By Their Fruit You Will Know Them

Christ came to us almost 2,000 years ago to teach a pure
religion that the apostles and disciples began spreading
throughout the known world. He did not use force or threats
in the course of doing his Father’s work. There is not one instance
where he ever told his followers to use coercion or violence.
This is not the case with Christendom - false Christianity. The
following is a small example of Christendom’s violent ways:

Historical Overview of the Inquistions

(Excerpt)

“The sentence of death was carried out as the accused was
thrown into a fire as an auto de fe (act of faith). The fire was
reserved for those who would not admit their heresy, those
who relapsed in their heresies, and to other dissenters. The
guilty were burned because the church believed they (the
church) should not be a direct party in the shedding of blood.
To remain free of blood, the church "relaxed" or handed over
the guilty to the secular arm. Once handed over, the church
would recommend mercy with the qualifier that if the accused
was guilty, they be punished by death. It was understood that
the secular authorities would immediately condemn those with
"relaxed" status to death (Roth, 1964). If the guilty were fortunate
enough to die in the prisons instead, they and their families were
still not safe. Their dead bodies, along with effigies of those that
had escaped to other lands, would be taken along with the living
and thrown into the fire. This allowed the lands of all of those
people to be confiscated, if that had not already been done.
There truly was no escape from the fanaticism of the Spanish
Inquisition.”
(Roth, 1964, p. 73).

Notice in the paragraph above that the Church handed over
the victims to the government for their mutual benefit. John,
the Apostle of Christ, foretold this relationship between false
religion and the kings of the earth many centuries before:

“¹ And there came one of the seven angels which had
the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me,
Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of
the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
² With whom the kings of the earth have committed
fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have
been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”
(Revelation 17:1-2) (King James Version)

The excerpt continues:

“It has been suggested that this was an ethnic, as well as
religious, purification. The difference between the Spanish
Inquisition and the Papal Inquisition was that the Spanish
Inquisition was turned over to secular authorities. The secular
authorities were the ones who were in charge of the maintenance
and perpetuation of the Inquisition.

It was therefore a primary instrument of Spanish absolutism.
Moreover, its independent status enabled it to amass wealth,
heaped up by repeated confiscations, and this in itself rendered
it a force to be reckoned with in the affairs of the country”
(Roth, 1964, p. 73).

What else do historians say about the Inquisitions?

“From the actions of the Spanish Inquisition, it is apparent it
was an ethnic cleansing. The Spanish Inquisition and its
actions caused 200,000 loyal, but Jewish, Spaniards to leave
the country. Surely, the Spanish Inquisition was about more
than just religious purity.

The crown gained in many ways due to the Spanish Inquisition.
Ferdinand and later monarchs were able to use the guilty as
rowers for their war ships. Also, besides increasing in wealth
because of the Inquisition, the Spanish crown gained a certain
amount of control over the Catholic Church in Spain. Because
Pope Sixtus gave the authority to the crown, the Catholic Church
lost some authority and control of Spain.

In summary, the Inquisition in Spain began in 1478 and
officially ended in 1808. During that time, 323,362 people
were burned and 17,659 were burned in effigy. It is one of
the darkest periods in Spanish history. By far, the greatest
number of cases tried were for Judaising (Roth, 1964). These
were also the cases that were tried the most severely. There
were other minorities, of course, that were persecuted, but
the majority were Jews. The Inquisition definitely had racial
overtones. Although, it can be said that Queen Isabella officially
initiated the Spanish Inquisition for the purity of faith, nation,
and people, this is probably not the case. The materialistic
desires of the aristocracy certainly factor into the reasons for
the perpetuation of the Inquisition.

The inquisition is like most other dark periods of history. It was
primarily brought on because of prejudices and greed. When
one people excel within a society and they make up the minority,
they historically are labeled as scapegoats for the problems of
the rest of society. The Renaissance period was obviously the
same. It seems strange that in the history of man we still have
not found a way to deal with our own petty jealousies.”

