Daily Devotional, Year 4 – July 18 (Here Come the Thought Police, Part 4: “Conquering By Fear”)

By admin On January 18th, 2023

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Daily Devotional, Year 4 – July 18

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Here Come the Thought Police

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Part 4 “Conquering By Fear”

To read Part 1, click here…August 11 (“Here Come the Thought Police!” Part 1)

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“The fear of man bringeth a snare:

but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe”

Proverbs 29:25

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One very popular thought-leader made the statement, “Tyrants use fear to obtain compliance”.

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Yes, more and more, we see our government using fear to keep the populace compliant.

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Never was this truth more evident than during the Covid lockdowns!

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Politicians with tyranny in their hearts rejoiced in their newly-found powers to place the fearful public under strict authoritarian control!

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“Tyrants use fear to obtain compliance” J ordan Peterson: “Watch QUICKLY before they censor me!”

PHOTO: Covid masks – Aegean Sea earthquake people – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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“Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury”

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King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon used fear to force the citizenry to bow down to his likeness, that 60-cubit high statue made of gold…

…”whoso falleth not down and worshippeth (the golden image)

shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”

Daniel 3:6

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But when the three Hebrews refused to bow, Nebuchadnezzar once again used fear…

“Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury,

and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego:

therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.”

Daniel 3:19

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With a scary-looking, enraged countenance, the king then commanded the fiery furnace to be heated 7-times hotter.

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And so, here were two more attempts to intimidate the three Hebrews into submission.

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But as the story continues, the three still refused, and were cast alive into that furnace…

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…and yet Jesus joined them there, bringing them unharmed through that harrowing experience!

Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image and The fiery furnace – Daniel 3-12 – www.thebiblerevival.com

Fiery Furnace by Gustave Dore’ courtesy of adelaide.edu.au

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TODAY’S FIERY FURNACE

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Well, fast-forward to our day!

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Just like history’s past dictators, today’s new breed of totalitarians use fear to gain power over the frightened masses…

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…telling them unless they submit to these power-hungry rulers, then the consequences will be frightening:

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“If you refuse to commit, you will lose your job!”

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“Submit to us or the planet will succumb to greenhouse gases!”

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“Your Christian beliefs will offend and discourage certain protected groups, possibly to the point of driving them to commit suicide!”

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“You’ll be branded as ‘a racist’, or ‘an extremist’, or ‘a Nazi’! You will be the object of public scorn and derision!”

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“Capitulate, or government authorities might come and knock on your door to take away your children!”

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Posters against anti-Covid measures and vaccinations in France – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

Policemen Strangle Girl for no mask – Wikimedia

Antifa @ Protest Trump in Phoenix – 8-22-17 – Wikipedia – GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2

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The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

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Well, the fear of Man is a powerful weapon in Satan’s toolbox of lies and oppression.

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But our loving Savior warns us…

…”And fear not them which kill the body,

but are not able to kill the soul:

but rather fear HIM which is able

to destroy both soul and body in Hell.”

Matthew 10:28

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And yet, while Satan uses the fear of mankind to ultimately destroy our soul…

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…God, instead, often uses the fear to ultimately bring us back into a saving relationship with Heaven and Heaven’s Jesus!

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And the more we know about Him via our knowledge and understanding of the Bible, we can say along with the Beloved Disciple…

…There is no fear in love;

but perfect love casteth out fear”

1st John 4:18

Fear – Ghost Stories August – 1928 – cropped image – Wikimedia – US Public Domain

Marines at Prayer by Alex Raymond – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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to read part 5, click here…

September 30 (Here Comes the Thought Police! Part 5 “The Sound of One Hand Clapping”)

1984 Big-Brother is watching you – Wikimedia – Copy-Left license

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TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Give me grace to hide Thy Word in my heart…

USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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THE END

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TODAY’S HEAVENLY SIGN

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***CASTOR AND POLLUX & THE NARROW WAY…***

WIDE & NARROW GATES IN THE HEAVENS

As the opening verse says…

…“Enter ye in at the strait gate:

for wide is the gate,

and broad is the way,

that leadeth to destruction…”

Matthew 7:13-14 (Condensed)

So, what are these two gates all about?

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And how can I choose the right door?

But before we explore these questions, let’s take a look at why these two sets of stars represent these two biblical gates.

(This sketch, while not 100% accurate, gives a fair portrayal of how this constellation group appears at winter’s end and even into June, when above the western horizon.)

HOW THE GATES RELATE TO ORION & DRAGON

This sketch below is when these constellations are in the eastern sky in early winter (However, this constellation group can even be seen as early as July, in the pre-dawn hours).

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In the eastern sky, it’s not so easily seen which gate the Revelation 12 Woman will enter.

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**The Wide Gate is made of the two brightest stars of this Wave of Water Constellation.**

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Satan spews out the deadly water of his false worldly ideologies…

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…which many of these ideologies have a form of godliness, but in some way are not in harmony…

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…or perhaps these worldly ideologies add to the Bible, which is strictly forbidden (see Deuteronomy 4:2).

**On the other hand, the Strait Gate (narrow gate) is composed of the two brightest stars of the Orion The Reaper’s sickle. The true Strait Gate represents Jesus, the Word of God.**

Signs Of Heaven