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A lot of people hit Luke 14:26 and freeze. “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” That verse sounds brutal at first glance. Some unbelievers use it to attack Jesus. Some weak preaching tries to soften it into something harmless. Others just avoid it because it sounds too sharp. But Jesus meant exactly what He was doing with that statement. He was not confused. He was not careless. He was cutting straight through shallow religion and exposing the real cost of following Him. In Luke 14:25, the text says, “great multitudes went with him.” That is important. Big crowds were following Jesus. But crowds are not the same thing as disciples. A crowd can be curious. A disciple is committed. A crowd likes miracles, bread, healing, excitement, and hope that life gets easier. A disciple bows the knee. So what does Jesus do when the crowds swell? He does what most modern churches would never do. He turns and makes it harder. He does not say, “Come as you are and never count the cost.” He does not say, “Just add Me to your life.” He does not beg people to stay. He tells them the truth. “If any man come to me, and hate not…” That word “hate” throws people, but the point is not that Jesus is commanding sinful malice, bitterness, or cruelty toward your family. Scripture interprets Scripture. Jesus also taught us to love, to honour father and mother, to care for others, and husbands are commanded to love their wives. So Christ is not contradicting Himself. The issue here is comparison and priority. In the biblical sense, this kind of “hate” means to love less by comparison. It is the language of preference, rank, and supreme allegiance. You can see that idea elsewhere in Scripture. In Matthew 10:37, Jesus says it plainly: “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” There it is. Luke gives the hard cutting form. Matthew gives the explanatory form. Jesus is saying that your love for Him must be so absolute, so supreme, so unmatched, that every other love looks secondary beside it. He must not be one relationship among many. He must be Lord over all of them. That means if your father wants you to deny Christ, you choose Christ. If your mother wants you to compromise truth, you choose Christ. If your spouse wants you to walk away from obedience, you choose Christ. If your children become idols in your heart, Christ still comes first. If your own desires, comfort, dreams, reputation, safety, or plans rise against His will, you choose Christ over your own life too. That last part is where people really choke. Jesus did not just say hate father and mother in comparison. He said “and his own life also.” That means discipleship is not just giving Christ priority over people. It is giving Him priority over self. That is where fake Christianity dies. A lot of people want a Saviour who forgives them, blesses them, protects them, and helps them reach their goals. But they do not want a Lord who owns them. Jesus is not calling people to admire Him. He is calling them to die to self. That is why the next verse says, “And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). The cross was not a pretty church symbol back then. It was an instrument of death. Shame. Execution. Surrender. Jesus is saying that if you are going to follow Him, you must come as a man already yielded. Not perfect. Yielded. Not sinless. Surrendered. Not half in. All His. Then Jesus keeps going in the passage and gives two illustrations: a man building a tower and a king going to war. Why? Because He is driving home one point: count the cost. Do not claim discipleship lightly. Do not act like following Christ is just praying a prayer and then living however you want. Do not pretend Jesus is honoured with leftovers. He is worthy of first place. This passage also helps expose one of the biggest idols in people’s lives: family. Family is a gift from God, but family makes a terrible god. Some people will obey family over Scripture every single time. They will stay silent because of family pressure. They will tolerate false doctrine because of family peace. They will reject God’s call because of family expectations. They will make excuses for compromise because they do not want tension in the house. Jesus cuts through all of it. If your loyalty to family outranks your loyalty to Christ, you are not acting like a disciple. That does not mean you stop loving your family. It means you love Christ more. In fact, when Christ is first, you actually love your family better, not worse. Your love becomes cleaner, holier, less idolatrous, less controlling, less fear-driven. Christ in first place puts every other relationship in its proper order. The same is true of “your own life also.” Most people are not ruled by father and mother. They are ruled by self. Their own plans. Their own comfort. Their own image. Their own fears. Their own appetites. Their own schedule. Their own ambitions. Jesus says even that has to go. You cannot be your own master and be His disciple too. That is the point. Salvation is by grace through faith. We are not saved by our suffering, our sacrifice, or our performance. But true faith bows to Christ. True faith receives Him as Lord, not just as a religious benefit package. Discipleship is the evidence of a heart that knows who He is. And let’s be honest, this verse is badly needed today. Modern Christianity has produced millions who want Jesus near them, but not over them. They want inspiration, not surrender. They want comfort, not a cross. They want heaven, but not holiness. They want God to help them keep their life, when Jesus said the way to find life is to lose it for His sake. Luke 9:23 says, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” So no, Jesus was not telling you to become hateful, cruel, or cold toward your family. He was saying that compared to your allegiance to Him, every other loyalty must take second place. Christ above father. Christ above mother. Christ above spouse. Christ above children. Christ above reputation. Christ above comfort. Christ above dreams. Christ above self. Anything less is not discipleship. It is attachment to religion while still sitting on the throne of your own life. Jesus is not looking for admirers in the crowd. He is calling disciples. And a disciple is someone who has already settled this issue: Even if it costs me everything, I am going with Christ.