Source: Jason L. Slade (August 6, 1996)

From:http://www.bibletopics.com/biblestudy/64.htm

The Monarchy and the Catholic Church became enormously
wealthy by murdering people, especially the rich, and then
confiscating their property. Neither the Kings nor the Catholic
Church have ever issued a meaningful apology for these
outrageous crimes and have never returned the stolen wealth
to their helpless victims. People still congregate to their churches
today with pride.

Who were some of the victims?

Waldensians,Protestant religious group of medieval
origin, called in French Vaudois. They originated in the
late 12th cent. as the Poor Men of Lyons, a band
organized by Peter Waldo, a wealthy merchant of Lyons,
who gave away his property (c.1176) and went about
preaching apostolic poverty as the way to perfection.
Being laymen, they were forbidden to preach. They
went to Rome, where Pope Alexander III blessed their
life but forbade preaching (1179) without authorization
from the local clergy. They disobeyed and began to
teach unorthodox doctrines; they were formally declared
heretics by Pope Lucius III in 1184 and by the Fourth
Lateran Council in 1215. In 1211 more than 80 were
burned as heretics at Strasbourg, beginning several
centuries of persecution.    

From:http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/W/Waldense.asp

Albigenses12th century separated from the Church of Rome. 
All heretics who resided in Languedoc, Toulouse, and those
who in Italy were called Cathari and Bulgari.  They were the
subjects of Raymond, sixth count of Toulouse, having embraced
the opinions, received them under his protection. Innocent III
was then the Pope of Rome.  Hearing of the rapid progress of
this sect and fearing its future influence, the Pope resolved to
exterminate them.  First he excommunicated them, asking clergy
to refuse them sacraments; disallowed intercourse with them;
and then a legate was sent from Rome to demand of Raymond
|their destruction.  He refused and the legate was slain. 
Innocent III called on the faithful everywhere to destroy them. 
In 1209 a large army was gathered and equipped under the
guidance of Simon, earl of Montfort.  Terrified by this host,
Raymond yielded to the demands of the Pope.  A nephew of
Raymond prosecuted the war, but was at last forced to submit. 
Honorius III, the successor of Innocent was determined to
complete the work, he prevailed on Louis VIII, king of France
to march at the head of a great army, Louis IX finished the
work of his dad.  St. Louis's war, was a terrible and bloody
war, which has continued for several years, and thousands
of innocent were slain.  The Church of the Albigenses were
drowned in blood. 

From:http://www.religion-portal.com/ReligionFinder/religions/Albigenses.htm

Did Christ ever advocate war? Did he tell his disciples to kill
or force people to listen to them? Did he ever say torture was
acceptable? Here is what he once said to his disciples, as an
example for all of us to follow:

“³⁹But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but
whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek,
turn to him the other also.”
(Matthew 5:39) (King James Version)

Consider then, the Crusades – also a product of false religion:

(Excerpt)

“The Crusades were in every way a defensive war. They were
the West's belated response to the Muslim conquest of fully
two-thirds of the Christian world. While the Arabs were busy
in the seventh through the tenth centuries winning an opulent
and sophisticated empire, Europe was defending itself against
outside invaders and then digging out from the mess they left
behind. Only in the eleventh century were Europeans able to
take much notice of the East. The event that led to the crusades
was the Turkish conquest of most of Christian Asia Minor (modern
Turkey). The Christian emperor in Constantinople, faced with the
loss of half of his empire, appealed for help to the rude but
energetic Europeans. He got it. More than he wanted, in fact.

Pope Urban II called the First Crusade in 1095. Despite modern
laments about medieval colonialism, the crusade's real purpose
was to turn back Muslim conquests and restore formerly Christian
lands to Christian control. The entire history of the crusades is
one of Western reaction to Muslim advances. The crusades were
no more offensive than was the American invasion of Normandy.
As it happened, the First Crusade was amazingly, almost
miraculously, successful. The crusaders marched hundreds of
miles deep into enemy territory and recaptured not only the lost
cities of Nicaea and Antioch, but in 1099 Jerusalem itself.

