The Baptism of John from a Jewish Perspective, Part 3

Isaac & Jesus

As mentioned previously, Isaac the son of Abraham nearly died at the hand of his father, Abraham in Genesis 22:

⁶And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.

 ⁷And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?

 ⁸And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

 ⁹And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

 ¹⁰And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.

 ¹¹And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.

 ¹²And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

 ¹³And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

 ¹⁴And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.

 ¹⁵And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

 ¹⁶And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

 ¹⁷That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

 ¹⁸And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. (KJV)

Isaac was spared, but God always intended someone to take his place. Jesus was a direct descendent of Abraham through King David, on his mother’s side. The father of Jesus is God himself, Abraham’s best friend. This would be the same God who orchestrated the promise of Genesis 22, which means that one day, God would provide a way for the promise to ultimately come to fruition. This meant that someone was going to have to be sacrificed on Mount Moriah.

Before that could happen that someone, Jesus, had to be anointed in such a way that he could take Isaac’s place as the firstborn son of Abraham. And guess what? That’s what John did!

What was the baptism of John? What was it specifically that he was doing at the Jordan River?

Next time...when Pagans convert to Judaism...

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Amazing Discoveries in Mexico, Did Solomon's Navy Make It This Far?

Were Hebrews in the Americas long before Columbus? More evidence comes from the investigations of Dr. Alexander von Wuthenau, whom I interviewed at his home in Mexico City. His living room was filled to overflowing with terra cotta pottery figures and objects d' art. In his book The Art of Terra Cotta Pottery in Pre-Columbian Central and South America, Dr. Von Wuthenau published scores of photographs of these art objects. He tells of his astonishment, when he first noted that in the earliest, lower levels of each excavation he encountered -- not typical Indian heads -- but heads of Mongolians, Chinese, Japanese, Tartars, Negroes, and "all kinds of white people, especially Semitic Types with and without beards" (p. 49).

At Acapulco, von Wuthenau found that early Semitic peoples lived in considerable numbers. "The curious points about these essentially primitive figures are that, first, there is an emphasis on markedly Semitic-Hebrew features," he declared (p. 86). Female figures found in the region are also markedly Caucasian, with delicate eyebrows, small mouths and opulent coiffures.

Cyrus Gordon, who has studied the collection, points out: "In the private collection of Alexander von Wuthenau is a Mayan head, larger than life-size, portraying a pensive, bearded Semite. The dolichosephalic ("long-headed") type fits the Near East well. He resembles certain European Jews, but he is more like many Yemenite Jews."

Near Tampico, the early Huastecan culture reveals portrait heads with a predominant Semitic, white element, but also Negroid features appear. At Veracruz, meanwhile, a figurine of a female dancer possesses the features just like those of a Frenchwoman of Brittany! She wears a headdress reminiscent of Phoenician fashion. Also at Veracruz a figure with a false beard, styled like an Egyptian beard, had a snake-like protrusion on the forehead.

Again and again, figures with definite Semitic features have been found. A sample of Maya ceramic painting shows a lady with a flower who has an undeniable Negroid character. The figure has an affinity with Egyptian painting, says Wuthenau. yet it was not found along the Nile, but in Central America! On the Pacific coast of Ecuador, also, evidence for the presence of early Hebrews has been found. Also discovered was a figurine of a lovely girl who wore a headdress with a remarkable Phoenician affinity. Other Ecuadorian heads show definite Semitic features. Clearly, the Semites penetrated a large part of the American continent in "prehistoric" times!

SINNING SAINTS?

SINNING SAINTS

In Ezekiel 18 we find the Old Testament church complaining.

Ezekiel  18:25-26  Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?  26  When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.

Do you know what they are complaining about?  They are complaining because God is forgiving the unrighteous, but He will not let the Old Testament church continue in their unrighteousness without punishment.  The righteous are wanting to sin without punishment as they watch God saving those old unrighteous people who are cursed with disease and problems and the Old Testament church is angry.

Do you know what one of the greatest tragedies of Christianity is today?  The sinners are getting saved and the saved are becoming sinners. 

You talk about a slap in the face!  I am not interested in that happening to me.  I am not interested in someone taking my crown.  I am not interested in someone taking my glory.  I am not interested in giving up my birthright.  I am not interested in selling my birthright for a bowl of pottage.

I have come too far to turn back.  The man who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the kingdom of God.

Luke 9:62  And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Remember Lot's wife.

Genesis 19:26  But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.

A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

James 1:8  A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Ezekiel says,

Ezekiel 18:29  Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?

Equal means fair.  Are not your ways unequal?  Are not your ways unfair? "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, everyone according to his ways..."  The New Testament says,

Philippians 2:12  ...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Choose this day what you shall have, blessings or cursing, life or death.

Deuteronomy 30:19  I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

Ezekiel says,

Ezekiel 18:30  Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.  

