What the Bible says about light and seed

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, February 29, 2016

Obedience to God - GotQuestions.org ministries


Obedience to God: Obeying God is a fundamental part of the Christian life, but the straight and narrow is often an uphill climb. Who we obey reveals who we honor and value.

Flesh And Blood Or Bread And Wine? Qs and As

Republished from gracethrufaith.com

Q. My question regards the teaching of Jesus in John 6:51-58. I hear Catholics say that they are taking these verses literally. Hence at their communion ceremony they are only following the word of God. And if they are using these words to their literal meaning, then the rest of us are not. And, we are supposedly the ones who believe in a literal translation of the Bible. So what is Jesus really saying here? How would I respond to a Catholic on this point?
A. I assume you’re talking about the Catholic doctrine of trans-substantiation, wherein the communion wafer supposedly becomes the actual body and blood of Christ at the moment it’s taken.
In John 6:53 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood you have no life in you.”

But Genesis 9:4 specifically prohibits the consumption of blood. Jesus is the exact representation of the God who issued that prohibition and therefore could not advocate the violation of his own laws. By this we know that He was speaking metaphorically. And if that’s not good enough, at the last supper He made it unmistakably clear. The bread symbolized His body and the wine His blood. We’re to partake of the symbols, not the real thing.

So why did He seem to be intentionally misleading the people? This discourse came on the heels of His miraculous feeding of the 5000. In John 6:26, after a large group had followed Him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, he accused them of following Him just because He fed them, not because they believed in Him. When He tried to explain that He was giving them Himself, and not bread, many went away disappointed. He was separating the true believers from those who just wanted a free meal.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Adult Coloring Books and Mandalas, A Warning For Christians

Republished from The Last Hiker


Last week I received a kind gift from a friend. She is one of the godliest people I know. My friend is smart, independent, and she loves the Lord. She is not naive. She is a professional, a leader. She is not a crunchy new-ager. I have known her for 15 years. We are super close.
The gift is a cool and popular new item that many of my other Christian friends have used especially during times of illness. They are popular with cancer patients who just sit all day in hospital beds, bored of Judge Judy.
They are sophisticated versions of what children daily do.
They are nostalgic.
They are adult coloring books.
I see them in Barnes and Noble. I see them in Michael’s Craft Store.
I have seen them in the Christian owned craft store Hobby Lobby.
They are just coloring books.
Innocent.
I have no problem with coloring books. I have kids. We color.
I do have problems with Mandalas though, which happen to be a part of most of these adult coloring books.
mandala_17
So, I just want to give a warning to my sweet Christian friends to stay away from mandalas and I will let you know why.
A mandala is that beautiful circle pattern that looks like it would be impossible to draw free hand. It is also a “spiritual and ritual symbol in Indian religions, representing the universe.  In common use, mandala has become a generic term for any diagram, chart or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically; a microcosm of the universe.” (Wikipedia).
Joy Cropped
It is a concentric energy circle.
A mandala is used in tantric Buddhism as an aid to meditation. They meditate on the image until they are saturated by it. They believe that you can merge with the deity by meditating on the mandala. “A mandala is also visualized (dhyana) by the yogin whose aim it is to merge with the deity.”
Focusing on mandalas is a spiritual practice where you merge with “deities”–this practice opens the door to demons.

The thing is, how is the devil going to get Christians to meditate on mandalas?

No Christian would put one in their house and sit and stare at it for an hour, chanting the sacred word!
But if the enemy can get a Christian to stare at a mandala because they are coloring it, he can have them absentmindedly focus their attention on the image and they will unknowingly open up their subconscious to this image in almost the same way.
Mandalas may be used to focus attention, as a spiritual teaching tool, to establish a sacred space or as an aid to meditation or trance induction. (Ritual Objects of Buddhism and Hinduism)
According to the article above about “Ritual Objects of Buddhism and Hindusim,” a mandala is a key tool to practicing a religious ritual, and it opens people up to trances. When you think about how our brains zone out when we color anyways, this makes it even more interesting.
When completed, a mandala becomes a sacred area that serves as a receptacle for deities and a collection point of universal forces. By mentally entering a mandala and proceeding to its center, a person is symbolically guided through the cosmos to the essence of reality. By constructing a mandala, a monk ritually participates in the Buddha’s teachings. (ReligionFacts.com)
The mandala itself is a receptacle for “deities” and “universal forces.” It is not just opening a door to the spiritual realm, it is knocking on the door of a false temple.
If the monk constructing the mandala is participating in a spiritual ritual, what are we doing as we mindlessly trace the shape with a colored pencil and try to keep the pattern balanced with our coloring choices. We are also going through the motions, participating in this ritual without even knowing it.
The process of constructing a mandala is a sacred ritual. It is a meditative, painstaking process that can take days or even weeks to complete. Mandalas are constructed from the center outward, beginning with a dot in the center. With the placement of the center dot, the mandala is consecrated to a particular deity. (ReligionFacts.com)
We need to be aware of what these images are, because they are not just pretty shapes and designs.

