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Daily Devotional, Year 4 – April 15

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Television and The Image That Speaks,

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Part 7:

“Do Not Rich Men Oppress You?”

To read Part 1, click here…October 27th (Television and the Image that Speaks)

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“And he (the 2nd Beast) had power

to give life unto the image of the (1st) beast,

that the image of the (1st) beast

should both speak, and cause

that as many as would not worship

the image of the (1st) beast should be killed.”

Revelation 13:15 

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TELEVISION, THE IMAGE THAT SPEAKS

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Just think about it! For the very first time in history, Mankind is directly linked up with “the god of this world”, via television, radio, and now, Internet.

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And these remarkable devices have become his advertiser-in-chief, so to speak, presenting his kingdom of sin and selfishness in the most glorious and attractive light! 

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AN OUTER CLOAK OF GOODNESS, BEAUTY, AND CHARM

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And even though the faces are constantly changing on these media, nevertheless they each present some sinful aspects of Satan’s character, while cloaked within a thin outer veil of goodness, beauty, and charismatic charm.

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In other words, each viewer of these media will find some enviable actor, or some attractive singing idol, or some dynamic sports star, businessperson, writer, etc., to look up to and admire.

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And as we all know, there is no shortage of admirable and enviable faces and characters on television to choose from.

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These are among the “rich men” that oppress us, as it states in James 2:6. 

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Oh, they may or may not be rich monetarily. But they are rich in other ways too: charm, wit, “coolness”, beauty, fame, mental and physical abilities, etc…. These qualities are likewise very much considered to be one’s riches.

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James Bond – by SteveBancroft – Wikimedia – Creative Commons 4.0 – cropped photo

Elvis Presley – Wikipedia – Public Domain

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LUCIFER’S CHARACTER MINGLED IN

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But beneath the thin outer veneer of beauty, strength, and goodness of these mega-stars, is mingled a few of the various aspects of Satan’s character: greed, revenge, unbelief, sensual lust, violence, sarcasm, comedy (“foolish talk and jesting” Ephesians 5), pride, arrogance, selfishness, cold-hearted indifference, lacking brotherly love, and often lacking other heavenly qualities as well.

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Yes, this list is just a partial sampling of the many ungodly characteristics of Lucifer, “the Prince of the Power of the Air”, which he sends through the airways, via the modern-day media. (Ephesians 2:2, 3)

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“Do not rich men oppress you?”

James 2:6

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But as a very big “spoke in the wheel” of Satan’s many weapons of warfare, television has become increasingly oppressive.

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And this brings us to the purpose for writing today’s devotional.

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Listen to the Word of God, as given by James…“Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy Name by the which ye are called?” James 2:6, 7

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Here above, God reveals that it is the rich who oppress His people.

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“the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.”

Habakkuk 1:4

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Both in the Church and out in the world, Christ’s followers are daily subjected to the overwhelming voices of the world, all in unison, demanding that everyone must stay on board this Titanic ship called, The World!

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From fellow townspeople to church-members, to schools, to the media, to billboards and department store signage, to just about any and every other means of communication, God’s people are daily bombarded with the same spoken (or unspoken) message: “You gotta love this world, in spite of all its problems and evils! You must fit in!”

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Store window mannequins – cropped image – Wikimedia – Share-alike License 3.0

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THE RICH OPPRESS THE CHILDREN!

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And the most vulnerable of all people-groups are children!

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Yes, these TV spokespeople (who are rich in beauty and charisma) present a message to children, that for the most part, causes them to join in or be scorned.

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And combined with peer-pressure from fellow school classmates, it’s almost impossible for young children to maintain faithfulness to Jesus.

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And let’s face it! None of us enjoy being ridiculed, laughed at and mocked for being different!

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And so, the daily pressure is on: to be cool, to wear the latest fashions, to talk “hip”, to be “sexy”, etc….

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But television and Internet are more powerful than all the rest. Because beautiful and charismatic spokespeople are constantly presenting this tragic world in the most favorable light possible!

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two young girls laughing behind another girls back – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license 

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“GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY”

Proverbs 25:25

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Well, the Good News is, that there is still time to turn off the world, and instead, tune in to Heaven!

