What the Bible says about Jesus

The True Light "In him, (the Lord Jesus) was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world,…the world didn’t recognize him." John 1:4,9.
The Good Seed and the Weeds The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seeds in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. Matthew 13:24,25.

Monday, December 28, 2015

As you see the day approaching

Reposted from servehiminthewaiting.com
Via Prophecy Update
This is a very interesting and thorough e-book posted in PDF format by EVANGELICAL BIBLE COLLEGE OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA,  detailing the certainty that our present generation is the generation that will see the return of Christ, and the specific developments and prophetic trends in the past seventy years (a generation), toward a global government, a global religion, and a global economy.  It is a great resource to point others to, who may be new to Bible Prophecy, as a comprehensive review of what has already transpired, and bringing them right up to the current  moment. It covers the exact fulfillment of those prophecies of the first coming of Christ, and assures one of the current and soon fulfillment of those which relate to His impending second coming.
 Click the link below to access and save the PDF to your computer.
http://files.ctctcdn.com/61c7cfcb201/64d27739-814d-468e-94ba-330f50876eef.pdf

As You See the Day Approaching

100 BIBLICAL PROPHETIC TRENDS  1945 – 2015
by DR PETER JOHN MOSES, June 2015

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

The Eternal Spring of Joy, Peace and Hope from the Heart of God

Written by Jean-Louis at http://thelightnseed.blogspot.com
Reposted and revised from the original post written in 2009. 


        







Almonds trees in bloom
 
As people celebrate Christmas with all its symbols, regardless of what they think the exact time and year of God's divine condescension among us  are, this is what this season represents to me as a spiritual reality.

As I was reflecting upon the incarnation of our Savior Christ Jesus as the supreme gift of our Heavenly Father to mankind, I could not help but think of the limited perspective that we sometimes have of the infinite measure of all of God’s attributes and works in the vast universe He created but also in each of our lives.

The first thing I consider when I ponder the miracle of the supernatural birth of Jesus-Christ is that God chose to manifest His presence in the flesh as a seed of the Holy Spirit in the chosen womb of Mary.

Imagine a little! The creator and sustainer of the endless universe becoming a frail human being Himself subject to the natural law of human birth and physical existence.
What is amazing is that as we follow the course of His birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension and His coming back to take His own faithful ones to reign with Him, the same characteristic stages apply to us who have experienced the second spiritual birth and have passed from death to life, from the kingdom of darkness into His marvelous light.

 As the mature tree is essentially contained in the seed just waiting to develop through the different stages of growth, so was the life of the Lord Jesus and so is every one of our lives.
 
An illustration from the sharing of presents on Christmas day comes to mind. Imagine one of the present being a huge box with someone’s name on it. The person feverishly tears off the paper hoping to discover a big present that will provide a level of satisfaction commensurate to his perceived size. But as the box reveals another smaller box hidden under the packing peanuts, he suspects someone is playing a joke on him as he realizes from the sheer weight of the box.

As he keeps on opening another box, then another one, he finally opens the last tiny box and no matter what the value of the present, it leaves him or her with a sense of unfulfilled expectation and diminished satisfaction. Here in brief is how the acquiring and enjoying of material things which are supposed to fulfill our lives from the cradle to the grave end up being a great disappointment and a snare in the end. Not so with the present from our God, the free gift of salvation available to anyone willing to accept it. 

Conversely, imagine that you received the gift of God, salvation by grace in a small box. After receiving and opening the gift, once your life is changed by that spiritual tiny seed, you realize that as you grow, the gift keeps on growing as you learn and mature into eternal everlasting life, the box of our life, so to speak, getting bigger and bigger.

Now considering another angle to giving and sharing presents.

Jesus talking about greed said that life doesn’t consist in the abundance of things. Luke 12:15.And He told the people to not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21.

Jesus is not only talking about treasures, but incorruptible treasures! What is He talking about? He is talking about treasures that have their beginning as an intangible seed beginning here on the earth and continuing in Heaven and/or enjoying all the stages of the growth of the seed in two dimensions simultaneously, in the physical body while at the same time in the invisible realm of the spirit.


He means treasures like the Christian virtues, generosity of spirit, goodness, mercy, humility, faith, wisdom, spiritual knowledge, love, patience, fruits of the Spirit, all intangible, but whose effects are felt when translated into good works and service to our brothers, sisters and fellow man. And of course, included are all the material gifts that he has blessed us with in superabundance to share with those less fortunate than us and to provide the means to advance the Kingdom of God, through preaching of the Gospel through gifts to missions throughout the world. Everything that will become the stones building the foundation of our sphere of influence in the coming Kingdom.

In I Timothy 6: 18, Paul tells Timothy to "Command those who are rich in this present world... to put their hope in God who richly provide us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way, they will lay up for themselves a firm foundation for the coming age so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life". It is obvious that one can build a house or a building only as tall and as large as the dimensions of the foundation supporting it, otherwise the building collapses.


In the Bible we can find several mentions of this manifestation of life as encapsulated in the title of Our Lord who is the Alpha, the beginning and Omega, the end and of course everything in between.


We can find the image of the seed in I Peter 1:23. “For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is through the living and abiding Word of God.” Isaiah 9:6-7 promise of the coming Messiah follows this development: "for a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest upon His shoulders … there will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace."

