Above All
Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Monday, December 30, 2024
Sunday, December 29, 2024
A voz do Senhor ouve-se sobre as águas! - SALMO 29
Um Comentário ao Salmo de David por Dennis Edwards
Salmo 29:1-2 "Tributai ao Senhor, ó filhos dos poderosos, tributai ao Senhor glória e força. Tributai ao Senhor a glória devida ao seu nome; adorai o Senhor vestidos de trajes santos."
Devemos dar a Deus o melhor das nossas vidas, e não apenas as sobras dos nossos dias. Os primeiros momentos de cada dia, na medida do possÃvel, devemos dá-los ao Senhor. Devemos adorá-Lo com os nossos pensamentos e palavras crescentes. A Sua glória está acima dos céus e Ele é digno do nosso louvor e ação de graças, que devem estar continuamente nos nossos lábios e nos nossos corações.
Salmo 29:3 "A voz do Senhor ouve-se sobre as águas; o Deus da glória troveja; o Senhor está sobre as muitas águas."
O primeiro aspeto do versÃculo acima é o facto inexplicável de que quando as pessoas estão doentes ou com problemas, muitas vezes vão para a beira-mar e sentam-se na praia e ouvem os efeitos calmantes das ondas que quebram na praia. Na sua busca por conforto, por respostas, por consolo, as pessoas procuram muitas vezes um local solitário numa praia isolada para caminhar com os seus pensamentos e ouvir a “voz do Senhor sobre as águas”.
O segundo aspeto é que o salmista pode de facto estar a recordar o evento da criação que se encontra em Génesis.
Génesis 1:1-3 "No princÃpio criou Deus os céus e a terra. A terra era sem forma e vazia; e havia trevas sobre a face do abismo, mas o EspÃrito de Deus pairava sobre a face das águas. E disse Deus: Haja luz; e houve luz."
Nos versÃculos acima encontramos Deus Pai a enviar o Seu EspÃrito para criar através da Sua Palavra falada, ou Voz. Vemos o Pai. Vemos o Filho, que foi o Verbo ou Voz que se fez carne em Jesus. Vemos o EspÃrito Santo, que Deus enviou para se mover sobre a face das águas. Vemos a Trindade em ação.
Ao longo de todo o primeiro capÃtulo do Génesis, vemos Deus a trazer a criação à existência. Deus falou e assim foi. “E Deus disse”, por outras palavras, a Palavra falada de Deus foi o meio da criação.
Génesis 3:8 "E, ouvindo a voz do Senhor Deus, que passeava no jardim à tardinha, esconderam-se o homem e sua mulher da presença do Senhor Deus, entre as árvores do jardim."
Em Génesis 3:8, quando Deus caminha no Jardim do Éden, Ele é chamado “a voz do Senhor Deus”. Adão e Eva ouviram “a voz do Senhor Deus a caminhar no jardim”. O “corpo de Deus” que apareceu a Adão e Eva a passear no jardim era a “Voz do Senhor Deus”, ou a Palavra do Senhor Deus. O Evangelho de João capÃtulo 1 esclarece quem foi e é essa Palavra.
João 1:1-4 "No princÃpio era o Verbo, e o Verbo estava com Deus, e o Verbo era Deus. Ele estava no princÃpio com Deus. Todas as coisas foram feitas por intermédio dele, e sem ele nada do que foi feito se fez. Nele estava a vida, e a vida era a luz dos homens."
João 1:14 "E o Verbo se fez carne, e habitou entre nós, cheio de graça e de verdade; e vimos a sua glória, como a glória do unigênito do Pai."
João 1:17-18 "Porque a lei foi dada por meio de Moisés; a graça e a verdade vieram por Jesus Cristo. Ninguém jamais viu a Deus. O Filho unigênito, que está no seio do Pai, esse o deu a conhecer."
Jesus Cristo é a Palavra de Deus que caminhou com Adão e Eva no jardim numa espécie de “corpo de Deus”. Jesus foi a força criadora do universo junto de Deus Pai e do EspÃrito Santo. Mais tarde, Jesus fez-se carne através do Seu nascimento sobrenatural através de Maria.
O apóstolo Paulo escreve de forma semelhante em Colossenses.
Colossenses 1:15-17 "o qual é imagem do Deus invisÃvel, o primogênito de toda a criação; porque nele foram criadas todas as coisas nos céus e na terra, as visÃveis e as invisÃveis, sejam tronos, sejam dominações, sejam principados, sejam potestades; tudo foi criado por ele e para ele. Ele é antes de todas as coisas, e nele subsistem todas as coisas."
No livro dos Hebreus encontramos uma afirmação paralela.
Hebreus 1:1-4 "Havendo Deus antigamente falado muitas vezes, e de muitas maneiras, aos pais, pelos profetas, nestes últimos dias a nós nos falou pelo Filho, a quem constituiu herdeiro de todas as coisas, e por quem fez também o mundo; sendo ele o resplendor da sua glória e a expressa imagem do seu Ser, e sustentando todas as coisas pela palavra do seu poder, havendo ele mesmo feito a purificação dos pecados, assentou-se à direita da Majestade nas alturas, feito tanto mais excelente do que os anjos, quanto herdou mais excelente nome do que eles."