A lot of people are watching Trump’s threats toward Iran and asking, is this pushing us closer to Isaiah 17? That is a fair question. When Iran is in the crosshairs, the Middle East is shaking, and Damascus is back in the conversation, Christians should pay attention. Not panic. Not start setting dates. But pay attention. Isaiah 17:1 says, “The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.” It does not say damaged. It does not say weakened. It does not say partially destroyed. It says Damascus will be taken away from being a city and become a ruinous heap. That means we need to be honest with the text. Damascus has been struck before. Syria has been hammered for years. War has run through that region again and again. But Damascus is still standing as a city. So believers need to stop short of acting like every explosion or military threat is automatically the fulfillment of Isaiah 17. At the same time, we should not act like it means nothing either. Iran is one of the main engines of instability in that region. Any serious threat involving Iran has the potential to pull in Syria, Israel, proxy militias, and the surrounding powers. And Damascus is not just another city on a map. It is a city specifically named in prophecy. That should get your attention. The biblical response is not hysteria. It is watchfulness. Jesus said, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” Luke 21:28 The nations matter. The threats matter. And every time the world acts like Bible prophecy is outdated, another headline reminds us that God named real places, real peoples, and real judgments long before modern politicians ever stepped to a microphone. Iran matters. Syria matters. Damascus matters. Israel matters. Stay sober. Stay watchful. Stay in the Book. “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them...” 1 Thessalonians 5:3

Messages: https://youtu.be/7zcbv5gAC9I https://youtu.be/rdh4YxFJarU https://youtu.be/tUcNKHc9Wm8 https://youtu.be/peWTKEOtiSg https://youtu.be/d4j-sop83Uk https://youtu.be/EiFH9Kgc1XQ https://youtu.be/eg2oVSGUn-o https://youtu.be/DLZB3aZ1ero https://youtu.be/DiULhIugdj4 https://youtu.be/nFNssVsmWKc Blogs: https://www.harvestministriesnz.com/post/the-most-persistent-lie-leveled-against-the-rapture https://www.harvestministriesnz.com/post/fed-up-with-the-rapture-doctrine-being-mocked-attacked https://www.harvestministriesnz.com/post/the-last-trumpet https://www.harvestministriesnz.com/post/why-i-am-a-dispensationalist-premillennial-pre-trib https://www.harvestministriesnz.com/post/why-on-earth-do-you-want-to-go-through-the-great-tribulation https://www.harvestministriesnz.com/post/roll-your-eyes-all-you-want-the-rapture-is-real https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5I-ODcEV4g&t=1040s https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1335617241936956&set=a.558238643008157 https://www.harvestministriesnz.com/post/pastors-please-stop-misusing-no-man-knows-the-day-or-hour

Most Christians have never heard of the Quartodecimans, but this was not some tiny church argument over nothing. This was one of the earliest major controversies in post-apostolic Christianity, and it centered on a serious question: Should the church remember Christ’s Passover on the actual biblical date of Passover, Nisan 14, or should it move the observance to Sunday? The word Quartodeciman comes from the Latin for “fourteenth.” That is why some people call it “14ism.” These were believers who kept the Christian Pascha on Nisan 14, the date of Passover, because they believed Christ fulfilled Passover and that the observance should stay tied to that date. That issue matters more than people think. This was not originally a denial of the death, burial, or resurrection of Christ. Both sides believed those things. The argument was over timing, authority, and faithfulness to what had been received. The Quartodecimans, especially in Asia Minor, believed they were preserving an apostolic tradition. Men