Light is sown like seed for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. Psalm 97:11
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Monday, July 6, 2015
Former Hillsong Worship ‘Pastor’ Darlene Zschech Now Leading Followers To Rome
Reblogged from http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/blog/?p=33942
Darlene Zschech started out as a “worship pastor” at Hills Christian Life Centre, Sydney, Australia, and has published many popular worship albums under the Hillsong Music label. She is also associated with Integrity Music and the Hosanna label. She and her husband, Mark, are now senior “pastors” of Hope Unlimited Church in New South Wales.
Last week, she performed on stage as a headliner at the Vatican’s Renewal of the Holy Spirit rally. On her Facebook page, Zschech breathlessly gushed “The prep has begun in Rome. I can feel the prayers. Honoured to be singing this week, with Andrea Bocelli, Don Moen (Praise & Worship Leader), Noa (Achinoam Nini) with Pope Francis and thousands of worshippers gathering in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. This is a celebration of unity and peace in the Renewal of the Holy Spirit. Amazing days for the Body of Christ.”
As a former Catholic for 28 years, I can assure you that the Catholic Church is not part of the Body of Christ. When I went through 12 years of private Catholic school indoctrination, we never called ourselves “Christians”, we always referred to ourselves as Catholics. Now obviously I believe that Catholics can be saved, but I do not think it is possible for that to happen within the Catholic system. Bible doctrine and Catholic doctrine are indeed at odds with each other, I never met a priest or a nun who could tell me for sure that they were going to Heaven when they died. Because unlike the Bible, Catholic doctrine teaches that you cannot know for sure. That’s why they teach the false doctrines of Sacraments, Purgatory, Saint Worship, and pray to Mary, because they are trying to build up as many “good works” as they can to outweigh their bad on Judgment Day. And that is why the vast majority of Catholics will wind up in Hell because they were never saved in the first place.
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9 (KJV)
In all the endless hours of sermonizing and talking put in by Pope Francis, can you show me a 5 minute presentation of Gospel on how to be saved? No, you can’t because he doesn’t talk about those things. So what, I wonder, did Darlene Zschech and the other Laodicean “evangelicals” have to discuss with the Catholics when they arrived starry-eyed in the City of Babylon to pay homage to the Pope? I think that’s a pretty good question. From the looks of things, they just performed Christian rock music, got everyone all hyped up on emotion, and had you fall down and pray to their “generic Jesus” who judges nothing, loves all, and supports same-sex marriage.
Darlene Zschech is a prominent voice in the contemporary praise movement
“Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,” 2 Corinthians 6:17 (KJV)Darlene Zschech started out as a “worship pastor” at Hills Christian Life Centre, Sydney, Australia, and has published many popular worship albums under the Hillsong Music label. She is also associated with Integrity Music and the Hosanna label. She and her husband, Mark, are now senior “pastors” of Hope Unlimited Church in New South Wales.
About meeting the Pope, Zschech said “What a day. All honour and praise to our Father in Heaven. Thank You, Thank You, Jesus.”
As a former Catholic for 28 years, I can assure you that the Catholic Church is not part of the Body of Christ. When I went through 12 years of private Catholic school indoctrination, we never called ourselves “Christians”, we always referred to ourselves as Catholics. Now obviously I believe that Catholics can be saved, but I do not think it is possible for that to happen within the Catholic system. Bible doctrine and Catholic doctrine are indeed at odds with each other, I never met a priest or a nun who could tell me for sure that they were going to Heaven when they died. Because unlike the Bible, Catholic doctrine teaches that you cannot know for sure. That’s why they teach the false doctrines of Sacraments, Purgatory, Saint Worship, and pray to Mary, because they are trying to build up as many “good works” as they can to outweigh their bad on Judgment Day. And that is why the vast majority of Catholics will wind up in Hell because they were never saved in the first place.
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9 (KJV)
In all the endless hours of sermonizing and talking put in by Pope Francis, can you show me a 5 minute presentation of Gospel on how to be saved? No, you can’t because he doesn’t talk about those things. So what, I wonder, did Darlene Zschech and the other Laodicean “evangelicals” have to discuss with the Catholics when they arrived starry-eyed in the City of Babylon to pay homage to the Pope? I think that’s a pretty good question. From the looks of things, they just performed Christian rock music, got everyone all hyped up on emotion, and had you fall down and pray to their “generic Jesus” who judges nothing, loves all, and supports same-sex marriage.
Darlene Zschech has a lot in common with another famous Laodicean imposter:
Christian, in these last days as we watch denomination after denomination falling under the spell of Mother Rome, you would do well to guard your walk with the Lord and have nothing to do with these Laodicean, prosperity preaching imposters. If you ever get the chance to have an audience with Pope Francis, why don’t you tell him how to get saved? Because Darlene Zschech certainly didn’t tell him that when she had her chance.The Tree of Life. JesusPainter Ministries
Tree of Life (Hope Painting)New Tree of Life video...I'm posting a new vid each week.
Posted by JesusPainter Ministries on Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Sunday, July 5, 2015
The Formal End to Judeo-Christian America
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on the redefinition of marriage seals the end of America as the Founders envisioned it.
From well before 1776 until the second half of the 20th century, the moral values of the United States were rooted in the Bible and its God.
Unlike Europe, which defined itself as exclusively Christian, America became the first Judeo-Christian society. The American Founders were Christians -- either theologically or culturally -- but they were rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Even Americans who could not affirm traditional Christian or Jewish theology affirmed the centrality of God to ethics. Americans, from the Founders on, understood that without God, there is no moral truth, only moral opinion -- and assumed that those truths were to be gleaned from the Bible more than anywhere else.
Beginning with the Supreme Court's ban on nondenominational school prayer in 1962, the same-sex marriage decision has essentially completed the state's secularization of American society. This is one thing about which both right and left, religious and secular, can agree. One side may rejoice over the fact, and the other may weep, but it is a fact.
And what has replaced Judaism, Christianity, Judeo-Christian values and the Bible?
The answer is: feelings. More and more Americans rely on feelings to make moral decisions. The heart has taken the place of the Bible.
Years ago, I recorded an interview with a Swedish graduate student. I began by asking her whether she believed in God. Of course not. Did she believe in religion? Of course not.
"Where, then, do you get your notion of right and wrong?" I asked.
"From my heart," she responded.
That is why five members of the Supreme Court have redefined marriage. They consulted their hearts.
That is understandable. Any religious conservative who does not acknowledge homosexuals' historic persecution or does not understand gays who desire to marry lacks compassion.