Jesus é e foi a “Voz do Senhor” criadora que encontramos no Génesis e nos Salmos e que falou aos profetas no Antigo Testamento.
Salmo 29:4 "A voz do Senhor é poderosa; a voz do Senhor é cheia de majestade."
Precisamos de ouvir diariamente a Sua voz para termos a confiança de que estamos a percorrer os caminhos que Ele deseja para nós. Quando ouvimos a Sua voz, temos paz, independentemente das circunstâncias que enfrentamos. Ouvir a Sua voz tem um efeito poderoso sobre nós.
IsaÃas 55:3a “Inclina os teus ouvidos e vinde a mim ouve, e a tua alma viverá.”
Ouvir a Sua voz dá-nos a paz que excede todo o entendimento. Quando estamos ansiosos e derramamos a nossa alma ao Senhor em oração e súplica com ação de graças, Deus promete ouvir-nos e responder à nossa oração. Ele pode não responder como desejamos, mas promete enviar-nos a paz de que necessitamos para enfrentar qualquer situação em que nos encontremos.
Salmo 29:5-6 "A voz do Senhor quebra os cedros; sim, o Senhor quebra os cedros do LÃbano. Ele faz o LÃbano saltar como um bezerro; e Siriom, como um filhote de boi selvagem."
A voz de Deus está sobre toda a natureza. Por Ele todas as coisas consistem e são mantidas unidas.
Salmo 29:7 "A voz do Senhor lança labaredas de fogo."
Não é interessante que gostemos de nos sentar em frente ao fogo e observar as chamas? Ficamos hipnotizados pela forma como as chamas se dividem no fogo. É a voz de Deus que divide a chama dentro do fogo. Mais uma vez, vemos Deus a sustentar todas as coisas pela palavra do Seu poder.
Salmo 29:8-9 "A voz do Senhor faz tremer o deserto; o Senhor faz tremer o deserto de Cades. A voz do Senhor faz as corças darem a luz, e desnuda as florestas; e no seu templo todos dizem: Glória!"
Deus é aquele que traz vida nova. O apóstolo Paulo em Atos 17:28a disse: “Porque nele vivemos, nos movemos e existimos”.
Salmo 29:10 "O Senhor está entronizado sobre o dilúvio; o Senhor se assenta como rei, perpetuamente."
Alguns estudiosos acreditam que David se está a referir ao Dilúvio de Génesis e ao julgamento de Deus sobre o mundo naquela época e, portanto, a inferir um julgamento futuro onde Ele submeterá o mundo à Sua vontade e finalmente se sentará como Rei para sempre.
Salmo 29:11 "O Senhor dará força ao seu povo; o Senhor abençoará o seu povo com paz."
Mas, para recebermos a força e a paz de que necessitamos, é necessário “vir a Ele”. Em IsaÃas lemos,
IsaÃas 40:29-31 "Ele dá força ao cansado, e aumenta as forças ao que não tem nenhum vigor. Os jovens se cansarão e se fadigarão, e os mancebos cairão, mas os que esperam no Senhor renovarão as suas forças; subirão com asas como águias; correrão, e não se cansarão; andarão, e não se fatigarão."
Jesus comunica a mesma mensagem no Evangelho de Mateus.
Mateus 11:28-30 “Vinde a Mim, todos os que estais cansados e oprimidos, e Eu aliviar-vos-ei. Tomai sobre vós o meu jugo e aprendei de Mim; porque sou manso e humilde de coração; e encontrareis descanso para as vossas almas. Porque o meu jugo é suave e o meu fardo é leve.”
A força está aÃ. O poder está aÃ. A paz está aÃ, mas precisamos de fazer a nossa parte e aproximarmo-nos d’Ele. Precisamos de passar tempo com Jesus. Precisamos de passar tempo com Jesus hoje. Se lermos a Sua palavra, se estivermos a sós com Ele, se abrirmos o nosso coração em oração, se Lhe agradecermos as Suas muitas bênçãos, Ele promete responder e suprir as nossas necessidades. Mas Ele está à espera que venhamos a Ele.
Por favor, não se demore nas tarefas e deveres da vida e nas preocupações do dia. Escolha a melhor parte. Escolha passar tempo a sós com Deus, bem cedo, antes do dia começar, se possÃvel. Com Ele, encontrará a força, o poder e a paz necessários para realizar as tarefas que lhe foram propostas. Ele dar-lhe-á a força, o poder e a paz de que necessita. É uma promessa. Basta vir até Ele!
Oração: Jesus, não sei bem como me aproximar de Ti. Não sei como “vir ter contigo”. Ajude-me nos meus fracos esforços. Ajude-me enquanto derramo os meus problemas e preocupações para si em oração. Agradeço-lhe as minhas muitas bênçãos. Por favor, ouça a minha oração e aproxime-me de si. Ajuda-me a aprender mais sobre Ti e a tornar-me Teu filho e seguidor. Em nome de Jesus, oro.
