The Christian children's cartoon 'VeggieTales' has been labeled as 'dangerous' and promoting racial stereotypes for making the villains colored by a group of students at a California college's 'Annual Whiteness Forum.'
For anyone who grew up watching "VeggieTales," have we've got good news for you!
The popular animated Christian show is coming back with 18 brand-new episodes, after it came to an end in 2004 with Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber's tagline: "Remember kids, God made you special and he loves you very much."
"The goal with the new series is to go back to the feel of the classic 'Veggies' since I was involved," said show creator Phil Vischer, who lost ownership in 2004.
The show will air on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) over the next three years in partnership with The Big Ideas Content Group and NBC Universal, according to CBN News. Vischer said it will be more like a variety show with different segments and story lengths. MORE
Joe Kovacs, a Bible-believing Christian, was just interviewed by the Good News magazine, and was asked by reporter Jerold Aust, “Who are the children of God? What makes them so, or is this simply in-house religious talk?”
Kovacs responded, “If you just look at the natural world around us, you realize that everything reproduces. They have children or offspring after their own kind. I mean, the children of giraffes are giraffes. The children of cats are cats. And what are the children of God? You know people have to come to that conclusion: we’re not here for no good reason. The Bible calls us “the OFFSPRING of God.” (Acts 17:29) It uses the word offspring.
“God is having offspring. And countless times, you will see the phrase ‘children of God’ or ‘sons of God’ in the Bible. In fact, in the famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.’ Paul says in Romans 8:14, ‘For as many are as led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.’ I show you many more verses in ‘The Divine Secret’ but over and over again, the Bible calls us ‘sons of God,’ ‘children of God.’ He (God) says ‘I will be your Father and you will be my sons and daughters,’ (2 Corinthians 6:18), so Jesus is not the only son of God. He’s the only begotten Son of God from the way He came into the Earth, but God wants all of us to be sons of God and children of God.” MORE>>>>>>>>>>
The part of Isaiah not usually read by Jews today. It is about the suffering Christ.
1 Who has believed our message? To whom has the LORD(Jesus)'s power been revealed?
The answer to this is Christians. JOHN 12:38 Romans 10:16
2 He grew up in his presence like a tender green shoot, sprouting from a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about His appearance, nothing to attract us to Him.
Jesus was ordinary looking! In fact, people could not pick him out in a crowd. Even though he taught everyday in the Temple, the High Priest needed Judas to point Jesus out to the soldiers! He was that ordinary looking!
3 He was despised and rejected. A man of sorrows, familiar with suffering. He was despised like one from whom people turn their faces, and we didn't consider Him to be worth anything.
Jews today, claim their Messiah would come as a king. This shows that he was to come like Jesus did! Adam his his face from Jesus, so did the Jews, so do many today! Matthew 27:30 Hebrews 4:15 John 1:10
4 He certainly has taken upon himself our suffering and carried our sorrows, but we thought that God(Elohim/Theos) had wounded Him, beat Him, and punished Him.
The Jews believed him to be a sinner, beat him and killed him. Matthew 8:17 1 Peter 2:24
literally, "But yet He hath taken (or borne) our sicknesses," that is, they who despised Him because of His human infirmities ought rather to have esteemed Him on account of them; for thereby "Himself took OUR infirmities" (bodily diseases). So Matthew 8:17quotes it. In the Hebrew for "borne," or took, there is probably the double notion, He took on Himself vicariously (so Isaiah 53:5Isaiah 53:6Isaiah 53:8Isaiah 53:12 ), and so He took away; His perfect humanity whereby He was bodily afflicted for us, and in all our afflictions ( Isaiah 63:9, Hebrews 4:15) was the ground on which He cured the sick; so that Matthew's quotation is not a mere accommodation. See Note 42 of ARCHBISHOP MAGEE, Atonement. The Hebrew there may mean to overwhelm with darkness; Messiah's time of darkness was temporary (Matthew 27:45), answering to the bruising of His heel; Satan's is to be eternal, answering to the bruising of his head (compare Isaiah 50:10). carried . . . sorrows--The notion of substitution strictly. "Carried," namely, as a burden. "Sorrows," that is, pains of the mind; as "griefs" refer to pains of the body ( Psalms 32:10, 38:17). Matthew 8:17might seem to oppose this: "And bare our sicknesses." But he uses "sicknesses" figuratively for sins, the cause of them. Christ took on Himself all man's "infirmities;" so as to remove them; the bodily by direct miracle, grounded on His participation in human infirmities; those of the soul by His vicarious suffering, which did away with the source of both. Sin and sickness are ethically connected as cause and effect ( Isaiah 33:24, Psalms 103:3, Matthew 9:2, John 5:14, 5:15). (Jamieson)
5 He was pierced for our lawlessness. He was crushed for our sins. He was punished so that we could have peace. He was whipped, and {by His wounds} we were healed!
He was killed because of sin. Sin is the breaking of the Law! Christ did not come to take away the Law, but to take away the punishment for breaking the Law. The Law is still in force and always be – we are freed from the PENALTY of sin. Romans 4:25 1 Peter 2:24
-a bodily wound; not mere mental sorrow; literally, "pierced" as I used here; minutely appropriate to Messiah, whose hands, feet, and side were pierced ( Psalms 22:16). The Margin, wrongly, from a Hebrew root, translates, "tormented."
6 We have all strayed like sheep. Each one of us has turned to go his own way, and the LORD(Jesus) has laid all our sins on Him.
We are all sinners (1 John). In fact, if we say we have no sin, we are liars and the truth is not in us! Why is there suffering today? This is the answer. We have all gone our own way, a way opposite of God's Way (HIS LAW). And death and sorrow is our reward! Christ came to pay off this debt-with His blood. In 2 Corinthians 5:21; He was not merely a sin offering (which would destroy the antithesis to "righteousness"), but "sin for us"; sin itself vicariously; the representative of the aggregate sin of all mankind; not sins in the plural, for the "sin" of the world is one ( Romans 5:16Romans 5:17); thus we are made not merely righteous, but righteousness, even "the righteousness of God." The innocent was punished as if guilty, that the guilty might be rewarded as if innocent. This verse could be said of no mere martyr.
7 He was abused and punished, yet He never said a word! He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. He was like a sheep that is silent when its wool is cut off.
He is our Passover lamb! John 19:9
8 He was arrested, taken away, and judged. Who would have thought that He would be removed from the world? He was killed because of my people's sins.
Matthew 27:11-25 removed from the world-- He is in Heaven
Acts 8:33; translate as the Septuagint: "In His humiliation His judgment (legal trial) was taken away"; the virtual sense of the Hebrew as rendered by LOWTH and sanctioned by the inspired writer of Acts; He was treated as one so mean that a fair trial was denied Him ( Matthew 26:5914:55-59). HORSLEY translates, "After condemnation and judgment He was accepted."