like Polycarp and later Polycrates defended the practice and said it had come down from earlier apostolic figures, especially John and Philip. Their argument was not, “We like this better.” Their argument was, “This is what we received, and we are not changing it just because Rome says so.” A lot of church history gets taught like the early church was one smooth, unified stream that gradually developed with no real cracks. That is fantasy. The early church had real disputes, and this was one of them. It exposed tension between regional apostolic claims and growing centralized pressure. One of the most important moments came when Polycarp met with Anicetus in Rome. They disagreed on the date of Pascha, but they did not break fellowship. Think about that. The disagreement was real, but it had not yet become an all-out fracture. Later, that changed. Victor of Rome took a much harder line and tried to force conformity. When the Asian churches refused to abandon the 14th-day observance, he moved to cut them off. Irenaeus stepped in and rebuked that severity, reminding him that earlier leaders had not treated the matter that way. That is the bigger issue. This stopped being just a date on a calendar and became a fight over who had the right to define the practice of the churches. And biblically, you can see exactly why the Quartodecimans stood where they stood. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:7, “For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us.” Christ is the fulfillment of Passover. The lamb pointed to Him. The blood pointed to Him. Deliverance through judgment pointed to Him. The whole Exodus pattern finds its fulfillment in Christ. So the instinct to keep the remembrance tied to Passover itself, on Nisan 14, was not weird. It was not random. It was rooted in the actual biblical framework. Now to be fair, the other side had an argument too. Christ rose on the first day of the week, and Sunday already had importance in Christian worship. So many believers argued that the observance should be tied to the resurrection day rather than the Passover date. Over time, that view became dominant. But do not miss what this proves. The Quartodecimans were not some fringe cult inventing nonsense out in the woods. They were early believers with serious historical roots, and they were convinced that they were holding to a tradition received from apostolic men. That means the history is not nearly as clean as a lot of people pretend. And it also forces a question that still stings: What happens when church tradition starts drifting away from the biblical calendar framework that gave the original event its meaning? Because that is really what this controversy exposes. It exposes the pressure to move from a biblical Passover framework into a broader church-controlled system of observance. It exposes the battle between what was claimed as received tradition and what was being enforced for uniformity. And it reminds us that very early on, the post-apostolic church was already wrestling with the tension between Scripture, tradition, and institutional control. So the bottom line is this: The Quartodecimans were early Christians who observed Pascha on Nisan 14 because Christ is our Passover. The controversy over that practice was not minor. It revealed a deeper struggle over authority, tradition, and whether the church would stay tied to the biblical Passover framework or move toward a different pattern. That is why this still matters. Because once you see that some of the earliest believers wanted the remembrance of Christ’s death anchored to the very date Passover pointed to, you start realizing this was never just about a calendar. It was about who gets to define faithfulness. 1 Corinthians 5:7 “For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” If Christ is our Passover, then it is not hard to understand why some of the earliest believers insisted on keeping that remembrance on the 14th.

