THIS IS RIDICULOUS

From time to time, there are those who "find" America in the Bible with certainty and then there are those who find that America "may" be in the Bible.Two such examples will follow.

Back on September 11, 2018, a columnist for "The Daily Star" declared that 9-ll may have been predicted in the Bible. The writer "found" the prediction in the book of Revelation, chapter 18 to be exact. The text reads, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!"

Then she writes, "Some" (who the "some" is undefined) believe the fact that fallen is mentioned twice is a reference to the fact that there were Two Towers making up the World Trade Center. she goes on to point out, "Three times in the chapter, St John describes the desolation as happening in one hour.

In verse 10 he writes “Alas alas that great city, for in one hour your judgement has come. Verse 17 reads “For in one hour such great riches come to nothing”.And in verse 19 “in one hour she has become desolate.”

John is predicting the destruction of the center of the political system at the end of the Great Tribulation which has nothing to do with two large buildings in NYC prior to September 11, 2001. 

The 2nd example is a wildly popular Bible "teacher" who "found" the Bible's prediction of 9-11, this time, not in Rev. 18, but of all places, in Habakkuk 1:8: "Their horses are swifter than leopards And keener than wolves in the evening.Their horsemen come galloping,Their horsemen come from afar;They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour."

However, God clearly identifies those who are coming "from afar." They are the Chaldeans as stated in 1:6, 15. And, just in case you missed it, God also gave the false teacher the revelation that the swooping eagle in 1:8 are the two airplanes that hit Twin Towers. Who would have thought? Evidently there was no prediction of the third plane which flew into the Pentagon the same day in the coordinated attack nor of the plane that crashed before hitting its target. 

It's strange: Habakkuk says "an eagle," yet there were two planes, not one, and four if you count the Pentagon plane and the one that crashed.The prophet didn't get the number right.

So, according to this "prophet,"he was the only one who found the attack in the book of Hab. 1:8.

From this we see two marks of a false teacher: 1) They find America in the Bible. This is guaranteed to rev up the audience and their readers and 2) they have special "revelations" or "visions" or "a word from the Lord." Each one guaranteed to further excite the folks.

WHEN ONE SENTENCE WILL DO

 

 Three of Calvinism's brightest lights are seated on stage awaiting questions from the moderator which were taken from the audience. The three Calvinist theologians are Lawson, MacArthur, and Sproul. If anyone should be able to answer the queries, these three would be the ones. 

The host begins with an interesting question from the assembled: "Why do you think that so many resist Calvinism?" That’s a good question and one which brought forth a condescending and insulting answer from Lawson. But his answer will leave the true answer unsaid. The answer he gave: “Because they don’t know the Bible.” This answer, being interpreted means, "Because they're ignorant but we aren't."

Really? Some well-known people who aren't ignorant of the Scriptures and who reject Calvinism are: C. S. Lewis, Billy Graham, Norman Geisler, John Lennox, and Zane Hodges, et al. These people don’t know the Bible? 

His answer was an example of what’s known in debate as “the ad hominem fallacy.” Instead of discussing the argument itself, criticism is directed toward the opponent’s character. Another example of the ad hominem fallacy is:

Person 1: I think it's important to enforce minimum-wage legislation so that workers are not exploited.

Person 2: Nonsense. You only say that because you just can’t get a good job!

The Q/A went on from there. But what’s important is that Lawson should have given the answer according to Calvinism in one sentence. (Why he didn’t give the correct answer according to his system is another matter) According to Calvinism, in the system he was defending, the crucial doctrine is, "a belief in meticulous divine determinism over every thought, choice and event throughout human history." Here are some quotes by Calvinists:

J. I. Packer

“God… orders and controls all things, human actions among them…He [also] holds every man responsible for the choices he makes and the courses of action he pursues… Man is a responsible moral agent, though he is also divinely controlled; man is divinely controlled, though he is also a responsible moral agent. To our finite minds, of course, the thing is inexplicable. (This the familiar Calvinist retreat from “contradiction” to “an inexplicable mystery.")

R. C. Sproul

“I am suggesting that God created sin.”

Gorden H. Clark

“I wish very frankly and pointedly to assert that if a man gets drunk and shoots his family, it was the will of God that he should do it…” He goes on to assert, “Let it be unequivocally said that this view certainly makes God the cause of sin.”

