Origins - Dragons or Dinosaurs? Part 1
Sunday, April 30, 2017
He'll Remake You
He'll never forsake you.
But He'll remake you
And sometimes bake you,
But always slake your thirst,
When you put Him first.
He is the Last,
But He comes first.
Otherwise,
Nothing satisfies.
No beer, nor food, or cake.
He wants you for His sake,
It’s not a mistake.
You're not a mistake,
But His rake,
To clean and cull the garden,
And make hearts ready for His pardon.
To heed the seed,
Planted in you.
Don’t let that sneaky snake
Make you forsake,
The high and mighty place
Where you’ll behold His face.
Remember, it’s all by grace.
He forgives and He’ll embrace
Us, in spite of our neglect.
Come one, what the heck.
So let’s go,
It’s not too late.
Before the mighty Rain,
That’s gonna bring them pain.
Get on the narrow, not the main.
Heal the sick, cure the lame.
Remember, His love is great.
He’s prepared a fancy plate
For His bride, she’s His mate.
It’s time to wake
You’ve got a date
and He’ll remake you.
The call is coming.
Do you hear His humming?
Saturday, April 29, 2017
Bible Prophecy – Mathematically Impossible!
By Dennis Edwards
At the end of the New Testament in the first verse in the book of Revelation, we find the following words,
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show to his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified by his angel unto his servant John.[1]
At the end of the revelation, John tries to worship the angel who brought him the end-time message. The angel says,
See you do it not: I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.[2]
A testimony is a document that confirms the will of the testifier: like a person’s will is a document giving evidence or proof or testament to his desires. The spirit of prophecy found in the Bible is the testament or proof or evidence that Jesus is God. The accuracy of God’s prophecies confirms or testifies that Jesus is the Christ. The accuracy of God’s prophecies confirms or testifies to the fact that the Bible is true.
In my condensed Bible concordance, I can find some forty-eight Old Testament Messianic prophecies, or prophecies concerning the coming of the Jewish Messiah, all of which were fulfilled in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Nowhere in all of ancient Greek and Latin literature can there be found any real specific prophecy of a great historical event to come in the distant future. To the contrary, the Bible is full of countless, detailed, specific prophecies, all of which have been miraculously fulfilled and come true—except the final end-time prophecies which are either to be fulfilled in the near future or are coming to pass right now.
In 1957, Peter W. Stoner, a university professor at Pasadena City College in California, asked his twelve college classes what would be the chance of one person fulfilling forty-eight of the approximately 325 Messianic prophecies randomly? His book titled SCIENCE SPEAKS: An Evaluation of Certain Christian Evidences goes over the results.[3]
First Professor Stoner, with the help of the students from the twelve different classes, estimated the odds for just eight of the Messianic prophecies being fulfilled by one man. They made reasonable and conservative estimates which the students agreed upon unanimously.[4]
For example, they tried to figure out the odds of a child born in Bethlehem at the beginning of the first century becoming the Messiah. What were the odds of three wise men would come from the east and bestow gifts on the child and his family? What were the odds that they same child would escape the slaying of the male children of Bethlehem by Herod the Great? What were the odds of that child traveling specifically to Egypt and then returning later to live in Nazareth so that later he would be called a Nazarene?
Stoner then took the average result for each of the possible eight prophecies calculated by the twelve different classes. By multiplying the probability that was found for one of the prophecies by the other seven prophecies, he came up with the probability of one man fulfilling all eight prophecies. Making the reasonable and conservative assumption that the other forty prophetic possibilities would have nearly the same rate of probability, he did the math. He found that the odds of one person fulfilling all forty-eight prophecies would be one in 10 to the 157th power or one over 10 followed by 157 zeros, or one chance out of
10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.
10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.
Mathematicians state that a number with a probability of 10 to the negative 50th power, or one in 10 to the fiftieth power is impossible.[5] Therefore, one times 10 to the negative 157th power would be even less possible. Scientists have calculated the number of electrons in the universe to be around one times 10 to the 80th power. So fulfilling forty-eight Messianic prophecies would be like the possibility of finding, on the very first attempt, one specific electron out of all of the electrons in all the known mass of the entire universe![6] It’s just beyond possibility for one person to accidentally fulfill all forty-eight prophecies of the some 325 total Messianic prophecies found in the Bible. Nevertheless, Jesus did it.
Attorney Lee Stroebel was the former agnostic journalist with the Chicago Tribune, who had received Illinois’ highest honor for public service in investigating reporting from United Press International. He said in 2007, that statistical information presented in Professor Stoner’s Science Speaks about the Messianic prophecies was one of the major factors which gave him confidence to believe in Christ. Lee went on to become a New York Times besting-selling author with his books: The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith and The Case for Easter.[7]
[Taken from the book Where is America in Bible Prophecy? To start the book click on link.]
[Taken from the book Where is America in Bible Prophecy? To start the book click on link.]