Salvation, knowledge and wisdom are part of the incorruptible treasures that Christ talks about in Matthew. Talking about Christ, Isaiah 33:6 declares:He will be a sure foundation for our times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge: The fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.”

 
This salvation which starts as a spiritual seed planted by the Holy Spirit Himself in the hearts of men who have received Him on His terms is ever expanding and revealing the loving heart of our Heavenly Father at this time of the year and all year long. "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us". Romans 5:5

Paul prays for the Ephesians in Ephesians 3:14-17 that: "He would grant you according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with power through His spirit in the inner man so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith and that you being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God." This is also my prayer for all of us today and for the coming year.

Contrary to the philosophy of this passing and dying world, the present of eternal life in Christ Jesus started as a tiny seed, first the human seed inherited form our natural father and then the Holy Spirit seed  that contained all that is necessary to fulfill the purpose for which our Father and Creator put us on this earth. See I Corinthians 15.  45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. (NIV)



So this Christmas season until the beginning of 2016 and beyond, I invite you to remember with grateful and humble hearts, that the tiniest and most humble manifestation of life, a human seed, a tiny baby in his or her mother's womb is infinitely precious and worthy of protection and nurturing because it was made in God’s image. Psalm 139.


I invite you also to let your hearts and minds expand onto other amazing dimensions of life and consider all the stages of the life of the Savior in His birth, His death, His resurrection, His going back into the glory of Heaven and His coming back to give us glorified bodies, for we have already been resurrected (spiritually)  if we have been born again, starting as a tiny seed wrapped up in a small and fragile package that we all are, as pilgrims on this earth. 

This season Jesus offers us hope, joy and peace in a world sadly lacking theses blessings.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13.

Lord God, our loving Heavenly Father, we thank you and praise you for the gift of life present and eternal in Our Lord Jesus-Christ.



Airline kills U.S. route to avoid serving Jews

An international airline has dropped its New York-to-London route to avoid selling tickets to Jews. Kuwait Airways canceled the route after the U.S. government ordered the company based in the Muslim nation to lift the prohibition. WND reported in November that lawyer Jeffrey A. Lovitky pursued the complaint on behalf of a Jewish traveler who was…

If we leave God out of our lives, will we then have an absence of a point of moral decision making? Ravi Zacharias


Mind Control


(from Days of Praise)

“This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.” (Ephesians 4:17-18)

A question that troubles many Christians is why most highly educated leaders in science and other fields—even theologians—seem to find it so difficult to believe the Bible and the gospel of Christ. The answer is in the words of our text: They are “alienated from the life of God” because of self-induced ignorance. It is not that they can’t understand, but that they won’t understand! They “walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened . . . because of the blindness of their heart.” They don’t want to believe in their hearts, therefore they seek an excuse not to believe in their minds. They are “men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith” (2 Timothy 3:8)
.
The sad truth is that Satan himself controls their minds. They may be ever so intelligent in secular matters, but the gospel, with all its comprehensive and beautiful simplicity, remains hidden to them. “If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

Is there a remedy? Yes. “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). In this verse, the word “thought” is the same as “mind.” The weapons of truth, of prayer, of love, and of the Spirit can capture even such minds as these!

Monday, December 21, 2015

Why Ezekiel 38 is Not a Now Prophecy

on Wednesday, December 2, 2015 by
 
Current Middle East events suggest that the 2600 year old prophecy of Ezekiel 38 is about to happen. Russia’s military intervention into Syria in September of 2015 strongly reinforced this probability. This action put Russia, the apparent lead nation of the Ezekiel invasion, at Israel’s doorstep. Shortly afterward, Russia deployed their state of the art S-400 missile defense system into Syria, which essentially gained them control over most Mideast airspace.(i)
s 400 Turkey’s present political rifts with Israel and Iran’s advanced nuclear program, coupled with Iran’s stated intentions to wipe Israel off of the map, also increases the possibilities that Ezekiel 38 could occur soon. Russia, Turkey, and Iran are identified among the invaders in Ezekiel 38:1-6. They are among a nine member coalition that invades Israel in the end times to capture plunder and booty.

These developments above, along with flurries of other geo-political factors, have many prophecy buffs buzzing about the potential immanency of Ezekiel 38. However, we must avoid getting swept away in the sensationalism of newspaper exegesis, which is an attempt to connect current events with ancient biblical predictions. Current events can evidence the forthcoming of a Bible prophecy, but they have to match the predicted details exactly to warrant merit.

For instance, Russia intervenes into Syria. This hints that Ezekiel 38 is nearing because Russia’s military has moved into the Mideast theater. However, a few weeks later a Russian fighter jet gets struck down by Turkey. This prompts Russia to swiftly levy economic sanctions against Turkey, which result in a serious setback in their national relations. This friction is not conducive to the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38 because Russia and Turkey are allies in the prophecy.

See how the headlines below and their correlating succession of dates evidence the flaws of newspaper exegesis. On September 30, 2015, Ezekiel 38 looked like it was about to happen, but less than 60 days later a serious schism develops between Turkey and Russia.
Russia launches first airstrikes in Syria
(CNN Politics 9/30/15)(ii)

Putin condemns Turkey after Russian warplane downed near Syria border
(Guardian 11/24/15)(iii)

Russia approves detailed sanctions against Turkey over downed plane
(Reuters 12/1/15)(iiii


In reality, Ezekiel 38 has significant preconditions preventing its prophetic fulfillment. Ezekiel 38:8-13 mandates that Israel must be dwelling securely, without walls, bars, or gates, and in the center of their land, probably alluding to the landmass described in Genesis 15:18. Additionally, the Jewish State must be in receipt of great spoil. In my estimation, Israel today is not fulfilling these conditions.

