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biblenewsprophecy · 4 days

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Russia and China pledge more cooperation as they look to prepare a Eurasian military opposition to the West

COGwriter

Deutsche Welle reported the following:

China and Russia agree to boost ties in opposition to West

9 April 2024

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Tuesday that Beijing would “strengthen strategic cooperation” with Moscow during a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

In comments reported by the RIA Novosti news agency, Wang said Beijing and Moscow would “provide each other with strong support.”

The meeting took place during a two-day visit by Lavrov to China. The two powers have improved their diplomatic ties since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, declaring a “no limits” partnership.

The West is “implementing unlawful sanctions toward a number of states, Russia is among them of course. This policy is starting to be actively applied toward [China] as well,” Lavrov said, referencing efforts by the US to restrict China’s access to key US-made technologies.

Plan to launch Eurasian security ‘dialogue’

Russia and China agreed to strengthen security cooperation across Eurasia to counter US and Western influence. Lavrov said such a move had been put forward by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that the two countries had agreed to “start a dialogue with the involvement of our other like-minded people on this issue.”

“For a long time, there was a Euro-Atlantic security structure in the form of NATO, of course, as well as the OSCE, but it is striking itself out from the list of relevant structures within which it is possible to conduct meaningful negotiations and agree on something based on a balance of interests,” Lavrov said.

Moscow and Beijing are planning on launching a “dialogue” on Eurasian security issues, but no further details were given. https://www.dw.com/en/china-and-russia-agree-to-boost-ties-in-opposition-to-west/a-68773085

A Russian-promoted, Eurasian security dialogue would help set the stage for various biblical prophecies to be fulfilled which involve a Russian-led force invading the end time European daughter of Babylon.

Furthermore, as I have long written, the biblical reality is that Russia and China will work together militarily (e.g. Revelation 16:12-16).

Here is something from by free online book, Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America?, discussing the three woes along with Russia and China:

In the last verse of Revelation 8 (verse 13) the word woe is repeated three times and is later connected to three angels and three trumpet blasts which correspond to the blowing of the 5th, 6th, and 7th trumpets.

The first woe (5th trumpet) is described in Revelation 9:1-11. It involves a demonically-led force which causes torment (perhaps involving a plague of germ or chemical warfare) for those not having the seal of God (Revelation 9:4)—thus those of the 144,000 who were sealed in Revelation 7:4 are not tormented by this.

This woe looks to involve at least some of the European King of the North’s military and is consistent with something from Daniel:

44 But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. (Daniel 11:44)

Looking at this verse, what could be north and east of the European Beast power?

Russia, for one, which is both in Europe and Asia. Daniel suggests that it, and some of its allies, will face some of the fury of the King of the North as part of the first woe.

Despite some erroneous claims, Russia, itself, is NOT the prophesied “King of the North,” but it is prophetically pointed to as the power of “the far north” (cf. Ezekiel 38:6, 39:1-2).

Going on from the first woe comes the second woe:

12 One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things.

13 Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. 17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. 18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed — by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. 19 For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm.

20 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. 21 And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. (Revelation 9:12-21)

Such a massively large army was not possible to be put together when Jesus had John pen the Book of Revelation in the 1st century. In the 21st century, however, it is possible, and that army would be expected to include Chinese, Indian, Russian, and other Asian peoples.

The European Beast empire will not last, but will fear what is coming.

Notice also the following from the Hebrew scriptures:

2 … A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations.

3 A fire devours before them, And behind them a flame burns; The land is like the Garden of Eden before them, And behind them a desolate wilderness; Surely nothing shall escape them. 4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like swift steeds, so they run. 5 With a noise like chariots Over mountaintops they leap, Like the noise of a flaming fire that devours the stubble, Like a strong people set in battle array.

6 Before them the people writhe in pain; All faces are drained of color. (Joel 2:2-6)

During the second woe, the 200,000,000 man army looks to tie in with Joel 2:2 which discusses some of that army’s expected actions.

Before going further, understand that current projects like China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Europe’s Global Gateway are looking to connect Asia, Europe, and the Middle East in ways that look to be building infrastructure that a 200 million man army would use in order to get to Europe and the Middle East.

Peoples prophetically called Medes are also shown to destroy the final Babylon according to both Isaiah and Jeremiah:

1 The burden against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw…

17 “Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, Who will not regard silver; And as for gold, they will not delight in it. 18 Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces, And they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb; Their eye will not spare children. 19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, The beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. (Isaiah 13:1, 17-19)

11 Make the arrows bright! Gather the shields! The Lord has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes. For His plan is against Babylon to destroy it, Because it is the vengeance of the Lord, The vengeance for His temple. (Jeremiah 51:11)

The fact that there are multiple kings of the Medes indicates that powers involved in this end time confederation represent multiple governments. This would seem to include Russia, Belarus, and likely Crimea, Donbas, and some others in Ukraine, some in Moldova, perhaps some from the nation of Georgia, and some in Iran, etc.

Anciently, “Darius the Mede” (Daniel 5:31) conquered old Babylon—modern “Medes” will help do the same to the end-time daughter of Babylon.

The following passages seem also to apply:

8 “Move from the midst of Babylon, Go out of the land of the Chaldeans; And be like the rams before the flocks. 9 For behold, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon An assembly of great nations from the north country, And they shall array themselves against her; From there she shall be captured. Their arrows shall be like those of an expert warrior; None shall return in vain. (Jeremiah 50:8-9)

Those who believe the Bible should leave the midst of end-time Babylon by then. Certainly, the above “north country” includes Russia, but other passages clearly point to others from Asia being involved (Jeremiah 51:27-29).

Notice some of what will happen to the coming European Babylonian Beast power led by a power from the farthest parts of the earth (Russia is the nation that is the farthest east and close to being the farthest north nation):

22 Thus says the Lord: “Behold, a people comes from the north country, And a great nation will be raised from the farthest parts of the earth.

23 They will lay hold on bow and spear; They are cruel and have no mercy; Their voice roars like the sea; And they ride on horses, As men of war set in array against you, O daughter of Zion.”

24 We have heard the report of it; Our hands grow feeble. Anguish has taken hold of us, Pain as of a woman in labor. 25 Do not go out into the field, Nor walk by the way. Because of the sword of the enemy, Fear is on every side. 26 O daughter of my people, Dress in sackcloth And roll about in ashes! Make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; For the plunderer will suddenly come upon us. (Jeremiah 6:22-26)

41 “Behold, a people shall come from the north, And a great nation and many kings Shall be raised up from the ends of the earth. 42 They shall hold the bow and the lance; They are cruel and shall not show mercy. Their voice shall roar like the sea; They shall ride on horses, Set in array, like a man for the battle, Against you, O daughter of Babylon.

43 “The king of Babylon has heard the report about them, And his hands grow feeble; Anguish has taken hold of him, Pangs as of a woman in childbirth. (Jeremiah 50:41-43)

The “great nation” from the “farthest parts of the earth” includes Russia. There are also nations that will be confederate with it. Those would also include China and other nations in Asia, and particularly in the Far East. The “Daughter of Babylon” Jeremiah referred to is not ancient Babylon, but the end-time European power. The “kings … from the ends of the earth” seem to include South Africa and India, which are BRICS nations which have also conducted military drills with Russia and China.[i] Some nations in South America may also be involved as they seem to be part of the “ends of the earth.” Consider that Brazil and Russia already have a variety of military agreements.[ii] When the “daughter of Babylon” is in the process of falling, many will abandon supporting it. Jeremiah 50 is part of the second woe.[iii]

The second woe, according to scripture, ends 3 ½ days after the two witnesses are killed per Revelation 11:7-14. That is quickly followed by the third woe and the blowing of the 7th trumpet (Revelation 11:14-15).

Jesus returns with this trumpet (1 Thessalonians 4:16) which is also the last trumpet when Christians rise up (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:51-52). While that is comforting for Christians (1 Thessalonians 4:18), this angers the nations (Revelation 11:15-18).

So, the nations that gathered in Armageddon to fight the forces of the Beast, despite issues between them, will unite to fight Jesus, Himself! This is also described in Zechariah 14 and Joel 3.

The third woe releases the seven last plagues (Revelation 15:1), with victorious Christians then pictured on the sea of glass (Revelation 15:2).

During the third woe, when God sends corrective punishments, because the non-Christians refused to repent:

9 And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory. (Revelation 16:9)

Notice something else that happens during this third woe:

12 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

15 “Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.”

16 And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon. (Revelation 16:12-16)

Forces from Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean would be expected to gather related to ‘Armageddon’ as “the whole world” (Revelation 16:13-16) will be involved.

[i] Maromo J. SA-China-Russia military exercise … IOL, January 22, 2023; Pasricha A. India and China to Take Part in Joint Military Drills with Russia. Voice of America News, August 31, 2022

[ii] Shoigu lauds Brazil as ‘important strategic partner’ for Russia in Latin America. Tass, February 16, 2022

[iii] Lesson 36 – Feast of Trumpets – Why Christ Must Come Again! 58 Lesson Ambassador College Correspondence Course, 1969 revision

Russia and China are also part of the BRICS alliance. Related to the woes, we also put out the following video:

youtube

15:09

BRICS and the Woes of Revelation

The BRICS nations consist of Brazil, Russia, China, India, and South Africa. In February of 2023, Russia, China, and South Africa held joint naval drills. In the Fall of 2022, India, Russia, and China held joint military exercises. Brazil also has a military cooperation agreement with Russia. The Book of Revelation uses the term woe three times in chapter 8 verse 13–those woes are then discussed in later chapters. Could the BRICS nations, along with the coming Babylonian European Beast power be involved in all three of the woes? Do the BRICS nations want to push aside the USA dollar? Is one of the woes tied to the rise of a 200,000,000 man army? Is there any connection to the second woe and the two witnesses? Do the woes correspond with the last of the seven trumpets in the Book of Revelation? Is one of the woes tied to Armageddon? Does Jesus return with the seventh trumpet? Will nations not be pleased when Jesus returns? Dr. Thiel and Steve Dupuie go over these matters.

Here is a link to our video: BRICS and the Woes of Revelation.

Anyway, yes, Russia, China, and others in Asia will work closer together, militarily.

Steps for that keep occurring and YOU can rely on properly interpreted biblical prophecies as they are coming to pass.

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ausetkmt · 1 year

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African prophets shared a lot of parallels with biblical ones. Just as God called biblical prophets, the people believed that at times of great disaster, the Supreme Being would speak to select men and women to guide the tribe.

Seers and their prophecies bear much cultural and historical relevance to African history. The fantasy enthusiast in me wanted to find out if something mystical was happening here. Perhaps something divine?

After all, unlike biblical prophecies that took place forever ago, African ones were made within the past 200 years and were promptly fulfilled. I will briefly discuss a few such prophecies, their relevance to the events that occurred, and most importantly, whether these great seers could genuinely tell the future!

The Iron Snake

The oral records of Kikuyu land in Central Kenya describe seers that saw the coming of strangers with skin the color of tiny white frogs that would sail in from the ‘big water’ — the ocean.

These strangers would also bring an iron snake that belched fire, and later they would fly like butterflies.

Prophecies of the iron snake refer to the railway that would later be built connecting the interior of Kenya to the Coast. Still, in some accounts, an animal from the sky with an iron mouth that would destroy the land refers to airplanes.

The prophetess Syokimau who is said to be among the greatest seers to have lived predicted that a long, narrow snake would move from the Coast toward the setting sun.

Here’s her prophecy retold in the book Akamba from Within by Muthiani:

I can only imagine how terrifying or utterly ridiculous these prophecies must have sounded to the natives back then. White frogs that rode on fiery iron snakes and that could fly like butterflies. Now that’s a story fit for a campfire.

