Stan,

The visual puns work better on paper than with the ear, I think. Subject matter is certainly valid. At the end of time, according to the Bible, society will be plagued with many false prophets and false christs. Looks like that 2,000 year old prophecy is in full swing when you write a lyric about it, I'd say.

I came across a tongue in cheek site about "How to Start Your Own Cult" the other day. Plainly, the person who wrote it had a lot of exposure to such things.

Once when I was singing church songs (and some of my own) on the sidewalk in Santa Cruz, California years ago, a woman stopped to listen. She said, "You are a Christian." I said, "Yes, I am." She said, "You probably think Jesus is coming again." I said, "I certainly do." She said, "What you don't know is that He's already come." I said, "Oh? Tell me about this Jesus who has already come."

She told me that her Jesus was the leader of a sect in England, and that while he had only revealed himself to his true followers (her being one of them), soon he would reveal himself to the whole world. I said, "Mam, from what you've told me about this Jesus you believe in, and from what I know from reading my Bible thoroughly, I can assure you most sincerely that your Jesus is only one of the many false christs predicted to arise here on earth among men before the true Christ comes in the clouds of heaven with the glory of all God's angels. Biblically-speaking, there's really no other option. Your guy just doesn't match up to anything more than one of the little false ones running around down here before the true one shows up in the sky where all the world will see him at one time--like lighting coming from the east to the west."

She thought a minute. I could see her seriously considering what I had just told her--which was accurate according to the 24th chapter of Matthew on these matters. She stood there for a long minute, then she took out a dollar and put it into my guitar case. She said, "I'm in this thing too deep now to get out." And she turned and walked away. I think she believed what I told her about her guy being a fake. I think she believed what she told me, about being involved with his movement too deeply to get out. There is a very real danger in getting entangled with such individuals, and the Bible warns very specifically so we may avoid being taken in.

There is cause to be concerned about following the wrong Jesus. There is going to be as many false Jesuses and false Christs as there are Elvises before things wind up here on planet Earth. Being forwarned is to allow a person to find protection. Matthew 24 gives three clear clues for avoiding false christs and idenfitying the true Christ:

1. If they say, "He is in the wilderness--come and look!"--don't go.

2. If they say, "He is meeting with us in an inner room among his devoted followers"--don't go.

3. When the true Jesus returns to planet earth, nobody anywhere will be unaware of his return--it will be blinding bright from horizon to horizon, it will be incredibly noisy with the voice of the mighty archangel and the trumpet of God himself, and all the nations on our planet unprepared for that return will be mourning at the same time. This is predicted to be the least secret event in all of history.

Meanwhile, not believing at all is as hazardous to one's spiritual health as believing in the wrong thing. Simply avoiding the false sects is not enough. A person needs to hook into what is valid belief. There are two marks that identify God's true end time people, and anybody anywhere who has these is safe. Read them yourself in Revelation 12:17. The Jews have one of these marks currently, and the majority of the Christian churches have the other. Almost nobody has both of them, however. You find the group who holds both, and you're in very good company--Biblically-speaking--to survive what lies ahead. I'd go ahead and spell it out specifically here, but for goodness sakes, if a person won't go crack their Bible to look up something so important and simple, simply hearing me say it might lead them to think it is only a matter of my opinion, or personal religious taste.

I like your lyrics, Stan. You keep hitting on the provocative stuff. Keep writing.

Skip


P.S. Right now, a guy who used to be a pastor among the churches to the south of where I pastored for 15 years in California has left our ranks and declared himself to be Jesus returned/reincarnated/reconstituted. As he's slept with his daughter-in-law, two women in his sect, and had seven virgins come lie naked on his bed, I seriously doubt his self-proclaimations. Another mark of a false christ or a false prophet is an immoral and evil lifestyle that falls short of even what is expected in the wider society. Jesus said, "By their fruits you will know them" in reference to these false christs and prophets. Unfortunately, he's only one of many plying the religious racketeering trade at present. There are others in the news at the present time as well.




Last edited by Skip Johnson; 05/17/08 01:13 AM.