Mark Talbot and John Piper

"God brings about all things in accordance with his will. It isn’t just that God manages to turn the evil aspects of our world to good for those that love him; it is rather that he himself brings about these evil aspects… This includes God’s having even brought about the Nazi’s brutality at Birkenau and Auschwitz as well as the terrible killings of Dennis Rader [BTK] and even the sexual abuse of a young child.”

So now we come to it. What did the one sentence Calvinist not say, that, according to his Calvinistic system, he should have said? If he had been true to his system, he would have said: “The reason why so many resist Calvinism is because God decreed before the foundation of the world that they would resist and be ignorant." They had no other choice because God decreed it.

Therefore, according to their theology, God decreed their resistance and their ignorance, and their pride (which added as another reason for people's resistance) and yet, God will hold them accountable for the resistance, the ignorance, and the pride and punish them for it. 

Or to say it as another way as an author who left Calvinism did, "He predetermined people to sin, and then held them accountable for what they could not have refrained from doing." 

Why didn't he give what is, according to his theology, the correct answer? As we say in America, "Go figure."

―

NONE DARE CALL IT CORRUPTION

 For anyone even remotely familiar with the Reformation, the name  of John Tetzel rings a bell. His is a name that will live in infamy on the pages of history. The history books tell us: 

"John Tetzel is infamous for arousing the ire of Martin Luther by his outrageous claims for the sale of Catholic indulgences.  He was given the task of raising money for the building of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. He was exceptionally good at it, and his claims for the effect of indulgences were exceptionally extreme and superstitious.

"He's famous for this claim: 'As soon as the gold in the coffer rings; the rescued soul to heaven springs.' John Tetzel fed on using those superstitious fears. It was easy to convince people who believed that their dear mother, departed wife, or beloved child were at that very moment burning in flames in purgatory, that they ought to pay money to release them from their torment." (From "Christian History")

A person could purchase another type of indulgence.

"The other type of  indulgence guarantees the promise of the remission of temporal punishment upon the basis of certain prescribed “good works,” e.g., fasting, prayers, pilgrimages, etc. Mainly, though, the promise was that the pains of purgatory could be minimized by the payment of money into the treasury of the Roman Catholic church.

"The construction of St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome was partially financed by the sale of indulgences. Tetzel traveled throughout Germany selling indulgences on behalf of the Church.

"These indulgences not only bestowed pardon for sins committed already, they were used to license the commission of future transgressions as well." 

Historian Merle D’Aubigne relates an amusing incident:

A certain Saxon nobleman heard Tetzel proclaiming his doctrine of indulgences, and the gentleman was angered at the church's perversion of the truth. So, he approached the monk one day and inquired as to whether he might purchase an indulgence for a sin he intended to commit.

“Most assuredly,” replied Tetzel, “I have received full powers from his holiness for that purpose.”

After some haggling, a fee of thirty crowns was agreed upon, and the nobleman departed.

Together with some friends, he hid himself in a nearby forest. Presently, as Tetzel journeyed that way, the knight and his companions attacked the salesman, gave him a light beating, and relieved him of his money, taking no effort to disguise themselves.

Tetzel was enraged and filed suit in the courts. When the nobleman appeared as the defendant, he produced the letter of exemption containing John Tetzel’s personal signature, which absolved him of any liability.

When Duke George (the judge before whom the action was brought) examined the document, exasperated though he was, he ordered the accused to be released.

You might be thinking the abuse of the gullible died with John T. Think again. John Tetzel lives today! And this is where Joyce Meyer enters stage left with an absurd false teaching of which John Tetzel would be proud.

A pastor, demonstrating his ignorance of the Bible and of church history, gushed effusively and excitedly to his huge church as he introduced Joyce Meyer to the thunderous applause of the congregation as, "The best Bible teacher in America!" 

Little did the equally biblically illiterate and historically ignorant know that they were applauding a heretic and a corrupt one at that.

Joyce Meyer spoke of a conversation she had with someone named Dr. Roberts, and said, "He talked about something awesome." She went on to say that he told her, "The Bible talks about giving and receiving. God taught me that another way to say that word is 'receipting.'" [No, that is not another way to say "receiving" nor is it another meaning of the Greek word "receive" in the New Testament.]