But let's be honest. This lack of compassion is more than matched by the meanness expressed by the advocates of same-sex marriage. They have rendered those who believe that marriage should remain a man-woman institution the most vilified group in America today.
It is the heart -- not the mind, not millennia of human experience, nor any secular or religious body of wisdom -- that has determined that marriage should no longer be defined as the union of a man and a woman.
It is the heart, not the mind, that has concluded that gender has no significance. That is the essence of the Brave New World being ushered in. For the first time in recorded history, whole societies are announcing that gender has no significance. Same-sex marriage is, above all else, the statement that male and female mean nothing, are completely interchangeable, and, yes, don't even objectively exist, because you are only the gender you feel you are. That explains the "T" in "LGBT." The case for same-sex marriage is dependent on the denial of sexual differences.
It is the heart, not the mind, that has concluded that all a child needs is love, not a father and mother.
And therein lies one of the reasons that the notion of obedience to religion is so loathed by the cultural left. Biblical Judaism and Christianity repeatedly dismiss the heart as a moral guide.
Moreover, the war to replace God, Judeo-Christian values and the Bible as moral guides is far from over. What will this lead to?
Here are three likely scenarios:
1. Becoming more and more like Western Europe, which has more or less created the first godless and religion-less societies in history. Among the consequences are less marriage and the birth of far fewer children.
2. More and more ostracizing -- eventually outlawing -- of religious Jews and Christians, clergy, and institutions that refuse to perform same-sex weddings.
3. An America increasingly guided by people's hearts.
If you trust the human heart, you should feel confident about the future. If you don't, you should be scared. Judeo-Christian values have made America, despite its flaws, uniquely free and prosperous and the greatest force for good in the world. Without those values, all of that will change.
From well before 1776 until the second half of the 20th century, the moral values of the United States were rooted in the Bible and its God.
Unlike Europe, which defined itself as exclusively Christian, America became the first Judeo-Christian society. The American Founders were Christians -- either theologically or culturally -- but they were rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Even Americans who could not affirm traditional Christian or Jewish theology affirmed the centrality of God to ethics. Americans, from the Founders on, understood that without God, there is no moral truth, only moral opinion -- and assumed that those truths were to be gleaned from the Bible more than anywhere else.
Beginning with the Supreme Court's ban on nondenominational school prayer in 1962, the same-sex marriage decision has essentially completed the state's secularization of American society. This is one thing about which both right and left, religious and secular, can agree. One side may rejoice over the fact, and the other may weep, but it is a fact.
And what has replaced Judaism, Christianity, Judeo-Christian values and the Bible?
The answer is: feelings. More and more Americans rely on feelings to make moral decisions. The heart has taken the place of the Bible.
Years ago, I recorded an interview with a Swedish graduate student. I began by asking her whether she believed in God. Of course not. Did she believe in religion? Of course not.
"Where, then, do you get your notion of right and wrong?" I asked.
"From my heart," she responded.
That is why five members of the Supreme Court have redefined marriage. They consulted their hearts.
That is understandable. Any religious conservative who does not acknowledge homosexuals' historic persecution or does not understand gays who desire to marry lacks compassion.
But let's be honest. This lack of compassion is more than matched by the meanness expressed by the advocates of same-sex marriage. They have rendered those who believe that marriage should remain a man-woman institution the most vilified group in America today.
It is the heart -- not the mind, not millennia of human experience, nor any secular or religious body of wisdom -- that has determined that marriage should no longer be defined as the union of a man and a woman.
It is the heart, not the mind, that has concluded that gender has no significance. That is the essence of the Brave New World being ushered in. For the first time in recorded history, whole societies are announcing that gender has no significance. Same-sex marriage is, above all else, the statement that male and female mean nothing, are completely interchangeable, and, yes, don't even objectively exist, because you are only the gender you feel you are. That explains the "T" in "LGBT." The case for same-sex marriage is dependent on the denial of sexual differences.
It is the heart, not the mind, that has concluded that all a child needs is love, not a father and mother.
And therein lies one of the reasons that the notion of obedience to religion is so loathed by the cultural left. Biblical Judaism and Christianity repeatedly dismiss the heart as a moral guide.
Moreover, the war to replace God, Judeo-Christian values and the Bible as moral guides is far from over. What will this lead to?
Here are three likely scenarios:
1. Becoming more and more like Western Europe, which has more or less created the first godless and religion-less societies in history. Among the consequences are less marriage and the birth of far fewer children.
2. More and more ostracizing -- eventually outlawing -- of religious Jews and Christians, clergy, and institutions that refuse to perform same-sex weddings.
3. An America increasingly guided by people's hearts.
If you trust the human heart, you should feel confident about the future. If you don't, you should be scared. Judeo-Christian values have made America, despite its flaws, uniquely free and prosperous and the greatest force for good in the world. Without those values, all of that will change.
Saturday, July 4, 2015
The Quran: Multiple Authors and Multiple Languages
Reblogged from http://www.faithfreedom.org/ by Mumin Salih · May 7, 2015
Unlike the hadith collections, which were subjected to thorough scientific scrutiny by different scholars in different places and at different times, the Muslims never subjected the Quran to any form of scientific examination. On the contrary, they are warned against it because scientific studies are based on doubts, which is unacceptable to Muslims who are not supposed to have any doubts about the Quran. It is essential in Islam not to doubt the divine origin of the Quran and its preservation by Allah himself. To boost their confidence, Muslims learn to recite this verse as evidence of Allah’s promise to protect his book from corruption:
Q. 15:9 “it is We who sent down the Qur’an and indeed, We will be its guardian”
Different authors of the Meccan and Medina verses
The Quranic verses are divided into two distinct groups: The Meccan verses, which were revealed over thirteen years when Mohammed was in Mecca, and the Medina verses, which were revealed in the last ten years of Mohammed’s life in Medina.
The difference between the two groups is so obvious and striking in both contents and style; the Meccan verses are remarkably shorter and tend to contain more unfamiliar words. As Muslims start to learn the Quran, they are told from the beginning about the differences between the two groups. They are also given an explanation for this observation: The Arabs of Medina were less eloquent than those of Mecca, so Allah lowered the level of the Quran to match their level of understanding. I accepted this explanation for decades without questioning its logic but looking at it from where I stand today it does look a very naive justification.
The Arabs in Medina spoke the same language as those in Mecca and there is no reason to believe they would have had problems in understanding the Meccan style. Besides, they were still required to learn the Meccan verses anyway just like all Muslims do. Although not convincing, the above explanation makes a good point; it would be really nice if Allah speaks to people in languages they can understand.
