Time to leave the cities

When is it time to leave the cities? This question is on the lips of many of God's people, and it is an important one to consider and pray about. Is it time to leave for the countryside now? Or can we just wait and see what happens? Well, as the people of God we are lucky to have the pen of inspiration to help guide us in this matter. Please prayerfully read the following.

"As the siege of Jerusalem by the Roman armies was the signal for flight to the Judean Christians, so the assumption of power on the part of our nation, in the decree enforcing the papal Sabbath, will be a warning to us. It will then be time to leave the large cities, preparatory to leaving the smaller ones for retired homes in secluded places among the mountains." (Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 464, 465)

So we have a clear instruction that when the "Papal sabbath" is enforced, this will be the signal for God's people to leave the large cities and to prepare to leave the smaller cities and towns for homes in the countryside. And we know from Revelation 13 that it is the earth beast (America) that causes the world to receive the mark of the beast. So when the Sunday law is enforced in the United States of America, God's people all around the world will have the final signal to leave the cities and move to the countryside.

Now there are some people who relate Ellen White's above statement to the attempt made in 1888 to enforce a Sunday law in America, and they say that this was the signal for God's people to leave the cities. Now I don't have any major issue against this thinking, because I would say that all of God's people should be looking to leave the large cities now. Why? Because the large cities are not the kind of places that God wants His people to dwell. And this is confirmed by inspiration ...

"The cities are filled with temptation. We should plan our work in such a way as to keep our young people as far as possible from this contamination. The cities are to be worked from outposts. Said the messenger of God, 'Shall not the cities be warned? Yes, but not by God's people living in them, but by their visiting them, to warn them of what is coming upon the earth.'"

But going back to this 1888 date as being the signal for God's people to leave the cities. There are certain quotes from Ellen White that suggest contrary to this thinking. Take a look at the following quote that was written in 1906 ...

"More and more, as time advances, our people will have to leave the cities. For years we have been instructed that our brethren and sisters, and especially families with children, should plan to leave the cities as the way opens before them to do so. Many will have to labor earnestly to help open the way. But until it is possible for them to leave, so long as they remain, they should be most active in doing missionary work, however limited their sphere of influence may be." (Review and Herald, September 27, 1906)

So here she is implying that the move out of the cities would be a progressive one, and that it would not be possible for all people to leave the cities straight away. And this is well AFTER 1888.

But should we just wait until the Sunday law is enforced in America to leave the cities, even if it is possible for us to leave? No, because we are also told by inspiration that the cities should be reached from OUTSIDE them, not by God's people living IN them.

"In harmony with the light given me, I am urging people to come out from the great centers of population. Our cities are increasing in wickedness, and it is becoming more and more evident that those who remain in them unnecessarily do so at the peril of their souls salvation." (Country Living, p. 9)

"Get out of the cities as soon as possible and purchase a little piece of land where you can have a garden, where your children can watch the flowers growing and learn from them lessons of simplicity and purity." (2 Selected Messages, p.356)

"Out of the cities is my message at this time. Be assured that the call is for our people to locate miles away from the large cities." (Manuscript Release 1518, May 10 1906)

The wickedness has been increasing in the cities over the past 100 years and they are no longer places that God's people should dwell. We should be thinking also of the influence that temptations in the cities can have over our children and make every effort to protect them from Satan's devices. So if you live in a city, and there is nothing stopping you from leaving, then you should start praying and planning to leave for a quieter place to live. And some of us who have the resources to secure a home in the countryside can place ourselves in a position to help someone else who may not have the finances to leave when the Sunday law is enforced.

EVEN SECULAR FINANCIAL EXPERTS ARE SAYING 'RUN TO THE HILLS'

Think of how you can help your family and how you can help others during this time and when the mark of the beast is enforced. God has really blessed some of us in order that we can be a blessing and help to others. But please, do not rush into this. Instead by prayer and supplication, put this issue before God and ask for His guidance and provision.

"Let everyone take time to consider carefully and not be like the man in the parable who began to build and was not able to finish. Not a move should be made but that movement and all that it portends are carefully considered - everything weighed." (Selected Messages, vol. 2, pp. 362, 363)

The superior benefits of country living are plain to see for any thoughtful Christian. And as far as possible, we should start relocating ourselves away from the cities now and secure for ourselves country homes in places God created for us to live, away from the temptations and wickedness of man made towns and cities.

So it is clear, not only from inspiration, but also from the reality of how wicked the cities are now, that we should be striving to leave. Especially the large cities. But if there is no way for you to leave, due to finances or some other reason, then take it to the Lord. Be faithful to Him. Trust in the Lord and let Him open up a way for you to leave.

Finally, think about this last thought also ... If you look at major cities like San Francisco, Las Vegas, New York and many other large urban areas, there are very few ways of escaping. So during a disaster, these routes of escape could either be destroyed, clogged by millions of people fleeing, or closed down by the government, which would force many people to stay within the city's confines - which in turn could be a death sentence for the unprepared. The major cities are death traps!

Source 

How Great Thou Art

Fountainview Academy

Moments of Peace - Instrumental Hymns

David Gates

Published on Dec 4, 2015

Nature video with footage from Australia and other countries.

Videos de naturaleza de Australia y otros paises.

 

Happy Sabbath!

List of bottled water containing fluoride

The world is slowly waking up to the fact that fluoride, a by-product of the phosphate fertilizer industry, wreaks havoc on the brain and body. Despite peer-reviewed scientific evidence against it, fluoride is still added to 70 percent of U.S. public drinking water supplies.