The Muslim response was a call for jihad, although internal
divisions put that off for almost fifty years. With great leaders
like Nur ed-Din and Saladin on the Muslim side and Richard
the Lionheart and St. Louis IX on the Christian side, holy war
was energetically waged in the Middle East for the next century
and a half. The warriors on both sides believed, and by the
tenets of their respective religions were justified in believing,
that they were doing God's work. History, though, was on the
side of Islam. Muslim rulers were becoming more, not less
powerful. Their jihads grew in strength and effectiveness until,
in 1291, the last remnants of the crusaders in Palestine and
Syria were wiped out forever.”

From: http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-madden110201.shtml

Thus, false religion gives herself away. False religion converts
people at sword point. Quite often, people were slaughtered,
tortured and robbed mercilessly by these “religious” imposters.

What does the Apostle John warn us about false religion?

“⁴ Then I heard another voice calling from heaven,
"Come away from her, my people. Do not take part
in her sins, or you will be punished with her. ⁵ For
her sins are piled as high as heaven, and God is
ready to judge her for her evil deeds.”
(Revelation 18:4-5) (New Living Translation)

This is a timely warning for all of us because we are living
at the time when this system of things will come to an end.
Yes, soon, all the evil in the world will be wiped away and
all of the evildoers will be punished for the centuries of
atrocities that have been committed by them. Do we want
to share in their punishment?

Jehovah sent His son to us to plant fine trees that produce fine fruit:

¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people
pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
¹⁷ Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad
tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
(Matthew 7:16-18) (New International Version)

"Even now the ax of God's judgment is poised, ready to sever
your roots. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit
will be chopped down and thrown into the fire."
(Luke 3:9) (New Living Translation)

Can we find fine trees producing fine fruit now in this world?

There are over six million people in over 200 lands planting
fine trees that are producing fine fruit.

Who are these people?

They are the true Christians who are continuing the work
Christ and his apostles started. They:

• do not participate in wars
• are politically neutral
• are looking for people who want to plant fine trees.

History Repeats Itself?

An ancient world was “destroyed"!

Will it happen again?

Just as an ancient world was “destroyed” in the days of Noah -
again - God has promised to “destroy” all of the evil in the entire
world when His son returns to the earth.

³⁷As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the
Son of Man.
(Matthew 24:37) (New International Version)

A whole world was “destroyed”!

By now the quotation marks around the word “destroyed”
must be apparent. Why is the word always in quotes?

Because the world will not be totally destroyed! Just the
cultures, military, commerce, and governments that
exist now.

Look at the world around us, with its cities, its culture, its
scientific achievements, its population of billions. It is easy
to be impressed by its apparent permanence, is it not?
Could it be possible that some day soon this advanced and
ultramodern world could completely disappear? That may
be difficult to envision. However, according to a very good
source, a “world”, a civilization, existed before this one and
it was wiped out – down to just eight people.

Why Did That Ancient World Perish?

The global deluge was not a natural disaster. It was a
judgment from God. Warning was given, but it was
largely ignored.  According to Peter:

⁵ And God did not spare the ancient world--except for Noah and
his family of seven. Noah warned the world of God's righteous
judgment. Then God destroyed the whole world of ungodly
people with a vast flood.

(2Peter 2:5) (New Living Translation)

Why did God destroy them?

⁵ The LORD saw how bad the people on earth were and that
everything they thought and planned was evil.

(Genesis 6:5) (Contemporary English Version)

 ^11-12 God knew that everyone was terribly cruel and violent.
(Genesis 6:11-12) (CEV)

Isn't this situation similar today?

Maybe the hatred and violence is not quite as
widespread yet, but give it time.

