Lesson In Societal Effects And Moral Changes Learned At Our Local Shopping Mall

Lesson In Societal Effects And Moral Changes Learned At Our Local Shopping Mall ~  What I learned in the Tyler Mall in Riverside, California, last week.  It has been a while since I visited our local shopping mall and I was reminded how celebrities and Hollywood minions can make changes in our moral values and attitudes.

"Bill, Bill, Bill, there you go on another of your rants.  What changes have you seen in our societal morals and values at the shopping mall?"

Glad you asked.  This past week I went to JC Penneys in the Riverside Tyler Shopping Mall to pick up a product I had ordered online.  Since moving to Corona to live with our daughter, Lana, I don't visit the mall as much as when I lived only two blocks from it and walked there for relaxation and exercise.  And I did see changes, new stores, new pedestal ads, new kiosks, it was interesting to walk around and just take in the changes, some improvements, some not so much.

Walking through the mall, my mind went back to an event from the past. One afternoon about 15 years ago, I was enjoying my walk inside the mall when I noticed a well dress, clean cut black man seeming to be stalking me.  I began taking diversionary moves to test if he truly was following me, zig-zagging down the mall aisle looking in different store window, this side of the aisle, then cross over to the other side - and he stayed about 10 foot behind me all the way.  I stopped at a kiosk in the main aisle to browse, he stopped at a nearby kiosk browsing and watching me.

My kiosk had a phone, so we called security and they came - but until he actually did something, they could only watch him.  In the meantime I found a way to quietly exit the mall.  Later that week, the same guy shot and killed a young Asian couple (the male a son of a police officer) sitting in their car in Orange County. 

Then he ambushed two police officers in their squad car in Riverside County. Finally the police killed him in a shoot-out in the mountain town of Big Bear.  I never knew why he chose to stalk me, but he had been fired from a Los Angeles police department - and maybe I reminded him of someone.  I will never know, but I thank God for good mall security that day.

But back to my mall strolling this week.  As I walked, I found myself walking behind two young ladies - and believe it or not I could tell what kind of panties they were wearing just walking behind them. 

No!  I am not some kind of pervert!  But the young lady on the left had a nice shape and was not jiggling, while the one on the right appeared to have a larger butt which was dancing and jiggling.  Girl on the left must have been wearing normal bikini panties from the 1990s/2000s - while the girl on the right was obviously wearing what Jay Leno comically called "butt floss" panties, relating them to dental floss, but for the other end.

Walking behind them I saw the effect of "celebrity influence" on our society.   "Come on, Bill, what are you ranting about now?"

Think about it.  When did the jiggling and bigger butt come into style?  When did the name Kardashian become a household word?  Yes, Robert Kardashian was one of O.J. Simpson's lawyers in the famous 1994-95 Murder Trial of the Century.  Do you remember the famous line lead attorney, Johnnie Cochran, told the jury, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit!"  He was speaking of the bloody glove found by police at the murder scene - and it was way too small for O.J.'s large hand.  He was acquitted.

But the Kardashian name found a way to live on, through his daughters and his ex-wife.  His ex-wife married Bruce Jenner, Olympic God Medal hero.  And you know how that turned out.  Maybe a year or so later Robert Kardashian's daughter, Kim, found herself in a sex tape scandal. 

She and her boyfriend had made a personal tape of themselves being very intimate.  When the boyfriend became her ex-boyfriend, and the name Kardashian was still famously on people's minds around the world - the ex-boyfriend sold their sex tape and it was all over the internet and flying through the cyberworld around the globe. 

Most people would slink away, maybe buy a cabin in the mountains and hide away until the sudden infamous notoriety died down.  But Kim Kardashian seemed to have business smarts - and she turned that embarrassment into what eventually became a billion dollar business.  Using her beautiful face and her elephantine butt, she became a business mogul - and young ladies around the world wanted to have a Kim Kardashian elephant butt. 

How to do that without expensive surgery?  That problem was solved by other market-wise person or persons - who know that by giving people what they want - and most often convincing them that a gross look or gross clothing will make them beautiful, the entrepreneurs become wealthy.  It has also been my thought that gay clothing designers have long been playing a game on folks.  "How so, Bill?"

Glad you asked once again.  Years ago my wife, Dory, and I were watching TV and Madonna came on the screen wearing her bra on the outside of her clothing.  I told Dory, "Just watch, in no time young ladies will be wearing their bras outside their clothing."   And sure enough, I don't believe it was a week later we saw young ladies wearing their bra as an outer garment - and then it became more intimate clothing on the outside.

I told Dory, "If Madonna was seen walking down the street with a pile of dog poop on her head, the next day we would see a million young girls doing the same."  And the bra and panties as outer garments proved my point.  I didn't wait for the dog poop.

Fast forward a few years after Madonna, and Kim Kardashian's elephant butt became the rage.  Every gal wanted an elephant butt.  Again, how to do it with less expense?  Some marketing genius, or some gay guy who wanted to have the world laugh at his romance competition, females - created the Butt Floss Panties!  Then it became the Butt Floss Bikinis on the beach. 

Take an attractive woman with a good figure and put her in a Butt Floss Bikini and you have a good imitation of the Kim Kardashian elephant butt.  And it does look gross.  Not because women who are normally larger look gross - but when a young slender lady purposely imitates Kim Kardashian by wearing a Butt Floss Bikini, that, to me, should be a big turn-off for any man.  Kim cannot help her size, but to pay money to imitate her when it is not normal, does look gross.

If I were a young man of dating age, two things would turn me off, no matter how beautiful the young lady:  (1) An Imitation Elephant Butt, and (2) Tattoos all over her arms and body.  A small tattoo, which I still think is silly, but would be acceptable.  But tattoos covering a large part of the body - definitely is a no-no!  Someone once joked when looking at a group of tattooed young ladies, "Imagine if you can, those same ladies as wrinkled grandmothers 40, 50 years down the road - with wrinkled, faded tattoos all over their bodies.  Yuk!"  

Back to the Butt Floss Panties/Bikinis.  Picture an image of your plumber leaning over to work - and that big old butt crack staring at you.  Believe it or not, I actually saw a man showing his plumber's butt crack walking in Walmart that same day.  Gross, but it explains what Jay Leno and I mean by Butt Floss Panties - making the buttocks look larger and jiggle like jello.

