Spiritual Implications of the Errors of Pres. Trump’s Response to the Las Vegas Tragedy
READING TIME: 20 MINUTES
The following are the notes to the discussion found at this link (https://www.facebook.com/tammy.cheetham.77/videos/294214237744958/) for anyone who would like to study the subject more in depth.
Everyone has heard about the terrible tragedy in Las Vegas, but not everyone knows about the speech Pres. Trump made on Monday concerning the incident. We want to discuss some blatantly false statements he made spiritually speaking. We also want to mention some information about prayer vigils that were held. We want people to understand the notion that a false unity is created in the aftermath of each of these tragic events. And, we want to mention how Pres. Trump is being used to push the ecumenical and interfaith movements. So many in the church world have been quite excited and so insistent in saying Pres. Trump is a Christian, but he is definitely bringing a different gospel.
Sister Tammy, would you like to bring out some of the main points of the speech (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/02/us/transcript-video-trump-las-vegas.html?mcubz=0) at this time, please? (Sister Tammy’s comments about the speech are in CAPS):
To the families of the victims, we are praying for you and we are here for you. And we ask God to help see you through this very dark period. Scripture teaches us the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. We seek comfort in those words, for we know that God lives in the hearts of those who grieve. (TO LEAVE IT JUST AT THIS IS MAKING PEOPLE THINK THEY ARE OK WITH GOD IF THEY ARE GRIEVING OVER THIS TRAGEDY. A FALSE GOSPEL). We call upon the bonds that unite us, our faith (WE ALL DO NOT HAVE THE SAME FAITH SO WE DO NOT UNITE WITH) our family, and our shared values. (THIS IS HEADING TO THE ONE WORLD ORDER, ECUMENICAL LEANINGS AS ALWAYS). We call upon the bonds of citizenship, the ties of community, and the comfort of our common humanity. Our unity (THIS IS NOT THE GOSPEL) cannot be shattered by evil, our bonds cannot be broken by violence, and though we feel such great anger, at the senseless murder of our fellow citizens, it is our love that defines us today. (OUR LOVE, IF NOT THROUGH JESUS IS AT BEST CENTERED ON SELF. WE NEED TO POINT PEOPLE TO CHRIST). And always will. Forever. Melania and I are praying for every American who has been hurt, wounded or lost the ones they loved so dearly in this terrible, terrible attack – (MELANIA, SHE’S A CATHOLIC, SHE IS PRAYING TO ANOTHER JESUS, ANOTHER GOSPEL, BUT TRUMP ALSO HAS ANOTHER GOSPEL, ALL THIS IS TO LEAD PEOPLE TO BELIEVE THEY HAVE JESUS, YET IT IS FALSE, CHECK THE SOURCE).
Donald Trump, we’ve shared before on here about what his idea about forgiveness is. In July 2015 Trump, made the comments about his faith during a Q&A at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa.
When moderator Frank Luntz asked Trump whether he has ever asked God for forgiveness for his actions. His response was –
"I am not sure I have. I just go on and try to do a better job from there. I don't think so," he said. "I think if I do something wrong, I think, I just try and make it right. I don't bring God into that picture. I don't."
Trump said that while he hasn't asked God for forgiveness, he does participate in Holy Communion.
"When I drink my little wine -- which is about the only wine I drink -- and have my little cracker, I guess that is a form of asking for forgiveness, and I do that as often as possible because I feel cleansed," he said. "I think in terms of 'let's go on and let's make it right.'"
WHERE IS JESUS IN THIS? We cannot make the wrongs right by our own selves, we look to what Jesus did on the cross. He then forgives and gives the power to live right, even repent and ask for forgiveness through His Son. So we MUST bring God into the picture, you see how this is another gospel? We cannot save ourselves!
The communion does not cleanse anyone from their sins. This is a works based salvation and the only way we can be cleansed is by being washed in the blood of Jesus. We take communion to REMEMBER the sacrifice Jesus did, this act of taking communion cannot make anyone cleansed; taking your little cracker is not a form of asking for forgiveness. Only Jesus can forgive sinners, not us doing anything, even anything religious. So many have this idea like if they are baptized then they are a Christian, etc. Same concept and a complete changed gospel. We must be discerning if we do not want to be deceived, look to Jesus.
Continuing with the speech -
We pray for the entire nation to find unity and peace (WITHOUT JESUS, THERE IS A FALSE PEACE AND UNITY AND THE WHOLE NATION WILL FIND A FALSE UNITY UNDER A FALSE GOSPEL JUST AS THIS IS, THE ONE WORLD ORDER!) and we pray for the day when evil is banished and the innocent (WE HAVE ALL SINNED) are safe from hatred and from fear. May God bless the souls of the lives that are lost (WE CANNOT BLESS THE SOULS OF THE DEAD, HOWEVER MUCH A TRAGEDY IT IS) may God give us the grace of healing and may God provide the grieving families with strength to carry on.
Thank you so much, sister Tammy.