Israel is unable to dwell securely as a result of the hostile Arab volatility that surrounds them. Walls, bars, and gates exist in Israel today in order to protect the Israelis from being terrorized by Hamas, Hezbollah, ISIS and the Palestinians in general. In fact, Israel is probably the most fenced in country in the world. It has fencing at various stretches along all of its land based borders.

Additionally, the goal of the Ezekiel 38 invaders is to destroy Israel and take plunder and great spoil. Although Israel’s economy is flourishing, it’s debatable if it presently possesses the great spoil that Russia and their coalition someday come after.

Ezekiel 38 describes nine distinct populations by their ancient names including Russia, Iran, Turkey, and Libya but omits the historic name equivalents of Arab states and terrorist populations that share common borders with Israel. Some of those who advocate that Ezekiel 38 is imminent teach that the surrounding Arab nations are identified indirectly in Ezekiel 38:6. They teach that the clause, “many peoples with thee,” includes the neighboring Arab states. However, there are three potential problems with this line of teaching.

1. The Arab states and terrorist populations within them are pinpointed directly in a distinctly different prophecy described in Psalm 83. The Psalm lists ten entirely separate members not included among the Ezekiel 38:1-6 invaders. Thus, it is probable that they are not among the “many peoples with thee” in Ezekiel 38:6, but are “many peoples distinct from thee”, not listed in Ezekiel 38 among the invaders. 

2. The hordes of Ezekiel 38 invaders must cross over much of the land possessed by these Psalm 83 nations and / or territories presently occupied by the terrorist populations in order to invade the nation of Israel. This beckons the question; why aren’t these nations, terrorists, or refugees listed among the Ezekiel 38 invaders?

3. Most importantly, Ezekiel 38 identifies nine specific invading populations, but oddly doesn’t mention any of the Psalm 83 Arab confederates among them. This conspicuous omission makes no sense when you consider that Ezekiel references all of the Psalm 83 members numerous times elsewhere throughout his prophetic book.
ps. 83 chartCase in point, Ezekiel lists Tyre 12 times. Tyre is a member of Psalm 83 and likely represents the Hezbollah today. He alludes to Philistia and / or Philistines 4 times. They are probably the Hamas terrorist organization. Edom or the Edomites are referenced 7 times. Asaph, the author of Psalm 83, calls them the tents of Edom and I interpret that as today’s Palestinian refugees.

The other Psalm 83 members like, Moab or Moabites, Ammon or Ammonites, Amalakites, Egyptians, Assyrians, Gebal (Lebanon), and the Saudis under the ancient banners of Dedan or the Ishmaelites, are also referenced elsewhere in the book of Ezekiel. Actually, all together the above Psalm 83 confederates are mentioned 89 times by Ezekiel.

Not one of those 89 references shows up in Ezekiel 38-39, with the exception of a potential Saudi contingent represented by Dedan in Ezekiel 38:13. But in this instance, Dedan appears to abstain from enjoining with the Ezekiel invaders. This suggests they play no military role in this invasion of Israel. Ezekiel 25:13 informs that many in Dedan will be killed in a war, which could be the result of the Psalm 83 war. If so, this might be the reason Saudi Arabia opts out of the Ezekiel invasion.

I believe the glaring omission of the Psalm 83 Arab confederates from the Ezekiel 38 list of invaders suggests they are not part of the Ezekiel 38-39 invasion. It is highly possible that they are defeated prior to fulfillment of Ezekiel 38. This article points out some, but not all, of the significant problems with teaching that Ezekiel 38 is an imminent prophecy.
……………………… (i)The the image centered on Hmeimim Air Base (Jableh, Syria) with concentric red and blue circles has been circulating in media since 27 November. Based upon data intel expert Sean Osborne has collected, he believes that this image is a fairly exaggerated depiction of the air intercept capabilities for the S-400 system components the Russians have actually deployed to Hmeimim AB. Osborne says, “I believe the Russians have deployed two distinct types of component missiles in their Almaz-Antey 5P85TE2 TELs. The longest range missile is the 40N6 which has a maximum range of 215 nautical miles. From Hmeimim AB this missile’s maximum range would be just shy of Tel Aviv. The other missile is the 48N6E2 with a range of approximately 130 nautical miles. From Hmeimim AB this missile’s max range would be in the vicinity of Sidon, Lebanon.”
(ii)Headline from this website: http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/30/politics/russia-syria-airstrikes-isis/
(iii)Headline from this website: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/24/turkey-shoots-down-jet-near-border-with-syria
(iiii)Headline from this website: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/12/01/us-mideast-crisis-russia-turkey-sanction-idUSKBN0TK4SD20151201#d11AlyjKA2lmpeG3.97

Friday, December 18, 2015

Minnesota Students Forced To Sing Muslim Song ‘Allahu Akbar’ During Christmas Concert

Reblogged from nowtheendbegins.com
A spokesman for the district said the Arabic song will be sung during an audience participation portion of the concert. The Anoka-Hennepin School District said they have received about a dozen complaints about the song.
blaine-high-school-students-forced-to-sing-allahu-akbar-holiday-concert-anoka-hennepin-islam-in-america-muslims

