114 | A Conversation with Diane Harrison on the Gift of Prophecy
Dean Smith interviews Diane Harrison on the Gift of Prophecy. Diane serves as the Prophetic coordinator for LifeLinks, an international network of churches.
All posts filed under: z526
Civil rights group states over 8,000 Christians were killed in Nigeria in 2023
Some argue there is a Christian genocide taking place in Nigeria that is largely being ignored around the world. This seems to be confirmed by a report released by the International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law (Intersociety) which states 8,222 Christians have been killed in the country between January 2023 and January 2024, the Christian Post reports. Intersociety based its calculations on reliable reports made by civil rights groups, media, and government organizations in the country. The report stated that the killers are largely Islamic fundamentalists such as Boko Haram and Fulani Jihadist tribesmen. However, a significant number of deaths can also be attributed to Nigeria’s military and police. Most of the deaths occurred in Nigeria’s Muslim-dominated northern states. However, the study did note, that there is an increasing number of incidents in the predominantly Christian south. In addition to the over 8,000 deaths, the report added that over 500 churches in the country have also been destroyed and hundreds of others kidnapped, including 70 clergy. In addition, thousands of Christians have …
Discovery of a rare orange seal confirms the Biblical record of Assyria’s invasion of the Kingdom of Israel
Erez Avrahamov, an Israel Defense Force’s reserve soldier, was on leave and decided to take a walk in the Tabor Stream Nature Reserve when he spotted a bright orange object in the ground, Christian Headlines reports. When he dug out the small oval-shaped carnelian stone, he discovered it had engravings on top. When he called the Israel Antiquities Authority about his find, Nir Distelfeld asked the reserve soldier if there was any engraving on the stone’s flat bottom. When Avrahamov said that there appeared to be some type of winged creature carved on the bottom, Disteelfeld stated that the reserve soldier had probably found a 2,800-year-old Assyrian seal. This was confirmed when the seal was later brought in for inspection. Typical of Assyrian seals at that time, the top was carved like a dung beetle. The bottom featured either a winged horse or a “mythical griffin.” The seal which was found near Tel Rekhesh is considered one of the most important finds found at the site of the ancient Jewish fortress located at Anaharat (Joshua …
Jewish Rabbi fined by Hawaii County for holding a religious meeting in his home
A Jewish rabbi, with the help of First Liberty Institute (FLI), is suing a county in Hawaii after officials fined the rabbi for holding sabbath day celebrations in his home, the Daily Caller reports. Rabbi Levi Gerlitzky operates the Chabad Jewish Center on Hawaii’s Big Island and on occasion, held Sabbath services in his home that at times reached 30 people. In February 2023, Hawaii County officials informed Rabbi Gerlitzky that he was not allowed to hold a religious service in his home without the permission of the county government. Gerlitzky applied for the necessary permit but was denied because bureaucrats needed more information. County officials ordered Gerlitzky to stop all religious meetings in his home and fined him $1,000, and additional fines if he did not pay by an April 2023 deadline. At this point, the fine totals now exceed $40,000. In launching the lawsuit, FLI attorneys stated that the County’s zoning bylaws are unconstitutional because they allow people to gather for secular reasons without a permit, but not for religious ones. “By levying …
The 50% divorce rate is a myth, researcher states
According to one researcher, there is a myth floating around society that 50% of marriages end in divorce. The spinoff from all this is why bother getting married. However, Christian researcher Shaunti Feldhahn states that the commonly believed statement that your marriage only has 50|50 chance of surviving is actually wrong, CBN reports. She stated that this 50|50 percentage is being skewered by people, who divorce, remarry, and divorce again, often multiple times. If you have divorced once, it’s easier to do it again. Once you factor out second and third divorces etc., along with the death of spouses, Fieldhahn states that the divorce rate for people in their first marriage is actually only 25%.
When the Apostle Paul was accused of being ‘The Egyptian’ terrorist
Luke records an interesting incident in Acts 21 involving the Apostle Paul while he was in Jerusalem, where he would ultimately be arrested, sent to Rome for trial, and eventually executed. While in Jerusalem, Paul decided to visit the Jewish Temple. However, Paul’s reputation had preceded him, and people began accusing him, saying, “This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place.” They then added the trumped-up charge that Paul had brought a gentile into the Jewish temple. By this time a huge crowd had gathered, and they dragged Paul out of the temple. Luke adds that they started beating Paul and probably would have killed him if the commander, (lit. chiliarch) who oversaw the Roman troops in the city hadn’t intervened. According to Luke, the Roman Commander’s name was Claudius Lysias (Acts 23:26). When the Lysias asked the Jewish crowd what crime Paul had committed, they were shouting so many stories, that the commander ordered Paul arrested until he could find out what was going on. …
Canada: Hundredth church vandalized since 2021
With video surfacing of a masked man lighting a fire at the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Regina, Saskatchewan, this was the hundredth church that has been set on fire or vandalized in Canada since 2021, according to calculations by True North. “The attack at the Regina church was the 46th arson attempt on a church,” writes True North reporter Harrison Faulkner. “Since True North began tracking church attacks in 2021, at least 33 have been completely burned to the ground.” Though the historic building was damaged, the city of Regina’s fire department successfully put out the fire before the 118-year-old church was completely destroyed. The arson attempt was caught by the church’s security cameras. The National Post adds that over the past two months, at least six churches across Canada have reported “suspicious fires.” The vandalism against churches started in 2021 after reports surfaced of unmarked graves at former residential schools across Canada, which were run primarily by the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and United Churches. “But nearly three years later, none of the 2021 discoveries …
US President Biden commits to a continued ban on Jews and Christians praying on Temple Mount
During a recent discussion with Jordanian King, Abdullah II, US President Joe Biden reassured Jordan’s monarch, that the US Government would oppose any attempts to allow Jews and Christians to pray on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, Breitbart reports. The Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where the Jewish Temple once stood, is Judaism’s most holy site. It is currently controlled by the Muslims through a Jordanian-based Waqf and has two Islamic structures on the site, including the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. In a statement released after the meeting outlining what the two world leaders discussed, the US administration, “underscored the importance of upholding the status quo at the Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount, recognizing Jordan’s crucial role as the custodian of Muslim holy places in Jerusalem.” The status quo is that the site remains under the control of Jordanian Waqf, which forbids Jews and Christians from praying on the Temple Mount. By implication, the statement also suggests the current US administration would oppose any attempts by Israel to allow the rebuilding of a Jewish Temple on …
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