Now, we want to spend a few minutes discussing other occasions when we’ve seen Pres. Trump promote false unity and universalism. One is a video Pres. Trump made which aired on EWTN (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsTNWnVTPr0) on the eve of election day in 2016. This is what he said: “Catholics are an important part of the American story. America has been strengthened by hard-working Catholics. From New York to CA, the Catholic story is truly unique and it’s a great story. From marching for civil rights to educating millions of children, serving the poor and helping define the pro-life movement, clergy and lay Catholics across the country have made countless contributions to the American success and the American success story…My administration will stand side by side with the American Catholics to promote the values we all share as Christians and Americans.” (Well, his final statement here clearly shows he doesn’t understand that Catholicism is a religion based on the traditions of men. And, praying with Catholics is obviously not a problem for him because Catholic Archbishop Donald Wuerl prayed at the National Day of Prayer, as I will mention in a minute; Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York prayed at the presidential inauguration; and Cardinal Wuerl also prayed at the National Prayer Service held the day after the inauguration at the Washington National Cathedral).
Another example of President Trump’s promotion of false unity is the National Day of Prayer held this past May in the Rose Garden at the White House (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=32&v=AkOYOF4zUsY), as I mentioned. The first prayer was given by Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church, a 40,000-member mega church near Plano Texas. Here are some excerpts: “We do humble ourselves before you our great God. We thank you for your amazing grace that brought us into your family and brought us here together today, for your love that restores and renews us and this nation in times like these. (Now, he was praying to a group that included Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Muslim, Jews, and so forth. How did he have the nerve to say, “Your amazing grace that brought us into your family?” Is he so Biblically illiterate that he hasn’t read Gal. 3:26 which says, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus?”) After Jack Graham, Catholic Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, D.C. prayed, followed by Jewish Rabbi Marvin Hier. President Trump’s statement concerning these prayers was as follows: “It is a beautiful thing to see these three faith leaders from three very different faith traditions come together and lift up our nation in prayer. Not only are we a nation of faith, we are a nation of tolerance.” (However, his statement is nothing besides a promotion of false unity. We cannot all just go along to get along. True believers will remain separate and not pretend that God honors the prayers prayed at such gatherings).
And, then at this prayer service Pres. Trump made the following announcement as he gestured to the cardinals present at the event: “Tolerance is the cornerstone of peace. My first foreign trip as president of the US will be to Saudi Arabia, then Israel, then to a place that my cardinals love very much, Rome.” (What did he mean by saying “my cardinals?” You know, Pres. Trump has stated many times he is Presbyterian so that doesn’t make any sense unless one is being used to promote Catholicism as being Christian. And, then, concerning the trip to the Vatican he tweeted: “Honor of a lifetime to meet His Holiness Pope Francis. I leave the Vatican more determined than ever to pursue PEACE in our world.” (https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/867354520526872576?lang=en) (Now, when we hear the phrase “His Holiness, pope Francis” we just flinch because no man should be referred to like this. Just another clue that Pres. Trump doesn’t truly know the Lord).
I will give just one example from his trip to Saudi Arabia. The following is from the speech (http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/21/politics/trump-saudi-speech-transcript/index.html) he made there: “With God's help, this summit will mark the beginning of the end for those who practice terror and spread its vile creed. At the same time, we pray this special gathering may someday be remembered as the beginning of peace in the Middle East and maybe even all over the world. But this future can only be achieved through defeating terrorism and the ideology that drives it. (So, we have Trump referencing ‘God’s help’ and in doing so he is asserting that Christians and Muslims worship the same god and we do not. And, he obviously does not know how peace will come to this world).
Then, during his speech in Israel (https://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-of-donald-trumps-speech-at-the-israel-museum/) he said the following: “And, on behalf of the United States, we pledge to stand by you and defend our shared values so that together we can defeat terrorism and create safety for all of God’s children.” (But, again, we are not all God’s children; all are not part of His family. John 1:12 tells us how someone becomes a child of God. This verse says, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. So Jews, or those of any other religions, cannot be considered children of God according to this verse because they do not believe on Jesus’ Name; they do not believe He is the Son of God. So, Pres. Trump was actually promoting universalist theology).
Now, I want to discuss some of the prayer vigils that were held earlier this week:
First, I want to share a little from an article (http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-las-vegas-shooting-live-updates-guess-what-we-have-god-s-favor-in-1507011770-htmlstory.html) about the prayer vigil that was held outside Las Vegas City Hall on Monday by civic and faith leaders. Speakers stood behind a podium that read ‘Vegas strong.’
Faith leaders said evil touched this city today. They cried out to God to be present in the morgues and in the hospital rooms. They recited the 23rd Psalm: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil."
Pastor Mike Hatch of Prayer Center Revival Church said Vegas has been known as Sin City.
"The Bible says where sin abounds, grace does much more abound," he said. "That means, where there's a lot of sin, there's a lot of grace.
"Guess what. We have God's favor in this town." (So, this pastor just endorsed all the sin in this town with all the gambling casinos and so forth. That verse doesn’t mean that sin is supposed to be ongoing. Sadly, we see a false gospel was given out by this pastor).
