John Hagee has left the building...

I have always held a very skeptical view of John Hagee, pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio. I disagreed with his assessment that Jesus was wealthy, and his belief in a prosperity gospel. I was deeply disturbed by his association with the word-faith movement. I was very troubled by his view that Jews did not need to trust in Jesus as their Messiah for salvation. (“San Antonio fundamentalist battles anti-Semitism,” Houston Chronicle, April 30, 1988, sec. 6, pg. 1), but I always held my tongue because I have some very dear friends who attend his church. I have always tried not to let denominational differences get in the way of loving Christian relationships, but have tried to gently suggest that there were some other, better, very excellent churches along that same stretch of loop 1604 in North San Antonio (Harvest Fellowship, Community Bible Church, Park Hills Baptist to name a few). But now, in his new book, In Defense of Israel, Hagee has crossed a significant line:

“It has been my privilege to join Congregation Rodfei Sholom in San Antonio for the celebration of Passover with Rabbi Aryeh Scheinberg. Four cups of wine are served at the Passover with a meal that symbolized the tears and suffering of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt.

• The first cup is the cup of Remembrance.
• he second cup is the cup of Redemption.
• The third cup is the cup of Salvation.
• The fourth cup is the cup of Messiah.

When Jesus and his disciples came to the final cup during their last celebration of the Passover, Jesus refused to drink the Messiah’s cup. He told his disciples, “Take this [Messiah’s cup] and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes” (Luke 22:17-18).

In refusing to drink the cup, Jesus rejected to the last detail the role of Messiah in word or deed. The Jews did not reject Jesus as Messiah; it was Jesus who rejected the Jewish desire for him to be their Messiah.” (John Hagee, In Defense of Israel, pp. 144, 145).

In a television advertisement, Hagee says that his book will "shake Christian theology," claming:

• The Jewish people did not reject Jesus as Messiah
• Jesus did not come to earth to be the Messiah
• Jesus refused (by word and deed) to be the Messiah
  

The Apostle John (a Jewish believer) wrote, "who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son." (1 John 2:22) Christos - Christ - is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew meschiach - messiah. According to this passage, Hagee, in denying that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah, is in line with the spirit of antichrist. The Apostle's next statement is "whoever denies the Son does not have the Father" (v. 23). I will not go so far as to say that Hagee is not a Christian - that is for God to decide - but I will state emphatically, for the record, that what he is teaching is outright, blatant heresy.

Some have tried to defend Hagee by saying that there is a distinction between a political and a religious Messiah. (pjmiller - see post 12, then the responding posts) However, the Scriptures make no such distinction. The only distinction is that between Jesus' roles in the First and Second Comings - first as the Lamb, then (yet to come) as the Lion. Jesus rejected the Jews political overtures at the time because the time had not yet come for Him to take political power. I don't care if you're Dispensational, Covenant or what - historical Christianity has always agreed on this point. Look at how Jesus responded to Peter's (another Jewish believer) confession, "you are the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the Living God!" (Matthew 16:16). Jesus exclaimed that Peter was blessed and that this revelation had come from the Father Himself. He then warned them not to tell anyone, particularly in light of His coming Crucifixion.

The beloved disciple wrote at the end of his gospel, "therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah), the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name" (John 20:30-31 - see also 1 John 5:1). Salvation hinges on trusting in Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, as God Incarnate, as the only one able to save us from our sinful human nature. How can anyone claim to preach the Gospel when they deny one of the basic tenets of the faith?

See also:

• Biblewheel, "Review of In Defense of Israel by John Hagee"
• Richard Fisher, "The Other Gospel of John Hagee" Personal Freedom Outreach,
• Link to YouTube video - From Hagee's own mouth.

Update:

I saw someone quoting from John 4:25-26 in response to this:

25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.”

26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

Update: 13 Nov 07

Nancy Almodovar of Silent Cry Ministries has done an excellent job exposing Hagee's selective quoting of the Scriptures he uses to defend his ideas in "Defending the Faith with Elegance."

The Pastor and the Gun

A pastor was delivering a sermon entitled "Stand Still and let the Lord Fight your battles", on the topic of not fighting but letting God vanquish evil himself. As he was delivering the sermon, a gust of wind lifted his coat and the congregation noticed he was carrying a gun.

After the service a member of the congregation asked him, "I understood your sermon, but aren't you contradicting yourself by carrying a gun? You did say you are supposed to let the Lord fight your battles for you?"

"I did say that, yes," said the pastor. "The gun is just to hold them off until the Lord gets here".

Adapted from Keep and Bear Arms.

A friend recently questioned me about my concealed carry license. He said, "when you become a pastor, you'll probably be the only one carrying a gun." For his information, I recently met a pastor here with a CCW. Judging from what I've been reading online, I don't think it's as rare as people think...

A hunting I did go...

Laura encouraged me to go hunting last weekend with my new friend Josh. As it turned out, I really needed the break. I'm not eligible for a resident hunting license until Thanksgiving (6-month waiting period), but I went along as camp cook, driver, spotter and advisor. We camped the first night at 10,200 feet, just outside of Fairplay, CO, not far from the world's highest incorporated city, Alma, CO. After setting up camp, we did some scouting. We saw a lot of elk sign, including fresh tracks and fresh droppings, but not even a hint of deer. (Josh had a mulie buck tag for that area.) When we returned to camp, it was a little breezy, but the wind settled down about dusk, allowing us to light a charcoal fire and cook up some sirloin steak, foil potatoes and green beans. It was a little chilly, but overall really nice. Josh really appreciated my four season tent!