9 He was laid in a tomb like a criminal. He was put there with the rich when He died, although He had done nothing violent and had never spoken a lie.
Christ fulfilled this by dying (by crucifying Him with two thieves, Matthew 27:38) and being buried in a rich man's unused tomb; his uncle two rich men honored Him at His death, Joseph of Arimathæa. Christ never lied, only truth was in Him. The Devil is a liar and no truth is in him.
10Yet it pleased theLORD(Jesus) to punish Him with suffering.
When YOU{God the father} make His life a sacrifice for our wrongdoings, He will have a multitude of children, many heirs. The will of the LORD(Jesus) will succeed through Him.
They were voluntarily borne by Messiah, in order that thereby He might "do Jehovah's will" ( John 6:38 , Hebrews 10:7Hebrews 10:9), as to man's redemption; so at the end of the verse, "the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand."
The Margin rightly makes the prophet in the name of Yahweh Himself to speak in this verse.
11When He sees all that is accomplished by His anguish, He will be satisfied. And because of what He has experienced, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for He will bear all their sins.
Yahwehis still speaking according to Jamieson. my . . . servant--Messiah ( Isaiah 42:1, 52:13).
12 So I will give Him a share among the mighty, and He will divide the prize with the strong, because He poured out His life(soul-nephesh) in death and He was counted with the sinners. He carried the sins of many. He intercedes for those who are lawless {sinners}.
IN DEATH-- Jesus died, just as we do. His soul DIED! The word here in Hebrew is nephesh, translated “soul” by the KJV. The same word used in Genesis chapter 1 “and man became a living soul-nephesh. The best translation for nephesh is a living being- and when speaking of death, the best translation is dead being, or as I translated this here “his life in death.” If not for the power of the FATHER and the resurrection, Christ would still be in the grave awaiting the resuurection of the dead. We see later that ONLY Christ, thus far, has been “born again,” or resurrected from the dead. All of the rest of mankind are still in their graves sleeping! See 1 Corinthians 15.
Isaiah 53 plainly speaks of the suffering Messiah – and only Jesus Christ fulfilled this prophecy- HE IS OUR LORD and SAVIOR.
Columnist Michelle Malkin says the Catholic Church is upset with her over her latest book, Open Borders, Inc: Who’s Funding America’s Destruction?, despite church officials not having read it yet.
English: Single Life Expectancy table (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
By Bob Barney
One of the things that I try to do with The Plain Truth is educate our readers in the tenants of propaganda. We are surrounded by “lies, damn lies and statistics,” as Mark Twain once said, which those who try and control us twist these lies into “facts” in order to change our behavior, tax us, and ultimately control us. I proved this with the argument concerning smoking. We are lied to about the effects of smoking, not because smoking is really bad for us, but rather because our government and elite to control our behavior and TAX us!
So today’s topic is life expectancy. How often have we read or heard an “expert say,“Of course people didn’t live long … the average life expectancy was 40 years?” It’s a lie. A complete lie, a lie that again is propaganda used to control you.Go to a cemetery and look at the grave stones and you might be a bit surprised. Look at a list of our Presidents:
Geo Washington - 67
John Adams - 90
Thomas Jefferson - 83
James Madison - 85
James Monroe - 73
John Quincy Adams - 80
Andrew Jackson - 78
Are you a little shocked? The Plain Truth that is when experts use "average life expectancy" numbers, they are so low because they include the number of babies who die at or just after birth (infant mortality) and the number of children who die very early in their lives (before 5). Infant and early childhood mortality was much higher in earlier centuries and millennia for all races and ethnicities than today for all types of obvious reasons. Also, because of the miracles of modern TRAUMA CARE, accident victims live today when even 25 years ago, those patients would die! The only miracle in medicine really isn’t modern drugs, but rather modern trauma care! We see this in the Iraqi war. The deaths were 5X’s lower than VietNam, but injuries of those who may have died in Vietnam, but through modern trauma care survival rates reached 35,000 by 2010! So potentially, if this war was fought in 1865, 45,000 may have died young in this same war!
By averaging in a much higher infant and early childhood mortality rate, along with those who died in childbirth (much lower today) and war and accidents, we end up with a much lower 'average life expectancy.'
The truth is that if you lived to age 5 in Roman times, and were a man, you didn’t die in a battle somewhere, you probably would live to age 75! If a women, and didn’t die in childbirth, your average life was about 79! I know this isn’t what you have been told, but again, what you are often told is a LIE!
Here are some articles on the facts on life expectancy from other sources:
From the Plain Truth RED LETTER EDITION of the Bible, where all words of Jesus are in Red in both OLD and New Testaments!
Genesis 1 which is translated: "In the beginning of"
1 In the beginning God (Elohim/Theos- The family of God) who is Jesus ( אֵת ('eth))* created the heavens and the earth.
Elohim: A generic name for God, can be used even for pagan gods. The word is uniplural. This means it is a group word like our word for "America." America is one nation, but name implies more than one individual. The Greek word for the same Hebrew world Elohim is Theos. Theos = Elohim. So the Old Testament in Greek uses the word Theos when speaking of the general word for God or Elohim. Whenever the word "God" is used, we put in ( ) (Elohim/Theos) or often we use (Elohim-The family of God), because that is really the true meaning of the word. There are many names for God in the Old Testament, that in English is rendered God, yet in the original comes from a multitude of other names. LORD comes from the Hebrew Yahweh or Jehovah***See note above. The Bible teaches that God is comprised of the Father and The Son (John 1:1; John 10:30; John 17:11; John 17:22; Rom 1:7; 1Cr 1:3; 1Cr 8:6, 2Cr 1:2; Gal 1:1; Eph 1:2; 1Th 3:11; 2Th 1:1; 2Th 1:2; 1Ti 1:2; 1Pe 1:2-3; 2Jo 1:3; Jud 1:1;). The doctrine of the TRINITY comes from pagan sources and is not taught in scripture.
In the beginning--a period of remote and unknown antiquity, hid in the depths of eternal ages; and so the phrase is used in Proverbs 8:22Proverbs 8:23 as well as John 1.
2 And the earth became a wasteland and void of life; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God (Elohim/Theos) hovered over the face of the waters.
"was" is translated became as all translations do for the same word in Genesis 19:26. Also, we know from Isa 45:18 that God does not create in vain, or in a formless and void context. God creates everything perfectly, hence we know the correct word is became! It should also be noted that this verse does not imply that the earth and universe were formed 6,000 years ago. It says that the earth was REFORMED recently in time (probably about 6,000 years ago). The earth may be millions if not billions of years old. God is Eternal, so there is no reason to suggest that the universe is new.
3 And God (Elohim/Theos) said, Let there be light: and there was light.
That "light" is not the sun! It is God appearing! God is light, wherever God is, there is light. (Rev 22:5). Also, unlike every other pagan religion, the one true GOD does not have to manually do something to create. He doesn't have to have sex to reproduce or anything physical. God merely speaks and it happens! Hence, God's word is the manifestation of their power! Side note, Jesus is the WORD of GOD....