CONTEST! Design my next book cover -- The Winner Gets...

CONTEST! Design my next book cover -- The Winner Gets...

A copy of the Book of GOD: Genesis Unbound
AND a Copy of The Book of GOD: For Men (Every Man's Handbook for Knowing GOD)


My next book will be released on in a few weeks. The title is 'Genesis Unbound', it is the next in The Book of GOD series. The main Title is: 'The Book of GOD.'

I chose this title because it reflects the concept of unwrapping one of the most hidden and misunderstood mysteries concerning the Bible's book of Genesis, which this book reveals in all of it's fullness.

The book is 99% complete, but there's a small hitch. I need a cover!

I do have a few designs, but none of them has given that 'wow this is the one!' feeling. And so, with faith and hope in my talented young readers, I throw open the cover to you - to design.

What are the elements?

Title: "The Book of GOD"
Subtitle: "Genesis Unbound"

Author: Tov Rose

Strap line I From the author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed 'The Book of GOD: For Men (Every Man's Handbook for Knowing GOD), and the soon-to-be release follow-up, 'The Book of GOD: For Women.

Strap line II Author Tov Rose draws a compelling picture that reveals the true character, nature and person of the God of the Hebrew Bible that promises to challenge many of the teachings of Christians, Messianic believers and Jewish people alike.

Any other guidelines?
None. You can place the elements as you like. Use the background and colour scheme you like. Use a graphic element, or choose not to.

I am giving you a free canvas - to create something. I will know it is the right cover when I see it and fall in love at first sight.

How to submit
As a jpg, or pdf - mail the attachment along with your contact details (phone, email & 2 lines about you) to Publicity@TovRose.com

If your cover is selected you will get credits in the book. Credits on my website and links to your other work if you're building a portfolio.

Last date: Friday, August 19, 2011. But the sooner you send the better. If I like one of the early submissions I may just close the contest right then and there :)

Look forward to your submissions!

Why are Jews considered rich?

Walk through history: Myth of wealthy, greedy Jew born in Europe in Middle Ages, when Jews were forced to charge interest on loans to Christians. 'They were like parking inspectors: Taking money for others and getting beaten up for it,' says historian

Tani Goldstein

Published:  05.06.11, 10:52 / Israel Business

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Singer Roger Waters angered the Anti-Defamation League recently with a video screened during his concerts, which included images of planes dropping bombs in the shape of Jewish Stars of David, followed by dollar signs.

Anti-Semitism

EJC: European attitudes 'deeply disturbing'  / Ynetnews Poll conducted by German think-tank finds 72% of Poles, 68% of Hungarians and 50% of Germans believe 'Jews try to take advantage of having been victims during the Nazi era' Full story

According to the ADL, Waters used "the worst age-old anti-Semitic stereotype about Jews and their supposed obsession with making money."

The clip wasn't just directed just at Jews: The planes also showered crosses, Islamic crescents and commercial brands. But this incident shows just how deep this stereotype is rooted, even with the pacifist singer – who linked dollars to Stars of David of all items – and also with Jews, who are so irritated by this issue.

Jewish wealth: Ancient, murderous myth

Allegedly, the link to dollars could have been considered a compliment. However, millions of Jews have been humiliated, tortured and murdered on behalf of the "claim" that the Jews – sophisticated and greedy cheaters who "only love money" – gained control of the business world and became rich by exploiting the poor gentiles.

The Internet is filled with such statements to this very day: Delusional websites blame the "Jewish wealth" for intentionally causing the global financial crisis. Islamic preachers attack the Jewish capital which allegedly controls the world and works forIsrael. Veteran American reporter Helen Thomas recently statedthat the Jewish lobbies are "in total control" of the US Congress, the White House, Wall Street and Hollywood.

The fear of Jewish wealth is ancient. The slavery in Egypt – the first story in the history of the hatred directed at the Jewish people – began as a Hebrew success story: Joseph's managerial success and the people of Israel's moneymaking, which made the Egyptians jealous. But the myth of the rich Jew was born thousands of years later – in Christian Europe of the Middle Ages.

"The average Christian in the Middle Ages was convinced that all Jews are rich, that they're hiding huge treasures of silver and gold, and that they're deceiving the Christians and robbing their money through spells. These things appear in many folktales," says Prof. Dina Porat of the Chaim Rosenberg School for Jewish Studies at Tel Aviv University, who also holds the Alfred P. Slaner chair for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism and Racism.

How rich were the Jews in reality? Documents from the Middle Ages show that at least some of them were very wealthy. A correspondence conducted by a Jewish merchant from the 11th century who participated in a fair in Germany, for example, shows that the amount of money he made there equaled one-third of the treasures of Hungary's king.

Biographies of princes and dukes show that some of them had a Jewish advisor, "the court Jew", who managed their finances like Joseph.

But researchers are at odds over what was the standard of living of most Jews.