Before dawn on Saturday we hiked up to an aspen meadow we'd found the day before and settled in within view of a game trail to watch and wait. We sat there for almost an hour, not seeing anything more than some nice birds and a beautiful sunrise.

We looked around a little more, then decided to have breakfast, break camp, and drive up to NW Colorado where he had a doe tag and we knew we'd have better luck.

We got there about 3 in the afternoon, and under cloudy skies drove out to the public land where he'd shot all of his deer the previous couple of years. Not much later, we spotted two mulies running up a hillside 600 yards away. (I've got to get me one o' them fancy range finders like Josh has - 598 yards, to be exact!) We drove around the rest of the afternoon, saw lots of hunters, including one dragging a deer out, but no deer. Then the weather moved in... It began to snow and blow - the first snow I'd seen since moving to Colorado. I was ecstatic. I was even more grateful for Josh's GPS, which led us back to the spot he'd camped the year before despite the disorienting snow and twists and turns of the wagon rut trails we were on. (I've got a Garmin eTrex HC - Vista, Summit or Venture on my Christmas list!)

We set up camp in the blowing snow, got a fire going, and heated up some water to make Ramen noodles. My leather gloves were quickly soaked, and my pants, which I'd sprayed with Camp Dry were starting to get a little damp. We warmed ourselves by the fire, which helped, but then decided with the blowing snow we weren't getting any drier, and we needed to get in the tent and get some dry clothes on. With two sleeping bags (one inside the other) dry clothes, my Z-Rest pad and a couple of Josh's hand warmers, I kept mostly toasty all night. We had great cell phone reception, so I was able to talk to Laura and the kids and pray with them. They were having a late night since Laura's friend Charlene and her niece had flown in to Denver that evening.

We woke up again early and found ourselves under four inches of fresh snow. It was beautiful. I love the cold crisp air when it has just snowed! It reminded me why we moved from Texas in the first place. I love the mountains, the outdoors, and the snow! Josh decided to take a walk, and I volunteered to break camp while he was gone. He took a radio with him, and before long I heard a couple of gunshots in the distance. Josh had shot at some does, but was out of ammo. I ran some out to him and tried to help him find a blood trail, but we couldn't, so I went back to camp to finish cleaning up. Josh set out again (this time with his ammo box!) and before long I heard a couple of more shots, then Josh on the radio saying "meat in the freezer!" I finished packing up, then drove down the closest part of the road to where he shot the deer, then walked up to meet him. Josh shot the deer about 3/4 mile from the road, and I helped him drag it about half that. I was so grateful for my new Vasque hiking boots (Goretex, to which I added mink oil to the leather) and a pair of gators. With heavy wicking hiking socks on, my feet didn't get cold or wet in the slightest, even pulling the deer through brush covered in four inches of snow! (Side Note: I've given up on Timberland boots with their cheap plastic lace hooks. I broke one pair in 12 months and the replacement pair they sent me in only 8 months. I'm not a heavy hiker by any means!) By the way, click on the picture and check out the herd of pronghorn hanging out on private land...

Our drive home was interesting. We went through the Rabbit Ears Pass in chain-only conditions. I got re-acquainted with winter driving, and later stuck in traffic on I-70 with all the Coloradoans also getting re-acquainted with winter driving. I think I picked it up faster (after a 10 year hiatus) than most of them did. What a bunch of knuckleheads!

We got home about dusk on Sunday, and found that Colorado Springs had a couple inches of snow. I missed the kids having their first snowball fight, and was sad about that, but it was wonderful to be home with my family, to see Laura's old friend, and to have great memories of my first Colorado hunting trip. I can't wait to go next year, license and rifle in hand!

Inconvenient Truths...

Former VP Algore wins the Nobel peace prize, despite his film being full of outright lies and bad science.

See the Cartoon at TownHall.com

What I Was Waiting For...

Fall is here! This morning I woke up and looked out my bedroom window, and this is what I saw! Pikes Peak is covered in snow. The leaves are turning beautiful reds, oranges, golds, and yellows, and I've got a new pair of hiking boots!

Tomorrow's high is 68 with beautiful sunny skies. (San Antonio will hit 90 tomorrow - poor sweaty souls...) I'm going hiking tomorrow morning with Mike B. and hunting this weekend with my new friend Josh C. (I can't get a resident hunting license until mid Nov - 6 month residency requirement in CO, but I'm going to be camp cook, spotter, brush bunny, and whatever else I can do to help.) God is great and life is good!

One Picture Worth A Thousand Words...

Early to Rise...

Anyone who knows me knows that it is rare to see me out of bed at sunrise. I work from home, so I can wake up at 8:30 and be at my desk by 9:00. (Sometimes I'll put on my "all day clothes" during my mid-morning break about 10:30...) So when my wife asked me if we could go and see the balloons Labor Day morning, I was a bit hesitant. The alarm went off at 05:30, and I debated whether or not to get my family out of bed, or just claim that I had slept through the alarm. I had only one honest choice, so up we got and away we went.

Every Labor Day, Memorial Park hosts the Colorado Springs Balloon Classic. My wife counted almost 50 hot air balloons. It was really exciting to see the balloons up close. The kids were enthralled, and my 4 year old daughter even said that she wanted a ride! It was well worth getting out of bed, so I can now expand my (short) list of things worth waking up early for:

• hunting


• fishing


• hot air balloons


• hunting


• umm...