[1] Revelation 1:1
[2] Revelation 19:10
[3] Peter W. Stoner; Science Speaks; Moody Press; Chicago, Illinois; 1957
[4] http://www.bereanpublishers.com/the-odds-of-eight-messianic-prophecies-coming-true/ (accessed 03/2016)
[5] http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/abioprob/borelfaq.html (accessed 03/2016)
[6] http://jvmi.co.uk/who-is-yeshua/reasons-to-believe/prophecies.html (03/2016)
[7] http://www.leestrobel.com/Bio.php (accessed 03/2016)
Friday, April 28, 2017
Thursday, April 27, 2017
The Genesis Messianic Prophecy
By Dennis Edwards
Chapter 14 from Where is America in Bible Prophecy?
We have seen so far that the Bible is indeed a book of prophecy. One scholar has determined that 26.8% of the Bible is prophecy.[1]That’s over 8,000 verses. If God didn’t want us to know the future, why did He spend so much of His Word prophesying? In the Old Testament we have seventeen books which are almost nothing but prophecy and as such are called the Major and Minor Prophets. The other twenty-two books of the Old Testament, from Genesis to the Song of Solomon contain hundreds of specific prophecies within their histories and poetry.
Chapter 14 from Where is America in Bible Prophecy?
We have seen so far that the Bible is indeed a book of prophecy. One scholar has determined that 26.8% of the Bible is prophecy.[1]That’s over 8,000 verses. If God didn’t want us to know the future, why did He spend so much of His Word prophesying? In the Old Testament we have seventeen books which are almost nothing but prophecy and as such are called the Major and Minor Prophets. The other twenty-two books of the Old Testament, from Genesis to the Song of Solomon contain hundreds of specific prophecies within their histories and poetry.
The first Messianic prophecy, or prophecy about the Messiah, is found in Genesis, the book of beginnings. While in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve disobey God after listening to the Devil-serpent. God, when stating His judgment upon them says,
And I will put enmity between thee (the Devil-serpent) and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.[2]
Christian Bible scholars have interpreted this prophecy in the following way. The Messiah, the seed of the woman, would one day defeat the serpent, the Devil, although the serpent would be able to bruise, or kill the Messiah. The fact that the serpent’s head is crushed shows total defeat, seen in Christ’s victory over death in His resurrection and His ultimate defeat of Satan at the end of time. The implication of the woman’s seed being bruised by the serpent shows the Devil’s power to persecute and even kill the Redeemer and His representatives. However, because the bruise is to the heel, the defeat is minor and not an ultimate victory. As Jesus said,
And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell.[3]
The non-violent protest movement to affect political change has been based on this idea of standing up for the truth even in the face of danger to one’s own safety or life, as exemplified by Christ. Many people have died in non-violent protests because of this principle. Mahatma Gandhi used it to change an Empire. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. used it to change a nation.
In a more recent example, on March 16, 2003, a young American peace activist named Rachel Corrie was crushed to death by an Israeli bulldozer. Corrie was undertaking a non-violent protest to protect the home of a Palestinian family from being demolished. The Israeli military was destroying all buildings within one hundred meters of the security fence they had constructed. In 2005, the Corrie family took the Israeli military to court over the incident. However, in 2012, a lower Israeli court ruled in favor of the Israeli military. Rachel’s parents have appealed to Israel’s Supreme Court, who has yet to make a decision.[4]
Similar to Rachel, scientist Dr. George Ellis believes non-violence is the best path.[5] Ellis, who worked with Dr. Stephen Hawking on the Big Bang cosmology, is also a Quaker and against war. He believes that non-violence can even be applied in difficult situations. After winning the renowned Templeton Prize,[6] he received an e-mail from a former British soldier who had been on a peace-keeping duty in Aden, Yemen in 1967. The name of the man was Davie Christie.
Mr. Christie said he had been an officer in a Scottish battalion engaged in peace-keeping duties in Aden town in the year 1967, in what is now called Yemen. He compared the situation to that of Iraq where people were being killed daily, with those suffering the most being the innocent local population. Mr. Christie admits his battalion of the British Army had the military capacity to destroy the whole town of Aden if they wanted to. But something unusual happened that needs to be publicized.
They had a commanding officer who refused to let them return fire when they were attacked, unless they were absolutely positive the person they were firing at had been the person who had actually thrown a grenade or had fired a shot at them. He did not want to kill any innocent people. He didn’t want any “collateral damage.”
But that’s difficult to do, to hold your fire when you are under attack. Nevertheless, that’s exactly what this particular battalion did. They held their fire unless they were 100% sure they were firing at the perpetrator, that they were firing at the actual attacker. Even with over a hundred grenades thrown at them, they fired back a grand total of two shots, killing one grenade-thrower.
Did they suffer losses? Yes, they did. They had over 100 men wounded and even one killed. When they were the recipients of rock-throwing, they stood fast. When it was grenades, they hit the ground and after the dust settled, they got up, stood their ground and held fast. They did not react indiscriminately in anger.
Of course, their reaction was not anticipated. Their enemy wanted them to fire back. They wanted them to kill innocent people. If they did, the local people’s animosity would be raised against them, the British peacekeeping force. But that is not what happened.
Slowly the local people began to trust the peacekeeping force. The local people saw they were taking injuries and not firing back into the crowded streets filled with innocent men, woman and children. As a result, the local people themselves made it clear to the terrorists that they were not welcomed in that area of Aden town.