Thinking back to when I was a wee bit younger and dating, if a woman had a butt which was a wee bit on the jiggle side, she would wear a figure control garment, some needed girdles, others just a simpler control garment.  But definitely no jiggle allowed!  And the younger, firmer ladies needed no garment help to look good.

But once again I might suggest that gay women's clothing designers, not liking women who may be seen as competition - designed clothing to make the pretty young ladies look silly and often gross - and laughed all the way to the bank when the ladies flooded the store looking for his/her designs.

Next phase!  Mr/Ms. Celebrity has a favorite pair of jeans - but, alas, over time those treasured jeans began to rip and wear.  What to do?  Throw them away and buy a new pair?  Or just take a carefree attitude and wear them with the holes and rips.  Paparazzis shoot photos of Mr/Ms. Celebrity in those ripped and torn jeans - and Voila!, suddenly it is high fashion to wear ripped and torn jeans. 

The manufacturers are happy, they can now take their flawed seconds, rip them, and sell them as more expensive, more stylish jeans - for a lot more money.  The gay designer is happy, laughing at, not with, those silly customers - the manufacturers are happy because they no long had disposable seconds, but instead expensive new products - and the customers are happy because they do not realize they have been played the fool big time.

And to round out my Lesson In Societal Effects And Changes from my mall stroll, in Macy's I saw knit sweaters with big holes in them. Not just small holes, but 1 to 2 inch glaring holes!  And they were priced at $50 and up!  If I had a sweater with big holes in it, it would go in the trash, or be used as a work sweater when working around the house or yard.  But not in today's world.  Today that flawed manufacturer's second sweater with holes - becomes a high fashion sweater - to go with those old worn out high fashion jeans full of holes. 

As I put on my old "ripped and worn" jeans which I use when I am doing work which might soil good clothing, I told Dory, "I like to wear my expensive jeans for work.  I paid $20 for them years ago, but today these same jeans, with those rips and holes - might cost $100 or more."

Years ago, Bob Dylan sang, "The times they are a'changin!"  He had no idea how prophetic that song became.

Another thought inspired by this tale of Societal Effects And Moral Changes - and some folks may get upset with me - but, my Friends, most people are like puppets being led by a nose ring and leash.  Our societal changes and changing moral values show this to be true.

And it is not just individual people being led like lambs to slaughter.  Big corporations, major educational institutions, many politicians, especially the Democrats, but also a number of Republican RINOs - are being led to the slaughter by organizations such as the United Nations, the Globalists, the Dark Agenda, etc.

In his 2019 published book "Dark Agenda: The War to Destroy Christian America" -  David Horowitz shares insights into the war against Christianity and he names the Global Radicals, Leftist Democrats, and money-hungry fat cats of Hollywood and Wall Street as responsible for it. 

Horowitz, a sensible American voice - one that is not Christian, but Jewish - stands up to the rantings of those who want to tear down our faith and destroy the Christian bedrock of American values.  In his book, David Horowitz delivers a plea for the restoration of political sanity in America, a perspective which in past years made America great, by respecting the faiths of Americans and the authority of fathers and mothers.

In his 2006 book "The Beast on the East River: The U.N. Threat to America’s Sovereignty and Security" my Friend, Nathan Tabor, argues that the United Nations hopes to establish a “new world order” which will limit the sovereignty of the United States.  He urged that the U.N. be abolished and replaced with an organization that allows for dialogue between nations but does not have the power to infringe on the rights of the United States and its citizens.  He also talked about (the United Nation's) threats to education and moral values.

I have long advocated for the United Nations to be evicted from American soil.  The UN is the bastard offspring of the League of Nations.  During World War 1, a very extreme Far Left Liberal, Colonel Edward Mandell House (the Colonel was an honorary title, not an earned one), the right hand man and I believe the puppet master of President Woodrow Wilson - led the effort to create the League of Nations, a One World Government organization. 

But because it was headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the American Congress rejected membership, effectively killing it.  But House and his group continue to pursue their dream of a One World Government organization - and after World War 2, they first met in Rome and there decided that to have America become involved, the new organization must be located in America. 

In 1945, they met in San Francisco, the Rockefeller family donated land in New York City, on the East River - and because the newly formed (from the old skeleton of the League of Nations) organization now headquartered in New York City - was approved by Congress and America joined it.  Thus began the effort to remove the sovereignty of America.

You may think that David Horowitz and Nathan Tabor are just modern day versions of Don Quixote, the man of La Mancha, fighting against imaginary windmills.  But if you recall when Obama was in office, he pursued and presented a major threat of surrendering America's sovereignty to the United Nations - which would have made America a puppet state under the UN - and making the Secretary General of the UN, the world president.

Not a believer yet?  Keep in mind that Edward Mandell House and his gang of Globalist met in San Francisco in 1945 - and the United Nations as we see it today was formed - land in New York City was given by the Rockefeller family - and they built their U.N. World Headquarters.  Effectively an enemy of the American way of life and freedom - headquartered on American soil.

Obama was born to a middle class American Caucasian female college student and a Kenyan male college student.  Obama was born in 1961, but was he born in Hawaii, Kenya, or Indonesia?  His authentic birth certificate is still hidden to this day.  He was schooled in Indonesia and then Hawaii - and eventually lived with his middle class Caucasian grandparents in Kansas.  How did that young man, from that middle class family, afford to attend, first Columbia, then Harvard - two of the most expensive universities in America?

Was he chosen, as a small child, primed and schooled to be a United Nations Puppet American President?  One who would deliver America to the Globalist United Nations with a red gift bow tied to the White House?  Think about it.  And if I were you, I would read David Horowitz's book "Dark Agenda" and Nathan Tabor's book "The Beast On The East River" - and then decide if the United Nations is a Pro-America organization or an Anti-America international organization.  I vote for Anti-America.

Yes, many Societal, Moral, Educational, and Religious changes have occurred in America during the 20th Century and have become even greater in these 21st Century years in which we live. 

In the 1970s Jimmy Carter was elected president, a very intelligent man, but an extremely weak leader.  His religious views were very Liberal and his biggest flaw, in my opinion, was his Antisemitism.  Yes, Jimmy Carter believed and wrote in support of Replacement Theology, that the Christian church has replaced Israel as the Spiritual Chosen People of God.  Study Genesis 12:1-3 and you will find that God disagrees with Jimmy Carter.

Ronald Reagan was a great Conservative President.  But then he was followed by two RINO Bushes, an amoral Bill Clinton, the UN puppet Obama, and now dementia ladened Joe Biden.  And the Leftist Democrats have been forced to put new lipstick on the very ineffective Vice President - and present her as their Great Brown Female Hope - as she cackles her way through Word Salad interviews and speeches.