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As far as possible let us fill our hearts with Christ’s Words of Eternal Life, filtering out as much of this world’s selfishness and deceit as possible, begging and pleading for God’s empowerment to do just that! (See John 6:68 for “Words of Eternal Life” reference)

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And may God be gracious to each and every one of us who are struggling to overcome!

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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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TO READ PART 8, CLICK HERE…

June 13 (Television and The Image That Speaks, Part 8: “The Many Faces of Satan”)

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Give me the understanding, conviction, and strength to eliminate television and secular radio, etc., out of my life…

Girl Praying – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read…JANUARY 26 (The False Prophet: Lying Eyes!), or you may also read…April 27 (Planet Earth, Devil’s Island, Part 5: “Name Your Prison!”)

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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THE END

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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

Info & pics of constellations on this site from Wikipedia & International Astronomical Union (click here)

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WINTER CONSTELLATIONS

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This most amazing phenomenon is seen throughout the winter. Although it can be observed most of the winter, it is seen best when it is the western part of the sky, at winter’s end (The end of winter being the final scene of this heavenly Gospel story). Orion , the Dragon, and the Glorious White Horse are beginning to descend into the western horizon (sketch to right is Winter Constellations descending into western horizon. This can actually be seen as early as December, in the pre-dawn hours).

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And at this point it is apparent that the Fleeing Woman of Revelation 12 Constellation is veering toward the two bright stars, known as Castor and Pollux (sketch to left). But the Wide Gate Stars are composed of the two brightest stars of the Auriga Constellation, known as the star, Capella, and the star, Menkalinan. The two stars, Castor and Pollux, make up the concept of the Orion’s Narrow Gate Stars.

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This can even be observed into June in the western sky (for a short time just after dark). While a dark night is best for seeing the Woman Constellation, the 4 stars which comprise the Narrow Gate/Wide Gate Stars can be seen even under mediocre conditions. It begins with the Fleeing Woman of Revelation 12 Constellation (AKA Ursa Major) going towards these two doors.

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The sketch to left shows, the two doors are each composed of two bright stars. The two bright stars that comprise the Narrow Gate are the two brightest stars of the Orion the Reaper’s sickle. The two stars that comprise the ‘Wide Gate’ Stars are the two brightest stars of the wave of water that comes out of the Dragon Constellation’s mouth (for explanation of “Wave of Water”, just click here). The stars that make up the ‘Narrow Gate’ are about half the width of the Wide Gate (see sketch below left).

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(For more information on Orion’s sickle, just click here, “Orion The Reaper”. )

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Editor’s note: These sketches on this page are merely sketches. The stars are not in their exact place. However, they are close enough to find them in the night sky. But as with most stars, it takes persistence to finally locate them.

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READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Revelation 12 Woman & The Narrow Gate Stars (Orion’s Gate to Heaven)”

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

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TOMORROW

April 16 (And The Nations Were Angry! Part 5: “The False Prophet’s Counterfeit Compassion”

ABOVE PICTURE: Satan, The False Prophet who now in these last days destroys the churches via a world-loving prosperity-driven false gospel – www.signsofheaven.org

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THE DESIRE OF AGES, BY ELLEN G. WHITE

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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) are invited to listen to this chapter of the audio book about the Gospel of Jesus Christ in His life and ministry.

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Chapter 61 – Zacchaeus

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Sign of the Son of Man Constellation – made of the various constellations on this website

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EXCERPTS FROM THE OPEN FORUM QUESTION/ANSWER RADIO TALK-SHOW…

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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) are invited to listen to this recording #155, a small 30 minute sampling of the late Harold Camping’s 90 minute nightly talk shows. This particular program aired in the last few years of his 50 year radio ministry, and includes caller’s questions regarding his teachings on “the end of the church age”…

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ABOVE PICTURE: Holy bible – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons 

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Those who are interested in using photos on this page may click on provided link below each photo, to get to Wikimedia Commons for various licensing details & tags, and all other necessary information on any particular photo. Most tall, narrow photos have been cropped or reduced by this website to make them a better fit on phone screens.