It wasn’t unusual then that Ireri wa Irugi — a famous seer — wasn’t believed when he predicted a fierce and terrible invasion by the Europeans.

Magical Sticks

The great sage and healer, Mugo wa Kibiru, predicted that the pale strangers would carry magical sticks that would produce fire and that it would be foolish for the warriors to confront them with spears.

This is but one example of the many prophecies about firearms. Now, you wouldn’t dare call yourself a seer back then if your divine messages didn’t mention the one weapon that would bring seasoned warriors to their knees.

Prophecies on the magical sticks and the iron snake were in plenty because they posed the greatest dangers to the communities. The railroad would eventually allow British soldiers to harness logistical power crucial in subduing resisting tribes, and the firearms were… well, superior weapons.

Cultural Overhaul

In the oral records of the Embu people of Mount Kenya, the Seer Ireri wa Irugi foretold the defeat of the Embu tribe.

Mugo wa Kibiru also prophesied that there would be a cultural erosion of tribal customs where youth would adopt the ways of the invaders.

For the tribes, culture and tradition were essential to the tribe’s strength. It kept them unified, gave them rules, and gave the people guided purpose.

So anything that threatened tradition threatened the people.

Relevance

Prophecies in colonial Kenya were influential when communities chose between resisting or collaborating with the British, and perspectives on this were often split along generational lines.

The older generation consisting of elders in leadership roles sought collaborations. They viewed the prophecies as a warning not to engage in hostilities with the British. They believed there would be more to gain in collaborating instead. To the elders, resisting meant certain death.

The younger generation thought differently. They held warrior roles in the communities, and the prophecies were seen as a means to gain crucial information on their would-be adversaries. Yes, the prophecies foretold of crushing defeat. But if they knew what the enemy would do before they did it, then surely they could beat them.

To them, the prophecies were, first and foremost, a warning of what would happen if they did not resist the men ‘full of evil deeds and greed.’

Prophecies: Fact or Fiction?

While these prophecies hold much significance, it is important to note that there are challenges in proving their ‘prophetic validity.’

First of all, the accounts of all nineteenth-century seers were collected decades after the events they prophesied had already come to pass.

Some historians also argue that the prophecies were initially vague and abstract and probably took forms similar to riddles. But as time passed and the prophecies were passed down orally, the people modified them, adding details of things that had already come to pass — like the railroad being built.

Furthermore, prophecies of strangers arriving were made when Central Kenya had already started receiving news of strangers from the Coast. Most hadn’t personally seen these strangers — Europeans and Arab traders — but news of them is believed to have already made its way to Central Kenya through trade.

Even so, there’s still a lot of mysticism surrounding the old Kenyan Seers and their prophecies. There isn’t enough proof beyond speculation to discount these prophecies.

But whether fact or fiction, these prophecies had tangible effects on the people and the world around them. They possessed an undeniable power in rallying the people to a common cause, a common narrative:

Endurance.

#african traditional religion #colonialism #kenya #solokimau #Where Myths and History Meet: How Did African Seers Correctly Predict Colonialism #european colonialism #religious interlopers #destruction of African Traditions

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lkwrightcan · 3 years

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God's infallible Word can be trusted

God’s infallible Word can be trusted

This past week I have been reading through the book of Isaiah. It is so exciting to see how the integrity of the Bible is beyond question. God called Isaiah as a prophet. He was responsible for sharing the words of the LORD of heaven’s armies many times and though he lived to see some of those prophecies fulfilled he did not see the most amazing prophecy of them all. Seven hundred years before…

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#1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 #Biblical prophecy is still relevant #God&039;s word can be trusted #God&039;s word is precise and true #Isaiah 53 #Jesus is going to appear to gather His church #prophecy of Christ 700 years before He came #prophet Isaiah #prophets of the old Testament #the Bible is truth

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dinopopduck · 3 years

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Ezekiel Only Being Unaffected By Certain Kinds of Magic

Let’s just start with me saying this isn’t exactly a new theory. It’s the demigod thing, and it’s a fairly popular one. If you haven’t heard of this headcannon, I put as much as I can find here. If you have, I found a bunch of new stuff that I haven’t seen anyone else mention, so reading this isn’t a complete waste of your time, I hope.

I tried to keep this from becoming wordy, but it got really long anyway, because there was a lot to talk about here.

Ezekiel being unaffected by magic is sort of an ongoing thing in the show. He is influenced by it much of the time, such as by Santa’s Hat, Pan’s Flute, Prospero’s spell, lycanthropy, etc. When it comes to the stuff he was seemingly completely immune to, there is one link that connects them all.

Apple of Discord: Everybody knows this one. The Apple is a Greek artifact, meant to turn you into the worst version of yourself, and Ezekiel was only one completely unaffected. It’s blamed on “he’s already the worst version of himself” or whatever.

Zeus Lightning Bolt: the episode where Ezekiel ends up decked out in Greek armor, and is sent to pick up Zeus’ Lightning Bolt, which was freaking out and zapping everywhere. He picks it up just fine, and he’s then able to hand it off to Flynn. It may have been purely because of the Greek armor he was wearing, but Flynn did not seem so sure about that working.

Cindy’s Love Potion: Ezekiel is able to be near the potion without becoming obsessed with Cindy. At first, it’s blamed on him being obsessed with himself, then later Jacob tells Ezekiel that he was already in love with Cindy. It was an obsession, not a love, potion you literally spent the episode proving that blah blah, he didn’t even recognize her at first blah blah, anyway, I have a better reason.

There are two Greek mentions in this episode. First, the potion project itself is called Project Aphrodite, a Greek goddess. Second, the sunflowers; when asked, Jenkins mentions how sunflowers are a Greek symbol of unrequited love. In addition, “love” potions may have originated in Greece, or at the very least, were common enough to have multiple sites claim that, lol. At the end of the season, where each librarian uses their gifts to turn Apep mortal, this greek potion is what Ezekiel ends up using.

See a pattern here? Everything that he was completely unaffected by was Greek in some way. So, he has an immunity to these kinds of artifacts, but why? I vote demigod.

Anyway, moving on.

Here’s some magic he could have been immune to, or could not have been. Its pretty debatable.

Fortuna: Technically a Roman Goddess, but the show does acknowledge how similar they are to Greek Gods. He may have been affected by the spell, but broke out of it pretty quick. Some think he may not been affected at all; slot machines aren’t exactly fair, especially in a casino that exists to cheat completely. As for Ezekiel getting so upset over losing, what he says, “Not the guy that loses, I’m the guy that wins” sounds very similar to what he was saying in Point of Salvation, but that’s a whole nother topic.

Alternately, he was affected and this point shouldn’t be here. I don’t know, I’m not the writers.

Libris Fabula: He was a little bit affected, just far less than the others, as he acted pretty much the same. He did get a barely noticeable clothing change, became luckier than normal, and was just able to cast a spell for some reason? Speaking out that spell, it froze the guy, and a certain Greek God does have the ability to put people to sleep. Not really the same thing, but worth thinking about. Maybe. More on that later.

Most people think he was immune, but he could have just been similar enough to the character he was portraying that he didn’t need to change a whole lot.

These ones are barely worth mentioning, because have other reasonable (though I guess your definition of reasonable may be different from mine) explanations, but you could see them as magic immunity as well:

Silver Screen: Ezekiel gets into character the least, while Cassandra and Jacob are out singing and calling people by their character names. Maybe less affected, maybe just a spoilsport. Probably the last one.

Point of Salvation: Was the only one able to remember previous loops. Since they were in a video game, it’s explained that since he was the first through the door, he became the player while everyone else became NPCs. I mean, sure.

Christmas Thief: Saint of Thieves only used his truth telly power on Ezekiel’s mother, not him. Ezekiel did not feel obligated to say anything. Could just be that the guy wasn’t talking to Ezekiel. Or, earlier in that episode Ezekiel tells his mother he doesn’t steal anymore (at least for anything other than the Library, I assume, cause he still kinda does) and therefor that made him immune to the spell, since it only works on thieves.

Image of an Image: Both Cassandra and Ezekiel got their pictures taken, and Cassandra was the only one affected by the transfer spell. However, Ezekiel wasn’t one of the “chosen ones” because he snuck in, and jumped in front of the camera while Eve (one of the “chosen ones”, who was later able to be affected) turned away. Either that, or he just didn’t have time to feel the effect, since his picture was taken after Cassandra’s, and Eve’s was placed in manually.

That’s all the possible instances of magic immunity I could think of.

Next, we have some other stuff that is relevant to this point, but wasn’t necessarily artifact/magic immunity.

Prophecy Cube: Created by the Oracle of Delphi, who is from Greek mythology. This isn’t about whether Ezekiel was affected by something, as he was still able to use the prophecy glass/get stuck in the cube. Rather, it’s about the Zeus Challenge in the cube. They probably would have died in there, but luckily, Ezekiel had just happened to steal, and keep on him, the exact thing they needed to get through– a bunch of golden coins, and a prophecy that ensures at least one coin can’t be destroyed. Luck? Prophecy? Divine Intervention? Plot convenience? Okay its probably the last one but STILL

Also, Ezekiel getting pissed at Zeus.

Zeus’s Bolt (again?): There is a promo image I think for season 4? that has each of the Librarians holding their tools. Jacob had his axe, Cassandra had a notebook, Flynn had Excalibur, all normal, except for Eve and Ezekiel. Eve had this big staff thing I didn’t recognize, and Ezekiel had Zeus’ Bolt for some reason?

Lightning, just, in general: If there is wild electricity in an episode, Ezekiel is probably around.

Examples:

City of Light: Gets shocked and knocked backwards into Jacob by a very electrified fence, gets up right afterwards and is fine.

Broken Staff: The Zeus Bolt thing, you get it.

Image of an Image: Ezekiel electrocutes Jacob. Jacob was not really fine. He lived, though.

Point of Salvation: Ezekiel electrocutes Jacob part 2 Electric Boogaloo, but this time on purpose. He was not fine. He died. But don’t worry, he lived.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: Mentioned a little bit above, Ezekiel, Jacob, and a student get stuck in the Zeus Challenge, and Ezekiel uses some coins he just so happened to steal recently. Throwing them on tiles shows whether or not lightning will strike if it was stepped on. Seriously, why is it ALWAYS Jacob?

The Dark Secret: Ezekiel is the one sent to wrap a cord around a lightning rod constantly being struck by lighting. “Why am I bloody doing this”, he asks? I mean, Zeus probably isn’t going to kill his descendent(?), right?

Werewolves: Have you heard of the Lycaon of Arcadia? It’s a Greek myth. Basically, this dude named Lycaon wants to test how smart and all-knowing Zeus is. To do so, he kills his own son, cooks him, and serves him to Zeus to see if he notices, ya know, no biggie. Zeus was like “wtf man” and brings the son back to life, and turns Lycaon into, you guessed it, a wolf. So, Zeus creates a werewolf of sorts, maybe one of the firsts. In Fangs of Death, Ezekiel just so happens to be the one (main) character to be turned into werewolf. So, if he was a descendant of Zeus, imagine how big of a “fuck you” that was to the god. That all being said, Ezekiel was turned by an Egyptian god, so that might not have been intentional. Also, they may have just been avoiding turning Jacob, because there is already a werewolf named Jacob and they didn't want another Twilight reference in that episode.

Family/Name: Ezekiel is adopted, and his adoptive mother mentions how she took him in off the streets. Because of that, we don’t know who his birth parents are, and whether or not he, or anyone else, knows is unknown. Soooo, we can take some creative liberties as to who his parents might have been.

As for his name, it carries some religious connotations. It should be remembered though, the meanings I’m talking about here are Biblical, not Greek, so again, might mean nothing for this argument. “Ezekiel” is “God’s Strength” or “God will Strengthen”. Jones might also be something like “God is gracious” or “God has favored”, thought different sites say different things. However, I’m pretty sure the name Jones came from his adoptive mother, and apparently Jones is a common last name in Australia. His first name is more relevant, because all of his siblings have themed names; Mercy, Charity, and Honor. So, either his mom named him differently because she knew something we don’t, or he already had the name before she adopted him. Either way, this probably means absolutely nothing. But what are we here for? To analyze a dead show like an English teacher analyzes the color of curtains in an 100 year old text. If it wasn’t for all the other stuff, I probably wouldn’t think about this too much.

Okay. So Greek stuff, lightning, and Zeus himself come up a LOT when it comes to this guy. So is Ezekiel the son of Zeus? Possibly, but a more popular theory is that he’s Zeus’ grandson. Because Zeus’ son just so happens to be Hermes; god of things such as luck, travel, money, trade, and most importantly, thieves. Oh, and animal husbandry/shepherds and sleep, I don’t know how much those apply but I will try.

Time for some comparisons, honestly most of these don’t even need to be explained so I’ll keep it short-ish, cause this shit has gotten way too long already.

Luck: Ezekiel, especially in the first season, likes to rely on luck, and tends to be very lucky in general. Examples where this is mentioned include Fables of Doom and Apple of Discord. “Smarter to be lucky then lucky to be smart!”

Travel: We can assume that he ended up traveling in his previous job (that being heists all over the world) fairly often, even before the Library. Becoming a Librarian with a teleporting door increased that of course.

Money: Steals very high-value items to sell. Also apparently likes to take money from his coworker’s wallets. And probably everyone else’s.

Trade: The aforementioned high-value pieces he steals are traded/sold for money. In Christmas Thief, we find out he kept none of the money or items, giving it away to others who needed it. That kinda fits this category, I think.

Thieves: I really don’t need to explain this. Unless you haven’t seen the show.

Animal Husbandry/Shepherds?: Basically the care of animals. Um, well he doesn’t keep cows or anything, but he has a tendency to “adopt” magical creatures that need help. Stumpy, Nessie Jr., maybe Frankenstein’s Monster as well?

Sleep: I mentioned earlier how Ezekiel froze a guy (not really in an icy way, just couldn’t move) by hitting him with his coin. Hermes is able to send people to sleep with his Caduceus (the snake wand thing). Yeah, it’s not really the same thing, though you could consider being frozen a kind of sleep. He could have just been lucky enough to find a magical coin, and lucky enough to figure out how to use it at the exact right time without even knowing what it did. It’s a stretch either way, really, and was never explained in the episode at all. Yeah, I can't find anything else that fits.

Hermes is considered to be a thief and trickster, and a lot of the things he is god of are Ezekiel’s main occupations. With all those similarities to Hermes, frequent events related to lightning and Zeus related things, and immunity to Greek artifacts, we can conclude that he is perhaps the son of Hermes, taking after his father in abilities and getting visits from grandpa.

Alternatively, his somehow IS Hermes, but I doubt that. He’d probably be way more powerful. He was also able to see the future with Prophecy Glass, which Jenkins claims is impossible for immortals to do (although in that case he was talking about a Prophecy Cube, but close enough). It’s more likely that he is a demigod.

Okay, that is all I can think of that is relevant. I binged the series about two months ago, and have been thinking about this theory. I went ahead and re-watched the episodes that I mentioned in more detail, as well as parts of others that I remebered. The reason I bring this up is because I may have missed things. I did not rewatch a majority of the episodes, more that I looked at a list of episodes on wikipedia and tried to remember what happened in them, watching clips and episodes if I needed to.

The show was cancelled, so we’ll probably never get a confirmation as to who Ezekiels’ birth parents were, and as such, you can’t prove me wrong! That being said, if I got any facts incorrect in this, please tell me so I can fix it. I’m not well versed on Greek Mythology, in fact I know basically nothing, and did the research as I went along. So again, there could be more. This is just what I found in like, less than a day of searching.

Join me next time on “How is Cassandra magical, where’d she get it from? Also, were we ever gonna meet her parents?” And “In the first episode of season 3, Jacob is just able to hit a heavy punching bag of its chain, across the room, at bullet speed, just because of a shift of his wrist, and later in that episode do the same thing to Apep, and it’s just…never addressed or spoken about again? Like wtf man?”

I'm probably not doing that

If you managed to get through all of this, thank you, and I hope this wasn’t too painful to read.

#the librarians #ezekiel jones #greek #hermes #zeus #this took so long #magic #magic immunity #theory #headcannon #demigod #curse of cindy #apple of discord #broken staff

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ineffable-endearments · 4 years

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Good Omens and the prolonged story of Leaving The Garden

Last week I had this weird episode where I felt like my third eye popped WIDE open and I suddenly started making all these loose associations that I believe are nevertheless relevant between Aziraphale’s entire story and his role in the Garden of Eden. I don’t know if other people will find it agreeable, but I became very fixated on it.

Aziraphale, Guardian of the Eastern Gate, formerly on Apple Tree Duty. Guardian of forbidden Knowledge, the Knowledge of good and evil. Comes to Earth and sets up a store full of Knowledge that he doesn’t actually want to sell with his desk on the East side.

Tries to protect the Serpent from his own questions. What if we made our own Side? It doesn’t matter, they’ll kill us for asking that. Tries to keep the Serpent away from his own damn fruit.

Discovers the location of the Antichrist. This, too, is a kind of Forbidden Knowledge; the Antichrist is the key to the war between good and evil, after all, and no angel is supposed to be able to find him. Aziraphale is on Apple Tree Duty again. Struggles with who should rightfully have this information. Should he give it to the Serpent, orchestrator of the Fall of Man and chaos agent who kickstarted everything Aziraphale loves? Or should it be reserved for Heaven, the ostensible “greater good”?

Maybe this dilemma brings up painful old questions. For example, did Crowley’s effective temptation of Eve make Aziraphale a fuckup, a failed angel? If he was put at his post to fail as part of the Great Plan and then he did, was it actually a failure? Would it have been better for the original Knowledge to remain in Heaven’s hands? Is it wrong to prefer life here on Earth, is it wrong to love Crowley, if it means accepting and embracing his own incompetence*, the Fall of Man, and all the horrible things that came thereafter (war, famine, pestilence, pollution, death, traffic)? Who is really responsible for all that? And even assuming humanity’s Fall is part of the Great Plan, what about giving them the sword? Was that part of the Plan, too, or is Aziraphale’s tenure on Earth a punishment for that incident? If that’s the case, then is his protective behavior toward Crowley also wrong?

Anyway, now that he knows where Adam is, Aziraphale once again has Forbidden Knowledge. Is he going to fail in his guardianship again?

Don’t get me wrong. The Serpent is already in the Garden. Part of preserving the Garden is preserving the Serpent. The guardianship part is whether Aziraphale actually allows that one fruit to be plucked from that one tree.

If Aziraphale puts the Knowledge he’s guarding in Heaven’s possession, they can be persuaded to destroy the boy (he thinks). They can cancel the war between Good and Evil. That would effectively maintain the status quo. There would be no leaving the garden.

In a certain way, it would almost, sort of, “cancel”(?) the Fall of the rebel angels, wouldn’t it? It’s far-fetched, but bear with me for a moment. The point of the Fall is this notion that Hell will be a place of disgusting godless castaways for a while and then there will be an eventual reckoning. If Heaven enforces the status quo, protecting the world and the Heaven/Hell duality, then Hell is what it is forever, but it loses the impending doom of possibly being exterminated by Heaven, and Heaven has to concede that Hell belongs in this world. Hell is no longer made of mere castaways; they are openly, if perhaps grudgingly, given a place in the universe. The Fallen angels don’t ascend, so it is not a “reversal” per se, but they get a measure of acceptance (not necessarily friendliness or camaraderie - just acceptance). There are implications of this when Aziraphale says, “We can Save everyone!”

If Aziraphale shares this newfound Knowledge with the Serpent...well. What happens then? They still have no plan. Neither of them wants to destroy the Antichrist, but if they did, they’d still be in trouble. They’d be kicked out of the garden on their own in a hostile universe, and this time there’s nobody to offer a flaming sword for their protection against the angry legions of Heaven and Hell. This is to say nothing of the fates of Adam and Eve’s descendants - their own descendants, in a godparenting sort of way - on Earth. There’d be no way to protect them.

Aziraphale is a guardian. He chooses what he thinks is going to be his best shot at preservation. Aziraphale offers Heaven what he believes is a chance to use their judgment (the forbidden fruit), a chance to avert the war, and they reject it; they want the same prescriptions and myths they’ve always had.

Aziraphale thinks, for a while, maybe there’s a compromise. Maybe the Serpent can earn Heaven’s favor again, or maybe he can escape to the stars completely. Maybe Heaven will battle Hell without destroying Earth. But the Serpent does not want Heaven’s favor, nor does he want to leave the garden without Aziraphale. And Heaven won’t make exceptions for humans. They love their dogma, the prescribed actions; their sense of meaning comes from following prophecies. The only judgment they will follow is judgment that will lead specifically to What Is Written playing out, and What Is Written is the world’s end in fire and flames.

So Aziraphale decides he’s going to have to make a moral judgment for them and try to avert Armageddon. In my opinion, this is one of the key moments when Aziraphale partakes of the forbidden fruit himself**. He makes a judgment even though he’s supposed to leave judgment to Heaven, just as (in some fairly common Biblical interpretations) when Adam and Eve learned the difference between good and evil, they essentially “fired” God because they learned to judge good and evil themselves. (Not trusting God’s judgment is existentially threatening to Her, as Her whole purpose is sort of to be the ultimate judge. Deciding to avert Armageddon, Aziraphale discovers, is existentially threatening to Heaven because it deprives Heaven of what it has always seen as its whole Purpose. I think God and Heaven can both get over it and find other Purposes just like everybody else who gets disappointed sometimes, but that’s for another discussion.)

So but. BUT. Here’s the REALLY GOOD PART.

After Armageddon is thwarted mostly by Adam’s love for his world and with spiritual inspiration from his godfathers, Crowley and Aziraphale find themselves alone in a hostile universe. They’re being chased by metaphorical lions, basically. And who saves them from this hostile world?

Each other, with Adam’s help.

See, Adam gave Aziraphale his corporation back. And Aziraphale kept trying to protect Crowley until the very end. When Crowley assumed it was time to give up on life, Aziraphale threw himself into pushing Crowley to keep trying. When Crowley suggested staying together for the night and for the foreseeable future, Aziraphale reminded him that Heaven was still a danger. And they shielded each other from their Sides - from the wrath of God and Satan alike - with their own bodies, Aziraphale even going so far as to tell Hell they’d better leave Crowley alone from now on.

I’ve heard “Crowley is the Forbidden Fruit” before and it knocks me out every single time. Aziraphale could be said to be the flaming sword who keeps himself and Crowley safe. And Adam Young has become the angel on the gate of Eden who gave it to them.

ASTERISKS:

*“Imagine how terrible it might have been if we’d been at all competent.” Perhaps there would be no Earth at all.

**I’d argue that because it’s a complicated story and involves multiple layers of disentanglement from dogma, Aziraphale in fact has a number of “forbidden fruit” moments. But this is the one that Heaven is most aware of. I like to think of Crowley’s handing over of the books in 1941 as the moment that Aziraphale can’t take back from himself, and the decision to swan-dive out of Heaven as the moment Aziraphale can’t take back from Heaven. It’s almost like...in 1941, Crowley plays the role of Eve, offering Aziraphale something he realizes he wants (Crowley himself) but fears that they’ll both be damned if he accepts. In 2018, he realizes that Heaven’s garden is nowhere he wants to stay, nor is it anywhere that he actually wants to inflict on Earth or Crowley, and so he finally eats the forbidden fruit.

#good omens #ineffable husbands #ineffable partners #ineffable spouses

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startledstars · 3 years

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Theology 101: Dispensationalism

A Matter of Salvation

(What are biblical ‘dispensations’ and why are they important for salvation? What are the requirements for the current dispensation? What does the Bible say about the future?)

God saves people in different ways during different periods of time. These four examples in Genesis are archetypes that align with salvation in Exodus, the Old Testament, the New Testament, and Revelation.

1) Enoch: Faith and Grace

Enoch was a prophet in Genesis. He was called up directly by God, and did not leave a body behind.

By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

“Pleasing” God is not an action that Enoch was instructed to take. It was a natural outcome of his faith.

2) Noah: Grace, faith and works

Noah preached for almost a century about the coming flood and was ridiculed and ignored. He built the famous ark.

But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

If Noah did not follow God’s precise instructions in building the ark and what types of animals to take, he and his family would’ve been destroyed along with the rest of the antediluvian world.

3) Lot: Grace and faith

Lot and his family escaped Sodom, a city so corrupt, it was destroyed along with all its inhabitants.

At dawn the next morning, the angels begged Lot to hurry. They said, “Go! Take your wife and your two daughters with you so you will not be destroyed when the city is punished.”

But Lot delayed. So the two men took the hands of Lot, his wife, and his two daughters and led them safely out of the city. So the Lord was merciful to Lot and his family.

Note that even though Lot was slow to follow God’s instructions, verging on disobedience, God’s mercy still saved him.

4) Abraham: Grace, faith and works

God promised Abraham to bless all nations through his descendants. Specifically through Abraham’s son, Issac. God made this promise before commanding the infamous sacrifice.

When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

Along with faith in God’s promise, Abraham had to follow God’s instructions. There was some testing and proving required.

Summary

Enoch and Lot were saved because they pleased God by their faith. They were not asked to preach for a hundred years, then build an ark following God’s exact instructions, as Noah was. They did not have to prepare an altar for their own sons, as Abraham was commanded to. They only had to find the truth and believe.

The Old Testament: Grace, Faith and Works

From Exodus to Jesus’ death on the cross, God gave specific instructions to His People. If they failed to follow those instructions, they were punished for a time. Despite their experience with God and the great signs He provided, Israelites in the Old Testament turned to evil practices, such as sacrificing their own children to Pagan gods.

(Child sacrifice is the worst thing any parent, or society, and partake in; in such a society, incest, child abuse, bestiality, and other atrocities may also be normalized. Imagine the level of corruption in such a population. The Canaanites, the pre-flood population, and Sodom were steeped in sins too dark to even consider, and had no desire to repent. That’s why they had to be destroyed. Even today, with the disclosure of Jeffry Epstein and his connections, we see hints of the same secret, deep-rooted corruption plaguing our society. There’s also an epidemic of pornography, much of which fetishizes incest, minors, and sometimes even animals or animalistic behaviors being consumed in secret on a massive scale. The corruption of humanity exposed over and over by the Bible, is evidence that this book is Truth. The corruption we see today shows that the words here remain relevant, despite the passage of millennia.)

Then, imagine God’s mercy in the face of such corruption.

If Israel kept God’s instructions and had faith in his forgiveness, they were saved. Still, they had to work very hard to fight the corruption within, and the corruption that surrounded them on all sides.

The New Testament: Grace and Faith

From Jesus’ death on the cross until just before the first seal in Revelation is opened, God saves people by His grace, and through their faith.

This is why, after the events of the book of Acts, we see very few great signs and wonders. There is no great cloud of smoke, no parting the Red Sea, no fire raining from heaven or flaming chariots visible in the sky or even miraculous, instantaneous healing. It’s impossible not to believe when you see the supernatural out in the open. In the absence of such signs, faith becomes a choice; a matter of free will.

Right now, the only prerequisite to salvation is a love of the truth that surpasses any love you might have for the world. Inevitably, this love leads to the Cross, to realizing your own fallen, sinful condition (how many times have you let your loved ones down? how many times have you let yourself down? why do you keep doing things that are bad for you? why is it so hard to change? why do you feel like you’re wasting your life?) and then, asking God (through faith that He exists, despite never having seen His face) to save you.

And God does all the rest. Even if you try to delay like Lot, He will carry you out of the city before its destruction.

That’s why this is the greatest time to be alive, the best dispensation, but it will end soon. Like Enoch and Lot, believers of the present dispensation will escape the time to come.

This dispensation will end with the rapture of the Church (a matter for a different study) and the revelation of the anti-Christ:

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

In the next few years, the “great falling away” of professing Christians leaving the faith will continue. It’s getting harder and harder to be a believer (and we are commanded not to hide our faith, or be ashamed of Jesus. If you keep your faith a secret, it calls your salvation into doubt). You already see how Christians are villainized, stereotyped, and scapegoated in pop culture, movies, and media.

Once the falling away is complete and the last true believer comes to faith, the body of Christ will be removed, and the anti-Christ will reveal himself.

Watch for him if you’re not a believer, and please heed the next part carefully.

Revelation: The Mark of the Beast (Grace, Faith, and Works again)

In the coming dispensation, God will once again save people by his grace, but also requires their ‘works,’ just as in the Old Testament.

There is a ‘mark’ coming. You will be compelled to take it, or be violently persecuted and unable to participate in society.

And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

The King James translation from 1611 says “in” while other translations say “on.” This word would not have made sense in context 400 years ago, but considering the jab and RFID/microchip technology, “in” is key evidence that this prophecy is meant for those alive today.

God requires those in the coming dispensation to NOT take the mark, no matter what. That, along with faith, is the only requirement for the coming dispensation.

And the third angel 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,

The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

Those who take the mark will, without exception, be tormented even in this life.

And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

This ‘rona jab is a test run for the upcoming mark. If you’ve taken the second dose and thought those symptoms were bad, the mark of the beast will be unimaginably worse.

So, if you don’t believe me now; if you’re not willing to accept the gifts of this dispensation, at the very least, please remember this warning about what’s coming next. If you see the signs come to pass, you’ll know that this is true, and you’ll know what to do.

#spiritual awakening #spirituality #prophecy #revelation #long post

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giftofshewbread · 3 years

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Is The Time at Hand?

One can almost physically feel evil’s powerful pull at the godly restraints imposed by Heaven’s Love and wisdom. Wickedness exerts its mesmerizing influence on this generation from its high places, inducing an insanity that can only be defined as the reprobate mind given in Romans 1:28.

Those of us fifty years of age or older can but blink and wonder at the upside-down world as it continues to descend into a madness of sorts. Those younger, for the most part, don’t seem to notice the deliberate deconstruction of all we of the 50-plus generation recognize and by which we are vexed.

I refer to such developments in America as the following.

* Disdain for human life in the form of abortion.

* The slaughter of babies in their mother’s wombs doesn’t seem to matter to more than half of our numbers. The younger generation –the baby-producing ages—especially don’t seem to notice and care. (And I realize that there are those who do care about the unborn among this age. But they are in the minority, and a significant minority at that.)

* Disregard for formerly moral principles.

* Marital status means nothing to a growing percentage of America’s population. Statistics bear it out. Sexual activity outside of the marriage bond is as common as any other entertaining, social activity.

* Embrace of homosexuality as more normal than heterosexuality is now the “enlightened” view.

* The norming of same-gender sexual relations has over powered today’s culture in a brief time. If one doesn’t embrace the social construct that biblical prohibitions are no longer relevant and that it is perfectly normal for men to have sex with men and women with women, then it is the one holding such an outmoded view who is the great sinner, not those who are “enlightened.”

* Welcome of new thought in adult-children sexual relations is a growing reality within progressive ideology. –Thus although there is no realization that such thought is not new at all, but is as ancient as every civilization that has lived and died.

* Such organizations as the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), which was not too long ago seen as among the most disgusting and perverted of groups, now are considered acceptable under growingly lenient circumstances. It all depends upon whether such relationships as adults and children being sexually involved are “consensual”–which in itself is as reprobate a concept as any that could be devised, in this writer’s view.

Thankfully there are Christian and other groups organized against this pedophile movement to normalize such filthy and evil activity. But it is a satanically driven trend that will not be stopped as mankind devolves ever deeper into total depravity.

Even public libraries and schools are becoming ever more involved in this movement to bring adults and children together in this unholy way.

Dolly Madison Library in Fairfax, Virginia has invited preschoolers, babies and toddlers to attend ‘Drag Queen Story Hour’ to celebrate ‘Pride Month.’

“Celebrate Pride Month by attending Drag Storybook Hour cosponsored by Fairfax County Public Library and The McLean Community Center. Registration required. All Ages.”…

The event will take place on Saturday, June 26 from 10:30 am to 11:15 am.

Event planners invited “babies, toddlers, preschoolers and school age children.”…

The Fairfax Republican party slammed the library for inviting young children to Drag Story Hour in celebration of pride month.

***[Ang, Source: Virginia Library Invites Preschoolers, Babies and Toddlers to Drag Queen Story Hour to Celebrate Pride Month, by Cristina Laila, Gateway Pundit, June 25, 2021]***

And the powerful tug of that luciferian hand, pulling this generation farther from godly restraint, manifests in the arena of commerce. All who want to live under a more moral society and culture are increasingly marginalized by the wicked forces of earthly, financial power.

Amazon, which is on track to be America’s largest retailer next year, launched its charity program Amazon Smile in 2013. The company has banned multiple conservative organizations since then, because it relies on the anti-conservative Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) to decide what groups qualify for the program.

WORLD News Group reported in 2020 that “Liberty Counsel, Family Research Council (FRC) and the American College of Pediatricians” are not allowed on Amazon Smile. Alliance Defending Freedom was reportedly removed from the site as well. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood, Black Lives Matter, and The Satanic Temple are all free to collect donations from the program.

The AmazonSmile program is fairly simple. “Shop at smile.amazon.com and we’ll donate 0.5% of eligible purchases to your favorite charitable organization—no fees, no extra cost,” the website explained. However, Amazon will not let just any charity into the program. “Organizations that engage in, support, encourage, or promote intolerance, hate, terrorism, violence, money laundering, or other illegal activities are not eligible to participate. Amazon relies on the US Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Southern Poverty Law Center to determine which registered charities fall into these groups,” AmazonSmile’s about page said.

***[Source: From Planned Parenthood to Satanism, AmazonSmile encourages shoppers to donate to some extreme charities — at least 216 different groups. But multiple prominent conservative groups aren’t even allowed to participate, by Kayla Sargent, NewsBusters.org]***

We know, of course, who are the “intolerant” in today’s definition of the term. Christian organizations, in particular, are not allowed to participate in the charitable largesse of the beneficent Amazon money masters.

The transgender curriculum is becoming ubiquitous throughout the nation’s public school systems. Children in grade school are taught that God’s Word, the Bible, is wrong. That they can be whatsoever gender they wish.

And as parents begin to catch on to this type of hellish inculcation and attend school board meetings to protest, the school officials in some cases are contriving ways to obfuscate their nefarious doings.

The following news link brief on Rapture Ready News frames this attempt to deceive.

Teachers told to give fake curriculum to parents who complain of ‘indoctrination’ Amid complaints from parents that their children are being “indoctrinated,” a Missouri school district official is advising English teachers to create a fake curriculum and keep the real one hidden.

Another such brief on a link further emphasizes the satanic tug at the knot teeing this generation to the last vestiges of its moral moorings.

Planned Parenthood sex-ed flyer telling 11-year-olds they could have sex, as long as the partner isn’t older than 13, distributed in WA public school A flyer telling 11-year-olds that they can have sex, as long as the person isn’t older than 13, was distributed earlier this week to students at Stewart Middle School in Tacoma, WA.

All of this means that the stench of these end times must be singeing the nostrils of a Holy God. It is more than appropriate to ask if this is not that time He forewarned of in the one book we are promised His blessing if we read and heed. Is that time at hand?

“And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” (Rev. 22: 10-21)

–Terry

#raptureready #dot #com #news #prophecy #end times #latter days #apostacy #rapture #tribulation #bible #christian

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blessedarethebinarybreakers · 4 years

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Normally I don't like to ask stuff but I feel distressed. My mom is arguing about a preaching that she heard where it says that the antichrist will be gay. She quotes the book of Daniel, particularly Daniel 11:37. Her argument is that Daniel is a prophecy book therefore it must be true. It just really hurts that she'd say this to me and keeps making remarks about my faith. That I'm not a good enough Christian for not believing like her. Is what Daniel say true or is the interpretation wrong?

Hey there. I’m sorry to hear you’re distressed, and especially that your mom keeps making remarks about your faith. It is not right for any of us to judge another person’s faith like that!

This is gonna get long, so for a tl;dr, after studying Daniel 11 and its surrounding context I can say pretty confidently that your mom is indeed wrong about how to interpret 11:37. If you want to explore just why with me, read on!

______________

So to start with, I disagree with your mom that everything in the Book of Daniel, or in any “prophecy book” of the Bible, must necessarily be “true” – or “come true” as if it were fortune telling. Biblical prophecy is not fortune telling or future telling. As I say in this post, biblical prophets were actually much more concerned about the present, about how the past had shaped that present, and about how the present could be used to shape the future! This is just a fact of how ancient Israelites viewed prophecy, regardless of how one interprets scripture (whether more fundamentalist / literal as I imagine your mom probably is, or more historical/contextual, etc.).

Christians who get really into all the biblical visions of “the end times” and the rapture and stuff don’t want to hear this, because they want it to be somehow directly relevant to them and their futures (and that’s understandable), so the following paragraph is just some information for you rather than anything that’s likely to convince your mom:

Most biblical scholars say that most of the biblical prophecies aren’t about “The End Times” the way we conceive of it. The Book of Daniel’s prophecies do include some talk of the actual end of the world, but – like the Book of Revelation in the New Testament – the majority of his prophecies actually refer to kingdoms and intrigue going on in Daniel’s own time (or not so long before or after his own time).

I have not studied Daniel’s prophecies, like, at all besides reading through them, so I can say more about how the Book of Revelation is less about “the end of the world” and more about “the end of the Roman Empire;” but Daniel follows a similar trajectory of being more about the fall of the empires that have oppressed his people than about the end of the whole world. If you have a Bible that offers footnotes about the historical context going on in any given passage of scripture, it will tell you all about that – that Daniel’s prophecies discuss the sequence of Babylonian, Median, and Persian rulers that oppress his people and criticize those oppressive kings.

Thus when you go to look at Daniel 11 (and 10), you see that Daniel isn’t talking about “The Antichrist” in this passage – indeed, that title “Antichrist” is not used at all in this Book, or in any book of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) at all! – but rather he is talking about a Persian king who is going to arise and oppress his people. The New Interpreter’s Study Bible suggests in its footnotes for 11:37 that the specific king Daniel’s talking about is Antiochus, who “grew exceedingly arrogant: He abandoned his ancestral gods and imposed the worship of Zeus Olympus” – hence 11:37′s statement that he “shall pay no respect to the God’s of his ancestors.”

Now that we’ve reached the verse itself in our discussion, let’s have a closer look at Daniel 11:37. The New King James Version reads,

“He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all.”

The part of this verse that is used by some to claim that “the antichrist” (if you interpret this passage as even being about the antichrist, despite the context pointing to it actually being about a Persian king) is gay is, of course, “nor the desire of women.”

But along with that seeming like a very random tangent for the prophet to mention in a verse that otherwise is about this king abandoning all gods, the issue with biblical Hebrew is that sometimes getting a precise meaning out of it is hard. Thus “nor the desire of women” is not the only translation into English that one can make from the Hebrew. I’ll list some other translations that have been made (and you can see tons more here):

KJV: “nor the desire of women”

NASB: “or for the desire of women”

NIV: “or for the one desired by women”

ESV and NRSV: “or to the one beloved by women”

New Living Translation: “or for the god loved by women”

CEB: “and the god preferred by women”

Now, there are many conservative Christians who believe that the King James Bible is never wrong, and therefore they’ll insist that the translation to “nor the desire of women” is the one “correct” translation. But even if that is the case, what exactly does “the desire of women” mean in English? Does it mean:

that this guy doesn’t desire / isn’t attracted to women, as your mom believes?

could it also mean that he doesn’t care if women desire him? aka he might still desire them, and doesn’t give a damn about whether they like him back

or does it mean that he doesn’t care what women desire/want – i.e., that he won’t listen to them about what they want, perhaps in regards to what gods he respects, since that’s what the rest of the verse is about?

Moving to look at those translations that translate it “the god loved/preferred/beloved by women,” some suggest that this meaning: just as the guy has no regard for “the god of his ancestors,” likewise he has no regard for the god[s] of his wives/concubines. There are examples in the Hebrew Bible of women having different gods from their husbands – Jacob’s wife Rachel takes her household gods with her into his house; Solomon’s many foreign wives convince him to worship their gods with them. So if the Hebrew here, hemdath nashiym, is translated something about “the god loved by the women,” that’s what it could be about – this guy won’t be swayed to worship any god, whether his own family’s gods or his wives’ gods.

That above reasoning makes much more sense within the context of the verse than it being like “So this guy won’t care about his ancestors’ god, oh also by the way he’s gay or whatever, and back to the god thing, he’s gonna exalt himself over all gods.” It would be such a random tangent!

_______

So that’s all the language and history stuff. Now let’s get hypothetical:

so…what if your mom is right? So what if the verse is saying “this guy isn’t attracted women”? (and for the purpose of this hypothetical, let’s say the verse is about the antichrist though as I discussed above I do not believe that it is.)

First off, just because he doesn’t desire women doesn’t necessarily mean he does desire men. He could be asexual and/or aromantic. That wouldn’t be much better, of course, because we’d be moving from homophobia into aphobia. Asexual and aromantic folks get vilified enough with the stigma that “oh you can’t ~~love~~?? you monster!” So I definitely do not like the supposition that the antichrist is ace/aro; that’s just as icky as him being gay.

But again, we’re in hypothetical land: so let’s say the antichrist is gay, or is aroace. ……..So what??

Gay people, aroace people, aren’t all perfect and good people. We can be badguys too, ya know? If the antichrist were cishet, it wouldn’t mean that All Cishet People Are Therefore Like The Antichrist – so if the antichrist were gay, why would it therefore mean that all gay people are like the antichrist?

He’s just one person. A big bad person – but his sexuality isn’t necessarily a part of that. He’s not evil because of whatever his sexuality is or isn’t.

I will close by offering some counterbalances to a supposedly gay (or aroace, or otherwise LGBTQA+) antichrist: there are also LGBTQA+ heroes in the Bible.

Daniel himself may well be one of them!!

To start with, Daniel is most likely a eunuch: after all, he has a position in the Babylonian court, and as David Bayliss notes, “it was customary for Mesopotamian kings in the first millennium BC to surround themselves with eunuchs as servants.” The Bible itself attests to this fact, in places like Isaiah 39:7 that talks about youths being taken from Judah to serve Babylon’s king as eunuchs. Along with those two facts, Bayliss continues with more evidence that Daniel was a eunuch:

Third, the fact that Daniel and the other captured Israelite youths were entrusted to the “chief eunuch” suggests that they were to become young eunuchs themselves.

Fourth, boys to be made into eunuchs were usually selected for their beauty, which is mentioned at the top of the list of selecting criteria in Dan 1:4.

Fifth, there is no mention of Daniel or his companions ever marrying (or having children).

Sixth, Daniel showed no interest in returning to Jerusalem after Cyrus the Great came to the throne (who allowed exiles to return to their homelands), which may have to do with his physical humiliation and the Deut 23:1 ban.“

Now, why’s it matter if Daniel’s a eunuch?? What’s that got to do with being LGBTQA?? Many queer scholars, myself included, have argued that biblical eunuchs share many similarities to gay people, or trans people, etc. I talk about the connection between biblical eunuchs and contemporary trans people in the section of this webpage titled “ ‘Better than sons or daughters’: Isaiah 56″.

(For other resources on eunuchs’ link to LGBT folks, see here, here, here, here.)

On top of that, some scholars have suggested a romantic/sexual relationship between David and the head eunuch under which he served, Ashpenaz. According to Daniel 1:9, Daniel enjoyed “the favor and tender love” of Ashpenaz. This could be a totally platonic thing, or it could be physical; the Hebrew is ambiguous.

You might not be able to stop your mom from making her awful comments, but maybe being able to respond in your head to her “the antichrist is gay!” with “no, Daniel was gay” will help you a little.

Please keep safe, and do what you can to keep your mom’s crap from getting to you (I know that’s much harder said than done). You are beloved by the God who made you, friend. And scripture is much queerer than hateful Christians want to admit.

#the antichrist #antichrist #apocalyptic literature #daniel #the book of daniel #homophobia #essays #thelandofladymarvel #reading and studying the bible #prophets

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alexsmitposts · 4 years

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BC: Why Are We Being Lied to? BC stands for NEO’s Banned Classic. This article was originally published by our journal on 30.12.13 For some reason, this article is missing from Google search results. Since this article remains pretty relevant to those geopolitical events that are taking place on the geopolitical stage today, we deem it possible to present it to our readers once again. Should it go missing again, you may be confident that you will see it republished by NEO once more, should it still remain relevant by that time. Over the past few years, there has been a general breakdown in how reality is perceived. In fact, the term “reality” itself is under assault, everything from issues of controlled news, false flag terrorism, challenges to basic physical laws and even issues of “disclosure,” the tantalizing idea that a complex interstellar world exists. A very real part of what has happened is a calculated attack on traditions and institutions through psychological warfare, a subset of “game theory warfare,” itself a subset of “chaos theory.” Thus, we doubt or believe based on a flow of controlled information and orchestrated events. However, controlling information has proven risky business. Toward that end, what had always been a “lunatic fringe” of biblical prophecy, jingoism or agenda driven “revisionism” has now been supplanted with a virtual ocean of inanity that has crept into the public domain. When traced to its roots, too often one finds powerful organizations. During the last few days, Washington think tanks have released “rumors” citing president Obama as a Kenyan born homosexual, “Bathhouse Barry,” of radical Muslim roots who attempted to gain control of America’s nuclear arsenal in order to destroy Israel. These stories and dozens like them all trace down to sources close to the leadership of the “opposition party,” the bizarre confederation of right wing extremists, the Israel lobby and those aspects of the financial industry that can only be termed “organized crime.” Sadly, up to 30% of the American public believes, not just these missives but things far stranger. Among that 30% is the majority of the leadership of America’s armed forces, security services and police, groups that have descended the evolutionary ladder at a frightening pace. As American “humorist”, Jim W. Dean, so often says, “You just can make these things up.” What the public is left with is uncertainty, in some ways preferable to blind ignorance. Though the original intent, voice in television shows such as “X Files,” in the oft-repeated theme, “Believe No One,” is to destroy public confidence in institutions, this hasn’t worked out as planned. Perhaps that’s why they call it “chaos theory.” Long ago, science developed its own methods, “epistemology,” for discerning what is “likely.” Scientific modeling or experimental method have long sense become unreliable indicators as they are dependent on the “subjectivity” of observation and the vagaries of statistical analysis, the science of making 2 plus two equal three. The real basis of analysis since the latter half of the 20th century has been the philosophy that sneaks into films. In America, some organized crime groups that had “lost their roots” reinvented themselves based on the “Godfather” films of Francis Ford Coppola. One film, “The Usual Suspects,” has a line that has served me well. “The biggest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince people he didn’t exist.” Toward that end, the modern “mainstream media seems, when their “work product” is analyzed using methodologies developed for intelligence analysis, appears to be “tasked” in three ways: Covering the tracks of very real secret societies and conspiraciesProtecting a history that is almost entirely falseSpewing a continual narrative both unquestioned and unsupportableIn the process, we have created an incubator for the rise of mediocrity. President George W. Bush has evidenced this more than any individual in recent years. A simple trip to “YouTube” will give evidence of this. His glaring ignorance and endless lapses of decorum were far from simply anecdotal. Yes, he really thought “Africa” was a country. Is it true he couldn’t find Africa on a map? I have privately been assured that though this was the case when he took office in 2001, after visiting Africa he became aware. I would only know this as author of his briefing materials on his last visit. Touching on the issue of redress, the restoration of reality or “truth” has become a process well beyond “encyclopedic.” Approaching this task, television shows in the US, be they “The Secret History of World War II” or Oliver Stone’s “Untold History of the United States,” not only fall short of the task but exist more to close doors than open them. Such efforts, and they are many, perhaps endless, are “gatekeeper functions.” The question people enjoy and ask most often is this; “Is there a secret world out there.” The answer is “yes.” What then qualifies a source as genuine and how does one discern real information from the endless “blind alleys” that have been created to channel modern day adventurers and explorers into areas of harmless or perhaps “not so harmless” confusion? Our tools are observation, reason and analysis. Beyond that, we are faced with the traditional issues of faith, what do we believe, what do we trust? More and more intuition itself has to serve, where such a thing still exists. Toward that end, we can begin a walk down several paths in such areas a “what can be told” or “what can be reasonably surmised.” At the pinnacle, one is faced with unpleasant revelations, that the world is ruled by secret societies, all of which are rooted in beliefs that can be termed “supernatural” or “extraterrestrial.” What can be told is that these organizations are both centuries old “societies” and quasi-governmental organizations whose efforts periodically surface and, in doing so, give evidence of a reality that in startling ways resembles popular science fiction. What can be told is that this coincidental similarity is no an accident. What is safest is approaching what we know and can prove in the mundane world and how it diverges from popular mythology. For Americans, the Kennedy assassination was paramount, at least prior to 9/11. As the 50th anniversary of that even passed recently, many were disturbed at the media’s attempts to restore public confidence in the Warren Report. The popular film, JFK ended such beliefs forever. Even prior to its release, the “Oswald and the Magic Bullet” theory was an obvious sham. Yet, millions of Americans were sickened when the media again tried to “put the toothpaste back in the tube.” This is the official finding of the US government, issued in 1976 by the House Select Committee on Assassinations: Scientific acoustical evidence establishes a high probability that two gunmen fired at President John F. Kennedy. Other scientific evidence does not preclude the possibility of two gunmen firing at the President. Scientific evidence negates some specific conspiracy allegations.The committee believes, on the basis of the evidence available to it, that President John F. Kennedy was probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy. The committee is unable to identify the other gunman or the extent of the conspiracyFunny thing, nobody mentioned any of this, the public finding of the US government, when selling the “lone gunman” story to a new generation. Similarly, 9/11 has the exact same problem. The 9/11 Commission Report was rescinded by a majority of members who then asked for members of the Bush administration to be prosecuted for both perjury and withholding evidence. This is public record. Since that time, not only has hard evidence discovered a domestic conspiracy working in concert with foreign intelligence agencies at the heart of 9/11 but finding a reputable scientist that supports the conclusions of the original 9/11 Commission report is almost impossible. There is undeniable hard proof that the 7/7 attacks in Britain were also “false flag” attacks. There is undeniable hard proof that the invasion of not just Iraq but Afghanistan was planned long before 9/11, not just those nations but five others as well as stated by General Wesley Clark and confirmed by Gwyneth Todd and many others. Of recent terror attacks and mass killings, the following are known to be “false flag attacks,” orchestrated by intelligence agencies. By “known,” I mean exactly that, no doubt whatsoever. The DC sniper attacks and subsequent anthrax poisonings, the Breveik killings in Norway, Sandy Hook, the “Gabby Giffords” shootings, the Fort Hood shootings and the Boston Marathon bombings There are no “theories” involved, there is a mass of evidence and clear proof that the story given the public in each of these cases in outlandish and unreasonable. Were one to examine recent events involving Syria, the close alignment of Al Qaeda with groups within US intelligence and their Saudi and Israeli counterparts should “deconstruct” the entirety of the basis for America’s “War on Terror.” Why hasn’t it? Why does the media continue to claim that, though the Taliban ended almost all opium production in Afghanistan, the record heroin production, now over 90% of world supplies now produced there, is being flown around the world by that same organization that doesn’t possess a single aircraft? Can one see a coincidental relationship between heroin trafficking and production and CIA involvement in Afghanistan? Is there historical evidence that this is not the first time? Can we say “Golden Triangle” and “Cali Cartel?” There are areas more important to human development that simple proof that criminal elements have manipulated world events that have probably brought about the deaths of several million people. Let’s take a short look at science. To Einstein, the “holy grail” was solving unified field theory. Simply put, perhaps overly so, the relationship between gravity and magnetism and waves and particles never fit within his ideas of general relativity. Recent revelations that particles travel at above the speed of light, the result of super-collider experiments, has, in actuality, totally disproven Einstein’s original theories. There is a problem when dealing with science. As for history or “news,” it can generally be invented. In science, there are communities that share information, affirm publishings and follow events very carefully. Thus, when areas of research “go dark,” and capabilities are spoken of or even exhibited that are beyond accepted scientific advances, we are challenging something more serious than “public opinion.” Yet, exactly this has happened. Again, we enter an areas of “what can be told.” To those who work in engineering, certain scientific advances, particularly the jump from the development of the transistor to the development of the first integrated circuit is believed to be “non-linear.” This means, technologies that have no history of development have entered our daily lives. You can see where this goes, an area no one wants to travel. Remember “cold fusion?” Remember that it was a “fraud?” We were told that the first experiments were not able to be duplicated that that this “free energy” technology was a dead end? Ever hear of LENR? This stands for Low Energy Nuclear Reactions. The term actually means “cold fusion.” Billions are spent each year, by governments and private corporations, in the development of cold fusion projects. Units exist that could power automobiles, aircraft, even cities. A quick Google search will list the companies involved, the factories and laboratories, the investment opportunities and yet why is none of this reported? Would oil be worthless? Would conventional nuclear power, even wind and solar power, be worthless? Why are we being lied to, “in plain sight” as it were? The answer isn’t simple but there is an answer of sorts. The excuse given originates from the writings of Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus, who in 1798, espoused that “progress” would bring about limitless population growth that would end in disaster. So, we hide technologies. We have had the ability for decades to defeat gravity using technologies developed in Germany in the 1930s, rumored to have been given to them by extraterrestrials. The US built its first anti-gravity “ship” in 1953. I have seen it. It is old and ugly but works, sort of. Nanotechnologies developed in labs “impossibly” at “0 g” have produced semiconductors capable of creating fields that allow vehicle performance typically attributed to UFOs. One of the more common but less spoken of areas is weather modification. Energy weapons developed in “dark projects” are being used to modify weather in some areas of the world, particularly the oil rich states of the Persian Gulf. This is more “hidden in plain sight” use of non-existent technology. We have only touched on a few areas, they are endless. What we can prove is that events are not what they seem, science is not what it seems, this is clear. What is also clear is that anything we are told is suspect and not by accident. Mistrust in everything is engineered into our very being as a method of control, absolute control. Gordon Duff is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War that has worked on veterans and POW issues for decades and consulted with governments challenged by security issues. He’s a senior editor and chairman of the board of Veterans Today, especially for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook.”

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romancatholicreflections · 5 years

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29th November >> Daily Reflection/Commentary on Today’s Gospel Reading for Roman Catholics on Thursday, Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time (Luke 21:20-28).

Jesus continues his warnings of what is to come.

It is a blending of what is going to happen to Jerusalem and of the end of all things. The images are mainly biblical and apocalyptic, from Old Testament prophecies and not to be taken as an accurate description of what is actually going to happen some 40 years later. The sign that the end was near would be Jerusalem surrounded by armies accompanied by the “abomination that causes desolation” (cf. Matt 24:15). Nevertheless, it is true that Jerusalem was encircled by the armies of Rome. The safest place to be was not in the city, which was reduced to rubble, but in the surrounding hills.

Jesus is emphasising not so much the actual events but rather their cause – the faithlessness and corruption of so many for which destruction was the inescapable outcome. So he calls them the “days of retribution” or the “time of punishment”, not indicating God’s revenge but the natural result of evil and corruption, warnings of which the Scripture, especially the prophets, are full. See, for example, Isaiah 63:4; Jeremiah 5:29 and Hoseah 9:7. And especially Daniel 9:27: “For one week he [King Antiochus] will make a firm compact with the many [faithless Jews]. Half the week [three and a half years] he shall abolish sacrifice and oblation. On the temple wing shall be the horrible abomination until the ruin that is decreed is poured out upon the horror.” The temple was desecrated by Antiochus from 167 to 165 BC. The “horrible abomination” perhaps refers to an inscription placed on the portal of the temple dedicating it to the Olympian Zeus. All of this, of course, was to be repeated. And, in many ways, has been repeated again and again. One thinks of the nude statue set up as a deity in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris during the French Revolution.

What follows from verse 23 is more relevant to the destruction of Jerusalem. It will be a particularly difficult time for women who are pregnant or nursing. It will be a time of great distress.

Many will be cut down and others will be led away into captivity to pagan territories. (The Romans liked to parade their prisoners in a victory march in Rome.) The holy city itself, its Temple in ruins, will be trampled on by the Gentiles – a fate it still experiences.

This will happen “until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled”. For, as Paul indicates in his letter to the Romans (11:25-29), it is the Gentiles who have taken the place of the Jews as the bearers of the Good News and the builders of the Kingdom. But Paul believed that the age of the Gentiles would only end with the return of Israel and the reconciliation of all in Christ Jesus as Lord. It is an indefinite period and it is still in process. Our God is an all-inclusive God. And a patient God.

Finally, Jesus speaks of various cataclysmic and apocalyptic signs to signal the end of time. They are typical biblical phenomena and not meant to be taken as exact foretelling of events. They conclude with Daniel’s vision of the Son of Man riding on a cloud coming with great power and glory. It is not intended to fill people with fear and trembling, except perhaps those who have lived wicked lives.

But for the disciples, the loyal followers of Jesus, it is a time to “stand up straight and raise your heads, for your redeeming is near at hand”. As we saw in yesterday’s Gospel, sufferings and tribulations are part and parcel of living the Christian life to the full. Our message and our vision is a ‘sign of contradiction’, a beacon of light to many and to others a threat to be radically uprooted.