4 And Jesus ( אֵת ('eth))*who is from God (Elohim-The family of God) saw the light, that it was good: and God (Elohim-The family of God) divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God (Elohim-The family of God) called the light Daytime, and the darkness was called Nighttime. And there was nighttime and then came morning, the end of the first day.
6 And God (Elohim-The family of God)said, Let there a be a sky in the middle of the waters, and let the sky divide the waters above the sky from the waters on earth.
7 And God (Elohim-The family of God) made the sky and the heavens, and divided the waters which were under the sky on earth from the waters which were above the sky: and it was so.
The water that was above the sky would be the same water to rain down on earth during the flood (Gen 7:11)
8 And God (Elohim-The family of God) called the sky Heaven. And there was nighttime and then morning, when the second day ended.
The Bible talks of three heavens: 1) The atmosphere around the earth 2) The universe where the stars are and 3) the place (unseen) where God lives presently.
9 And God (Elohim-The family of God) said, Now, let the waters under the heavens on earth be gathered together in one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
10 And God (Elohim/Theos) called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called He called 'Seas': and God (Elohim-The family of God) saw that it was good.
11 And God (Elohim-The family of God) said, Let grass grow from the earth, with herbs yielding seed, and fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind, Every seed will produce seeds after their own kind of plant: and it was so.
"After their kind" kind = species. This is important. This is a scientific fact that also shows the great error of evolution! Each species of living things can only reproduce after their own kind! Also see note for Gen 1:26 concerning man.
12 And the earth brought forth grass, vegetation yielding seeds after their kind, and trees with seeds, each according to its own kind: and God (Elohim/Theos) saw that it was good.
13 And there there was nighttime and then morning, the end of the third day.
14 And God (Elohim-The family of God) said, Let there be lights in space, also called the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years:
15 and let them be for lights in the sky of heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God (Elohim-The family of God) made the two great lights; the greater light to rule the daytime (the sun), and the lesser light to rule the night (the moon). He made the stars also.
Although the sun and moon were created on day four, the statement about the stars do not necessarily imply that the stars were made on day four! It would be like us saying that on the 4th of July 1776, Ben Franklin signed the Declaration of Independent and Franklin also invented bifocals. Although the words may infer Franklin invented the glasses on the 4th of July, he didn't. The words are placed there as added information about Ben! The same goes for the stars. God created the sun and moon on the fourth day, and he also created all the stars too. It doesn't say when!
17 And God (Elohim-The family of God) set them in heaven (or the universe) above to give light to the the earth,
18 and to rule over the day and the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was all good.
19 And there there was nighttime and then morning, and day four ended.
20 And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open space of heaven (the air-sky).
21 And God created the large sea creatures, every type of creature that swims around in the water and every type of flying bird. God saw that they were good.
22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.
23 And there there was nighttime and then morning, the end of the fifth day.
24 And God (Elohim-The family of God) said, Let the earth bring forth living animals after their kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their own kind: and it was so.
"animals" or creatures is the same word that the KJV translates "soul" only when referring to the creation of man. The word should never be translated soul, but creature or animal.
25 And God (Elohim-The family of God) made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground after its kind: and God (Elohim/Theos) saw that it was good.
"After their kind" This is important. This is a scientific fact that also shows the great error of evolution! Each species of living things can only reproduce after their own kind! Also see note for Gen 1:26 concerning man.
26 And God (Elohim-The family of God) said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on earth.
"In our image!" God is the English translation of Elohim, meaning more than one God! This is why this verse is translated, "Let us" and not "Let me." The "US" refers to Jesus Christ (the WORD of God) and The FATHER. Even Jewish translation of this verse render it "Let us!" They claim the "Us" are other angels, a claim that cannot stand scrutiny. (Psalm 110:1-2)
27 And God (Elohim-The family of God) created man in His own image, in the image of God (Elohim/Theos) He created man; a male and a female.
Unlike the animals who are created in their own image, mankind is created in God's image, after the God-kind. We are made like the animals, composed of the same matter as an animal, but we look and think and reason like God! We are created to become God! (Psa 82:6)
28 And God (Elohim-The family of God) blessed them: and God (Elohim/Theos) said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.
The first commandment given to man was to have SEX! Yes, God is the author of SEX and sex is a gift from God. It is when a man and woman come together in sex are they ONE, as Jesus and the Father are one! The sex act is the physical symbol of our oneness with God. This is why God likens worshipping other gods as adultery! When we follow paganism, we are committing adultery against God! Sex is not the original sin, or dirty in any way, when we follow God's command on righteous, moral heavenly sex!
29 And God said, Behold, I have given you plants that have grain for seeds and trees whose fruits have seeds in them. They will be your food.
30and to every animal on earth, and to every bird in heaven, and to every living thing that creeps on the ground, I have given every green herb for food: and it was so.
31 And God (Elohim/Theos) saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there there was nighttime and then morning, the sixth day.
The sixth day ended at dawn, however like today, the actual work ended at evening time when we go to sleep. This is probably where the idea that the Sabbath began on Friday evening. It does not, even though for most our work ends then.
Amidst the bleak news from a poll that found only 24 percent of 18 to 29-year olds are “extremely proud to be an American” comes a literary ray of hope from the heartland.
Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. 10 May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today the food we need, 12 and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. 13 And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.
This is the second installment on an article I wrote about the misconception that many have about forgiving others. It seems that most think that Christ told us to forgive what evil things people do to OTHER PEOPLE. He did not. Check the Lord's Prayer (above again) and notice that big "US" in it. He did not say others! Jesus did not say, "as we have forgiven those who sin against them, or him, or her. We are to forgive those who sin against us!
Former First Lady and family matriarch Barbara Bush was once described as 'a silver-haired pearl draped howitzer'. But a combination of blows in her life in the mid-seventies sent her spiraling into a depression that almost led to her taking her own life. Among the causes of her despair was a woman who would stay by her husband George's side for more than 12 years. Her name was Jennifer Fitzgerald (circled in main, sitting beside George and in front of Barbara in 1975) and she was his aide – and according to some, his mistress, reveals Susan Page, author of The Matriarch: Barbara Bush and the Making of an American Dynasty out next Tuesday. When George was assigned to head the embattled CIA in 1975, Barbara 'fell into darkness'. 'Barbara Bush found herself falling into the worst personal crisis she had faced since daughter Robin had died more than two decades earlier,' writes Page. 'Overwhelmed by pain and loneliness, she contemplated suicide. She would pull over to the side of the road until the impulse to plow into a tree or drive into the path of an oncoming car had passed'. Barbara is pictured with George in 1987, bottom left, and in 1978, top right.
Remember after 9/11, when Billy Graham's people decided the word "crusade" was too inflammatory? I don't remember the more benign term used for a time after that, but the thinking was, "crusade" might be offensive to Muslims.
