.16,25]. Note that before following Jesus, people needed to see the light. Probably many of them didn´t realize anymore they were living on darkness, even they were living an empty life.

A quick reorganization on the shelf will only cover the mess. The best thing to do is take all the books off. That way you will see the real space of the shelves and know where to put the books correctly. Taking off the books of our soul is just recognize there are problems to be solved.

There are many preachers out there who preach irresponsibly that the moment of convertion to Christianity is enough to everything to be solved. Lots of christians perish with this weight on their shoulders, because they must show the others he/she really has changed. In this case, was there a real change? Maybe not. As a christian, I believe the most important attitude we can take is accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior. But this is the first step, not the last one. The power of the faith and prayer is the only one to bring complete peace and relief, but generally the changes are progressive. In 1 Co 13.1-3 Paul writes to the brothers about jealousy and quarreling among them. That´s why Paul hadn´t fed them with solid food, but with milk, because they weren´t ready yet. Being part of a christian community makes you realize this is a place for improvement, in a continuous process of growth. There´s no even one complete christian, do you agree?

The Bible also shows the transformation of some biblical heroes. Job, who faced great temptations so after that he could see the Lord more clearly; Moses, a temperamental and needed to become more patient; and Peter, inconstant and unfaithful, who was transformed after the crucifixion of Christ [but needed to regret after denying Him 3 times].

Several people don´t like to be alone because they don´t want to get in touch to themselves, to their personal problems and with God. If you want to change, this process is crucial: I suggest you to spend sometime alone and in silence, ask God to make you remember everything is wrong*. Things that bother you when you think about. This may be a very uncomfortable situation, you will come up with sad and embarrassing remembrances. Some of them are so bad that maybe your brain made question to move it to the bottom emotional shelf [that one you never visit].

The first step to change is recognizing. However, if you don´t do what´s needed to change even though there´s something wrong… it would be better stop reading here.

*Just to clarify I´m not suggesting regression or transgression. I´m just suggesting you to pray and ask God to make you remember what´s needed to.

**For some people, this process may be very painful. If it´s your case, I suggest you to look for someone you trust on the christian life to help you. And of course, make all this process because you want to.
 

3. Cleaning the shelves

A dusty shelf is very revealing: it shows us that part of the house that´s not visited very often. Some area of our lives are untouched, we pretend there´s nothing to do about it. But once you got at this point, this “cursed dust” will disappear of your life!

According to researchers, the personality is formed on the childhood. Many emotional traumas occur on this stage, probably because we´re relativity innocent and don´t know how to defeat ourselves. However, some emotional damages may also occur [and they do] after the childhood.

Once you have identified bad stuff from your past, now it´s time to look for each guilty. A classmate? Someone who abused of your good intentions? Your parents? The government didn´t give you opportunity? The human justice? What about forgiving yourself? Once in a while we make things we regret later, right?

The guilty can be anyone. It´s curious that sometimes one person hurts us, even with no bad intention. And we carry this hurt. And now that you know who is guilty, time to solve the situation. How? Forgiving. If all this study needed to be resumed in just one line, that would be it:

Forgive everyone who some day hurt you.

The lack of forgiveness is the root of all hurt. The lack of forgiveness arrests us in a world of shadows and forbids us to move on in a certain area. Scientific researches show that the existence of bitterness or resentment have a strong connection to the appearing of diseases. Cancer, mostly, which curiously doesn´t have either defined cause and definitive cure. It´s a sin and tears us apart from God. The real forgiveness is one of the most noble attitudes a human being can take, and en evident mark of a christian. One biblical evidences for that is the famous prayer in Matthews chapter 6, verse 12: “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Forgiving is directly proportional to apologyzing: if we forgive, God forgives us; if we don´t forgive, God doesn´t forgive us. And every single christian knows [at least should know] the Christianity also begins with the forgiveness of our sins. One person who doesn´t forgive must re-evaluate your Christianity. 

So, the basic step to be free of a bitterness and cure a emotional trauma is forgiving. And how do we forgive? Forgiveness is typically defined as the process of concluding resentment, indignation or anger as a result of a perceived offense, difference or mistake, or ceasing to demand punishment or restitution. It´s knowing that someone hurt you and set him/her free from this responsibility. If you [still] don´t practice the forgiveness, it may be hard in the very beginning but becomes easy after a while. The forgiveness comes from God, so pray and ask Him to help you to forgive your debtors. All the process must be done with prayer, no one is better than God to lead us to the emotional damages healing. God is the most interested for us to be healed. The biggest proof is that He sent His only son to the world to save us through… forgiveness.

