THE FULFILLMENT OF DANIEL 11
Part 1 of 2

The vision that Daniel recorded in Dan 11 begins in 480 BC with the fourth king after King Darius and ends with the resurrection found in Dan 12.

Jesus chose the titles king of the North and the king of the South in the vision because their fulfillment changes over the long period of time the vision spans.

Below are the insights that I have been given so far regarding the fulfillment of the king of the North and the king of the South found in Dan 11.

The fulfillment of Dan 11:1-2 took place when King Xerxes, who was the fourth king of Persia after King Cyrus, the conquerer of the Babylonians under King Belteshazzar, rose up against Greece and was defeated at Athens in 480 BC.
Dan. 11:1 “In the first year of Darius the Mede, I arose to be an encouragement and a protection for him. 2 “And now I will tell you the truth. Behold, three more kings are going to arise in Persia. Then a fourth will gain far more riches than all of them; as soon as he becomes strong through his riches, he will arouse the whole empire against the realm of Greece.

Dan 11:3 was fulfilled when Alexander the Great, the son of King Phillip II of Macedonia, arose and conquered the Persians in 334 BC and after he died in 332 BC at least 34 of his generals and governors that he left in charge of the kingdoms that he had conquered began fighting with each other until the Romans took over a great portion of the kingdom.
Dan 11:3 “And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and do as he pleases. 4 “But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four points of the compass, though not to his own descendants, nor according to his authority which he wielded, for his sovereignty will be uprooted and given to others besides them.

Ptolmey (I) Soter and Seleucus (I) Nicator Fulfilled the King of the South and the Prince that Grew Strong With Him Described in Dan. 11:5
Dan. 11:5 “Then the king of the South will grow strong, along with one of his princes who will gain ascendancy over him and obtain dominion; his domain will be a great dominion indeed.

In order to show that Ptolmey (I) Soter fulfilled the king of the South that grew strong, which is described in Dan 11:5, after Alexander the Great died and his kingdom imploded and was parceled out toward the four points of the compass we must begin with the records that show when Alexander the Great died.

According to Annals of the World record number 2356 below Alexander the Great died in 323 BC.

3681c AM, 4391 JP, 323 BC

2356. From the diaries, Arrian and Plutach describe in detail the events that happened during his last sickness. No one can tell us who wrote those diaries of what he did. Whether Eumenes Cardianus or Diodorus Erythreus or Strattis Olynthius did this, we do not know. He wrote a diary of his deed in 4 books and one particular book of Alexander’s death according to Duidas. Whoever’s diaries they were, they contain the clearest account of what happened. Therefore have I thought it good to include what I found in Plutarch from these diaries. I compared them with the days of the Macedonian month of Daesius and our month of May using my own discourse of the Macedonian year. “The 18th of the month Dasin’s (May 12th) he slept in a bath for his fever. The next day (May 13th) after he had washed, he went to his chamber and spent that day there playing dice with Medius and then washed again. Toward the evening after his devotions, he ate his supper somewhat greedily and the next night had a grievous bout of a fever. On the 20th day (May 14th) when he had walked, he offered sacrifices very solemnly again. While lying along in a bath, he listened to Nearchus as he told him what things as had happened to him on his voyage and what wonders he had seen in the ocean. (May 15th) When he did the same this day, his fever increased. The next day (May 16th) his fever grew very sharply and he was carried to lie in a chamber near the great pool or swimming place. Here he talked with his commanders of putting approved men in places of office when offices needed to be filled. On the 24th (May 18th) his sickness grew worse and he offered sacrifice to which he was carried. He ordered the chief commanders and captains who were then in the court to stay with him but the centurions and corporals to serve outside and watch. He was carried into the innermost lodgings of the court. On the 25th day (May 19th) he had a little relief but his fever did not leave him. When the captains came to him, he did not speak to them at all and likewise on the 26th. (May 20th) Thereupon the Macedonians thought that he had been dead and came flocking with a great noise to the chamber door and threatened his friends who were there if they would not let them in. The doors were opened and every common soldier passed by his bedside. The same day Pithon and Selencus who were sent to Serapis’ temple to learn whether Alexander should be moved there or not. They brought back the answer from the oracle that he should stay where he was. On the 28th day (May 22nd.) in the evening he died.

Alexander the Great died in 323 BC

The fact that Annals of World record 2427 below points out that Ptolemy, who was the governor of Egypt under Alexander the Great, had grown so strong in Egypt by the time of Alexander the Greats’ death that it would have been hard to remove him, demonstrates that Ptolemy was the king of the South that grew in strength and continued to do so after Alexander the Greats’ death, which was prophesied in Dan 11:5.