We regularly hear about horrifying acts of terrorism,
campaigns of genocide - mass killings by gunmen and
bombers with little apparent motive, and domestic
violence on a shocking scale. The earth has again be-
come filled with violence, and as before, the world has
been put on notice of a judgment to come. Jesus himself
said that he would come as God's appointed Judge and
that he would separate people as a shepherd separates
sheep from goats:

³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the
people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the
goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
³⁴ "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are
blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared
for you since the creation of the world. ⁴¹ "Then he will say to those
on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire
prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴⁶ "Then they will go away to
eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
(Matthew 25:32-34,41,46) (NIV)

Christ and his followers issued some serious
warnings to mankind long ago:

"As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at
the end of the age."
(Matthew 13:40) (NIV)

"I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were
already kindled!"
(Luke 12:49) (NIV)

"But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from
heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just like this on the day
the Son of Man is revealed."
(Luke 17:29-30) (NIV)

"For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written
may be fulfilled. And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars;
and upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring
of the sea and the billows; men fainting for fear, and for expectation
of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the
heavens shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory. For so shall it come
upon all them that dwell on the face of all the earth. But watch ye at
every season, making supplication, that ye may prevail to escape all
these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of
man.
(Luke 21:22,26,27,36) (American Standard Version)

"For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred
since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will ever again.
Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved."
(Matthew 24:21,22) (New ASV)

"This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing
fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God
and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with
everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and
from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified"
(2Thessalonians 1:7-10) (NIV)

Billions will die but many will survive unharmed

The Bible says that this time, however, there will be – not a
small group – but a great crowd who worship the only true
God.  In the world to come, these will enjoy life in permanent
peace and security as never before. Jehovah’s prophets have
spoken it:

⁹ After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and
tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before
the Lamb. They were clothed in white and held palm branches in their
hands. ¹⁰ And they were shouting with a mighty shout, "Salvation comes
from our God on the throne and from the Lamb!" ¹¹ And all the angels
were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four
living beings. And they fell face down before the throne and worshiped
God. ¹² They said, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and
thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God
forever and forever. Amen!" ¹³ Then one of the twenty-four elders asked
me, "Who are these who are clothed in white? Where do they come
from?" ¹⁴ And I said to him, "Sir, you are the one who knows." Then he
said to me, "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.
They washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.
¹⁵ That is why they are standing in front of the throne of God, serving him
day and night in his Temple. And he who sits on the throne will live among
them and shelter them. ¹⁶ They will never again be hungry or thirsty, and
they will be fully protected from the scorching noontime heat. ^{1 7} For the
Lamb who stands in front of the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead
them to the springs of life- giving water. And God will wipe away all their
tears."

(Revelation 7:9-17) (New Living Translation)

"For yet a little while, and the evildoers will be no more; though
you look with care where they used to be, they will not be found. But
the meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the
abundance of peace."
(Psalm 37:10,11) (Amplified Bible)

³ and he will judge between many peoples, and will decide concerning
strong nations afar off: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against
nation, neither shall they learn war any more. ⁴ But they shall sit every
man under his vine and under his fig-tree; and none shall make them
afraid: for the mouth of Jehovah of hosts hath spoken it.

(Micah 4:3, 4) (ASV)

A worldwide warning about this coming Day of Judgment and
a message of good news about the peace that will follow are
today being zealously preached in obedience to Jesus' prophetic
command.

¹⁴ And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached
throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it;
and then, finally, the end will come.
(Matthew 24:14) (New Living Translation)

This warning is not to be taken lightly. Almighty God keeps
his word:

"In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands
all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will
judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has
given proof  of this to all men by raising him from the dead."
(Acts 17:30,31) (NIV)

The Lord’s Prayer

The Bible has many prayers in it. The Lord’s Prayer is
an example that our Saviour gave us. Most people have a
vague idea of what the words mean, but often people
memorize it and repeat it in prayer mechanically.

Is this the best or only way to pray to our Heavenly Father?

Christendom, especially Catholicism, promotes the idea that
mindless repetition of the Lord’s Prayer is the accepted way
to pray to their nameless lord. And that is exactly what they
do. This is not really what Jehovah wants from us. We need
to pray to our Heavenly Father, but not repetitiously. After all,
how would we like it if people came up to us and muttered the
same phrases to us over and over?

People would not conceive of talking to other people like a
"broken record", so why do people treat The God who created
the universe as if He would like to hear monotonous repetition?

Christ never taught that:

“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do:
for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.”
(Matthew 6:7) (King James Version)

People around the world love to pray repetitiously to their false
gods, so we should want to avoid being like them. When Christ
gave us the “Lord’s prayer”, he made it plain that it was a guide
to go by:

“Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth
what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.”
(Matthew 6:8) (King James Version)

But what does this prayer mean?
What are we actually praying for?