Those are the spiritual roots. But how did they come to get associated with coloring books or relaxation?

Well, Carl Jung was a famous Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist in early 20th Century. He founded the school of analytical psychology.  He focused primarily on the study of the integration of the conscious and the unconscious mind.
mandala-divinity-copy2-600x352
Jung wrote a book called “Mandala Symbolism.” In this book he introduced the Eastern mandala practice to Western psychotherapy. He began to have his patients create mandalas, to help him identify their emotional disorders. He didn’t look at their tea leaves or read their palms. But he didn’t just believe this was pure science either. Carl Jung was deeply into the occult. He even published a dissertation about the science behind psychic mediums called, “On the Psychology and Pathology of So-Called Occult Phenomena.” Where he sat in and even participated on seances. (The Portable Jung, by Joseph Campbell).
Jung was also seriously involved in practices of alchemy, astrology, studies in mysticism.
carl-jung-mandala.png
So Carl Jung brought the Eastern spiritual ritual of drawing mandalas to Western culture in a “scientific” context.

But how did they end up in our coloring books at Hobby Lobby? Is this purely recreational and relaxing? Is this therapy?

It is a surprising new trend. Even Katie Couric discussed an article about how it has become a craze, and publishers haven’t seen anything like this in 30 years. “Inside the Adult Coloring Book Craze” by Robin Stein.
Is it artistic? Is it therapeutic? Is it stress relieving?
Normal everyday people believe it is just some fun new hobby. But why didn’t they just choose to color with their children, or take an art class? Things that have been around forever?
Why do people want to color in these books with mandalas all over them?
In the article by Stein a mom says,
“I love it,” said Nichole Schmidt, a stay-at-home mom. “It’s very meditative. It gets me away from the kids. And this is my Zen.”
If you go to one of the coloring book websites they will tell you why coloring mandalas are relaxing–“they are energetically alive and promote well-being.”
WHAT?!?!
Go ahead and read from this article by Stephen Vrancken called, “Your Introduction to the Healing Powers of Mandala Coloring.

About mandala coloring healing

Your Introduction to the Healing Powers of Mandala Coloring Pages

“I awaken to the power of the mandala,
A sacred circle of light and energy,
A pathway to center—to my center and to the universal All,
A channel for healing body, mind, and spirit”

How Do Mandala Coloring Pages Activate the Mandala’s Healing Powers?

Mandalas are used universally to promote healing and other positive states of being. Why? One explanation comes from its very design. The mandala is a circular matrix with a center point—a point from which all things are possible. From this sacred center comes forth infinite possibilities and unlimited potential. When you use your mandala coloring pages, you’re expressing your desires for healing and wellness.
You’re also acknowledging and declaring your own unlimited potential!
He says, that just by using your coloring book you are expressing your interest in the mandala magic, therefore opening yourself up to spiritual outcomes. So even if you are a Christian, he is saying that you are a willing participant in a spiritual activity and essentially “declaring your own unlimited potential.”
He continues . . .
You can think of the mandala as being energetically alive, a means of creating a pathway to a desired state of being. What state of being do you desire to create? Maybe you want to experience inner peace or maybe you simply want to use the circular pattern to express your artistry. For whatever purpose you choose to work with the mandala, know that you can achieve it through mandala coloring.
Imagine yourself with your mandala coloring pages in front of you. All you have to do is set your intention and awaken your mandalas by infusing them with color. It’s that simple and that powerful.

Amazing as it sounds, by simply coloring mandalas, you can accomplish the following:
•    Relax & enhance your meditation
•    Balance your body, your mind, and your spirit
•    Make a spiritual connection
•    Expand your creativity
•    Increase your self-awareness
•    Encourage your self-expression
•    Just have fun, alone or with your friends
So now, he has taken the use of mandalas from a spiritual ritual and transformed it into a New Age form of relaxation on a Sunday afternoon with a glass of iced tea.
How Do You Unlock the Healing Power of the Mandala?
One of the easiest and most effective ways to experience the healing power of the mandala is by using mandala coloring pages.  Why are mandala coloring pages such an effective tool for healing? First of all, coloring is fun and relaxing. It’s an enjoyable way to express your creativity. And, it’s an activity you can fully participate in whether you’re 4 or 94 years old.
Do you want more proof on why you too can easily unlock the healing powers within the mandala coloring pages?

•    There is no right or wrong way to color a mandala.
•    You can color just about anywhere.
•    Coloring lifts your spirits and brings out the child in you.
•    You can color at your own pace.
•    You don’t have to follow any rules when you color.
•    Kids and adults alike enjoy coloring.
•    You know you’re creating a unique work of art.
•    You can share the experience by coloring in groups.
•    It’s affordable.
•    It activates the intuitive genius within you.
So my question when it comes to the whole adult coloring books is this–

Is it really about coloring?