Saturday, December 28, 2024
De Onde Vem a Sua Força?
De onde vem a sua
força?
Dennis Edwards
Veja, eu vivo de
acordo com um conjunto de ideias ou princÃpios contrários ao que a sociedade
laica ensina. O mundo secular ensina: "Sê forte em ti mesmo. Vai fundo e
encontra a tua própria força." A mensagem do Evangelho é que não precisa
de tentar encontrar força em si mesmo. Evangelho significa, na verdade, “boas
novas”. A boa notÃcia é que Deus, o criador do universo, veio ao mundo, viveu
como um de nós e obteve a vitória sobre a nossa incapacidade de nos salvarmos
através da nossa própria força. Através de uma aparente fraqueza, Ele era
forte. Mas a Sua força não veio d’Ele mesmo, mas d’Ele passando momentos
tranquilos com o Seu Pai no céu. Jesus levantava-se cedo e ia para um monte e
orava. Por vezes, Ele passava a noite toda em oração, até mesmo em oração
desesperada.
Marcos 1:35 “Tendo-se
levantado de madrugada, quando ainda estava escuro, Jesus saiu e foi para um
lugar deserto, e ali orava.”
Lucas 6:12-13 “Naqueles dias
retirou-se para o monte a fim de orar; e passou a noite toda em oração a Deus.
Depois do amanhecer, chamou seus discÃpulos, e escolheu doze
dentre eles, aos quais deu também o nome de apóstolos.”
Lucas 22:39-46 “Então saiu e,
segundo o seu costume, foi para o Monte das Oliveiras; e os discÃpulos o
seguiam. Quando chegou àquele lugar, disse-lhes: Orai,
para que não entreis em tentação. E apartou-se deles
cerca de um tiro de pedra; e pondo-se de joelhos, orava, dizendo:
Pai, se queres afasta de mim este cálice; todavia não se faça a minha vontade,
mas a tua. Então lhe apareceu um anjo do céu, que o
confortava. E, posto em agonia, orava mais intensamente;
e o seu suor tornou-se como grandes gotas de sangue, que caÃam sobre o chão. Depois, levantando-se da oração, veio para os seus discÃpulos, e
achou-os dormindo de tristeza; e disse-lhes: Por que
estais dormindo? Lenvantai-vos, e orai, para que não entreis em tentação.”
Sim, precisamos
de ser fortes, mas onde encontramos força? Em álcool, drogas, podcasts online,
amigos, livros, música, obras da natureza, compras, comida? Estudos seculares
mostram que as pessoas que passam algum tempo sozinhas a caminhar na natureza
ou que fazem caminhadas meditativas diárias têm maior probabilidade de serem
criativas e de terem convicções fortes. A verdade é que precisamos de tempo a
sós para encontrar a força que precisamos. Mas essa força vem, na verdade, de
fora de nós. A força vem das palavras que acreditamos serem verdadeiras. O que
nos torna fortes são as palavras em que acreditamos, e não nós próprios.
Portanto, o que é importante é em que palavras acreditamos e confiamos que
sejam verdadeiras.
Estou a confiar
na palavra do homem que diz: “Sê forte em ti mesmo. Ou estou a confiar no
Criador do universo que diz: "Sê forte em mim. Deixa-me ser a tua
força." Essa é a diferença. São duas filosofias opostas. Uma delas é:
tenta ser forte consigo mesmo. Você procura força interior. O outro diz: não
consigo, não sou suficientemente forte. Preciso da ajuda do meu Criador e, por
isso, vou ter com Ele e encontro-O; e ao encontrá-Lo, encontra a força que Ele
fornece. Como escreveu o antigo rei David: “A minha força vem do Senhor que fez
o céu e a terra”, Salmos 121:2. Precisamos de procurar em Deus a força
de que necessitamos. Nunca seremos suficientemente fortes com a nossa própria
força, por mais força natural que tenhamos.
Precisamos da
força sobrenatural de Deus para nos ajudar a ser vencedores. Podemos encontrar
essa força em Jesus. Esse é o segredo. Essa é a boa notÃcia. Esse é o
Evangelho. Nele posso fazer todas as coisas.
Filipenses
4:13 “Posso
todas as coisas naquele (Cristo) que me fortalece.”
Romanos 8:37 “Mas em todas
estas coisas somos mais que vencedores, por aquele (Jesus) que nos amou.”
É por isso que
Ele diz: “Vinde a Mim todos os que estais cansados e oprimidos e Eu
aliviar-vos-ei. O meu jugo é suave e a minha carga é leve”, Mateus 11:28-30.
Mas temos de
fazer a vinda.
IsaÃas 55:1-3 “Ó vós, todos os que tendes sede, vinde
às águas, e os que não tendes dinheiro, vinde, comprai, e comei; sim, vinde e
comprai, sem dinheiro e sem preço, vinho e leite. Por que gastais o dinheiro naquilo que não é pão! e o produto
do vosso trabalho naquilo que não pode satisfazer? ouvi-me atentamente, e comei
o que é bom, e deleitai-vos com a gordura. Inclinai os
vossos ouvidos, e vinde a mim; ouvi, e a vossa alma viverá; porque convosco
farei um pacto perpétuo, dando-vos as firmes beneficências prometidas a Davi.”