What’s more is that processed beverages and food, tea, and even bottled water contain fluoride. That’s right, many popular brands of bottled water have a known neurotoxin added to them.

It’s no wonder that dental fluorosis has skyrocketed in the U.S. over the past 60 years (image right). Dental fluorosis is a side effect of fluoride ingestion that typically effects children. And it’s awful. Click HERE to see what it looks like, but you might want to take my word for it because it’s not a pretty sight.

Additionally, the aforementioned peer-reviewed evidence against fluoride includes a recent publication in the world renowned, weekly peer-reviewed Medical Journal, the Lancet. This report classifies fluoride as a neurotoxin and concludes that it notably decreases the IQ of children.

Fluoride is a toxic waste from the phosphate fertilizer industry

In the 1950’s it was determined that phosphate factories emitted toxic gases that were destroying the environment. Crops were scorched, destroyed, and cattle became crippled. Chemical and environmental engineers were employed with the task of filtering this toxic waste so that it would not escape into the atmosphere.

My former chemistry professor was once one of these engineers and would often reminisce of his days developing and designing what the industry later referred to as scrubbers. Scrubbers were installed to filter out this toxic waste thus protecting communities from harmful gases that when leached into the atmosphere would destroy their health and ecosystem. But were citizens ultimately being protected?

Chances are that you are currently a victim of the industry’s fluoride emissions although you may not live anywhere near a phosphate plant. For you see, when the scrubbers clean these emissions, hydrofluorosilicic acid, a classified hazardous waste is collected and barreled up. It is then sold to communities across America to be added to the public water supply as the primary fluoride chemical for water fluoridation.

Of course many people know this disturbing fact and avoid drinking from the tap. But what if I told you that the very water you’re spending a pretty penny on to avoid fluoridation, is too fluoridated. You might be surprised which brands contain fluoride, but when you see who owns them it will all make sense.

The list below contains data provided by the International Bottled Water Association that you can use to make sure you’re not feeding fluoride to yourself and your family.

If you would like a copy of this list for future reference click the letter sized image above then either right click and save the file or select “print” in your browser menu.

References:
International Bottled Water Association
fluoridealert.org
Real Farmacy

Ever Wonder Why the Most Mass Shootings Ever Have Happened Under Obama?

TRUTHstreammedia

 

Published on Dec 2, 2015

Full article: http://truthstreammedia.com/2015/12/0...

When compiling the data for mass shootings (where four or more people have died as per FBI definition of mass murder) under the last five presidents, clearly there's a startling outlier under the Obama administration. Largest push for gun control in American history just so happens to coincide at a time when there are more mass shootings than ever before in American history. What are the odds?

We're talking a 700+% increase in mass shootings where four or more people are killed just since George Jr. was president... More mass shootings than the four presidents before him combined BY FAR.

Climate change will be used as a pretext for sunday law

November 20, 2015 by Crystal Ja

New research out of the University of Melbourne draws a link between religion and the incidence of fire around the world

Fires are more prevalent on a Tuesday and less likely on a Sunday, according to a new University of Melbourne study, which highlights the dramatic effect humans, religion and culture have on the global climate.

Climate scientist Dr Nick Earl, from the University's School of Earth Sciences, found fires around the world appear to be strongly influenced by the working week and particularly days of rest associated with religion.

Of the more than a billion global fires that burned between the years 2001 and 2013, Sunday was the least active day with only 104 million fires.

That's nine million fewer fires, or eight per cent less, than the number of fires on a Tuesday – the middle of the working week.

"This study shows there's a very clear weekly pattern to fires around the world," says Dr Earl.

"Nature doesn't adhere to the weekly cycle, so this really highlights the influence we have on the planet when it comes to fires."

Studying weekly cycles – a human concept - in meteorological variables is a common point of research, since it allows scientists to examine the level of human influence on nature.

Dr Earl's study is the first time the seven-day weekly cycle has been analysed in relation to global fires.

While the weekly cycle was pronounced for Australia and the US, Dr Earl found the weekend minimum rate of fires was not consistent across the world.

For instance, areas with higher Muslim populations, such as the Kazakhstan region had Thursday and Friday minimums.

"But Friday is the 'day of assembly' and prayer for the Muslim faith, so it actually strengthens the argument for how religion impacts our climate," Dr Earl says.   Phys

World Leaders Must Listen to Pope Francis on Climate Change

Patrick Aventurier—Getty Images Pope Francis' shoes displayed at Place de le Republique, which is covered with shoes as part of symbolic rally organized by the NGO Avaaz during the forbidden COP21 demonstration in Paris on Nov. 29, 2015.

The pontiff has laid the groundwork for clear and effective action in Paris

​The climate change conference that kicked off this week in Paris has been called the world’s “last, best hope” for an international agreement to combat climate change. Though past conferences have largely been failures, there’s a new player in town this year who could change everything: Pope Francis.

On Monday Francis said it’s “now or never” for the international community to start effectively curbing climate change. “Every year the problems are getting worse,” he said. “We are at the limits. If I may use a strong word I would say that we are at the limits of suicide.”

To stand in solidarity with climate-change protestors at the conference, Pope Francis sent his shoes to Paris. But that’s nothing compared to what he’s done the past year to confront this global crisis.

In June, Francis released his groundbreaking encyclical on climate change. Easily the most read papal document ever, even the world’s political elite took it seriously. President Barack Obama tweeted his support for it, and Joe Biden told me that he read it cover to cover.