Or is it about spiritual hosts of wickedness sneaking mandalas into our homes and into our subconscious minds?
Is it really about recreation or is it New Age evangelism?
I can color all I want.
But if I do, I am going to get a big fat coloring book of Bible stories.
It isn’t so trendy and cool, but at least it is honest.
I don't alwasy
*I am not endorsing beer either; I don’t drink alcohol.
Although I am sure many people think beer is more relaxing than a coloring book.
(This meme was just a joke) 
I guess it all comes down to what do you want to practice?
Is it really about coloring pictures?
Would you be willing to stop coloring the mandalas?
I don’t think my friend sinned by getting a coloring book.
I don’t think my friends know that mandalas are wicked sacred objects.
You wouldn’t color pentagrams would you? Upside down crosses? Swastikas?
No–Because you KNOW what they are.
I just want to help get the word out.
But in the end, I am sure that many people will accept it like they did yoga.
God Bless.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

For More Information:

Meditation: Pathway to Wellness or Doorway to the Occult, by Ray Yungen

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Agenda the grinding down of America - Legendado em Português


Question: "What does it mean that love covers a multitude of sins?"

Republished from gotquestions.org

Answer:
First Peter 4:8 says, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” Proverbs 10:12 says, “Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.” In what way does love cover sin?

To “cover” sin is to forgive it, and forgiveness is associated with love. The best example of a love that covers sin is Jesus’ sacrificial death on our behalf. Jesus’ prayer from the cross, “Father, forgive them,” says it all (Luke 23:34). Jesus’ bearing of our iniquities was an undeniable act of love (Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:10). In fact, Jesus did more than just cover our sin; He did away with it completely (Hebrews 6:5).

In 1 Peter 4:8 the apostle is talking about interpersonal relationships. As believers we reflect the love of God by forgiving others. Jesus told His disciples, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34–35). First Corinthians 13 tells us that love “keeps no record of wrongs” (verse 5). When we love each other, we are willing to forgive each other. Love covers sin in that it is willing to forgive.

Love also covers over a multitude of sins in that it does not gossip about sin. Rather than share the offences of our brothers and sisters in Christ with anyone who will listen, we exercise discretion and restraint. Matthew 18:15–17 instructs us on the appropriate way to confront those who sin. James 5:19–20 says, “My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” It is loving to speak truth to others regarding sin. First Corinthians 13:6 tells us that “love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”

Another thing love does is protect (1 Corinthians 13:7). Love does not cover over a multitude of sin by sweeping matters under the rug. Some have appealed to the forgiving nature of love in their attempt to hide indiscretion. For example, rather than report child abuse, a church might cover it up. This is not what true love does. Love protects by helping both the victim and the offender, and it also strives to prevent further offenses.

Love covering sin also does not mean we disregard our own emotions or ignore our personal boundaries. We cannot “cover” sin by denying that it hurt us. We cover sin by acknowledging it and then extending the forgiveness God has given us to others.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13:4–7). Another way that love covers over a multitude of sins is choosing not to take offense at everything. Some sins against us are not worth confronting. Personal slights, snide or ignorant remarks, and minor annoyances can be easily forgiven for the sake of love. Proverbs 19:11 says, “A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.” If we are patient, not envious or self-seeking, we are much less likely to even take offense. Acting in love means we put others before ourselves. Love can cover a multitude of sin in that, when we act in true love, we are prone to overlook minor offenses, tolerate the provocations, and forgive the sin.

Recommended Resources: Loving the Way Jesus Loves by Philip Ryken and Logos Bible Software.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

SkyWatchTV News 2/22/16: 99% Chance of Major Quake in California


Caroline Glick shut down the debate with this bombshell speech


Our World: The lie of pro-Palestinian activism - Caroline Glick


Republished from jpost.com
Mahmoud AbbasLast Thursday, yet again, we learned that pro-Palestinian activists couldn’t care less about Palestinians.

For them, the Palestinians whose rights they claim to champion are nothing more than means to another end.

Our latest lesson came from the University of Chicago.

Last week, Palestinian human rights activist Bassam Eid was abused and threatened by supposedly pro-Palestinian and pro-peace activists as he tried to inform his audience about the state of Palestinian human rights today.

Bassam Eid has dedicated his life to defending the human rights of the Palestinians. From 1967 through 1994, Israel administered the population centers of Judea, Samaria and Gaza. From 1994, with the establishment of the Palestinian Authority until today, the Palestinians have been ruled by the PLO and Hamas.

As a human rights activist, until 1994, Eid directed most of his criticisms against Israel. Since then, Eid has defended Palestinian human rights from abuse at the hands of the PLO and Hamas.

Until 1994, Eid’s human rights activism made him the darling of the far Left. He was a co-director of B’tselem. He was invited to prestigious anti-Israel forums worldwide and given platforms where he presented his accusations against Israel to international acclaim.

But since the PA was formed, those who once upheld him as a hero have turned their backs on him. In so doing, they have shown their true colors.

During his talk at the University of Chicago, those colors came shining through.

Eid talked about the human rights abuses and repression of Palestinians not at the hands of Israel, but at the hands of the PA and Hamas. In other words, Eid held the Palestinian leadership accountable for its failure to respect the rights of the Palestinians it claims to speak for.

This, it turns out, is a big no-no.

