Subjects in the Labels List (Labels Which Begin with the Letter A, with a range of am to ar)

This blog is ακωλυτως, unhindered. (Acts 28:31) Any subject is fair game. Below is a listing of the LABELS which begin with the letters am to ar. All can be searched from the list which follows the last posted article on this page or by using the SEARCH button at the top of the page. Most will call up multiple postings in which they appear.

            Amaziah, Amazing Grace, amazon, ambition, AME Church, Amelie, America, American Civil War, American football, American Idol, American Indian, American Sign language, Amharic, amillennialism, Amin al-Rihani, Amish, Amos, Amoz, Amsterdam, Amy Grant, Anabaptists, Ananias, anarchism, anathema, anatomy, ancestors, Andrew, Andy Kauffman, angel, angelology, angels, anger, Anglican, Anglo-Saxon, Angola, animal cruelty, animal intelligence, animal rescue, animals, animation, Ann Coulter, Annabel Chong, Annas, Anne Frank, Anne Rice, Ant Man, Antarctica, anthropic principle, anti-christian, Anti-Defamation League, anti-intellectualism, anti-rejection drugs, antibodies, Antichrist, Antigua and Barbuda, antihero, Antikythera Mechanism, antinomianism, Antioch, Antiochus Epiphanes, antipope, antiquity, Anton LaVey, Anto Szandor LaVey, apathy, aphorisms, apocalypse, apocrypha, Apollos, apologetics, apostasy, apostle, Apostles, apple, April Fools joke, Aquaman, Arabia, Arabic, Arabs, Aramaic, archangel, Archbishop of Canterbury, archeology, archery, archetypes, Archimedes, architecture, Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?, Argentina, argument, Argument from Design, arguments for God, Arianism, Aristarchus, Aristobulus, Aristophanes, Aristotle, Arius, Ark of the Covenant, Armenia, Armenian, Arminianism, Armstrongism, arrogance, art, Art Linkletter, Artaxerxes, Arthur Balfour, artificial intelligence, Aruba.

The Israel/United States War With Iran

        Recently, during the current Middle East conflict of the United States and Israel (and now, a growing list of other countries) against the Islamic Revolutionary State of Iran, I have seen numerous people online who believe that this is the beginning of World War Three and that the End Times have begun. One commenter flatly stated that the Rapture would occur in the next few days.

        Christians!!!! Listen to the Bible! Base what you believe on what the Bible says. Read Matthew 24:1-36, Mark 13:33-37, and Acts 1:7. The Rapture may occur in the next few days and it may not. We should not worry and fret about it. What we should do is always be ready, not just during worrisome times.

        There are numerous Christian eschatological (End Times) positions ranging from preterism, amillenialism, premillenialism, to postmillenialism, with all sorts of gradations and combinations of the different interpretations. These various interpretations exist because the Bible does not explicitly spell out what will happen during the End Times.

        Questions for which we will have to wait for answers: When will the rapture occur? Will Jesus return during our lifetimes? Who is the Antichrist? Are any modern countries mentioned in the Bible? Is the Antichrist already alive and active? Which of the Christian eschatological interpretations is correct? Are any of them correct?

        If events do not play out as you have believed that they will, do not reject the faith. Perhaps you, perhaps I, perhaps all the scholars and theologians, have misunderstood what the Bible has said about the End Times. We all start with our own underlying worldviews and, inevitably, our understandings are colored and influenced by those worldviews. Justin Martyr (2nd century) expressed premillenial views but also said "...many who belong to the pure and pious faith, and who are true Christians, think otherwise."

         We really do not know when the End Times will play out, but we do know that to attempt to establish elaborate and highly specific future timelines is forbidden. Jesus told us that.

Zohran Mamdani Elected as the Mayor of New York City

 

First, this is not, never has been, and never will be, a political blog. The post which you are now reading is not a political post.