But Francis’s moral authority on human ecology stretches well beyond politics. In fact, it’s Pope Francis’s populist framework on caring for God’s creation that may prove most effective in the Paris negotiations. When Francis worries about the victims of climate change, he’s more concerned about the poor and excluded—not the whales.

In his encyclical, Francis argued that there is an “intimate relationship between the poor and the fragility of the planet.” He also denounces the elitist “green rhetoric” that sometimes characterizes the climate-change debate. Today’s environmentalist, Francis argues, must hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.

That language is a winning formula for politicians gathered in Paris. Domestically, many world leaders face significant opposition to climate change. In the U.S., Obama faces GOP challenges to his EPA regulations. Consider the president’s Sept. 27 speech to the U.N., in which he praised the visiting pontiff for “rightly” pushing for action:

All of our countries will be affected by a changing climate. But the world’s poorest people will bear the heaviest burden—from rising seas and more intense droughts, shortages of water and food. We will be seeing climate change refugees. As His Holiness Pope Francis has rightly implored the world, this is a moral calling.

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy took the pope’s environmental messaging on the road, speaking at Georgetown University and the University of Notre Dame, two of the nation’s top flagship Catholic universities. She even co-authored an op-ed with Blase Cupich, Pope Francis’s handpicked archbishop of Chicago. In the July 24 essay, they wrote that Americans had a “moral obligation to act on climate” and strongly defended the administration’s landmark Clean Power Plan, aimed at reducing carbon pollution from power plants.

The Obama administration gets it: Preaching Pope Francis’s message on climate change works. It can help turn what was often derided as an elitist secular cause into a bread-and-butter mainstream issue.

The pope’s message also gives domestic and global leaders political cover to take new actions to address climate. In September 10 House Republicans did just that, writing a resolution citing the pope in their call for their party to get serious about climate change.

Pope Francis has laid the groundwork for clear and effective action in Paris. He’s also pointed a new way forward for discussion. Climate change policy discussions too often happen from above. Francis wants them to begin from below. Citing the “ecological debt” rich countries owe poor countries, Francis wants to make sure policy makers put developing countries in the center of the decision making.

Francis has given the leaders gathered in Paris the vision and the space to make change. Now’s it up to the politicians to follow through.

Time 

Fundamentalism is 'a disease of all religions': Pope says it is not just Islam that has extremist factions

Pope Francis today said fundamentalism is not just an Islamic problem and is something which exists in all religions, including the Catholic church.

The Argentine pontiff was speaking as he flew back from Central African Republic after a three-nation tour of Africa.

He said: 'It is a disease of all religions.We Catholics, we have a few, even many fundamentalists.

'They believe they know absolute truth and corrupt others. I can say this because this is my church.' 

In his last few hours in the country he visited a mosque in the Muslim PK5 area of Bangui, where he was given a rapturous reception by thousands of people. 

The leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics called on Christian and Muslim 'brothers and sisters' to end the sectarian conflict that has torn the country apart. 

'Together, we must say no to hatred, to revenge and to violence, particularly that violence which is perpetrated in the name of a religion or of God himself,' he said.

Speaking later in the day as he flew back to Rome, Francis said Islam was not the only religion to suffer from violent extremists, such as the ones behind the deadly attacks in Paris which were claimed by the Islamic State.

He also visited Kenya on his trip, where he denounced the radicalisation of young people, citing 'barbarous attacks' by Islamic extremists in Nairobi, Garissa and Mandera.

Kenya has been on the rough end of a number of attacks since it sent its army into Somalia in 2011, following the kidnappings it blamed on Al-Qaeda's east Africa wing - the Shebab.

He hailed Africa as 'the continent of hope' and made a powerful impression on both Muslim rebels and Christian militias in Central African Republic.

In extraordinary scenes before he held a papal mass at the capital's Barthelemy Boganda stadium, a group of Muslim rebels from the PK5 area leapt out of two pickup trucks, all wearing T-shirts bearing the Pope's image.

As they pushed through the crowd in an area where Muslims usually do not dare to venture, people cheered and shouted: 'It's over'.

'We thought the whole world had abandoned us, but not him. He loves us Muslims too,' said Idi Bohari, an elderly man.

The landlocked Central African Republic descended into bloodshed after longtime Christian leader Francois Bozize was ousted by rebels from the mainly Muslim Seleka force in March 2013.

The coup plunged the former French colony into its worst crisis since independence in 1960, and more than 100 people have been killed in the capital since late September alone.

After flying back home to Rome today, the Pope spoke in front of his weekly audience in St Peter's Square, Vatican City.

Dailymail 

King Hezekiah's Seal Impression Found in the Ophel Excavations, Jerusalem

The Trumpet Daily

 

Published on Dec 2, 2015

Dr. Eilat Mazar has unearthed a new discovery from her latest archaeological excavation in Jerusalem: the bulla of King Hezekiah of Judah. The clay seal stamped with Hezekiah's name was found in the royal quarter of the Ophel and marks Mazar's newest biblically related find.

The inscription on the bulla reads: "Belonging to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz, King of Judah."

Mazar's archaeological team discovered the private seal of the king during a recent phase of excavations by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The Bible records that Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, ruled the kingdom of Judah from its capital, Jerusalem, 14 generations after King David during a major military conflict with Assyria. 2 Kings 18:5 notes his historical significance by recording: "[A]fter him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him."