“Our Father, who art (who is) in Heaven” is Jehovah, not a
“nameless LORD”. It would be wise to call upon Him with
His name so that there is no question about whom we are
praying to. As the Apostle Paul once said:

“⁵ According to some people, there are many so-called gods
and many lords, both in heaven and on earth. ⁶ But we know
that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything,
and we exist for him. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom God made everything and through whom we
have been given life.”
(1 Corinthians 8:5-6) (New Living Translation)

“Hallowed be thy name” means, “your name is sacred.”

“Your kingdom come” means, “may your kingdom come”.

What kingdom?

The end of this “system” is almost here and we will be ruled by
Jehovah’s kingdom after all of the earthly governments are crushed.
We pray for His kingdom to come for our deliverance from injustice
and oppression by our current earthly governments.

“Thy will be done” means “may your will be done “on earth as
it is in Heaven”. Jehovah’s will is not being done by everyone
here on the earth now. That will change soon!

“Give us this day our daily bread” is a prayer that most of the
world prays daily, even by non-Christians due to widespread
famine and food shortages. Only Jehovah promises to answer
our prayer for our daily bread:

²⁵ "So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life--whether
you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn't life
consist of more than food and clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds.
They don't need to plant or harvest or put food in barns
because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far
more valuable to him than they are.”
(Matthew 6:25-26) (New Living Translation)

“And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors”
is a prayer for forgiveness of sins.

“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”
is a prayer to help us stay on the narrow path to everlasting life.

“For thine (yours) is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever.” 
For the time being, earthly rulers seek some kind of kingdom,
power and glory for themselves. This too will change soon.

Amen

According to the online Encyclopedia Wikipedia:

Amun (also spelled Amon, Amoun, Amen, and
rarely Imen, Greek Ἄμμων Ammon, and Ἅμμων
Hammon, reconstructed Egyptian Yamānu) was
the name of a deity, in Egyptian mythology, who
gradually rose to become one of the most important
deities in Ancient Egypt, before fading into obscurity.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amun

(Matthew 6:9-13) (King James Version)

Since this is a guide to go by, it is not proper to memorize this
prayer and pray it daily. Instead, it is much better to pray daily
to Jehovah as if He were a person, like we are, because He is!
Tell Him your desires, thoughts and be sure to thank Him for
the blessings He bestows upon us. Always pray to Jehovah in
Christ’s name because he said:

”If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.”

(John 14:14) (New Living Translation)

Christ never told his followers to pray to him, but people tend
to do that. Remember the first commandment and pray to
Jehovah through his son and we will be worshiping
Jehovah in the manner that He prefers. 

³ Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
(Exodus 20:3) (KJV)

What else does Jehovah require of us?            

Stop ending prayers with the name of an Egyptian god.
It is just another ploy by the Catholic church to insert
pagan gods and other pagan practices into Christianity.    

Blind Faith or True Knowledge?

A lot of people have a religion to believe in but do not know
anything about the history or origin of their religion.

Is it wise to have "blind faith" or would it be better
to understand what we believe in?

How did the Moslem religion get started?

We must go back to 600 AD.

The Moslems

According to the World Book Encyclopedia:

Moslems are people who practice the religion of Islam,

founded by Mohammed about 600 A.D. The term Moslem

comes from the Arabic word ‘Muslim’, meaning a believer

in Islam.

Mohammed was born 570 A.D. and grew up in Mecca. He

was repelled by idol worship and spent many hours in religious

contemplation. He became convinced that there was one God

and that He had revealed himself in the Bible.Mohammed

said that God (Who they call Allah) called him as his prophet

to destroy idolatry and to bring the Arabs to the worship of one

god. He preached the ten commandments from the Bible

with special emphasis on the first one – Thou shalt have no

other gods before God.

He preached in Mecca for thirteen years while being persecuted
by the people there. On July 16, 622 A.D. Mohammed fled for
his life to Medina.There he preached with great power and
persuasiveness, not only winning many converts but the people
even made him their king.