Some parents in the Anoka-Hennepin School District  are questioning a choir teacher’s decision to use a song about Ramadan performed in Arabic at a holiday concert

EDITOR’S NOTE: The words “allahu akbar” are forever linked with the mass killing of innocents at the hands of Muslim terrorists, and are shouted before the commencement of their demonic acts. Now a high school in Minnesota is forcing their students to sings a song glorifying the “religion of death” at, of all places, the annual holiday concert. If it was your child being compelled to do this, what would you do? They say that the kids can chose to “not perform”, but I am sure they are applying massive pressure on those who do not wish to be a party to this.
At Thursday night’s concert at Blaine High School, one of the songs students will be singing includes Arabic words, including the phrase “Allahu Akbar,” which means “God is great.” Christian and Jewish songs will be performed as well, but the Ramadan song is getting all the attention.

It started with a post on Facebook. A parent of a ninth-grade Blaine choir student posted the lyrics to the song the choir has been practicing. When others learned students would be singing the song on Thursday, the comments took a turn.

One person posted, “No child should be forced to sing a song about the Muslims and the religion of hatred.”

Another parent, who didn’t want to be identified, told WCCO phone that considering the recent events in Paris and San Bernardino, singing a song about Allah would be “insensitive.”
The Anoka- Hennepin School District said they have received about a dozen complaints about the song. Some are from parents, some are from people not even affiliated with the school.
In a statement, the district said that they have students from many different backgrounds and cultures, and they promote equal opportunities for all students.
“Songs are not performed in a worship setting or to promote religion,” the district’s statement said. “but rather in an educational setting where students are learning and performing music.”

A spokesman for the district said the Arabic song will be sung during an audience participation portion of the concert.

During that time, a Jewish song and Christian songs, such as “Away in the Manger” and “Silent Night,” will be sung as well. A hallelujah chorus will also be sung near the end of the program.
While the Ramadan song mentions brotherhood and peace, the district says that any student who doesn’t feel comfortable singing it doesn’t have to. Their grade will not be affected.

Zain Bhikha – Eid un Sa’Eid Lyrics

Ramadan has come and gone Eid has dawned upon us
Thank You Allah for this blessed day
It’s a time of happiness, a time of joy
Thank You Allah for this blessed day
Eid-un Sa’eed-un
Yawm-un farhaan-un
Yawm-un jameel-un
Eid-un Sa’eed
Eid-un Sa’eed-un
Yawm-un jameel-un
Yawm-un farhaan-un
Eid-un Sa’eed
All over the world
Under the big-blue sky
Muslims unite to worship Allah
It’s a time of brotherhood, a time of peace
Muslims are singing praises to Allah
Allahu Akbar
Allahu Akbar full lyrics here

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Israel extremely nervous over Russian operations on its Golan border



DEBKAfile Special Report December 2, 2015, 12:45 PM (IDT)
On the outside, Israel is all smiles and full of praise for way the coordination with Moscow is working for averting clashes between its air force and Russian warplanes over Syria. This goodwill was conspicuous in the compliments Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Vladimir Putin traded when they met on the sidelines of the Paris climate summit Monday, Nov. 30.

But the first disquieting sign appeared Tuesday, Dec. 1. Senior Russian and Israeli officers were due to meet in Tel Avid to discuss strengthening the cooperation between the two army commands. But no word from Moscow or Jerusalem indicated whether the meeting had taken place.


debkafile’s military sources report that this week, the show of optimism is giving way to an uneasy sensation in the offices of the prime minister, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and the IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gady. They suspect an ulterior motive behind Russia’s military movements in southern Syria, especially its air strikes against Syrian rebels, just across from Israel’s Golan border.
In particular, Moscow may be giving Hizballah and Iran an umbrella for achieving their longstanding design to displace the Syrian rebels with Revolutionary Guards and Hizballah forces and deploy them along Israel’s Golan border.

This suspicion gained ground when Tuesday, Dec. 1, the day after the Putin-Netanyahu encounter, the combined Iranian-Syrian-Hizballah units expanded their thrust from the southern Syrian town of Deraa to the Golan town of Quneitra, within sight of Israel’s defense positions.


All that day, heavy battles raged over the rebel-held line of hills running from a point just south of Quneitra to the Israeli-Syrian-Jordanian border junction. The combined force was supported by Russian air strikes and heavy tanks and artillery, seen for the first time in this war arena.

When the fighting resumed Wednesday, the IDF placed its Golan units on high alert and an extra-vigilant eye was trained on this battle.

The Iranian-Syrian-Hizballah side is gaining a distinct advantage from the deep feud dividing rebel ranks. The Islamic State and the al-Qaeda-affiliated Syrian Nusra Front forces are tearing into each other with suicide bombers and explosive cars. Tuesday, an ISIS-rigged bomb car blew up at Nusra headquarters near Quneitra (see photo).
But this also means that an Islamic State force has come dangerously close to the Israeli border.

However, even more perils are in store if Bashar Assad’s army backed by Iran, Hizballah and Russia manages to capture the hills opposite the Golan:

1. Two years of unrelenting Israeli military and intelligence efforts to keep Hizballah and Iranian forces away from its Golan border will have gone to naught.
2.  Hizballah will open the door for Iranian Revolutionary Guards officers to set up a command center right up to the Israeli border.