From that platform of absurdity, Joyce Meyer then moved in for the kill in true Tetzel fashion, "When you give, you get a receipt in heaven. Then when you have a need, you can go to God and say, 'You see God, I have got my receipt from my sowing ["sowing" means giving money to Joyce Meyer] and now I have a need and I'm cashing in my receipt.'" 

At this point, the easily taken in began to applaud, not realizing that a female version of John Tetzel was in their midst. Their applause was their stamp of approval, sheep ripe for the shearing. Joyce Meyer carries her shears with her. The shearing has been profitable over the years.

"Once upon a time, Ms. Joyce took to the skies in a Bombardier Challenger 600.  Facing criticism over this, Joyce replied that “there’s no need for us to apologize for being blessed.”

Apparently that “blessing” wasn’t sufficient to serve the Lord, however, and so a few years (and a Senate investigation into her ministry’s “tax-exempt” status later) she traded up to a Gulfstream IV.

Blessing or no, the Gulfstream IV is a top flight private jet, with a crew of two, room for nineteen passengers, and a top cruising speed of Mach 0.85." (From "Areocorner.com) She says that  she can't travel commercial because, "It's too hard." [That mode of travel is for the unwashed herd, not the elite.]

You too can have a Gulfstream IV for a cost of between $3,495,000 and $4,500,000 with 19 currently advertised for sale. All you need are some mighty big shears.

Joyce Meyer’s house in Missouri is located in the St. Louis suburb of Fenton. The house, which sits on 10 acres of land, is 10,000 square feet and features five bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, a pool, and a pool house. The estimated value of the property is $10 million.

Joyce Meyer’s Florida home is located in the upscale community of Longboat Key. The house is situated on a one-acre lot and has six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and a pool. The house also boasts stunning views of the Gulf of Mexico. The estimated value of the property is $4.5 million.

In addition to her Missouri and Florida homes, Joyce Meyer also owns a property in Los Angeles, California. The house, which is currently on the market, is listed for $6.5 million.

Joyce Meyer also owns a vacation home in the mountains of Colorado. The house sits on 10 acres of land and features four bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a private lake.

A reporter asked Joyce Meyer if she felt any guilt about taking the rent money from those who were struggling to make ends meet while she lives the life of Croesus. Her laconic answer: "No."  

This is only one aspect of her heresies. Her damaging doctrines of demons (Cf. I Timothy 4:1) also include the person of Christ and the atonement. 

A heretic is loose in the vineyard and they love to have it so.

 

 

 

 

24/7 Hate

How did 1930s Germany come to hate the Jews with a white-hot heat fanaticism? That would be a lesson in and of itself on how to generate a national hatred. The answer is in the pages of history for all to see. 

With the election of Hitler, hatred for the Jews was at the top of his agenda. Because of Germany's defeat in WWI and it's subsequent humiliation in the treaty, Hitler had come to believe that ALL of Germany's troubles, including the economic ones, came as a result of his imagined worldwide Jewish conspiracy. His hatred was both deep and toxic. 

Hitler's pathological agenda was to infect Germany with his toxicity. To do so, he and his circle of evil men concocted a plan for the  national saturation of hatred. The government began to write repetitive articles espousing one idea: all Jews are evil. 

Then there was a special group at the ready: They were called the Storm Troopers, AKA "The Brown Shirts," they were "a 2,000 strong para-military force organized to keep order with their fists at Nazi meetings,to disrupt their opponents and to keep the Nazi party in the public eye. Most recruits were unemployed social misfits, disaffected former servicemen or thugs. By 1934 membership had risen to 2 million."

Storm Troopers were stationed in front of Jewish businesses to intimidate any customers who dared to approach the stores so as to enforce a government encouraged boycott. The troopers also painted the Star of David on Jewish storefronts for identification purposes. 

But the boycott was met by an apathetic Germany. One of the members of the circle of evil, Joseph Goebbels, wanted massive support for his boycott but wasn't getting it. He had to do something else. He came to the conclusion that his poisonous antisemitism couldn't be transferred to the Germans overnight, so he had to make the transfer drip-by-drip.The only thing he needed were the tools.

Hitler provided the tools by nationalizing the newspapers, the movies, and Marconi's invention, the radio. Goebbels seized all the radio stations. "In the 1930s, everyone wanted a radio. . . The still-new invention brought news, music, dramas, and comedy right into the home. 

Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels saw its potential to transmit Nazi messages into the daily lives of Germans. The only hurdle was producing and disseminating the devices on a mass scale. Under Goebbels’s direction the “people’s receiver,” was born. “Now, even workers could afford this cheaper model. Step by step, radio emerged in the villages as electrification made rapid progress.”  

Now, hatred for the Jews could be beamed into every German home all night and every day. It was 24/7 hate. Now families could hear Hitler's speeches in real time. The receivers also provided music, so the Germans were all for it, no matter what else it brought into their homes. But Goebbels had a problem. How could he know they were listening? To ensure the ears of the population were listening, agents of the government checked up on people in their homes.

The tools were now in place. The result was that when the German read a newspaper, went to a movie, or turned on his radio, he heard the same message over and over and over again: all Jews were evil and here's the proof. 

There is a principle in the field of psychology: "Repetition makes a fact seem more true, regardless of whether it is or not. 'Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth,' is a law of propaganda often attributed to the Nazi Joseph Goebbels." (Psychologist Tom Stafford)

Two cases in point will suffice to show that this technique lives on: how many times have we heard these two words applied to America: "systemic racism." How many times have we heard, "greedy capitalist?" How many times have we heard that the rich should "pay their fair share," (which is never defined, merely repeated)." How many times have we heard "gender affirming care"? How many times have we heard, "A woman's right to choose"? How many times have we heard abortion described as "women's health care"? 

Those terms have been burned into our national consciousness by repetition. We have no way of counting the number because they're used in newspapers, movies, TV shows, the local and national news, in panel discussions, by the medical profession, and, and, and. . .  they are everywhere. 

The national hatred infected academia as news reels in Germany showed students making bonfires out of the books of Jewish authors. 

Then, another aspect of the strategy in Germany was to demonize the Jews. They did this by word and pictures. The drawings on posters and in textbooks were those of Jews as monsters with huge, out of proportion hooked noses and stomachs. 

The demonization strategy lives on. Groups of concerned parents opposing pornography in school libraries are labelled as "book banners" or even "domestic terrorists" and "opponents of democracy, fascists."

The child of the German hatred was violence. Goebbels only needed an opportunity to strike against the Jews, and that came with the Nuremberg rallies. These were military gatherings that would involve hundreds of thousands of Nazis, including members of the Party, armed forces, and youth groups.They were to participate in pre-planned theater writ large.

"The rallies created a feeling of control from the center. This also meant that the spectators were constantly under the watchful eyes of the Party. The rallies were precisely planned out which conveyed a feeling of absolute control from within the Nazi party, and must have appeared to be quite menacing. 

"Through their spectacular nature, the Nuremberg rallies also reinforced the Nazi ideology to the people within Germany, as well as to other countries. With the sheer size and nationalistic feeling of the rallies, the Nazis appeared to be extremely well organized. This would have been appealing to the German people, who were wanting strong and empowering leadership to rebuild Germany. 

"This would have made the Nazis seem threatening to other countries. With an arena holding 400,000 people, and the light display visible from 62 miles away, the power of the Nazis seemed immense."

The Nuremberg Rallies had a number of features: Nazis in immaculate military dress, marches by soldiers with flags, accompanied by drums, torchlight processions, and speeches by Hitler and other leading Nazis. The sights, the masses, and sounds of the martial music of these would roil the emotional fervor of the masses as was the government's intent. 

Goebbels was now set to move against the Jews.

Goebbels delivered a blistering speech attacking the Jews, declaring that they were "an enemy of the state." He wanted all Jews out of Germany. The crowds were being primed for action against the Jew and were eager to liberate the hate burning inside them. 

Thus, the fury of  "Chrystal Night" was unleashed on November 9-10, 1938. The Nazis torched synagogues, vandalized Jewish homes, schools, businesses, and killed nearly a hundred Jews. They also arrested and sent about 30,000 Jewish men to concentration  camps 

It was was also known as, "The Night of Broken Glass" because of the shattered glass from the windows of Jewish buildings. They clubbed Jews to death on the streets. They destroyed over 7,000 Jewish businesses. 

In Austria, when a Jew shot a German diplomat, Goebbels didn't waste the emergency; he broadcast the word that no German was safe from the Jews.  There were orders to hold back the police and let the attacks on the Jews continue. Violence in the streets against the Jews increased. The police let the people have their way against the Jews and the people were encouraged to loot the Jews and turn the ill gotten gains over to the state. As one author wrote, "The SS, dressed as private citizens, unleashed hell on the Jews." 

Goebbels did the outrageous: he forced the Jews to pay for the destruction perpetrated upon them through taxation for the damages.

 The hate campaign had worked. Even the Nazi elite were shocked at the destruction of life and property. Hatred of the Jews now consumed the nation.

But the Nazis had forgotten or  ignored Genesis 12:3: "Those who curse[the Jews] God will curse." History records God's cursing in the destruction of the nation coming through WWII. The following summary will suffice:

"Capt. Albert R. Behnke, a U.S. Navy medical doctor, stated in regard to Germany: “From 1945 to the middle of 1948 one saw the probable collapse, disintegration and destruction of a whole nation…Germany was subject to physical and psychic trauma unparalleled in history.”

BUD LIGHT II

 

"The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) unanimously voted to adopt a resolution which encourages schools to adopt lessons on gender identity and sexual orientation, just days after parents protested the proposed materials.

"The district’s adopted resolution 'encourages all schools to incorporate lessons on the LGBTQ+ community in instruction” and recognizes June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month and October as LGBTQ+ History Month. On Friday, parents of students from Saticoy Elementary School within LAUSD pushed back against a Pride event that showed a video to children explaining that 'some kids have two mommies, some kids have two daddies.'"  (Reagan Reese)

The quote is a portion of a longer article. But from that alone, you get the gist of the rest. It goes on to exhort other districts to follow its lead; in fact, the statement says that following its lead"must be done." 

As with most matters, there's the rest of the story and it concerns a description of the LAUSD. The Los Angeles Unified School District is a leviathan turned juggernaut. It's the second largest school district in America, having a student population of 600,000. In August of 2022 the LAUSD  boosted the district’s overall spending plan to $19.9 billion, with $14.8 billion set aside for its operating budget, which primarily funds day-to-day expenses. 

If the present graduation rates hold, every May, 77% of those 600,000 will graduate and enter society. That's a total of 462,000 new voters and future leaders, and educators and journalists and the rank and file. 

The above article noted a parental "push back" against the 12-year indoctrination process. This push back against Bud Light, Target, North Face is what the majority call "the culture war" but they're wrong. It's not a culture war. The misnomer causes a misdiagnosis of what's really going on. We should rightly call it a "spiritual war." 

The goal for the 600,000 is that, at the end of the production line, i. e. graduation, is that they come out with a physical as well as a spiritual diploma. Their spiritual diploma represents a degree with a major in Rebellion, a rebellion against God and His Word. It's a thorough immersion in rebellion.

Paul revealed the truth of a vast, worldwide conspiracy that's part of this spiritual war. He did so in two texts. II Corinthians 4:4: "The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." The 12-year indoctrination process is an example of this blinding.

The other text is, "For our struggle is . . . against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12)

If the illness is misdiagnosed as" a culture war," the prescription that follows is in error. The medication becomes getting out the vote. Yet history shows that no democracy has ever voted itself out of this problem. A Scotsman named Alexander Fraser Tyler (1747-1813) said it well as he pinpointed the problem as a spiritual one:

"Nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.”  

Paul wrote the prescription in these words: "We preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness." 

 

BUD LIGHT

 Bud Light, the LA Dodgers, Target, Kohl's, the Toronto Blue Jays, Chick-fl-A, pronouns, et al. We  read about over 50 human beings being shot over Memorial Day weekend, 11 killed in Chicago. Then there are flash mobs that loot, shoplifters who go unpunished, vicious criminals going about their evil with no fear of the law, schools in chaos, 50 vicious teens attacking two United States Marines, and perversion in our libraries and encouraged in our schools. We also hear of a national organization encouraging evil with this announcement: "Any reason for an abortion is a good reason." 

Our system of education produces "graduates" who can't name a Founding Father, don't know how many moons the earth has, don't how many eggs are in a dozen, don't know who fought in the War Between the States or WWII, have no idea when Jesus lived, and can't name a country, are able to avoid the English and history departments in our colleges and still graduate, but they can name all the Kardashians at the drop of a hat. High schools and middle schools are chaotic places of violence against teachers and students alike that's so bad, teachers are quitting by the multitudes. Substitutes, according to one Oregon student, spend their days watching movies in class with the students.