There is no acceptable Islamic explanation for the striking change in style between the Meccan and Medina verses. But there must be one, and I believe it is the usual explanation behind any change of style, which is change of author. The Quran had at least two different authors but probably more. The differences between the Meccan and Medina verses are glaring enough to suggest they were even authored in different time periods. Indeed, there are indications that the Quran evolved over a long period of time that could have started before Islam.
To read more http://www.faithfreedom.org/the-quran-multiple-authors-and-multiple-languages/
Guess What Happened The Last Time The Chinese Stock Market Crashed Like This?
Reblogged from http://christianpatriots.org
via servehiminthewaiting.com
America, Banks, China, Economy, Government, Money
4 Commentsvia servehiminthewaiting.com
America, Banks, China, Economy, Government, Money
From October 2006 to October 2007, the Shanghai Composite Index more than tripled in value. It was the greatest stock market surge in Chinese history. But after hitting a peak, it began to fall dramatically. From October 2007 to October 2008, the Shanghai Composite Index absolutely crashed. In the end, more than two-thirds of all wealth in the market was completely wiped out. You can see all of this on a chart that you can find right here. What makes this so important to U.S. investors is the fact that Chinese stocks started crashing well before U.S. stocks started crashing during the last financial crisis, and now it is happening again. Is this yet another sign that a U.S. stock market crash is imminent?
Over the past several months, I have been trying to hammer home the comparisons between what we are experiencing right now and the lead up to the U.S. financial crisis in the second half of 2008. Today, I want to share with you an excerpt from a New York Times article that was published in April 2008. At that time, the Chinese stock market crash was already well underway, but U.S. stocks were still in great shape…
This sounds almost exactly like what is happening in China right now. First we witnessed a ridiculous Chinese stock market bubble form, and now we are watching a nightmarish sell off take place. This next excerpt is from a Reuters article that was just published…The Shanghai composite index has plunged 45 percent from its high, reached last October. The first quarter of this year, which ended Monday with a huge sell-off, was the worst ever for the market.Suddenly, millions of small investors who were crowding into brokerage houses, spending the entire day there playing cards, trading stocks, eating noodles and cheering on the markets with other day traders and retirees, are feeling depressed and angry.
Did you catch that last part?Shanghai’s benchmark share index crashed below 4,000 points for the first time since April – a key support level that analysts said had been seen as a line in the sand that Beijing had to defend, below which more conservative investors would start ejecting from their leveraged positions, widening the rout.Chinese markets, which had risen as much as 110 percent from November to a peak in June, have collapsed at an incredibly rapid pace in since June 12, losing more than 20 percent in jaw-dropping volatility as money surges in and out of the market.That drop has wiped out nearly $3 trillion in market capitalization, more than the GDP of Brazil.
The amount of wealth that has been wiped out during this Chinese stock market crash is already greater than the entire yearly GDP of Brazil.
To me, that is absolutely incredible.
And now that the global financial system is more interconnected than ever, what goes on over in China has a greater impact on the rest of the globe than ever before. Today, China has the largest economy on the planet on a purchasing power basis, and the Chinese stock market “is the second largest in the world in terms of market capitalization”…
Just as in 1929, flighty retail investors make up the bulk of China’s stock market and, just as in 1929 in the U.S., they have heavily margined their accounts. The Financial Times puts the number of retail investors in the Chinese stock market at 80 to 90 percent of the total market. Retail investors, unlike sophisticated institutional investors, are prone to panic selling, which explains the wild intraday swings in the Shanghai Composite over the past week.
Last night, the Shanghai Composite broke a key technical support level, closing below 4,000 at 3,912.77. The index is now down 24 percent since it peaked earlier this month and has wiped out more than $2.4 trillion in value. China’s stock market is the second largest in the world in terms of market capitalization, with the U.S. ranking number one.
I know that a lot of Americans don’t really care about what happens over in Asia, but when the second largest stock market in the entire world crashes, it is a very big deal.Making world markets even more worried about the situation in China, its regulators are showing a similar brand of leadership as Mario Draghi. After previously pledging to trim back risky margin lending, they have now done a complete flip flop and are permitting individual brokerage firms to avoid selling out accounts that miss margin calls by setting their own guidelines on the amount of collateral needed.
The great financial crisis of 2015 has now begun, and it is just going to get much, much worse. On Thursday, Ron Paul declared that “the day of reckoning is at hand“, and I agree with him.
So what comes next?
The following is what Phoenix Capital Research is anticipating…
I tend to agree with most of that. I don’t agree that the euro is going to go away, but I do agree that the eurozone is going to break up and be reconstituted in a new form eventually. And yes, we are going to see tremendous inflation all over the world down the road, but I wouldn’t say that it is imminent in Japan or anywhere else. But overall, I think that is a pretty good list.By the time it’s all over, I expect:1) Numerous emerging market countries to default and most emerging market stocks to lose 50% of their value.2) The Euro to break below parity before the Eurozone is broken up (eventually some new version of the Euro to be introduced and remain below parity with the US Dollar).3) Japan to have defaulted and very likely enter hyperinflation.4) US stocks to lose at least 50% of their value and possibly fall as far as 400 on the S&P 500.5) Numerous “bail-ins” in which deposits are frozen and used to prop up insolvent banks.
So what do you think is coming?
Written by Michael Snyder – The Economic Collapse
Friday, July 3, 2015
The Greatest Murder Machine in History
May 31, 2014
Reblogged from American Thinker
When
one thinks of mass murder, Hitler comes to mind. If not Hitler, then
Tojo, Stalin, or Mao. Credit is given to the 20th-century totalitarians
as the worst species of tyranny to have ever arisen. However, the
alarming truth is that Islam has killed more than any of these, and may
surpass all of them combined in numbers and cruelty.
The enormity of the slaughters of the "religion of peace" are so far beyond comprehension that even honest historians overlook the scale. When one looks beyond our myopic focus, Islam is the greatest killing machine in the history of mankind, bar none.
Over 110 Million Blacks were killed by Islam.
Much of Islamic slavery was sexual in nature, with a preference for women. Those men who were captured were castrated. The mulatto children of the women were often killed, which explains why Islam was not demographically shifted towards the black race, unlike slaves in the West, who bore children to breed a mestizo class. Add in those dead children; and we arrive at well over 200 million.
Remember that in the 7th century, North Africa was almost totally Christian. What happened to them?