If next time you think about the situation you feel relief and not bad feelings any more, it´s a great signal! You can still talk to your old debtor, If it´s the case, tell him/her you forgave. God will tell you if it´s really needed or not. I think it´s always good, but it´s not always possible.

4 – Resetting the books

I believe the rest of the process is just consequence. Now it´s between you and God. Like I wrote before, some professional help may be important, also at this stage.

This next point is very important: you may have hurt some people the same way some people hurt you. Ask God to show you you if there´s someone. Apologize. I believe that apologizing is as important as forgiving, and both processes needed the pride to give place to the humility.

All the books were token and the dust has gone. You have the exact notion of how much space the shelf has, and how many books can be put on it. Time to divide all the books in sections, size, color or how you prefer. Eventually one or another book with put in a wrong way, or some sort of dust will appear. It depends on you to always spend sometime to reorganize your emotional shelves.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forgiveness

http://capsgeral06.blogspot.com/2011/06/cid-10-f00-f99-transtornos-mentais-e.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscience

http://www.plenopoder.org.br/mensagens/pdf/carater_transformado_de_pedro.pdf

http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perd%C3%A3o

Ramos, O. (2003). O modelo analítico no tratamento de doenças orgânicas. Tese de Doutorado, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, São Paulo.

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/HeartAttack/HeartAttack_Causes.html

Imagem: kyusireader.blogspot.com

[To enchance the image, just click on it]

Two thousand years ago the Bible tells us about the end of times. I decided to understand better these events. As I know, any theologian says exactly what’s going to happen, and the exact order. So, based in the Bible [mainly on books of Matthews and Revelation] and studies previously made, I did a schedule with a probably sequence of the last events.

1. Beginning of sorrows: Prophecies announced by Jesus [Mt 24]. He begins to alert us about the end of times, and that it will begin with some signs, such as:

1a. Fake christs: in different places some people say they´re Christ; besides, considering the name “Christ” has different meanings, we can deduce Mohammed [from Islamism] and others who name themselves as sent by God, bringing different revelations from the Bible can be included in this prophecy;

1b. Wars: always existed, but never like the last centuries. Only in the last 2 centuries [between 1901 and 2010] about 191 million people died as a result of armed conflicts;

1c. Diseases: the same way, they´re increasing in quantity and victims. On XIV century the Black Death [bubonic plague] killed about 1/3 of the European population, and there were worse repercussions in China: its estimated 1/3 to 2/3 of the population was killed. The Spanish influenza killed between 50 and 100 million people in the end of the World War II. Aids, Ebola, sars and many other diseases have been ravaging the population;

1d. Earthquakes: according to USGS [United States Geological Survey’s], 80% of the worst earthquakes in the world’s history occurred between the centuries XX and XXI; also, the deathliest ones occured this period. It’s good to remind tsunamis are one type of earthquake.

1e. Fake prophets: It’s not even needed to mention the number of different from the Bible. Actually, the scariest is the increasing of Christian churches and wrong teachings to deceive the Christians and leave them dead [spiritually], looking only to their own interests [financially speaking, for example] and escaping from the main reason of life: to love God above everything, including ourselves. Not many people seem to remember Fp 1.21: “For to me to live os Christ and to die is gain”.

1f. Lack of love: Every year 46 to 55 million abortions are committed, and 10 to 20 million of suicide attempts are committed. These numbers give a better idea of what we’re talking about.

1g. Gospel announing: this is the most accurate indicator of the coming of Christ. However, it’s impossible to have an exact number for it’s so subjective. It’s estimated that 1 to 2.3 billion people never heard about the Gospel or at least the preaching wasn´t enough. So far, we know the globalization and the communication vehicles are speeding this process.

* Besides only God knows when it will happen, there’s no a right date to happen [Mt 24.22].

2. The opening of the 6 first seals: Revelation 5 talks about the opening of 7 seals. Following the logic sequence and considering what didn’t happen yet, it’s believed that the 4 first seals were opened already, and the coming of Christ and the transition of power [the two beasts] will happen in between the opening of the 3 last seals.