Eid was attacked by two distinct groups for daring to hold the Palestinian leadership accountable for its abuses of Palestinian human rights. In their collusion, we see the truth about those who proclaim their commitment to “justice for the Palestinians” on the one hand, and those who proclaim their devotion to “peace” on the other hand.

The first group to attack him was Students for Justice in Palestine. In leading the assault on Eid, SJP members interrupted him, threatened him and demonized him.

“You must never again speak about the Palestinians!,” some yelled in English at a man who has devoted his life to defending Palestinian rights.

In the meantime, other SJP members reportedly threatened Eid in Arabic with physical violence.

While revolting, the SJP activists’ behavior was not in the least surprising. Indeed, it was eminently predictable.

All the SJP goons did was implement their hate group’s official tactics and strategy guidelines.

In October 2014, the Amcha Initiative, which documents anti-Jewish campaigns on US university campuses, published an internal SJP document from SUNY Binghamton. The document, titled, “Declaration of Principles and Strategies of Binghamton University Students for Justice in Palestine,” laid out SJP’s goals and tactics and strategies for action.

SJP’s goal is to demonize Israel and anyone who dares to stand up for Israel or support the Jewish state even tangentially.

SJP accomplishes this goal by among other things pushing for a boycott of Israel and blackballing all groups that support Israel. Indeed, not only does SJP rule out cooperating with pro-Israel groups, it rejects cooperation with campus groups that cooperate with pro-Israel groups. That is, anyone who accepts that students have a right to support Israel is himself illegitimate.

To make it impossible to defend Israel on campuses, SJP seeks to make any student who in any way supports Israel socially toxic for his fellow students.

In other words, SJP’s goal is to treat Israel’s campus supporters as subhuman.

As to its direct actions against pro-Israel speakers – or in Eid’s case, speakers that do not direct their attacks solely against Israel – the SJP SUNY Binghamton document instructs SJP members to disrupt and shut down such events on campus. Among other things, this goal is to be achieved through “political theater to protest the event,” as well as acts of “disruption.”

SJP members at the University of Chicago, like their comrades who rioted and shut down former Shin Bet director Ami Ayalon’s speech at King’s College in London last month, and those that rioted in Chicago last month against a Shabbat reception held by an American Jewish-Israeli gay rights group at the National LGBTQ Task Force’ annual convention showed through their actions that they couldn’t care less about the Palestinians as people.

And again, this apathy is inherent to their movement.

The internal document from SUNY Binghamton makes clear that SJP doesn’t have a vision for Palestinian freedom. Rather, SJP will “support any and all visions of Palestinian liberation.”

In other words, if “Palestine” is ultimately a liberal democracy or an Islamic theocracy is none of their business. Whether Palestinians end up with no rights, or full civil rights, is completely irrelevant.

SJP is about one thing only – demonizing Israel and booting its supporters out of the public square.

This then brings us their Jewish collaborators.

Eid’s speech was abruptly adjourned after he was threatened by an SJP member during the question and answer session. But before it was adjourned, two self-identified Jews, one of whom introduced herself as a member of J Street Chicago – the University of Chicago branch of J Street – contributed to the hostile atmosphere by asking Eid the same question.

Emma from J Street put it this way, “I hear from you... a lot of disappointment in your own leadership.

I’m wondering what are you doing bringing this message to a room full of Americans, many of us Jews?” Emma from J Street continued, “Why do you think it is an important message to bring to us in particular...

without sort of talking about the issues that the Americans need to base decision [on] like the occupation and settlements?” Got that? For J Street, Eid committed a crime by teaching the American public – and first and foremost, the American Jewish community – that the absence of peace isn’t entirely Israel’s fault.

As Emma – and her Jewish comrade – see things this is completely unacceptable.

There is a narrative. That narrative places all the blame for the absence of peace and Palestinian suffering on “the occupation and settlements.” Any deviation from this narrative is a crime against peace.

Eid explained that for 68 years, the Palestinians have blamed Israel for all their suffering. He insisted that the time has come for the Palestinians to take responsibility for their actions and stop shirking that responsibility by blaming Israel for their own crimes.

For forcing her to hear this calumny, Emma from J Street had no choice but to condemn him for the crime of deviating from the narrative.

The final questioner, or protesters, as the case may be, failed to cite his affiliation. But he brought the two sides together.

He demanded that Eid justify his decision to speak publicly about the Palestinians despite the fact that his speech “wasn’t sponsored by any Palestinian clubs on campus.”

Both Arab and Jewish “pro-Palestinian” activists cheered him for his statement.

Indeed, how dare he teach people who claim to care about the Palestinians about the Palestinians? How dare he say that Palestinians are people, and are not driven only by their collective hatred of Israel and rejection of its right to exist? How dare he mention that Palestinians have the right to work wherever they want and that Jews in Judea and Samaria aren’t inherently evil and actually provide livelihoods for thousands of Palestinians who work with them? How dare Eid come to University of Chicago and mention that neither Fatah nor Hamas have built governing institutions built on the notion that Palestinians have the right to freedom, but rather they have built institution geared toward forcing the Palestinians to seek Israel’s destruction, while trampling their human rights? How dare he not bow and scrape before SJP and accept its positions as a condition for speaking on campus? And so, once again, last Thursday we learned the big lie at the heart of the supposedly pro-Palestinian movement. None of its members – whether from SJP, J Street, or any of their comrades – care about the Palestinians or their rights.