But for those who have tried to live by the vision and values of the Gospel, for those who have tried to seek and find Jesus in all the people and events of their lives, who have spent hours with him in intimate dialogue, it is the time of their final liberation, a time when there will be no more sorrows, no more tears, no more hardships, no more disappointments. Rather, they will be entering an unbroken time of love and intimacy, of freedom and peace, of joy and consolation.

So, as we approach the end of another liturgical year, we do so on an upbeat note.

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theutterer · 2 years

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Yeshua is risen cannot neglect the historical evidence, still relevant future and present tense, witnesses recorded this in text with biblical reference, fulfillment of prophecy written for all to see, not an odyssey and honestly it’s really hard to see this as fallacy

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pooma-bible · 3 years

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VOICE OF LOVE

LOVE FAILS NOT

1 Corinthians 13:8b (NIV)

LOVE NEVER FAILS. But where there are prophecies , they will cease; where there are tongues , they will be stilled; where there is knowledge , it will pass away.

The adverb "NEVER" in verse 8a of First Corinthians chapter thirteen means:

➖not at any time

➖at no time,

➖no way,

➖not not at all,

➖not ever,

➖not in any way,

➖not in the least,

➖not on your life,

➖not under any condition

Therefore given the implication of the adverb NEVER in relation to LOVE, it should be safely argued that LOVE will:

👉🏿not at any time fail.

👉🏿at no time fail.

👉🏿in no way fail.

👉🏿 not at all fail.

👉🏿not ever fail.

👉🏿not in any way fail.

👉🏿not in the least fail.

👉🏿not in your life fail.

👉🏿not under any condition fail.

LOVE cannot be defeated. Neither can it expire and let alone fail.

The assurance of never fails. Where relationships seemingly fail, LOVE has the power to revive and restore relations.

You cannot go wrong with LOVE. Things may change or go wrong but LOVE will not change nor go wrong.

I think at this juncture we may need to to revisit and revise our practice of LOVE in the light of Biblical revelation.

I am afraid that what the Bible talks about love may no be what we call LOVE.

A revised THEOLOGY of LOVE in the light of Scripture will help us to realign our practice of LOVE with the Biblical portrayal of LOVE as discussed above.

If LOVE could be understood and practised for what the Bible says it is, half of the problems we face in society could automatically vanish into thin air.

Romans 13:10 (NIV)

Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

How many of our neighbours could have been happy today if we had LOVE, The parable of the good Samaritan is a typical example of LOVE that NEVER FAILS .

THE SUPREMACY OF LOVE :

1️⃣ OVER PROPHECY

Prophecy predicts the future but has no power to change human nature. Prophecy is meant for a particular place and time after which it expires but LOVE continues across places or time and is relevant in all places at all times. There shall never be a time when LOVE will not be necessary throughout eternity. Prophecy expires with fulfilment and becomes irrelevant for future reference, but LOVE is relevant all the time.

2️⃣ OVER TONGUES

TONGUES are spoken as and when necessary but not all the time. LOVE is applicable in all seasons, be it in bad or in good season. TONGUES as verbal communication process can be resisted or refuted, but nothing can resist or refute LOVE.

3️⃣ OVER KNOWLEDGE

KNOWLEDGE is applicable in specific situations of human need and challenges but LOVE is applicable in all situations without limits. Even ignorant people can LOVE.

🌐🌐🌐🌐🌐🌐🌐🌐

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Lucifer Season 5 Episode 15 Review: Is This Really How It’s Going to End?!

https://ift.tt/3uzKmNY

This Lucifer review contains spoilers.

Lucifer Season 5 Episode 15

“He’s not trying to win an election; he’s trying to win a war.”

Lucifer does heartwarming and heart wrenching as well as any television series when the story requires it, but nothing adequately prepares us for the devastating news of Detective Daniel Espinoza’s death at the hands of mercenaries hired by Lucifer’s brother Michael. However, it’s the powerful, multi-layered narrative in the season’s penultimate episode that vaults “Is This Really How It’s Going To End?!” into rarified critical air leaving an impossibly high benchmark for others to aspire to. And, oh year, it appears the Book of Revelation may come true.

By its basic premise, the show’s writers turn the biblical story of the archangel Samael, aka Lucifer, on its head and weave an updated version that asks viewers to judge God’s most notorious angel through a different set of lenses. Now, as the show heads into its season finale, the stakes rise exponentially to a point at which it’s totally reasonable to broach the subject of an “end of days” apocalyptic scenario unfolding in present day Los Angeles. Chloe’s last case as a detective quickly takes a back seat to the news that Michael has orchestrated Dan’s death and now appears willing to do whatever it takes to replace his father.

Though many series seem to view episode titles as an afterthought with little care to meaning or relevance, such has never been the case with Lucifer. Nevertheless, “Is This Really How It’s Going To End?!” takes this responsibility to new heights, acknowledging the deeply rooted issues with which the characters struggle. Early on, Chloe wonders aloud what her role as God’s consultant will actually entail and whether she should pull Trixie out of school as a result, leading viewers to expect another episode rife with witty one-liners and Lucifer’s self-centered behavior. When the detective suggests walking away from police work, Lucifer and the audience understand the fragility of his campaign for the top job and silently worry Chloe may end up quitting the LAPD without a solid job offer waiting for her.

“I’m actually helping Lucifer take over the family business,” Chloe tells Ella who playfully punches Lucifer for taking her closest female friend away from her. Thinking the business is located down in the warm climate of Florida, Ella’s reaction simply adds to the playfulness of the scene, and we’re reminded that she’s still the only member of Team Lucifer that doesn’t know the truth. Is this really how Team Lucifer will fall apart? Wondering whether Miss Lopez will be able to forgive the others for being left out of the celestial loop appears to be the deepest concern at this point.

Lucifer Season 5 Episode 14 Review: Nothing Lasts Forever

By Dave Vitagliano

Lucifer Season 5 Episode 13 Review: A Little Harmless Stalking

By Dave Vitagliano

Ordinarily, the murder investigation merely serves as the vehicle through which the characters examine their issues and battle their personal demons, and while that’s true here to some extent, the insidious undertones of Michael’s plan to become God address the fundamental internal conflicts with which Lucifer continues to struggle. The Devil has “found God,” yet for all his desire to do the right thing in his pursuit of Chloe’s heart, he fails to understand the small human details which the detective puts clearly into focus for him. “If you don’t know by now how I feel about you, maybe you shouldn’t be God.” Is this how their relationship will end?

Given the dark turn the episode takes with Dan’s death, it’s easy to forget the solid comedic interchanges between Lucifer and his siblings as he lobbies for their support in the coming election. Miles Burris perfectly plays Jophiel as an empty-headed, party-monster bro, the antithesis of his sophisticated brother Lucifer. “Don’t see you as God material,” he tells Lucifer who gets off to a bad start in his quest to become God.

The later scene with his sister Saraqael (Ginifer King) not only gives Lucifer a chance to do what he does best but also sends a fairly powerful signal that something’s afoot here that has not yet made itself clear. She tells him point blank that he’s not getting her vote which leads him to channel his best John F. Kennedy – it’s “not what can the angels do for you, but what can you do for the angels.” The Devil does, after all, grant favors, and pulling out Top Chef’s Michael Voltaggio seems a low blow as Sara melts before our eyes. However, in a brief moment of clarity, she forces her brother’s hand when she asks him why he really wants to be God. Lucifer doesn’t provide a suitable answer, and it’s clear his campaign is rapidly falling apart. Is this how his push to become God will end?

In most cases personal breakthroughs lead the individual onto some sort of redemptive path, and when Lucifer confides to Zadkiel that he was wrong for leading the rebellion against their father, we’re momentarily thrown off balance. Is Lucifer being truthful? But as the Devil explains his journey, it’s immediately clear that he’s sincere when he tells his brother that he now has a better understanding of the difficulty of God’s job. He tries to seal the deal with the final swing vote he needs in the upcoming election by admitting the truth behind his desire to take his father’s place. “I am trying to be God so that I can finally be worthy of her.” Of course, Zadkiel knows exactly to whom Lucifer refers, and when he makes it clear that he’s doing this for love, it seems the balance may have finally shifted in Lucifer’s favor. It’s a wonderfully vulnerable view of the angel who used to run Hell.

Even though she’s got her own demons to slay, Mazikeen’s obsession with finding the perfect outfit for her role as Queen of Hell offers some telling insight into her true desires. Stepping comfortably into her role as therapist/friend, Linda tries to get the guilt ridden Maze to acknowledge the positive steps she’s taken during her time on Earth rather than obsess on her darker side. Yes, Maze can still rage with the best of them as we see in the scene with Lucifer and Michael’s mercenaries, but she’s either unable or unwilling to see the profound significance of the fact that she grew a soul against all odds. Is Maze incapable of accepting her dark side while at the same time acknowledging the good?

Whether these events mark the end of Chloe’s career as an LAPD detective, the end of her relationship with Lucifer, or the end of Lucifer’s crusade to become God, none of it prepares us for the fallout from Michael’s Machiavellian maneuvers. Now that he knows Heaven and Hell are indeed real, Dan struggles even more with his own mortality, and like Maze, he focuses on the bad things he’s done in his life rather than celebrate the overwhelming good for which he’s been responsible.

Dan’s execution at the hands of Michael’s hired killers sets into motion a series of events whose disparate situations force the actors into untouched arenas. Whether the hospital scene in which the doctor breaks the news to Lucifer, Chloe, and the gang, or the funeral at which Amenadiel speaks so eloquently about Dan and the man he was, it’s impossible to remain stoic in the face of so much emotional trauma. More importantly, it’s Amenadiel’s confession that he went to Heaven to see Dan only to learn he’s not there, that prompts Lucifer to reveal just how much he’s spiritually changed. Later, on the couch in Linda’s office, he finally makes his case for being God and finally understands he wanted to be God for all the wrong reasons. “There are no words to convince me that the system isn’t broken. The system is not only broken, it’s unjust.”

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

When the former King of Hell admits that pain should not exist, we have to wonder how Lucifer will approach the coming conflict with his siblings and whether the apocalyptic prophecies of the Book of Revelation are destined to come true in contemporary Los Angeles. Could Dan’s death be part of God’s plan after all, and is it possible that he may not be in Hell after all? Can a celestial war that seems likely to affect all of mankind somehow be averted? “Is This Really How It’s Going To End?!”

Lucifer season 5 is available to stream on Netflix now.

The post Lucifer Season 5 Episode 15 Review: Is This Really How It’s Going to End?! appeared first on Den of Geek.

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vincentcheungteam · 4 years

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Our passage is often used by preachers to denigrate the preaching of the word of God. This is done not only by the anti-intellectual types, but even those who are widely known as champions of biblical preaching, when it comes to this and similar passages, would suddenly exalt holy example above preaching. Some of them would even quote the irrational anti-Christian slogan, "Actions speak louder than words," when the fact is that actions never speak at all. Rather, actions must be explained by words, but it is never necessary for words to be accompanied by actions in order to demonstrate their meaning, truth, and coherence.

We should make clear what we mean here. We do not deny that Scripture commands us to believe and obey the word of God. It requires us to both preach it to others and demonstrate its message and power before them in our lives. It condemns as hypocrites those who preach but do not practice what they preach. Let us keep in mind that we affirm all of this in what follows.

Problems arise when we make our example more important than our preaching, or to make the effectiveness of the proclamation of the word of God dependent on its demonstration. It is common for Christian preachers and writers to insist that our lifestyle is the most eloquent sermon, the most powerful apologetic, or something to that effect. Some goes as far as to say that, ''No one will believe you if your life does not match your message."