America's Societal, Moral, Educational, and Religious values have taken a great blow since Reagan's presidency in the 1980s.  It began to recover during Donald Trump's first term - and has now gone down the toilet under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

You cannot do anything about the Butt Floss Panties and Bikini bathing suits.  You cannot do anything about the ripped, torn, and treasured clothing worn by this generation.  But YOU CAN do something about Making America Great Again and setting her on a positive course once more, after all those Liberal Left Failures.

In Nov 2024 - Vote Conservative, On All Issues And For All Candidates!

In Nov 2024 - Vote To "Make America Great 'ONCE' Again!"  Vote MAGA PLUS!

In Nov 2024 - Vote For Trump/Vance!  MAGA PLUS! All The Way!

God Bless America,

Bill

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What Is Happening In Our Christian Churches?

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR CHRISTIAN CHURCHES? ~ The video below reminds me that not all Christian churches have the same Biblical goal. Many churches I agree with completely - some not so much - and others I feel that we have a disconnect. The ones mentioned in the video and I definitely have a disconnect.

We all have seen this in action, churches more focused on filling pews, raising money, traveling around the world to evangelize rather than working where God planted you, enough programs to fill a book, and depending upon the latest "marketing" scheme learned in seminary.

About 10-15 years ago, I read a story about two churches in Southern California. They were located about 10 miles apart and began at about the same time.

One church using all the latest marketing plans learned in the pastor's fairly recent seminary training took off and really began to grow, all kinds of programs, all the latest tech tools, seats were ready to overflow. But then, the pastor began to see more and more empty pews, and was perplexed - what was happening, why was his attendance beginning to shrink? Why was his "marketing" plan not working now?

The other church 10 miles south began slowly, growing from a Home Bible Study - and continued to grow. The pastor from Church One asked him, "What marketing programs and plans are you using to grow your church?"

The pastor of Church Two told him, "None. I was driving on the freeway and praying about planting a new church, but not sure where. Suddenly I felt an urge to get off the freeway and drive around a local community. Driving in that community, I felt a strong desire to start a Bible Study in this neighborhood. I did, and eventually that Home Bible Study grew into the healthy church we have today."

The moral of that story is: Forget YOUR marketing plans - and seek GOD's marketing plan - which most often begins with a Home Bible Study.

One more thought. A great example is the church where I was saved in 1987, the Filipino-American Church of Irvine (CA). In 1971, God brought a young pastoral couple from the Philippines, Pastor Sam and Ida Lacanienta. He planted them in Orange County, CA, where Pastor Sam worked as an associate pastor in two different Baptist churches.

Circa 1975, Pastor Sam was an associate pastor at the Woodbridge Community Church in Irvine. Serving in that capacity, friends recommended he contact the Almeda family who were looking for a church. They met with the Almeda family and began a Bible Study in their home. That Bible Study grew and soon the Fil-Am Church of Irvine was born, becoming a daughter church of Woodbridge Community.

Over the next few years, Pastor Sam & Ida began to plant other churches in California and along the West Coast. Together they planted about 12 new churches in the "harvest field" where God had planted them. And their planting efforts virtually cost our church nothing, for they traveled by car, stayed with friends, and were frugal.

God planted the Lacanientas in California and they did His work in California and nearby states - a dozen churches, each with its own local pastor.

Moral of my story: Work where God plants you - do not try to second guess Him, thinking He put you here - but really needs you working on the other side of the world.

When God needed a Fil-Am pastor in Orange County, California, He planted the Lacanientas in that location. In the same way, when He needs a pastor in another country, He CAN raise up and plant a pastor there.

You just be content to work where He has planted you. And keep in mind that a local church and pastor has two goals given by God: Feed His local flock, THEN GO, use the resources of your local church, and honor His "marketing plan" by planting Daughter churches in nearby communities.

That is the formula: "NURTURE your local flock - PLANT new daughter churches in neighboring communities."

Then guide the pastor of that new church plant that he is to follow the same guidelines for church planting and growth from his new church plant.

Forget the other side of the world, God can take care of them, without you. YOU work where He planted YOU!

IF YOUR CHURCH has been active in your community for years - and apparently has not planted any daughter churches in neighboring communities - YOU should ask your pastor one very important question: "Has our church planted any daughter churches in neighboring communities? If not, WHY NOT?"

I do not know much about the gentleman who made this Video Short other than what he tells us in his video. But in this small snapshot of his ministry, I do agree with him. After watching the Video Short, do you agree with him? Is your church and your pastor planting daughter churches? If not, WHY NOT?

Church Growth - Stats %
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vgF37xsDYfs

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill 

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Should "YOU" Vote Democrat Or Republican?

SHOULD "YOU" VOTE DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN?  ~  As Allen Parr suggests in the video below, and I agree with him, we should vote our Christian conscience - but we should not get angry nor divide from friends, loved ones, and family who have chosen to not vote the same. 

Share this video with them, have discussions with them - but do not build a wall between you and them over your choices of candidates and parties.

This video is a wee bit long, but the advantage is that Allen Parr takes the key, most important, issues and breaks then down - from a Democratic worldview and from a Republican worldview. 

Rather than belabor you with all my thoughts on this video, let me just share three key points in his summation which spoke to me:

1. "Do not vote based upon Race, (Skin Color), or Culture."

My Thoughts:  Far too many folks get caught up in emotion, pride of sameness, and far too many vote just for the sake of voting - without any real knowledge of the candidates for whom they are voting or the policies of those candidates.  They check to vote for or against an issue, with little or no knowledge of what it is and what it will, or will not, do to them and to our American nation.

2. "Be careful how you post on Social Media - discuss policies and issues you stand for, do not spend your time with personal attacks." 

My Thoughts:   As a career computer salesman for 35 years, I learned early in my career to not spend my sales face-time degrading and knocking my competition.  Spend that time more productively, telling your prospective client how well YOUR product will do his job. 

When I was making a sales presentation, if the client asks about a particular competitor - I would merely say something like, "They have a nice product" - and then get back to telling the client about the features of my product and how those features will fit his company's computer needs very well.

3.  "Do not allow your politics to override your Christian faith.  Let your posts and conversations reflect more of Christ, than your party."

My Thoughts:    You may have noticed over recent years that, although I call myself a Christian Apologetic Writer - I have been doing more and more Political Opinion Writing also.  A while back we visited a church Dory and I used to attend and where we have many friends. 