While Mr. Christie’s battalion was playing soccer with the local people, other British battalions who had not followed what I will call the “turn-the-other-cheek philosophy,” were having a very difficult time. However, that one Scottish battalion brought peace to their area. They brought peace by being peacemakers because they were willing to lay down their lives rather than kill innocent people. Though they held the superior physical power, they withheld using that power in the face of terrorist attacks in order to protect innocent lives. The peace they achieved came because of the faith and outlook of the commanding officer. He in turn passed on that faith and outlook to those in his command.
Mr. Christie testifies that the commanding officer was a man they admired. They knew he was ready to die for each and every soldier under his command. As a result, each soldier was prepared to die for their commanding officer. Some may say, as Christie notes, that they were merely obeying orders. But he goes on to say, he does not believe it was the case. He confesses that they actually came to love their commanding officer. His heart for peacemaking and his determination to succeed in cruel and unjust circumstances regardless of the cost began to gradually grow in the hearts of the men in his command. Only years later did the soldiers themselves realize what they had accomplished.[7]
Dr. Ellis believes that Christian principles can be applied even in areas of conflict, such as the one above. If we did, some of the most amazing things could occur.
Throughout history the prophets of God used non-violent protests and suffered ridicule, abuse and even death because of their faith and world outlook. But all the way back in the first book of the Bible, we see the first prophecy of the Messiah’s triumphant victory over evil and Satan. We see also the initiating of the spiritual warfare of good against evil which continues until today.[To go to book click here.]
[1] Salus, Bill; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKOKqCk5vuo (03/16)
[2] Genesis 3:15
[3] Matthew 10:28
[4] http://rachelcorriefoundation.org/ (accessed 03/2016)
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_F._R._Ellis (03/2016)
[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templeton_Prize (03/2016)
[7] http://www.onbeing.org/program/science-and-hope/transcript/1158#main_content (accessed 03/2016)
This bubble finally burst. Which one’s next?
April 26, 2017 - Santiago, Chile
Snapchat’s investment prospective summed it up best:
It was a bubble, plain and simple... and now that bubble seems to have burst.
In some respects there’s very little difference between the two.
The average stock is trading at a record high valuation despite tepid performance.
And some of the most popular companies are as financially unsustainable as Clinkle was.
Netflix might be my favorite example.
They make up the shortfall by going deeper into debt, which is clearly unsustainable.
Don’t get me wrong-- as a consumer, I love Netflix.
Something is wrong with this picture.
Like so many other high-flying Silicon Valley startups, Clinkle was supposed to ‘make the world a better place’.
Founded in 2011 by a guy barely out of his teens, the company picked up early buzz after proclaiming they would disrupt mobile payments. Or something.
Silicon Valley venture capital firms were apparently so impressed with the idea that they showered the company with an unprecedented level of cash.
(Given that investing in an early stage company is high-risk, investors might provide a few hundred thousand dollars in funding, at most. Clinkle raised $25 million.)
The company went on to burn through just about every penny of its investors’ capital.
There were even photos that surfaced of the 21-year old CEO literally setting bricks of cash on fire.
At the end of the farce, Clinkle never actually managed to build its supposedly ‘world-changing’ product, and the website is now all but defunct.
This is rapidly becoming a familiar story in Silicon Valley.
For the last 6-7 years, Silicon Valley startups have been able to raise unbelievable amounts of cash.
Yet so many of those companies haven’t managed to turn a profit. Ever.
There’s some of the big names like Uber and AirBnb which are supposedly worth tens of billions of dollars despite having racked up enormous losses.
(Last year ride-sharing company Lyft promised investors that it would cap its losses at ‘only’ $600 million per year. . .)
But there are countless other examples of startups being anointed with absurd valuations and continually replenished with fresh capital even though they keep losing money... and have no plan to ever make money.
Snapchat’s investment prospective summed it up best:
“We have incurred operating losses in the past, expect to incur operating losses in the future, and may never achieve or maintain profitability.”
It’s as if the more money these startups lost, the more popular they became with investors.
Clearly that was unsustainable.
In business, profit (or even more specifically, “levered free cash flow”) is the most important metric.
No company is born profitable; it takes time for entrepreneurs to create and build a financially sustainable business.
In the meantime, startups sometimes need outside investment capital to keep going.
Early stage investors take a risk that the company’s founders and management will be able to execute on a plan that turns a big idea into profit.
But there’s supposed to be a plan. There’s supposed to be an objective to reach profitability as quickly as possible.
Silicon Valley investment firms ignored this basic principle for years, dumping their investors’ savings down the toilet into loser companies with no hope of profitability.
It was a bubble, plain and simple... and now that bubble seems to have burst.
According to Dow Jones Venture Source, venture capital firms in Silicon Valley pared down their investments in tech startups by 30% in the last several months after reaching peak insanity in late 2015.
Unprofitable, unsustainable companies that used to easily be able to raise capital during the bubble years are now struggling to find new investors.
Many are starting to go out of business. For others that manage to successfully raise more capital, the terms are much more strict and conservative.