Mas se o
fizermos, Ele dar-nos-á a força de que necessitamos e tudo o mais.
IsaÃas
40:28-31 “Não sabes, não ouviste que o eterno Deus, o Senhor, o Criador
dos confins da terra, não se cansa nem se fadiga? E inescrutável o seu
entendimento. Ele dá força ao cansado, e aumenta as
forças ao que não tem nenhum vigor. Os jovens se cansarão
e se fadigarão, e os mancebos cairão, mas os que esperam
no Senhor renovarão as suas forças; subirão com asas como águias; correrão, e
não se cansarão; andarão, e não se fatigarão.”
Mateus 6:33 “Mas buscai primeiro o seu reino e a sua
justiça, e todas estas coisas vos serão acrescentadas.”
Busque-O enquanto
Ele pode ser encontrado.
Jeremias 29:13
“Buscar-me-eis, e me achareis, quando me buscardes de todo o vosso coração.”
2 CorÃntios 12:9-10 “e
Ele me disse: A minha graça te basta, porque o meu poder se aperfeiçoa na
fraqueza. Por isso, de boa vontade antes me gloriarei nas minhas fraquezas, a
fim de que repouse sobre mim o poder de Cristo. Pelo que
sinto prazer nas fraquezas, nas injúrias, nas necessidades, nas perseguições,
nas angústias por amor de Cristo. Porque quando estou fraco, então é que sou
forte.”
Quando estou
fraco, posso encontrar Nele a minha força e ser forte apesar da minha fraqueza.
Que no próximo
ano possamos aprender a receber a nossa força espiritual do Senhor.
Amor e orações. Dennis
It's a Wonderful Life! - A Contrast Between Today and Yesterday!
QUITE THE INDICTMENT
Quite the indictment of today’s selfish zeitgeist, From Weston Skaggs:
“Frank Capra’s 1946 film ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ was at one time considered possibly the most ‘can’t miss’ holiday film, with multiple generations of America watching it every year at Christmastime. It seems that it has failed to translate to recent generations, falling out of most younger people’s lists of favorite Christmas movies. The most obvious reason that this film has become less popular in recent decades is that it is nearly 80 years old and shot in black and white. But as I was watching it this past week I noticed a few other reasons why the film’s storyline and values resonate less and less with Americans as time goes by.
“It’s a Wonderful Life” tells the story of a man named George Bailey from a small middle American town called Bedford Falls. Ever since George was a boy he had grand dreams in his head of all the places in the world he would travel and all the magnificent experiences he would have and what a name he would make for himself. And yet, time and again, George’s pursuit of his dreams is stymied by his life circumstances. Over and over during the course of his life, when George is about set to chase his dreams, and disaster strikes… Responsibility calls… Life happens. And at every challenge, George does the right thing. He denies himself. He answers the call to service and responsibility, serving the poor of his local community and his family.
But, even when doing right, he unknowingly allows a seed of resentment to grow in his heart.
When George’s business is faced with bankruptcy, he, despondent, goes to a bridge and contemplates taking his own life. From his perspective, his life has been a failure. He hasn’t pursued his dreams, he hasn’t attained his goals, he hasn’t been true to himself, he hasn’t followed his heart. He has denied himself and served others his whole life, and for what? Life in a broken down old house running a bankrupt business serving a bunch of ungrateful nobodies in a nowhere town? Maybe it would have been better if I had never been born, he concludes.
Thankfully, his guardian angel intervenes and shows him all of the ways his service has touched and changed the lives of others. George leaves the bridge without any of the circumstances of life having been changed, but he has a new perspective. He no longer resents his family, his broken down house, the people of his little town. He sees them as beautiful and worthy of his love and care regardless of their flaws. The film could have ended there, honestly. The victory was won. Hollywood needs things to be wrapped up in a sentimental and “on the nose” fashion, of course, so the whole town arrives to shower George with love and to donate money to pay off his debts.
Now, I ask, why is this story not translating to modern Americans? Because our value system has fundamentally changed as a culture. Our greatest good is now to be authentic to your individual self. It is considered deeply psychologically unhealthy to deny your desires for the good of others. Our shared cultural imagination now holds self fulfilment as the greatest good rather than self denial. Self-denial has gone from being a mark of highest virtue to instead be considered a pathology.
Choose almost any popular film or book written in the past 50 years and you will find the protagonist usually has some version of this character arch: their community has been oppressing them, stifling their creativity, stifling their self expression. Their cultures do not allow them full self expression and so they must go beyond the bounds of their society on a journey to find themselves. To follow their heart. And by following their own desires and instincts, they become a fully actualized, truly happy person who is able to go back home and save the day, showing everyone just how wrong they were to doubt them.