After the service the pastor asked to speak with me privately, where he told me, "Brother Bill, Since I have been on vacation the past few weeks, I have had time to read your blogs.  And for a Christian writer, you are too political.  That troubles me.  Let me pray for you."  I did let him pray for me, then Dory and I left.  I have never been back to that church since. 

We cannot remove all Christian faith from the halls of government.  While religious faith cannot be a criteria for holding office, a Christian believer should absolutely weigh the moral position and faith values of any person whom you are considering voting into office.  America should, and must, have a balanced level of Christian influence to stand with the secular movements within the halls of government.

If we do not, we will have an anti-God secular government - which is just another name for an Atheist / Communist government.  Russia and China are good examples of such governments - and we do not want that in America.

In another vlog I shared, Pastor Alton of Memphis, Tennessee, tells us in his sermon, "When you vote, if you compromise by deciding that you will just ignore the morally anemic values of the candidates - then they get into office and put into practice all those anti-God policies - YOU are responsible for making it possible for them to be in office, pushing their Immoral, amoral, and unGodly secular policies on our families."

So my Friends and Christian brethren, gather your family and friends and share this video with them - to prepare all of you for how YOU will vote in the very critical upcoming 2024 President Election.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Should Christians Vote Democrat or Republican?  
THE BEAT by Allan Parr -  Sep 3, 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fopT9BnKVQY

Should Christians vote Democrat or Republican in the upcoming 2024 presidential election?  In this video, Allen Parr gives a detailed breakdown of each party’s policies, and discusses which one more closely aligns with the Bible.

In his e-mail offering this video, Allen Parr tells us:  For this video, I did something I've never done before. I recorded this one three different times. With a topic like this, it was more important than ever that I said everything with carefully chosen words and the right tone. This may be the most controversial video I've ever done.

Today, we're going DEEP into the question of how Christians should vote.  With the election right around the corner, you're going to want to watch this whole video before casting your vote.  The video gives a very thorough and balanced BIBLICAL take on whether Christians should vote for Democrats or for Republicans.  And, as well, the video gives reasons why Christians who worship the same Jesus, read the same Bible - yet often choose to vote for one side or the other.

And, at the end, I'll tell you the issues that are most important to me and how I'm going to vote.  Now take a deep breath, view the video with an open mind - and if you choose to make a comment, please keep it kind and respectful!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill 

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And They Said It Wouldn't Last! ~ Our 47th Wedding Anniversary - And Counting!

ABOUT 50 YEARS AGO, I saw a movie which changed my life completely.  The movie was "No Man Is An Island."   It was a true story, modified of course by Hollywood, of an American sailor, George Tweed, who was trapped on Guam when the Japanese invaded the island in World War 2. 

A Filipino family living on Guam hid the sailor from the Japanese for several years - until the Americans came and drove out the Japanese, and in the process rescued George Tweed.

The part which got my attention, was also the part added by Hollywood.  To have romance, Hollywood invented a daughter for the Filipino family, played by Barbara Perez, known as the Audrey Hepburn of the Philippines.  Hollywood's added touch was that Tweed and the daughter fell in love.  That was all false since George Tweed was a happily married man serving in the Navy. 

But thanks to Hollywood, Barbara Perez got my attention.  After watching the movie, I told myself, "Bill, that is the woman you have been seeking - the fire of the Latina, with the femininity of the Asian - the perfect woman.  But where do I find her?"

Watching that movie, I made the decision that the perfect woman for me was a Filipina.  But I had a major problem.  I had no idea where to meet Filipinas, or at least, one I could take home to mom.  That was long before I was a Christian believer, so my happy hunting grounds were the bars and night clubs I frequented.  No luck there.

Someone suggested I try church.  But that did not fit my schedule.  And I was too healthy to need a doctor, clinic, or hospital - the Filipina nesting place.  And no one told me that wee bit of useful information.  So my search was in vain.

Until one fateful Wednesday evening in 1977, I was in the lounge at the Saddleback Inn Hotel, the main conference and meeting place in the Santa Ana, California area.  Plus it had a terrific lounge with live music for dancing.  I was there with that "little old gang of mine" - Marge, Lupe, and Dick. 

As we were waiting for the music to start, Lupe looked toward the lobby and saw two ladies, one a Filipina, who had just come out of a Red Carpet Real Estate meeting.  Lupe told me, "Bill, there is Rita" - a Filipina I was dating off and on.  I looked and told Lupe, "No, that is not Rita - but I am going to find out who that beautiful lady is and how I can get to know her."

And that is how I solved my Filipina search problem.  I went to the hotel lobby, pretending to casually notice the two ladies as I introduced myself.  We chatted for a while, I got her business card - and about two weeks later, on a Saturday evening, we were on our first date. 

We went to Bobby McGee's, a club in Newport Beach, briefly, to say hello to a friend.  Then to the Newporter Inn for dancing.  When the band took a break we walked outside by the hotel's tropical pool - and there we had our first kiss.  The next morning I went with her to church at the Garden Grove Community Church, then we went to see the new movie "A Star Is Born" with Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson at Fashion Island in Newport Beach, and then finished the day having dinner at the Quiet Cannon in Dana Point. 

The Quiet Cannon (now just called Cannons) sits on a hilltop overlooking the Dana Point harbor - and in the early evening the scenery of the boats and the ocean was amazing - almost as beautiful as the lady sitting beside me.  After that day, we never dated anyone else.

And that is how September 2, 1977, became my lucky day.  That is the day I first married my beautiful Filipina bride.

I can see that piqued your interest.  "Bill, what do you mean the day you FIRST married your beautiful Filipina bride?"  Glad you asked.

When we were married on September 2, 1977, we only had time for a quick weekend honeymoon in Ensenada.  You can see that from the donkeys we are riding in my 1977 collage below.  But please ignore my 1970s shirt!  That is something I do not want to remember.  On our third anniversary, even though I was still not a believer, I knew that a church wedding was important to Dory.  We had the time so we arranged to have a wedding and proper honeymoon in Hawaii - on the same September 2 - but in 1980.

We wanted it to be authentic, so we did the whole thing over - blood test, wedding license, etc.  Even the pastor did not know it was our second wedding.  But Dory momentarily forgot!  After the wedding when we were signing the license, Dory wrote as her pre-married name, Dory Gray - and then had to scratch it out and write Daludado.  "Oh, what a tangled web we weave / When first we practise to deceive!"  (Sir Walter Scott).  Yet that only makes our 1980 wedding license unique.