We know that over 1 million Europeans were enslaved by Barbary Pirates. How many died is anybody's guess.
The number of dead from the Muslim conquest of the Balkans and Southern Italy is unknown, but again the numbers add up, surely into the millions over the centuries. Don't forget the 1.5 million Armenian Christians killed by the Turks during WWI. We do know that over five centuries, vast numbers of Christian boys were kidnapped to become Islamic Janissary mercenaries for the Turks. Add those in, too.
Muslims prized blonde women for their harems; and so enslaved Slavic women were purchased in the bazaars of the Crimean Caliphate. In Muslim Spain, an annual tribute of 100 Visigothic [blonde] women was required from Spain's Cantabrian coast.
Research has shown that the Dark Ages were not caused by the Goths, who eventually assimilated and Christianized:
How many know the horrors of the conquest of Malaysia? The Buddhists of Thailand and Malaysia were slaughtered en masse.
The animist Filipinos were eager to ally with the Spanish against Islam. In fact, much of Southeast Asia welcomed the Spanish and Portuguese as preferable to Islam.
Even today...
Though the numbers are not clear, what is obvious is that Islam is the greatest murder machine in history bar none, possibly exceeding 250 million dead. Possibly one-third to one-half or more of all those killed by war or slavery in history can be traced to Islam; and this is just a cursory examination.
Now consider the over 125 Million women today who have been genitally mutilated for Islamic honor's sake. In spite of what apologists tell you, the practice is almost totally confined to Islamic areas.
FGM is practiced on large scale in Islamic Indonesia; and is increasing.
Unlike the 20th-century totalitarians whose killing fury consumed themselves, reducing their longevity, Islam paces itself. In the end, though slower, Islam has killed and tortured far more than any other creed, religious or secular. Unlike secular tyranny, Islam, by virtue of its polygamy and sexual predations, reproduces itself and increases.
Other tyrannies are furious infections, which burn hot, but are soon overcome. Islam is a slow terminal cancer, which metastasizes, and takes over. It never retreats. Its methods are more insidious, often imperceptible at first, driven by demographics. Like cancer, excision may be the only cure.
So whenever you read about this or that Israeli outrage -- and there may be truth to the complaint -- place the news in context. Look whom the Israelis are fighting against. Islam is like nothing else in history.
Mike Konrad is the pen name of an American who is not Jewish, Latin, or Arab. He runs a website, http://latinarabia.com, where he discusses the subculture of Arabs in Latin America. He wishes his Spanish were better.
The enormity of the slaughters of the "religion of peace" are so far beyond comprehension that even honest historians overlook the scale. When one looks beyond our myopic focus, Islam is the greatest killing machine in the history of mankind, bar none.
The Islamic conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. -- Will Durant, as quoted on Daniel Pipes site.Conservative estimates place the number at 80 million dead Indians.
According to some calculations, the Indian (subcontinent) population decreased by 80 million between 1000 (conquest of Afghanistan) and 1525 (end of Delhi Sultanate). -- Koenrad Elst as quoted on Daniel Pipes site80 Million?! The conquistadors' crimes pale into insignificance at that number. No wonder Hitler admired Islam as a fighting religion. He stood in awe of Islam, whose butchery even he did not surpass.
Over 110 Million Blacks were killed by Islam.
... a minumum of 28 Million African were enslaved in the Muslim Middle East. Since, at least, 80 percent of those captured by Muslim slave traders were calculated to have died before reaching the slave market, it is believed that the death toll from 1400 years of Arab and Muslim slave raids into Africa could have been as high as 112 Millions. When added to the number of those sold in the slave markets, the total number of African victims of the trans-Saharan and East African slave trade could be significantly higher than 140 Million people. -- John Allembillah Azumah, author of The Legacy of Arab-Islam in Africa: A Quest for Inter-religious DialogueAdd just those two numbers alone together, and Islam has surpassed the victims of 20th-century totalitarianism. However, it does not end there. Add the millions who died at the hand of Muslims in the Sudan in our lifetime.
Much of Islamic slavery was sexual in nature, with a preference for women. Those men who were captured were castrated. The mulatto children of the women were often killed, which explains why Islam was not demographically shifted towards the black race, unlike slaves in the West, who bore children to breed a mestizo class. Add in those dead children; and we arrive at well over 200 million.
Remember that in the 7th century, North Africa was almost totally Christian. What happened to them?
By the year 750, a hundred years after the conquest of Jerusalem, at least 50 percent of the world's Christians found themselves under Muslim hegemony… Today there is no indigenous Christianity in the region [of Northwest Africa], no communities of Christians whose history can be traced to antiquity.-- "Christianity Face to Face with Islam," CERCWhat happened to those Christian millions? Some converted. The rest? Lost to history.
We know that over 1 million Europeans were enslaved by Barbary Pirates. How many died is anybody's guess.
...for the 250 years between 1530 and 1780, the figure could easily have been as high as 1,250,000 - BBCIn the Middle Ages…
…many slaves were passed through Armenia and were castrated there to fill the Muslim demand for eunuchs. -- Slavery in Early Medieval Europe.The same practice ran through Islamic Spain. North Europeans captured from raids up to Iceland, or purchased, were butchered in the castratoriums of Iberia. Many died from the operations that ran for centuries.
The number of dead from the Muslim conquest of the Balkans and Southern Italy is unknown, but again the numbers add up, surely into the millions over the centuries. Don't forget the 1.5 million Armenian Christians killed by the Turks during WWI. We do know that over five centuries, vast numbers of Christian boys were kidnapped to become Islamic Janissary mercenaries for the Turks. Add those in, too.
Muslims prized blonde women for their harems; and so enslaved Slavic women were purchased in the bazaars of the Crimean Caliphate. In Muslim Spain, an annual tribute of 100 Visigothic [blonde] women was required from Spain's Cantabrian coast.
For decades, 100 virgins per year were required by the Muslim rulers of Spain from the conquered population. The tribute was only stopped when the Spaniards began fighting back -- Jihad: Islam's 1,300 Year War Against Western CivilisationAdd in the death toll from the Reconquista and the numbers climb higher.
Research has shown that the Dark Ages were not caused by the Goths, who eventually assimilated and Christianized:
…the real destroyers of classical civilization were the Muslims. It was the Arab Invasions... which broke the unity of the Mediterranean world and turned the Middle Sea -- previously one of the world’s most important trading highways -- into a battleground. It was only after the appearance of Islam... that the cities of the West, which depended upon the Mediterranean trade for their survival, began to die. -- Islam Caused the Dark AgesAdd in those unknown millions who died as a consequence.