It’s a Wonderful Life tells a very different story. It says that George, in setting aside his dreams and submitting to a life of responsibility, unwittingly has the most fulfilled and satisfying life possible. This is deeply offensive to our 21st century sensibilities. It is definitely a more Eastern, older world, collective, perspective. And yet, not completely so. Because, rather than devaluing the individual, it emphasizes the immeasurable value and impact of every individual person, every human life. This elevation of individual value is different from simply an old-world, Eastern, collective viewpoint. It is, whether intentionally or not, a deeply Christian way of looking at things.
The Bible consistently holds up to us the message that love and service of God and others, along with the mastery of our own selfishness, leads to our deepest possible fulfilment. That pursuit of self is, literally, hell.
Jesus is our greatest example of setting aside self ambition in order to love and serve the undeserving and ungrateful Other. He himself refers to John the Baptist in Matthew 11 as the greatest man who ever lived. John was one whose humble life goal was to decrease his personal self in order that others’ view of God would increase. John dies impoverished in a prison cell. Not a Hollywood ending, to be sure. But, according to Jesus, his life, poured out in service to God and others, was the most wonderful life ever lived.”
- Weston Skaggs
Friday, December 27, 2024
Thursday, December 26, 2024
How Washington and Ankara Changed the Regime in Damascus
https://www.algora.com/Algora_blog/2024/12/25/how-washington-and-ankara-changed-the-regime-in-damascus
By Algora Blog on December 25, 2024
by Thierry Meyssan via Voltairenet
With surprising aplomb, the international press assures us that we are not witnessing a military change of regime in Syria, but a revolution overthrowing the Syrian Arab Republic. The presence of the Turkish army and US special forces is hidden from us. We are bombarded with propaganda that has been denied several times about the crimes attributed to “Bashar”. Cannibal throat-cutters are transformed into respectable revolutionaries. Once again, the international press is consciously lying to us.
In 11 days, the Syrian Arab Republic, which had valiantly resisted attacks by jihadists supported by the largest coalition in history since 2011, was overthrown. So what happened?
First of all, since October 15, 2017, the United States has organized a siege of Syria, prohibiting all trade with it and prohibiting the United Nations from participating in its reconstruction [1]. This strategy was extended, in 2020, to Lebanon with the Caesar Act [2].
We, members of the European Union, have all participated in this crime. The majority of Syrians were malnourished. The pound had collapsed: what was worth 1 pound before the war, in 2011, was worth 50,000 when Damascus fell (the pound was revalued three days later thanks to an injection of Qatari money). The same causes always have the same effects, Syria was defeated like Iraq before it, when Secretary of State Madeleine Albright congratulated herself on having caused the death of half a million Iraqi children from disease and malnutrition.
On the other hand, if it was the jihadists of Hayat Tahrir al-Cham (HTC) who took Damascus, they were not the ones who won militarily. On November 27, HTC, armed by Qatar and supervised by the Turkish army disguised as the "Syrian National Army" (SNA), took control of the M4 highway which served as a ceasefire line. In addition, HTC and Türkiye had very high-performance drones operated by Ukrainian advisers. Finally, HTC took with it the Uighur colony of the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) which had been entrenched in al-Zanbaki for 8 years [3]. The Israeli, Russian and Chinese theaters of operation have therefore merged.
Then, these forces attacked Aleppo, until then defended by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. The latter withdrew without a word, leaving a small garrison of the Syrian Arab Army to defend the city. Faced with the disproportion of forces, the Syrian government ordered its troops to withdraw to Hama, which they did on November 29, after a brief battle.
On November 30, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad went to Russia. Not to attend the exam that his son Hafez was taking at Moscow University where he is continuing his studies, but to call for help. The Russian forces in Syria could only bomb the jihadists’ convoys because they are only airborne. They therefore tried to block the road to HTC and Turkey. They could not intervene on the ground against them. Aleppo was well and truly lost. Moreover, Turkish President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan, following his country’s tradition [4], has never acknowledged the loss of the Ottoman territories of Greece (Thessaloniki), the island of Cyprus, Syria (Aleppo) and Iraq (Mosul).
With dormant jihadist cells having been reactivated by Türkiye, the already exhausted Syrian Arab Army had to fight on all fronts at once. This is what General Maher el-Assad (the president’s brother) tried to do, in vain.
Ali Larijani, special envoy of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, went to Damascus to explain the withdrawal of the Revolutionary Guards from Aleppo and to set conditions for military aid from the Islamic Republic of Iran; astonishing cultural conditions for a secular state. In a telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, President Bashar al-Assad said that the “terrorist escalation” was aimed at “trying to fragment the region, to crumble its states and to redraw the regional map in accordance with the interests and objectives of America and the West.” However, the official statement does not reflect the mood of the conversation. The Syrian president wanted to know who had ordered the Revolutionary Guards to abandon Aleppo. He did not get an answer. He then warned President Pezeshkian about the consequences for Iran of a fall of Syria. Nothing worked. Tehran continued to demand that it be given the keys to Syria to defend it.
On December 2, General Jasper Jeffers III, commander in chief of the United States Special Forces (UsSoCom), arrives in Beirut. Officially, he comes to monitor the implementation of the oral Israeli-Lebanese ceasefire. Given his functions, it is obvious that this will only be part of his mission. He will supervise the capture of Damascus by the Turks behind HTC.