War broke out in 624 A.D. between the Meccans and the followers
of Mohammed in Medina. The Moslems finally defeated the
Meccans by 630 A.D. and Mohammed returned triumphantly to
Mecca to convert the people of Mecca to his new religion.

The Koran is the sacred book of the Moslems. They believe that
the angel Gabriel revealed the Koran to Mohammed, a little at a
time from about 610 to 632 A.D. After he died(632 A.D.), his
followers collected his revelations and made them into what is
now the Koran between 650 and 655 A.D.

World Book Encyclopedia 1963

Notice that Mohammed was influenced, at first, by the Bible. After
that, his teachings deviate substantially from the Bible: the old testament
of the Bible was complete when Mohammed lived, so he must have read
many times that God’s name is Jehovah! Yet Mohammed taught that
God’s name is Allah. Why? Because the angel claiming to be “Gabriel”
told him that God’s name is Allah. Jehovah’s prophets wrote His name
in the old testament of the Bible almost 7,000 times.

Does it seem probable that an angel of Jehovah, especially the
real Gabriel, would really say that God’s name is now Allah?

While it is commendable that Mohammed abolished idolatry, he was
still responsible for spreading the Moslem religion at sword point,
much like the Catholic Church spread “Christianity”. In fact, the
Crusades were initiated for the very purpose of forcing the Catholic
Religion upon the Moslems at sword point or annihilating them:

"The Crusades were a series of Rom­an Catholic “holy” wars to
wrest control of the Holy Land from Muslims. They produced
some of the bloodiest battles in history. Did you ever wonder
how the Catholics reconcile that “holy” slaughter with the Bible,
which states, “Thou shalt not kill”? Or how they can read the
Sermon on the Mount and still lead the religious world in spilling
rivers of blood?"
-Wars of Catholicism
By Gerald Flurry

Neither Jehovah, his son nor any true follower of Christ
would advocate violence in order to introduce a true religion.
Never! Thus, the Moslem faith reveals it’s true nature from the
fruit it produced. Even today, Moslem extremists advocate violence
and bring about bloodshed. This leaves no doubt that the Moslem
religion is not in any way, a true religion, instead, many millions
of Moslems have been tricked into worshiping a false god named
Allah for many centuries. While it is commendable that most
worshipers of Allah are peaceful and devoted to their worship, it is
obvious that Satan is behind the origin of the religion (not Gabriel)
and is therefore a path leading to destruction instead of the path to
everlasting life. It is not the only counterfeit religion that an “angel”
brought about! Demons have brought into existence countless false
religions. What is another one? Fast-forward to 1820.

The Mormons

According to the World Book Encyclopedia:

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon faith, claimed that
in the spring of 1820 he had a vision in which he saw God and
Jesus Christ. He was told not to join any church, but was later
authorized to establish the Church of Jesus Christ. On Sept. 21,
1823, the Angel named Moroni appeared in a vision to tell Smith
that a record engraved on plates of gold containing the history of
the ancient inhabitants of America was buried in a hill, called
Cumorah, about four miles from Palmyra, N.Y. From these
plates, Smith translated the Book of Mormon.

World Book Encyclopedia 1963

Notice that Joseph Smith received his vision and a visit supposedly
from an angel, God, and Jesus Christ. This would indeed make him
a prophet. While it could easily be argued that the episode was a just
hoax, let us examine the possibility that the events took place exactly
as illustrated. Let us assume that the story is completely true. What
is wrong with the picture? Are there any red flags?

1.Why is it that God, Jesus and Moroni failed to mention that
God has a name, and His name is JEHOVAH?

2.Why did God, Jesus and Moroni not tell Joseph Smith that
Jesus did not die on a cross?

3.Why did God, Jesus and Moroni fail to mention that holy
days such as Easter and Christmas are pagan festivals?