It’s a new reality, and one that makes more sense: lower valuations, a push for profitability, less insanity.
It makes me wonder, though-- if the startup bubble in Silicon Valley can burst, why shouldn’t the bubble in the larger stock market?
In some respects there’s very little difference between the two.
The average stock is trading at a record high valuation despite tepid performance.
And some of the most popular companies are as financially unsustainable as Clinkle was.
The company’s most recent earnings report for the period ending March 31, 2017 shows, yet again, negative Free Cash Flow of MINUS $422 million.
Not only is that a record loss, it’s 62% worse than in Q1/2016, and over twice as bad as Q1/2015.
Netflix just keeps losing more and more money.
Remember, “Free Cash Flow” is a MUCH better indication of a company’s financial health than profit because it takes into consideration all the capital they must reinvest back into the business.
In the case of Netflix, management must constantly make new ‘capital investments,’ i.e. acquire more content to deliver to their viewers.
If they don’t keep updating their content library, Netflix will go out of business.
So the company has been steadily accumulating huge losses and burning through cash.
They make up the shortfall by going deeper into debt, which is clearly unsustainable.
Don’t get me wrong-- as a consumer, I love Netflix.
But it seems nuts that a company with such an unsustainable financial model could be so popular with investors and worth an all-time high $66 billion.
And these investment fundamentals just don’t seem that different than the insanity from the Silicon Valley startup scene over the last few years.
The Silicon Valley bubble has already burst. Given so many similarities, it seems foolish to bet that the stock market bubble will stay inflated forever.
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
You Can Know the Future
Chapter 1 of Where is America in Bible Prophecy? By Dennis Edwards
The Introduction:You Can Know the Future by Understanding Bible Prophecy!
Many people are worried about the future. They look around them and see a world full of confusion, strife, economic failure and corruption, constant threat of war, terrorism, domestic violence, and sexual abuse. There are problems at home, problems at school, problems at work, problems with the neighbors, problems in the family, problems at church, financial problems, and health problems. But the biggest fear and worry is the constant fear that tomorrow will be worse, that there is no help in sight.
Man has seemed to have forgotten that there is a God who helps and who has told us that He is an ever-present help in time of trouble.[1] Because we do not know the future and how things will work out, we become anxious. We worry for ourselves, for our children and for their children. With the world in such a mess, as we see it today, is there any hope for the future? If we knew the future, would it help us to have faith that God is in control, even if it looks as if He has abandoned us to our own devices? Would it give us the confidence we need to struggle on and keep fighting in spite of all the obstacles that besiege us daily?
I propose that an understanding of Bible prophecy will help us to be ready for the future. It will help us have the right attitude towards others and towards life itself. It will prepare us to face the difficult days ahead with faith and confidence that God is ultimately in control. With God’s love in our hearts and knowledge of His Word in our minds, we will be able to confront the difficulties that lay ahead, unafraid and confident that all things will work together for good because we love Him.[7]
It is my earnest prayer and hope that the information I am about to share with you will be an impetus for you to dig deep into God’s Word. I pray this information will draw you closer to Him. I pray that it will help and encourage you so that you will be able to help and encourage others in the difficult days that lie ahead. One day we will meet together at Jesus’ feet, where He will wipe every tear from our eyes and there shall be no more death, nor mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more.[8] Are you preparing for God’s tomorrow? May the words the Lord has given me in this book, be a blessing to you and your family and open your eyes to the events that shall soon suddenly befall us.
[2] Revelation 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, says the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
[3] John 10:10 The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
[4] Matthew 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
[5] Matthew 7:24-27 Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that hears these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
[6] Proverbs 22:3
[7] Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
[8] Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. [To read the book from the beginning follow the link.]
Sunday, April 23, 2017
David Rockefeller on One World Government
Dennis Edwards: To those who say bah-humbug to conspiracy theories, let's listen to recently deceased David Rockefeller from his autobiography Memoirs published in 2003.
"Some even believe we [the Rockefeller family] are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as 'internationalists' and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure - One World, if you will. If that's the charge, I stand guilty, and I'm proud of it."Like another internationalist said, "We will have One World government one way or the other."
"We are grateful to the Washington Post, the New York Times, Time magazine and other great publications whose directors have attended our meetings and respected their promises of discretion for almost forty years. It would have been impossible for us to develop our plan for the world if we had been subject to the bright lights of publicity during those years. But, the work is now much more sophisticated and prepared to march towards a World Government. The supranational sovereignty of an intellectual elite and world bankers is surely preferable to the national auto-determination practiced in past centuries."
The Bible tells us and talks of conspiracy from the very first pages when Lucifer conspires to deceive Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden. God even pronounces judgment on Lucifer and the ultimate defeat of his conspiracy against God in the very first chapters of the Bible.