Western Civilization, founded upon Christianity, is under a relentless, 24/7 assault. Lincoln's statement in his famous Second Inaugural Address is no longer true. As he noted, pondering the meaning of the Civil War, "Both sides read the same Bible.” 

 "In Lincoln's day, as it had been since our colonial days, the Bible was accepted as the Word of God, an authority and guide for life.  As solders faced physical hardships, separation from their loved ones, the horrors of battle, and the possibility of debilitating wounds or death words from Scripture often gave them spiritual strength for the difficult times." (From Houston Christian University)

Mark Galli writes: "We were once people whose lives were characterized by the presence of God, as if we 'walk with him and talk with along life’s narrow way' as the old hymn puts it. Today, we are known for our politics (left and right), our voting patterns, our ethical hypocrisy, our compromise with materialism, church-planting techniques, growing churches, entrepreneurial skill, and a relentless activism to improve ourselves and our society. A living, vital, and personal relationship with God, a relationship that floods the heart and mind as it did the psalmists and so many others in the Bible and in our history—well it’s hard to find that among us today."

What then of the boycotts of Bud Light, et al? These are a backlash only against the symptoms of THE problem, not THE problem itself. The Bible states THE problem: " For even though they knew God, they did not ^[o]honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and ^[p]crawling creatures. ²⁴ Therefore God gave them up to vile impurity in the lusts of their hearts, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. ²⁵ For they exchanged the truth of God for ^[q]falsehood .  . . (Romans 1)

A great student of history said::

"I have spent well-nigh 50 years working on the history of [the Bolshevik] Revolution; in the process I have read hundreds of books, collected hundreds of personal testimonies, and have already contributed eight volumes of my own toward the effort of clearing away the rubble left by that upheaval. But if
I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous Revolution that swallowed up some 60 million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat: “Men have forgotten God; that’s why all this has happened.”

Conclusion: If  boycotts run Bud Light et al out of business, THE problem remains.

THE DISCONNECT

 Let's put three texts one after the other and see if they match. The first from Luke and are the words of John the Baptist to Israel as great crowds had gathered to hear him and be baptized by him. These are his instructions:

"Therefore produce fruits that are consistent with repentance, and do not start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ 

¹⁰ And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “Then what are we to do?” ¹¹ And he would answer and say to them, “The one who has two tunics is to share with the one who has none; and the one who has food is to do likewise.” ¹² Now even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what are we to do?” ¹³ And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” ¹⁴ And soldiers also were questioning him, saying, “What are we to do, we as well?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone, nor harass anyone, and be content with your wages.”

So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people."

Now let's move to another text, this one from I Cor. 15:  

"Now I make known to you, brothers, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received . . . that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures."

One more. This one from the Gospel of John 20:30-31: 

"So then, many other ^[h]signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the ^[i]Christ, the Son of God; and that by believing you may have life in His name."

Even the not-so-careful-reader can see  the vast disconnect between John the Baptist's message and Paul's and John's. Luke, who recorded the Baptist's message as seen above is laced with works. Paul's and John's have no works in them. That's a very large disconnect, isn't it?

The question is, what in the wide world of disconnects is going on?

Paul and Luke both use the word "gospel," don't they?

To understand what's happening, we have to back up to see what God-ordained duty John the Baptist was to perform. We learn that in the context of his ministry the Baptist's task was stated by Isaiah and Malachi: to prepare the way for the coming Messiah, the King of Israel. John the Baptist was the herald of the King. He was to announce the arrival of the King as a herald, thus preparing Israel for His arrival. In so doing, he has "good news" for them (the word "gospel" means "good news.")

His message is not a message of how to be saved or how to go to heaven. His message is one of preparation. When the Messiah conducts His ministry, He will give the information concerning gaining eternal life apart from any works. 

This explains why John's message is different from John the Apostle's and Paul's. 

Here's a word of warning: any pastor or evangelist who uses John the Baptist's message as a model for our witnessing, that is, as a model in declaring the gospel (using the word in  its technical sense as "the saving message,") is leading you into Lordship salvation and a message of works, which is no gospel at all!