Mazar's other discoveries in Jerusalem include King David's palace, Nehemiah's wall, bullae belonging to princes who persecuted the Prophet Jeremiah, a Davidic-era secret tunnel, and a Solomonic-era wall. She plans to publish Volume 1 of her final report on her recent Ophel excavations later this month.

2,700-year-old royal seal unearthed in Jerusalem

‘This is the first time that a seal impression of an Israelite or Judean king has ever come to light in a scientific archaeological excavation.’

By ISRAEL21c Staff December 2, 2015, 3:26 pm

The bulla bears an impression with King Hezekiah’s name. Photo by Ouria Tadmor, courtesy of Dr. Eilat Mazar

Biblical archeology buffs are abuzz over the impression of the royal seal of King Hezekiah (727–698 BCE) unearthed at the foot of the southern wall of Jerusalem’s Temple Mount.

The impression bears an inscription in ancient Hebrew script that translates as “Belonging to Hezekiah [son of] Ahaz king of Judah” along with a two-winged sun flanked by two ankh symbols symbolizing life.

The find was announced today (December 2) at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, as the dig was carried out under the direction of Eilat Mazar from the university’s Institute of Archaeology.

“Although seal impressions bearing King Hezekiah’s name have already been known from the antiquities market since the middle of the 1990s, some with a winged scarab (dung beetle) symbol and others with a winged sun, this is the first time that a seal impression of an Israelite or Judean king has ever come to light in a scientific archaeological excavation,” Mazar said.

Measuring 9.7 by 8.6 millimeters, the oval impression was imprinted on a 3-mm thick soft bulla (piece of inscribed clay) measuring 13 by 12 mm. Around the impression is the depression left by the frame of the ring in which the seal was set. The bulla originally sealed a document written on a papyrus rolled and tied with thin cords, which left their mark on the reverse of the bulla.

This 2,700-year-old artifact first came to light during a 2009 excavation of a refuse dump dated to the time of King Hezekiah or shortly after, and originated in the Royal Building that stood next to it and appears to have been used to store foodstuffs. This area is called the Ophel.

The bulla was found together with 33 additional bullae imprinted from other seals, some bearing Hebrew names, their reverse showing marks of coarse fabric and thick cords that probably sealed sacks containing foodstuffs.

The Ophel excavations at the foot of the southern wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem are conducted by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Institute of Archaeology. Photo courtesy of Andrew Shiva

The seal impression was found during the wet-sifting of earth layers from the excavation in the Emek-Zurim wet-sifting facility, directed by Dr. Gabriel Barkai and Zachi Dvira, under the auspices of the Nature and Parks Authority and the Ir David Foundation. The bulla was discovered by Efrat Greenwald and identified by Reut Ben-Aryeh.

The full research about King Hezekiah’s bulla is included in the first volume of the Ophel Excavations 2009–2013 Final Reports, published today with the support of the David Berg Foundation. Israel21c

Is Jesus A Myth?

 

By Edward L. Winkfield, December 1, 2015

Skeptics claim the Jesus Christ of the Bible is pure fiction. Yet you can know for certain!

Websites claim that Jesus Christ is a myth. Books say His extraordinary encounters with people in the Holy Land are mere inventions. Documentaries assert His execution under the rule of the Roman government is false.

Their explanations for the true origin of arguably the most influential religious figure range from bizarre to just plain silly. One theory is that Jesus and His life are merely a personification of the symbols contained within the cross of the zodiac in astrology. His role as the “Son” and His travels with 12 disciples are believed to be a metaphor for the movement of the “sun” through the 12 constellations.

In short, the worship of Christ is just a continuation of mankind’s fascination with the stars.

Another claim is that Jesus is a composite of several real-life first-century figures. Supposedly the notable deeds of these individuals were combined and mythologized into the person of Jesus Christ. Related is the thought that He is a character cobbled together from “inauthentic and over-interpreted” sayings.

One particularly odd rationale is that Jesus, a man known to advocate peace, was a fabrication of the Roman government. Crafty officials invented Him as a way to control their subjects with an alternative to the more threatening revolutionaries stirring up first-century Israel and posing a threat to Rome.

If any of these ideas were true, it would render numerous religious texts worthless and simultaneously shatter the hopes of billions of faithful followers. It is one thing to disagree with Jesus Christ’s teachings or to reject Christianity as a whole, but to dismiss Him as fantasy is another matter entirely.

Though their opinions about His role may differ, most followers of the world’s major religions—Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, among others—accept that a man known as Jesus walked the Earth during the first century. This is over three-quarters of the population alive today.

Most do not question the existence of a literal Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, books and other scholarly works maintaining He never lived are on the rise.

What is troubling is that proponents of the “Christ myth” sound so confident. Their bold assertions fill an increasing number of books and articles. They seem so sure of their conclusions that they can almost sound plausible.

These cunning arguments plant doubt in the minds of an increasingly unchurched generation and further disaffect those fed up with the hypocrisy of mainstream religion. Even those certain of Jesus Christ’s literal existence can get hung up searching for ways to counter these claims.

The principal reasons people claim Jesus is imaginary stem from three major premises: (1) the charge that there is no secular or non-biblical proof of His actual existence; (2) claims that the Bible’s New Testament record has no legitimate historical value; and (3) criticisms that Jesus Christ’s profile borrows heavily from ancient paganism predating Christianity.

Most recognize the claim that Jesus never existed for what it is—absurd. They have no need to be sold otherwise. However, going through the exercise of dismantling the supposedly “overwhelming evidence” can still be beneficial.