These images above seem gruesome. But it most likely quite a realistic portraying of the many lashings he received before his crucifixion. At the age of 33, Jesus was condemned to death. At the time, crucifixion was the "worst" death. Only the worst criminals were condemned to be crucified. Yet it was even more dreadful for Jesus. Unlike other criminals condemned to death by crucifixion, Jesus was to be nailed to the cross by His hands and feet. Each nail was 6 to 8 inches long. The nails were driven into His wrist, not into His palms as is commonly portrayed. There's a tendon in the wrist that extends to the shoulder. The Roman guards knew that when the nails were being hammered into the wrist, that tendon would tear and break, forcing Jesus to use His back muscles to support Himself so that He could breathe. Both of His feet were nailed together. Thus He was forced to support Himself on the single nail that impaled His feet to the cross. Jesus could not support Himself with His legs because of the pain so He was forced to alternate between arching His back then using His legs just to continue to breathe. Imagine the struggle, the pain, the suffering, the courage. Jesus endured this reality for around 6 hours. Can you imagine this kind of suffering? A few minutes before He died, Jesus stopped bleeding. He was simply pouring water from his wounds. From common images we see wounds to His hands and feet and even the spear wound to His side... But do we realize His wounds were actually made in his body. A hammer driving large nails through the wrist, the feet overlapped and an even larger nail hammered through the arches, then a Roman guard piercing His side with a spear. But before the nails and the spear, Jesus was whipped and beaten. The whipping was so severe that it tore the flesh from His body. The beating so horrific that His face was torn and his beard ripped from His face. The crown of thorns cut deeply into His scalp. Most men would not have survived this torture. He had no more blood to bleed out, only water poured from His wounds. The human adult body contains about 3.5 litres (just less than a gallon) of blood. Jesus poured all 3.5 litres of his blood; He had three nails hammered into His members; a crown of thorns on His head and, beyond that, a Roman soldier who stabbed a spear into His chest.. All these without mentioning the humiliation He suffered after carrying His own cross for almost 2 kilometres, while the crowd spat in his face and threw stones (the cross was almost 30 kg of weight, only for its higher part, where His hands were nailed). Jesus had to endure this experience, to open the gates of Heaven, so that you can have free access to God. So that your sins could be "washed" away. All of them, with no exception! Don't ignore this situation. JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR YOU! HE received 39 stripes because 40 was known to kill a man. They wanted HIM alive. They held handfuls of HIS beard & hair & pulled it out by the roots. They wanted HIM alive. They kicked, punched & spit on HIM for hours. Until there wasn't a single spot on HIS body not covered in blood. They wanted HIM alive. They shoved a crown of thorns down on HIS head so harshly it stuck in HIS skin. They wanted HIM alive. After hours of being beaten, mocked, whipped, flogged & tortured they made HIM walk with a cross. They made HIM carry it. A rough piece of wood with splinters digging into fresh wounds. They wanted HIM alive. They wanted HIM to feel every ounce of pain they could bring. HE had to feel it in order to heal us. Crucifixion was historically one of the cruelest most tortured deaths a human could face. Hours upon hours of torture. Torture most of us can not mentally think of because the cruelty isn't normal. It isn't something our minds can comprehend. We celebrate Easter with pastel colors, happy children hunting eggs & chocolate. Truth is there was absolutely nothing happy about the day JESUS died. It was cruel, bloody & nasty. HE could have stopped all of it. HE could have called every angel in heaven to demolish every person standing & shouting "Crucify HIM!" HE didn't. HE knew in order to have a Sunday you have to have a Friday. HE knew in order to have joy you have to carry your cross. HE felt everything that day. HE felt how your heart broke wide open when you had to watch your baby die. HE felt how heavy your life was when you were staring down the barrel of a gun wondering if the man you called husband was going to shoot you. HE carried the weight of the burden you have felt since your spouse died & life just doesn't seem right since. On that cross HE held the rapist & murderers, the sinner & the saint. HE leveled every playing field & said ALL of you are worth it. HE knew HE had to carry the cross. HE never promised the cross you carry in this life would not be heavy. HIS wasn't. HIS promise is that Sunday is coming. No matter how heavy Friday is. Financially, emotionally, mentally, or physically. Friday is heavy. That cross is weighing you down & you are about to crumble under its weight. HIS promise was simply this. HE won't make you carry it alone. What kind of king would step down from HIS throne for this? JESUS of Nazareth, The SON of GOD did. For you. HE did every bit of it for you & me. Oh yes it is heavy. So heavy sometimes you do not think you can take one more step. But look up, because Sunday is coming.”