That year, 1980, September 2 fell on Tuesday because of Labor Day.  So although we had made the wedding arrangements with a local pastor and church - we still had to get the Hawaii wedding license (blood test we did in California, and no waiting period required in Hawaii then), arrange for flowers, and arrange for a photographer. 

The wedding license first, unlike California where they are obtained at the court house, back then in Hawaii, we had to go to the Department of Health to get a wedding license.  On the street when we asked directions to the Health Department, folks would look at Dory and say, "You know."  And Dory would have to say, "No, I am from California and we are lost."

By late Tuesday morning we had everything arranged except the photographer.  When we told him the wedding was that evening, no can do - but he did refer us to a photographer who could - so all was on schedule.  That evening we had a beautiful wedding in a Honolulu church, attended by the pastor, his wife, and their friend.  After the wedding I invited them to dinner at a restaurant on the top, 32nd floor, of a downtown building with a full view of Honolulu.  Breathtaking! 

Driving to the restaurant to meet them, Dory told me, "Honey, he is a pastor - so you cannot order a drink."  When we were seated, the waitress come over asking if anyone would like a drink - and the first person to speak was the pastor, who ordered a cocktail.  I looked at Dory, smiled, then ordered my Chivas Regal on the Rocks.  Later a couple who saw that we were newlyweds, sent over a bottle of champagne.  The perfect ending to a perfect day - September 2, 1980.

Then we truly began our Hawaiian Honeymoon with a a traditional Hawaiian Luau, a first for both of us.  The next evening Dory insisted we go to see the Society of Seven Show at the main showroom of the Outrigger Waikiki in Honolulu.

That was my first time to see their performance - and a few years later when I had become a Christian believer, Jun Polistico, lead singer with the group we saw that night in Honolulu - had also become a believer.  He left the group and was recording Christian music.  As two new believers, Jun and I became close Friends and Christian brothers who love to share the Gospel - he through his musical talents and me through my writing.

That is why September 2nd is my Lucky Day.  Tomorrow, Monday, September 2, 2024 - Dory and I will celebrate our 47th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to my beautiful Filipina bride.  One of the many blessings God has bestowed upon me.

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill

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Join Me In Standing Against Satan

FOR THE PAST 35 YEARS, I have shared a lot of Prayer Requests and a lot of Blogs with you, both Christian and Political.  Why Christian?  Because I have been a Christian believer since 1987 and a Christian writer for the past 35 years.  Several years before I was saved, God prepared me for the Christian Writing Ministry He would called me to circa 1989 and if I do not follow my calling, I will be disobedient.

Why political?  Because I believe that an informed American will have a strong knowledge of what is happening in the political offices which govern our city, state, and federal governments.  And while being a Christian is not a criteria nor gating factor for one serving in a government office, I would hope that many are Christian believers and that America will always have Christian influence within all our branches of government. 

But until today, I have never shared a Prayer Blog.  Today I want to do that - for a very special Christian Brother/Friend who I believe has been especially gifted by God - but has currently lost his way spiritually.

Why am I asking prayers for such a man?
 

FIRST, he has been a Christian brother for many years and I know he will not lose his eternal salvation.  But he has been under heavy attack from Satanic spirits and he really needs our prayers.  We all, to some degree, may experience a weakening of our faith in times of stress and trouble.  If we were perfect, we could avoid those experiences - but I will admit that I am not perfect, nor as strong all the time as I would like to be.  Are you? 

My Friend and Christian brother, Nathan, has experienced major backsliding twice.  He recovered once, but Satanic spirits doubled their efforts and Nathan needs our prayers to beat them this time.

Because of his outstanding business acumen, he has been financially successful in almost all his business ventures, amassing a sizable fortune. But the greater his financial success, the more anxiety he had, and the more it tore at the seams of his personal life.  Business success and money became his gods, causing him to stop depending upon God.  He began to look toward his own God-given strengths and attributes, which allowed him to be successful, as the cause of his financial successes.

In Nathan's words about giving God control of his life, "Once I had gotten everything I wanted in life, I would give God control.  This made perfect sense to me!  Get to where I wanted to be and then let God have control.  My thought was if I made just a bit more money, then I could spend more time with my family and develop my relationship with God.  But the more I made and the bigger my companies grew the more time I spent away from my family and the more miserable I became."

His anxiety over business and wealth, his addiction to pain medications from heath issues - brought personality changes which were eating away at his relationship with his wife and young daughter - bringing it close to breaking.  But praise God, this time, like the prodigal son, Nathan found his way back to God and family.

Nathan tells us of that Moment of Truth, "I knew beyond a doubt I needed God in my life.  I needed to let God lead, guide, and direct me.  But I was struggling.  Then one day in the fall of 2014, .  .  .  Suddenly I saw, with perfect clarity, I was serving myself and my own carnal desires, worshiping material things and success.  I was practicing a contemporary form of materialistic idolatry.  I was a saved, religious hypocrite who only wanted God involved when I needed Him.

Then it really hit me, I knew I was going to stand in front of God and give an account of my actions.  I would give an account of the testimony I had with others.  I would answer for the husband and father I had been.  Then it really hit me.  My daughter would likely marry the type of man I had become.  I was not the man of God that I wanted to be and I certainly wasn’t the man of God I had been created to be.   It was time to change."

The backsliding son had returned, to God, and to his family.  He was backsliding no more.

BUT the Satanic spirits were not through with my Christian brother, Nathan.  They doubled their spiritual attack and Nathan once again was pulled from trust in God and this time slid into the dark world of the paranormal, began depending upon Satanic ways and seductive spirits.

In Nathan's own words:  "I was an accomplished athlete in high school, especially in basketball, and as you know when you are young, nothing hurts for long.  Unfortunately, by the age of 16, I was visiting a chiropractor weekly and had knee surgery, and by my late 20’s I was having legit neck and back pain.  Entering my 30’s, I was diagnosed with degenerative disk disease and mild spinal stenosis. 

To control the pain, I had steroid shots in my spine, trigger point injections in my muscle, and pain meds.  By the time I turned 40, I was on 240 milligrams of morphine a day and getting over a dozen trigger point injections every 8-12 weeks. .  .  . In October 2016, I was unfortunately rear-ended by another driver. The effects of the wreck caused massive nerve damage and muscle atrophy that forced me to have an anterior cervical fusion of my c5-c7 disks."