Pastor Randy Greer said: "We need each other, Lord, we need each other more than ever before." (While true believers are directed to encourage each other in the Bible, his blanket statement of “we need each other,” basically including anyone involved or affected by the tragedy in the entire Las Vegas area is not true. Now, is it wrong for believers there to help out in some tangible way? No, but the most important help people need after this tragedy, and after any other tragedy, is the gospel. Sadly, though, we see the false gospels of unity and love being preached more and more after these tragic events).
The crowd sang “How Great is our God” as 59 candles were lit. (As we have stated many times in these discussions true believers should not pray with unbelievers or believers in name only, and the same is true for singing worship songs).
Another event worth noting was held at the Guardian Angel Cathedral in Las Vegas. I want to read some information from an article (http://www.ucc.org/news_ucc_clergy_part_of_interfaith_prayer_vigil_in_las_vegas_mourn_59_lives_lost_to_gun_violence_10032017) at the United Church of Christ website concerning this:
Eight faith leaders took turns hitting a gong 59 times to remember those who died. Tears streamed down the faces of the people in the pews as they prayed.
"We put this worship service together in 45 minutes," Charlotte Morgan, the UCC pastor of Indigo Valley Church said. "We wanted to have interreligious engagement—so eight of us came together. Everyone stepped aside from faith, race, creed, job, position to make this vigil happen."
The event, led by Bishop Joseph Pepe of the Las Vegas diocese and Fr. Bob Stoeckig of the cathedral, brought together clergy from many Christian denominations—UCC, Catholic and Episcopalian, as well as Jewish rabbis, Unitarian Universalists and Muslim groups. Morgan, the Rev. Jamie Sprague-Ballou, of Mary Magdalene Friends UCC, and the Rev. Kathryn Obenour, a member of Indigo Valley Church and former pastor at Las Vegas United Church of Christ, represented the UCC denomination.
As members of the Clark County Ministerial Association, Morgan said the interfaith leaders came together after the shooting Sunday night to create a clergy emergency response team. The vigil was part of that response. They were able to do that, she said, because of strong relationships previously forged before the massacre called them to action.
"I am so proud of the clergy in our community who came together to create this same-day clergy response team," Morgan said. "There was a writer who once said 'Dig a ditch before you need water.' We did that. We needed to form caring everyday relationships with each other. Ministers and rabbis get together... to study the Torah, or to have coffee. Those relationships made a difference today."
"Before the service, I met with several clergy at the front of the church," Morgan continued. "We discussed that the vigil is one step. We must continue over days, weeks and months to help our community. We set plans in place that our next step is to contact the area hospitals and begin to reach out to the healthcare workers in the hospitals. (So, we see that there was apparently no hesitation on the part of these faith leaders at the thought of joining together in false unity. The UCC pastor said they “stepped aside from faith” which doesn’t even make sense. And, how many times have we seen the suggestion of forming relationships with those of other faiths? Last month we learned of the friendship forged between Rick Warren and Catholic Bishop Kevin Vann of the Diocese of Orange (http://christiannews.net/2017/09/27/rick-warren-hopes-his-partnership-with-roman-catholic-leader-will-become-model-for-world/). Warren even went so far as to say that he hopes his partnership with Bishop Vann to collaboratively combat social ills becomes a “model” for others around the world. But, false unity of any sort is not sanctioned by God who rather tells us to remain separate).
Now I would like to mention three interfaith prayer vigils that were held around the nation (https://www.elitedaily.com/p/vigils-for-las-vegas-are-being-held-around-the-country-heres-where-theyre-happening-2757325) -
A community vigil was held in Bethesda, Maryland, on Oct. 2, at the Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church. The service was open to all faiths. (And, as we mentioned in our discussions concerning the Charlottesville Clergy, Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion that promotes freedom of belief and respect for all people. They welcome and embrace all who share their values and principles regardless of their religious beliefs, sexual orientation, race, age or gender).
On October 3rd, an interfaith candlelight vigil was held in Brooklyn, NY, in honor of the victims. This vigil was organized by the president of the Brooklyn borough, Eric Adams. (So, just as with the vigil held at the Las Vegas City Hall, we have a mix of politics and religion and people are being conditioned to accept such gatherings as being normal. Also, at one of the websites (https://www.brooklyn-usa.org/event/candlelight-vigil-for-las-vegas/) announcing this vigil there was a list of partners for the event. Here are a few: Buddhist Council of New York, Gays Against Guns, Greater New York Conference of Seventh Day Adventists, New York Board of Rabbis, and New York Disaster Interfaith Networks. Just as a side note, Eric Adams organized a prayer vigil for the Brooklyn borough in July of 2016 after the five police officers were killed in Dallas, Texas. A Catholic monsignor, a Catholic bishop, and someone from the Hindu Temple Society were also involved).