3.  Israel’s steadfast policy and military action to prevent advanced Iranian weapons reaching Hizballah in Lebanon via Syria will be superseded. On the Golan, Hizballah will have gained direct access to any weapons it wants directly from Syria and be able to deploy them at far shorter distances from Israeli targets than from their firing positions in Lebanon.
4.  Vladimir Putin attaches extreme importance to recovering southern Syria from the rebel forces backed by the US and Israel, because he regards the threat to the Assad regime as great from the south as it is from the north or the center.
5.  Israel faces a grave dilemma between keeping up its “honeymoon” with Moscow by giving way on its essential security interests, or taking the bull by the horns and keeping the enemy at bay, whatever the cost to the understanding reached with Putin.
Officials in Jerusalem point out that the threat to Golan peaked just hours after the Russian leader met the prime minister in Paris. Putin is conducting a hands-on policy on Syria and keeps close track of the slightest occurrence on the battlefield. He must have been perfectly aware of the state of play on the Golan when he met Netanyahu, but nonetheless kept it out of their conversation.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Are Christians Required To Keep The Jewish Sabbath Day? by Geoffrey Grider


The command to observe the Sabbath day was given to Israel EXCLUSIVELY. It was not given to the Gentiles. It was given to Israel as the SIGN of the Mosaic Covenant
"Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations,  for a perpetual covenant." Exodus 31:16 (KJV)

The Reason for the Jewish Sabbath

If God instituted the "Sabbath" before the "Fall of Man," it seems strange that the fact is not recorded in Genesis, and that Adam was not told to observe it. Nowhere in the Book of Genesis do we read of Adam, or any of his descendants, or Noah, or Abraham observing the Sabbath. The only hint we have of a "seven-fold" division of days is found in Genesis 7:4, 10, when seven days of grace were granted before the Flood came, and in Genesis 8:8-12, where a seven day period elapsed between the sending forth of the dove.
The first place we read of the Sabbath is in Exodus 16:23-26, in connection with the gathering of the manna--"Six days ye shall gather it; but on the SEVENTH day, WHICH IS THE SABBATH, in it there shall be none." Here we have the "SEVENTH" day designated as "THE SABBATH." That the "Seventh Day" of the "Creative Week" was a type of the Sabbath is clear from Exodus 20:11--"For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the SEVENTH day; wherefore the Lord blessed the SABBATH DAY, and hallowed it." But we have no evidence that the Sabbath was commanded to be observed until after the Exodus, and the reason is clear. God's "Rest Day" was broken by the "Fall of Man," and there could be no "rest" until redemption was brought in, and this was typically brought in by the redemption of the children of Israel from Egypt through the offering of the "Passover Lamb," a type of Christ.

The purpose of their deliverance was that they might find rest in Canaan from the weary toil and slavery of Egypt (Deuteronomy 5:15). When a few weeks later the "Ten Commandments" were given on Mt. Sinai, the Lord said to Israel, "REMEMBER the Sabbath Day to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8), the Sabbath Day they were to remember was not the "Seventh Day" on which God rested, but the "Day" that God had appointed as the "Sabbath Day" at the time of the giving of the manna.

The Sabbath Was Given to Israel alone

The command to observe the Sabbath day was given to Israel EXCLUSIVELY. It was not given to the Gentiles. It was given to Israel as the "SIGN" of the "Mosaic Covenant." "Verily My Sabbaths you shall keep: for it is a 'SIGN' between Me and you throughout your generations" (Exodus 31:13; Ezekiel 20:12, 19-21). The Sabbath Day then belongs to the Jews alone and is not binding on the Gentiles (the world), or on the Church (Christians). Nowhere in the Bible do you find God finding fault with any nation or people, except the Jewish nation, for not observing the Sabbath. As a Jewish ordinance it has never been abrogated, changed, or transferred to any other day of the week, or to any other people. It is now in abeyance as foretold in Hosea 2:11 it would be.

It is to be resumed when the Jews are nationally restored to their own land (Isaiah 66:23; Ezekiel 44:24; 46:1-3). If this be true, then the "Sabbath" does not belong to the Church, and is not to be observed by Christians, for the "Sabbath Day" is a part of "THE LAW," and Christians are not under "LAW," but under "GRACE" (Romans 6:14). In his letter to the Galatian Christians Paul reproved them for going back to the "Law," and declared that those who did so were "under the CURSE" (Galatians 3:10). "How turn you again to the 'beggarly elements' (religious ordinances) whereunto you desire again to be in bondage? You observe DAYS (Sabbath and Feast Days), and months, and times, and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain" (Galatians 4:9-11). "Let no man therefore judge you in meats or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the SABBATH" (Colossians 2:16). If Christians are under obligations to keep the "Jewish Sabbath," then they are under the Jewish "Ceremonial Law" and should observe all the ordinances and Feast Days of the Jewish Ritual.

The Christian Church does not replace the Jews or Israel

As an institution of Judaism, the Sabbath, with all the "Feast Days" and other ritualistic ceremonies and offerings of Judaism, ceased to function with the close of the Jewish Dispensation. The JEWISH Sabbath was not changed to the CHRISTIAN Sabbath, any more than "Circumcision" was changed to "Baptism." There is no such thing as the "CHRISTIAN Sabbath." "Sabbath" has to do with LAW, and "Christian" with GRACE, and to join "LAW" and "GRACE" is to unite what God has forever separated. After the Resurrection, Christ and His Disciples never met on the "Sabbath" but on the "FIRST DAY of the week" (John 20:1, 19; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2).