As he was becoming more and more addicted to medications and drugs to soften his pain, the Satanic spirits launched a more deceptive, dark, and evil attack against Nathan.  His marriage was finally broken, he was alone - then the Satanic spirits introduced New Age dark religion into his life. 

From childhood we have envisioned Satan and his Satanic spirits as being gross, angry red beings with horns, holding a three pronged spear (trident).  But that is far from the truth.  Satan and his angels can appear in any form they choose, i.e., before I became a believer, Satanic spirits appeared to me as my maternal grandfather who supposedly committed suicide, but I was uncovering evidence that led me to believe he was murdered. Satanic spirits played on that desire to prove the report wrong.

Here I can truly relate to the Satanic spirits attack on Nathan - because for about 10 years before I became a believer, I was very much involved in the Psychic/Paranormal/New Age world of darkness.  During that 10 years, I had a number of up close and personal encounters with those dark spirits.  Trust me, they know our hot buttons - and they know how to reach us through those weaknesses.  

Example:  From childhood I was told that my maternal grandfather committed suicide.  As an adult I questioned that and began examining the evidence, concluding that he was murdered. I was, and am, still very convinced that he was murdered.  In the early 1980s demonic spirits appeared to me appearing to be my grandfather.  I will discuss those up close and personal encounters with Satanic spirits in another blog. 

But I will emphasize this: I DO KNOW the dark world of doubt and backsliding which Nathan is experiencing now - and I know that our prayers are the only way to bring him back to his real Father and family - and to push Satan's spirits away from him.

In the late 1990s, after becoming a Christian believer, Dory and I were working with a friend on an international project and transaction.  One day he excitedly shared with us the fantastic book he was devoutly reading, highlighting much of the text - treating it like a Bible. 

In effect it was a bible to him, for it was a book written by one of the leading New Age authors, psychics, and influencers of that time, Doreen Virtue.  At that time, if anyone mentioned New Age influencers to me, my mind automatically went to Doreen Virtue.  That is how prevalent her occultic writings and public exposure were at that time.

Our friend offered to lend his New Age bible to me to read.  I accepted - for one reason.  I would rather have that book and have it hidden away, rather that having him worshiping at the alter of the New Age guru, Doreen Virtue.  That is how evil I saw her and her influence at that time.

When I began my research for this Prayer Blog, I came upon a new revelation which really blew my mind, and I give a really Big Praise To God.  For He had changed that lady, Doreen Virtue, who, through her books, speaking engagements, New Age products, and influence - had lured thousands, if not millions, away from the path to God and onto the path into Satan's world. 

God took her from the depths of New Age darkness - and brought her into the family of God.  In 2017 she rejected her New Age spiritual beliefs - and became a born again Christian.  Now she writes and speaks for God, not Satan.

My immediate thought?  If Doreen Virtue could be brought to God by the radio teaching of Pastor Alistair Begg - then my Christian brother, Nathan, most certainly can be brought back into His arms.  By our prayers!

A moment of insight! 

Isn't it amazing how often New Age Occultist - such as Doreen Virtue was before God stepped in - come to us as Pretty Women - reminiscent of the 1990 movie, Pretty Woman, where a prostitute and a wealthy businessman fall for one another, forming an unlikely pair? 

Then Satan can use such attractive blonde exteriors such as Doreen Virtue was during most of her New Age career, to lead vulnerable people into the dark world of psychics, witchcraft, tarot cards, sorcery, Wicca, and the dark Satanic world?  Satan sure knows how to deceive.

We know that God is Omnipotent, all powerful, nothing can overcome Him - and there is nothing He cannot overcome - if only we will turn to Him.  In my mind and heart, I can picture many people around the world, leading up to her moment of decision in 2017, praying for Doreen Virtue to be saved from the dark world of the Paranormal. 

And on that day in 2017, God answered their prayers, He made it happen for Doreen.  He can make it happen for my brother, Nathan, also, if we all lift him in prayer.

I am asking for prayers from around the world, that what happened to Doreen Virtue in 2017 - will happen for my Christian Brother/Friend, Nathan now.  I am asking that your prayers will become so great that God will reach down and lift Nathan from the pigsty of the psychic and drug world - and like the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), fully restore him to God and to his family.  If you will pray, God can make it happen, just as He did with Doreen Virtue.

Let me tell you a bit more about Nathan Tabor.  In 2007 I met and became close Friends, and an even closer Christian brother, with Nathan.  I have long respected his Conservative Christian Values, his Patriotism - and his deep knowledge of our political process, and his knowledge and wisdom on who is governing America, who is governing the United Nations, and how that is affecting all the world. 

When we met in 2007, Nathan had recently, 2004, run for Congress in North Carolina's 5th Congressional District with an impressive list of supporters.  His first attempt to run for the high office of Congressional House of Representatives was outstanding, even though he did not win that time.

On the other hand, I personally benefited by his not going to Congress in 2004, for in 2007 when I met Nathan he had founded "The Conservative Voice," an online newspaper.  And he invited me to be a guest columnist.  I wrote in The Conservative Voice, mostly in the Faith & Family section, but at times visiting the Politics section, for several years, posting about 500 articles.  That was a true blessing and a great learning experience. 

In my own Christian Writing Ministry, my Friends Ministry eNewsletter, Facebook Notes, our Bill & Dory Gray Christian Ministries blog site, and in the TimesDaily Religion Forum where Nathan and I met - while varying, my list of readers probably never exceeded 2000 worldwide, predominately Christian.  On Nathan's The Conservative Voice, I was now writing to reach about 250,000 readers worldwide - covering a much broader spectrum of beliefs and ideas.  That was a challenge which I know God gave to me, through Nathan.

Nathan Tabor was an entrepreneur, businessman, speaker, business consultant, life coach, real estate investor, commercial real estate broker, author, Liberty University adjunct professor, and founder of Handling Life.  Since 1999, he has founded and operated more than two dozen businesses, grossing over $150 million in sales. 

Along the way, he has had some amazing successes, and some failures, in the areas of commercial real estate, automobile financing, direct product sales, web-based marketing, strategic partnership facilitation, consulting/coaching firm, and online educational courses. 

He has been an exceptional author of political, business, and Christian books.  But the book which really impressed me is "The Beast On The East River:  The U.N. Threat to America’s Sovereignty and Security."  I am still amazed that a man who was only 33 years old then, but looked to be 21 - had the insight, wisdom, and knowledge to recognize the real threat posed by the United Nations - and the ability to put that understanding into a book.