All they care about is attacking Israel.

None of this is new information. It’s been obvious for several years now that the pro-Palestinian movement is merely a means to demonize Israel and its supporters. The only real question at this point is what is it going to take for US law enforcement bodies, legislatures and university administrations to finally take action against these hate groups, to the benefit of Palestinians, Israel and the cause of human rights?

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Saturday, February 13, 2016

Jerusalemites torn over Herzog's proposal to give up Arab neighborhoods

Less than 48 hours after Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog presented a diplomatic plan at the Jerusalem Conference to relinquish Arab neighborhoods in the capital to increase security, a cross-section of Israelis expressed conflicting opinions about the radical proposal.

Immediately after Herzog contended that neighborhoods such as Shuafat and Isawiya were not critical to Jews, and that fences would help decrease Arab violence, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat retorted that conceding sovereignty over east Jerusalem would be disastrous.

“It begins with conceding sovereignty over neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city, continues with concessions in the Old City, and from there it is a short path to conceding sovereignty over the Western Wall, and indicating to the Palestinians that we will concede all our rights to this land,” he said.

However, Israelis in Zion Square on Thursday were divided over the proposal, with some agreeing that fencing off problematic Arab neighborhoods would improve security, while others said more fences would be counterproductive.

While 34-year-old tour guide Yaniv Mazor conceded that Arabs from certain flashpoint neighborhoods are indeed responsible for a disproportionate amount of attacks on Jews, he said that putting up walls would be “catastrophic for both Jews and Palestinians.”

“Before we do that, we must ask ourselves fundamentally: What are the problems? What are the sources of these issues? Why are these people committing these horrible acts and atrocities against Jewish people in the city?” he asked.

“Until we do that - until we thoroughly look at ourselves and what we’ve done here in the course of history in this city - we cannot come up with a real solution that will make life better here for everyone.”

Moreover, Mazor noted that fences cannot solve what he deemed a political issue.

“A political problem must have a political solution, and the leadership on both sides must cooperate to come up with a proper solution,” he said. “More walls, more troops - we’ve heard this before in many other places. The walls have gone up and they have always fallen down because the problem cannot be solved [this way].”

“Jerusalem is a tale of two cities,” he continued. “And those two cities interact together and are intertwined in a big mess, but you literally cannot separate these two cities because it would be horrible for the economy and for the tourism industry. If you start slicing up parts of the city again it will have a major impact on the socioeconomic situation for both Jews and Palestinians.”

With respect to security, Mazor said a fence is only a temporary solution. “It might calm things down in the short term in small locations, but eventually we see that the separation barriers that we already have around Jerusalem do not stop 30,000 Palestinian workers who cross them illegally every week just to work inside Israel, because they can’t get a permit to cross through the checkpoints,” he said.

Still, Zvi Krnge, a 60-year-old businessman, asserted that cordoning off problematic Arab neighborhoods from the capital is essential to ensuring security.

“I think we should put up a fence,” he said. “We had other fences in the West Bank that stopped terrorism from coming in, and if we can do the same thing in other neighborhoods in Jerusalem we’re not trying to divide the city, we're trying to protect the Jewish people.”

In terms of Barkat’s contention that the city must not be divided, Krnge said that safety trumps political idealism.

“They are harming our people, so we have to protect ourselves,” he said. “Something has to be done, and this is the best idea.”
Not so, said Shaked Regev, a 24-year-old student.

“I think it would be a mistake to separate Arab neighborhoods, because we need to do something that involves education and diplomacy,” she said. “This is a problem that is far deeper than these last four months. I think the main solution needs to come from diplomacy, not a fence.”

Meanwhile, Elia Ainbindel, 26, said that separation would present a host of practical dilemmas.

“Put up a fence and then what?” she asked. “What will be the government there, and who will rule those places? The question is what will happen after that in terms of roads, sanitation, and who is in charge. Is it the police, the army, the Palestinian Authority?”

“For the short-term, I guess it would make things safer, but if you think about the future, I’m not so sure,” she added.
Nonetheless, Chavy Gidaneon, 18, said she believes a fence is the only option to ensure security.

“For the Jews to be safe is more important than dividing Jerusalem,” she said. “And I think Herzog’s idea is a good one. If it makes us safer than it doesn’t matter what the mayor thinks.”

Former east Jerusalem portfolio head and Meretz councilman Dr. Meir Margalit said to ensure the city’s survival, Arab and Jewish communities must be divided into two autonomous municipalities.

“The city is already divided in a de facto manner, so the best we can do to save Jerusalem as a Jewish city is to [formally] divide it into separate municipalities as soon as possible,” he said. “Otherwise, in the next five or six years, Palestinians will be the majority, and the next mayor will be Palestinian because they can vote and be elected, too.”