How many know the horrors of the conquest of Malaysia? The Buddhists of Thailand and Malaysia were slaughtered en masse.
When attacked and massacred by the Muslims, the Buddhists initially did not make any attempt to escape from their murderers. They accepted death with an air of fatalism and destiny. And hence they are not around today to tell their story. – History of Jihad.orgWe may never know the numbers of dead.
After Muslims came to power in the early 15th century, animist hill peoples eventually disappeared due to their enslavement and ‘incorporation’ into the Muslim population of Malaya, Sumatra, Borneo, and Java via raids, tribute and purchase, especially of children. Java was the largest exporter of slaves around 1500. -- Islam MonitorIn the same manner, Islam arrived in the Philippines. Only the appearance of the Spanish stopped a total collapse, and confined Islam to the southern islands.
The coming of the Spanish saved the Philippines from Islam, except for the Southern tip where the population had been converted to Islam.-- History of Jihad.orgAgain, the number of dead is unknown; but add them to the total.
The animist Filipinos were eager to ally with the Spanish against Islam. In fact, much of Southeast Asia welcomed the Spanish and Portuguese as preferable to Islam.
...from the 17th century successive Thai kings allied themselves with the seafaring Western powers – the Portuguese and the Dutch and succeeded in staving off the threat of Islam from the Muslim Malays and their Arab overlords.-- History of Jihad.orgA few galleons and muskets were not enough to conquer Asia. Islam had made the Europeans initially appear as liberators; and to a certain extent they were. Who were the real imperialists?
Even today...
...Malaysian Jihadis are plotting to transform multi-ethnic Malaysia into an Islamic Caliphate, and fomenting trouble in Southern Thailand.-- History of Jihad.orgAdd this all up. The African victims. The Indian victims. The European victims. Add in the Armenian genocide. Then add in the lesser known, but no doubt quite large number of victims of Eastern Asia. Add in the jihad committed by Muslims against China, which was invaded in 651 AD. Add in the Crimean Khanate predations on the Slavs, especially their women.
Though the numbers are not clear, what is obvious is that Islam is the greatest murder machine in history bar none, possibly exceeding 250 million dead. Possibly one-third to one-half or more of all those killed by war or slavery in history can be traced to Islam; and this is just a cursory examination.
Now consider the over 125 Million women today who have been genitally mutilated for Islamic honor's sake. In spite of what apologists tell you, the practice is almost totally confined to Islamic areas.
New information from Iraqi Kurdistan raises the possibility that the problem is more prevalent in the Middle East than previously believed and that FGM is far more tied to religion than many Western academics and activists admit. – “Is Female Genital Mutilation an Islamic Problem?” ME QuarterlyOnce thought concentrated in Africa, FGM has now been discovered to be common wherever Islam is found.
There are indications that FGM might be a phenomenon of epidemic proportions in the Arab Middle East. Hosken, for instance, notes that traditionally all women in the Persian Gulf region were mutilated. Arab governments refuse to address the problem. -- "Is Female Genital Mutilation an Islamic Problem?" ME QuarterlyRemember that this has gone on for 1400 years; and was imposed on a population that had been formerly Christian or pagan.
FGM is practiced on large scale in Islamic Indonesia; and is increasing.
...far from scaling down, the problem of FGM in Indonesia has escalated sharply. The mass ceremonies in Bandung have grown bigger and more popular every year. -- GuardianThe horrified British author of that Guardian article is still deluded that Islam does not support FGM, when in fact it is now settled that FGM is a core Islamic practice. Islamic women have been brainwashed to support their own abuse.
Abu Sahlieh further cited Muhammad as saying, "Circumcision is a sunna (tradition) for the men and makruma (honorable deed) for the women." -- “Is Female Genital Mutilation an Islamic Problem?” ME QuarterlyWhat other tyranny does this? Not even the Nazis mutilated their own women!
Unlike the 20th-century totalitarians whose killing fury consumed themselves, reducing their longevity, Islam paces itself. In the end, though slower, Islam has killed and tortured far more than any other creed, religious or secular. Unlike secular tyranny, Islam, by virtue of its polygamy and sexual predations, reproduces itself and increases.
Other tyrannies are furious infections, which burn hot, but are soon overcome. Islam is a slow terminal cancer, which metastasizes, and takes over. It never retreats. Its methods are more insidious, often imperceptible at first, driven by demographics. Like cancer, excision may be the only cure.
So whenever you read about this or that Israeli outrage -- and there may be truth to the complaint -- place the news in context. Look whom the Israelis are fighting against. Islam is like nothing else in history.
Mike Konrad is the pen name of an American who is not Jewish, Latin, or Arab. He runs a website, http://latinarabia.com, where he discusses the subculture of Arabs in Latin America. He wishes his Spanish were better.
The Case for Eternal Punishment
A Bible Study by Jack Kelley
Grace thru Faith
“And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.” (Isaiah 66:24)
Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2)
Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. (Matt. 25:41,46)
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:14-15)
For most of mankind’s existence the belief that punishment for unbelievers is eternal was taken for granted. The above verses are the basis for this point of view. It’s become known as the traditional view of hell.
Recently an alternative, called the conditional view, has come on the scene. This view is based primarily on Rev. 20:12 which says the unsaved dead will be judged according to their works. Proponents of the conditional view interpret this verse to mean that while no unbeliever can go to heaven, their punishment in hell will be based on the quality of their lives while on Earth. They contend that those who’ve led meritorious lives on Earth but aren’t believers will receive less severe punishment for a shorter period of time than say a Hitler or Stalin before being destroyed altogether. They claim that this view makes more sense because it shows God to be fair, making the punishment fit the crime so to speak, before mercifully ending their existence altogether.
On the surface it seems to make sense and some people are more comfortable with this view than the traditional one that appears excessively harsh to them and serves no purpose other than making people suffer. But is the conditional view the result of greater enlightenment in our understanding of Scripture or just another in a long line of attempts to re-cast God’s word into a kinder gentler document as it pertains to those who’ve rejected Him?
What these folks don’t seem to realize is that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). No amount of good works and kindness toward others will make up for the deficiency of unbelief. The truth is they will have failed to do the only thing God required of them.
Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:28-29)
If God is going to judge unbelievers by how they’ve done the work He requires of them, it’ll all be over pretty quickly because without belief in Jesus even the good they might have accomplished is considered evil in God’s sight. How do I know that? Read the Lord’s own words;
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matt. 7:22-23)
They will claim to have performed miracles in His name, but the Lord will deny ever knowing them, calling them evil doers. So much for the value of a meritorious life apart from faith in Him!
And in John 15:5 He said, “I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from Me you can do nothing.”
Unbelievers don’t think rejecting the Lord is a big deal because they don’t realize that their rejection of His sacrifice for their sins has eternal consequences. Because of their unbelief they’re only thinking in terms of a 70-80 year lifespan, not an eternal existence. So let’s take a look at this from the eternal perspective and try to understand how different it is.
First let’s understand that the man who is executed or given life in prison for taking someone’s life is not being taught that murder is wrong. He’s suffering the consequence of his crime by forfeiting the balance of his physical life . It’s an adaptation of the Biblical injunction, a life for a life (Lev. 24:17). On Earth we’re in a physical environment so it’s a physical life for a physical life.
But a person who rejects the pardon God provided for him has in effect murdered his own soul and spirit. Both are eternal, so there has to be an eternal consequence to fit the crime. Our physical bodies are only intended to serve a temporary purpose, and that’s to house the eternal part of us for a little while. Compared to our eternal existence, putting our physical existence to death is a minor infraction. Refusing to accept the Lord’s completed work on the cross as payment in full for our sins is a crime against our eternal life and therefore the only just punishment is eternal punishment.
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).
A surface reading of that verse alone might lead one to conclude that Paul was just talking about the death of the body here. After all it was sin entering the world that caused man’s physical life to change from immortal to mortal.
But if we read on and take the entire passage in context we see Paul wasn’t just talking about physical death. For example, in Romans 5:18 He wrote, “Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.”
Here we can see he had to be talking about eternal life because the Lord’s one act of righteousness did not prevent the physical bodies of believers from dying.
Therefore, since we’re all sinners we are all condemned. But by accepting the Lord’s death as payment in full for our sins we can escape condemnation and death and receive justification and eternal life instead.
When Lazarus died he was carried to a place the Jews called Abraham’s side because Abraham, the father of the faithful, was there to comfort them. But when the rich man died he went to hell (Greek, hades). Abraham and the rich man could see each other and communicate back and forth so we know Abraham’s side and Hades were in the same general location.
In the Old Testament these two destinations were known by the single name of Sheol, the “abode of the dead.” Upon dying, everyone went there. It’s where Jonah’s spirit went while his body languished in the belly of the whale (Jonah 2:2,6).
From the New Testament we learn that Sheol contained two compartments, separated by a wide chasm, impossible to cross (Luke 16:26). One side was a place of comfort where believers went to await Heaven’s opening after the cross. That’s where Lazarus was. In Greek it was called Paradise, a name that evoked memories of the Garden of Eden.
The other side was a place of torment reserved for unbelievers, and that’s where the rich man was.
After His resurrection, Jesus took the spirits of the believing dead from Paradise with Him to Heaven (Ephes. 4:8). Those who are in hell will remain there in torment until their final judgment at the end of the Millennium, which is still over 1,000 years in the future to us. At that time, Rev. 20:14 tells us, death and Hades will give up the dead who are in them and each person will be judged according to what has been recorded in the books kept in Heaven. Everyone whose name cannot be found in the book of life will be thrown into the Lake of fire, which is the Second death. The Lake of Fire is the final destiny of all unbelievers. Now, let’s see how long they’ll remain there.
At the time of the 2nd coming, the Lord will conduct a judgment of all humans still alive on earth (Matt. 25:31-46). People from all over the world will be brought to the Lord for His determination of their spiritual condition. Those He judges to be believers will be welcomed into the Millennial Kingdom (Matt. 25:34) where they will help repopulate the earth. Those who are not will be taken away to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt 25:41). Rev. 19:20 and Rev. 20:10 tell us this is a fiery lake of burning sulfur, while Rev. 20:14 simply calls it the lake of fire. They all refer to the same place, the final destiny of all unbelievers.
It’s a mistake to just read Rev. 20:10 and conclude that only the devil, the anti-Christ and the false prophet will be tormented forever. It’s a mistake to just read Matt. 25:46 and conclude that only unbelieving tribulation survivors will be punished forever. And it’s a mistake to just read Daniel 12:2 and conclude that only unbelievers from Old Testament times will suffer shame and everlasting contempt (abhorrence). All unbelievers from all ages will go to the same place, the place of eternal punishment, and all will suffer eternally.
It’s the same with our sins. Punishment is not an alternative method unbelievers can use to pay the penalty for their sins, it’s the consequence they’ll suffer for their inability to pay the penalty. No matter how long people suffer in eternity, they will still owe the same penalty as they did on day one. The only acceptable payment for sin is the blood of an innocent person, and nothing else will suffice. Hebrews 9:22 explains that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Therefore no one can “work off” his or her penalty through suffering.
This is the fatal flaw in the Catholic concept of purgatory. It calls for a person who dies with certain unconfessed sins to “work off” the penalty for those sins through their suffering and the intercessory prayers of living relatives in order to qualify for entry into heaven. But there’s only one way for humans to qualify for entry into heaven and that’s by accepting the blood of Jesus as payment for our sins (John 3:3). Once we do that all of our sins are covered (Colossians 2:13-14). But we have to do it before we die (Hebr. 9:27) or else it’s too late.]
It’s also the flaw in the conditional view of hell. If the blood of Jesus is the only way to be released from the penalty for our sins, then there’s no release for those who reject it. No matter how numerous or noteworthy, the “good works” unbelievers perform during their lifetime can’t be applied to reduce their sentence and neither can the “time served” after they die, so they’ll always owe the same penalty as they did on day one of their incarceration.
The bottom line is the only acceptable payment for our sins is the blood of a sinless man, and the only sinless man is Jesus. He died for all the sins of mankind (John 1:29) but only those who choose to accept His death as payment for their sins can be forgiven (John 3:16).
Refusing to accept it leaves everyone else unable to pay and requires that they be incarcerated. Since they’re eternal beings and have committed crimes against eternity, and since they’ll never be able to pay, they’ll have to remain incarcerated forever.
It is my fervent prayer that if you’re reading this and you have not accepted the Lord’s death as payment in full for your sins, you will not let another day go by without doing so. None of us is privileged to know the number of our days. Each new one could be our last. Please don’t tarry. Selah 05-30-15.