Doing so will not only increase your conviction that Jesus Christ actually existed as a man, but will also help you understand who He really was.

Historical Evidence

Advocates of the Christ myth say there are no sources outside the Bible that corroborate His existence. This is patently false.

The following are a few of the historical accounts recorded soon after Christ’s life.

• Tacitus: As a Roman historian who lived from about AD 56-117, he mentioned the person of Jesus Christ and His execution by the Roman governor Pontius Pilate in his extensive record known as the Annals, which cover the history of the Roman Empire from AD 14-68.
• Suetonius: Another Roman historian who lived from about AD 70-140, he referenced Jesus Christ in his AD 121 work titled The Twelve Caesars, a set of 12 biographies of Roman emperors considered a primary source of Roman history.

In a section on Emperor Claudius, he references Jews being expelled from Rome since they “constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus.” “Chrestus” is commonly seen as a reference to Christ.
Within the section on Emperor Nero, Suetonius further speaks of inflicting punishment on “Christians…given to a new and mischievous superstition.”

• Pliny the Younger: A Roman governor of the Bithynian province who lived from AD 61-113, he wrote a letter around AD 112 to Roman Emperor Trajan about dealing with “Christians” in his province. He noted that this group met “on a certain fixed day” and sang a “hymn to Christ as to a god.” In addition, he explained their commitment “not to do wicked deeds, never commit fraud, theft, adultery, not to lie nor to deny a trust.” Pliny’s remedy for dealing with Christians refusing to worship Roman gods was execution.
• Flavius Josephus: This well-known Roman-Jewish historian and scholar wrote Antiquities of the Jews, a 20-volume historiographical work on the Jewish people. Within it is written, “Jesus, a wise man…who performed surprising deeds and was a teacher…He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks.” The text continues “…Pilate had condemned him to a cross, those who had first come to love him did not cease.”

Despite the controversy on the authenticity of these direct references to Jesus Christ, indirect mentions of His person in other sections such as a reference to “James the brother of Jesus” are less disputed.

In each case listed, it should be noted that the scope of the works of these individuals goes well beyond defending or refuting the existence of Jesus Christ. His literal presence was simply acknowledged as an accepted point of history.

While admitting that unbiased men did mention Christ in their writings, determined skeptics still argue that they were not actual eyewitnesses of His life, and therefore cannot be believed.

Think about what is being said, though. By this standard, any historical record, often a result of compiling oral and written records spanning many years, could be dismissed as untrustworthy because the person compiling it did not actually see the subjects mentioned.

Eventually, denials from skeptics of a literal Jesus become ridiculous, proving that even an established truth can be made doubtful if a person tries hard enough.

Also, everyone acknowledging the literal existence of Jesus cannot be branded “pro-Christian.” One would be hard-pressed to describe Muslims, Hindus or Jews as such. Muslims commonly recognize Jesus as an important prophet and Hindus acknowledge His teachings and effect on history.

The case for the Jews is even more powerful. They had a hand in His execution because He did not meet their standard as the coming Messiah. They have every incentive to deny the existence of a man named Jesus given the criticism they have received and their continued belief in a coming savior. Though they may not have seen Him as the “Son of God,” even they acknowledge He existed.

Overall, many religious alternatives to the Christian faith could easily dismiss Christianity as a serious religion by simply agreeing that the figure central to its belief system never lived—but they do not.

Book of History?

Bible critics are also wrong to believe the New Testament has no historical value. The New Testament records provable historical facts such as the construction of Herod’s temple, the wall and foundation of which can still be seen today.

There are also multiple references to Roman rule and the destruction of Jerusalem to name a few, which are all facts of history. Even Christ’s human genealogy is listed in the gospels. Therefore, the book that details the birth, life and death of a literal man named Jesus cannot simply be written off as one giant fairy tale.

In addition, archaeologists of every stripe and flavor agree that the Bible contains quite a bit of factual information.

Millar Burrows, a professor who worked at Yale University stated in his book What Mean These Stones?: “On the whole…archeological [sic] work has unquestionably strengthened confidence in the reliability of the Scriptural record. More than one archeologist [sic] has found his respect for the Bible increased by the experience of excavation in Palestine.”

Later in the book, he wrote, “Archeology [sic] has in many cases refuted the views of modern critics.”

William F. Albright strengthens this case in his book The Archaeology of Palestine: “The excessive scepticism shown toward the Bible by important historical schools of the eighteenth-and-nineteenth centuries, certain phases of which still appear periodically, has been progressively discredited. Discovery after discovery has established the accuracy of innumerable details, and has brought increased recognition to the value of the Bible as a source of history.”

Jonathan L. Reed observed in The HarperCollins Visual Guide to the New Testament: “The many archaeological discoveries relating to people, places, or titles mentioned in Acts do lend credence to its historicity at one level; many of the specific details in Acts are factual.”

Yet even more than simple historical facts, you can prove the Bible is God’s Word.

What sets Scripture apart from all other history books is prophecy, history written in advance. Events foretold hundreds of years before they actually occurred show that the Bible was divinely inspired.

In Isaiah 46:9-10, God challenges skeptics to place fulfilled prophecy next to the record of history. The booklet Bible Authority...Can It Be Proven? will remove any doubt of this Book’s validity. Read it or request a copy.