That kind of thinking emboldens radical Islam. The imagery of the Crusades – in which large numbers of people in the Middle East swam in their own blood during the gruesome confrontations over Jerusalem – is often used by Muslims, who excel in propaganda. By the way – and this isn't meant as an afterthought – the Jews might have some unpleasant memories of the Crusades, as well.
Rodney Stark, though, in "God's Battalions," makes an argument he should be applauded for: The Crusaders were not expansionist and bullying; rather they were a reaction to Muslim hostilities. The idea that the Crusades were launched in reaction to Muslim aggressiveness is a story too long suppressed, and finally, we have a concise record of what really happened.
This is an engaging book, well-researched and expertly written. Stark represents the best of what happens when a gifted historian combines superb writing skill. One wonders if this book could be the basis of a documentary.
It is perhaps a surprise that what some would consider a conservative view is being published by HarperOne, but then again, all publishers realize today that with the economy the way it is, cash is a powerful lure; a strong book – which "God's Battalions" I is – can be comforting and profitable.
Politically correct history courses tell us that almost a thousand years ago, the Muslim world was a tolerant, advanced civilization in the Arabian desert. Think David Lean and Peter O'Toole as history professors.
Stark, though, paints a different picture, and the social scientist from Baylor makes a compelling case that is was the age-old aggressiveness of the Ishmaelites that brought Christian warriors to Jerusalem.
Stark begins by quite vividly painting a picture of Pope Urban II's speech in 1095, in a French meadow, in which he read from a desperate letter sent by the emperor of Byzantium, who was rightly concerned about the war-like Seljuk Turks – an army within 100 miles of Constantinople. Among other things, the torturing of Christians was becoming a battle tactic of the Muslims. I think this would sound familiar, right now, to Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem.
From there, Stark presents an engrossing tale of the myths and facts of the Crusades. For example, he says clearly that despite what some other historians have said, the Crusader armies were not made up of "the dregs of society" due to terrible economic conditions. Actually, says Stark, there was a period of economic growth in Europe during this time, and not only nobility funded the military excursions, but so did commoners.
Stark also addresses, in skillful fashion, the nuance of this sweeping story. Describing the brutality of a small contingent of Crusaders – "German knights" – who were bent on murdering Jews they found along the way, the bishop of Speyer sheltered that town's Jews (all but 12, who failed to heed warnings and were butchered), illustrating that down through history, while Christendom has a stained record with the Jews, many Christians have come to the aid of the Jews.
It is the encounters that the Crusaders had with Muslims hordes, however, that are most epic (a side-note for the immature reader: Several of the leaders of the Crusades had names that sounded like something straight out of Saturday Night Live: Walter the Penniless, Emicho of Leisingen and so forth).
Recounting an engagement near Tiberias between Crusader forces and the infamous Saladin, Stark adds rich texture to "God's Battalions":
"Then, as the sun rose and with the wind at their backs, Saladin's forces set fire to large collections of brush, and the smoke made it difficult for the Christians to keep track of their units," Stark writes. Carnage then ensued, and, "All of the Templars and Hospitallers taken captive were beheaded; the other captives were enslaved."
Stark does such a good job of fleshing out historical detail, it's difficult to name a favorite portion of the book. However, he shows us that truly, history repeats itself endlessly. In Chapter 10 ("Crusaders Against Egypt"), he shows the reader how critical this ancient land was to stability in the Middle East – just as we are learning in painful ways today.
"God's Battalions" is a wonderful historical record, and readers and historians alike should read it with the gusto it deserves, for the lessons contained in it are instructive for our time. Congratulations to Rodney Stark for harnessing history in such spectacular fashion.
Jim Fletcher has worked in the book publishing industry for 15 years, and is now director of the apologetics group Prophecy Matters. His new book, "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" has just been released by Strang’s Christian Life imprint.
What do you think the Bible says is your ultimate destiny? And what will you be doing for all eternity? Is it merely floating around on clouds, playing songs on harps forevermore? The true answers may absolutely floor you.
"When people actually crack open the pages of their own Bible and see the words on its pages, the ultimate destiny for believers is far more glorious than what most people have been told for centuries," says Joe Kovacs, author of the #1 best-seller, "Shocked by the Bible: The Most Astonishing Facts You've Never Been Told."
Many Christians already understand that part of their reward is eternal life, and yes, Scripture indeed confirms that numerous times. But the Bible goes far beyond just saying believers will be alive forever.
The specifics are revealed in "Shocked by the Bible," a timeless must-read for those looking for the absolute truth of the Bible. Not only does it clearly explain the ultimate destiny for mankind, the book is a giant news report that informs people on what is actually in the Bible, and what is not.
With that in mind, how well do you really know your own Bible? For instance, guess how many doves were aboard Noah's Ark. The answer is not two.
And guess on which day the Bible says Jesus died. Believe it or not, the Good Book doesn't mention Friday, and even more surprisingly, while the Bible says Jesus rose from the grave, it does not say it occurred Sunday morning. Remember, Jesus' followers found an empty tomb then.
But don't feel bad if you've always assumed otherwise. Like countless millions of people, you've just been misinformed, misled or even (dare we say) lied to about what the Bible actually says.
In his stunning investigation, news veteran Joe Kovacs goes on a mission to help both Christians and non-Christians alike find out the amazing truth.
"Shocked by the Bible" is an educational juggernaut that relies solely on the Holy Bible to reveal hundreds of Scriptural facts that many people of all persuasions simply don't know. The book instantly skyrocketed to the #1 position in three Bible-related categories on Amazon.com, and demand from Christians worldwide has led to its translation into Russian and Korean.
"I'm among the biggest fans of the Bible of all time," says Kovacs. "My goal is to educate people about the solid truth of Scripture and to stop the spread of erroneous information. I want people to crack open their Bibles and see with their own eyes what's actually printed on the pages, and what's not. It's shocking!"
According to Scripture, you won't find "Three Wise Men" mentioned anywhere in the story of Jesus' birth. For that matter, no wise men are said to have shown up at the manger in Bethlehem. The truth straight from your own Bible is that an unspecified number of wise men first met Jesus as a "young child" in a "house," not a babe in a manger, and it might have been more than a year after He was born. Go ahead, look it up for yourself.
Also according to Scripture, you won't find a single mention of Easter eggs, but you will find God warning His people not to have anything to do with a pagan fertility goddess, whose name is synonymous with "Easter."
"Yes, I'm a Bible-believing worshiper of Jesus Christ," says Kovacs. "But I'm not here to convert anyone. People are free to believe whatever they wish and can come to their own conclusions. I just want to show them the biblical record is often very different from what many assume. Not only will Christians love this book, but I think Jews, Muslims and even agnostics and atheists will get a kick out of it as well."