"The Jews' situation deteriorated over the years," says Prof. Aviad Kleinberg of the Department of History at Tel Aviv University, who specializes in medieval history. "In the early Middle Ages, from the eighth century to the 12th century, most of them lived quite well.

"The really rich people were the military officials, the government workers and the estate owners, and they were all Christians, because Jews were no allowed to work in the civil service and own land," says Kleinberg.

"But most of the Christian population comprised of land leasing peasants, while most Jews were craftsmen and merchants. In today's terms, both were very poor, but as a generalization, it seems the Jews were not as poor."

"The Jews came from the developed Middle East and brought along business knowledge. Jews were portable because they could stay in distant communities. They almost had a monopoly in professions which required traveling, like wine trade. In the Jewish society there was a bit more gender equality, and the women managed the business when the men were traveling."

"There was poverty among the Jews too," stresses Prof. Porat. "But they had efficient institutions for mutual aid. The rich Jews donated money. The community provided visits to patients, wedding ceremonies for young couples and charity for the poor. The Jews lived in higher standards of hygiene thanks to the ritual bathing and hand washing, and fewer died of plagues."

Richer from loan with interest?

The Jews in Western and central Europe became less wealthy in the late Middle Ages, from the 12th century.

"Society developed and the Jews were pushed aside," says Kleinberg. "The Christian craftsmen were organized in guilds and the Jews remained outside and lost their livelihood. The Christians opened universities and created new professions like medicine and advocacy, which required academic education, and the Jews couldn't study there. At the end of the day, they were pushed to despicable professions like loan with interest."

But engaging in loan with interest strengthened the Jews' image as rich people exploiting the Christians.

"The loan with interest did not make them rich. They were dealing with change. The Jews were just the middlemen who loaned the aristocrats' money to the poor. The aristocrats made most of the money.

"It's true that the poor debtors hated the Jews, with whom they had to settle accounts in their daily life. People hate those who collect from them directly, not the strong people behind them. Most drivers who get a parking ticket are angry with the inspector, not with the mayor who employs him, and the Jews were in the same situation as inspectors."

Jew with bag of money in his hand

"These loans were run like today's gray market," notes Porat. "The interest was 30%, and those who didn't pay it back were forced to provide their property as a guarantee, and if that wasn't enough they were killed.

"The Christians carried out the killings, but those who nagged the debtors were the Jews – and they were the ones subject to the hatred. The Christians thought the Jews were rich even when the Jews were really poor."

Why?

"The Jews lived in the city and worked in professions related to money. Jews who run very small businesses had some financial knowledge as well. They kept books, exchanged money and invested. This made ignorant Christians to think that they're rich.

"A peasant, who used money once a month when he came to sell and buy in the city, and encountered their sophistication and knowledge, thought to himself, 'They must be magicians who got their powers from the devil.'

"In any event, the image of the rich Jew came first of all from religion and was nurtured by the church," says Porat. "The drawings, the sculptures and the plays in the churches presented imaginary treasures of Jews and appalling images of them as blood-sucking leeches.

"The church is responsible for the fact that the Jews were the only ones engaging in credit, as it forbade the Christians to loan to each other directly with interest – but only through Jewish mediation."

Where did the church itself draw these images from? It's possible that the priests, who were well familiar with the Exodus story, were influenced by it in some distorted way. But it seems that the main Jewish image they were affected by was Judas Iscariot, Jesus' disciple who turned him in, according to the New Testament.

"According to the story, Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for 30 shekels, a lot of money," says Porat. "The act became the symbol of treachery and greed. The Christians, most of whom could not read or write and knew the stories from pictures, were unaware of the fact that Jesus was Jewish, but knew that Judas was, because of his name and because he was drawn as the Jews of their time – with a small bag of money in his hand."

Jews always considered materialistic

And yet, Porat and Kleinberg stress that the real and imaginary wealth of the Jews was not the main motive for the hatred against them.

"I doubt that the money issue was the main 'claim' against the Jews in the Middle Ages," says Kleinberg. "Jews were persecuted for many reasons, most of them related to religion, although they were always considered materialistic. The Middle Ages literature describes the Jew – and the Muslim – as a person who is only interested in sex and money. That's how strangers are always treated in closed and fanatic societies, regardless of how rich they really are."

Kleinberg believes that the Jews' impoverishment in the late Middle Ages aggravated the persecution. "The Christian society was intolerant and didn't like foreigners or people who were different, but accepted them when they needed them, sort of like foreign workers are treated today. In the early Middle Ages the Christians needed the Jews' professional knowledge, so they were treated reasonably.

"The shocking violence against the Jews we know about from the literature began mainly from the Crusades at the end of the 11th century, and became a widespread phenomenon in the West since the 13th century. Beforehand, the Jews lived for hundreds of years safely under the personal and direct protection of the kings, which was considered a special privilege. The persecution began when they were no longer needed."