However, the Bible teaches none of these false ideas. It affirms that a godly example is important, but it never says that it is more important or more effective than the verbal message, nor is the message impotent without our godly example. The Bible requires our godly example as a moral necessity, meaning that we are morally required to practice what we affirm and preach. But it never presents our godly example as an intellectual or practical necessity. In other words, it never says that our ministry to others will be totally ineffective if we were hypocrites, or if we fail to practice what we preach. Still less does it permit sinners to ignore the gospel just because it is delivered to them by hypocrites.

Let us examine several relevant passages. These do not exhaust the list of relevant passages, but after looking at them, it will become evident how the others have been distorted as well.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:27, "No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." He never says that his ministry would become ineffective if he fails to subdue his body, only that he himself would be "disqualified" before the Lord.

Related to this is the so-called "love chapter," which in fact mainly concerns the spiritual gifts. It says, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). He never says that the spiritual gifts would fail if believers exercise them without love, but he says that those who exercise the gifts without love would gain nothing. The person could still "fathom all mysteries and all knowledge," and the mountains are still moved.

Then, consider all the instances in Scripture where the people believed the gospel upon hearing it. They never had the chance to observe the lives of the disciples. How can anyone claim that the preaching is ineffective unless it is backed up by a godly life? No, Paul says that some people even preach Christ out of "selfish ambition" and to "stir up trouble for him" (Philippians 1:17). He does not say that the message would be ineffective, but he rejoices that Christ is being preached (v. 18). The gospel carries great power even if preached by a overtly wicked man. He shall reap fire and brimstone, but the Spirit can still use his words to convert multitudes without having a godly example to show them.

Jesus even tells his disciples to obey the message of the hypocrites: "The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach" (Matthew 23:2-3). Truth is truth. God condemns hypocrisy – we do not deny that. But just because the one who preaches it does not live up to it does not excuse the one who hears it from believing it and obeying it.

Many unbelievers and apostates claim that they have rejected or discarded the Christian faith because of all the hypocrites that they see. Those preachers who exalt godly example over verbal presentation provide the excuse to perpetuate this kind of thinking, but what they should do is to oppose it. The truth is that only stupid people never believe hypocrites. They fail to make the simple distinction between what people say and what people do. As a result of their irrational thinking, and perhaps also moral arrogance, they refuse to examine what a person says to determine whether it is true. Instead, they conclude that a person who does not live up to what he says must also be saying the wrong things. Jesus is not so foolish – he makes the distinction very clear and teaches his disciples to do the same.

If no one else believes the truth, you believe the truth! If no one else lives for the truth, you live for the truth! Have some spiritual spine and moral courage. Never use other people's failure as your excuse. The coward's way out is to say, "He is a hypocrite, so he is not credible and his message must be false. He does not practice what he preaches, so I will not, either. He is a hypocrite, therefore I will remain a consistent and thoroughgoing sinner."

This was one of the things that I wondered about when I was little. I marveled at how "Christian" hypocrites could cause others to stumble. Of course the hypocrites were wrong, and Scripture even states that they were wrong in causing others to stumble. I understood that. But I also thought that those who stumbled for this reason must have been incredibly stupid people, and that their faith was never genuine in the first place. The message is true even if there are hypocrites. In fact, our message itself tells you that there would be hypocrites. So how stupid can a person be, to stumble over hypocrites? Thus both the hypocrites and those who stumble over them are culpable. They have no excuse.

Therefore, rather than allowing all the blame to fall upon the Christians, even the hypocritical ones, we must expose the fact that unbelievers are stupid for reasoning the way they do. The sinner is never exempt from believing and obeying the gospel message, since in rejecting it he sins by defying God's word – the hypocrisy of those who claim to be Christians (whether these are real Christians or not) is logically irrelevant. The preaching of the gospel alone provides a sufficient basis for faith, and the hearer is responsible for accepting it. It is often effective as well – there are those who, having been regenerated by God, perceive that the gospel is true despite the evil behavior of some professing Christians, and who then come readily to repentance and faith in Christ.

On the other hand, we cannot say the same thing about a moral example alone, although many people falsely believe that one may win others to Christ without giving priority to a verbal message filled with relevant information. The common misconception that one may be a witness for Christ primarily through his holy lifestyle does not originate from a careful exegetical study of Scripture, but it reflects the infiltration of non-Christian philosophies in the church.

What about our passage, and verses 1 and 2 in particular? Does it not say that the husbands who "do not believe the word, may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives"? Yes, but won over to what? To Hinduism? To Mormonism? Eventually, the wives or others must preach the message to the husbands. This either comes at the beginning, to be reinforced and made attractive by the godly pattern of living that the wives then demonstrate, or it comes after their life of submission and reverence has gained the attention of the husbands. That these husbands are said to be those who "do not believe the word" probably presupposes that they have already heard it and rejected the initial attempt at converting them.

Since the word has already been preached to them, this means that the husbands are fully aware that the "purity and reverence" of their wives are exhibited as Christians. Unless the word of God is preached to them, it would be impossible for the husbands to associate the good behavior of their wives to the Christian faith. Peter is indeed saying that godly behavior may sometimes be instrumental in conversion, but he presupposes the necessity of a verbal message. The reverent conduct of the wives is only the means by which God may use to cause some of the elect husbands to reconsider and then accept "the word" that they must believe to be saved.

Whether the preaching of the gospel comes before or after, it is without doubt the key in conversion, and not the godly example. In fact, whether it comes before or after the godly example, the husband could still reject the message. A number of verses later, Peter will say, "They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you" (1 Peter 4:4). So godly behavior does not automatically convict and convert. Some people might just "think it strange." Without an explanation, people would not even know what it means, why a believer behaves as he does, or what has caused the change in him. On the other hand, a husband could believe the message in spite of her wife's ungodly or hypocritical life. So the principle is a command for the wife, and not an excuse for the husband.[42]

___ [42] For more on the subject, see Vincent Cheung, "By Word and Deed" in The Light of Our Minds.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Vincent Cheung. Commentary on First Peter (2006), p. 122-125.

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pcvkaplowitz-blog · 6 years

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Week 5: Rainy Day Meditations

I woke up this morning to the sound my sister and mom performing their morning ritual. Each day begins with the sound of a broom brushing against the tile floor. Sometimes, the rhythm is accentuated with a metallic rattle and scrape when the sweep encounters the pop caps, casually discarded in the corner of the kitchen. The sweeping is accompanied by gargle of water flowing from the tap as the family fills up huge buckets. Some of the water is used for the subsequent mopping and the rest for our daily water needs.

Halfway through the sweeping the sound was muted by the percussion of raindrops as they make impact with the roof, propelled downward from heavy clouds. Now, I can hear it coming down in sheets, waxing and waning at times but still satisfyingly consistent. The music of the rain is uninterrupted by pedestrians or the rattle of motors. The unanticipated precipitation provides the perfect excuse to stay home on a quiet Sunday morning.

Sitting on the front porch I watch water wash dust off the roofs and walls and sidewalks, which until today accumulated and baked in the sun without respite. Clean rivulets fall from the depressions in the corrugated roofs like crystal harp strings. The cords shatter when they hit the ground where the water darkens and turns into muddy rivers oozing down the sides of the streets, mixing with dirt and oil and trash.

The contradiction between the dusty heat and the rain give me pause. In the month I’ve lived here it’s never lasted for more than a few minutes. Although we usually have water in the sinks and toilet, everyday begins by filling the catchment containers to the brim in case the water is shut off.

This inconsistency reminds me of Cuba, where each house hosts its own homemade reservoirs. And South Africa where an abundant number of signs warned visitors about conscious water. Both Cuba and South Africa have suffered from extensive drought and I feel lucky to come from the Great Lake State where water scarcity is perceived more theoretically. Unless, of course, we are reminded by crisis like the one in Flint that mismanagement and abusive policy can pollute even the most apparently immune places.

Today marks the end of Passover and during my Seders I have meditated on the relevance of the Passover story in modern times. This year the fable seems more like prophecy. The abusive pharaoh is reflected in the U.S. by our megalomaniac president who ignores reason. The evidence of his cruelty is abundant: Joking about the suffering in Puerto Rico. Destroying immigrant families. Promoting xenophobia and hate. Withdrawing from climate accords. Shrinking national parks.

The plagues are apparent too, but they are the result of our actions. A global lack of confidence in the United States. Shootings and bombings from coast to coast. A political system exploited by corporations. Dying bees and oil spills. Shrinking glaciers hint at future flooding of biblical proportions. The doubt of the Egyptians can be understood, I too doubt god. The continued destruction of our planet and disregard for people by our current leaders in the face of science and reason has no explanation.

In the face of the seemingly insurmountable challenges in the world I am reminded of a poem I read in Cuba:

Hago desde

mi esquina

lo que puedo

un grano de arena

es tonelada de

algo bueno.

I do from / my corner / what I can / a grain of sand / is a ton of / something good.

And because I was taught you can never leave a quote unexplained… I think this speaks to me because my own insignificance looms. Living abroad, trying to integrate with a new culture, hoping to help make a positive impact in a new community makes me realize how profoundly big the world is. The issues I mention about above each have their own universe of people dedicated to helping. And how can I hope to change the world when I understand so little and have such a limited reach?

This poem reminds me that each of us create our own world. If I can help one person in the smallest way, that grain of sand may be a ton of something good. Thinking on a global scale is important but aspiring to influence things on a global level is narcissistic and depressing. It is more useful to focus on my current abilities, reach, and impact than get caught day dreaming. Rather than waiting on the world to change I aspire to change the world of those I interact with.

And now the rains have cleared. Thank you for humoring my existential refection and presumptuous prose. Here is a short update on the work front.

My co-teaching continues to improve with each practice and I’m more comfortable trying to explain concepts in Spanish now, although I certainly need to continue to improve. The youth group has decided on their business, and they’re trying to live out every child’s fantasy by making a living as chocolatiers. We’re slowly guiding them through the necessary steps, hopefully we will have a first batch done by Tuesday and then it’s on to a market study.

I had an insightful interview with a few members of the local Ministry of Education on Friday. I better understand how MINED is organized and how it operates on a local level. There are a number of ways to be involved outside of traditional classes, such as adult education and teacher peer to peer training programs. Peace Corps expects us to participate in the teacher peer training classes.

Peace Corps trainings sessions persist. I am grateful that I am already familiar with much of the content they present already but it does mean I get bored easily. Sometimes it feels like for every useful piece of information there’s a disproportionate amount of irrelevant activities and discussion. I’ve chalked this up as Peace Corps catering to the lowest common denominator. The varied background of volunteers makes it hard to assume any familiarity with the subjects we cover.

I met with a group of volunteers on Friday night for another Seder and it was awesome to get to talk with volunteers outside of the training environment. I am grateful to have began building a community outside of my training cohort and our conversations make me excited to be a full fledged volunteer. I’m also looking forward to practicum week where we shadow a volunteer in their site. The volunteer I’ll shadow works in San Lucas near the Somoto Canyon and I’m excited at the prospect of traveling into the mountains.

Outside of the work, I’ve met more people in the community including Armando who studied philosophy in college but loves talking about Nicaraguan slang as much as he does Hemingway. He also is super talented as a musician and I’m hoping to jam and continue building our friendship. Yesterday was the baptism of my host Brother’s baby Gabriel so I got to see my first baptism and attend in the big party that was thrown in celebration. Let me tell you the food was amazing. “Caballo ballo” is a typical Nicaraguan plate and I will be dreaming about it for days.

That’s all for now!

Andrew

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