Below is a short C-SPAN video interview which shows the Nathan Tabor I met and grew to admire on the TimesDaily Religion Forum in 2007.  I knew from the beginning that he is a very special person, gifted by God with unique intelligence, wisdom, maturity, and a deep love for America.  Yet I am still amazed at the level of maturity, knowledge, and intelligence I see in him during this interview in the C-SPAN video.

In the C-SPAN interview, Nathan admits he is 33, but looks 21.  Suggesting it was possibly a part of why he did not win the 2004 seat in our Congressional House of Representatives.  Yet when he speaks his intelligence and knowledge make him seem to be a man of twice that age and experience.  He speaks intelligently, with knowledge, with the authority of a person who knows his subject matter very well.  It is a shame he did not go to Congress in 2004, for we need people like him in Washington DC.

View this video and you will see the Nathan Tabor I knew, my fellow Alabamian then living in North Carolina, the man who was a very successful entrepreneur, businessman, author - and an even stronger Conservative Christian brother. This is the man I am asking you to lift in prayers.

THE BEAST ON THE EAST RIVER  ~ C-SPAN INTERVIEW VIDEO - March 1, 2007
By Nathan Tabor - Founder and CEO, The Conservative Voice
https://www.c-span.org/video/?197059-2/the-beast-east-river

Nathan Tabor talked about his book "The Beast On The East River:  The U.N. Threat to America’s Sovereignty and Security," published by Nelson Current.  His book argues that the United Nations hopes to establish a “new world order” that limits the sovereignty of the United States. 

He urges that the U.N. be abolished and replaced with an organization that allows for dialogue between nations, but does not have the power to infringe on the rights of the United States and its citizens.  He also talks about threats to education and moral values.  After his presentation he responded to audience members' questions.

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Bill Gray Note:  The book, published in 2006, accurately prophesies what we now see has happened to America's Education and Moral Values.  The current decay of our education and moral values began in Bill Clinton's presidency - and then rapidly accelerated under Obama's Secular/Muslim administration - and Joe Biden is merely a puppet carrying forward what Obama and the United Nations started. 

All of this was their concerted efforts to surrender America's Sovereignty to the United Nations.  A major tool in the Anti-America arsenal was the resurrected, nourished, and promoted "Racial Division" in America - all done at the behest of their master puppeteer, The United Nations.

You can see why I am asking major prayers for my Christian brother and Friend, Nathan Tabor.  For even though I am absolutely convinced that Nathan has not lost his salvation - it would be a real shame to allow Satan's minions to cause him to waste all the talents God has given him.  America needs people today like Nathan Tabor.

I realize this Prayer/Blog has been a wee bit long.  But that is how important I consider your prayers are for my Christian Brother/Friend, Nathan Tabor.

Thank you for your prayers.

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill Gray

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This Has Been My "Dream Team" For A Very Long Time!

This Has Been My "Dream Team" For A Very Long Time! I am convinced that a Trump-Gabbard Team will turn ALL America RED in the November 2024 Elections. Before I show you absolute proof that I am right - I would like to share what we will be missing when Trump-Gabbard wins in November, as compared to the Biden-Harris team currently cluttering our White House and making America a laughing-stock all around the world.

First, we will see a president who will immediately begin to rebuild the strong America he built during his first term. We will see the China, Russia, Iran, North Korea coalition stop laughing, stifle their smiles, and start moving toward building a working coalition WITH America - and put away their rattling sabres.

We will see the American economy once again blossom - inflation will take a big dip - unemployment for ALL Americans will be drastically lowered - jobs will once again come back into America instead to countries who hate us. In other words, we will once again see the America we had between Jan 6, 2017 and Jan 6, 2021 - an America who, without doubt, had the strongest economy, the strongest military, the best controlled border, and happy, productive American Families.

Our borders will once again be closed to all except legal immigrants. The ILLEGALS, foreign terrorist, drug cartels, human trafficking cartels, and other undesirables that have been flooding into America through our OPEN borders - will begin to flow OUT of our borders and back into Mexico. Once again it will be Mexico's burden, not Americas!

Now to the good part. What will we lose by having Tulsi Gabbard as our next Vice President? We will have to learn to live without the Cackling - without the Word Salad - and without the VP who got into politics in California by having an up-close and personal relationship with the married California Democratic Political Boss, Willie Brown.

During the 2019 Democratic Primary Debates, Willie Brown publish a book of his memoirs as a Political Boss in California - and in his book he speaks about his affair with a young female attorney, Kamala Harris, and how he, because of their relationship, was responsible for getting her into politics, by getting her appointed as Attorney General of San Francisco, and then AG of California.

Willie was her ticket into politics. But for some reason, even though the book was published and ready to hit the stores - it disappeared. Hmmm? I wonder how much that cost the Democratic Party?

Although I realize we all will miss the amusement of the Cackling and the Word Salad, because I know YOU are a true Conservative American who wants to "Make America Great Once Again," aka, MAGA PLUS! Based upon our mutual love for America, we all want to see sanity revived once again - I ask you to take about an hour of your time and view these four very impressive videos.

What will you find in these videos? Before continuing let me digress a wee bit. I went on Google to find a better way to express a person who is articulate - and although I seldom read on the Quora site - this question which popped up on Google so strongly expresses the comparison I wanted to show between Cackling "Word Salad" Kamala and Tulsi Gabbard, I have to share it with you.

"Why is it that people who articulate and speak well - seem to be smarter than the average person who doesn’t pronounce their words thoroughly? Is their a correlation between articulation and intelligence?" (Quora) And I would have to answer that question with a really big YES!

In these four short videos, you will not find Tulsi "cackling" - you will not see her waving her arms and offering a diet of Word Salad. What you WILL FIND is a woman who is articulate, intelligent, patriotic, and a Vice President who could, without American missing a beat, step into the Oval Office and continue our American government, if for any reason President Trump could not finish this term in office.

This is an excerpt from a blog I wrote on April 9, 2024 titled "Why Would I Vote For Tulsi Gabbard To Be The Next Vice President?"

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Why Would I Vote For Tulsi Gabbard To Be The Next Vice President? ~ Thought you would never ask. Let's get serious. We now have seen a VP chosen, not for ability, competence, patriotism, and most certainly not for her ability to speak to an audience and discuss issues of importance to American families.

She was chosen because she is female and for her supposed ethnicity. Those are admirable traits, but definitely not qualifications to be VP - and one heartbeat from being President to the United States. And her "cackling" when asked a serious question is enough make a stone scream!

Then there is Tulsi Gabbard ~ a Lieutenant Colonel and Battalion Commander in the Army Reserves - Iraq War veteran - former Congresswoman - and 2020 Presidential Candidate. Tulsi enlisted in the Hawaii Army National Guard in 2003.

In 2004, she deployed for a year-long tour to Iraq where she served as a medical specialist. After being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, she was stationed in Kuwait from 2008 to 2009, serving as a Military Police Officer. In July 2021, she was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.

Tulsi was elected to Congress as the Representative from Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District and served in that office from 2013 to 2021. And if one wants to play the race card - Tulsi was the first Samoan-American to be elected to Congress.

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Now I ask YOU to view these videos - and get ready to vote for a TRUMP-GABBARD Ticket in November 2024:

MASSIVE Prediction: Trump's VP Will Be Tulsi Gabbard! - Donald Trump's VP Pick Could Be Tulsi Gabbard.
She'd Make A Great Vice president And This Is Why!
TayMerica - Jul 9, 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJB_0JTSLCE

Tulsi Gabbard's Warning To America | CPAC 2024 Speech - Feb 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMG2Yq_Bhps&t=320s

"Fight Of Our Lives" - Tulsi Gabbard Says Trump Needs A Strong Patriot As His VP Pick For 2024
PBD Valuetainment Podcast - Apr 27, 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-3cRAhE2h8

Tulsi Gabbard's Rallying Cry for America
Turning Point Action Convention - Jun 18, 2024
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-5yWsisQ2M

God bless America,

Bill Gray

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Which Is True - Eternal Heaven And Eternal Hell - Or Annihilationism?

Which Is True - Eternal Heaven And Eternal Hell - Or Annihilationism? ~  Today my good Friend and Christian brother, Jack B. Marti, posted a text graphic which declared:  "The soul of man is not naturally immortal.  If we are redeemed we 'put on immortality.'  (But) "The soul that sinneth, it shall die'."
 
In other words Jack was saying that heaven is eternal and immortal for believers - but NOT eternal and immortal for non-believers. 

That is the definition of Annihilationism,  the belief that unbelievers will not experience eternal hell and suffering, but will instead just be burned up, extinguished, after death.  I would like to offer Biblical proof that my Friend is confused and is following a theology which is not Biblical.

I had intended to respond to Jack's post, but when I tried Facebook told me my response is too long.  So I have to address my Friend's contention as a new post.  This is what I initially posted to Jack:

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Hi Jack B. Marti,  Your graphic tells us, "The soul of man is not naturally immortal.  If we are redeemed we "put on immortality."  (But) "The soul that sinneth, it shall die."

Let's look at your first statement, "The soul of man is not naturally immortal. .  .  ."

Yet in Genesis 1:27 God tells us, "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."  

In what way were Adam and Eve, and consequently all mankind, created like Him?  God does not have a physical body, so He could not be speaking of our flesh and bone bodies.  God is perfect in every way.  But because of Adam, man is flawed in every way.  So no mortal perfection for man.  So what is left?  Eternal Immortality!  All mankind after Adam and Eve, later saved or unsaved - are born to be immortal.  The only question is where will that immortal body spend eternity - heaven or hell?

The next part of your statement, "If we are redeemed we 'put on immortality'."  is referring to 1 Corinthians:

1 Corinthians 15:50-53,  "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.  Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed - in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."

This is referring to the fact that because Christ resurrected - all mankind is assured that we, too, will be resurrected.  Christ assured that all mankind will exchange mortal bodies for immortal bodies - both saved and unsaved.  The only difference is the eternal destination.

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:1-5,  "For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.  For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked.  For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.  Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee."

That is referring to the fact that our corrupt mortal bodies cannot enter into the perfection of the presence of God - so He resurrects we believers into immortal bodies so that we many stand before Him in fellowship. And He later resurrects the immortal bodies of the non-believer to spend eternity separated from God.

Now let's look at your final statement, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die"   Here you are suggesting Annihilationism, that the body of the unbeliever, rather than suffer in hell eternally as God has determined - will merely burn up, disappear.  That is not Biblical.

You are referring to Ezekiel 18:20-21, "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.  But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die."

Pastor David Guzik in his Study Guide for Ezekiel 18 tells us:  The soul who sins shall die: As God judges each man and woman individually, the righteous will be justified and the wicked will be judged.

That phrase you quoted is from Ezekiel 18:20, and it is basically referring to the fact that in God's perfect Love and perfect Judgment - each person must decide for himself / herself to choose eternal Life in Christ, or eternal Torment in hell. 

The Bema Seat Judgment is for those who died in their faith in Jesus Christ, while the Great White Throne Judgment is for those who died in their denial of Christ and have been waiting in Hades/Torment (Luke 16:23) to be resurrected in their immortal bodies to stand before Christ to hear His judgment which sends them to the Lake of Fire, Hell, eternally.

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For reference, these are the Scripture passages referred to in that excerpt from GotQuestion:

Acts 24:15,  ".  .  .  . that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. "

Revelation 20:10, "And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever."

Revelation 20:11-15, "Then I saw a Great White Throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled, and no place was found for them.  And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 

And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them; and they were judged, each one of them according to their deeds.  Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.  This is the second death, the lake of fire.  And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

And from the Sheep & Goat Judgment following His Second Coming, this is found in Matthew 25:31-46:

Matthew 25:46, "These (goats, non-believers) will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous (sheep, believers) into eternal life."

Jack, my Christian brother, all mankind was created to be eternal, immortal beings.  Only Adam's fall into sin divided us into those going into Eternal joy and happiness - and those going into Eternal torment and suffering.  Both depend upon the eternal choice made by each individual man/woman in this lifetime.

Ephesians 1:13 tells us that the Holy Spirit enters and dwells within each believer - and Ephesians 4:30 tells us that the Holy Spirit lives within each believer by which we are sealed unto the day of redemption.  What is our day of redemption?  It is the day we die in this mortal body - or the day we are Raptured from this mortal body and into our immortal bodies.

Jack, thank you for your initial post.  This is a point of confusion for many believers - and we have seen a number of supposed Evangelical pastors who are teaching the false hope of Annihilationism.  So I feel this discussion between Friends and brothers in Christ is timely and very worthwhile.

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill

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