When the veil of presumption is removed and people see the words that are actually on the Bible's pages, readers will discover:
Jesus said no one has gone to heaven except Himself
Noah's Ark is not said to have rested on "Mount Ararat"
Your personal destiny is far greater and more glorious than floating around on clouds in heaven
"Christmas" is not mentioned in the Bible
The practice of decorating a tree with silver and gold is actually condemned by God
"Easter" has vanished from the Bible
Jesus made appearances on earth in the Old Testament
God sought to kill Moses moments after he told him to lead the Israelites to freedom
God ran lotteries
Jesus did not come to make everyone understand His message
Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were not Jews
Nagging wives are mentioned in Scripture
Women's breasts are celebrated in the Bible
There's a character in the Bible called a "dumb ass"
Underwear didn't disintegrate despite 40 years of heavy use
The worst case of hemorrhoids in history is recorded
Book reviewers agree it's an eye-opening blockbuster:
"If you think you really know the Bible, better think again. Joe Kovacs takes a close look at the greatest story ever told and separates myth from reality. My favorite parts of the book deal with Christmas and Easter. Check out 'Shocked by the Bible.' You may well be shocked."
- Bill O'Reilly
"I'm drawn to this book. It is so well put together. I started reading it and didn't put it down for two days to finish it. ... This guy is incredible."
– Peter Boyles, KHOW radio host, Denver
"Kovacs has done his homework. In 'Shocked by the Bible,' he explodes certain common concepts, brings shocking stories and revelations to light and gives the reader motivation to dig deeper into the very Word of God. A valuable resource for today's jaded but biblically illiterate audience."
- Carolyn R. Scheidies, Author's Choice Reviews
"Since the professing church is unwilling to look intently at the Scriptures, embrace it all in context, [God] is using a believing investigative journalist to apply his gift and experience to be a witness to the Truth of what He said and established in His Word. Joe Kovacs is that man. ... I recommend 'Shocked by The Bible' by Joe Kovacs because of his journalistic approach to the Bible. He is not trying to proselytize anyone to his particular brand of religion. His agenda appears to not go beyond just a journalistic look at Scripture in order to get straight facts into peoples' hands that they might make an informed decision."
Our hertitage at The Plain Truth goes all the way to Ben Franklin! Honest!
Plain Truth
Nearly all of Franklin’s printing and writing was undertaken for profit, but in the two months before his retirement in 1748, he devoted his press to a political cause: pressuring the Quaker-dominated Assembly to establish a militia for defense against marauding attacks by the French. Franklin employed all the skills he had learned as a writer and printer to promote self-defense, including broadsides, blank forms, lottery tickets, and pamphlets. He thus initiated a media campaign that brought together speech (meetings and sermons), printing, and manuscript (the signing of forms, petitions, and lottery tickets, as well as the writing of speeches and pamphlets.
The laboured and long-continued Endeavours [to make] Provisions for the Security of the Province having proved abortive, I determined to try what might be done by a voluntary Association of the People. To promote this I first wrote and published a Pamphlet, entitled, PLAIN TRUTH, in which I stated our defenseless Situation in strong Lights, with the Necessity of Union and Discipline for our Defense, and promis’d to propose in a few Days an Association to be generally signed for that purpose. The Pamphlet had a sudden and surprising Effect. I was call’d upon for the Instrument of Association. And having settled the Draft of it with a few Friends, I appointed a Meeting of the Citizens in the large Building before-mentioned.
The House was pretty full. I had prepared a Number of printed Copies, and provided Pens and Ink dispers’d all over the Room. I harangu’d them a little on the Subject, read the Paper and explain’d it, and then distributed the Copies which were eagerly signed, not the least Objection being made.
The list of President Trump's enemies is long and all-encompassing: from Russian dossier author Christopher Steele to FBI cutthroat Peter Strzok to ambitious Senator Cory Booker - and the authors of the latest bombshell book about the president lay bare the lengths those who revile him have gone to undermine and destroy the president. In Trump's Enemies: How the Deep State Is Undermining the Presidency , authors Corey Lewandowski, Trump's campaign manager, and Dave Bossie, deputy campaign manager and part of the transition team, detail the 'profound arrogance of power-hungry reptiles who think that they're more important than the votes of more than 60 million people'. And 'to stop Trump from winning the election over Hillary,' they write, 'Clinton, the FBI and DOJ - which were run by Trump-hating FBI agents - ran an operation from New York City to London to Moscow, hoping to catch members of the Trump campaign in some kind of 'collusion' with the Russians'.
A little-known Ernest Hemingway story written back in 1956 about wartime Paris has just been published for the first time.
The themes and trappings of 'A Room on the Garden Side' are familiar for a Hemingway narrative: Paris, wartime, talk of books and wine and the scars of battle.
But the story itself has remained virtually unknown beyond the scholarly community for decades.
The brief, World War II-era fiction appears this week in the summer edition of The Strand Magazine, a literary quarterly that has released obscure works by Raymond Chandler, John Steinbeck and others.
'Hemingway's deep love for his favorite city as it is just emerging from Nazi occupation is on full display, as are the hallmarks of his prose,' Strand Managing Editor Andrew F. Gulli wrote in an editorial note.
Ernest Hemingway's story 'A Room on the Garden Side', which he wrote back in 1956 about wartime Paris, has just been published for the first time. He is pictured above in 1950
Kirk Curnutt, a board member of The Hemingway Society, contributed an afterword for the Strand, saying that 'the story contains all the trademark elements readers love in Hemingway.' MORE
Stevie Nicks may be recognized as one of the most iconic female singers in rock ‘n’ roll, but a new book focusing on the Fleetwood Mac vocalist is attempting to demystify the star. Stephen Davis, who recently published an unauthorized tell-all titled “Gold Dust Woman,” previously collaborated with Mick Fleetwood on his 1990 memoir titled “Fleetwood."
Davis tracked down numerous sources who worked with both the band and Nicks herself. All requested anonymity for baring all and some still work for her. Davis told Fox News one of the most surprising discoveries he uncovered was Nicks’ sheltered childhood before she skyrocketed to fame.
Stevie and her mother Barbara at the 1998 Grammy Awards. (Ron Galella)
“Her father was a business executive and they moved all over the Southwest and West Coast when she was growing up,” he explained. “So she would change schools every 2-3 years. And her mother kept her at home.
"She took a lot of classes like ballet, tap dancing and acting, but mostly she stayed home and learned to play guitar, spent a lot of time in her room and wrote her first song when she was 16. And then she really didn’t have a steady boyfriend until she met Lindsey Buckingham at 19… So she had a much more sheltered childhood than most rockers seemed to have.”
When she left the family home, the Phoenix-born aspiring artist waited tables and cleaned people’s homes in Los Angeles for about five years. She reportedly showed up to audition for Fleetwood Mac wearing a waitress outfit.
Nicks failed to impress the group — at first.
“The band didn’t even really want to hire her,” claimed Davis. “Fleetwood Mac had been around for almost 10 years at that point. Their guitar player had to quit so Mick Fleetwood heard Lindsey Buckingham, who was Stevie’s boyfriend, playing the guitar, and tried to hire him to be the new guitarist for Fleetwood Mac.