On December 5, the United States relaunches at the United Nations Security Council their accusations against President Bashar al-Assad of using chemical weapons to repress his own people. They ignore the very many objections, testimonies and investigations that have shown that they are nothing more than war propaganda. Chemical weapons are the first argument of the gigantic Anglo-Saxon persuasion machine. They are what allowed the number 2 of the United Nations, Jeffrey Feltman, to prohibit the reconstruction of Syria. They were the ones who convinced Western public opinion that "Bashar is the executioner of Damascus" and blamed him for all the deaths in the war launched against his country.
Simultaneously, the Pentagon told HTC and the Turkish army that they could continue their advance, take Damascus and overthrow the Syrian Arab Republic.
On December 6 and 7, the Doha Forum was held in Qatar. Many Middle Eastern figures participated alongside Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. On the sidelines of the Forum, a guarantee was given to Russia, which represented President al-Assad, that the soldiers of the Syrian Arab Army would not be pursued and that the military bases of the Russian Federation would not be attacked. Another guarantee was given to Iran that the Shiite shrines would not be destroyed, but it seems that Tehran was already convinced of this.
According to Hakan Fidan, the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Benjamin Netanyahu and Joe Biden considered that the operation should end there. It was the Pentagon that decided, with the United Kingdom, to continue until the overthrow of the Syrian Arab Republic [5].
In New York, the Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2761 [6]. It authorizes disregarding sanctions against jihadists during “humanitarian operations”. The United Nations, which has never authorized relief for populations crushed under the yoke of Daesh, has suddenly authorized trade with HTC. This turnaround by the Security Council corresponds to the instructions of the United Nations advisor, Noah Bonsey, as he had already put forward in February 2021 when he worked for George Soros [7].
Abou Mohammed al-Jolani, the leader of HTC, gives an interview to Jomana Karadsheh for CNN. She highlights it while the State Department’s Rewards for Justice website still offers $10 million for any information leading to the arrest of the jihadist leader [8]
On December 7, HTC and Türkiye take Saidnaya prison. This is a major issue for war propaganda that has nicknamed it “the human slaughterhouse.” It is claimed that thousands of people were tortured and executed there and that their bodies were burned in a crematorium. For three days, the White Helmets, an NGO that has both saved lives and participated in massacres, search the prison and its surroundings in search of secret underground passages, torture rooms and a crematorium. Alas! They find no evidence of the crimes denounced. Ultimately, journalist Clarissa Ward stages for CNN the release of a prisoner who has not seen the light of day for three months, but is clean, well-dressed and has well-groomed nails [9].
The accusations of torture and summary executions are all the more difficult to bear since Bashar al-Assad gave instructions in 2011 prohibiting all forms of torture and created a Ministry of National Reconciliation responsible for reintegrating Syrians who had joined the jihadists, and finally implemented general amnesties about forty times.
On December 8, President Bashar al-Assad ordered his men to lay down their arms. Damascus fell without a fight. The jihadists immediately unfurled pre-printed banners and affixed the symbol of the new regime to their uniforms. Former Al-Qaeda fighter and then Daesh number 2, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, real name Ahmad el-Chara, seizes power. Surrounded by British communications advisers, he gives a speech at the Great Umayyad Mosque, modeled on that of the Daesh caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, at the Great Al-Nouri Mosque in Mosul in 2019.
HTC now treats Christians as mustamin (Islamic classification for non-Muslim foreigners who reside on a limited basis in Muslim territory), sparing them the dhimmi pact (a series of rights and duties reserved for non-Muslims) and the payment of the jiziya tax. In September 2022, for the first time in a decade, a ceremony in honor of Saint Anne was held in the Armenian church of al-Yacoubiyah, in the countryside of Jisr al-Shugur, west of Idlib.
3,000 soldiers of the Syrian Arab Army go into exile in Iraq. They are disarmed and housed in tents at the Al-Qaim border crossing, then transferred to a military base in Rutba. Baghdad announces that it is trying to obtain guarantees so that they can return home [10].
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launch an operation to destroy the equipment and fortifications of the Syrian Arab Army. In four days, 480 bombings sink the fleet and set fire to armories and warehouses. Simultaneously, ground teams assassinate the country’s leading scientists.
After showing journalists around the empty Syrian fortifications along the coast, Benny Kata, a local military commander, tells his guests: "It is clear that we will stay here for a while. We are prepared for it."
The IDF is already invading Syria a little more, beyond the Golan ceasefire line that it occupies. It announces that it will create a new buffer zone on Syrian territory, to protect the current buffer zone, in short to annex it. In addition, they annexed Mount Hermon so that they could monitor the entire region.
On December 9, General Michael Kurilla, commander-in-chief of the US forces in the broader Middle East (CentCom), traveled to Amman to meet with General Yousef Al-H’naity, chairman of the Jordanian Joint Chiefs of Staff. He reaffirmed the US commitment to support Jordan if threats emanated from Syria during the current transition period.