And, then from Catholic All Saints Parish in Ventura, CA, we have: We cannot allow mental illness or guns to take the joy and love out of our lives. Please join us, to find comfort in each other in this time of sorrow. Bishop Craig Chapman is welcoming all of us into their chapel of LOVE and PEACE. All FAITHS and backgrounds are welcome, as we are all part of God’s creation. (So, we have a Catholic bishop welcoming people of all faiths and all backgrounds into a chapel of love and peace. But, just gathering people altogether like this will not provide any real solutions. People may feel some sense of comfort, but it is temporary because all of the problems man faces are due to sin and unless someone presents the only solution for sin, which is Christ and Him crucified, nothing of any lasting value has been accomplished. It is truly sad to see so much human effort when all people need to do is repent and turn to Jesus. And, it doesn’t surprise us to have these examples of Catholic churches having these prayer vigils and making the statements they are making because they are only following examples set for them by the pope and other high ranking leaders in the Catholic church). As it turns out, Pope Francis sent a telegram on Monday to Bishop Joseph Pepe of Las Vegas expressing closeness and concern to all those affected by this senseless tragedy. He offered the promise of his prayers for the injured and for all who have died, entrusting them to the merciful love of almighty God” (https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2017/10/02/pope-francis-sends-prayers-victims-las-vegas-massacre/).
In addition, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop of the Galveston-Houston area and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, released a statement on Monday, mourning the loss of life and issuing a plea for goodness to triumph over evil. He said, “May the Lord of all gentleness surround all those who are suffering from this evil, and for those who have been killed we pray, ‘eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.’” (Well, these statements present universalist ideology. It is, frankly, sad when such false hope is given).
(You know, we can see that people have become conditioned to this idea of attending prayer vigils, or events, in times of tragedy, whether it is terrorist bombing incidents, or mass shootings, or when individuals are killed or harmed in other ways. The idea has developed that people with varied beliefs can come together in prayer and that somehow they’re all still praying to the same God. These tragic events have been occurring so frequently that people have been indoctrinated to the idea that we can pray with those of other religions and God doesn’t mind one bit. We would strongly say otherwise, however, because we read the verses about being separate and we take them seriously and pray that others would, too!
A major problem is most people don’t stop to consider whether their attendance at such events pleases God. They don’t even stop and question whether God listens to prayers at such events because they just assume all prayer is a wonderful thing. Those who attend have the same goal of gathering to show unity in the face of violence, but there is no way to ascertain the beliefs of everyone attending these events. So, if those in attendance are from different religious systems the prayer vigil is, by definition, an ecumenical event.
And, it is evident, from these scriptures (John 9:31, Psalm 34:15, Proverbs 15:29, etc.) God does not listen to the prayers of lost people, or false believers, unless they are calling out to Him in repentance. And, then we should remember the example of Elijah in 1 Kings 18. While gathered at Mt. Carmel, Elijah didn't tell the children of Israel to join up with the prophets of Baal to pray to God because of the three-year drought they were experiencing, but rather he said to separate! 1 Kings 18:21: "And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word." So, we can clearly see that Elijah didn’t encourage false unity, but rather the opposite.
And, while we don’t want to minimize the suffering of many people at this time, we can never use tragedies as an excuse to join together in false unity. Believers will pray at these times, either individually, or in small groups with other believers. But, the idea of joining together in these prayer vigils with so many others of different faiths, or with those of no faith at all, is just part of the groundwork that is being laid so people will be used to gathering together to worship the antichrist. We pray that people will recognize the dangers and stay far away).
Here is some additional information gathered as of 10-8-17 -
Vice-President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, traveled to Las Vegas and he spoke at the conclusion of a unity prayer walk held on Saturday. (http://www.fox5vegas.com/story/36545275/vice-president-mike-pence-officials-stand-united-in-las-vegas) Here are some excerpts: “My wife, Karen, and I are honored to be with you for this Las Vegas Unity Prayer Walk…The Bible tells us that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and this will be our prayer for all of you. We do mourn with those who mourn and grieve with those who grieve, but we do not grieve like those who have no hope because heroes give us hope…On Sunday night Las Vegas came face to face with pure evil. But, no evil — no act of violence — will ever diminish the strength and goodness of the American people. As I read in my devotions this morning love binds all our virtues together in unity…We find comfort in the knowledge that we are united as one nation, as one people, with one voice — united in our grief, united in our support for those who have suffered, and united in our resolve to end such evil in our time. So, today, we offer our prayers, from our hearts to the heart of heaven. We pray for those we lost, and for those they left behind. We pray for the injured…and we pray for our nation, that the words sung by thousands before the shots rang out that fateful night might be ever more true. That God would bless America; that He would renew our unity and strengthen our faith. Our faith, that as He’s ever watched over this great land, that He in this moment will again bind up our wounds, He will heal the brokenhearted, and that He will wipe every tear from our eyes.” (Well, we cannot just quote scriptures and apply them to any situation when we have no idea what those listening believe. This is a false gospel being given by Mike Pence; it speaks basically of having a relationship with God without going through the Mediator, Jesus Christ. Believers are not to unify with non-believers, or with so-called believers. Heroes do not give us hope; but rather we are “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13). Man cannot end evil; it will only end when Jesus Christ returns to rule and reign. And, praying for God to bless America while this nation remains in such rebellion to Him is foolish. There is so much error in this speech as with President Trump’s and we pray believers will not be led astray and will stay focused on Jesus and the truth of His Word).