NOW IN PRINT PART 1 of a 4 Volume Series, The Entire Bible in the order it is supposed to be read.. The First three volumes (The Old Testament) in the order JESUS READ! All His words in RED(including what Jesus spoke as Yahweh in the Old Testament! NO BIBLE IS LIKE THIS--- with full commentaries.
The most unique Bible you have ever read. First, the Old Testament is divided into the correct order as Jesus read (yes modern Bibles are not arranged in the right order, or have the correct amount of books). Next, this Bible has every word of God in RED in both the Old Testament and New! The author's own translation trying to marry easier to understand English with the style of the King James. This Bible has revolutionary translation of many words mistranslated in the King James and later English Bibles. If you want to discover WHO God is, what is God, and what you were created for, this Bible will open your minds to the most beautiful story never told.
The Holy Bible - In Its Original Order - God's Words in RED: Part 1 The Law (The Plain Truth's red Letter Bible)Paperback– April 5, 2018
Peter's Bones are not in Rome. Peter NEVER went to Rome!
It’s arguably one of the most significant discoveries in the history of the world, accomplished by an improbable collection of characters through a complex series of improbable developments.
Yet few are aware of the find – for reasons that become evident as the saga is told – and even fewer know the whole story and the threads the players wove into the events of World War II and their influence on its outcome.
John O’Neill
The discovery was the bones of the Apostle Peter, a scientifically verified find that was authenticated only recently under the leadership of Popes Benedict and Francis. The search also uncovered startling new evidence – hidden for nearly two millennia – of a thriving Christian community rooted in belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ at a time of intense Roman persecution.
The storyteller, in the newly released book “The Fisherman’s Tomb,” is perhaps as improbable as the story. Yet, like the characters, perfectly positioned.
John O’Neill is known as the face of the Vietnam swift boat veterans who many believe prevented John Kerry from being elected president of the United States in 2004. (O’Neill and the more than 200 veterans who came forward still stand by their story despite the establishment media’s boilerplate dismissal of “discredited claims.”)
O’Neill, a retired Houston lawyer, was co-author of the New York Times bestseller that rocked the 2004 election, “Unfit for Command,” the bible of the campaign of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and “The Fisherman’s Tomb,” is his first book since then.
This time, amid a cynical culture that disregards the claims of Christianity as myth, he endeavors to set the record straight and tell for the first time the whole truth about the 75-year search for Peter.
A skeptic himself by nature, O’Neill makes the case in a well-written, engaging, novelistic fashion, undergirded by his lawyerly reliance on reason and verifiable evidence.
It’s the story of a risky, top-secret endeavor launched in 1942 that never could have been accomplished without the help of a humble, enormously wealthy and generous Texas oilman whose lifelong insistence on anonymity and his belief that he was a partner with God in his vocation made him a perfect accomplice.
It was O’Neill’s friendship with the son and other descendants of the late oilman, George W. Strake Sr., his familiarity with oil exploration as a senior partner for a large international law firm in Houston, personal interest in archaeology, lifetime of researching complex global matters and faith in God that compelled him to write the book.
“Sometimes a story finds an author rather than the reverse,” writes O’Neill in the foreword, noting he had resolved not to write again after “Unfit for Command,” despite many offers.
“It’s a shocking combination of all kinds of serendipitous circumstances, and it’s hard not to attribute it to anything but God wanting the story out,” said O’Neill in an interview with WND.
Even more against all odds is the story itself.
George W. Strake
It took Strake becoming immensely wealthy through the unlikely discovery of the country’s third largest oil field during the Great Depression in an area near Houston every other “wildcatter” had given up on, O’Neill noted. It required the uncovering of clues through the digging of a grave for a deceased pope, the courageous vision of his papal successor to pursue it – the gamble of disproving church tradition or providing earth-shattering, faith-building evidence – and a workman falling through a floor into an unknown, wondrous underground realm of color-rich Roman antiquities. And it couldn’t have been done without a brilliant, uniquely equipped, female pioneer archaeologist who entered the project as a devoted scientist with no religious faith and finished it as a believer.
The archeologist, Margherita Guarducci, was a genius, O’Neill said, and “probably the only person who could have decoded everything to find Peter.”
According to church tradition, Peter, one of the three disciples closest to Jesus, was executed in Rome and chose to be crucified upside down, because he thought himself unworthy to suffer precisely as Jesus did. But until Guarducci’s find, there was scant evidence the great apostle had even been in Rome.
The discovered bones, at a site predicted by church tradition but dismissed by naysayers, were of a robust 65-year-old man who bore the marks of violent crucifixion.
Guarducci homed in on the site after deciphering coded inscriptions that declared: “Peter is here.”
A worthwhile book to read by Michael H. Exton(Author).. Mr Exton has written for The Plain Truth and shares many of the same views as ours. We recommend the book, it's only $10.00 on Amazon....
Imagine a world where people actually focus on doing the right things to create a healthy immune system, rather than doing the wrong things and expecting medications to save us. This book shows how to do those right things, and in the process, create a sickness-free, disease-free, strong, energetic, healthy body! ORDER YOUR COPY HERE
The Plain Truth IS NOT Affiliated with WND - WE NEVER SELL ANYTHING from ourselves, not accept any advertising whatsoever! However, when we do see something we think worth buying, we pass it along!
Etched in Stone is a quick, easy guide to archeological proofs to bolster one’s faith and encourage believers of all ages.
Christians are under attack like never before. “The Bible is just a fairytale.” “There is no physical evidence to support for any of it!” This is the kind of fire today’s Christians come under all the time.
Where is the physical proof? Isn’t there anything out there that objectively corroborates the stories of the Bible? Christianity is certainly based on faith, but haven’t you ever thought how wonderful it would be to have something tangible to back up your faith? That is what Etched in Stone: Archeological Discoveries that Prove the Bible is all about.
Etched in Stone showcases more than 60 archeological discoveries that prove the Bible is historically accurate and that Christianity is much more than just blind faith. Now you can have something tangible to show that:
The Israelites really did have to make bricks without straw,
There really was a city called Nazareth,
The walls of Jericho really did fall down,
King David really did exist,
Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t just a made-up king,
The Philistines really were the Israelites’ foes
Pontius Pilate did rule at the time of Christ, and
Crucifixion was a means of capital punishment
And much more.
Etched in Stone offers the reader a clear, concise summary of the biblical events surrounding each artifact. The maps at the back show where in the world the artifact was discovered. You will begin to realize that the stories of the Bible are neither fictional nor allegorical. Instead, they are historical and factual events which occurred in real time and in real places. It gives you something to point to that displays a portion of the physical evidence that God, in His wisdom, chose to leave behind.