Grace thru Faith
“And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.” (Isaiah 66:24)
Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2)
Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. (Matt. 25:41,46)
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:14-15)
For most of mankind’s existence the belief that punishment for unbelievers is eternal was taken for granted. The above verses are the basis for this point of view. It’s become known as the traditional view of hell.
Recently an alternative, called the conditional view, has come on the scene. This view is based primarily on Rev. 20:12 which says the unsaved dead will be judged according to their works. Proponents of the conditional view interpret this verse to mean that while no unbeliever can go to heaven, their punishment in hell will be based on the quality of their lives while on Earth. They contend that those who’ve led meritorious lives on Earth but aren’t believers will receive less severe punishment for a shorter period of time than say a Hitler or Stalin before being destroyed altogether. They claim that this view makes more sense because it shows God to be fair, making the punishment fit the crime so to speak, before mercifully ending their existence altogether.
On the surface it seems to make sense and some people are more comfortable with this view than the traditional one that appears excessively harsh to them and serves no purpose other than making people suffer. But is the conditional view the result of greater enlightenment in our understanding of Scripture or just another in a long line of attempts to re-cast God’s word into a kinder gentler document as it pertains to those who’ve rejected Him?
My Ways Are Not Your Ways
A
closer look reveals that the idea of a conditional hell is decidedly
biased toward the world view of unbelievers. Conditional hell proponents
say, “All they did is not believe that Jesus died for them. Other than
that many unbelievers tried to live a good life and helped a fair
amount of people along the way. What did they do to deserve eternal
punishment?” (Notice the emphasis on good works here?)What these folks don’t seem to realize is that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). No amount of good works and kindness toward others will make up for the deficiency of unbelief. The truth is they will have failed to do the only thing God required of them.
Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:28-29)
If God is going to judge unbelievers by how they’ve done the work He requires of them, it’ll all be over pretty quickly because without belief in Jesus even the good they might have accomplished is considered evil in God’s sight. How do I know that? Read the Lord’s own words;
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matt. 7:22-23)
They will claim to have performed miracles in His name, but the Lord will deny ever knowing them, calling them evil doers. So much for the value of a meritorious life apart from faith in Him!
And in John 15:5 He said, “I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from Me you can do nothing.”
Unbelievers don’t think rejecting the Lord is a big deal because they don’t realize that their rejection of His sacrifice for their sins has eternal consequences. Because of their unbelief they’re only thinking in terms of a 70-80 year lifespan, not an eternal existence. So let’s take a look at this from the eternal perspective and try to understand how different it is.
First let’s understand that the man who is executed or given life in prison for taking someone’s life is not being taught that murder is wrong. He’s suffering the consequence of his crime by forfeiting the balance of his physical life . It’s an adaptation of the Biblical injunction, a life for a life (Lev. 24:17). On Earth we’re in a physical environment so it’s a physical life for a physical life.
But a person who rejects the pardon God provided for him has in effect murdered his own soul and spirit. Both are eternal, so there has to be an eternal consequence to fit the crime. Our physical bodies are only intended to serve a temporary purpose, and that’s to house the eternal part of us for a little while. Compared to our eternal existence, putting our physical existence to death is a minor infraction. Refusing to accept the Lord’s completed work on the cross as payment in full for our sins is a crime against our eternal life and therefore the only just punishment is eternal punishment.
Is Everyone Destined For Hell?
Recently
someone challenged me to prove from the Bible that all mankind is
destined for hell. He said by that he meant an actual place where one
will spend eternity. This person, like many others, doesn’t realize
that hell is not an eternal destination, but only a temporary place of
torment while one awaits his or her final judgment. So first let’s see
if there’s a place that says everyone is destined for hell.“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).
A surface reading of that verse alone might lead one to conclude that Paul was just talking about the death of the body here. After all it was sin entering the world that caused man’s physical life to change from immortal to mortal.
But if we read on and take the entire passage in context we see Paul wasn’t just talking about physical death. For example, in Romans 5:18 He wrote, “Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.”
Here we can see he had to be talking about eternal life because the Lord’s one act of righteousness did not prevent the physical bodies of believers from dying.
Therefore, since we’re all sinners we are all condemned. But by accepting the Lord’s death as payment in full for our sins we can escape condemnation and death and receive justification and eternal life instead.
What Does The Bible Say?
The account of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31)
gives us the Bible’s clearest picture of what happens after we die. In
comparing what happened to these men, the differences in their
experience become obvious.When Lazarus died he was carried to a place the Jews called Abraham’s side because Abraham, the father of the faithful, was there to comfort them. But when the rich man died he went to hell (Greek, hades). Abraham and the rich man could see each other and communicate back and forth so we know Abraham’s side and Hades were in the same general location.
In the Old Testament these two destinations were known by the single name of Sheol, the “abode of the dead.” Upon dying, everyone went there. It’s where Jonah’s spirit went while his body languished in the belly of the whale (Jonah 2:2,6).
From the New Testament we learn that Sheol contained two compartments, separated by a wide chasm, impossible to cross (Luke 16:26). One side was a place of comfort where believers went to await Heaven’s opening after the cross. That’s where Lazarus was. In Greek it was called Paradise, a name that evoked memories of the Garden of Eden.
The other side was a place of torment reserved for unbelievers, and that’s where the rich man was.
After His resurrection, Jesus took the spirits of the believing dead from Paradise with Him to Heaven (Ephes. 4:8). Those who are in hell will remain there in torment until their final judgment at the end of the Millennium, which is still over 1,000 years in the future to us. At that time, Rev. 20:14 tells us, death and Hades will give up the dead who are in them and each person will be judged according to what has been recorded in the books kept in Heaven. Everyone whose name cannot be found in the book of life will be thrown into the Lake of fire, which is the Second death. The Lake of Fire is the final destiny of all unbelievers. Now, let’s see how long they’ll remain there.
At the time of the 2nd coming, the Lord will conduct a judgment of all humans still alive on earth (Matt. 25:31-46). People from all over the world will be brought to the Lord for His determination of their spiritual condition. Those He judges to be believers will be welcomed into the Millennial Kingdom (Matt. 25:34) where they will help repopulate the earth. Those who are not will be taken away to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt 25:41). Rev. 19:20 and Rev. 20:10 tell us this is a fiery lake of burning sulfur, while Rev. 20:14 simply calls it the lake of fire. They all refer to the same place, the final destiny of all unbelievers.