READING TIME: 20 MINUTES
The following are the notes to the discussion found at this link (https://www.facebook.com/tammy.cheetham.77/videos/294214237744958/) for anyone who would like to study the subject more in depth.
Everyone has heard about the terrible tragedy in Las Vegas, but not everyone knows about the speech Pres. Trump made on Monday concerning the incident. We want to discuss some blatantly false statements he made spiritually speaking. We also want to mention some information about prayer vigils that were held. We want people to understand the notion that a false unity is created in the aftermath of each of these tragic events. And, we want to mention how Pres. Trump is being used to push the ecumenical and interfaith movements. So many in the church world have been quite excited and so insistent in saying Pres. Trump is a Christian, but he is definitely bringing a different gospel.
Sister Tammy, would you like to bring out some of the main points of the speech (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/02/us/transcript-video-trump-las-vegas.html?mcubz=0) at this time, please? (Sister Tammy’s comments about the speech are in CAPS):
To the families of the victims, we are praying for you and we are here for you. And we ask God to help see you through this very dark period. Scripture teaches us the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. We seek comfort in those words, for we know that God lives in the hearts of those who grieve. (TO LEAVE IT JUST AT THIS IS MAKING PEOPLE THINK THEY ARE OK WITH GOD IF THEY ARE GRIEVING OVER THIS TRAGEDY. A FALSE GOSPEL). We call upon the bonds that unite us, our faith (WE ALL DO NOT HAVE THE SAME FAITH SO WE DO NOT UNITE WITH) our family, and our shared values. (THIS IS HEADING TO THE ONE WORLD ORDER, ECUMENICAL LEANINGS AS ALWAYS). We call upon the bonds of citizenship, the ties of community, and the comfort of our common humanity. Our unity (THIS IS NOT THE GOSPEL) cannot be shattered by evil, our bonds cannot be broken by violence, and though we feel such great anger, at the senseless murder of our fellow citizens, it is our love that defines us today. (OUR LOVE, IF NOT THROUGH JESUS IS AT BEST CENTERED ON SELF. WE NEED TO POINT PEOPLE TO CHRIST). And always will. Forever. Melania and I are praying for every American who has been hurt, wounded or lost the ones they loved so dearly in this terrible, terrible attack – (MELANIA, SHE’S A CATHOLIC, SHE IS PRAYING TO ANOTHER JESUS, ANOTHER GOSPEL, BUT TRUMP ALSO HAS ANOTHER GOSPEL, ALL THIS IS TO LEAD PEOPLE TO BELIEVE THEY HAVE JESUS, YET IT IS FALSE, CHECK THE SOURCE).
Donald Trump, we’ve shared before on here about what his idea about forgiveness is. In July 2015 Trump, made the comments about his faith during a Q&A at the Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa.
When moderator Frank Luntz asked Trump whether he has ever asked God for forgiveness for his actions. His response was –
"I am not sure I have. I just go on and try to do a better job from there. I don't think so," he said. "I think if I do something wrong, I think, I just try and make it right. I don't bring God into that picture. I don't."
Trump said that while he hasn't asked God for forgiveness, he does participate in Holy Communion.
"When I drink my little wine -- which is about the only wine I drink -- and have my little cracker, I guess that is a form of asking for forgiveness, and I do that as often as possible because I feel cleansed," he said. "I think in terms of 'let's go on and let's make it right.'"
WHERE IS JESUS IN THIS? We cannot make the wrongs right by our own selves, we look to what Jesus did on the cross. He then forgives and gives the power to live right, even repent and ask for forgiveness through His Son. So we MUST bring God into the picture, you see how this is another gospel? We cannot save ourselves!
The communion does not cleanse anyone from their sins. This is a works based salvation and the only way we can be cleansed is by being washed in the blood of Jesus. We take communion to REMEMBER the sacrifice Jesus did, this act of taking communion cannot make anyone cleansed; taking your little cracker is not a form of asking for forgiveness. Only Jesus can forgive sinners, not us doing anything, even anything religious. So many have this idea like if they are baptized then they are a Christian, etc. Same concept and a complete changed gospel. We must be discerning if we do not want to be deceived, look to Jesus.
Continuing with the speech -
We pray for the entire nation to find unity and peace (WITHOUT JESUS, THERE IS A FALSE PEACE AND UNITY AND THE WHOLE NATION WILL FIND A FALSE UNITY UNDER A FALSE GOSPEL JUST AS THIS IS, THE ONE WORLD ORDER!) and we pray for the day when evil is banished and the innocent (WE HAVE ALL SINNED) are safe from hatred and from fear. May God bless the souls of the lives that are lost (WE CANNOT BLESS THE SOULS OF THE DEAD, HOWEVER MUCH A TRAGEDY IT IS) may God give us the grace of healing and may God provide the grieving families with strength to carry on.
Thank you so much, sister Tammy.