Another Jesus

What about the supposed pagan roots of Christianity? A warning from the apostle Paul in II Corinthians begins to answer this question: “But I [Paul] fear, lest by any means, as the serpent [Satan] beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that comes preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit, which you have not received, or another gospel, which you have not accepted, you might well bear with him” (II Cor. 11:3-4).

Did you catch that? This passage does not describe someone preaching against the true Jesus Christ. Instead, it describes a totally different being altogether. This “Jesus,” empowered by a different spirit, and bringing a different gospel, was being received by true believers.

As shocking as it may sound, this counterfeit Jesus Christ deceives millions today—and he does have pagan roots!

Why would Satan bother to spread the idea of “another Jesus?” Why not promote another false god entirely unrelated to Jesus Christ?

As any con man will tell you, the most effective lies are those that contain elements of truth. What better way to deceive millions about the true Jesus Christ than to come up with an alternative bearing similarities to Him—even down to His very name! It is no accident that the devil is known as a master deceiver and the father of lies (John 8:44).

In fact, as Paul stated in II Corinthians 11, the devil has done this from the beginning. He deceived Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden into eating fruit from “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 2:17; 3:6). Recognize that this tree was said by God to have some “good” in it.

This false Jesus is a relative clone of many pagan gods in ancient societies such as Babylon and Egypt. It is this character described in the “Christ myth” theories. Millions throughout history have been deceived by this phony Jesus.

Christianity and Mythology explains the heathen connection: “…the conception of a Saviour-God was quite normal in the ancient pagan world…a conception of salvation underlies the notion of such Gods as Osiris, Attis, and Adonis…”

Why are there so many stories similar to Jesus’ death and resurrection? The short answer is that instead of paganism influencing Christianity as many claim, it is actually the other way around. God’s plan for mankind long pre-dated paganism. God’s promise of a savior, for instance, was first revealed in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:15). Further prophecies foretold Christ’s coming: Genesis 12:3, 49:10; Numbers 24:17; Deuteronomy 18:15, 18; and Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-7, 11:1-5.

All similar pagan stories rip-off what God said He would do!

Perhaps the most popular examples of the worship of the false Christ is the observance of Christmas and Easter. Both of these holidays are deeply rooted in paganism.

Christmas is a combination of several pagan symbols and principles. It has no actual Christian connection outside of the partial truths from the birth account of the child Jesus (think “knowledge of good and evil”) later attached to it. The supposed December 25 birth, for instance, is a continuation of the Roman observance of Saturnalia, which involved worshipping a sun god. The Christmas tree is a holdover from a Babylonian idol to which people bowed down.

Easter observance began anciently as a tribute to the “goddess of spring” or “queen of heaven” for the arrival of the spring season. The name Easter came from the Germanic goddess of fertility Austron. She bears an obvious resemblance to the ancient figures of Ishtar, Ashtoreth and Astarte.

The concepts of a “mother and savior” and a “savior-god,” prevalent in ancient cultures, were combined with facts about the true Jesus Christ’s torture and death and eventual resurrection to form the modern observance of Easter.

This explains why both Christmas and Easter celebrations are so inconsistent with the worship of God in Scripture. Christmas trees and mistletoe? Santa Claus and reindeer? Easter eggs and bunny rabbits? Sunrise services and hot-cross buns? These “Christianized” symbols are all absent from the Bible, but found in pagan observances.

To expose the pagan roots of Christmas and Easter is not new. Countless numbers of people have heard this before and more discover it every year. Some deny or choose to ignore this connection in an effort to continue keeping these days. But many openly admit their true origins. They justify keeping them by claiming they are “not actually worshipping false gods” but “worshipping Jesus Christ” instead.

The God of the Bible speaks against this practice: “…This people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men…Full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition” (Mark 7:6-7, 9).

God never commanded the observance of these days—in fact He rejected it! Tragically, people think they are honoring the God of the Bible with these celebrations, but their worship is in vain.

All Christian practices and beliefs with pagan roots describe another Jesus. Such facts give anti-religious skeptics fodder to poke holes in supposed Christianity.

How could this happen?

It is clear evidence of the incredible power of Satan, who the Bible says “deceives the whole world” (Rev. 12:9). The devil is such an effective counterfeiter of truth that he has successfully deceived millions into unwittingly worshipping false gods!

True Savior

In II Corinthians, Paul reveals the reason the devil is bent on keeping mankind away from the true Jesus: “In whom the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (II Cor. 4:4).

The devil’s goal is to keep people ignorant of a major reason Jesus Christ came to Earth as a human being—to announce the gospel or good news of the coming kingdom of God. Christ was a messenger of the wonderful opportunity for mankind to inherit eternal life!

Related to His gospel message is the fact that the true Jesus Christ, who is God (John 1:1), allowed Himself to be killed, thus becoming the perfect sacrifice required to redeem a sinful mankind cut off from God the Father. His shed blood was the payment required to deliver man from the death penalty due to sin (Rom. 6:23).

If Jesus Christ never existed and is simply a made-up idea, mankind could have no relationship with God!

Satan also does not want mankind to realize that the true Jesus Christ is the God or “Lord” of the Old Testament. Scripture reveals that it was Jesus Christ, in His pre-human form, who delivered Moses and the Israelites from Egypt (I Cor. 10:4). It was also Christ who interacted with Moses in the burning bush and Adam in the Garden of Eden.

Most professing Christians believe it was God the Father who filled this role. This is not true. The God of the first 39 books of the Bible was the same Jesus Christ who died for our sins as human beings. This understanding ties the entire Bible together and flies in the face of those quick to write the Old Testament off as “done away.”