The late Middle Ages in Western and Eastern Europe were bad times for the Jews. They were locked in ghettos, beaten up, imprisoned, tortured, expelled and murdered in masses. The hatred created a strange development: The Jews were persecuted, among other things, for "being rich". As the persecution increased – they became poor, and as they became poor – their status diminished and the persecution grew stronger, but the wealthy and exploiting image remained unchanged, even when there were no more Jews around.

The most famous work of art about the greedy Jewish moneylender is William Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice", which was written in England in the 16th century, 300 years after all Jews were banished from the country.

Town's Jews were 'parking inspectors'

The violence prompted the Jews to immigrate from the West to towns in Eastern Europe – Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Romania and Hungary – which became the biggest Jewish center in the world sometime during the Middle Ages.

Eastern Europe was poor and backward – the economic reality in the West in the early Middle Ages continued in the East for hundreds of years later, and the Jews in the small towns benefited from it.

"In Eastern Europe there was no middle class, and the Christians needed the Jews who developed the economy, like they did earlier in the West," says Kleinberg. "The Jews were among the few in Eastern Europe who had businesses knowledge, in later periods too, even in the 16th century. They established the first banks there and controlled entire fields, like textile.

"Until the 19th century they were almost half of the urban population in Eastern Europe. The kings and aristocrats welcomed them and gave them the protection they lost in the West."

The hatred and stereotypes against the Jews existed in Eastern Europe just like in the West, but until the 17th century there were only few attacks on Jews. Like in the West, the severe pogroms in the small towns began after the Jews were pushed there too into the status of "parking inspectors".

"The Jewish town was the property of the local aristocrat, the 'land owner', and the Jews lived there in exchange for services they gave him," says Prof. Israel Bartal of the Department of Jewish History at Hebrew University. "Many Jews were lessees. The feudal system determined that all assets – like gristmills or bridges – belonged to the aristocrats. The aristocrat handed the assets to the Jews to manage them.

"This was how the method worked: The land owner let the Jew use the property for land leasing fees of, let's say, 1,000 zloty. The Polish and Ukrainian peasants paid the Jew for using the gristmill, paid him a fee to cross the bridge, and paid him for the beer they drank at the pub.

"If the Jew charged 2,000 zloty, he earned 1,000. If he charged 1,000 he didn't earn a thing. In any event, the Jew stood in front of the peasants and was subject to their grudge, curses and beating."

'Gold treasures buried under town'

"The Jews in the towns were poor too," says Bartal. "They lived in density, two or three families in a three-room cabin, and ate mainly bread or potatoes.

"But the poorest Jew was a bit wealthier than the peasants in the neighboring village. The peasant was a vassal while the Jew moved freely. The peasant was illiterate while the Jew had some knowledge.

"Therefore, in the villages there were tales about the Jews' imaginary wealth and the sacks of gold they are hiding, allegedly, underground. To this day there are people in Ukraine who believe there are gold treasures hiding under the places where those miserable towns were.

"So when they had the chance they went out to rob Jews, and when popular revolts broke out against the aristocrats, like the Khmelnytsky uprising of the Cossacks in the 17th century, the Jews were slaughtered."

The process the Jews underwent in the Middle Ages in the West – persecution, impoverishment, poverty and more persecution – happened later on in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries to millions of Jews in Eastern Europe too.

At the end of the 19th century, most of the Jews in Eastern Europe – in other words, most of the Jews in the world – were as poor as church mice. But the image which stuck to them – the sophisticated, deceptive and rich tribe, which exploits the gentiles – did not disappear. On the contrary, it grew stronger and became the main "case" of anti-Semitism in the 20th century.

Comment
			The money was important because with the money it was possible to remain alive. The Jews who were poor could not prevent the murderers from killing them or killing their loved ones. Therefore, the wealthier Jews could buy their lives with money. The poor Jews could not. The horror stories were happening to the Jews of Europe simply because the Jews did not have a place they could call home. They did not have a piece of dirt, real estate that was their own. Thank God for Israel. Despite the Arab hatred in general and Palestinian Arab hatred in particular these days the Jews can at least be as normal as other people who have a sovereign state and a national, their own, historical identity. These days a Jew does not have be Hungarian or Russian. A Jew does not have to be protected by the French or German police and authorities. These days a Jew can protect his family.and his people himself in the land where the majoriry is Jewish and the anti-Semitic world hates it. The world hates the fact that the Jews don't want to be the victims any more

The Fall of The American Babylon, Part I

Getting started

Lately, people have been asking me to speak a lot to the issue of End Times Bible events. There have been so many natural disasters in recent days that even non-religious people have taken an interest in the topic. With the recent earthquake and tidal wave in Japan, followed by nuclear meltdown in several power plant reactors, making their problems on par with or greater than the Three-Mile Island incident in the USA many years ago, is there any wonder people are concerned?

First, it needs to be noted that Jesus taught that one can look to various signs in nature as indicators regarding the changing of seasons, and we should also look at specific signs regarding  the prophetic seasons and the coming time of redemption for ourselves and our planet.

Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

–Luke 17:29-31

When evening comes, you say, "It will be fair weather, for the sky is red," and in the morning, "Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast." You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.

–Matthew 16:1-3

Elsewhere, Jesus told us that among the signs of his return would be earthquakes. But the primary analogy that Jesus used to describe the last days earthquakes were birth contractions, which we all know are universally characterized by a progressive increase in both frequency and intensity:

There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

–Matthew 24:7-8

And once more, the ultimate result of the return of Jesus will be a massive earthquake that literally transforms the topography of Jerusalem and devastates the whole earth:

On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.

–Zechariah 14:4

Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake.

–Revelation 16:18

With this in mind, it is fascinating to take note of some statistics that were brought to my attention recently from the U.S. Geological Survey. Analyzing records of ancient earthquakes as well as every earthquake occurring in modern times registering a 7.0 or higher on the Richter scale, the picture that emerges is very interesting.

Ø  From 1 A.D. to 1800 there were 11 major earthquakes recorded in history. This results in an average of one major earthquake approximately every 100 years.

Ø  From 1900 to 2000 there were 10 major earthquakes 7.0 or higher. This results in an average of one major earthquake every 10 years.

This brings us to recent times. One of the most notable major earthquakes was in Bam, Iran, on Dec. 26, 2003. Exactly one year later, Dec. 26, 2004, Sumatra, Indonesia, experienced another massive earthquake and a subsequent devastating tsunami. Between these two earthquakes, more than 330,000 lives were lost.

Ø  From 2003 to 2007, there were 29 major earthquakes 7.0 or higher. Resulting in

an average of one major earthquake every 49 days.

Ø  In 2008, there were 12 major earthquakes 7.0 or higher. This results in

an average of one major earthquake every 37 days.

Ø  In 2009, there were 16 major earthquakes 7.0 or higher. This results in

an average of one major earthquake every 22 days.

Ø  In 2010, there were 24 major earthquakes 7.0 or higher. This results in

an average of one major earthquake every 15 days.

I have no doubt that there will be scoffers, but the numbers don't lie. In fact, based on the undeniable patterns, on March 4, six days before the earthquake in Japan, several people I am aware of began predicting the following:

The longest amount of time last year that the earth went without a major (7.0 or greater) earthquake was 57 days. We haven't had a major earthquake since January 18th of this year. As of today, we stand at 45 days without a major quake. I am predicting a major (7.0 or greater) earthquake BEFORE Wednesday, March 17th…there will be a major earthquake sometime within the next week!

Sadly, even within the church, there will be those who claim that this information means absolutely nothing and that Christians should pay no attention. Thankfully, for the majority of believers who are paying attention, who take Jesus' words at face value, who are watching the specific signs that Jesus spoke of, the evidence is all there. The contractions are increasing in both intensity and frequency. I believe there is a birth on the way.

Now what?

There have been several such portents in the last 40 years that have led many to conclude that we are already experiencing the events described by the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation. For example, Chernobyl (meaning Wormwood or bitterness), is discussed in Revelation 8:10-11, it is a town in the Ukraine where in 1986 they experienced the greatest nuclear disaster in history. In Revelation it says that one third of the Rivers would become "wormwood" or bitter. What many may not know is that the radiation from that event has in fact contaminated all the major rivers in the area, affecting Europe to the West and Asia to the South and East. Have one third of the rivers been affected yet? Perhaps not, but there is no way to stop the creeping contamination and it won't be long before that much of the word's drinking water is contaminated.

The destruction of the World Trade Center in New York, NY is another example that many point toward as a fulfillment of events in Revelation, specifically chapters Revelation 14:8 and 18:2.

Some people have been writing in the days after the September 11th event about the question of whether the event fulfills Revelation 18's pronouncement of judgment on Mystery Babylon. Others deny that the Mystery Babylon of Revelation 18 is even speaking about America (and some inexplicably deny that the USA, the greatest nation in history, is even mentioned in prophecy). While it is true that Revelation 18 is not referring merely to the destruction of the World Trade Center, it is clear to me that the final destruction of the United States of America is mainly what Revelation 18 is about—at least economically. 

Revelation Tells Us Exactly When Mystery Babylon (America) As an Economic Power Will Fall

It is true that Babylon is a ruling system of commerce that has been with us since Nimrod (Genesis 10). It is the system behind every empire in history. But it also must be a nation, otherwise how can it fall before the Great Tribulation comes? Revelation 14 tells us it will:

–Revelation 14:6-9

And I saw another angel [#1]fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters [this message is out now, the same I share with people, for which they label me a nut, out of touch with reality]  And there followed another angel [#2], saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication[1].  And the third angel [#3] followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand

From this sequence of three angels delivering three different messages at the appropriate time we can learn the timing of the fall of Mystery Babylon. Since the second angel announces Mystery Babylon's fall before the third angel warns everyone not to take the mark of the Beast, then logically the Babylon that the Beast represents according to Isaiah 13/Revelation 18 is not the same Babylon that falls before the mark is decreed.

---

[1] This message is clearly about America and her sensual culture which you find exported to nearly every country in the world through Media, Movies, Television and Advertising. See also: Jeremiah 50:28; 51:10

The Reality of Hell and Osama bin Laden?

The long American nightmare is over. Osama bin Laden has been brought to justice, killed in Pakistan yesterday by U.S. commandos after a decade-long hunt. Justice has been served. But let's be clear: bin Laden is not now in Paradise with 72 virgins.

Bin Laden was a fanatical Radical Sunni Muslim. He hated the Lord Jesus Christ. He hated and cursed Christians and Jews. He murdered Christians and Jews and others; recruited, trained and deployed thousands of others Muslims to murder Christians, Jews and others; and pursued a life of sheer evil defiance of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Unless he truly and sincerely repented at the last possible moment and received Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior -- unlikely given the speed of the raid -- he is now burning in the fires of Hell.

In the days ahead, I'll analyze how the death of bin Laden could affect the U.S., Israel and the world. But it is important to first understand the conclusion of his life. Bin Laden was deeply religious and deeply sincere, I have no doubt. But he was sincerely wrong, and the Bible teaches there is a consequence to defying the One True God.

Hell is not a topic much discussed in our world today, even by many Christians. Some pastors choose not to teach what the Bible says about Hell. One high-profile American pastor, Rob Bell, recently published a book -- Love Wins -- denying that Hell is real. "A staggering number of people have been taught that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better," writes Bell. "It’s been clearly communicated to many that this belief is a central truth of the Christian faith and to reject it is, in essence, to reject Jesus. This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus’ message of love, peace, forgiveness, and joy that our world desperately needs to hear."

As difficult as it is to conceive of such a place of eternal torment -- indeed, no one wants to think about it -- its reality is exactly what the Bible teaches. Indeed, since Jesus was God incarnate -- all-seeing, all-knowing, all-loving -- He knew all too well the reality of Hell. He came to Earth to pay the penalty for our sins and to rescue all who would follow Him from having to spend their eternity there. In fact, Jesus taught more about Hell than He did about heaven. Why? Because He loved all people so much that He wanted to save the from eternal damnation. He wanted them to understand the choice of rejecting the Messiah. And He wanted to give each of us a way of escape, if only we would say yes by faith.

• Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell."
• Jesus said in Mark 9:43, "If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into Hell, into the unquenchable fire."
• Jesus said to corrupt, hypocritical religious leaders in Matthew 23:33, "You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of Hell?"
• Jesus said in John 3:16-18, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish [die and be condemned to suffer in Hell forever and ever and ever], but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
• Jesus said in Matthew 10:32-39, "Therefore, everyone who confesses Me before men, I will confess him before My Father who is in heaven.  But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.....He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life who lose it [in Hell], and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it [in heaven]."

Hell is real. And it's not only mass murderers like bin Laden who go there. The Bible says that unless we receive Jesus as our Savior and accept His payment for our sins, we will all end up there. May you choose eternal life instead. Why not today?

Salt Lake City goes wallet-free with Isis

Salt Lake City goes wallet-free with Isis 
 Article: Technology For Global Monetary System 

Operator consortium Isis has selected Salt Lake City as its flagship deployment to show the rest of the USA what NFC can do for them.The plan will see Salt Lake City's public transport system accepting pay-by-wave from a mobile phone by the middle of next year. Retailers have also been encouraged to adopt Near Field Communications technology at the point of sale, as Salt Lake City strives to become The Place You Can Leave Your Wallet At Home.
Isis was set up less than six months ago: a consortium of US network operators including AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. The consortium is dedicated to ensuring that electronic payments based on NFC keep their secure element in the SIM - under the control of the network operator, not the handset manufacturer or bank-card supplier - by promoting the technology and business models associated with it.
In Salt Lake City, that involves working with the Utah Transit Authority to convert all the buses and trains to accept NFC payments, as well as flooding the area with NFC handsets and SIM chips.
"I would like to express our excitement that the Salt Lake City area has been chosen to lead the roll-out of Isis mobile payments," said Mayor Ralph Becker's canned statement, though looking a little closer it becomes obvious why Salt Lake was chosen to lead the US into contactless payments.
But the transition to electronic payments isn't going to happen overnight, and it's good to see Isis doing something practical, and with a reasonably aggressive timetable. It will be interesting to see how the locals take to paying by wave.

Read Full Article .... 

April 12 - US Police Increasingly Peeping at E-mail, Instant Messages   Artcle: One World Government  Law enforcement organizations are making tens of thousands of requests for private electronic information from companies such as Sprint, Facebook and AOL, but few detailed statistics are available, according to a privacy researcher. Police and other agencies have "enthusiastically embraced" asking for e-mail, instant messages and mobile-phone location data, but there's no U.S. federal law that requires the reporting of requests for stored communications data, wrote Christopher Soghoian, a doctoral candidate at the School of Informatics and Computing at Indiana University, in a newly published paper. "Unfortunately, there are no reporting requirements for the modern surveillance methods that make up the majority of law enforcement requests to service providers and telephone companies," Soghoian wrote. "As such, this surveillance largely occurs off the books, with no way for Congress or the general public to know the true scale of such activities." Soghoian found through his research that law enforcement agencies requested more than 30,000 wiretaps between 1987 and 2009. But the scale of requests for stored communications appears to be much greater. Citing a New York Times story from 2006, Soghoian wrote that AOL was receiving 1,000 requests per month. In 2009, Facebook told the news magazine Newsweek that it received 10 to 20 requests from police per day. Sprint received so many requests from law enforcement for mobile-phone location information that it overwhelmed its 110-person electronic surveillance team. It then set up a Web interface to give police direct access to users' location data, which was used more than 8 million times in one year, Soghoian wrote, citing a U.S. Court of Appeals judge. Those sample figures indicate the real total number of requests is likely much, much higher, since U.S. law does not require reporting and companies are reluctant to voluntarily release the data. "The reason for this widespread secrecy appears to be a fear that such information may scare users and give them reason to fear that their private information is not safe,"Soghoian wrote. Read Full Article ....

April 16 - 20 Reasons to Be Prepared for a Global Food Crisis   Article: Signs Of The Last Times  Comment from Understand the Times:   Maybe it is time for many to make a course adjustment and to wake up with regards to where we are headed. Are all food shortages weather related or can they be manipulated? Will the governments of the world continue to be controlled by the New World Order? If so, what else will be controlled? What about buying and selling? Will that come under global control too? In case you haven't noticed, the world is on the verge of a horrific global food crisis. At some point, this crisis will affect you and your family. It may not be today, and it may not be tomorrow, but it is going to happen. Crazy weather and horrifying natural disasters have played havoc with agricultural production in many areas of the globe over the past couple of years. Meanwhile, the price of oil has begun to skyrocket. The entire global economy is predicated on the ability to use massive amounts of inexpensive oil to cheaply produce food and other goods and transport them over vast distances. Without cheap oil, the whole game changes. Topsoil is being depleted at a staggering rate and key aquifers all over the world are being drained at an alarming pace. Global food prices are already at an all-time high and they continue to move up aggressively. So what is going to happen to our world when hundreds of millions more people cannot afford to feed themselves? Read Full Article ....

April 18 - Many Born-Again Christians Hold Universalist Views, Barna Finds   Article: Unbiblical Christianity  One in four born-again Christians hold universalist thoughts when it comes to salvation, according to a new Barna analysis of trend data.   Twenty-five percent of born-again Christians said all people are eventually saved or accepted by God. A similar proportion, 26 percent, said a person's religion does not matter because all faiths teach the same lessons.And an even higher proportion,40 percent, of born-again Christians said they believe Christians and Muslims worship the same God. According to the Barna analysis,43 percent of Americans in general agreed with the statement "It doesn't matter what religious faith you follow because they all teach the same lessons," while 54 percent disagreed. For many evangelicals, the idea of Christians holding universalist ideas is particularly disturbing because it nullifies the need for Christ to die on the cross and the message of Jesus that he is the only way, truth and life. While universalism is nothing new, some believe cultural trends are placing pressure on Christians and their beliefs. Don Carson, research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, said at The Gospel Coalition's national conference last week that many are feeling pressure from the culture "to find universalism attractive." "There are pressures in our culture to reduce the truth content of Scripture and then simply dismiss people by saying that they're intolerant or narrow-minded ... or bigoted without actually engaging the truth question at all. And that is really sad and in the long haul, horribly dangerous." Read Full Article ....

April 18 - World Bank head warns of threat from food crisis   Article: Signs Of The Last Times  World Bank president Robert Zoellick has warned the world is 'one shock away from a full blown crisis' and cited soaring food prices as a major threat to the global economy. He said poorer nations risked 'losing a generation' because of food price inflation. Speaking in Washington after meetings between the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, Zoellick said support from the bank would be vital to stability in the Middle East. 'The crisis in the Middle East and North Africa underscores howwe need to put the conclusions from our latest world development report into practice. The report highlighted the importance of citizen security, justice and jobs,' he said. 'Waiting for the situation to stabilise will mean lost opportunities.In revolutionary moments the status quo is not a winning hand.' 'It is probably too much to say that it's a jobless recovery, but it's certainly a recovery with not enough jobs,' he said. 'Especially because of youth unemployment there is now a risk that this will be turned into a life sentence and that there is a possibility of a lost generation.' Read Full Article ....