God has a name, and is not a nameless Lord. He picked out His
name Himself:

¹⁵ And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt
thou say unto the children of Israel, Jehovah, the
God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto
you: this is my name forever, and this is my memorial
unto all generations.
(Exodus 3:15) (American Standard Version)

According to any Bible, symbols are not allowed as part of our
worship of Jehovah:

” ⁴ Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image,
nor any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above,
or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water
under the earth. ⁵ Thou shalt not bow down thyself
unto them, nor serve them, for I Jehovah thy God
am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth
generation of them that hate me, ⁶ and showing
lovingkindness unto thousands of them that love me
and keep my commandments.”
(Exodus 20:4-6) (ASV)

Further, so-called Christian holy days such as Christmas and Easter
are a sham!

But the Mormons carry on with these unacceptable practices to this
day just like the rest of Christendom.

So who was it really that Joseph Smith saw in his visions?

Could it have been Satan or one of his demons, going about their
work of misleading us?

“Then Jehovah said to Satan: ‘Where do you come from?’
At that, Satan answered Jehovah and said: ‘From roving
about in the earth and from walking about in it’”

(Job 1:7) (New World Translation) (WWW.Watchtower.org)

⁹ This great dragon--the ancient serpent called the
Devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world--
was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.
(Revelation 12:9) (New Living Translation)

“¹⁴ And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades
as an angel of light. ¹⁵ It is not surprising, then, if
his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.
Their end will be what their actions deserve.”
(2Corinthians 11:14-15) (New International Version)

So it turns out that although the Mormon religion Claims to have
Christian roots, it has much in common with the Moslems by the
way they both originated. An “Angel” visited a “nobody” and made
him write a book. The “nobody” then became an important prophet
for a new religion.

Which one is the true religion?

Neither! The only true religion is the one that teaches
about and promotes the one true God.

Is God named Allah? Is God nameless?

No, he is not. The true God picked out His name a long time ago
and revealed it to us in His book, the Bible, for a reason:

³² And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call
on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered.
(Joel 2:32) (ASV)

The Man With the Inkhorn

The Bible contains a great deal of knowledge. Most of the
knowledge is historical and many people find the old stories
to be inspiring and instructive but some of the most important
information is prophetic. Deep in many of the old accounts
from the prophets are their prophecies that have lain dormant
for many centuries. Strange events took place long ago that
will lead to even stranger events for the people of today.
Ancient prophecies are being fulfilled right before the watchful
eyes of the world, but the world does not comprehend what is
transpiring! Consider an event long ago that was recorded in
the Bible. This is what occurred long ago when Jehovah sent an
angel to deliver a message to the prophet named Ezekiel:

1 And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will
speak with thee.  2 And the Spirit entered into me when he spake
unto me, and set me upon my feet; and I heard him that spake unto
me.  3 And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children
of Israel, to nations that are rebellious, which have rebelled against
me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me even unto
this very day.  4 And the children are impudent and stiffhearted: I do
sent thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the
Lord Jehovah.  5 And they, whether they will hear, or whether they
will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that
there hath been a prophet among them.
(Ezekiel 2:1-5) (American Standard Version)

Here we see that Jehovah is displeased with His people and has
dispatched His prophet to give the people fair warning. Despite
Ezekiel's efforts, the people refused to change their ways.

"And, behold, six men came from the way of the higher gate,
which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon
in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen,
with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood
beside the brasen altar."
(Ezekiel 9:2) (King James Version)

This one angel had a job to do before the executions could begin:

3-4 The Glory of the God of Israel ascended from his usual
place above the cherubim-angels, moved to the threshold
of the Temple, and called to the man with the writing case
who was dressed in linen: "Go through the streets of Jerusalem
and put a mark on the forehead of everyone who is in
anguish over the outrageous obscenities being done in the city."
5-6 I listened as he went on to address the executioners: "Follow
him through the city and kill. Feel sorry for no one. Show no
compassion. Kill old men and women, young men and women,
mothers and children. But don't lay a hand on anyone with the
mark. Start at my Temple." They started with the leaders in front
of the Temple. 7-8 He told the executioners, "Desecrate the Temple.
Fill it with corpses. Then go out and continue the killing." So they
went out and struck the city. While the massacre went forward, I
was left alone. I fell on my face in prayer: "Oh, oh, God, my Master!
Are you going to kill everyone left in Israel in this pouring out of
your anger on Jerusalem?" 9-10 He said, "The guilt of Israel and
Judah is enormous. The land is swollen with murder. The city
is bloated with injustice. They all say, 'God has forsaken the
country. He doesn't see anything we do.' Well, I do see, and
I'm not feeling sorry for any of them. They're going to pay
for what they've done." 11 Just then, the man dressed in linen
and carrying the writing case came back and reported, "I've done
what you told me."
(Ezekiel 9) (The Message)