In essence it doesn't matter what day we remember the exact timing of Easter, as our precious salvation is not dependent on it! We all celebrate on this earth on different times anyway, thinking alone of the time difference between New Zealand and Alaska as an example. But it is something worthwhile considering these things: Are we just following church tradition or the actual real Passover as it really happened. 3 DAYS AND 3 NIGHTS: WHY THIS MATTERS Jesus did not say He would be in the heart of the earth for “part of a day.” He said, “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40). That is why this issue keeps coming up. A Friday crucifixion and a Sunday morning resurrection may fit church traditio n, but it does not fit the plain force of “three days and three nights” very well. That is exactly why a lot of Bible students have argued that the crucifixion happened earlier in the week, with Wednesday being the strongest reconstruction if you want to take Matthew 12:40 in its most straightforward sense. Chuck Missler pushed that same basic argument, and even sources discussing the debate admit the Wednesday view exists because people are trying to take Jesus’ words seriously. The key text is John 19:31. John says the next Sabbath was “an high day.” That matters because not every Sabbath in Passion Week has to mean the regular weekly Sabbath. Leviticus 23 shows that the feast calendar included special rest days tied to Passover and Unleavened Bread. So the Sabbath after the crucifixion could have been a festival Sabbath, not necessarily the normal Saturday Sabbath. That helps explain something people usually miss. Mark 16:1 says the women bought spices after the Sabbath. Luke 23:56 says they returned, prepared spices and ointments, and then rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment. If there were two Sabbaths in view, the timeline makes sense: one Sabbath passes, they buy and prepare spices on the day in between, then they rest again on the weekly Sabbath. That is one of the biggest reasons many defend a Wednesday crucifixion. So the rough flow would look like this: Jesus dies and is buried late Wednesday before the feast Sabbath begins. Thursday is the high Sabbath. Friday the women buy and prepare spices. Saturday is the weekly Sabbath. Then early on the first day of the week, the tomb is already empty. That gives you Wednesday night, Thursday night, and Friday night, along with Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Three days and three nights. Now, to be fair, not everybody agrees. Some argue that “three days and three nights” can function as a Jewish idiom and does not require a full literal 72 hours. Others point to the repeated statements that Jesus would rise “on the third day,” not after a full three days had completely ended. That is why this debate has never gone away. But here is the bottom line: Whatever side somebody lands on, they should stop acting like the question is dumb. It is not dumb. Jesus’ own words created the issue. Matthew 12:40 is real. John 19:31 is real. The Sabbath was called a high day for a reason. And the women buying spices after one Sabbath, yet preparing them before another, is not something you just wave away because tradition got comfortable. For me, this is why the Wednesday view has weight. It does not come from trying to be different. It comes from trying to let all the texts stand. Jesus said three days and three nights. Scripture gives us a high Sabbath. Scripture gives us the spice timeline. And when you put those together, the Wednesday crucifixion view is not some fringe idea people made up yesterday. It is a serious attempt to honour the text exactly as written.

Having worked & lived as a missionary in Eastern Europe & former Soviet Union before the fall of the Berlin Wall, I can see clearly what is happening today in most of the "Western" world & can't warn enough against this, especially when it has already infiltrated the church. A false gospel rooted in Marxism has gained massive popularity, placing increasing pressure on Christians. We sense this pressure in the rise of cancel culture, where Christians are being censored, fired, or arrested for upholding their biblical beliefs. We feel it in the prevalence of “woke” messages that label Christians as oppressors who must be silenced. We notice it in contemporary attacks on the family unit God designed. On every side, our culture’s open hostility toward anyone who dares to stand on truth is becoming unmistakable. Less obvious, perhaps, are the ways these cultural trends connect to the false gospel of Marxism. This false gospel repackages the core beliefs of nineteenth-century philosopher Karl Marx, who viewed history as the story of conflict between oppressor and oppressed classes. Instead of recognizing sin as the core problem behind suffering, oppression, and alienation, Marx viewed certain socioeconomic conditions as the problem. The solution, he thought, was revolution: oppressed workers needed to revolt against wealthy business owners, take over the means of producing consumer goods, and establish a communist society. When this revolution did not unfold the way Marx predicted, “Neo-Marxists” expanded on Marx’s ideas. Like Marx, Neo-Marxists believe that society consists of oppressors and the oppressed who must take power from their oppressors. While Marx labeled the wealthy as oppressors, Neo-Marxists extend this label to other social groups including Christians, males, light-skinned people, heterosexuals, able-bodied people, and individuals born in “colonialist” countries. Neo-Marxism