The Bible also talks about 7 letters to 7 churches in Asia [Rev 2-3]. It’s believed these churches represent the 7 church eras along the time, and probably we are living the era of Laodicea Church. It’s said this church is neither hot nor cold. It tries to serve God and the world at the same time, which is impossible. The church declares to be rich, but spiritually is miserable, poor, blind and naked. We need to take the decision to serve Him seriously, otherwise God will “spue it out of His mouth”.  However, “if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. But if any man hear His voice, He will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with Him”. Rev 3.20.

Coming back to the seals: with these first ones, the four horsemen and their horses are released [known as the 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse]. Connecting Ap 6 and Mt 24, it´s easy to realize the prophecies told in these two chapters talk about the same events.

2a. The first seal: the horseman on the white horse: correspondent to the fake christs and fake prophets [Mt 24.5,11] probably means the fake teachings. The colour means the opposite, and there’s a reason: we know one strategy of our enemy is to disguise to fool. Some authors alert about the Satanism. According to them, there are satanists infiltrated in several Christian churches, with the function to divide them through these fake teachings. They say that’s why we see so many weak churches and people who stay away from God. This fact helps us to understand better the current situation of the church nowadays.

2b. the second seal: the horseman on the red horse: the horse that’s bringing wars around the world, and its red colour represents blood.

2c. the third seal: the horseman on the black horse: this one brings economic injustice, prejudicing the poor and benefiting the rich.

2d. the fourth seal: the horseman on the yellow [or green] horse: the symbol of death [this colour represents the the body in decomposition. With the opening of this seal, ¼ of the population will die, by wars, diseases or economic injustice [in other words, by the action of the previous horsemen].

2e. the fifth seal: the cry from those who lost their lives for God and His word. It’s told to them to wait a little more, because some others are still going to die in the same way.

2f. the sixth seal: there will come a big earthquake, and big meteorites will fall on the Earth, affecting all the population.

All indicates the rapture will happen in between the opening of the seals. So far, all the events are happening so the science can explain, not spiritual, and with similar previous events. But from this moment [or the opening of the fifth seal, at least], worse events start to happen. Now the 144.000 are marked [these 144.000 are jewish who follow Christ and will announce the Gospel during the Tribulation]. As long as this period [the Tribulation] is divided in two different governments [3 years and half each], it’s not known exactly if they will be part of this context before or after the coming of Christ.

Following the probably order of these events and considering the coming of Christ in between the opening of the seals, now we’re going to talk about the world government, the antichrist and the rapture.

3. The vision of the beasts and the rapture: the Bible reports the period of Tribulation will have 2 governments: the beast that rose up out of the sea and the beast that came up out of the earth.

3a. the beast who rose up out of the sea: This one will govern first half of the Tribulation [the first 3 and half years of the Tribulation]. He has 7 heads and 10 horns, and Rev 17.11 says “the beast that was, and is not” will be a part of the government, being the eighth of the 7 heads. Still in Rev 17 it’s said the heads are kings, so the horns. We conclude he’s talking about countries/rulers. We have G7 [group of 7 most developed countries], that became G8 after the entry of Russia, but this last one doesn’t seem be a part of the group properly. And following the logic head-horn, we understand the horns are economic groups, made by countries. It’s a reality already: there are for example Nafta, APEC, CEI, Mercosul etc. For centuries these groups are done and undone, countries become powerful and get into crisis. We know they’ll be countries / governments / economic groups, but it’s not possible to know accurately which one they’ll going to be. The Bible says us that Christ will come when people less expect. So, maybe these groups are consolidated already or are about to. Also, it means we may be living the Tribulation already. And we need to quote the prostitute on the dragon [Rev 17]. It’s believed she represents one big religion that will grow on the Tribulation, and many people will follow.

3b. the rapture: literally it’s the coming of the King Jesus. Sudden phenomenon, which all His servants will just disappear. In Rev 13.17 it’s said the first beast will fight the saints. This may be evidence the Christians will be here during its kingdom. Another evidence several theologians do agree is that the peace agreement between Israel and Palestine is another sign of the coming of Christ [Dn 9.27]. In this moment, there’s a narration of the woman and the dragon in Rev 12. Definitely the dragon is a representation of the devil. The woman may be the church, which has been persecuted along the history. And the baby may be Jesus, who the devil tried to kill.