About the Author
Lisette Bassett-Brody graduated summa cum laude from Capitol Bible Seminary in 2013 with a master’s degree in biblical studies, having earned her B.A. from Syracuse University in modern foreign languages in 1987. Her writing achievements include newspaper articles as well as published pieces in the biblical archeology magazine Bible and Spade. In 1988 Lisette married journalist David Brody, currently White House Correspondent for the Christian Broadcasting Network. They live in Maryland with their three children.
John 1:1 is actually predates Genesis 1:1! John 1:1 explains who God really is that we read about in Genesis. We learn here that Jesus is the WORD or spokesman of the Godhead (Elohim) and that He and the Father make up the Godhead. We learn many things in the Gospel (Good News) about Jesus from the pen of John. We learn that Jesus was the “I AM” of Exodus who spoke to Moses from the burning bush. We learn that the only God that mankind has ever seen is Jesus, and that nobody but he has ever seen the Father God. Without the knowledge of the Good News of John, we can never fully comprehend the Old Testament scripture.. This is why I suggest that the book of John be read BEFORE reading Genesis for the first time. Jamieson writes that John “was the younger of the two sons of Zebedee, a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee, who resided at Bethsaida, where were born Peter and Andrew his brother, and Philip also. His mother's name was Salome, who, though not without her imperfections ( Matthew 20:20-28 the Lord on one of His preaching circuits through Galilee, ministering to His bodily wants; who followed Him to the cross, and bought sweet spices to anoint Him after His burial, but, on bringing them to the grave, on the morning of the First Day of the week, found their loving services gloriously superseded by His resurrection ere they arrived. His father, Zebedee, appears to have been in good circumstances, owning a vessel of his own and having hired servants ( Mark 1:20 Evangelist, whose occupation was that of a fisherman with his father, was beyond doubt a disciple of the Baptist, and one of the two who had the first interview with Jesus. He was called while engaged at his secular occupation ( Matthew 4:21Matthew 4:22 ( Luke 5:1-11 ( Matthew 10:2 DA COSTA calls him--and he and James his brother were named in the native tongue by Him who knew the heart, "Boanerges," which the Evangelist Mark ( Mark 3:17 doubt from their natural vehemence of character. They and Peter constituted that select triumvirate of whom But the highest honor bestowed on this disciple was his being admitted to the bosom place with his Lord at the table, as "the disciple whom Jesus loved" ( John 13:23 ; 20:2 ; John 21:7John 20:24 him by the dying Redeemer the care of His mother ( John 19:26John 19:27 There can be no reasonable doubt that this distinction was due to a sympathy with His own spirit and mind on the part of John which the all-penetrating Eye of their common Master beheld in none of the rest; and although this was probably never seen either in his life or in his ministry by his fellow apostles, it is brought out wonderfully in his writings, which, in Christ-like spirituality, heavenliness, and love, surpass, we may freely say, all the other inspired writings.”
As to the date of this Gospel, the arguments for its having been composed before the destruction of Jerusalem (though relied on by some superior critics) are of the slenderest nature; such as the expression in John 5:2 &c.; there being no allusion to Peter's martyrdom as having occurred according to the prediction in John 21:18 to require mention. That it was composed long after the destruction of Jerusalem, and after the decease of all the other apostles, is next to certain, though the precise time cannot be determined. Probably it was before his banishment, however; and if we date it between the years 90 and 94, we shall probably be close to the truth.
John is the oldest surviving member of the twelve and his message is about the Divinity of Christ, his preexistence as THE LORD and the message that the LAW can only be understood with its greatest cornerstone--- LOVE. Love covers sins, and the Law of God is LOVE.
John 1
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God (The Father), and the Word was God (Elohim-The God Family).
WORD- from Greek Logos. Jesus or Yahweh, or THE LORD IS GOD, along with the Father! There is not a hint of a trinity here!
2 He was with God (The Father) in the beginning.
3 All things were made by Him (Jesus- the Word), and Nothing exists that He did not make.
4 In Him (Jesus) is life, and the life was the light of mankind.
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not suppressed it.
6 There was a man sent from God (Elohim-The Family of God) whose name was John (The baptist).
7 He came to tell everyone about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony.
8 He himself was not that light; no, he came to bear witness concerning the light.
9 This was the true light, which gives light to everyone entering the world
10 He (Jesus- Yahweh the LORD) was in the world -- the world came to be by Him -- yet the world did not acknowledge Him {as God}.
11 He came to His own homeland, yet His own people did not receive him.
12 But to as many as did receive Him (Jesus), to those who put their trust in His person and power, He gave the right to become children of God (the Godhead (Theos - or Elohim)),
Theos is the Greek version of Elohim in Hebrew, meaning God or Godhead. Sometimes it pertains in the Gospels to The Father, often it means both Jesus and the Father, as it does here.
13 who were born, not of blood, or by physical means, but because of God (Theos).
14 The Word became a fleshly human being and dwelt (tabernacled or pitched his tent) among us, and we saw His glory, the glory of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth.
This is why we observe the Feast of Tabernacles!
15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He existed before me.' "
16 We have all received one blessing after another. God's grace is not limited.
17 For the Law (Torah) was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus (Yeshua) the Messiah.
18 No one has ever seen God (The Father); but the only and this unique Son, who is identical with God and is at the Father's side -- He has made Him known.
Do you see what is being said here by John? This just isn't understand by Christians that not only is Jesus the LORD of the OT, but that he was identical and EQUAL to the Father!
John the Baptist Is Not the Christ
19 So this is John's testimony: when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask John who he was. John gave witness to them.
20 He did not try to hide the truth. He spoke to them openly. He said, "I am not the Christ."
21 "Then who are you?" they asked him. "Are you Elijah?" "No, I am not," he said. "Are you `The Prophet,' the one we're expecting?" "No," he replied.
The Prophet: that prophet--announced in Deuteronomy 18:15 , &c., about whom they seem not to have been agreed whether he were the same with the Messiah or no.
22 So they said to him, "Who are you? -- so that we can give an answer to the people who sent us to ask. What do you have to say about yourself?"
23 He answered using the words of Isaiah the prophet. John said, "I'm the messenger who is calling out in the desert, 'Make the way for the LORD (kyrios-Yahweh) straight.' "(Isaiah 40:3)
kyrios- Greek for Yahweh or LORD or JESUS' Prior self!
24 Some Pharisees who had been sent
25 asked him, "If you are neither the Messiah nor Elijah nor `the prophet,' then why are you immersing people in water?"