prejudges people as oppressors based not on personal character, actions, or attitudes, but on group identity traits including gender, income, and skin tone. Any means of disempowering people who possess these traits can count, in Neo-Marxist thinking, as “social justice.” Because Neo-Marxism hijacks, redefines, and repurposes biblical terms like justice, certain Neo-Marxist messages have effectively infiltrated church circles. Christians need to understand how these messages rest on a false gospel. What are the main tenets of this false gospel, and how do they contradict God’s Word? Seven Major Conflicts Between God’s Word and Marxism Let’s begin by looking at several issues through the lens of a Biblical worldview: Human origins — God supernaturally created humans in his image (Genesis 1:26–27). Human nature — Humans are created (Genesis 2:7, 21–23; Psalm 100:3). Identity — Identity primarily defined by and rooted in Christ (Galatians 3:28). Human marriage and family — God ordained marriage between a husband and wife as part of his very good design for creation and as the basis for raising and discipling children. The family is the foundational unit of society (Deuteronomy 6:7; Matthew 19:4–5). Humanity’s core problem — The problem comes down to sin (Genesis 2:17 and 3:1–24; Romans 5:12). Guilt — Guilt is based on sin against God. All people are guilty by nature before God, apart from Christ (Psalm 53:3; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:10). Humanity’s hope of redemption — Salvation is found only in Jesus (Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9). Truth — Truth is objective. God is the source of and authority for truth (John 14:6, 17:17). Morality — The standard and foundation for morality is God’s character. Morals can be known through God’s Word and God’s law written on our consciousness (Psalm 119:68; Romans 2:15). Now let’s look at these same issues through the lens of a Marxist (or Neo-Marxist) View: Human origins — Humans arose through natural processes. Human nature — Humans are primarily creators. Identity — Identity primarily defined by and rooted in certain traits (gender, income, skin tone, etc.). Human marriage and family — Marriage and family are pillars of an oppressive social system and need to be redefined, manipulated, or abolished. Humanity’s core problem — The problem comes down to economic or cultural conditions. Guilt — Guilt is based on identity. People with “oppressor” identities are automatically guilty and cannot help being evil; people with “oppressed” identities are automatically innocent and can do no evil. Humanity’s hope of redemption — Salvation is found only through continual revolution. Truth — Truth is subjective. The feelings and lived experience of the oppressed are the authority for truth. Morality — The standard for morality is whatever tilts the power balance in favor of the oppressed. Be encouraged: as the pressure against Christians increases, God’s Word gives us answers to stand on his truth rather than compromise with false teaching. Colossians 2:8 states, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”

“Mel Gibson warned actor Jim Caviezel that playing the character of Christ was going to be very difficult and that if he accepted, he most likely would be marginalized by Hollywood. Caviezel asked for a day to think about it and his response to Mel who was funding and directing the movie was: "I think we have to make it, even if it is difficult." And something else, my initials are J.C., and I am 33 years old. "I didn't realize that until now." Mel responded with “You're really scaring me you know.” During filming, Jim Caviezel who plays the part of Jesus lost 45 pounds, he was struck by lightning, he was accidentally struck twice during the scourging scene leaving a deep 14-inch scar, he dislocated his shoulder when the cross was dropped into the hole with him on the cross. He then suffered pneumonia and hypothermia from being nearly naked with only a loin cloth on the cross for endless hours. The crucifixion scene alone took 5 weeks of the 2 months of shooting. His body was so stressed and exhausted from playing the role that he had to undergo two open heart surgeries after the filming production. Jim explained, “I didn’t want people to see me. I just want them to see Jesus. Conversions will happen through that.” Pedro Sarubbi, who played Barabbas, felt that it was not Caviezel who was looking at him, but Jesus Christ himself, as he played that role he said of Caviezel, “His eyes had no hatred or resentment towards me, only mercy and love." Luca Lionello, the artist who played Judas, was an avowed atheist before shooting began. He eventually converted, and baptized his children. One of the main technicians working on the film was a Muslim converted to Christianity. Some producers said they saw actors dressed in white they didn’t recognize during one of the filming sessions, and when they reviewed the recordings they realized they couldn’t see them in that footage. The Passion of the Christ is the highest grossing US religious as well as the highest R-rated film of all time, with $370.8 million! Worldwide, it grossed $611 million. More importantly, it has reached 100’s of millions of people around the world. Mel Gibson paid $30 million out of his own pocket for the production of the film because no studio would take on the project. Today Jim Caviezel simply and boldly proclaims his faith in Christ, and the miracle it was for him to represent Christ as an actor and a greater believer of Christ because of this experience.

A GROUP OF leading Australian clergy, including Archbishop Julian Porteous and Bishop Glenn Davies, have written and affirmed a new Christian creed to clarify and emphasise the unchanging Christian belief in sexual integrity. There are currently more than 20 different “ pride flags “, promoting radical political agendas and fringe sexual philosophies such as “LGBT”, “transgender”, “drag feather” and “genderflux”. The new  website  to explain and promote The Australian Creed for Sexual Integrity explains the symbolism of its flag: Flags are powerful symbols of unity, visibility and common conviction. The cross of Christ, being the most recognisable Christian symbol on the planet, serves in this logo both to clearly differentiate male and female, and to unite them. It is from His cross that Christ reaches out in love to a diverse world in need of redemption. The blue and red closest to the cross follow the colours of the Australian national flag. We encourage churches, Christian schools, Bible colleges, ministries, mission organisations and other Christian groups who affirm the creed to display its logo on their websites as a clear statement of their fidelity to biblical truth. Creeds have been necessary since the early Centuries after Christ founded this global movement to clarify and affirm long held doctrines of the Church. They are deemed necessary after false teaching and heresies develop, taking some Christians away from orthodox doctrine. The signatories to The Australian Creed for Sexual Integrity have identified heresies abounding in the area of human sexuality which need correcting. As a modern creed, Christians from many denominations and religious groups were involved in its development. This creed affirms the timeless teachings of the Church regarding sexual integrity, and that articulates God’s glorious design for sex and marriage as revealed in Holy Scripture. In the 2020s have seen an avalanche of lawfare and political activism against Christian preachers and institutions, deliberately designed to silence and censor traditional Christian beliefs, particularly in the area of sexuality. The drafters of The Australian Creed for Sexual Integrity hope that it can be used to help legally protect Christian congregations, educational institutions, ministries, mission organisations as well as individuals from vexatious litigation and legislation intended to restrict the teaching and exercise of Christian beliefs. They additionally explain their vision for the Creed to serve as a clear means for Christian organisations to publicly demonstrate their support for authentic virtue by posting the Creed’s logo on their website, as this publication now does in its footer on every page The Australian Creed for Sexual Integrity  and its logo have been created for free use by Christians from every nation under Creative Commons licence.

I have written several articles & preached on this myself, but also post this one, as the teachings like Israel-replacement-"theology" & anti pre-tribulation rapture is reaching "demonic" levels on-line & all the lies that go with it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgTqDkmWxhI

If you want to understand why Iran behaves the way it does — why they are not deterred by normal calculations of loss, why death doesn't frighten them the way it should — this is exactly you need to hear. 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 general Islam but "𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐢𝐬𝐦" — a specific, radical, apocalyptic cult ideology that has seized control of the Iranian state and functions less like a branch of a world religion and more like a death cult with nuclear ambitions. Here is what Twelvers actually believe. The twelfth imam — the Mahdi — went into occultation, meaning divine hiding, in 874 AD. Twelvers believe he will return at the end of times to establish a global Islamic caliphate. And here is the part that should stop you cold: 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧. They are not trying to avoid apocalypse. They are trying to 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭. This is why normal deterrence logic breaks down with the Iranian regime. A government that believes global destabilization is theologically required and cosmically rewarded does not respond to threats of destruction the way a rational state actor does. Destruction may be, in their framework, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭. A Biblical pattern that gives this ancient context — from Nimrod building Babel in defiance of God in the land of Shinar, which is Mesopotamia, which is modern Iraq and Iran, through the succession of empires that rose from that same geographic and spiritual crucible in opposition to the God of Israel. You do not have to be a Christian or accept every element of the theological framework to recognize what we are identifying: 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐛𝐲 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫. What makes Twelverism uniquely dangerous — and why it qualifies as a cult rather than a legitimate expression of faith — is the eliminationist requirement baked into its eschatology. The Mahdi's return and the establishment of the final caliphate requires the subjugation or elimination of those who do not submit. It is not a theology of coexistence. It is a theology of 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 — and the Iranian regime has been the state apparatus of that theology since 1979. This is why the mullahs welcomed chaos in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. This is why they funded Hezbollah, armed Hamas, and seeded terror cells across Europe and the Americas. This is why Mojtaba Khamenei, the new Supreme Leader, has not moderated his rhetoric by a single decibel even as his factories burn and his missile stockpile drains. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫. Catastrophe is not a failure condition. It is a prophetic milestone. Most people — including most in the media and most in Washington — are not taking this seriously enough. You cannot negotiate in good faith with a government that views negotiation as a temporary tactical pause on the road to apocalypse. You cannot deter with the threat of death a leadership class that has theologically reframed death as victory. The only answer to Twelver eschatology in power is the removal of that power. Not containment. Not negotiation. 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐥.Which is exactly what is happening right now.