It is true that they went into the Jewish Synagogues on the Sabbath, but not to worship, but that they might have opportunity to preach the Gospel. The "First Day of the Week" is the day to be observed for rest and worship by the Christian Church. It is prefigured in the Old Testament as the "EIGHTH DAY," or the "DAY AFTER THE SABBATH." "You shall bring a sheaf of the 'FIRST-FRUITS' of your harvest unto the priest, and he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted for  you; on the 'MORROW AFTER THE SABBATH' the priest shall wave it" (Leviticus 23:10-11).

The Church and Israel are separate but equal

What did that "First Fruits" typify? Read 1 Corinthians 15:20--"Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the 'FIRST-FRUITS' of them that slept." When did Christ rise from the dead and become the "FIRST-FRUITS?" Not on the "Sabbath," for He lay dead in the tomb on that day, but on the "FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK," on the "MORROW AFTER THE SABBATH." The fact that the "Birthday" of the Church was at Pentecost, and that fell on the "First Day of the Week," is further proof that the Church should keep the "First Day of the Week" and not the "Seventh" day or "SABBATH." The Jewish Sabbath links man with the "Old Dispensation," the "First Day of the Week" links man with the "New."
"Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:" Colossians 2:16 (KJV)

It is claimed that the Roman Catholic Church changed the day of rest from the "Seventh Day" to the "First Day of the Week," but the claim is false, for the Papacy did not exist until a long time after the "First Day of the Week" had become a fixed day for Christian worship. It is a noteworthy fact that the whole of the "Ten Commandments" (Exodus 20:1-17) are reaffirmed in the New Testament, except the "Fourth Commandment" regarding the Sabbath (Romans 13:8-10; Ephesians 6:1-2; James 5:12; 1 John 5:21). Why this omission if the Law of the "Sabbath" is still in force?

It is called the "LORD'S DAY." It belongs to Him. It is not called a "rest day" in the Bible. It is a day that should be filled with worship and service and holy activity. It is not a day to be spent in laziness or pleasure, or the giving of sacred concerts and the discussion of worldly betterment schemes, but a day for the teaching and preaching of the Word of God. © Clarence Larkin 1918

the dispensation of innocence Part 2 - Dr. Randy White.


Al-Nour Wal Alam Egyptian blind women orchestra



Paris, ISIS and the Fools that Lead


Blog author´s note: If Jesus tells you the devil is out to lie, destroy and kill you and the devil comes out of the closet and tells you: I am here to lie, destroy and kill you, if you don´t believe him you are a fool

Clinton hits back: Nothing to do with terrorism


Who is being delusional?

Reblogged from carolineglick.com


abbasherzogflag

On Tuesday night Channel 10 broadcast an interview with PLO chief and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas in which Abbas admitted publically for the first time that he rejected the peace plan then prime minister Ehud Olmert offered him in 2008.

Olmert’s plan called for Israel to withdraw from the entire Old City of Jerusalem, including the Western Wall, and from 93.7 percent of Judea and Samaria. Olmert also offered sovereign Israeli territory to the Palestinians to compensate for the areas Israel would retain in Judea and Samaria.

Abbas said his rejection was unequivocal. “I didn’t agree. I rejected it out of hand.”

For years, the story of Abbas’s rejection of Olmert’s 2008 offe has been underplayed. Many commentators have insisted Abbas didn’t really reject it, he just failed to respond.

But now the truth is clear. Abbas is not interested either in peace or in Palestinian statehood.

Abbas’s many apologists in the Israeli Left insist that he didn’t reject the plan on its merits. Rather, they argue, Abbas rejected Olmert’s offer because by the time Olmert made it, he was steeped in criminal investigations that forced him to resign from office eight months later.

Hogwash, says former AP reporter Mark Lavie. Following the interview’s broadcast Lavie countered that if Abbas was truly interested in establishing an independent Palestinians state, he wouldn’t have cared about the political fortunes of the Israeli prime minister. He would have taken the offer and run knowing that, as Olmert said, the likelihood that he’d get a similar offer in the next 50 years was nonexistent.

The most notable reaction to Abbas’s admission was the reaction that never came. The Israeli Left had no reaction to his interview.

Abbas is the hero of the Left.

He is their partner. He is their moderate. He is their man of peace. Abbas is the Palestinian leader to whom every leftist politician worth his snuff, from opposition leader Yitzhak Herzog to the Meretz Knesset faction make regular pilgrimages to prove their devotion to peace.

Their man in Ramallah received the most radical offer ever to see the light of day. And rather than accept it, he rejected it out of hand and refused to meet with Olmert ever again, and he openly admits it.

The Left’s non-response is not surprising. Abbas’s decision to end all speculation about whether or not he is a man of peace is merely the latest blow reality has cast on their two-state formula.

The Left’s policy of land for peace failed more than 15 years ago when Abbas’s boss Yassir Arafat preferred war to peace and initiated the worst campaign of terror that Israel had ever experienced.

Yet for the last 15 years, the Israeli “peace camp,” has never wavered in its view that despite it all, Israel must rid itself of Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem. Rather it members has grown angrier and angrier at their own people for abandoning them and less and less willing to agree that there is anything – including Israeli statehood itself – that is more important than giving up Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria.