In the book of Enoch we read also how 200 of the fallen angels made a pact and disobey the norms set up by God when they see the beautiful woman on earth. Though they know its against God's commands, they come down to earth and have sexual relations with woman which results in some type of hybrid humans with greater powers and abilities, but towards the dark side. By the time of Noah, some 1,500 years after creation, the Bible tells us:
"There were giants (these hybrid humans) in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God (fallen angels mentioned in the book of Enoch) came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown."[Genesis 6:4]
These guys were mighty and famous, but they were not Godly. The book of Enoch mentions they were responsible for the making of armaments, the beginnings of the pharmaceutical industry, satanic music, astrology, and demon worship among other influences.
"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."[Genesis 6:5]... "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence."[Genesis 6:11] "And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart."[Genesis 6:6] "And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth;...for it repents me that I have made them."[Genesis 6:7] "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord."[Genesis 6:8]
In the above verses it says that the earth was corrupt. In the Old Testament we read that when blood is spilled on earth, it corrupts the earth in God's eyes. So God has to destroy almost all of mankind because of the conspiracy against his plans by Lucifer, his fallen angels, and the hybrid humans who help lead mankind from God and His ways. Thankfully, Noah finds favor in God's eyes and is warned on the coming Great Flood and prepares his ark of salvation.
Our next great conspirator is none other than Nimrod, one of Noah's grandson and famous for constructing the Tower of Babel. Jewish history says that his uncle Shem gathered unto him 200 men to hunt down and kill Nimrod because of his evil activities. God decides to confound the languages. we read,
"And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." [Genesis 11:6-7]
However, evil does not go down so easily. In 597 b.c. Nebuchadnezzar takes certain captives from Jerusalem to Babylon. One captive is Ezekiel. Writing in Babylon we read from Ezekiel about evil men conspiring against God right in Jerusalem.
"And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east,"[Ezekiel 8:16]
So here we see 25 men worshipping the sun at some kind of sunrise celebration. Later on the Lord explains who these men are and what they are up to.
"Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the Lord's house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city."
So like Lucifer, the fallen angels, Nimrod, these leaders of Israel are deceiving the people and leading them astray. God therefore promises to judge them.
"Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them" [Ezekiel 8:17-18]
The Rockefellers and Rothschilds and others belong to the "illiuminate" group of men, elitists who believe their money makes them worthy of governing over all mankind. But they are not men of God, but men of the world, and more probably men under Luciferian influences leading man to the final One World government under Satan himself.
A conspiracy does exist. It's a conspiracy of Satan against God. A conspiracy of evil men influenced by Satanic forces to rule the world, without God. Like Orwell's 1984 world, the Ministry of Truth is even now propagating its new truths which are abolishing our western Christian foundation and supplanting it with naturalism, materialism, atheism, eastern mysticism, and even Satanism.
The Bible tells us and talks of conspiracy from the very first pages when Lucifer conspires to deceive Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden. God even pronounces judgment on Lucifer and the ultimate defeat of his conspiracy against God in the very first chapters of the Bible.
In the book of Enoch we read also how 200 of the fallen angels made a pact and disobey the norms set up by God when they see the beautiful woman on earth. Though they know its against God's commands, they come down to earth and have sexual relations with woman which results in some type of hybrid humans with greater powers and abilities, but towards the dark side. By the time of Noah, some 1,500 years after creation, the Bible tells us:
"There were giants (these hybrid humans) in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God (fallen angels mentioned in the book of Enoch) came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown."[Genesis 6:4]
These guys were mighty and famous, but they were not Godly. The book of Enoch mentions they were responsible for the making of armaments, the beginnings of the pharmaceutical industry, satanic music, astrology, and demon worship among other influences.
"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."[Genesis 6:5]... "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence."[Genesis 6:11] "And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart."[Genesis 6:6] "And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth;...for it repents me that I have made them."[Genesis 6:7] "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord."[Genesis 6:8]
In the above verses it says that the earth was corrupt. In the Old Testament we read that when blood is spilled on earth, it corrupts the earth in God's eyes. So God has to destroy almost all of mankind because of the conspiracy against his plans by Lucifer, his fallen angels, and the hybrid humans who help lead mankind from God and His ways. Thankfully, Noah finds favor in God's eyes and is warned on the coming Great Flood and prepares his ark of salvation.
Our next great conspirator is none other than Nimrod, one of Noah's grandson and famous for constructing the Tower of Babel. Jewish history says that his uncle Shem gathered unto him 200 men to hunt down and kill Nimrod because of his evil activities. God decides to confound the languages. we read,
"And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." [Genesis 11:6-7]
However, evil does not go down so easily. In 597 b.c. Nebuchadnezzar takes certain captives from Jerusalem to Babylon. One captive is Ezekiel. Writing in Babylon we read from Ezekiel about evil men conspiring against God right in Jerusalem.
"And he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east,"[Ezekiel 8:16]
So here we see 25 men worshipping the sun at some kind of sunrise celebration. Later on the Lord explains who these men are and what they are up to.
"Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the Lord's house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people. Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city."
So like Lucifer, the fallen angels, Nimrod, these leaders of Israel are deceiving the people and leading them astray. God therefore promises to judge them.
"Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them" [Ezekiel 8:17-18]
The Rockefellers and Rothschilds and others belong to the "illiuminate" group of men, elitists who believe their money makes them worthy of governing over all mankind. But they are not men of God, but men of the world, and more probably men under Luciferian influences leading man to the final One World government under Satan himself.