These events were fulfilled when Jerusalem was
captured by the Babylonians in 586 BC.

From: http://www.bartleby.com/65/ez/Ezekiel.html

Ezekiel's vision was highly symbolic but nonetheless led
to a nonsymbolic event where some of his people were
killed and some survived, just as his vision foretold. The
ones who survived were invisibly marked.

Are the conditions that Jehovah complained
about back then - about the same as today?
Is the land swollen with murder? Are the
cities bloated with injustice? Does anybody
care about Jehovah's laws at all? 

A few people in the world do. That is why the "man with the inkhorn" is back!

1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners
of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to
prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea
or on any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel coming up from
the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in
a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power
to harm the land and the sea: 3 "Do not harm the land or
the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of
the servants of our God." 4 Then I heard the number of
those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
(Revelation 7:1-4) (NIV)

These people are marked for the purpose of being our leaders.
There is no provision for the general public to reside in Heaven
with them. The Bible shows that these sealed individuals have
a specific function for a limited time:

4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been
given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who
had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and
because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the
beast or his image and had not received his mark on
their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and
reigned with Christ a thousand years.
(Revelation 20:4) (NIV)

What about this other mark?
Who is marked on the forehead and hands?

11 Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth.
He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon.
12 He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his
behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the
first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And he
performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to
come down from heaven to earth in full view of men.
14 Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf
of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth.
He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast
who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 He was
given power to give breath to the image of the first beast,
so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship
the image to be killed. 16 He also forced everyone, small
and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark
on his right hand or on his forehead, 17 so that no one
could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name
of the beast or the number of his name. 18 This calls for
wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number
of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.
(Revelation 13:11-18) (NIV)

Who has the mark of the beast?

From the passage we see that just about everybody has the
mark of the beast. Almost everybody has to buy things in
this modern world as a normal way of life. Many people
sell things. Having the mark of the beast upon us is nearly
unavoidable, but that is not the problem!

What then, is the problem?

¹⁹ Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and
their armies gathered together to make war against the
rider on the horse and his army. ²⁰ But the beast was
captured, and with him the false prophet who had
performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With
these signs he had deluded those who had received
the mark of the beast and worshiped his image.
(Revelation 19:19-20) (NIV)

The problem is not being marked, it is worshiping the beast while marked. 
We can see that military personnel have the mark. All countries having a
military require their personnel to pledge their allegiance solely to their
country and their commanders. Their god is the military (the beast).

What is the fate of the people who have
the mark of the beast and worship it?

19-21I saw the Beast and, assembled with him, earth's kings
and their armies, ready to make war against the One on
the horse and his army. The Beast was taken, and with him,
his puppet, the False Prophet, who used signs to dazzle and
deceive those who had taken the mark of the Beast and
worshiped his image. They were thrown alive, those two,
into Lake Fire and Brimstone. The rest were killed by the
sword of the One on the horse, the sword that comes from
his mouth. All the birds held a feast on their flesh.
(Revelation 19:19-21) (The Message)

So we can conclude that being marked by "the man
with the inkhorn" is desirable but being marked by
the beast can be fatal. Those of us who are marked
by the beast cannot worship it and expect to survive
when Jesus returns to destroy the beast.

What is a better idea?

34 Wait for Jehovah, and keep his way, And he will exalt
thee to inherit the land: When the wicked are cut off, thou
shalt see it. 37 Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright;
For there is a happy end to the man of peace. 38 As for
transgressors, they shall be destroyed together; The end of
the wicked shall be cut off.
(Psalms 37:34,37,38) (ASV)