3c. the beast who came up out of the earth: the antichrist properly [the last 3 and half years of the Tribulation]. Looks like a good person; He receives the power to govern directly from the hands of the first beast, and cheats using great signs. At this moment we have the mark of the beast, which nobody can buy or sell without it. Some scientists are developing a microchip to substitute credit cards and ID’s. It’s a possible foreshadows of this mark. For those who remain on Earth this period, it’s indispensable to say who receive this mark in your body will be condemned, with no right to redemption. Receiving the mark means denying Christ and His salvation. It means the way to salvation at this period is accept Christ as saviour and not to receive the mark.

4. The seventh seal: Now the angels that are playing the seven trumpets will start acting [Rev 8]. Following a chronological order and considering supernatural phenomenons seem to happen only after the rapture, there’s a big chance to the last seal to be opened during the government of the antichrist. In Rev 7, it’s said about “those who came from the great tribulation”. It’s a support for this theory.

4a. The 4 first trumpets: the sound from these first trumpets will affect the nature: 1/3 of the plants, 1/3 of the sea and its creatures, destruction of 1/3 of the potable water and injury of 1/3 of the sun, the moon and the stars, turning 1/3 of day into night.

4b. The fifth and the sixth trumpet: They will be very painful, even worse than the previous ones. The fifth one will release demons that will hurt those who don’t have the mark of God. We can deduct these are the people who received the mark of the beast.

The sixth trumpet will release 4 angels who are arrested besides Euphrates River, and will be responsible for the death of 1/3 of the population.

Between the sixth and the seventh trumpets it’s said about 2 testimonies who will prophesy for 3 and half years. Still trying to order these facts, we can speculate the opening of the six first trumpets will happen quickly, soon after the rapture, and the effects of one trumpet doesn´t need to finish up to the next one to be played: they may keep going parallel.

4c. The seventh trumpet and and the 5 first cups of God’s fury: the last plagues, released by the pouring out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth, By the term “wrath of God”, we may suggest the servants won’t be here any longer [perhaps we can make an analogy to Lot and his family on the leakage from Sodom and Gomorrah]. The first cup pouring will provoke a disease upon all who have the mark of the beast; the second one: the sea will turn into blood and all the marine creatures will die; the third cup: the potable water will turn into blood; the forth one will warm the sun and kill many people; the fifth cup will provoke a hard pain upon those who belong to Satan;

4d. the sixth and seventh cups: the pouring of the sixth cup will dry Euphrates River, and there’ll be a great space so it’ll be easier to penetrate Israel, and there’ll be a battle in there: this moment is known as Armageddon. According to studies, Israel will be destroyed and after that Jesus will come down with the saints [His servants], and all antichrist’s army will be eliminated. The seventh cup will bring great storms, thunders and the greatest earthquake of all history. Also, meteorites with about 35k gs will drop.

5. The 1000 years: after these events, the Bible says about a period of 1000 years here in Earth, under the Reign of Jesus Christ and the presence of all those who were saved. At this time Satan will be arrested, and after this period he will be released and will revolt against Christ, but this time he will be released on the lake of fire.

6. The judgments: There’ll be the judgment of all rational beings:

6a. the works of the Christians: their works will be judged, resulting in the crowns;

6b. Those who didn’t rise on the Rapture: salvation for who repented and condemnation for who received the mark;

6c. Israel: there’ll be the same criteria for both Israelite and non-Israelite: (serving Christ or no); 6d. Satan, the fallen angels and who didn’t follow God: the condemnation to the lake of fire;

7. New Heaven and new Earth: finally the sin won’t exist in here. All who accepted Christ as their  personal saviour and make His will inherit, the Kingdom of Heaven and will live with the Lord for all eternity. There won’t be death, or cry, or suffering. Everybody has the right to that, no matter what was done in the past. The way to the salvation is the repentance of sins and accepting Christ as your saviour. If you desire by your heart, you can pray: “Lord, I admit I’m a sinner and I ask for you r forgiveness. I accept the sacrifice Jesus did on the cross for me and I ask you to show me the way I must walk. Help me always to serve you and give me the salvation. In name of Jesus, amen”. It will be the beginning of a totally different new and restores life. Remember God is a friend and we can talk to Him directly, through the name of Jesus. Just be sincere with Him, that’s also what He expects from us.