Now, we want to spend a few minutes discussing other occasions when we’ve seen Pres. Trump promote false unity and universalism. One is a video Pres. Trump made which aired on EWTN (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsTNWnVTPr0) on the eve of election day in 2016. This is what he said: “Catholics are an important part of the American story. America has been strengthened by hard-working Catholics. From New York to CA, the Catholic story is truly unique and it’s a great story. From marching for civil rights to educating millions of children, serving the poor and helping define the pro-life movement, clergy and lay Catholics across the country have made countless contributions to the American success and the American success story…My administration will stand side by side with the American Catholics to promote the values we all share as Christians and Americans.” (Well, his final statement here clearly shows he doesn’t understand that Catholicism is a religion based on the traditions of men. And, praying with Catholics is obviously not a problem for him because Catholic Archbishop Donald Wuerl prayed at the National Day of Prayer, as I will mention in a minute; Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York prayed at the presidential inauguration; and Cardinal Wuerl also prayed at the National Prayer Service held the day after the inauguration at the Washington National Cathedral).
Another example of President Trump’s promotion of false unity is the National Day of Prayer held this past May in the Rose Garden at the White House (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=32&v=AkOYOF4zUsY), as I mentioned. The first prayer was given by Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church, a 40,000-member mega church near Plano Texas. Here are some excerpts: “We do humble ourselves before you our great God. We thank you for your amazing grace that brought us into your family and brought us here together today, for your love that restores and renews us and this nation in times like these. (Now, he was praying to a group that included Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Muslim, Jews, and so forth. How did he have the nerve to say, “Your amazing grace that brought us into your family?” Is he so Biblically illiterate that he hasn’t read Gal. 3:26 which says, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus?”) After Jack Graham, Catholic Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, D.C. prayed, followed by Jewish Rabbi Marvin Hier. President Trump’s statement concerning these prayers was as follows: “It is a beautiful thing to see these three faith leaders from three very different faith traditions come together and lift up our nation in prayer. Not only are we a nation of faith, we are a nation of tolerance.” (However, his statement is nothing besides a promotion of false unity. We cannot all just go along to get along. True believers will remain separate and not pretend that God honors the prayers prayed at such gatherings).
And, then at this prayer service Pres. Trump made the following announcement as he gestured to the cardinals present at the event: “Tolerance is the cornerstone of peace. My first foreign trip as president of the US will be to Saudi Arabia, then Israel, then to a place that my cardinals love very much, Rome.” (What did he mean by saying “my cardinals?” You know, Pres. Trump has stated many times he is Presbyterian so that doesn’t make any sense unless one is being used to promote Catholicism as being Christian. And, then, concerning the trip to the Vatican he tweeted: “Honor of a lifetime to meet His Holiness Pope Francis. I leave the Vatican more determined than ever to pursue PEACE in our world.” (https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/867354520526872576?lang=en) (Now, when we hear the phrase “His Holiness, pope Francis” we just flinch because no man should be referred to like this. Just another clue that Pres. Trump doesn’t truly know the Lord).
I will give just one example from his trip to Saudi Arabia. The following is from the speech (http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/21/politics/trump-saudi-speech-transcript/index.html) he made there: “With God's help, this summit will mark the beginning of the end for those who practice terror and spread its vile creed. At the same time, we pray this special gathering may someday be remembered as the beginning of peace in the Middle East and maybe even all over the world. But this future can only be achieved through defeating terrorism and the ideology that drives it. (So, we have Trump referencing ‘God’s help’ and in doing so he is asserting that Christians and Muslims worship the same god and we do not. And, he obviously does not know how peace will come to this world).
Then, during his speech in Israel (https://www.timesofisrael.com/full-text-of-donald-trumps-speech-at-the-israel-museum/) he said the following: “And, on behalf of the United States, we pledge to stand by you and defend our shared values so that together we can defeat terrorism and create safety for all of God’s children.” (But, again, we are not all God’s children; all are not part of His family. John 1:12 tells us how someone becomes a child of God. This verse says, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. So Jews, or those of any other religions, cannot be considered children of God according to this verse because they do not believe on Jesus’ Name; they do not believe He is the Son of God. So, Pres. Trump was actually promoting universalist theology).
Now, I want to discuss some of the prayer vigils that were held earlier this week:
First, I want to share a little from an article (http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-las-vegas-shooting-live-updates-guess-what-we-have-god-s-favor-in-1507011770-htmlstory.html) about the prayer vigil that was held outside Las Vegas City Hall on Monday by civic and faith leaders. Speakers stood behind a podium that read ‘Vegas strong.’
Faith leaders said evil touched this city today. They cried out to God to be present in the morgues and in the hospital rooms. They recited the 23rd Psalm: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil."
Pastor Mike Hatch of Prayer Center Revival Church said Vegas has been known as Sin City.
"The Bible says where sin abounds, grace does much more abound," he said. "That means, where there's a lot of sin, there's a lot of grace.
"Guess what. We have God's favor in this town." (So, this pastor just endorsed all the sin in this town with all the gambling casinos and so forth. That verse doesn’t mean that sin is supposed to be ongoing. Sadly, we see a false gospel was given out by this pastor).