The Left’s reactionary position was on full display last Thursday at the annual “peace conference,” hosted by the far left Haaretz newspaper.

Last year, the conference’s audience attacked Jewish Home Party leader Naftali Bennett both verbally and physically when he presented his plan to apply Israeli sovereignty over parts of Judea and Samaria. This year it was Tourism Minister Yariv Levin’s turn to be assaulted.

Levin was subjected to constant catcalls from the audience, whose members called him “Goebbels” for arguing that the two-state formula has no chance of bringing peace and that the time has come to consider other options.

But Levin’s claims were simply common sense.

This week the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion published its most recent survey. The results were no surprise. Indeed, they were more or less consistent with historical survey results.

According to the PCPO data, 63 percent of Palestinians oppose holding peace talks with Israel. 58 percent think Mahmoud Abbas, whose term of office ended in 2009, should resign. A majority of Palestinians support a new assault or “intifada” against Israel. 42 percent of Palestinians support the use of terrorism against Israel.

Also this week, ahead of the Jerusalem Post’ Diplomatic Conference held Wednesday, the Post published a new poll of Israeli public opinion. According to the data, 46 percent of Israelis support a policy of separating from the Palestinians through the establishment of a Palestinian state. 35 percent of Israelis support applying Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria. For Israelis under 45, the numbers are reversed.

Today a majority of Likud Knesset members and all members of the Jewish Home’s Knesset faction oppose Palestinian statehood and support applying Israeli law to all or parts of Judea and Samaria.

Rather than deal with the fact that neither the Palestinians nor the Israelis support their two-state model, the Left has decided to ignore both.

The Haaretz conference last week hosted a panel discussing whether the two state paradigm remains viable. In his remarks, Prof. Shlomo Ben Ami, who served as foreign minister in 2000 during the failed Camp David peace summit, explained that given the Israeli and Palestinian publics’ rejection of the two-state formula, (but especially the Israeli rejection of it), the UN Security Council determine Israel’s final borders. In other words, from Ben Ami’s perspective, withdrawing from Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria is more important than maintaining Israel’s independence and governing in accordance with the will of the people.

When the panel’s moderator expressed concern that the mass expulsion of Israelis from their communities in Judea and Samaria, which the two-state formula requires would cause a civil war within Israeli society, Ben Ami just shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t delude myself. I never deluded myself that this would be a boy scouts’ trip,” he said.

“You can’t do this through consensus….Consensus is the great enemy of leadership,” he said.

Ben Ami continued, “War unites, peace divides…A leader who wants to make peace will always have a split nation behind him.”

MK Meirav Michaeli, who serves as the Zionist Union’s Knesset faction head said for her part that the greatest obstacle to peace is Israel. Ever since Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, Israel hasn’t had a leader willing to do what it takes to make peace.

In Michaeli’s view, when the Left next forms a government, it will need to adopt – as is opening position in negotiations – the position that Israel shares responsibility for the fate of the so-called “Palestinian refugees.”

Michaeli explained, “Israel needs to be part of a coalition that will find a solution,” for the descendants of the Arabs that left Israel during the 1948-1949 pan-Arab invasion of the infant state of Israel.

Michaeli also insisted that Israel needs to stop demanding that the Palestinians recognize the Jewish state’s right to exist. Israel should suffice instead with a Palestinian acknowledgment that it does indeed exist.

It goes without saying that there has never been, and there never will be a majority of support in Israel either for Ben Ami’s position or for Michaeli’s position. This is the reason that they prefer to ignore the Israeli people and wait for “the world” to save “the peace” for them.

This brings us to the 46 percent of Israelis who would like to separate from the Palestinians and let them have a state.

The only reason that a plurality of Israelis still supports a policy that has failed continuously for the past fifteen years is because the Israeli Left has blocked all discussion of alternative policies.

Over the past twenty years, the Left has implemented three policy initiatives: the peace process with the PLO from 1993 to 2000, the unilateral withdrawal from south Lebanon in 2000 and the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005. These policies never enjoyed the sustained support of the majority of the public.

To the extent they ever mobilized the temporary support of bare majorities of public, they did so only because the media campaigned continuously on behalf of these initiatives. Not only did key all the mass circulation newspapers and all major broadcast media outlets support these plans, they blocked all debate about them. Opponents were demonized as extremists.

And this brings us to the 35 percent of Israelis who support applying Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria.

It is this virtual blackout on coverage of opposing views that makes the results of the Post’s opinion poll remarkable. In the absence of almost any public discussion of the possibility of applying Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria aside from the self-generated publicity of advocates of the position, more than a third of Israelis overall, and a plurality of young Israelis supports it.

Over the past week, Netanyahu has been asked his opinion of the prospects for unilateral Israeli actions towards the Palestinians three times, once in Washington and twice in Jerusalem. Netanyahu’s responses have been enigmatic. But collectively they lend the clear impression that the premier does not support unilateral Israeli withdrawals from Judea and Samaria and at least in principle, does not oppose the sovereignty model.

In his remarks at the Post’s conference Wednesday, Netanyahu said cagily, “There are all sorts of unilateral moves in all sorts of directions. Wait and see. And they are not necessarily in the direction you think.”