References:

http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peste_negra

http://aborto.aaldeia.net/estatisticas-aborto-mundo/

http://www.tempodofim.com/sinais/sinal4.htm

http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suic%C3%ADdio

http://www.herdeirosdecristo.com/gpage4.html

http://www.comibam.org/transpar/por/mug/rot/rot-mugp.doc

http://www.gotquestions.org/portugues/sete-selos-trombetas-tacas.html

http://www.estudosdabiblia.net/b09_19.htm

http://oznicoelho.blogspot.com/2009/11/as-sete-tacas-da-ira-de-deus.html

http://www.nacaosonora.com/estudos/modules/news/article.php?storyid=15 http://www.espada.eti.br/n1231.asp

http://www.chamada.com.br (Publicado anteriormente na revista Notícias de Israel, novembro de 2000)

mvmportuguese.files.wordpress.com/…/os-sete-selos-e-as-sete-trombetas-de-apocalipse.doc

http://pregonyclamor.org/Documents/05_as_sete_igrejas_de_deus.pdf

http://www.abiblia.org/perguntasView.asp?id=409

[Clique na imagem para ampliar]

Há 2 milênios a Bíblia nos fala do final dos tempos. Resolvi tentar entender melhor esses acontecimentos. Até onde sei, nenhum teólogo se arrisca a dizer exatamente o que acontecerá, e sua ordem exata. Então, baseado na Bíblia [principalmente nos livros de Mateus e Apocalipse] e em estudos previamente realizados por outros autores fiz um esquema com uma provável sequência dos acontecimentos finais.

1.Princípio das dores: profecias proferidas por Jesus [Mt 24]. Aqui Ele comeca a anunciar o final dos tempos, e diz que se iniciará com alguns sinais, que sao:

1a. Falsos cristos: em diferentes lugares do mundo, algumas pessoas se dizem ser Cristo; além disso, se levarmos em conta que o nome Cristo tem outros significados, podemos deduzir que Maomé e outros que se auto-entitulam enviados de Deus, trazendo diferentes revelações da Bíblia, podem ser inclusos nessa profecia;

1b. Guerras: elas sempre existiram, mas nunca na magnitude das últimas. Somente nos últimos dois séculos [entre 1901 e 2010] aproximadamente 191 milhões de pessoas morreram por conta de conflitos armados [direta ou indiretamente];

1c. Doenças: pela mesma forma, tem aumentado em quantidade e vítimas. No século XIV a peste negra [ou bubônica] dizimou aproximadamente 1/3 da população européia, e entre 1/3 a 2/3 da população da China. A gripe espanhola matou entre 50 a 100 milhões de pessoas ao final da I Guerra Mundial. AIDS, Ebola, SARS e várias outras molétias tem assolado o planeta;

1d. Terremotos: segundo pesquisas do USGS [United States Geological Survey’s], 80% dos piores terremotos da história ocorreram entre os séculos XX e XXI; os mais mortais também ocorreram nesta época. Nunca é demais lembrar que tsunamis são uma forma de terremoto.

1e. Falsos profetas. não é necessário mencionar o número de crenças contrárias à Bíblia. O mais assustador mesmo é o crescimento de igrejas cristãs com falsos ensinamentos para enganar os cristãos e deixá-los mortos, acomodados, buscando seus próprios interesses [principalmente os financeiros] e fugindo da razão principal da vida: amar a Deus acima de todas as coisas, inclusive nós mesmos. Poucos lembram de Fp 1.21: “Porque para mim o viver é Cristo e o morrer é ganho”.

1f. Esfriamento do amor: por ano são realizados entre 46 e 55 milhões de aborto no mundo, e 10 a 20 milhões de tentativas de suicídio no mundo. Essas estatísticas nos dão uma idéia.

1g. Evangelização: este é o indicativo mais exato da volta de Cristo. No entanto, é impossível obter um número exato por se tratar de algo tão subjetivo. Estima-se que entre 1 e 2.3 bilhões de pessoas nunca ouviram sobre o Evangelho, ou ouviram de maneira insuficiente. Até então, sabemos que a globalização e os meios de comunicação estao acelerando esse processo.

*Alem de so Deus saber quando vira o fim, não há uma data estabelecida ainda [Mt 24.22].