26 To them John replied, "I am baptizing people in water, but among you is standing one whom you don't know.
27 He is the one coming after me -- I'm not good enough even to untie his sandal!"
28 This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan River. That was where John was baptizing.
Jesus Is the Lamb of God
29 The next day John saw Jesus (Yeshua-or Joshua) coming toward him. John said, "Look! The Lamb of God! Who takes away the sin of the world!
the Lamb of God
--the one God-ordained, God-gifted sacrificial offering. that taketh away--taketh up and taketh away. The word signifies both, as does the corresponding Hebrew word. Applied to sin, it means to be chargeable with the guilt of it ( Exodus 28:38 , Leviticus 5:1 , Ezekiel 18:20 ), and to bear it away (as often). In the Levitical victims both ideas met, as they do in Christ, the people's guilt being viewed as transferred to them, avenged in their death, and so borne away by them ( Leviticus 4:15 , Leviticus 16:15Leviticus 16:21Leviticus 16:22 ; and compare Isaiah 53:6-12 , 2 Corinthians 5:21 ). (Jamieson)
30 This is the One I was talking about. I said, 'A Man who comes after me is more important than I am. That's because He existed before I was born.'
31 I myself did not recognize Him. But God wants to make it clear to Israel who this person is. That's the reason I came baptizing with water."
32 Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit (pnuema) coming down from heaven like a dove, and remaining on Him.
Spirit:
In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit (Ruwach) it is feminine in form, but is an essence of God and not a God. In the NT, the Spirit has a masculine form, but again is an essence-not a person. God (Jesus and the Father) are made up of Spirit, as man is made up of flesh and blood. The Holy Spirit is WHAT God is made of and not part of a TRINITY! As of now, until we are resurrected from the dead, there are only two beings in the Godhead!
33 I would not have known Him. But the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'You will see the Spirit come down and remain on someone. He is the One who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'
Spirit is the “flesh and blood of the Divine ones (angels and the Godhead) but HOLY SPIRIT exclusively is the essence that makes up God- not angels.
34 And I have seen and borne witness that this is the Son of God."
Jesus begins choosing HIS disciples:
35 The next day, John was again standing with two of his disciples.
36 On seeing Jesus walking by, he said, "Look! God's lamb!"
37 The two disciples heard him say this. So they followed Jesus.
38 Then Jesus turned around and saw them following. He asked, "What do you want?" They said, "Rabbi, where are you staying?" "Rabbi" means Teacher.
39 He said to them, "Come and see." So they went and saw where he was staying, and remained with him the rest of the day -- it was about four o'clock in the afternoon.
40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.
41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ or “one who has been anointed.")
42 And he brought him to Jesus. Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A pebble).
43 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me."
44 Philip was from the town of Bethsaida. So were Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the One that Moses wrote about in the Law (Torah). The prophets also wrote about him. He is Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
46 "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked. "Come and see," said Philip.
47 Jesus saw Nathanael approaching. Here is what Jesus said about him. "He is a true Israelite. There is nothing false in him."
48 "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree. I saw you there before Philip called you."
49 Nathanael said, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"
50 Jesus answered him, "you believe all this just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than that!"
51 Then he said to the disciples, "What I'm about to tell you is true. You will see heaven open. You will see the angels of God going up and coming down on the Son of Man."
The key to this great saying is Jacob's vision ( Genesis 28:12-22 ), to which the allusion plainly is. To show the patriarch that though alone and friendless on earth his interests were busying all heaven, he was made to see "heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon a" mystic "ladder reaching from heaven to earth." "By and by," says Jesus here, "ye shall see this communication between heaven and earth thrown wide open, and the Son of man the real Ladder of this intercourse."
“The feedback from people who have read the book and/or seen the movie has been overwhelmingly positive,” Gallups said.
“The only negative feedback is from people who falsely assume the conclusions which they believe the book may draw,” he said. “But, they haven’t read it yet. I think most people will be pleasantly and greatly surprised when they read through the book. There are some, however, who would prefer this story not get out to the world.”
Chuck Missler, founder of Koinonia House Ministry says that in the book, Gallups “explodes one of the biggest bombshells of our lifetime.”
“The implications of these astonishing declarations from the most venerated ultra-orthodox rabbi in Israel impacts every one of us – not just those of the traditional Jewish faith. This is a must-read for anyone who takes God seriously,” he said.
Did the 108-year-old Rabbi Kaduri, the most famous rabbi in Israel’s modern history, really see the Messiah in a vision before he died in January 2006? Very few of his followers deny the claim. Apparently Kaduri himself disclosed the revelation on several public and heavily documented occasions.
But, there are two other questions of a much more controversial nature. The first matter revolves around a supposed death note that the elderly rabbi reportedly left with his followers.
The note was said to have contained the name of the Messiah whom he had met in his vision. Furthermore, it is reported that Kaduri left specific instructions for the note to be locked away and not to be opened and read until one year after his death. According to several reports, Kaduri gave the instructions in his Yom Kippur synagogue message in October 2005 before a congregation of witnesses.
A little over one year after Kaduri’s death, Israel Today ran a story documenting that Kaduri’s note was opened and posted on his website at Kaduri.net. The story was featured on the cover of Israel Today’s print magazine and was posted online in April 2007. The story said the Kaduri note cryptically identified the name of the Messiah as Yehoshua, the Hebrew word for Jesus.
Subsequent interviews with David Kaduri, Rabbi Kaduri’s elderly son, disclosed the controversy around the reported death note. David Kaduri denied the authenticity of the note, even claiming it was not written in his father’s handwriting. Yet, according to Israel Today’s reporting, several of Rabbi Kaduri’s followers confirmed the note to be authentic.
Gallups noted that in the WND Films documentary movie “The Rabbi Who Found Messiah,” film producer George Escobar includes footage of David Kaduri and others vehemently denying the authenticity of the note.
“There is actually one clip of David Kaduri denying that his father ever even mentioned the Messiah – at all,” Gallups said. “That, indeed, is an astounding claim, since there appears to be a myriad of witnesses, in print, who say otherwise.”
Temple of Baal, Palmyra, Syria, prior to its destruction by ISIS
Experts in Israel are expressing concern that the United Nations’ goal is warping toward the promotion of idolatry after word was released that the organization is playing a key role in the image of a third pagan god – the goddess of “extra-marital relations.”
U.N. officials, and funding, have been insiders on each of those projects.
Joe Kovacs, author of “Shocked By The Bible 2,” says the whole sad spectacle is part of an old story.
“The promotion of pagan gods is certainly nothing new, and it again shows we’re all living in what I call ‘Opposite World,'” he explained. “It’s a world where most people do the very opposite action of what God has instructed. Our Creator tells us to have no other gods but Him, but folks do the opposite, honoring false gods.
“The Bible says Solomon, one of the wisest men who ever lived, built shrines to pagan gods such as Molech, a pagan god to whom people would burn their children alive in fires. It’s just sickening. Even God-fearing Christians today don’t realize they’re doing the very opposite of God’s instructions when they decorate trees with silver and gold and stand them up in their homes and churches every December. God personally says in the tenth chapter of Jeremiah not to do that precise heathen custom, and yet people have been tricked into decorating trees with all sorts of silver tinsel, gold garland and hanging ornaments, and they have no scriptural basis for it. For those interested in eternal life, we need to wake up and start obeying the instructions of our Maker, and stop all this pagan worthlessness.”