Speaking to the Likud’s Knesset faction on Monday Netanyahu clarified his remarks on the subject last week in Washington saying, “I didn’t say unilateral withdrawals. I said unilateral steps. You can imagine what I mean – states are disintegrating and we will protect our interests.”

Sitting next to Ben Ami at the Haaretz conference was the lone non-leftist on the panel. Halachic expert Malka Puterkovsky said that in her view, Israel should apply its sovereignty over all of Judea and Samaria. Doing so, she argued, will not risk Israel’s future as a Jewish state.

Both the audience and her fellow panelists reacted to her statements with a the same extreme hostility with which they responded to Bennet and Levin.

When Ben Ami —  the man who thinks it is more important for Israel to expel some one hundred thousand Israelis from their homes than avert a civil war, and prefers borders forced on Israel by the UN to Israeli democracy and independence – was asked his opinion of Puterovsky’s position, he called the notion of Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria “delusional.”

We need to take Netanyahu’s coy responses to questions about unilateralism as an invitation to begin a serious public discussion of the option. The public wants this discussion and we need this discussion.

As for how the peace camp will respond, well, there are worse things than aving reactionaries call you “delusional.”
Originally published in The Jerusalem Post. 

Saturday, November 21, 2015

What does the Bible really say about taking in Syrian refugees?

Not what the left, the media and quite a few Christians would have you think.

Author
By Dan Calabrese -- Bio and Archives  November 20, 2015
Reblogged from canadafreepress.com


It’s always problematic when you look to the mainstream media and other left-wingers for an understanding of what Scripture says. To listen to them, you’d think Jesus was concerned with little more than sending checks to the poor, installing solar panels on roofs and surrendering to any and all foreign enemies.

That’s why it’s been easy for those who only crack a Bible when they’re looking for something to justify an agenda to claim that “Christian compassion” demands we take in Syrian refugees without regard for the potential threat of ISIS terrorists who slip in among the crowd.
Is that what the Bible actually says? Of course not, and David French does a nice job of getting the conversation started over at National Review:
Indeed, Scripture draws a clear line between the responsibility of the individual and the role of the state. Individuals are to forswear vengeance, leaving justice to earthly rulers as God’s “agents of wrath” who bring “punishment on the wrongdoer.” The state has an affirmative responsibility to protect its citizens, even to the point of bringing a sense of “terror” to those “who do wrong.” There is no contradiction between personally welcoming the “strangers” among us while our leaders endeavor to protect us from a genocidal terrorist force that uses refugee status as a shield and disguise to perpetrate brutal attacks against innocent civilians.
This is not to say that Scripture creates a paradigm of compassionate individuals and heartless governments. Throughout the Bible, entire nations — not just individuals — are condemned for injustice, including unjust treatment of the poorest and most vulnerable members of society. But to say that the only way to meet that standard is to open our doors to migrants when we know our enemy intends to plant terrorists within their ranks is once again to read far too much into Scripture.

French is quoting Romans 13, which lays out clear lines of responsibility for governments - particularly the imperative to protect the innocent from wrongdoers. Now that might seem to contradict Luke 10, in which Jesus teaches the importance of being a neighbor to someone in need, even if that someone comes from an enemy camp.
But there is actually no contradiction. As liberals often do, they take directives aimed at individuals in the Bible and try to make them the responsibility of the state. More than that, they insist that the only way the directive can be fulfilled is in the manner they prefer.

What was extraordinary about the actions of the Samaritan in Jesus’ parable is that Samaritans and Jews typically would not associate with each other, yet in this case the Samaritan who found the Jew beaten alongside the road picked him up, tended to his wounds and brought him to an inn - where he instructed the innkeeper to look after him and even paid the bill. And yes, that is absolutely the sort of love and compassion to which we are called as Christians, even when we’re talking about someone we typically regard as an enemy.

But it’s important to recognize a couple of things. First, the Samaritan did not take the man into his own home. He paid the bill, but he did not in any way put himself at risk of harm from the man. Even more importantly, the Samaritan made a free choice of his own will to help the man.

What the left wants to do in the case of the Syrian refugees is use the power of the state to force an entire nation to welcome people into their midst without any effort to ensure that members of ISIS with evil intentions were filtered out. That’s not compassion. That’s national suicide. And if you think God wants nations to commit suicide, just skim through the Old Testament and consider the many instructions He gave to Israelite kings to attack foreign armies - even killing and plundering those they conquered. When it came to warfare, God instructed the kings of Israel to be pretty ruthless in dealing with their enemies.

The Syrian refugee situation is a tricky conundrum because there surely are many among the group who have no evil intentions and genuinely need help. America should want to help. But there are ways to do that without risking our own security. It would make more sense for them to be resettled in majority Muslim countries anyway, and we can do a lot of things to support that process.

But the responsibility of government is to protect its people from harm, and the government is well aware of the fact that previous terrorist attacks have been perpetrated by people who slipped in as refugees or asylum-seekers. Knowing full well that this one of the enemy’s tactics, and doing absolutely nothing to prevent them from succeeding at it, is not “Christian compassion.” It’s a dereliction of duty.

We can help and we should. But not by putting ourselves in jeopardy. If individuals are called by the Lord to take a risk and help a potentially dangerous person, then those individuals should trust the Lord. But for the leaders of our nation to decide that we all have to take that risk is neither scriptural nor moral. It’s just plain wrong.

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