All posts filed under: z36

Tel Lachish from inside the city. Credit: Wikipedia/Liadmalone

Does an ancient toilet confirm 2 Kings 10:27?

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27 They also broke down the sacred pillar of Baal and broke down the house of Baal, and made it a latrine to this day. (2 Kings 10:27 NASV) This verse tells the story of King Jehu eradicating Baal out Israel. After destroying the idols in one particular temple, Jehu ordered his men to set up a toilet in the Baal sanctuary. This transformation to an outhouse was the kings way of desecrating the temple and recent archaeological excavations suggest it was a common practice. Archaeologists working at the Tel-Lachish site in central Israel have made an amazing discovery. They found a toilet in an ancient Baal shrine. The site is dated to the reign of King Hezekiah (715BC to 686BC). This is the remains of the ancient city of Lachish mentioned several times in the Bible (2 Kings 14:17-19). Many consider it Judah’s second most important city behind Jerusalem. King Sennacherib of Assyria destroyed Lachish in 701AD during the reign of  Judah’s King Hezekiah. Hezekiah, one of Israel’s most prominent reforming kings, is listed in …

Israeli Defense Forces involved in counter-terrorism training in Hebron, Credit/Israel Defense Forces/Flickr/Creative Commons

The Spiritual Lesson in Terrorism

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Where will we be in five years? What are we building now? It is easy to predict the future for our families and marriages, jobs and businesses, and churches. I met a man recently who had a five year plan with his wife, and the plan was working. The whole family was prospering in changing times. This is a spiritual lesson we can learn from terrorists. Recently an angry man Ahmad Khan Rahami was arrested for several terrorist bombings near New York City. Apparently he is typical of a new threat to us all a “lone wolf terrorist” who acts without ties to a larger group. Politicians are warning us that anyone, in isolation, can become a violent terrorist and hurt us all. I disagree. There is a lot of discussion about the threat of violence and terrorism and isolated lone wolves, and one side in the conversation believes that successful people always work with a team. One analyst wrote about Ahmad Rahami and the “misnomer” of the lone wolf. People never do great things …

Asteroid -- Credit: Kevin Gill/Flickr/Creative Commons

Another near brush with the apocalypse?

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The Apostle John was probably in his late 70s when Roman emperor Domitian banished this favorite of Jesus’ disciples to the Island of Patmos due to his Christian beliefs. It was on this idyllic island located off the coast of Turkey that God gave John a disturbing apocalyptic vision of the end times, that today we call the Book of Revelation. In his vision, John saw many strange things, but perhaps one of the most disturbing was a flaming mountain falling from the sky and hitting an ocean. 8 The second angel sounded, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood, 9 and a third of the creatures which were in the sea and had life, died; and a third of the ships were destroyed. (Revelation 8:8-9 NASV) The resulting devastation will be catastrophic. The size suggests this is not a meteorite strike, but rather an asteroid. Though we are accustomed to seeing meteors blazing through our atmosphere, if they reach earth without …

Who do you blame for the storms in your life? Photo: 5oulscape/Flickr/Creative Commons

So what’s really bothering you?

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I often deal with my frustration by blaming my husband. He is an easy target. And because he is often conveniently close by, I can throw my personal frustrations at him. Yes, he knows something is wrong but has no idea what.  He is not a mind reader as much as I would like him to be. I have begun to look at my frustrations, anger and resentments as signals that the problem is not with the person I am blaming. Often, we blame our partner for the way we feel about our day or even the past. We cast ourselves as the victim and our partner as the villain. Relationship experts Katie and Gay Hendricks describe it this way: “If you feel you are being wronged  and want things to change in your relationship, BEING THE VICTIM NEVER WORKS!” Denying my emotions and the real reason for my frustration (anger, resentment) by blaming an unsuspecting family member creates a vicious cycle that keeps building up inside until it explodes. Though I feel better blaming …

The Temple Mount Photo: Jordan Pickett/Flickr/Creative Commons

Shocking news: Jewish Sanhedrin appoints a High Priest

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Breaking Israel News reports that Israel’s “Nascent Sanhedrin” has just appointed a high priest. His name is Rabbi Baruch Kahane, a prominent Jewish scholar knowledgeable in Jewish sacrifices. The announcement was a bit surprising considering there is no Jewish Temple. But a spokesperson for the ‘Nascent Sanhedrin’ explained that they wanted to have a High Priest in place in case there is a sudden change in policy on the Temple Mount. The ‘Nascent Sanhedrin‘ also called the developing Sanhedrin was set up in Israel in 2004. It is considered a national court of Jewish Law. Over the last 500 years, there have been six failed attempts to establish a Sanhedrin. This is the most successful so far. The major obstacle to constructing a Temple is that the Temple Mount with its Al-Aqsa mosque and Dome of the Rock is controlled by the Muslims. Because of this, the Israeli government limits Jewish access to the site and forbids prayer on the Temple Mount. When Jews visit they are not allowed to pray including bowing their heads …

Otranto harbour as seen from the castle. Photo: Marco Frattola/Flickr/Creative commons