Recognizing the true Jesus Christ is also the only way to acknowledge the one Church that He said He would build and that would never be destroyed (Matt. 16:18). Finding and being part of this Church is how it becomes possible to realize the tremendous opportunities available in God’s Plan.

Are you beginning to see why Satan is determined to keep mankind separated from the true Jesus Christ preached in the Bible? It is his most effective weapon in preventing man from realizing all the wonderful things God has put in place for human beings.

Inherent within Paul’s warning to the Corinthians about worshipping the wrong Jesus is the fact that there must be a way to tell the difference. As confusing as it may be to wade through the vast amount of information on the subject, there is a path to learning and understanding the true Jesus Christ.

There is a vast difference between the popular Jesus Christ known to most and the true Jesus Christ who walked Earth. The true Jesus Christ was not a weakling with long hair who taught people that God’s Law was done away. Instead, He was a powerful figure, known for His ruggedness and masculinity, who taught that God requires obedience to His Commandments.

Perhaps the most vital difference between the two Jesus figures is that people believe they are saved by the false one’s blood. This is not what the Bible teaches. God’s Word clearly states man is “saved by His life” (Rom. 5:10), while he is “reconciled to God” and “justified by His blood” (vs. 9).

The false Jesus is a myth—an utter fabrication! Yet the true, living Jesus Christ reveals the abundant life (John 10:10) for all those who follow His teachings.

This only begins to demonstrate the contrast between the two. Much more than you may realize is at stake for not following the correct one.

Determine to know the truth! Order Mr. David Pack’s thorough book titled, The True Jesus Christ – Unknown to Christianity. The only book of its kind, it lays out in detail the life of Christ.

After reading this book you will be able to recognize the true Jesus Christ among the counterfeits. You will also have a better understanding of His purpose for coming to Earth and how belief in Him can lead to a lifetime of happiness and a sense of purpose.

The true Jesus Christ is unknown to almost all—but He can be known to you! 

Source 

The similarities of Isis and Christianity

Posted: 12/02/2015 11:53 am EST 

Who's to blame for ISIS? The political left holds President George W. Bush responsible because of the American invasion of Iraq. The right faults President Obama for pulling American troops out of Iraq. Both left and right agree that ISIS is so appalling and indescribably cruel it even gives terrorism a bad name. I'm a leftist and blame Bush more than Obama, though I also have problems with Obama's purported strategy.

Why does ISIS succeed in recruiting so many dedicated members for its cause? There are many reasons, including one that I call Theological Terrorism.

ISIS bases its apocalyptic ideology on Muhammad's prophesies of a final battle against Western infidels, which will end the world in victory for an established caliphate. "A Caliphate in Accordance with the Prophetic Method" is the slogan on the coins ISIS has minted, on badges its soldiers wear, and on a billboard marking the beginning of ISIS territory. The majority of Muslims in the Middle East believe we are living in the end times, and they want to be on the right side when the Day of Judgment comes. While there are relatively few Muslims who support ISIS, there are many Islamic terrorists (yes, I'm a liberal who uses that phrase) willing to fight and die to establish an Islamic caliphate to hasten the end times.

Many Muslims got the preposterous idea that the world will end soon from interpretations of their holy book, the Quran. But it's not just Muslims who hold that belief. Portions of the Quran are "inspired" by the Christian Bible, many of whose adherents also anticipate an imminent end of the world. Astoundingly, 41% of all U.S. adults, 54% of Protestants, and 77% of Evangelicals believe the world is now living in the biblical end times!

Portions of the Christian Bible are inspired by the Hebrew Bible, some of whose adherents are also waiting for a Messiah to usher in the end of the world. The Talmud (commentary on the Hebrew Bible) states that there is a predestined time when the Messiah will come, but he might come sooner. This "end of time" will be before the Hebrew year 6000 (it's now 5776). So the end might be today, but it will certainly happen within 224 years. Unfortunately, I won't be alive to hear how yet another false end time prediction is explained away.

In the Christian Bible, Matthew 24: 6-8 describes when we will be approaching the end times. There will be wars and rumors of wars, nation will rise against nation, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. Sounds familiar. No wonder people for millennia have falsely predicted the end times. Michele Bachmann, a 2012 candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, predicted that the rapture will be coming soon because of President Barack Obama's policies on Iran's nuclear program and marriage equality.

Over the years, many religious leaders have specified end-of-the-world dates, and subsequently lost their faithful flock. Some such movements have evolved, including the Millerites led by Baptist preacher William Miller. He proclaimed that Jesus would return to earth by March 24, 1844, and many of his followers gave away all their possessions in preparation for the blessed event. March 25, 1844 is known as the Great Disappointment, but some Millerites reinterpreted the events of the Great Disappointment and formed a new religion in 1845. These Seventh-day Adventists also expect an imminent (but undated) return of Jesus, preceded by a "time of trouble." Current presidential candidate Ben Carson is a Seventh-day Adventist.

The most significant false prophecy in the Christian Bible appears in both Matt 24:34 and Luke 21:32: "All will be fulfilled and Jesus will return before this generation passes away." Still waiting!

End of days scenarios for both ISIS and Christianity have frightening similarities in their holy books, including violent wars and the return of Jesus to fight the antichrist (though different antichrists). Such similarities might help explain why ISIS has had some success in converting young people from Christianity to Islam. They've been taught similar horror stories.