It’s a mistake to just read Rev. 20:10 and conclude that only the devil, the anti-Christ and the false prophet will be tormented forever. It’s a mistake to just read Matt. 25:46 and conclude that only unbelieving tribulation survivors will be punished forever. And it’s a mistake to just read Daniel 12:2 and conclude that only unbelievers from Old Testament times will suffer shame and everlasting contempt (abhorrence). All unbelievers from all ages will go to the same place, the place of eternal punishment, and all will suffer eternally.
And That’s Not All
But there’s
an even more powerful legal argument for eternal punishment that for
centuries was modeled in human existence as well. Until the mid 19th
Century it was common practice in many parts of the world to incarcerate
a person for failure to pay his or her debts. Jail time was not an
alternative method of repayment, it was the consequence they suffered
for their inability to pay their debts. No matter how long they were
locked up they still owed as much of their debt as they did on their
first day behind bars. They could only be freed by repaying the money
they owed. Jesus referred to this practice in His parable of the
unmerciful servant (Matt. 18:23-35).It’s the same with our sins. Punishment is not an alternative method unbelievers can use to pay the penalty for their sins, it’s the consequence they’ll suffer for their inability to pay the penalty. No matter how long people suffer in eternity, they will still owe the same penalty as they did on day one. The only acceptable payment for sin is the blood of an innocent person, and nothing else will suffice. Hebrews 9:22 explains that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Therefore no one can “work off” his or her penalty through suffering.
This is the fatal flaw in the Catholic concept of purgatory. It calls for a person who dies with certain unconfessed sins to “work off” the penalty for those sins through their suffering and the intercessory prayers of living relatives in order to qualify for entry into heaven. But there’s only one way for humans to qualify for entry into heaven and that’s by accepting the blood of Jesus as payment for our sins (John 3:3). Once we do that all of our sins are covered (Colossians 2:13-14). But we have to do it before we die (Hebr. 9:27) or else it’s too late.]
It’s also the flaw in the conditional view of hell. If the blood of Jesus is the only way to be released from the penalty for our sins, then there’s no release for those who reject it. No matter how numerous or noteworthy, the “good works” unbelievers perform during their lifetime can’t be applied to reduce their sentence and neither can the “time served” after they die, so they’ll always owe the same penalty as they did on day one of their incarceration.
The bottom line is the only acceptable payment for our sins is the blood of a sinless man, and the only sinless man is Jesus. He died for all the sins of mankind (John 1:29) but only those who choose to accept His death as payment for their sins can be forgiven (John 3:16).
Refusing to accept it leaves everyone else unable to pay and requires that they be incarcerated. Since they’re eternal beings and have committed crimes against eternity, and since they’ll never be able to pay, they’ll have to remain incarcerated forever.
It is my fervent prayer that if you’re reading this and you have not accepted the Lord’s death as payment in full for your sins, you will not let another day go by without doing so. None of us is privileged to know the number of our days. Each new one could be our last. Please don’t tarry. Selah 05-30-15.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Obama Authorizes 13 Tons Of Gold Released To Iran As Sanctions Are Stopped
Reblogged from www.nowtheendbegins.com/blog
Iranian officials said Monday that the Islamic Republic’s Central Bank has successfully repatriated 13 tons of gold as part of a package of sanctions relief provided to Iran by U.S. and Western powers.
EDITOR’S NOTE: After all this time and all the talk, US president Barack Obama and the United States have failed and are failing to stop Iran from obtaining both nuclear power and weaponry. Obama has ordered sanctions, the only thing really preventing a nuclear Iran, to be stopped, and has rewarded the terror-supporting rogue nation by releasing 13 tons of gold back to them. Mission Accomplished.The gold was transferred to Iran by the government of South Africa, which had been holding onto the assets due to harsh sanctions meant to pressure Tehran to rein in its rogue nuclear program. The gold appears to have been released as part of a sanctions relief package that will have awarded Iran nearly $12 billion in unfrozen cash assets by the time negotiations wrap up next week.
Iran received $4.2 billion in unfrozen assets under the 2013 interim agreement with the United States and was then given another $2.8 billion by the Obama administration last year in a bid to keep Tehran committed to the talks.
The State Department calculates that Iran will have received a total of $11.9 billion in cash assets.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hinted this week that Iran would decide to fully pursue its nuclear program in a way “harsher than what they [the United States can] imagine” if Western powers fail to uphold any nuclear agreement expected to be finalized in the coming days.
28 Times Obama Said He’d Prevent Iran from Getting a Nuclear Weapon
Rouhani’s comments come as negotiators in Vienna struggle to solve disagreements over a range of issues concerning the future of Tehran’s nuclear program. The ongoing disputes prevented the sides from finalizing the agreement before a self-imposed June 30 deadline.Talks are now expected to continue through July 9.
“If the the P5+1 negotiating countries breach the nuclear agreement, we immediately go back to the old path, harsher than what they imagine,” Rouhani was quoted as saying this week in Persian language media reports that were independently translated for the Washington Free Beacon.Some have interpreted these comments as Rouhani threatening to boost a range of nuclear efforts that Western powers suspect have been used to construct a nuclear weapon.
Report: FBI Agents Telling Friends & Family to ‘Avoid July 4 Celebrations’
U.S. on high alert for Independence Day events
by Paul Joseph Watson | July 1, 2015Following warnings by the federal government that terrorists may be planning to attack Independence Day events, FBI agents are reportedly telling friends and family members to avoid major July 4 celebrations.
Gateway Pundit’s Jim Hoft cites an “inside source” who told him that, “FBI agents are telling their friends and family members to avoid “official celebrations.”
Hoft also claims that the FBI has canceled vacation for all its agents for the duration of the weekend.
Earlier this week, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI issued alerts to local law enforcement and urged Americans to “remain vigilant” for this weekend’s July 4 events.
Former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell also said Monday that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if there’s a terrorist attack during the 4th of July weekend.
“This one really resonates with me for two reasons,” Morell said. “One is there’s been about 50 people in the last 12 months who have been arrested in the United States for being radicalized by ISIS, wanting to go fight there or wanting to conduct an attack here, so there’s a lot of people out there who are seeing themselves as aligned with ISIS, number one.”
“Number two, you have this ISIS call to arms during Ramadan,” Morell said. “We are right in the middle of Ramadan, call to arms, conduct attacks against our enemies, so I’m worried about this one.”
Fox News also reported that the FBI is setting up command centers in all of its 56 field offices across the country to monitor potential terror threats.
ISIS supporters have recently intensified their social media propaganda campaign, with almost 100,000 tweets a day urging mass murder.
The warnings follow deadly attacks by ISIS last week in Tunisia, France and Kuwait that killed scores of people.
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