“So, if people really care about the future of Jerusalem, they must divide the city immediately and put the myth of a ‘united capital’ aside,” he continued. “Then the city will be safer.”

However, Margalit emphasized that the division must not be made with actual fences.

“We don’t need more fences; the current fence is enough,” he said. “The city should be divided into functional divisions without fences. Divide it to keep it united.”

Gil Hoffman contributed to this report.

Jonathan Cahn - Teaching on the 9th of AV (the day of calamity for the Jewish people) throughout history starting with Moses prophecies in Leviticus.


Wednesday, February 10, 2016

What's Your Flight Schedule?

Republished from omegaletter.com
Prophecy - Signs
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Wendy Wippel 


The most divisive argument, arguably, among evangelical Christians today is the ongoing debate about when Jesus will return for His bride: before, during, or after the tribulation.  Proponents of each theory have lists of supporting verses, many from the Old Testament.   But actually, you can settle the argument with just the first chapter of Revelation.
The key is (shocker) to really read what it says, and we’ll take it slow: Verse 1:
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John."  (Revelation 1:1 NKJV)
We get two things out of that verse. First, it tells us that the purpose of the Book of Revelation is to let us know what is going to happen from the time that John received the revelation until the end of time.

Secondly, it tells us that God is going to convey that information in a not-so-straightforward way. God is going to “signify” it. The meaning of that, however, is unfortunately not necessarily clear to a modern reader. What it means is that God “sign-ified” it. He put it into signs, meaning symbols. Hosea (whose whole book was a giant metaphor of what was to come) tells us that as well:
“I have given symbols through the witness of the prophets.” (Hosea 12:10)
God, through John, begins at the time that John is living on Patmos and relays what will happen for the whole rest of human history, in metaphor.
God starts His narrative like this:
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,”
“What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
These were real churches, mostly now excavated. But remember God “sign-ified” what was to come, so they are also metaphors. But we’ll get back to that in a minute.
John visions begin with the current conditions, the starting point for “what is to come”.
“I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man…He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.  I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. (Revelation 1: 12-20)
The man that John saw, obviously, was Jesus, who asks John to record for future generations of believers what he is shown (again, defined as a record of “what is to come”).
Then Jesus defines a couple of the symbols for us. The seven stars that Jesus holds are the angels of the churches, and the seven golden lampstands are the seven churches that Jesus is about to address letters to.

Then come the letters, again, a record of “what is to come”. Letters addressed, specifically, to (in order) Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatyra, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. And as it turns out, the descriptions and names of the churches make it pretty clear how they represent “what is to come”.  Because, in the order presented, the descriptions of the successive churches are a spot-on narrative of church history.

The church began at Pentecost (about 33 AD), and the description of that church in Acts is of fervent faith and faithful love among the brethren. The increasing numbers of completed Jews within the synagogues however, bred tension, as some “saved” Jews demanded that others still keep the Law. The tension eventually led to the council at Jerusalem about 50AD, at which (after Peter’s dream) it was ruled that the law did not need to be kept.  Ephesus means “desired”, God praised their perseverance and love, and His only admonition was to not lose their first love. 

By about 45 AD, however, the growing church was also on the radar of the Roman rulers, and the emperors themselves began persecution of the monotheistic Christians who refused to worship those who ruled them. Nearly all of the apostles were executed by Roman rulers, and many thousands of their brethren. “Smyrna” is related to the word myrrh, an embalming fluid. Jesus’ message to that church is to be faithful until death, and they will never die again.

Next in line is Pergamum. Pergamum means “mixed marriage”, and in 315 persecution stopped because Constantine, the current emperor, made Christianity an acceptable state religion. That was the good news. The bad news is that his decision really honked off the existing system of pagan priests, so Constantine then merged the pagan church with the Christians, producing one mongrel religious system riddled with pockets of heresy. God’s message to the church at Pergamum is that they now dwell where Satan’s throne is, and that have to show the heresy creeping in no tolerance.

It got worse. The next church, Thyatira, is told that, though there works are admirable, they have let heresy take over, and:
“Now to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this doctrine, who have not known the depths of Satan, as they say, I will put on you no other burden. But hold fast what you have till I come. (Revelation 2:24-25)
Thyatira means perpetual sacrifice, which should give you a clue where we are in church history. The Roman Empire had collapsed by about 476 AD, but the church by then had spread throughout the Roman Empire. The Roman church, which had completely internalized many of the pagan practices introduced by the pagan Roman priests (transubstantiation, for example) rule the thrones of most Roman nations throughout the Middle Ages.