Pastor Randy Greer said: "We need each other, Lord, we need each other more than ever before." (While true believers are directed to encourage each other in the Bible, his blanket statement of “we need each other,” basically including anyone involved or affected by the tragedy in the entire Las Vegas area is not true. Now, is it wrong for believers there to help out in some tangible way? No, but the most important help people need after this tragedy, and after any other tragedy, is the gospel. Sadly, though, we see the false gospels of unity and love being preached more and more after these tragic events).
The crowd sang “How Great is our God” as 59 candles were lit. (As we have stated many times in these discussions true believers should not pray with unbelievers or believers in name only, and the same is true for singing worship songs).
Another event worth noting was held at the Guardian Angel Cathedral in Las Vegas. I want to read some information from an article (http://www.ucc.org/news_ucc_clergy_part_of_interfaith_prayer_vigil_in_las_vegas_mourn_59_lives_lost_to_gun_violence_10032017) at the United Church of Christ website concerning this:
Eight faith leaders took turns hitting a gong 59 times to remember those who died. Tears streamed down the faces of the people in the pews as they prayed.
"We put this worship service together in 45 minutes," Charlotte Morgan, the UCC pastor of Indigo Valley Church said. "We wanted to have interreligious engagement—so eight of us came together. Everyone stepped aside from faith, race, creed, job, position to make this vigil happen."
The event, led by Bishop Joseph Pepe of the Las Vegas diocese and Fr. Bob Stoeckig of the cathedral, brought together clergy from many Christian denominations—UCC, Catholic and Episcopalian, as well as Jewish rabbis, Unitarian Universalists and Muslim groups. Morgan, the Rev. Jamie Sprague-Ballou, of Mary Magdalene Friends UCC, and the Rev. Kathryn Obenour, a member of Indigo Valley Church and former pastor at Las Vegas United Church of Christ, represented the UCC denomination.
As members of the Clark County Ministerial Association, Morgan said the interfaith leaders came together after the shooting Sunday night to create a clergy emergency response team. The vigil was part of that response. They were able to do that, she said, because of strong relationships previously forged before the massacre called them to action.
"I am so proud of the clergy in our community who came together to create this same-day clergy response team," Morgan said. "There was a writer who once said 'Dig a ditch before you need water.' We did that. We needed to form caring everyday relationships with each other. Ministers and rabbis get together... to study the Torah, or to have coffee. Those relationships made a difference today."
"Before the service, I met with several clergy at the front of the church," Morgan continued. "We discussed that the vigil is one step. We must continue over days, weeks and months to help our community. We set plans in place that our next step is to contact the area hospitals and begin to reach out to the healthcare workers in the hospitals. (So, we see that there was apparently no hesitation on the part of these faith leaders at the thought of joining together in false unity. The UCC pastor said they “stepped aside from faith” which doesn’t even make sense. And, how many times have we seen the suggestion of forming relationships with those of other faiths? Last month we learned of the friendship forged between Rick Warren and Catholic Bishop Kevin Vann of the Diocese of Orange (http://christiannews.net/2017/09/27/rick-warren-hopes-his-partnership-with-roman-catholic-leader-will-become-model-for-world/). Warren even went so far as to say that he hopes his partnership with Bishop Vann to collaboratively combat social ills becomes a “model” for others around the world. But, false unity of any sort is not sanctioned by God who rather tells us to remain separate).
Now I would like to mention three interfaith prayer vigils that were held around the nation (https://www.elitedaily.com/p/vigils-for-las-vegas-are-being-held-around-the-country-heres-where-theyre-happening-2757325) -
A community vigil was held in Bethesda, Maryland, on Oct. 2, at the Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church. The service was open to all faiths. (And, as we mentioned in our discussions concerning the Charlottesville Clergy, Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion that promotes freedom of belief and respect for all people. They welcome and embrace all who share their values and principles regardless of their religious beliefs, sexual orientation, race, age or gender).
On October 3rd, an interfaith candlelight vigil was held in Brooklyn, NY, in honor of the victims. This vigil was organized by the president of the Brooklyn borough, Eric Adams. (So, just as with the vigil held at the Las Vegas City Hall, we have a mix of politics and religion and people are being conditioned to accept such gatherings as being normal. Also, at one of the websites (https://www.brooklyn-usa.org/event/candlelight-vigil-for-las-vegas/) announcing this vigil there was a list of partners for the event. Here are a few: Buddhist Council of New York, Gays Against Guns, Greater New York Conference of Seventh Day Adventists, New York Board of Rabbis, and New York Disaster Interfaith Networks. Just as a side note, Eric Adams organized a prayer vigil for the Brooklyn borough in July of 2016 after the five police officers were killed in Dallas, Texas. A Catholic monsignor, a Catholic bishop, and someone from the Hindu Temple Society were also involved).
