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“Time and Chance Happens to Them All...”

“I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happens to them all” (Ecclesiastes 9:11 MKJV).

I received revelation on the word “chance” in this version.

Another version is pretty much on the money:

“I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the mighty; nor even bread to the wise; nor even riches to the men of discernment; nor even favor to knowing men. For time and occurrence happen to them all” (Ecclesiastes 9:11 LITV).

What that verse is saying is that nothing happens by our power; God does it all, “chance” meaning “fate” or “all things are determined from above.” Aesop’s fable of the tortoise and hare race are an example, but not a good one. That story illustrates that the race can be won by the slow on occasion, that speed is not the only determining factor. What Ecclesiastes says is that whatever happens is out of our hands, though we go through the motions.

Fatalism? No; that is an attitude, though definitions don’t always describe it that way. I speak of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of the way things are. But to the definition one source gives the word, I say, “Yes.”

WordWeb:

“1. A submissive mental attitude resulting from acceptance of the doctrine that everything that happens is predetermined and inevitable
2. A philosophical doctrine holding that all events are predetermined in advance for all time and human beings are powerless to change them”

Victor Hafichuk

- July 27, 2010

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Roman Heresy and a Question about Prayer

A website reader wrote to Victor:

I'm talking with a Catholic young man in his early twenties and you have helped me withn your testimony. Fortunately I was a stranger to Roman heresy. I already knew a verse to tell him, but the rest of your testimony helped me see where the young man in front of me is at.

I love you brother, take care.

-John

Victor's response:

Hi John,

I am thankful I can be a signpost leading in the right direction as people learn where I came from and how good the change has been for me.

As for your unfamiliarity with Roman heresy, that would be a rare spectacle. Perhaps you aren't aware of its unidentified prevalence.

For examples, do you celebrate "Christ's Mass" (Christmas)?

Do you celebrate "Ishtar/Ashtoreth" (Easter), substituted for Passover?

Do you believe in the trinity, which was brought forth by pagans into the nominal Christian identity?

Do you believe in eternal torment?

Do you believe in infant baptism, sacraments, praying the "Our Father," spiritual promotion through catechism and confirmation, and several other such doctrines and practices?

Do you believe in buildings called "churches," particularly with steeples and arched entrances, which are considered holy places?

Do you believe in pictures of Jesus?

Do you believe in any kind of clerical privilege versus that of laity?

If your answer is "yes" to any of these questions, you are not a stranger to Roman heresy, much of which preceded the Roman Catholic Church, only a stranger to your familiarity with it (see our Statement of Doctrine for more information on all of these subjects, and much more).

I am thankful to be able to share these things with you now. I am so very thankful to be free, not only from the primary bondage of sin and the works of darkness men have devised and fashioned, but also from the subtle vestiges of these.

Victor

Daphne asks Victor:

Why is praying the “Our Father” wrong? Does it have to do with the repetition of prayer?

Victor’s reply:

Hi Daphne!

Yes, it does have to do with repetition of prayer, but not only repetition (which is the worse). Jesus never meant for those words to even have been recited once as personal prayer. When He said, "Pray like this," or, "Pray after this manner," or, "Pray in this way," He was giving an example of the attitude and understanding of, and in, true prayer. In the sample words of the "Our Father" or the "Lord's Prayer," He addresses our hearts and expresses how we should be at all times, not only when we make specific prayers. It is this attitude to which Paul referred when he said, "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17 MKJV).

While there is no harm in repeating those words in and of themselves, the great error lies in thinking that God is so removed and base that He would listen to a mere creature repeating him or herself over and over in their own righteousness. What is He supposed to get out of that, except an upset stomach and sore eyes from rolling them? The very thought is contemptible. Even saying those same words once and assuming He is going to hear or be pleased, simply because they are the "Lord's prayer" (which is a sycophantic attitude) or because they are in the Bible (which is Bibliolatry) is unacceptable to God.

An exception might be if a child (whether a physical or a spiritual one), not knowing any better, sincerely speaks that sample prayer, believing (the Lord knows and judges by the heart), but even there, He cannot approve the ways of the heathen and is limited by unbelief in general.

The Lord's message is, "Be reasonable, be respectful, understand what He is like and what He desires; understand your duty before Him, and know that He is running the show. Have knowledge of, and faith in, your Father (for He IS your Father), recognizing all your sustenance comes from Him. As you treat others, so will you be treated. And remember that you and this world are not where it's at. It is all about God and the Kingdom of God over all. Focus there, always."

Victor Hafichuk

- July 13, 2010

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Did Jesus Add a Commandment?

We got this note in response to The False and Misleading Gospel of "Accepting" Jesus Christ:

"It is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous." Rom. 2:13
I think you need to find out which law he is speaking of in regard to the fact that a law has been added after Jesus' crucifixion.

Paul's reply:

We agree with Romans 2:13, so it is not clear where you disagree with us, or what point you are trying to make.

Do you believe the following, spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ?

"Do not think that I have come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to destroy but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, Till the heaven and the earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall in any way pass from the Law until all is fulfilled. Therefore whoever shall relax one of these commandments, the least, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven" (Matthew 5:17-19 MKJV).

There is no new Law, only a new heart and understanding given to those who receive Christ.

Paul Cohen

Victor then asked this question of Paul and Sara:

Did you know that the Law of Moses (the 10 Commandments) is the Law of Love?

Sara's reply:

Amen.

Matthew 22:35-40 MKJV
(35) Then one of them, a lawyer, asked, tempting Him and saying,
(36) Master, which is the great commandment in the Law?
(37) Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
(38) This is the first and great commandment.
(39) And the second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
(40) On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.

Victor's reply:

This fellow says there was a law added, which, as you point out, is patently false. As nothing shall be subtracted from the Law, neither shall there be anything added to it because it is complete, representative of God's nature and character. God missed nothing in the Ten Commandments. The difference is not in the Law, as you say, but in its fulfillment, which comes through Jesus Christ, Who gives us a new heart with the Law in it and the love for it. Any who think there is a new law added are still in their sin nature.

- June 27, 2010

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Serving the Cause of Truth

One of life's great pleasures for lovers of truth is being able to heartfully agree with your enemies. Though we do not personally count him an enemy, Richard Dawkins, author of several books championing evolution, is a great enemy of the truth and the Creator in this matter. We find his attitude and teachings grossly untrue, irresponsible, and even reprehensible, intellectually, scientifically, socially, and spiritually.

But when we hear that Dawkins, along with Christopher Hitchens, is initiating legal proceedings to have the pope arrested on his upcoming trip to England on charges of obstruction of justice, we could not agree more, and we applaud his efforts. Their reasoning is certainly legitimate. Why should the pope and his minions be above the law? Ought they not be held to at least the same standards of justice as the common pedophile, if not more severe for their pretensions of morality?

Get this: The Catholic Church preaches eternal damnation and torture for sinners, but pleads for the statute of limitations regarding their heinous sins! As they say in Yiddish, that is some chutzpah. You go, Richard!

Pertinent article:
Richard Dawkins Calls for Arrest of Pope Benedict XVI

- April 15, 2010

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Deathbed Conversions

The Lord opened our eyes to see this false doctrine that had been slipped into the Scriptures:

Deathbed Conversions - Beware of the Angel of Light and His Messengers

- March 12, 2010

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