2. Abertura dos 6 primeiros selos: em Ap 5, fala-se da abertura de 7 selos. Seguindo a lógica dos fatos e considerando ainda o que ainda não ocorreu, acredita-se que os primeiros 4 selos já foram ou estão sendo abertos, e a vinda de Cristo e a transição do governo mundial se dará na época de abertura dos 3 últimos selos.

A Biblia tambem nos fala das 7 cartas às 7 igrejas da Asia [Ap 2-3]. Acredita-se que essas igrejas representam as 7 eras da igreja ao longo da História, e provavelmente estamos vivendo a era da Laodicéia. É dito que essa igreja não é nem fria nem quente. Tenta servir a Deus e ao mundo ao mesmo tempo, o que é impossível. A igreja declara ser rica, mas é espiritualmente miserável, pobre, cega e nua. Precisamos tomar uma decisão de serví-lo seriamente, doutra forma Deus nos vomitará de sua boca. Porém, “se alguém ouvir a minha voz, e abrir a porta, entrarei em sua casa, e com ele cearei e ele comigo”. Ap 3.20

Retornando aos selos, com a abertura dos primeiros serão liberados os 4 cavaleiros e seus cavalos [conhecidos como os cavaleiros do Apocalipse]. Fazendo uma conexão entre Apocalipse 6 e Mateus 24, é fácil deduzir que as profecias das duas passagens falam dos mesmos acontecimentos.

2a. O primeiro selo: o cavaleiro com o cavalo branco: corresponde aos falsos cristos e falsos profetas [Mt 24. 5,11]. A sua cor significa o oposto, e com uma razão: sabemos que uma das estratégias do nosso inimigo é se disfarçar para enganar. Alguns autores alertam sobre o satanismo. Segundo eles, existem satanistas infiltrados em diversas igrejas cristas e tem como função gerar divisões através destes falsos ensinamentos. Segundo eles, por isso que hoje vemos tantas igrejas enfraquecidas e pessoas que ficam distantes de Deus. Esse fato ajuda-nos a entender melhor a situação da igreja atual [Laodicéia].Alertemo-nos!

2b. O segundo selo: o cavaleiro com o cavalo vermelho: o cavalo que vem trazendo as guerras pelo mundo, com a cor vermelha representando o sangue.

2c. O terceiro selo: o cavaleiro com o cavalo preto: este vem trazendo a desigualdade econômica, prejudicando os pobres e beneficiando os ricos.

2d. O quarto selo: o cavaleiro com o cavalo amarelo [ou verde]: o símbolo da morte (cor do cadáver em decomposição. Com a abertura deste selo, ¼ da população morrerá, seja por guerras, doenças ou desigualdades econômicas [ou seja, os cavaleiros anteriores].

2e. O quinto selo: o clamor dos que perderam a vida por amor a Deus e em favor do Evangelho. Lhes é dito para aguardar mais um pouco, pois alguns outros ainda morrerão pelas mesmas causas.

2f. O sexto selo: com a abertura deste selo, virá um grande terremoto, juntamente com meteoritos que cairão na Terra, afetando a todos.

Tudo indica que o Arrebatamento ocorrerá entre a aberturas dos selos. Até aqui, todos os acontecimentos tem se dado de maneira que a ciência consegue explicar (causas naturais), mas a partir daqui [ou do quinto selo, pelo menos], eventos piores começam a ocorrer. Neste momento a assinalação dos 144.000 acontece [estes 144.000 são judeus que crêm em Cristo e anunciarão o Evangelho no período da Tribulação]. Como esse período [o da Tribulação] é dividido em dois governos diferentes [3 anos e meio cada], não se sabe ao certo se eles farão esse trabalho antes e/ou depois da volta de Cristo.

Seguindo a ordem dos fatos e considerando a vinda de Cristo entre a abertura dos selos, falaremos agora do governo mundial, do anticristo e o Arrebatamento propriamente dito.

3. A visão das bestas e o arrebatemento: a Bíblia relata em Apocalipse 13 que o período de Tribulação será marcado por 2 governos: a besta que sobe do mar e a besta que sobe da terra.