The next church, Sardis, which means “those who escape”, had a fairly definite starting point: October 31, 1517. Martin Luther nails his 95 theses to the door of a church in Wittenburg, Germany, contending that salvation is attained not through works, but through faith alone, which marked the beginning of the reformation and the founding of the protestant movement. New believers spread across Europe, and then across the world.  But not all is well.  God tells Sardis that He has,
"not found your works perfect before God. Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent."
Their works weren’t complete. What does that mean? If you’ve ever read anything besides Luther’s 95 theses, you probably suspect Luther was one of the most viciously anti-Semitic clerics that ever lived. So the church still needed to realize that God’s plans for rest of world history would center not on the church, but on Israel. (which makes it interesting that in Verse 3 God told them to “remember how you have received and heard”  And that the Bible wasn’t actually, all about personal perfection.,. So His message to Sardis was,
"Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die”.
The sixth church is the church in Philadelphia, which most of us know means “City of Brotherly Love. Luther posted his 95 theses in 1517; by about 1570, Bibles were being printed in English. With Bibles in their own language in their own hands, new believers rapidly realized that the Bible had lots more in it than rules. They rediscovered prophecy (part of the reason you tend here that the rapture was invented about this time) and the importance of Israel in God’s world plan. The Philadelphia church is commended for their works, including suffering under persecution and preserving the Word. They had a fire to see the whole world hear the wonderful truths they had discovered in their Bibles, and they went all over the world (including the Pilgrims, to the United States, to share God’s love). They are also told that God loves them, and because they have kept His commands to persevere, He will keep them from the hour of trial that is coming upon the whole world.

Finally, Laodicea.  We all know that God had nothing but condemnation for this church, even saying that they Laodicea made Him want to vomit. But the real depth of their heresy often escapes us: Jesus tells this church,
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”
Jesus is outside of this church. Completely.  And that tells us something too.
But we’ll get back to that in just a minute.  First, let’s make sure we are on the same page.
Revelation 1 first tells us that it is a record of what’s to come, in metaphors. Then it sets the scene at the starting point. (Chapter 1)  Then the letters to the seven churches (as metaphors), lay down all of world history, through the lens of the church, from the Roman Empire until the founding of the United States (Philadelphia) and beyond, with the rise of apostasy within the church, which we see accelerating in our own day. (Chapters 2 and 3)
So were are ready for chapter 4:
"After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne."
John watches events on Earth until at least our time, then a door opens in heaven, then he hears a voice saying, “come up here”. Then he’s in heaven, and he watches the last seven years from there. 
This should be starting to seem familiar.
If you missed it, God makes sure we don’t:
"And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God." 
Do you remember what the lampstands were in Chapter 1? The churches. Why would this verse say lamps instead of lampstands?
You are the light of the world.  Lamps are not put under a basket, but on a stand, “and it gives light to all who are in the house”.  (Matthew 5:15)
The lamps needed stands on earth, to be a light to the world. After the churches “come up here” and are in heaven, they do not. They are the seven spirits of God. 

And why are all seven of the churches there? I Thessalonians 4: 16: 'the dead in Christ will rise first".  All the past church saints precede us.  We will all go together when we go.
Bottom line? God snatches us out “after these things” - the seven church ages—and before the Tribulation. If not, since the rest of Revelation 1 describes events is strict chronological sequence, surely John would have watched tribulation events described in Revelation from Earth as well.

Furthermore, since God is completely outside of the church at Laodicea, that has to mean that, the Philadelphia church is gone.  That they have been airlifted ahead of Tribulation (as promised in Revelation 3:10) in the Rapture.

That’s only one of many, many passages that make pre-trib rapture a certainty, but I’m sure that some of my readers will still have their list of post-trib rapture proof texts to show me. To them, I’ll just borrow a line from a good friend of mine.

Never mind.
We’ll explain it on the way up.
About Wendy Wippel

Our World: Syria and the real demographic threat - Opinion - Jerusalem Post

Our World: Syria and the real demographic threat - Opinion - Jerusalem Post

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

Christians “Should be Eradicated”: Researchers Document Anti-Christian Agenda Among Powerful Elite

Republished by thenewamerican.com
Written by 





A student is punished for refusing to “stomp on Jesus,” a Christian baker faces a year in jail for refusing to cater faux marriages, two men are arrested for reading the Bible aloud near a government building, a school “purges” Christian works from its library. Critics asserting the existence of an institutional anti-Christian bias, and a resultant war on the faith, have often been labeled paranoid. But now two University of North Texas sociologists have produced research showing that just such an agenda exists — among America’s most powerful people.

Professors George Yancey and David Williamson shared their findings in their newly released book So Many Christians, So Few Lions: Is There Christianophobia in the United States? The researchers say that while Christianophobia — which the sociologists define as "unreasonable hatred or fear of Christians” — isn’t common among common people, it does characterize those in the upper echelons of American society. It’s intense, too. The book’s title was apparently inspired by elitist interviewees lamenting how there were “so few lions,” referencing the Roman Empire’s practice of throwing Christians into an arena to be slaughtered by the wild cats. One respondent even remarked that Christians “should be eradicated without hesitation or remorse.”

This is something about which Christians “should be concerned,” reports the Christian Post, on a warning Yancey issued in an e-mail interview, “because those with ‘Christianophobia’ tend to be powerful elites with influence in certain important areas, such as higher education.” Commenting on this and the professors’ motivation for conducting their research, Yancey told the Post, “There is a lot of literature on hostility toward many different groups but just about none on hostility toward Christians. Yet when we collected qualitative data from cultural progressive activists we quickly saw some of the unnecessary vitriol and fears within many of our respondents. We also saw the social status of those who exhibited this hatred and many of them would be in positions that allowed them to at least subtly act on their anger and fears.” As for the sources of their data, the Post writes that it “comes from a large national survey, the American National Election Survey, and interviews they conducted with members of liberal advocacy organizations.”