            On today, 4 November, 2025, Zohran Mamdani, a self-identified socialist, won the mayorship of New York City on the Democratic Party ticket. Some critics say that Mamdani is closer in his beliefs to Communism than to Socialism. Some may even see an apocalyptic meaning in his election, seeing Communism as 666, the number of a man. Revelation 13:18.

            No! I am not saying that Zohran Mamdani is the Antichrist! I am saying that some may see the resurgence of Socialist/Marxist/Communist ideas as evidence of the nearness of the coming of the Antichrist. This resurgence seems to fit many of the biblical descriptions of the Antichrist, the man of lawlessness. The following list is not everything said about the Antichrist in the Bible.

1.                          It elevates a political idea, which comes from man, to a position over God. The most extreme versions of the idea are overtly anti-religious. Anti can be understood not just as against, but also as instead of.

2.                          The Antichrist will be very popular with the majority of the populace and will perform miracles, perhaps economic miracles, rather than seemingly magical ones. He will claim that his system can eventually solve all the world’s problems. He will basically be a political Messiah-figure.

3.                          The divinity of man and man's self-transformation, which are New Age ideas, will be stressed.

4.                          Persecution of Christians will become more openly evident. Not all persecution is physical. It can also be denigration as uneducated bigots and may manifest as harsh social disapproval.  

5.                          The Antichrist will become powerful politically, militarily, and financially and will be a globalist in policy. He will create a one-world religion and a one-world government. Revelation 13:16-18.

6.                          After he is killed with a head wound, the Antichrist will be resurrected. Revelation 13:3. Some see this as having happened in the fall of Communism with the Soviet Union and the seeming modern resurrection of quasi-Marxist thought.

7.                      The government of the Antichrist will use economics, social pressure, and outright physical force to suppress any dissent.

 

Again, I am not saying that Zohran Mamdani is the Antichrist! It is a truly stupid exercise to attempt to name the Antichrist. Over the centuries, many have attempted to do so. Here are some of the names which have been put forward.

The Roman Emperor Nero, Oliver Cromwell, Peter the Great, Martin Luther, Adolf Hitler, Greta Thunberg, an as-yet unidentified Jewish person, the Ottoman Empire, Napoleon Bonaparte, Hillary Clinton, Saddam Hussein, Ronald Reagan, Pope Gregory VII, Pope John Paul II, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, King Charles III, Bill Gates, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Joe Biden, Mikhail Gorbachev, Prince Harry, Emmanuel Macron, Henry Kissinger, Barack Obama, Osama bin Laden, Donald Trump, a 6^th century French peasant mentioned by Gregory of Tours, Benito Mussolini, the European Union, John F. Kennedy, Aleister Crowley, and almost unbelievably, Jesus himself.

Do you see the idiocy of this? Not only is it idiotic, we are specifically told by Jesus not to do it. Matthew 24:36. To do it is disobedience to the Lord, an act of sin.

So, is the Antichrist to be a person representing the political systems of either Socialism or Communism? I do not know, and neither do you. 2 Thessalonian 2:1-8.

Keep your eyes open and do not be deceived, but also do not delude yourself into thinking that you do know. It is disobedience to Jesus to set dates and to plan out elaborate timelines of future historical events and to prematurely say names. When the Antichrist emerges it will be obvious to anyone who knows how to look. You will not have to guess.

Instead, enthusiastically live each day as if it is the last day of your life. As Pastor Frances Chan has said, think of what Jesus wants you to do in the next five minutes. Remember that the thing holding back the emergence of the Antichrist is us, the Body of Christ, the Church, the ekklesia, indwelled by the Holy Spirit.

The Restrainer

 

            In the city in which I live, one of the local television stations carries a weekly broadcast of the Sunday morning worship services of a large local church. Every week, immediately after the church service broadcast ends, a commercial begins for a local gambling casino. The world is always ready to pour in if the Church, the ἐκκλησία, is not present as a restaining influence.

            The word, “restrainer, “ is from the Greek word Κατέχον (Strong’s 2722) which is used in the Bible to express ”hold down,” “hold back,” “detain,” “restrain,” and other similar meanings.