And, then from Catholic All Saints Parish in Ventura, CA, we have: We cannot allow mental illness or guns to take the joy and love out of our lives. Please join us, to find comfort in each other in this time of sorrow. Bishop Craig Chapman is welcoming all of us into their chapel of LOVE and PEACE. All FAITHS and backgrounds are welcome, as we are all part of God’s creation. (So, we have a Catholic bishop welcoming people of all faiths and all backgrounds into a chapel of love and peace. But, just gathering people altogether like this will not provide any real solutions. People may feel some sense of comfort, but it is temporary because all of the problems man faces are due to sin and unless someone presents the only solution for sin, which is Christ and Him crucified, nothing of any lasting value has been accomplished. It is truly sad to see so much human effort when all people need to do is repent and turn to Jesus. And, it doesn’t surprise us to have these examples of Catholic churches having these prayer vigils and making the statements they are making because they are only following examples set for them by the pope and other high ranking leaders in the Catholic church). As it turns out, Pope Francis sent a telegram on Monday to Bishop Joseph Pepe of Las Vegas expressing closeness and concern to all those affected by this senseless tragedy. He offered the promise of his prayers for the injured and for all who have died, entrusting them to the merciful love of almighty God” (https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-usa/2017/10/02/pope-francis-sends-prayers-victims-las-vegas-massacre/).
In addition, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop of the Galveston-Houston area and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, released a statement on Monday, mourning the loss of life and issuing a plea for goodness to triumph over evil. He said, “May the Lord of all gentleness surround all those who are suffering from this evil, and for those who have been killed we pray, ‘eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.’” (Well, these statements present universalist ideology. It is, frankly, sad when such false hope is given).
(You know, we can see that people have become conditioned to this idea of attending prayer vigils, or events, in times of tragedy, whether it is terrorist bombing incidents, or mass shootings, or when individuals are killed or harmed in other ways. The idea has developed that people with varied beliefs can come together in prayer and that somehow they’re all still praying to the same God. These tragic events have been occurring so frequently that people have been indoctrinated to the idea that we can pray with those of other religions and God doesn’t mind one bit. We would strongly say otherwise, however, because we read the verses about being separate and we take them seriously and pray that others would, too!
A major problem is most people don’t stop to consider whether their attendance at such events pleases God. They don’t even stop and question whether God listens to prayers at such events because they just assume all prayer is a wonderful thing. Those who attend have the same goal of gathering to show unity in the face of violence, but there is no way to ascertain the beliefs of everyone attending these events. So, if those in attendance are from different religious systems the prayer vigil is, by definition, an ecumenical event.
And, it is evident, from these scriptures (John 9:31, Psalm 34:15, Proverbs 15:29, etc.) God does not listen to the prayers of lost people, or false believers, unless they are calling out to Him in repentance. And, then we should remember the example of Elijah in 1 Kings 18. While gathered at Mt. Carmel, Elijah didn't tell the children of Israel to join up with the prophets of Baal to pray to God because of the three-year drought they were experiencing, but rather he said to separate! 1 Kings 18:21: "And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word." So, we can clearly see that Elijah didn’t encourage false unity, but rather the opposite.
And, while we don’t want to minimize the suffering of many people at this time, we can never use tragedies as an excuse to join together in false unity. Believers will pray at these times, either individually, or in small groups with other believers. But, the idea of joining together in these prayer vigils with so many others of different faiths, or with those of no faith at all, is just part of the groundwork that is being laid so people will be used to gathering together to worship the antichrist. We pray that people will recognize the dangers and stay far away).
Here is some additional information gathered as of 10-8-17 -
Vice-President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, traveled to Las Vegas and he spoke at the conclusion of a unity prayer walk held on Saturday. (http://www.fox5vegas.com/story/36545275/vice-president-mike-pence-officials-stand-united-in-las-vegas) Here are some excerpts: “My wife, Karen, and I are honored to be with you for this Las Vegas Unity Prayer Walk…The Bible tells us that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and this will be our prayer for all of you. We do mourn with those who mourn and grieve with those who grieve, but we do not grieve like those who have no hope because heroes give us hope…On Sunday night Las Vegas came face to face with pure evil. But, no evil — no act of violence — will ever diminish the strength and goodness of the American people. As I read in my devotions this morning love binds all our virtues together in unity…We find comfort in the knowledge that we are united as one nation, as one people, with one voice — united in our grief, united in our support for those who have suffered, and united in our resolve to end such evil in our time. So, today, we offer our prayers, from our hearts to the heart of heaven. We pray for those we lost, and for those they left behind. We pray for the injured…and we pray for our nation, that the words sung by thousands before the shots rang out that fateful night might be ever more true. That God would bless America; that He would renew our unity and strengthen our faith. Our faith, that as He’s ever watched over this great land, that He in this moment will again bind up our wounds, He will heal the brokenhearted, and that He will wipe every tear from our eyes.” (Well, we cannot just quote scriptures and apply them to any situation when we have no idea what those listening believe. This is a false gospel being given by Mike Pence; it speaks basically of having a relationship with God without going through the Mediator, Jesus Christ. Believers are not to unify with non-believers, or with so-called believers. Heroes do not give us hope; but rather we are “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13). Man cannot end evil; it will only end when Jesus Christ returns to rule and reign. And, praying for God to bless America while this nation remains in such rebellion to Him is foolish. There is so much error in this speech as with President Trump’s and we pray believers will not be led astray and will stay focused on Jesus and the truth of His Word).