And some of the remarks made by the “cultural progressive activists” are eyebrow-raising. The Blaze reports on a sampling referencing the “Christian right”:
“I want them all to die in a fire.” (Male, aged 26-35 with Doctorate).
“They should be eradicated without hesitation or remorse. Their only purpose is to damage and inflict their fundamentalist virus onto everyone they come in contact with.” (Female, aged 66-75 with Master’s degree).
“They make me a believer in eugenics…. They pollute good air…. I would be in favor of establishing a state for them…. If not, then sterilize them so they can’t breed more.” (Male, aged 46-55 with Master’s degree).

This brazen hatred brings us to something else motivating the researchers. Yancey in the Post again:
Another aspect that drove me to work on this project was that while I consistently saw evidence of Christianophobia in other areas of my life and in our society, unlike other types of intolerances, those who exhibited Christianophobia do not tend to think that they are intolerant. Usually those who do not like blacks or Muslims admit that they are intolerant but simply try to justify their intolerance. Those with Christianophobia tend to deny that they are intolerant but rather that they are fairly interpreting social reality. Envisioning themselves as fair and free of intolerance allows them to blame those they detest.

This reflects the common modern usage (and misuse) of the term “tolerance,” which is supposed to pertain to a person’s ability to abide a perceived negative. We wouldn’t have to “tolerate” a fine car or delectable meal; we relish those things. But we would have to tolerate bad weather or a stubborn cold. In this sense, not liking blacks, Muslims, or Christians is not indicative of intolerance; quite the opposite, only a person with such feelings could exhibit tolerance with respect to such a group because he perceives the group as a negative. If he liked the group or was indifferent to it, he couldn’t exhibit tolerance because there would be nothing for him to have to tolerate.

So there are two relevant questions here: Is the perceived negative an objective negative? And is the intolerance truly justified? Examples:
• You may dislike exercising self-discipline (emotion, remember, isn’t logical), but recognize that since it’s objectively good, your feelings are disordered; thus, when you tolerate its exercise, it’s virtuous.
• You may dislike a neighbor boy’s piano playing. But while you have a moral right to your tastes in this case, practicing an instrument isn’t objectively bad; thus, tolerating it in the name of good fellowship is virtuous.
• You will surely dislike having the flu, and it is objectively negative. Once you’ve done all you can to ameliorate the symptoms, however, keeping a stiff upper lip and tolerating it is virtuous.
• Almost all of us dislike theft, and rightly so because it’s morally wrong. And tolerating it would be a severe fault because when dealing with a remediable objective negative, the only virtue lies in wiping it out.

The same applies to belief. We may recognize someone’s First Amendment right to espouse Nazism, but should we be tolerant of Nazism itself? Likewise, should the Spaniards have been tolerant of the Aztec religion prescribing the sacrificial slaughter of thousands of innocents? Many today believe that tolerance is ever and always a virtue, but as Greek philosopher Aristotle put it, “Tolerance and apathy are the last virtues of a dying society.” Tolerance of vice is vice itself.

So the question about the anti-Christian elitists isn’t whether they’re intolerant. By definition they are: They view Christianity as a negative and want it purged from society. The only question is whether their intolerance is justifiable. Does it serve to preserve understanding of Truth and expose lies or just the opposite? As to this, Dr. Yancey pointed out that Christianophobes claim to believe “that they are fairly interpreting social reality” but don’t “recognize how their emotions have distorted their intellectual judgments.” In other words, they don’t realize that what their feelings tell them is negative isn’t actually objectively so. But why do they have these disordered feelings?
It’s an old story. We all have had the experience of rendering some constructive criticism, only to have the object of it react with anger. No one likes having his bubble burst. And the more attached to the misbegotten idea the person is, the stronger his resistance will be — and the more viciously he may attack those who dare challenge his illusions.

In this relativistic age of “If it feels good, do it” where sin is in, Christianity upholds the absolute, unchanging, nonnegotiable standard of morality. It tells people that their sins really are sins — not just lifestyle choices — and that they’ll be judged for them. And just as one small pin can burst a balloon, a tiny bit of Truth can shatter a rationalization.

It’s no surprise Yancey found that anti-Christian elitists are generally “white, educated [miseducated, actually] and wealthy.” These are not just the “idle minds” that are the “Devil’s playground” or, to echo George Orwell, the kind of people who could believe truly absurd ideas: intellectuals. They also invariably are advocates for some anti-Christian movement, such as feminism or our Great Sexual Heresy. They not only usually indulge sin (people tend to push what they’re attached to), but have come to believe that their very happiness depends on the realization of their social vision — and Christianity stands in its way. And there’s something that is often a corollary of “If it feels good, do it”:
If it feels bad, destroy it.

J. D. Farag - 02 07 2016 Mid-East prophecy Update