Ancient beheadings — the Otranto martyrs

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Most were shocked by the beheading of 21 Coptic Christians along the shores of the Mediterranean by Islamic extremists in early 2015. But this was not the first time, Muslims beheaded Christians for their faith. Six centuries ago, Muslims beheaded 813 Christian men in Otranto, Italy because they refused to convert to Islam. The Muslim Ottoman Empire had for decades being trying to take Europe and at one point controlled most of Spain. After conquering Constantinople (today called Istanbul, Turkey) in 1453, the Muslims set their sights on Southern Europe and ultimately Rome. Though many want us to focus on how horrid the Christian crusades were, they pale in comparison to he hundreds of battles initiated by the Muslims in their effort to conquer Europe. On July 28, 1480, over 130 Ottoman galleons and ships with 18,000 troops on board sailed into the Otranto harbour, today a quaint village on the southern coast of Italy, population 5,670. The castle that guarded the city in the 1400s still stands today. According to historians Arnaldi and Scirocco, the Muslims, led by Commander …

Oakland Protest Photo: Jaegar Moore/Flickr/Creative Commons

White Privilege Christians

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I was offended recently by a newspaper article from a local feminist Rosemary Westwood. She talked about white Christians like me and our privilege, and how we need to adjust our thinking, as we are “forced to listen.” White Christian culture is declining and losing influence, and people are resentful as they lose their position. There is a popular idea that Christianity is the religion of white privilege, and it will die, as the surrounding support system erodes and gives way to something new. A news video shows a race riot on Milwaukee with people stopping traffic and “beating all the white people.” I am offended but Rosemary Westwood is correct. I’m offended because most of the people I know are not privileged, we have to work for everything, and we always settle for less. I think that makes us working class, and most people do not want to be us. We have to make our own luck and build our own success, and then we have to pay our taxes, and the mortgage. All …

A home in the suburbs for the Liver Fluke. Photo: MTSOfan/Flickr/Creative Commons

It’s no fluke!

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Several years ago, my son and I were watching  a TV program about the complex life cycle of the small liver fluke. The design behind its life cycle leaves your head shaking and begs the question how on earth did this evolve. Of course, it didn’t. It’s simply another sign of God’s creation. The small liver fluke is a parasite common to North America, Europe and Asia. Where do we begin?. The zombie ant Perhaps one of the most unusual influences of this microscopic parasite is its effect on ants. The ants eat the cercaria of the fluke which is essentially the fluke in its adolescent stage. Well, they don’t really want to eat it, however the temptation is so great. But we will get to that in a moment. Once ingested one or two cercaria — call them the pilot and co-pilot — make their way from the ant’s stomach to its brain. Once there, they burrow into the ant’s brain and take control. At this point, the ant enters into what can only be described as a zombie-like …

Did John see this creature pouring out of the abyss in the Book of Revelation. Photo: Youtube Capture/The Watchers/L.A. Marzulli

A creature from the abyss?

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The discovery of an odd-looking whale on the beach of  a small cove in Alaska in July is now confirmed to be an unknown, and yet unnamed, species of a black beak whale. Beak whales are normally light. Reports of similar looking whales off the coast of Japan in 2013 are thought to be from the same species. Its reclusive behaviour and dark colour allowed it to escape notice until recently. But it is not the only odd-looking animal found. Another one discovered in Mexico a few years back may even have apocalyptic overtones. A 13-year-old Mexican boy discovered the tiny creäture (seen above) dead by side of the road when the car he was in pulled over so the boy could relieve himself. It is bizarre looking with an almost human like face. Complete with wings, some believe it has an appearance of a locust. The creature was eventually handed over to a Mexican investigative journalist Jaime Maussan who turned it over to a laboratory for examination where it was x-rayed revealing a skeleton. DNA tests at that time could not …

Jesus entering Jerusalem for the last time by Jean Leon Gerome (1897) Wikipedia

Is Jesus Real? Philo and the Christ Myth

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There is a popular argument going around these days “Jesus never existed and we can prove it.” At the time of Jesus, a Jewish writer named Philo lived in Alexandria, a large city on the coast of Egypt. Philo tried to integrate the Jewish religion with Greek philosophy, to make the Jews more Greek and Roman. Historically, he was not popular with his fellow Jews. We know about him now because Christians liked his writings. It is interesting that Philo never once mentioned Jesus in his writings. This man lived when the New Testament tells us Jesus preached and did miracles, and Philo is silent about Jesus. Today, some critics are saying Christians believe in a made up character, the “Christ Myth.” You can search for “Philo” and the other terms on the Internet, but I don’t want to give links because most of the discussions are aggressive and offensive. Today, Philo’s silence encourages some people to believe that Jesus never existed. So what should we do with Philo? The argument of silence is always …

Kenai River in Alaska. Photo: Teresa/Flickr/Creative Commons

Holy Spirit gives pastor a word of wisdom on how to save a woman’s life with his fishing rod

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Located in Alaska, the Kenai River is cold and fast and each year it seems to claim one person’s life. Because of the many camping sites along the river, the state’s various departments warn of the dangers of the river and its extremely cold water. Andy Foor is a pastor from Everett, Pennsylvania and according to an article in the Peninsula Clarion, he was visiting Alaska this summer. One Saturday, July 16, 2016, he decided to go fishing along the banks of the Kenai River. He arrived around 5:30 AM, and a short time later noticed two women walking along the banks of the river. He didn’t think much about it until he heard one of the women hollering. Her friend had fallen into the river. When Foor turned he noticed the woman, who wasn’t wearing a life jacket, had gone completely under water. She disappeared for about 15 seconds, then bobbed up screaming for help because she couldn’t swim. The current was carrying her out into the middle of the river. Foor didn’t know …