A conspiracy does exist. It's a conspiracy of Satan against God. A conspiracy of evil men influenced by Satanic forces to rule the world, without God. Like Orwell's 1984 world, the Ministry of Truth is even now propagating its new truths which are abolishing our western Christian foundation and supplanting it with naturalism, materialism, atheism, eastern mysticism, and even Satanism.
Friday, April 21, 2017
In Portugal, Drug Use Is Treated As A Medical Issue, Not A Crime
Lauren Frayer, NPR, April 18, 2017
Gandelina Damião, 78, is permanently hunched, carrying her sorrow. She lost three children to heroin in the 1990s.
A quarter century ago, her cobblestone lane, up a grassy hill from Lisbon’s Tagus River, was littered with syringes. She recalls having to search for her teenagers in graffitied stone buildings nearby, where they would shoot up.
“It was a huge blow,” Damião says, pointing to framed photos on her wall of Paulo, Miguel and Liliana. “I was a good mother. I never gave them money for drugs. But I couldn’t save them.”
For much of the 20th century, Portugal was a closed, Catholic society, with a military dictator and no drug education. In the early 1970s, young Portuguese men were drafted to fight wars in the country’s African colonies, where many were exposed to drugs for the first time. Some came home addicted.
In 1974, there was a revolution–and an explosion of freedom.
“It was a little bit like the Americans in Vietnam. Whiskey was cheaper than water, and cannabis was easy to access. So people came home from war with some [drug] habits,” says João Goulão, Portugal’s drug czar. “Suddenly everything was different [after the revolution]. Freedom! And drugs were something that came with that freedom. But we were completely naive.”
By the 1990s, 1 percent of Portugal’s population was hooked on heroin. It was one of the worst drug epidemics in the world, and it prompted Portugal’s government to take a novel approach: It decriminalized all drugs. Starting in 2001, possession or use of any drug–even heroin–has been treated as a health issue, not a crime.
Goulão, who had worked as a family physician in his 20s, at the height of the crisis, says there was very little opposition to the policy change.
“Every family had its own drug addict. It was so, so present in everyday life, that it turned public opinion,” Goulão says. “We are dealing with a chronic relapsing disease, and this is a disease like any other. I do not put a diabetic in jail, for instance.”
Under the 2001 decriminalization law, authored by Goulão, drug dealers are still sent to prison. But anyone caught with less than a 10-day supply of any drug–including heroin–gets mandatory medical treatment. No judge, no courtroom, no jail.
Instead they end up in a sparsely furnished, discreet, unmarked office in downtown Lisbon, for counselling with government sociologists, who decide whether to refer them to drug treatment centers.
“It’s cheaper to treat people than to incarcerate them,” says sociologist Nuno Cabaz. “If I come across someone who wants my help, I’m in a much better position to provide it than a judge would ever be. Simple as that.”
Cabaz’s team of 10 counselors handles all of Lisbon’s roughly 2,500 drug cases a year. It may sound like a lot, but it’s actually a 75 percent drop from the 1990s. Portugal’s drug-induced death rate has plummeted to five times lower than the European Union average.
Along a row of abandoned buildings in northern Lisbon, field psychologists took NPR to meet some of Portugal’s remaining drug users. The hillside is littered with needles, and bursting with wildflowers. The sky rumbles with airliners landing at the international airport nearby.
There’s a philosophy book on a cement stoop next to a middle-aged man who’s smoking crack cocaine. He gives his name as Rui, and says the stigma against addicts has eased since decriminalization.
“Now, not so much. It’s less, because the methadone is coming, and people are treating this problem,” he says. “They see the drugs with another perspective.”
Every day, a government van pulls up and gives him a dose of methadone, an opioid that helps wean people off of heroin. It’s a step toward harm-reduction. He still does cocaine, but no longer shoots up.
Drug-related HIV infections in Portugal have dropped 95 percent.
Drug workers hand out packets with clean needles and condoms, and listen to another addict, Antonio, describe his anxiety.
“If the drugs hurt too much my body, I escape a little, and then I come back again,” he says. “But it’s a world I cannot escape! If I turn there, it’s there–it’s everywhere. I cannot escape.”
For every person in Portugal who cannot escape addiction, there’s daily methadone, counseling and free treatment. A generation ago, these addicts were put in jail. Now they’re on the street.
But polls show the Portuguese–having lived through the ravages of a heroin epidemic–overwhelmingly support this policy.
Time to be Honest About the Fear That’s Getting in Your Way
There is something you have been working on, isn’t there?
Something big. Something exciting. Something you have always dreamed of.
It’s that perpetual “work in progress” that you tell only your close friends and loved ones about. The novel that is in “final edits.” That website that you are going to start … tomorrow. That email you are going to send your boss explaining why you are quitting your job to be a full-time freelancer (the mouse is hovering over the send button as we speak).
Whatever it is, the question I have for you is the same: What is stopping you?
If you are anything like me, what happens next is that you put in a lot of work, get super close, and then, when you are almost there, you hit a roadblock. And then another and another.