On December 10, General Michael Kurilla visited his troops and those of the Syrian Democratic Forces (Kurdish mercenaries) in several bases in Syria. He developed a plan to ensure that Daesh would not leave the area assigned to it by the Pentagon and would not interfere in the regime change in Damascus. Immediately, intense bombardments prevented Daesh from approaching.
HTC appoints Mohammed al-Bashir, former jihadist “governor” of Idlib, as Prime Minister of the new regime. He is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, sponsored by the British MI6. France, which had negotiated with its special envoy, Jean-Yves Le Drian, the appointment of Riad Hijab (former secretary of the Council of Ministers in 2012), realizes that it has been cheated.
That same evening, there is no longer any question of making Jean-Yves Le Drian Prime Minister in France. On the contrary, the Élysée invites the anti-terrorism prosecutor of Paris to the France2 news. He puts an end to the acclamations of the new power in Damascus and deplores that HTC is involved in the assassination of the French professor Samuel Patty (2020) and in the massacre in Nice (86 dead, in 2016). The French press then changed its tune and began to question the new power that the international press continued to present as respectable.
On December 11, the main Palestinian factions present in Syria (Palestine Liberation Front, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Islamic Jihad Movement, Palestinian Popular Struggle Front, General Command) met in Yarmouk (Damascus) in the presence of delegates from HTC (Military Operations Department). Fatah and Hamas did not participate in the meeting. They were asked to make peace with their Israeli ally. It was decided that no faction would have a privileged status and that all would be treated identically. Each group agreed to lay down their arms.
General Michael Kurilla traveled successively to Lebanon and Israel for three days. In Beirut, he met with General Joseph Aoun, commander of the Lebanese armed forces, and especially his colleague, US General Jasper Jeffers III. In Tel Aviv, he met with the entire Israeli Joint Chiefs of Staff and Defense Minister Israel Katz. On this occasion, he said: “My visit to Israel, as well as to Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon over the past six days, has underscored the importance of seeing today’s challenges and opportunities through the eyes of our partners, our commanders on the ground and our service members. We must maintain strong partnerships to confront current and future threats to the region.”
On December 12, Ibrahim Kalin, director of the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (Millî Ä°stihbarat TeÅŸkilatı - MIT), is the first foreign high-ranking official to visit the new government in Damascus. On the same day, the Kurdish mercenaries, who administer northeastern Syria for the US occupation army, raise the country’s new green, white and black three-star flag, that of the French mandate. Kalin will be followed on December 15 by a Qatari delegation.
To validate the accusations of torture attributed to the former regime, Clarissa Ward, who is definitely in great shape, stages for CNN corpses found in the morgue of a hospital in Damascus, as the same CNN had staged those in a morgue in Timișoara, during the overthrow of the Ceaușescu, in 1989 [11].
Meanwhile, according to the United Nations, more than a million Syrians are trying to flee their country. They do not believe that the HTC jihadists have suddenly become civilized.
The author of this article, Thierry Meyssan, was an advisor to the Libyan and then Syrian authorities for nine years. From this experience, he produced a fundamental work on Western policy in the Middle East: Before Our Very Eyes, Fake Wars and Big Lies: From 9/11 to Donald Trump.
Translation
Roger Lagassé
[1] “Parameters and Principles of UN assistance in Syria”, by Jeffrey D. Feltman, Voltaire Network, 15 October 2017.
[2] “Hassan Nasrallah says US wants to cause famine in Lebanon”, Voltaire Network, 17 June 2020.
[3] “The 18,000 al-Qaeda Uyghurs in Syria”, Translation Roger Lagassé, Voltaire Network, 21 August 2018. «Uyghur fighters in Syria vow to come for China next», Sophia Yan, The Telegraph, Decembrer 13, 2024.
[4] « Serment national turc », Réseau Voltaire, 28 janvier 1920.
[5] «Fidan: Nous avons négocié avec la Russie et l’Iran pour qu’en Syrie, ça se passe sans effusion de sang», Anadolu Agency, 13 décembre 2024. «"Israël ne voulait pas qu’Assad tombe", affirme le chef de la diplomatie turque», I24 News, 16 décembre 2024.
[6] « Résolution portant exemption des sanctions contre les jihadistes », Réseau Voltaire, 6 décembre 2024.
[7] «In Syria’s Idlib, Washington’s Chance to Reimagine Counter-terrorism», New Crisis Group, Noah Bonsey & Dareen Khalifa, February 2021.
[8] «Muhammad al-Jawlani», Rewards for Justice, site consulté le 14 décembre 2024.
[9] «‘Are you serious?’: He spent months in a Syrian prison. CNN’s camera caught the moment he’s freed, Clarissa Ward, CNN, December 11, 2024.
[10] «Ø®Ø§Øµ»v
Ù…Øمد عماد, 11 ديسمبر
[11] «Battered corpses show the horrors of life and death under Syria’s Assad», CNN December 12, 2024.
Wednesday, December 25, 2024
The First Christmas: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How
By Lori Lynch
What Christmas commemorates is fundamental to the Christian faith. At the same time, it’s not just for Christians, Westerners, or sellers who want to make a few extra bucks. It affects everyone on the face of the earth, and understanding what it means can radically change the way you live and see life.