            2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 says that “the restrainer,” the one who holds back the world, will continue to do so until he is taken out of the way.  To modern readers, it may not seem to be clearly stated who this restrainer is. A literal translation of the Greek of verse 6 into English is "And now that which is restraining, you know, for to be revealed him in his time."

            Many believe that the restrainer is the Holy Spirit who indwells all the Christians who make up the Church. The removal of the restrainer could reference the removal of the Church at the time of the Rapture.  The Antichrist is to be revealed when the one who hinders his presence is removed.

            These concepts are involved in controversy among theologians over how to interpret eschatological doctrines. I will not tell you what you should believe but I will say that we should, at least, discuss it and not ignore it. Paul assumed that his contemporary readers understood what he was referencing ("you know"). Paul was talking to us also.

Eschatology Series, Post #3: Christian Eschatology

Prior posts in this series:
http://saintsontheloose.blogspot.com/2015/01/film-comment-left-behind.html
http://saintsontheloose.blogspot.com/2015/01/eschatology-series-post-2-eschatologies.html

Christian eschatology is the study of the end times of the world as related to Christian doctrine. This is far less settled than many people think. Some Christians see eschatology as the major emphasis of their ministry activities while other Christians seem to be totally uninterested. Others merely point out that Christians are clearly instructed in the Scriptures to be ready for the end times but to not set dates. We are instructed to watch the signs and to stay aware. Much of the discussion centers on the book of Revelation.

There are numerous concepts in Christian eschatology which have engendered much discussion (and sometimes heated arguments leading to church splits) among the Saints. There seem to be as many opinions on this subject as there are Christians. Below is a short listing of some of the terms involved in the discussion.

ANTICHRIST: The Antichrist is a world religious and political figure in Christian Eschatology who represents everything opposed to God and Jesus. He is called the Beast and the Man of Perdition who will declare himself to be God. Some believe that he will be a human son of Satan. Others believe that he will be Satan himself. Some see the Antichrist as not a person but a political system or a false church system. Others say that he is in some way merely a symbolic figure representing the world system which opposes the teachings of Jesus Christ. Various persons throughout history have been suspected by some of being the Antichrist: The Roman Emperor Nero, Oliver Cromwell, the Pope, and even United States President Barack Obama. There is a number associated with the Antichrist, 666, which we are told is the number of a man. Intense numerological speculation has occurred with it being demonstrated, for example, that the Emperor Nero's name totals to the number 666. My view is that when the true Antichrist appears it will be readily obvious to members of the Body of Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, 1 John 2:18, 2:22, 4:3, 2 John 1:7, Daniel 7:24-25, Revelation 13:5-8, 15:2

FALSE PROPHET: The False Prophet is a person who uses seemingly magical powers to convince people to worship the Antichrist as God. Some believe that he will be of Jewish origin, others that he will be a Gentile. Revelation 13:11-15, 16:13, 19:20, 20:10, Matthew 7:15, 2 Thessalonians 2:9

MARK OF THE BEAST: The Mark of the Beast is some sort of marking placed upon those persons who accept the divinity of the Beast/Antichrist. Without the mark, a person will be unable to buy, sell, or hold a job. Speculation as to the nature of the mark includes that it might be a tattoo, an actual branding, a bio-chip, or just the internal mark of having chosen allegiance to the Antichrist. Revelation 13:16-18, 14:9-10.

THE GREAT TRIBULATION: A time period ruled by the Beast during which Christians will be intensely persecuted and martyred. Revelation 6, Daniel 9:24-27, 12:1, 14:1-5, Matthew 24:21, Jeremiah 30:7, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 5:2, 9, 1 Corinthians 15:51-53, Isaiah 2:2, 13:6-9, Joel 1:15, 2:1-31, 3:14, Deuteronomy 4:30, Zephaniah 1:1

THE MILLENIUM: A one thousand year time period during which Jesus Christ literally rules the entire Earth from His throne in Jerusalem. There are numerous comments and interpretations about this period: they include:
  1. Some insist that it is first mentioned in the Persian Zoroastrian religion and was copied by Christianity.
  2. The word merely means "a long time."
  3. The millenium is merely symbolic.
  4. We are in the millenium now and the world will progressively become better until the Kingdom of Heaven is finally achieved.
Matthew 24, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, Revelation

ARMEGEDDON: A terrible world-wide war provoked by the Antichrist in which the majority of the Earth's population will die. Daniel 9, Matthew 24, Revelation 4:19.

THE RAPTURE: The Rapture is the event when Jesus returns to take believers into the air with Him, leaving the Earth populated only by unbelievers. Exactly when, or even if, this occurs is disputed among Christian believers. There are many conflicting interpretations of this doctrine. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, Matthew 24:29-31, Mark 13:24-27, Luke 21:25-27, 1 Corinthians 15:52, Isaiah 27:13.

Magic Squares in Christian Occultism, Part 2

Magic squares became associated with occultism through the practice of numerology. Numerology assigns number values to individual letters of alphabetic writing systems. Individual words or names can be assigned a numerical value by adding the values of their component letters. Numerologists often consider names and words with the same numerical value to be telated to one another in some way.

 Gematria, a form of numerology, began among the Assyro-Babylonians and was later adopted as a practice by the Jews. Words with identical numerical values were considered to be related to one another or to a person whose name could be assigned the same number. Remember that for the first few years, all Christians were Jews. The number of the Antichrist. 666, was recognized to also be the number of the Roman Emperor Nero, Nero Qasr (Nero Caesar).

The Hebrew word, gematria, probably comes from the Greek word, geometria (“geometry”).  Numerology is closely associated with the Jewish Qabbalah tradition, but there are examples within the Bible, where numbers such as 3 or 666 carry special meanings. The primary language for gematria has always been Hebrew. There is a Jewish tradition that God manipulated the letters of the Torah in order to create the universe; in effect, God’s creation of the universe was through the use of numbers; mathematics. The universe does indeed have a highly mathematical structure as attested to by modern physics.

The ancient Hebrews, and later the Jews, were very careful with names because the name of a person carried characteristics associated with that person. An example is Isaac, which means “he laughed” because old Abraham (he was over 100 years old) laughed when he was told that he and the aged Sarah (she was over 90 years old) would have a son. God said Sarah also laughed in secret but she denied it. Their laughter became that of joy and wonderment.

This is where the magic squares and the occultists come in. Because every word can be written as a number, words and even phrases can be embedded into number sequences. Sending a coded message to a fellow occultist, or placing a blessing or  a curse upon a person, could be accomplished by handing them a talisman upon which a magic square of numbers was inscribed. 

This is an attempt to use the power of words, phrases, and names to influence or to alter reality. Occultists believe that if the correct words (spells) are known, the practitioner can force the universe to create good health, wealth, love, and/or personal power. It is also true that malicious persons felt that they could cause disease, economic trouble, sadness, family conflict, and even death.

Even with the biblical proscriptions against involvement with magic, some Christians were fascinated by this.

Next: Magic Squares in Christian Occultism, Part 3   

Selling the Confessional on eBay

Roman Catholic Priest Otto Weber needed cash for his Hirschstetten Parish in Vienna-Donaustadt, Austria, and had few ways to get it.  Then he had an idea!  He could go on eBay and offer up one of his confessional boxes for sale.  He knew the box would be a hard item to sell so he offered up some ideas for alternate uses for the thing.  It could be converted into a one person sauna, a small bar, or a children's playhouse, among other things.

Over two hundred offers were made, the largest being by some joker for 666 euros.  For those who don't know, 666 is the biblical number of The Beast, the Antichrist.

Church authorities were not amused and told Weber that "it is not acceptable to sell objects used in administering a sacrament..."

If you're interested in reading more about this, go to Google or Bing (or your favorite search engine) and enter search parameters like "Austria & confessional & Vienna."  On Google Search, I got 179 hits using this search set.