“What color should the logo be?”
“I can’t find an agent.”
“It could use another round of edits.”
“I’m not sure what font to use.”
We spend years working on these grand dreams. We put blood, sweat and tears into getting them to 85, 90, even 95 percent. Then, the next thing we know we are at the library with four books on the science of fonts.
Look, I’m not talking about first drafts here. The hang-ups that keep you from ever getting started is a different column altogether.
I’m talking about when you are so close to the finish line you can taste it. I have news for you: What is holding you up isn’t fonts–it’s fear.
Now, go grab a piece of paper and pen.
On the left-hand side of the page, draw a box and label it, “The Thing I Want to Do.” On the right-hand side, draw another box, and label it, “Actually Doing It.” In the middle of the page, between “The Thing I Want to Do” and “Actually Doing It,” make a list of everything that is standing in your way. Draw a big box around that list and label it “Roadblocks.”
Got it?
Next, grab a Sharpie, and put a big fat line through “Roadblocks.” Above it, in all caps, write “Places to Hide.”
Our own work, when we are judging it ourselves, is never finished or good enough. I have a secret for you: It’s not because we are perfectionists. It’s because we are scared. Scared nobody will like it, scared it won’t work out, scared to be embarrassed.
So, what we typically do is we pick a roadblock, and we hide behind it. Isn’t that funny? Just as we did when we were children and there were monsters in our closets, we hide from our fears.
I want us to be really clear that being scared is not the actual problem. Being scared is human, normal and totally O.K. The problem is when our fears prevent us from making the quantum leap between what we want to do and actually doing it.
Once we understand why we are perpetually stuck at 90 percent, we can make major strides toward 100 percent. It’s no longer about this or that specific roadblock. Now it’s about, “How do I work with fear?”
That is a much better question than, “What font should I use?” and it’s one that is much more interesting.
Look, I’m not talking about first drafts here. The hang-ups that keep you from ever getting started is a different column altogether.
I’m talking about when you are so close to the finish line you can taste it. I have news for you: What is holding you up isn’t fonts–it’s fear.
Now, go grab a piece of paper and pen.
On the left-hand side of the page, draw a box and label it, “The Thing I Want to Do.” On the right-hand side, draw another box, and label it, “Actually Doing It.” In the middle of the page, between “The Thing I Want to Do” and “Actually Doing It,” make a list of everything that is standing in your way. Draw a big box around that list and label it “Roadblocks.”
Got it?
Next, grab a Sharpie, and put a big fat line through “Roadblocks.” Above it, in all caps, write “Places to Hide.”
Our own work, when we are judging it ourselves, is never finished or good enough. I have a secret for you: It’s not because we are perfectionists. It’s because we are scared. Scared nobody will like it, scared it won’t work out, scared to be embarrassed.
So, what we typically do is we pick a roadblock, and we hide behind it. Isn’t that funny? Just as we did when we were children and there were monsters in our closets, we hide from our fears.
I want us to be really clear that being scared is not the actual problem. Being scared is human, normal and totally O.K. The problem is when our fears prevent us from making the quantum leap between what we want to do and actually doing it.
Once we understand why we are perpetually stuck at 90 percent, we can make major strides toward 100 percent. It’s no longer about this or that specific roadblock. Now it’s about, “How do I work with fear?”
That is a much better question than, “What font should I use?” and it’s one that is much more interesting.
The Illuminati and the Protocols of Zion - How Deep is That Rabbit Hole?
Chapter 49 from Where is America in Bible Prophecy?
Time and time again I have sat down to write this chapter and have had difficulty getting started. Why is that? It may very well be because of the importance of the information I will share with you herein. I am talking about a sinister group of men and woman dedicated to the cause of Lucifer and to bringing his rule to earth.
Adam Weishaupt is credited with founding the operational phase of the organization back on May 1st 1776 which he named the Order of the Illuminati of Bavaria. You can read about it on-line[1] or watch former Los Angeles FBI director talk about it on YouTube,[2] However, I believe the Illuminati are descendants of former disciples of Satan since the time of Cain before the flood and later from the time of Nimrod at the Tower of Babel. Some even give credit to Solomon the King of Israel for putting into writing some of the oldest satanic secrets and rituals.[3]
Weishaupt’s goal was to set up a secret society espousing world domination in the service of Lucifer. The society would suppress ‘inferior’ human stock and have violently anti-Christian sentiments. Weishaupt realized that the quickest way to spread the Illuminist message was to infiltrate the rich and the powerful. With the help of Templar Baron Adolph Von Knigge, Weishaupt’s organization was accepted into the Masonic orders where the rich and powerful met. George Washington, a Masonic member, is quoted as to having his doubts about some of the more radical elements in the Masonic Lodges in America, which may be reference to the Illuminist dominated lodges.[4]
Weishaupt envisioned a world in which populations would be controlled by a powerful élite unconstrained by conventional values. Their plans were to conquer nations economically and psychologically. They would control the banking system and control the press. They would have international rather than national goals. They would break down the national populations of the world and bring them under their control and finally bring in a New World Order, a One World Government.