April 20 - Apple Users, Beware: iPhones Secretly Tracking Location, Experts Warn   Article: Technology For Global Montary System  Comment from Understand the Times:   Get ready for Big Brother. Most people are attached to their cell phones. Wherever they go, their cell phone goes. This may be fine, except it is the perfect tool for those who have set the New World Order who one day will be headed by the Antichrist. Two programmers have discovered that the latest operating system powering the iPhone and iPad keeps a log of everywhere you go, recording both the location and time you were there.  The feature has been around since June 2010, meaning some iPhones have nearly a year of location history recorded in a single file -- every step, trip to the park, family vacation and more. And that, said Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden, who uncovered the file, poses serious problems. "It became clear that there was a scary amount of detail on our movements [in the iPhone]," they noted in a post on their website. "By passively logging your location without your permission, Apple has made it possible for anyone from a jealous spouse to a private investigator to get a detailed picture of your movements." Apple did not respond to calls or e-mails for comment from FoxNews.com. But the iPhone feature could be good news for police. According to the ACLU, Michigan police are currently using a device called the Cellebrite UFED during traffic pull-overs. It can grab all the data out of a phone within minutes. The company's website goes on to note: "Easy to use in both the field and in lab environments, UFED extracts vital data such as phonebook, pictures, videos, text messages, call logs . it then gathers the data into reports for research and evidence." But the ACLU argues that the use of the device by police officers during traffic stops would be illegal, and is attempting to obtain Internal records on exactly how the department uses the devices. "[The devices] allow them to extract information from cell phones without a warrant," Kary Moss, Executive Director of the Michigan ACLU, said. But to the matter at hand: What can you do if you want to ensure your data is safe? Ahearn says the simplest method is just not to use a fancy phone. As of now there is no known way to stop an iPhone with OS 4 from logging locations. Read Full Article ....

April 15 - Right Wing Politics Drive Believers to Emerging Church Movement   Article: Emerging Church  Comment from Understand the Times:   The emerging church can best be defined as apostasy. When one reinvents Christianity by redefining Christianity, you no longer have Christianity. This is exactly what we would expect from a biblical perspective as the harlot develops in the last days.   Gathering in cafes and coffee shops, younger believers who are sick and tired of right wing politics injected into megachurches are part of the "Emerging Church" movement.   In the Emerging Church movement, no one is told what to believe.  Questions are welcome, even if they are about the basic tenets of the Christian faith.   In such an Emergent Church in Virginia, members of the "Common Table" gather at a corner cafe under the guidance of a woman named Amy Moffitt, who says,  "When I think of the politicization of this church, I think of the political structure of the institutional church that inevitably leads to power struggles and issues around money. And what's really important to me in the Emergent Church is that we avoid that."  Moffitt had grown up in Christian evangelism at about the time when it was overtaken over by the Christian right and its politics.   Experts say that the Emerging Church movement has the potential to split the Evangelical church but it also has the potential to appeal to the increasing number of disaffected young people who claim no religion. Read Full Article ....

April 22 - Evangelicals are making liturgical traditions their own   Article: Emerging Church  Certain Holy Week observances long affiliated with more liturgical traditions are being re-purposed and incorporated into evangelical congregations, home to increasing numbers of former Catholics and mainline Protestants.Leading up to the children's egg hunts and contemporary worship services this Easter, it was not unlikely to see Lenten reflections, Maundy Thursday meals or even Stations of the Cross at a Baptist church. "I've been asked a few times, 'What is this Maundy Thursday?' It is a foreign idea for some, but once you explain it to them, they see it's scriptural and it makes sense," he said. "There are a lot of good things that Roman Catholics do that I think everybody should be open to.     It's not a Catholic thing or a Baptist thing, it's a biblical thing." "There's a renewed interest in the liturgical calendar. They may not call it 'Ash Wednesday' or 'Maundy Thursday,' but it's reformatted in a new way," said Dave Travis, the director of the Dallas-based Leadership Network, a megachurch consulting group. "So much of their constituency is former Catholics, so it has become very natural to identify with." "Eventually, all these churches go back to a common source," said the Rev. Ron Robers on, associate director of ecumenical and interreligious affairs for the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops. "Principally, we don't see it as a problem.     It can be a good thing for us to share common liturgical services as long as they are not designed to take Catholics away from the church." The church invited congregants to prayerfully walk through the events of Jesus' betrayal and death, symbolized by replicas of artifacts from Jesus' crucifixion, like the crown of thorns and the nails that held him to the cross. The eight-station display is their church's take on the well-known Catholic tradition.  "The first two people who walked through said, 'This really appeals to me because I grew up with the Stations of the Cross in the Catholic Church,' " said Moore, "and while it's not the same tradition, it still displays the suffering of Christ." Read Full Article ....