To understand the story of the first Christmas, it’s important to know a bit of background information.
The story starts when God created everything. The Bible says He made land, plants, trees, the sun and moon, animals, and humans. (See Genesis 1.) It also tells us that He made angels, heavenly beings that do His bidding in the unseen world of the spirit (Colossians 1:15–16). Everything was perfect. No one sinned or did evil.
Unfortunately, Lucifer, one of the angels God created, rebelled against God because he wanted to be God himself (Isaiah 14:12–14). He became the Devil (also known as Satan) and got busy trying to ruin God’s work and plan. He tricked the first two humans God made, Adam and Eve, into allowing sin into the world. Humanity and even creation itself changed. There was a division between God and humanity, as God is perfect and humans no longer were.
God, however, already knew that this would happen. Even as He punished Adam and Eve for their disobedience, He said that a redeemer or savior would one day come to undo the consequences of their actions. (See Genesis 3.)
Thousands of years later, God spoke to a man called Abraham1 and called him and his descendants to worship only Him. It was a radical notion at a time when people worshipped a range of animate and inanimate objects. But Abraham remained true to the one true God. His descendants, the Israelites, eventually settled in the land we now call Israel. (See Genesis 11:27–25:11.) The Israelites obeyed God at times and disobeyed Him at others; even so, they kept records of God’s messages given to prophets, people who were filled with God’s Spirit and wrote down what God told them. These messages included “clues” regarding what the coming Savior would be like. One prophet foretold that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem, a small town in Israel (Micah 5:2). Another said His mother would be a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), and that He would preach good news to the poor, free the captives, and heal the sick (Isaiah 61:1).
Around 4 BC, God finally put His plan into action. He sent one of His angels to a young woman called Mary. She was a virgin but she was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. The angel, named Gabriel, told Mary that she would immediately become pregnant and have a son. The angel explained that her child, Jesus, would be God’s son and would save the people from their sins. Mary’s fiancé, Joseph, was upset and confused when he found out Mary was pregnant, as he knew he wasn’t the father, but God sent an angel to talk to him and tell him the baby was conceived by God Himself. Joseph breathed a sigh of relief and married Mary as the angel had commanded him. (See Luke 1:26–35, Matthew 1:18–25.)
Now, Joseph and Mary lived in a town called Nazareth, in northern Israel. Most people rarely traveled at this point in time. However, the emperor ordered everyone back to their hometown for a census to ensure each person in his realm was paying taxes. Joseph, whose family was originally from Bethlehem, traveled back to that town with his wife, Mary. Once they arrived, they could not find a place to stay. Popular culture typically depicts the couple being turned away from multiple inns before finding shelter in a remote stable; however, Bethlehem was so small that it most likely didn’t even have inns. Estimates vary, but experts say the town was only about 760 square meters in size and had no more than 3,000 people living in it.2 It’s probable that relatives took the couple in but didn’t have space to offer them a room. Rather, Joseph and Mary were put up in a space off the side of the main room of the home where animals were kept for the night.3 This stable is where Jesus was born into the world.
The Bible then tells us that an angel appeared to a group of shepherds who were out watching sheep on a nearby hillside. The shepherds were terrified, but the angel told them not to be afraid. “The Savior of the world has been born tonight!” the angel proclaimed, telling the shepherds they would find Jesus wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger. The shepherds then went to Bethlehem looking for Jesus. Once they found Him, they worshipped Him and then told the entire town about what they’d heard and seen that night. People were amazed, but there is no record of anyone else in the town coming out to see Jesus for themselves. (See Luke 2:1–20.)
However, a group of men living outside of Israel did pay Jesus a visit after His birth. The three kings, or three wise men as they are also known, are often depicted as part of the manger scene. But it is likely that some time had passed, what many scholars believe may be up to two years, before the wise men arrived. The Bible tells us that they saw an unusual star in the sky when Jesus was born. Like many people of that time period, they believed that the out-of-the-ordinary “sign in the heavens” meant something; in this instance, the birth of a new king of Israel. Thus, they started traveling to see him. At some point in the journey, or perhaps even beforehand, they realized that they weren’t just going to see royalty. The Bible tells us that at the end of the journey, when the star appeared directly over the house where Joseph and Mary were staying, the wise men not only gave Jesus gifts but also worshipped Him. (See Matthew 2:1–12.)
There’s a lot about the Christmas story that can seem fantastical. Angels, unusual stars, and virgins having babies are certainly not common occurrences. But historical evidence outside the Bible tells us that Jesus was a real person who lived in the first century.4 What’s more, His mission makes perfect sense when we understand the original context. God is just, holy, and perfect, but also merciful. The Bible says He is love itself (1 John 4:8). He can’t accept sin in His presence but wanted to close the gap between us and Him. He doesn’t want us to suffer punishment for our sins even though we deserve to do so. That’s why Jesus came to earth. Jesus lived a perfect life, and His death paid the price for our sins. That’s why billions of people the world over, on December 25, celebrate the fact that “to us a child is born, to us a son is given. … And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