The leadership of the Illuminati movement was later to pass to the hands of Albert Pike. Albert Pike, a Southern Civil War General, was dismissed from his position as military leader during the war because he used American Indians with his soldiers and allowed them to scalp the fallen Northern soldiers. He escaped to Canada where he lived for the remainder of the war.
The Protocols of Zion were published in beginning of the 20th century exposing the plans of the Illuminati for world domination. Please take time to look at them.[6]The press, however, has denounced them as fakes. But if the press is in their hands, which is what the Protocols reveals, one would expect such a denouncement.
The only thing I want to say about the Protocols is that they were published ten years ago and what is revealed in their pages is exactly what has happened and is happening up until now.[7]
The Illuminatis believe that Jesus was a counterfeit and that Lucifer is the true Light. Slowly but surely they have worked their plans for world domination and the final revealing of the Son of Lucifer, whom the Bible calls the Son of Perdition,[8] or more commonly known as the Antichrist.[9]
The good man is perished out of the earth: and there is none upright among men: they lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asks, and the judge asks for a reward; and the great man, he utters his mischievous desire: so they wrap it up.[12]
In other words evil men weave a web of wickedness together. In the International Standard Version they translate the last phrase as
the famous confess their perverted desires, and they scheme together.[13]
These perverted evil men are behind world wars, assassination of world leaders, economic ups and downs, and civil unrest. They control the United Nations, National Governments and political parties, the Courts or at least the key players involved. They have no scruples and use whatever methods necessary to silence their enemies. They control the media, the FBI, the CIA and NSA. National leaders do their bidding following carefully the plans assigned to avoid embarrassment, political defeat, scandal or death.
Does the Bible have anything to say about the above possibility? Many Bible scholars believe that the thirteenth chapter of Revelation with its Mark of the Beast technology is talking about such a Luciferian world government. We read,
And all the world wondered after the beast (the Antichrist). And they worshipped the dragon (the Devil) which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him?
And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him (the Antichrist),…And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or his umber of his name…And his number is 666.[14]
peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.[15]
He is also considered the author or propagator of the “Holy Covenant”[16] which many Bible students believe will allow for the rebuilding of the Jewish sacrificial Temple on the Temple Mount. The Bible goes on to say,
And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper…Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of woman, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.[17]
Of course, he will have opposition and need to quench them in order to enact his world government. He may very well be responsible for fomenting a peace settlement in the Middle East, the Holy Covenant mentioned above, only later to break it himself because of those opposed to his attempt at world dominion. The breaking of the Holy Covenant with the placing of the abomination that makes desolate[18] is the sign Jesus mentions as the beginning of the terrible period in Bible Prophecy called the Great Tribulation.
What shall be the sign of thy coming, and the end of the world?[19]
Jesus answered with not just one sign, but numerous. He said,
Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places. All these are the beginning of sorrows…And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold…And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.[20]
The culmination of these events comes in the next few verses where Jesus says,
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso reads, let him understand:)…For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be. And except those days be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.[21]
I am sad to say that the horrible days Jesus was warning about are coming closer every day. From what we see in Bible prophecy mankind is moving to the brink of destruction, no doubt because of the use of nuclear weapons or some other weapon of mass destruction.
The good news is Jesus has shortened the days of tribulation to three and a half years so that some of mankind will be left on the earth. He has promised to return to save his own in a super natural event known as the rapture. He has also promised to bring peace on earth for a thousand years. Jesus’ promised return is the only hope for mankind.
But before those promises come to pass, mankind is going to go through its worst period in all of history making the Inquisition, the Holocaust and Stalin’s and Mao’s persecutions look like boy’s play. Jesus said,
Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.[22]
Are you ready for the days prophesied by Christ, His disciples and various Old Testament prophets? It’s not too late to open your heart today to the King of Kings and begin your training in discipleship. Stop hesitating and decide. It won’t be long!
[1] http://vigilantcitizen.com/hidden-knowledge/the-order-of-the-illuminati/ (accessed 03/2016)
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BplUD6kQYuU (accessed 03/16)
[3] https://socioecohistory.wordpress.com/2010/05/13/the-history-of-the-illuminati-the-13-satanic-bloodlines/ (accessed 03/2016)
[4] https://www.thefederalistpapers.org/founders/washington/was-george-washington-really-a-devout-mason (accessed 03/2016)
[5] http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/sociopolitica/sociopol_vril07a.htm
[6] http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/przion1.htm (accessed 03/2016)
[7] Des Griffin, Fourth Reich of the Rich, Emissary Publications, Oregon, 1976.
[8] 2Thessalonians 2:3
[9] 1John 2:18
[10] Des Griffin, Fourth Reich of the Rich, Emissary Publications, Oregon, 1976.
[11] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKOhJppgmuw (accessed 08/16)
[12] Micah 7:2-3
[13] Micah 7:3 International Standard version
[14] Revelation 13:3-18
[15] Daniel 11:21
[16] Daniel 11:22
[17] Daniel 11:36-37
[18] Daniel 11:31
[19] Matthew 24:3
[20] Matthew 24:4-14
[21] Matthew 24:15-22
[22] Matthew 24:9