When Revelation opens the third seal, John writes: “And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” Revelation 6:5–6 This is the black horse rider. He is one of the clearest pictures in Revelation of economic distress, scarcity, and survival-level living. The rider holds balances, or scales. That points to food and goods being measured out carefully. It is the image of rationing, controlled distribution, and scarcity. Then comes the price statement: “A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny.” The Greek dēnarion points to a day’s wage, and choinix points to a small daily ration. The picture is brutal. A man works all day and barely earns enough to feed himself with wheat, or he settles for cheaper barley and stretches it further. That is not prosperity. That is survival. And that is exactly why this seal gets people’s attention right now. The pressure is real. The numbers are real. The FAO said its Food Price Index rose to 125.3 in February 2026, the first monthly increase in six months. Cereal prices rose 1.1%, wheat rose 1.8%, and vegetable oils rose 3.3%, showing that food markets are already feeling strain again. In the United States, the USDA’s March 2026 forecast says overall food prices are expected to rise 3.6% in 2026, while food-at-home prices are expected to rise 3.1%, which is faster than the 20-year historical average. It also projects beef and veal prices up 10.1%, fresh vegetable prices up 4.8%, sugar and sweets up 9.8%, and non-alcoholic beverages up 6.5%. And now add war to the picture. Reuters reported on March 20, 2026 that the war involving Iran is threatening a fresh food-price shock across the developing world. A major reason is fertilizer. About 30% of globally traded fertilizers normally move through the Strait of Hormuz, and Reuters reported that urea prices were already up 30% to 40%. FAO’s chief economist warned that if this continues, it will affect planting and reduce future supplies of staple cereals, feed, dairy, and meat. Reuters also reported on March 17, 2026 that the World Food Programme warned the current war could push an additional 45 million people into acute hunger by June, taking the global total above the current record level of 319 million. WFP shipping costs were reported up 18% since the conflict began. That is why this matters. No, I am not saying the third seal is definitely open right now. We should not force every headline into prophecy. But I am saying current events are showing the world exactly how fast life can move toward the kind of conditions Revelation described. A fragile economy. A pressured food supply. Wars affecting fuel, fertilizer, shipping, and harvests. A world where people work hard and still struggle to afford basics. That is black horse territory. And then Revelation adds this line: “See thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” That seems to show uneven suffering. Not everybody gets hit the same way. Some still keep their comforts while others struggle just to buy bread. That sounds familiar too. In hard times, the burden usually falls hardest on ordinary people. The black horse rider is a warning that man’s systems are weaker than they look. It does not take much for things to start bending hard. War. Inflation. Shipping disruption. Fertilizer shortages. Rising food costs. Suddenly what felt stable becomes expensive, strained, and uncertain. That is why prophecy matters. It does not just speak in vague religious language. It describes a world that makes more and more sense every day. The black horse rider reminds us that economies fail, markets shake, governments stumble, and supply chains break. But Christ does not. When the world struggles for bread, Jesus is still the Bread of Life. When the world trembles under economic pressure, Jesus is still unshaken. The black horse is a warning about scarcity, inflation, and a world moving toward judgment. And current events are showing us more and more what that kind of world can look like.