I sometimes think there are more Christians than Jews because Christianity promises a better afterlife. So watch out for Islam, which promises a paradise with sensual young women and unlimited wine. That sounds like an earthly paradise and a lot more fun than an afterlife of sycophantic praises and hallelujahs.

The Bible and Quran both contain ridiculous passages and reasonable passages. People can quote portions of their holy books to justify loving their neighbor or killing their (infidel) neighbor. Both books give justifications for theological terrorism, including genocide, holy wars, slavery, misogyny, and death for crimes like blasphemy, homosexuality, and worshipping the wrong god or even the right god in the wrong way.

That ISIS might have been inspired by biblical passages in no way justifies its horrendous actions. If someone says he follows a holy book, I want to know which passages and how he interprets them. ISIS seems to follow the worst passages of the Quran and interpret them in the worst possible way. My hope is for the world to move away from such theocratic terrorism and toward loving our neighbors as ourselves. We don't need any holy books to justify loving our neighbor.

Herb Silverman

Herb Silverman is founder and president of the Secular Coalition for America and founder of the Secular Humanists of the Lowcountry in Charleston, South Carolina. He ran for Governor of South Carolina in 1990 to challenge the state provision that prohibited atheists from holding public office. After an eight-year battle, he won a unanimous decision in the South Carolina Supreme Court. He is a board member of the American Humanist Association and an advisory board member of the Secular Student Alliance. His latest book is Candidate Without a Prayer: An Autobiography of a Jewish Atheist in the Bible Belt. Herb is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at the College of Charleston.

Huffington 

Carson and the apocalypse

The Washington Post's Sally Quinn recently spoke with Ben Carson on the campaign trail about his faith — and how that faith has shaped his worldview, his campaign, and his life.

Ben Carson believes that we live in an evil world.

“So bad things will happen to some people,” he says. “Our job is to do everything we can to ameliorate the situation for them if we can.”

Of course, some situations can't be improved — one in particular: Carson believes in the apocalypse. “We believe that Christ is going to return to the earth again,” he said.

When the apocalypse comes, there's supposed to be a lot of tribulation. Could what's going on in the world qualify as tribulation? “It could. Of course it could, yeah,” he says. “I think [the return of Christ] could come any time.”

Since we don’t know the exact moment when Jesus is coming back, he said, “you live your life as if he’s coming back today. As if he’s coming back tomorrow.”

There are things Carson, a Seventh-day Adventist, does not believe. He dismisses the “Rapture” — the idea, embraced by many evangelicals, that at some point before the last days described in the book of Revelation, many Christians will literally be, as predicted in the New Testament, “caught up together … in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”

Carson doesn't share that view. “I don’t see any evidence for that in the Bible,” he says.

He also does not believe in hell: “I don't believe there is a physical place where people go and are tormented. No. I don't believe that,” he says.

But Carson does believe in God — though he can't quite describe the divine. “There’s no man who can explain God, or he would be God. ... He’s a force that doesn’t believe in dictating and gives you a choice: whether you want to be associated with Him or not. It can provide enormous strength and power if you do. And He has been an integral part of my life. There are many things I would have never taken on in the medical had I not felt that He was behind me.”

And he believes in the idea of heaven a physical place. “The Bible says when you die, you know, there is no soul that kind of floats away. But essentially, when you die, the next thing you know is the coming of Christ because you don’t know anything when you’re dead. If you’re dead for a second or a thousand years, it’s the same. But when he comes, according to the book of First Corinthians, that the sound of the archangel will rise and that’s when things happen.”

So if you’re good, you go to heaven, and if you’re bad, you just get annihilated?

“Pretty much,” he says.

Some evangelical Christians and Baptists have a problem with this view.

“Well, you know,” Carson says, “there’s going to be different interpretations. You know, I see God as a very loving individual. And why would he torment somebody forever who only had a life of 60 or 70 or 80 years? Even if they were evil. Even if they were only evil for 80 years?”

Carson says he certainly hopes he’s going to heaven. “I try to lead a life that would be consistent with the principles that God has set before us,” he says.

Even if it’s foreordained by God, Carson says, he would try to stop any tribulation even if Jesus doesn’t come until after they end. And since we don’t know when Jesus is coming, “I can’t live my life sort of thinking ... 'This is the apocalypse.' I think that’s the wrong way to think about it.”

And that, he says, means his views on the apocalypse wouldn't influence his presidency. “I don’t see how it would,” he says.

Washington Post 

The preaching of the cross: the power of God or God's failure?

ROME REPORTS   "I am going to tell you something private. In my pocket I always carry two things: a rosary to pray something which seems odd, this is here is the history of God’s failure, it’s the way of the cross, a small way of the cross, as Jesus suffered and when they condemned him right up to where he was buried with these two things I do the best I can. And thanks to these two things, I never lose hope.”


Note:   For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18

But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept.    For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.    For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.    But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.    1 Corinthians 20-23  

Jesus did not fail at the cross,  Jesus is no longer on the cross,  Jesus is no longer in the grave,  Jesus is coming in power and glory to raise all who are His.   Scripture says the cross is not a failure but the power of God!

Our only hope is in God and God alone

Psalms 146

1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul.

² While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.

³ Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.

⁴ His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

⁵ Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God:

⁶ Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:

⁷ Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners:

⁸ The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind: the Lord raiseth them that are bowed down: the Lord loveth the righteous:

⁹ The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.

¹⁰ The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the Lord.

Proverbs 21:31

³¹ The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord.