I tried opening up emotionally last week (I have high functioning Asperger's, BTW) and I just experienced intense fear and grief. Mostly related to climate change and climate grief, and the possibility of having to decide to move in the future to set up a new life (I live in Florida and the summers keep getting longer and more intense). This lead to a series of mystical experiences (I felt Christ's death, I experienced a sense of a wounding also... it was a human death, without any sense of piety, and it was full of gut-wrenching sadness and horror). And I had promptings after this that lead to do Bible study and research online, culminating in meditating on the story of Thomas in the Gospel of John. And when I realized what it meant through Thomas's eyes, it completely rocked my world. Because it was so different from how I had been taught in church, in a moralistic way. Let's just say sometimes peace and joy comes wrapped in shock and awe. This was how the early apostles must have experienced Jesus' resurrection.

After this, I perceived something ripping at me with icy claws. Then it tried attacking my mind. But I was so shook up, I became dissociated and fearful. I continued to feel that my house wasn't safe. But my partner didn't believe me... until I ended up going to the hospital for some ativan and said "this is so strange, it feels almost like a church in here". Then I realized, there was something bad in my house, and I tried to reach out to the local Catholic diocese but never got an answer back. But I did get in touch with a small Independent Catholic congregation that meets at our UCC church, and the priest and the deacon from that congregation came and blessed my home, and the evil presence went away.

Parts of the experience I had lead me to do some strange things, too. I remember getting mad at God at one point because I never wanted these experiences in the first place, and I prayed to get help dealing with them and find healing. I did some things like walk around barefoot outdoors, touch plants, look at trees, or sit and pray barefoot in churches. And we had some other strange things happen, too, around us, coincidences that seemed unlikely, or it seemed like we would receive messages from Jesus on what to do, or answers to prayers.

I have talked to my own pastor, who was bewildered by my story and perhaps afraid for my sanity at first, as well as the Independent Catholic priest that sometimes holds mass at our church, but the best help I got was from a United Methodist pastor- she told me about spiritual warfare. It was a relief to have somebody actually hear my story and believe it. But I am still trying to hold all this stuff lightly, alot of it is very bewildering and alot to take in.

Hamas undoubtedly loves western liberals who have extravagantly funded their operations and made their leaders filthy-rich.

I find belief in a “rapture,” separate from the Second Coming, baffling. No verse in the Bible says anything about God removing His people from a world where political events are still taking place. Where would we expect to find evidence of a “rapture”? The Book of Revelation is the most Apocalyptic book in the Bible, so we would expect to find it there. While Revelation makes no mention of anyone being “raptured,” it does say that there are martyrs in heaven.

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls
of those who had been slain because of the word of God and
the testimony they had maintained.

They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord,
holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and
avenge our blood?”
Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were
told to wait a little longer, until the number of their fellow-
servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been
was completed.
Revelation 6: 9-11 NIV

Revelation tells us that martyrs in heaven are “under the altar,” under God’s protection. Further, more martyrs continue to arrive in heaven and the newcomers have the same status as all the martyrs of the past.

In Revelation 19:11-14 we find the Second Coming, the return of Jesus Christ, accompanied by a heavenly army.

Re. 19:11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white
horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he
judges and makes war.
Re. 19:12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many
crowns. He has a name written on him that no-one knows but
he himself.
Re. 19:13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the
Word of God.
Re. 19:14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white
horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.

Who are these “armies of heaven”? Believers in a “rapture” assume that they are the raptured, those “taken” off the earth by God to protect them from the Tribulation. What does the scripture say?

The 144,000 are first mentioned in Revelation chapter 7. The enumeration of the 144,000 is given in verse 3 to verse 8. God’s grace is not limited to the 144,000. In verse 9 we are told that a “great multitude that no one could count, from every nation” are standing before the Throne of God.

Who are the 144,000, and the great multitude?

Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes —
who are they, and where did they come from?”
I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they
who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed
their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Revelation 7: 13-14 NIV

Both the 144,000 and the rest of the “great multitude” came “out of the great tribulation.” This certainly tells us that they did not avoid persecution, or tribulation. They went through it. They came to heaven as martyrs, or perhaps they endured persecution and died of natural causes, but they went through tribulation. The 144,000 appear again in Revelation 14.

Re. 14:1 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing
on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and
his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
Re. 14:2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing
waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was
like that of harpists playing their harps.
Re. 14:3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the
four living creatures and the elders. No-one could learn the
song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the
earth.
Re. 14:4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women,
for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb
wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men
and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb.
Revelation 14:1-4

Here we are told that the Lamb, Christ, is on Mt. Zion with with the 144,000. When the 144,000 are introduced in chapter 7, they are in heaven. Then in Chapter 14, Jesus is on Mt. Zion after the Second Coming and the 144,000 are with Him. It looks like they are the army that accompanies Jesus when He returns as Judge. Revelation 14 is preview of what happens after the return of Christ in Revelation 19.

Those who are in the “army” that returns with Jesus are not the “raptured” but martyrs and others who came out of the Tribulation.



What happens on Mt. Zion? For insights from the Old Testament, see Post 2.

I was looking into biblical tithing for the needy in today’s reading (we do a daily scripture reading). It turns out there were 3 types of tithes. The first is for the priests of 10%, a second of 10% for rejoicing before the LORD in festivals, and a third of 3.33% for the poor and needy.

1. The Levitical Tithe (First Tithe)

• Reference: Numbers 18:21-24; Leviticus 27:30-33
• Purpose: Given to the Levites for their service in the Tabernacle/Temple since they had no inheritance of land.
• Amount: 10% of all produce and livestock.

2. The Festival Tithe (Second Tithe)

• Reference: Deuteronomy 14:22-27
• Purpose: Set aside for religious festivals, especially to be consumed in Jerusalem during the feasts (Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, etc.).
• Amount: Another 10% annually.
• Note: This tithe was consumed by the family itself in the presence of God, as a way of rejoicing and honoring Him.

3. The Poor Tithe (Third Tithe or Tithe for the Needy)

• Reference: Deuteronomy 14:28-29; 26:12
• Purpose: Every third year, this tithe was given to support the poor, widows, orphans, and foreigners.
• Amount: 10%, but only once every 3 years, so averaged over 3 years, it's about 3.33% annually.

If you tithe, have you considered tithing to the needy as shown in scripture?

An Arizona resident who has lived in the U.S. legally for decades―and even fought a war for the country―may be deported, after an immigration judge's ruling on Friday.

Iraq War veteran Marlon Parris, who moved to the U.S. from the Caribbean in 1997 and was repeatedly issued Green Cards, was detained in January earlier this year.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) had previously ruled the Green Card holder should be allowed to stay in the U.S. despite serving prison time for a drugs offense back in 2011 because the crime was nonviolent.

Judge Frank Travieso said he was sympathetic to Parris' case, but nevertheless found that the government had provided enough evidence to show that he could be deported. The ruling at Florence Immigration Court on May 9 means that Parris may now be forcibly ejected from the U.S., despite living in the country for decades since he was a boy and serving two tours of duty in Iraq.

Thank you for your service, but ICE needs to juice its deportation numbers.

I was reading through the canons of St. John the Faster and was surprised at how difficult a lot of the penances seem, typically hundreds of prostrations a day, eating only dry foods during the day, and being barred from Communion for at least a month if not years in most cases. If the penitent won't do the prostrations and fasting, then the period of excommunication is extended to an extremely long time, ranging from years to decades, or even a lifetime.

It also struck me that St. John wrote that these are relaxations of older canons, and that he didn't include certain penalties like having to remain outside the physical church which had previously been imposed. I know priests are able to exercise economy or strictness and adjust these canonical penances as they deem appropriate, and even St. John says that his prescribed penances can be reduced depending on the disposition of the penitent, but I still don't understand how the average layman, who already has work and family placing demands on his time, could spend 30-45 minutes a day doing 300 prostrations, and that could be for just one sin among many. Even for a fit, young, single man with no family obligations, it would seem extraordinary for him to sustain a daily practice of hundreds of prostrations and rigorous fasting for over a year, even if he has the time to do them. At the same time, these penalties can't be only for monastics, because some of the canons relate to events monastics wouldn't experience, like having a miscarriage.

I remember reading in one book, I think it was the biography of St. Nektarios, that as a priest, the saint initially gave out canonical penalties for sins. He stopped that practice when he realized people were regularly coming back having given up their penances and fallen into the same sins because they couldn't do all the prostration and fasting that was required of them, and due to the length of time they were unable to take Holy Communion, they felt like it was impossible for them to avoid their sins for all that time.

It makes me wonder, was there ever a time where people could reliably bear these penances? I've heard it said in multiple places that people back then were just more devout than people today are, which I don't doubt, but I do wonder if the gulf between us and them is so wide that that's all there is to it.

Original at Haaretz

Coverage from The Grauniad:

essentialsaltes said:

Former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert says his country is committing war crimes​

“Recent operations in Gaza have nothing to do with legitimate war goals,” he wrote. “This is now a private political war. Its immediate result is the transformation of Gaza into a humanitarian disaster area.”

“Yes, Israel is committing war crimes,” he concluded.

Click to expand...

A male athlete competed against females in HS track in California. He substantially beat the females in his events taking first place. He was a very mediocre male athlete and then claimed he is Trans and gained access to the lady's sports. He's now top of the line. He's taking away the young women's awards in the process.

Trump has now threatened to remove some of California's federal dollars because they are allowing this kind of insanity.

Trump threatens Gavin Newsom, California over trans athlete

This is just MORE evidence that males, particularly after puberty, should NOT be allowed to compete against girls in female sports. Other mothers confronted the boys mother regarding her allowing him to compete against the girls and taking away their athletic awards.

California's response was to allow the females who lost to the male to join the State Championships. Why? So they can lose again to this dude?

Stop the insanity.

The short answer is ‘no.’ The long answer is a good, strong Bible education.​

I wish I had a nickel for every time someone has said to me, “That was not very Christlike.” This response usually comes after someone is upset by my being firm and honest. The implication is that Jesus was a cuddly, soft-hearted nice guy who was always smiling, always accepting, always with kind words of affirmation. In short, he was nice.

In America, we are known to be relatively polite and courteous, except maybe if you live in New York City. In contrast to much of the world, we tend to be very polite, genteel, gracious, and nice. Tour guides in other countries will tell you that Americans are the nicest people and their favorite groups to guide. We transfer our niceness onto Jesus and assume that he was a lot like us.

When we study the New Testament,especially the Gospels, what do we find? First, let’s discuss what we don’t find. The word niceis never found in the Bible. It is a very popular word in conversation today, but it has not always been so. With its current meaning of giving pleasure, agreeable, good-natured, or kind, it has existed only since the eighteenth century. The origins of the word are fascinating. According to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, “Middle English, foolish, wanton, from Anglo-French, silly, simple, from Latin nescius ignorant, from nescire not to know.” Its current meaning of socially acceptable, well bred, polite, or kind is only from recent years.

Nice is often used as a synonym for loving and kind, as in “That is nice of you to say. You are a very loving person.” But are “love” and “nice” interchangeable, especially in a biblical context?

The English word love in its various forms is found 578 times in the Bible. Jesus uses the word at least fifty times in the Gospels. Love is one of three theological virtues: “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13). We know that God is love (1 John 4:8), and Jesus, being God in human form, was the most loving human to walk the earth.

Continued below.

A look at Trump’s controversial pardons for political allies and loyalists​

In his second term, President Trump has moved to pardon many who are considered to be loyal to him, from local Republican officials convicted of fraud to Jan. 6 rioters. The New York Times reported that Trump pardoned a Florida businessman convicted of tax evasion after his mother attended a million dollar per-plate fundraising dinner at Mar-a-Lago. Laura Barrón-López discussed more with Liz Oyer. [Oyer formerly held the position of DOJ Pardon Attorney until being fired by Trump.]

This evening, the president called the daughter of reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley to tell her that he plans to pardon her parents. The pair are both serving yearslong prison sentences for bank and tax fraud.

Also today, The New York Times published new details about the pardon of a Florida businessman convicted of tax evasion.

And, yesterday, President Trump pardoned Virginia Sheriff Scott Jenkins, who was handing out deputy sheriff badges in exchange for money. He was paid more than $75,000 in bribes in what the DOJ called a — quote — "cash-for-badges scheme."

Jenkins was also a big supporter of President Trump and expressed some anti-immigrant sentiments. What's your takeaway from that pardon? And is this normally how pardons work?

[Oyer:] This is not at all how pardons normally work. Pardons are normally reserved for people who show remorse for a crime they have been convicted of and who have actually served at least some and typically all of their sentence and have shown personal growth and rehabilitation during that time.

However, this administration appears to be using pardons in a completely different and new way, which is to reward people who demonstrate political loyalty to the administration. And that is unprecedented.

And the second thing that is really different is that Trump appears to be doing this just for wealthy, well-connected people. In the first administration, there were some truly deserving individuals who were more along the lines of ordinary Americans who did benefit from pardons, alongside the politically connected and those who had personal relationships with President Trump.

But now the ordinary people seem to have been completely forgotten.

I also want to talk to you about Ed Martin, the new pardon attorney who now holds the position you once held. [after his original nomination as US Attorney was withdrawn due to clear Senate objections]

He fully supported the pardons of January 6 rioters, [indeed he had been representing some of them and served on the board of a pro-J6er organization] including those who were convicted of violently assaulting police. And, recently, when Ed Martin was praising Trump's decision to pardon convicted Virginia Sheriff Scott Jenkins, Martin posted on X: "No MAGA left behind."

What message does that send and what does it mean that Martin is now in this position?

[Oyer:] It sends a message that the pardon power is now being totally and thoroughly politicized, that it will be used as a benefit to those who are supporters of the president and not for those who do not express political loyalty.

It is a start. The progressive culture at Harvard has been taking some hits.

If E = mc2 then we can divide and conclude that...

Mass (m) = Plasma (E/c2) --- Making this eternal stuff

Mass can dissociate into plasma... Plasma can reassociate into mass... In dealing with eternity there could have been trillions of big bangs before what is called the big bang for all we know. There could have been so many big bangs that they were impossible to count.

A Big Bang - And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. - Genesis 1:3

Another Big Bang - The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. - 2 Peter 3:10

With or without God the days of planet earth are numbered.

I have reached the point of going to online AI for spiritual advice. I have just started using ChatGPT for this. Before totally dumping water on this, please note that ChatGPT, while over all programmed, probably, by non-believers, accepts any user's world view. I tell it I have a Christian, Protestant, evangelical, biblical world view. It researches and answers my questions/concerns from within that perspective, going to resources by experts in that realm, and extracting advice from them. I've done this over the last couple of days. So far, ChatGPT's responses seem solid and helpful. Is anyone else checking out popular, online AI systems for spiritual concerns, and what do you think about doing this?

President Donald Trump pardoned reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley on Tuesday, calling their daugher Savannah and informing her of his decision.


The Chrisleys, who starred in the television show Chrisley Knows Best and several spin-offs, were found guilty in 2022 of defrauding banks out of $30 million.

Julie Chrisley is serving time in Kentucky, while Todd Chrisley is serving time in Florida.

Continued below.

It seems that Iran is close to being able to deploy one or more nuclear bombs. Should we use military force to destroy that capability?

I'm undecided.

I'm 25 years old. At 23, months after converting to the Lord, I began looking for a permanent job. The problem is that it seems difficult for me to adapt to them. The first job I found was at a pizzeria. I don't like cooking, but because there's a job shortage in my country, I took the job. The problem is that I started off with the first task more or less well, but as the minutes passed, it seemed like my mind was trying to isolate itself from what it was doing, thinking about pleasurable things or things I would like to be doing at that moment. With the next task I was assigned, I began to suffer a little more. I'm somewhat obsessive (I was much more so before meeting the Lord), and therefore, I push myself to do things well. The problem is that I suffered from not being certain that the things I was doing were correct, since it was the first time I'd done them. Although I asked my coworkers or my boss if I was doing it right, I needed them to constantly teach me and correct me so I could learn to do it perfectly and have the certainty of knowing I was doing it right. That is, they needed to give me special treatment, be patient with me, and help me (perhaps more than they would help any other person). The problem is that the next few jobs exhausted me psychologically and physically, and I decided not to go anymore.

My other job was at a soda shop, where I had to thoroughly clean the drums for bringing in drinking water. Once again, I faced the mental and physical strain of leaving the drums clean and ensuring they were as clean as the owner wanted. It was hot there, so I had to bend down to clean the drums, and they were also heavy to lift. I don't have much strength, which caused pain in my back and forearms. I kept working as long as I could, with only a few drums left to supposedly finish my first day... and I ended up quitting. Not to justify myself, but my body was destroyed; I couldn't take it anymore.

My last job, you could say, could have been the perfect job. However, problems also arose, but let's just say it was the job I enjoyed the most. I can tell you that this time I wasn't the one who quit; I was fired. Initially, according to the owner of this job, who is a neighbor and I have some trust in, the position was permanent. He had told me I was going to replace a girl who wasn't going to be there anymore... (I understood that she wasn't going to be there anymore). This job was in a salesroom, customer service, something I really like. During my shift, I had to work alongside my boss's mother-in-law (I think this was the main problem). She's a very grumpy, mocking, humiliating woman. The first problem was when I had to give the change. I'm not used to handling money, and that worked against me at first. It's like my mind is half focused on what it has to do and half distracted or scattered. That, plus my lack of money management skills, made this woman make me feel inferior, like I'm useless. She made me feel useless for handing over some change incorrectly or for pausing to think for a moment how much money I had to give. The second problem (with this woman) was the delivery of packages. The sales floor has a reception and dispatch area for packages; the packages are located in a storage area and are strategically arranged with codes for easy retrieval. However, not all the packages were arranged correctly; some were scattered on other shelves, which made finding them a bit time-consuming. The problem is that sometimes it took me a while to find some packages, and the floor would fill up with people in a matter of minutes. I had no choice but to call the lady and tell her to help me find the package. When she finally found it, it was as if she felt superior and made fun of me for having found it before me... And here I have to give you a small testimony. Amidst so much stress and contempt from this lady and my dissatisfaction for not doing correctly things that, in the opinion of this lady and the owner, I should already know how to do perfectly, there came a time when I began to cry out to God, since I had vengeful thoughts and insults in my mind toward this woman... I came to hate her. Then, I don't remember exactly how I went to God, but I do know that in my mind I cried out for justice, and soon, in the midst of my affliction, I began to feel an abundant peace, and the vengeful thoughts transformed into benign ones, wishing this person a blessing... So I endured it until one day the owner told me that, within a week, the previous girl would return. How? I said... It turns out that now, my position wasn't permanent, I was simply replacing the girl who wasn't attending. Maybe I was the one who didn't understand well, but it sounds strange to me. They were never completely happy with me.
Anyway, they discarded me.

The thing is, I feel very helpless in the workplace. I'm a PC repairer, which I'm very good at, but I don't know how to make myself known, and besides, there's a lot of competition in that field.

But beyond that, I feel useless. If I don't know how to make a good living, I don't know what else can be expected of me (that's what comes to mind). I have a hard time adapting to activities I've never done, and they discard me quickly. I get very stressed at work doing tasks that aren't strenuous. Maybe it's the same pressure I put on myself.
As for education, I only have a high school diploma and a PC repair diploma. I feel like I should study something, and I tried twice a while back, but my mind just can't handle the demands of college... I've always struggled with studying, but since the school I attended wasn't very demanding, it came easily. I feel useless. Since I failed (let's say) in salesroom management, which was something I thought I'd never fail at, it made me feel even worse. Not having a profession or a trade makes me feel helpless. I keep sending out resumes, but like I said, jobs are quite scarce in my country, especially for someone like me who has no experience. Sometimes I think about my future... what will become of me when my parents die and can no longer support me? What will I do for the rest of my life? If I ever have a family, how can I guarantee them financial support?

What do you think? Thanks.

I want to make it easier for you

Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson refused to identify as a Christian during a recent debate with an atheist who pressed the former about whether Catholics worship Mary, an exchange that has since gone viral.

Peterson appeared in a Sunday episodeof Jubilee Media's series "Surrounded." In the episode, the psychologist sat in the middle of a circle as a group of about 20 atheists took turns debating him one-on-one.

Almost an hour into the episode, an atheist named Danny stepped up to challenge Peterson on his definition of worship and understanding of Catholicism. Danny asked the psychologist whether Christian denominations like the Catholic Church worship Mary. Peterson replied that Mary is "quite a ways up the hierarchy, but not at the top."

Continued below.

There is swelling expectation for the reunification of the Orthodox back into the Catholic Church, as Pope Leo XIV begins his Pontificate with a message of unity pointed at the Eastern churches.

“And they conversed there in the church a whole year: and they taught a great multitude, so that at Antioch the disciples were first named Christians” (Acts 11:26).

Click to expand...

On May 14, in his “Address to Participants in the Jubilee of Oriental Churches,” Pope Leo XIV not only praised “the unique spiritual and sapiential traditions that they preserve, and for all that they have to say to us about the Christian life, synodality, and the liturgy,” he also highlighted how the Oriental Churches have “a unique and privileged role as the original setting where the Church was born.”

The term “Eastern” or “Oriental” often is interpreted to refer to the churches that grew out of the liturgy and traditions of the ancient Church of Constantinople (the Byzantine Church), capital of the Eastern half of the Roman Empire, as well as those churches that formed in communities from present-day Egypt through Syria, Iraq, Ethiopia, and India. While our Christian faith vis-à-vis the Catholic Church flourished and developed in the West, the doctrinal and juridical structure as we know it today emanated from the East.

Continued below.

A Godly Example

The apostle Paul set the example for all of us with regard to what our attitudes and our actions should be like as followers and as servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. We should be those who serve one another with humility. And humility does not mean that we don’t share our experiences and our testimonies of what the Lord is doing in us and through us, by his grace, and in his power. Paul shared his testimony and his experiences with the people regularly, for their encouragement, and so they would pray for him.

And if we are genuine followers of Jesus Christ, meaning that we are actually following his lead, doing what he says, going where he sends us, and saying what he gives us to say, to whom he gives us to say it, then especially in our present day culture, including the “church” culture, we too will be faced with trials and tribulations to test our faith and to grow us and to mature us in our walks of obedience to our Lord. And depending upon how severe the trials may be, they may bring us to tears, for it hurts to be persecuted.

But, despite Paul’s trials, tribulations, and persecutions, which were many, he did not shrink from declaring to the people anything that was spiritually profitable (beneficial, helpful, useful) to them. He did not let his trials and persecutions stop him from sharing the truth of the gospel with the people, that they must repent of (turn from, die to, forsake) their sins and have faith in Jesus Christ, a faith which comes from God, and which is persuaded of God, and which is gifted to us by God, and is not of our own doing.

And the word “faith” means “to be persuaded,” and in this context it has to do with being persuaded of God as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to die with Christ to sin and to now walk with him in obedience to his commands in holy living, by the grace of God, in the power of God. For Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross to put our sins to death with him so that, by faith in him, we will die to sin and now follow him in his ways, no longer conformed to the desires of the flesh.

Not The Easy Life!

Now God did not promise Paul that life would be easy for him if he followed Jesus Christ with his life, and if he did what the Lord commanded him to do. He promised him, and he promises us the opposite of that. All of us who are genuine followers of Jesus Christ are promised of God that we will be persecuted for our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord, and that we will be falsely accused of wrongdoing, lied about, called all sorts of names, verbally and physically attacked, and kicked to the curb because of our faith.

And who were Paul’s main persecutors? The same ones that persecuted Jesus. They were his own people, of his own race, who professed faith in the same God, who were religious, at least in form. And our main persecutors may not be the people of the world, but they may be other professing Christians and pastors and elders of “church” congregations who are following after the marketing schemes of the world in order to draw in large crowds of people from the world to their gatherings. We don’t fit with them.

And so we may be told that they were “warned about people like you, people with strong convictions,” and so “you should go someplace else where you will be a better fit.” Or we may be banned from a “church” property for speaking the truth of God’s word, in love, to the people. Or we may be lied about, and they may have a set up to where we must lie to be accepted, and if we refuse to lie, then we are cast off. And we may be screamed at and told that we need to be like the majority, and not like the minority, etc.

But we must, like Paul, not consider our lives of any account as dear to ourselves to the point to where we would choose the acceptance of other people over the calling of God upon our lives. We must be diligent in our walks of surrender and in obedience to our Lord, in going wherever he sends us, and in saying what he commands us to say, for the salvation of human lives from sin and from hell, and so that they may, too, become followers of Jesus Christ who do his will and who follow in his ways. For..

By God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

Broken and Contrite

An Original Work / May 13, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

I come before You, Lord, my Savior,
With humble heart and crushed in spirit.
I bow before You, I implore You,
Heal my broken heart, I pray.
Love You, Jesus, Lord, my master,
You are the King of my heart.
Lord, purify my heart within me;
Sanctify me, whole within.

Oh, Lord, I long to obey fully
The words You’ve spoken through Your Spirit.
I pray You give me grace and mercy,
Strength and wisdom to obey.
Father God, my heart’s desire,
Won’t You set my heart on fire?
Lord, cleanse my heart of all that hinders
My walk with You, now I pray.

Oh, Jesus, Savior, full of mercy,
My heart cries out for understanding.
I want to follow You in all ways,
Never straying from Your truth.
Holy Spirit, come in power,
Fill me with Your love today.
Lord, mold and make me;
Your hands formed me;
Live Your life through me, I pray.

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With Tears and With Trials
An Original Work / May 28, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

# 1 FOR / GAR , is a conjuncation

# 2 AS MANY AS / HOSOS , is a CORELATIVE PRONOUN , in the Nominaive Case , in the Plural

# 3 HAVE SINNED / HAMARTANO , is in the Aorist Tense , Active Voice , in the Indicative Mood , in the Plural

# 4 WITH OUT LAW / ANOMOS , is a Adverb

# 5 SHALL / APOLLYMI , Future Tense , in the Middle Voice , in the Indicative Mood , in the Plural

# 6 ALSO / KAI , is a Conjuncation

# 7 PERISH / Apollymi , in the Future Tense , in the Middle Voice , in the Indicative Mood , is in the Plural

# 8 WITH OUT LAW / Anomos , is a Adverb

# 9 AND / HAI , is a Conjunation

# 10 AS MANY AS / HSOS , is a Corraltive Pronoun , in the Nominative Case , in the Plural

# 11 HAVE SINNED / Hamartano , is n in Aorist Tense , in the Active Voice , in the Indicative Mood , and it means you believe IT

# 12 IN / EN , is a Preposition

# 13 THE LAW / NOMOS , is in the Dative Case , in the Singular

# 14 SHALL BE JUDGED / Krino , is in the Future Tense , in the Passive Voice , in the Indicative Mood , in the Plural

# 15 BY / DIA , is a Prepostion

# 16 THE LAW / NOMOS , is in the Genitive Case , in the Singular .

And in Acts 15:10 , Now therefore , why do you TEST God , to put a YOKE upon the neck of the disciples which neither

or fathers NOR we have been ABLE to BEAR , and those says we have to keep the Law of Moses , ggod luck !

dan p

Lost attitude control... Broke up above the Indian Ocean

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal in the case of a Massachusetts public school student punished for wearing a shirt stating, "There are only 2 genders."

In an orders list released Tuesday morning, the high court declined to grant a petition for a writ of certiorari in the case of L.M. v. Town of Middleborough, Massachusetts, et. al.

As a result, an earlier ruling from the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals against the minor student and his parents is allowed to stand.

Justice Samuel Alito authored a dissenting opinion to the denial of the petition, which was included in the orders list. He was joined by Justice Clarence Thomas.

Continued below.

The Beast from the Sea

“The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name (Rev. 13:1).”

Dragon = Satan (Rev. 12:9)
Beast = kingdom (Dan. 7:23)
Horns = kings (Rev. 17:12)
Heads = kings (Rev. 17:10)

The Holy Roman Empire was comprised of Italy and Germany. Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire: 1806.

The Beast-kingdom from the Sea (Rev. 13:1): the Neo-Roman Empire

Seven Italian Head-kings
1. Vittorio Emanuele di Savoia (1802–1821)
2. Carlo Felice Giuseppe Maria di Savoia (1821–1831)
3. Carlo Alberto Emanuele Vittorio Maria Clemente Saverio di Savoia (1831–1849)
4. Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso (1849–1878)
5. Umberto Ranieri Carlo Emanuele Giovanni Maria Ferdinando Eugenio di Savoia (1878–1900)
6. Vittorio Emanuele Ferdinando Maria Gennaro di Savoia-Carignano (1900–1946)*
7. Umberto Nicola Tommaso Giovanni Maria di Savoia (1946)**

* Wounded by an Austrian grenade and healed (Rev. 13:3)
** Reigned only 34 days, "a little while" (Rev. 17:10)

The blasphemous names: Emanuele, Giuseppe, Giovanni
Emanuele: “God Is With Us”
Giuseppe: “God Will Add, Increase”
Giovanni: “God Is Gracious”

Ten German Horn-kings
1. Frederick William III (1797–1840)
2. Frederick William IV (1840–1861)
3. William I (1861–1888)
4. Frederick III (1888)
5. Wilhelm II (1888–1918)
6. Friedrich Ebert (1918–1925)
7. Hans Luther (1925)
8. Walter Simons (1925)
9. Paul von Hindenburg (1925–1934)
10. Adolf Hitler (1934–1945)*

*Whose holocaust lasted 42 months: 25 Nov. 1941–8 May 1945 (Rev. 13:5)

Revealing the Antichrist

“The beast which was and is not, is himself also an eighth [head] and is one of the seven [heads], and he goes to destruction (Rev. 17:11).”

“When [the two witnesses] have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them (Rev. 11:7).”

The Beast from the Earth

“Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he [the beast] spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who live on it worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed (Rev. 13:11-12).”

Beast = kingdom (Dan. 7:23)
Horns = kings (Rev. 17:12)

Beast-kingdom from the Earth (Rev. 13:11): the United Kingdom

Two UK Horn-kings (Rev. 13:11)
1. George VI (1936–1952)
2. Elizabeth II (1952–2022)

Name of the Beast

“And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six (Rev. 13:16-18).”

The 6th letter of the Hebrew alphabet is “waw.” It has a numerical value of 6, like the Roman numeral “V” has a numerical value of 5 (Waw (letter) - Wikipedia). So in English, 666 is “WWW.” Why English? We have been living in the United Kingdom beast-kingdom since 1946. English is the most widely spoken language in the world. It uses Arabic numerals (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9) and does not operate on the additive principle in which the numeric values of the letters are added together to form the total. Therefore 666 is literally "WWW." The official languages of Mandatory Palestine were English, Arabic, and Hebrew. This was formalized in Article 22 of the Mandate for Palestine, issued by the Council of the League of Nations in 1922. The official language of Israel has been Hebrew since 1948. 666 is the number of the beast-kingdom we are living in today, and it is also the name of the beast-kingdom (the World Wide Web). It is the number of a man. One man from London invented the World Wide Web in 1989: his name is Tim Berners-Lee. He is not the antichrist. The antichrist will kill the two witnesses (Rev. 11:7).

Mark = thing carved, sculpture, or graven work (G5480 - charagma - Strong's Greek Lexicon (nasb95))
“Mark of the Beast (Rev. 13:16)” = smartphones

In 2024, 60.42% of the world’s population owns a smartphone (BankMyCell). 39.58% of the world's population does not own a smartphone. 25% of the world’s total population is ages 0 to 14 (United Nations Population Fund). This means that approximately 100% of 0 to 14-year-olds do not have smartphones and approximately 14.58% of adults in the world do not have a smartphone.

“Internationally, more than 50,000 people [less than 0.001% of the world’s population] have elected to receive microchip implants to serve as their swipe keys, credit cards, and means to instantaneously share social media information (Carnegie Council—The Rise of Preemptive Bans on Human Microchip Implants, 7/9/2024).”

Additionally, to use a microchip implant, you would need a graphic user interface to determine how much money to put on it. To use an implant, you must download an app on your smartphone, activate an account, and add some money to it.

A Look Inside China's Social Credit System ( Login to view embedded media )

1946: Mobile Telephone Service
1948: Manchester Baby
1949: Manchester Mark 1
1950: Diners’ Club
1951: Ferranti Mark 1
1958: Visa
1966: Mastercard
1974: Internet
1975: Microsoft
1976: Apple
1984: Apple Macintosh
1985: Discover Card
1989: WORLD WIDE WEB (WWW) = NAME OF THE BEAST FROM THE EARTH (Rev. 13:17)
1990: Nexus
1991: SIM card
1992: Treaty on Open Skies
1993: World Wide Web put into the public domain by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
1994: Amazon
1995: eBay
1996: SMARTPHONES = MARK OF THE BEAST FROM THE EARTH (Rev. 13:16)
1997: Mobile commerce
1998: Google
1999: PayPal
2000: LimeWire
2001: Patriot Act
2002: Friendster
2003: LinkedIn
2004: Facebook
2006: Twitter
2007: Apple iPhone
2009: Bitcoin
2010: Instagram
2011: Apple Siri
2012: Huawei P1
2013: Google Pixel
2014: Amazon Alexa
2016: SOPHIA THE ROBOT = IMAGE OF THE BEAST FROM THE EARTH (Rev. 13:14)
2017: Sep. 23 Sign of the Son of Man ( Login to view embedded media ) (Rev. 12:1–2)

Sophia the Robot made global headlines when she was granted Saudi Arabian citizenship, making the kingdom the first country in the world to offer its citizenship to a robot. Sophia, therefore, has human rights. And since Saudi Arabia has capital punishment, if one were to destroy a Sophia robot in Saudi Arabia, he could get the death penalty.

"And he deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause all who do not worship the image of the beast to be killed (Rev. 13:14–15)."

“Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone [1.] worships the beast [the World Wide Web] AND [2.] his image [social, humanoid robots], AND [3.] receives a mark [smartphone] on his forehead [figuratively, as an idol] OR on his hand [literally, as an assistant], he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name. Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus (Rev. 14:9-12).’”

You would have to commit ALL THREE offenses to be tormented with fire and brimstone.

Hi,

Why is Lenin’s body still on display in Russia? Isn’t Russia now an Orthodox country that rejects communism? I understand he died 100 years ago, his body has to be chemically treated every year to avoid decomposition, and most of the organic material is long gone.

Why don’t they just bury his body in an undisclosed location and move on?

Any thoughts?