3a. A besta que sobe do mar: Esta é a besta que governará na primeira metade da Tribulação (primeiros 3 anos e meio). Possui 7 cabeças e 10 chifres. Em Ap 17.11 é dito que “a besta que era e já não é” fará parte do governo, sendo a oitava das 7 cabeças. Ainda em Ap 17 nos é explicado que as cabeças são reis, assim como chifres. Concuímos que tratam-se de países/governantes. Existe hoje o G7, que se tornou G8 com a entrada da Rússia, mas este ultimo não parece fazer parte literalmente. Seguindo a lógica da relação cabeça-chifre, entendemos que os chifres são blocos econômicos formados por países. Este é um fenômeno já presenciado: temos por exemplo o NAFTA, APEC, CEI, Mecosul, etc. Há séculos são formados blocos econômicos, comerciais e bélicos, países emergem e entram em crise. Cremos que serão países/governos/grupos econômicos, mas não é possível ainda precisar quais são eles, embora os fatos apontem para a organização política atual. A Bíblia nos mostra em Mateus 24.37-39 que Cristo virá quando menos se espera. Isso significa que já podemos estar dentro da Tribulação. Precisamos também citar a prostituta sobre o dragão [Ap 17]. Acredita-se que ela representa uma grande religião que crescerá na Tribulação, e muitos a seguirão.

3b. O Arrebatamento: literalmente a vinda do Rei Jesus. Fenômeno repentino no qual os seus servos simplesmente desaparecerão. Em Ap 13.17 é dito que a primeira besta fará guerra aos santos. Essa pode ser uma evidência de que os cristãos ainda estarão aqui durante seu reinado. Outro sinal que muitos estudiosos estão de acordo é que o acordo de paz entre Israel e Palestina representa outro sinal da vnda de Cristo [Dn 9.27].

Neste interim, ha uma narrativa da mulher e o dragão em Ap 12. Definitivamente o dragão é uma reresentação do diabo. A mulher pode ser a igreja, que ao longo da sua história é perseguida pelo diabo. E o bebê pode ser Jesus, cujo inimigo tentou matar.

3c. A besta que sobe da terra: o anticristo propriamente dito. Tem a aparência de alguém bom, e um líder eficaz. Recebe o poder diretamente das mãos da primeira besta, e engana com grandes sinais. Nesse momento é estabelecida a marca da besta, a qual ninguem podera comprar ou vender sem ela. A ciência vem desenvolvendo um microchip para substituir cartões de crédito e meios de identificação. É uma possivel prenúncia da marca citada. Para os que ficarem nesse período, imprescindível citar que quem receber sua marca estará condenado, sem direito a perdão. Colocar a marca da besta significa negar a Cristo e a sua salvação. Ou seja, o caminho da salvação neste periodo é aceitar a Cristo como salvador e não receber a marca.

4. O sétimo selo: entram em cena os sete anjos com as sete trombetas [Ap 8]. Seguindo uma ordem cronológica e considerando que fenômenos sobrenaturais parecem susceder a vinda de Cristo, há uma grande chance do ultimo selo ser aberto no governo do anticristo. Em Ap 7, entre a abertura dos sexto e sétimo selos é falado sobre “os que vieram da grande tribulação”. É um suporte para esta teoria.

4a. As 4 primeiras trombetas: o toque dessas primeiras trombetas afetarão diretamente a natureza: 1/3 das plantas, 1/3 do mar e suas criaturas, inutilização de 1/3 da água potável do planeta e o “ferimento” de 1/3 do sol, da lua e das estrelas, fazendo com que 1/3 do dia seja como noite.

4b. A quinta e a sexta trombetas: serão tão dolorosas que são chamadas de “ais”. A quinta trombeta liberará demônios que farão mal aos que não tem a marca de Deus. Podemos deduzir que estes são os que receberam a marca da besta. A sexta trombeta liberará 4 anjos que estão aprisionados junto ao rio Eufrates, e serão responsaveis pela morte de 1/3 da população.

Entre a sexta e a sétima trombeta são referidas duas testemunhas que profetizarão por 3 anos e meio. Tentando ainda ordenar todos esses fatos, especula-se a possibilidade de que o toque das 6 primeiras trombetas acontecerão rapidamente, imediatamente após o arrebatemento. Os efeitos do toque de uma trombeta não precisam necessariamente terminarem para que a próxima trombeta seja tocada.

4c. A sétima trombeta e as cinco primeiras taças da ira de Deus: as últimas pragas, liberadas pelos anjos com as sete taças da ira de Deus. Pelo termo “ira de Deus”, sugere-se que os servos ja não estarão aqui [talvez possamos fazer uma analogia a Lo e sua família ao sair de Sodoma e Gomorra].    A primeira taça gerará uma chaga sobre todos os que têm o sinal da besta; com a segunda taça o mar tornará-se em sangue, e morrerão toda as criaturas dos mares; com a terceira taça os rios e as águas, que outrora eram potáveis, tornarão-se em sangue; a quarta taça mostra um aquecimento do sol gerando um aumento da temperatura na Terra, tão significativo que muitos morrerão carbonizados; a quinta taça gerará uma dor sobre os pertencentes ao Reino de Satanas;

4d. A sexta e a setima taças:com o derramamento da sexta taça o Rio Eufrates secará, deixando um grande espaço que dará acesso a cidade santa. E haverá batalha contra Israel: esse momento é conhecido como o Armagedom. Segundo estudos, Israel será destruida e após este ocorrido Jesus descerá com os seus santos. Assim, todo o exército do anticristo será eliminado. Com a sétima taça haverão grandes trovões, e relâmpagos, e o maior terremoto que já houve durante toda a história da humanidade. Também, caíram do céu meteoritos pesando cerca de trinta e cinco quilos. A terra será arrasada por estes fenômenos.

5. O milênio: depois destes eventos, a Bíblia nos fala de um período de mil anos que haverá na Terra, com o Reinado do nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo, e com a participação de todos os que o serviram. Nesse perioso Satanás estará preso. Ao final destes mil anos, ele será solto e se revoltará contra Cristo, mas dessa vez será lançado definitivamente no lago de fogo.

6. Juizos. Haverão os julgamentos de todos os seres racionais:

6a. Das obras dos crentes, sendo julgadas as suas obras, resultando na entrega de galardões;

6b. Dos que nao subiram com Cristo no Arrebatamento, havendo salvação aos que se arrependeram e perdição aos que receberam a marca;

6c. De Israel, havendo o mesmo critério para os não-israelitas (crer em Cirsto ou não);

6d. De Satanas, os anjos caidos e de todos os que não creram em Cristo, com a condenação ao lago de fogo e enxofre.

7. Novos céus e Nova Terra: finalmente aqui o pecado já não existirá. Todos os santos que aceitaram a Cristo como seu salvador e que procuram fazer Sua vontade herdarão o Reino dos Céus e viverão ao lado do Pai por toda a eternidade. Não haverá mais morte, nem pranto, nem clamor, nem dor. Todos têm direito ao Reino dos Ceus, não importando o que ja foi feito no passado. O caminho para salvação é o arrependimento dos pecados e a aceitação a Cristo como salvador. Se desejares de coração, podes orar assim: “Senhor Deus, eu admito que sou um pecador e peço teu perdo. Aceito o sacrifício que Jesus fez na cruz por mim e te peço que o Senhor me mostre o caminho que eu devo andar. Me ajuda a sempre te servir e me dá a salvacao. Em nome de Jesus, amém”. Esse será o comeco de uma vida nova e restaurada. Lembre-se que Deus é um amigo, podemos conversar com Ele diretamente através de Jesus. Pode ser sincero ao falar com Ele, pois é isso que Ele [também] espera de nós.

Referencias:

http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peste_negra

http://aborto.aaldeia.net/estatisticas-aborto-mundo/

http://www.tempodofim.com/sinais/sinal4.htm

http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suic%C3%ADdio

http://www.herdeirosdecristo.com/gpage4.html

http://www.comibam.org/transpar/por/mug/rot/rot-mugp.doc

http://www.gotquestions.org/portugues/sete-selos-trombetas-tacas.html

http://www.estudosdabiblia.net/b09_19.htm

http://oznicoelho.blogspot.com/2009/11/as-sete-tacas-da-ira-de-deus.html

http://www.nacaosonora.com/estudos/modules/news/article.php?storyid=15http://www.espada.eti.br/n1231.asp

http://www.chamada.com.br (Publicado anteriormente na revista Notícias de Israel, novembro de 2000)

mvmportuguese.files.wordpress.com/…/os-sete-selos-e-as-sete-trombetas-de-apocalipse.doc

http://pregonyclamor.org/Documents/05_as_sete_igrejas_de_deus.pdf