Ptolmey (I) Soter was the governor of Egypt appointed by Alexander the Great who fulfilled the king of the South described in Dan 11:5

3683 AM, 4393 JP, 321 BC

2427. After this, Antipater made a new distribution of the governments of the provinces in Triparadisus. He partly ratified what had formerly been done in that region and made some alterations as required. He left Ptolemy what he had, for it was hard to remove him to any other government since he was firmly entrenched in Egypt. Mesopotamia and the country of Arbela were assigned to Amphimachus, the king’s brother. Babylon went to Seleucus, Parthia to Philippuis, Aria and Drangiana to Atasander of Cyprus. Bactria and Sogdiana went to Stasanor of Solos from the same land. Media, as far as to the Caspian Gates, was taken from Atropates, the son-in-law of the deceased Perdiccas and given to Pithon the son of Crateas or Cratenas. Thereupon Atropates, called the lesser Media from his own name Atroperia and revolted from the Macedonian government and made himself absolute king of it. His posterity held it down until the time of Strabo. (Strabo. l. 11. p. 523.) Antigenes, (for whom Antigonus is incorrectly written in Diodorus) captain of the silver targeteers was given the province of Susa because he was the first that went against Perdiccas. 3000 of the most active Macedonians in the recent sedition were given to him. The rest of the provinces of the upper Asia were left in the hands of such as had them before except for Patala. It was the greatest city of all India.

Annals of the World records 2527 thru 2530 reveal that in 314 BC when Seleucus fled Babylon to Egypt and convinced Ptolemy Soter to help him fight against Antigonus he became Ptolemys’ Prince that grew in strength with him, which was foretold Dan.11:5.

3690 AM, 4400 JP, 314 BC

2527. After 22 days, he arrived at Babylon and Seleucus, the governor of that province, received him with all royal presents and feasted his whole army. Antigonus wanted him to give an account of all the money in the public treasury which he had received there since he was appointed to his position. Seleucus replied that he was not bound to give an account for that which was given him by the Macedonians for the service which he had done for Alexander in his lifetime. When hostilities grew daily between them, Seleucus knew he was too weak to tackle Antigonus and feared lest he be killed like Pithon. He stole away with only 50 cavalry in his company and fled to Ptolemy in Egypt. All the world spoke of how good Ptolemy was to all those that fled to him for refuge. (Diod. Sic. year 2. Olymp. 116. and Appia. in his Syriaca. p. 121.)

2529. When Seleucus was safely in Egypt, Ptolemy entertained him very graciously. When he told Ptolemy all the things Antigonus had done against him, he persuaded Ptolemy to fight against Antigonus. (Diod. Sic. year 2. Olymp. 116. with Pausanias in his Attica, p. 5.)

2530. From there Seleucus with some his closest friends went to Europe, to persuade Cassander, who then commanded all in Macedonia and Lysimachus, who was over Thracia, to wage war on Antigonus. Antigonus suspected his intentions and sent his agents to Ptolemy, Cassander and Lysimachus, to request their love and friendship to him as in former times. (Diod. Sic. year 2. Olymp. 116.) However, Seleucus carried the day so that they all joined together with him in a firm league against Antigonus. (Appia. in his Syriaca. p. 121.)

Selecus (I) Nicator fulfilled the Prince that grew strong with the King of South described in Dan 11:5 after he fled to Egypt in 314 BC

Records 2563 thru 2565 reveal that in 312 BC Seleucus recaptured Babylon, which marked the beginning of the Seleucid Kingdom and Seleucus Nicators’ growth in dominion and ascendancy over Ptolemy Soter, the King of the South, which is described in Dan. 11:5 when it depicts the Prince that grows with the King of the South growing greater in dominion and ascending over the King of the South.

Marriage is good because a man and a woman are working together.

That same idea can be applied to priests.

Male priests should be working with women priests.

Brandon Dawes Moore was arraigned Thursday in Kettering Municipal Court for inducing panic and telecommunications harassment, both misdemeanors.

“The phone call centered around someone coming to the school to shoot (LGBTQ+) students,” an affidavit filed in municipal court read.

The threatening call to the high school came a day after public discussions of gender-fluid students on its prom court.

Estimates of viewing vary between 400 million and 2.5 billion. The funeral of the Queen may have topped 4 billion making these the two most watched/attended Christian services in history and superbowls and even soccer world cups pale by comparison. More seeds and fruit may have come from the thousand-year-old British monarchy (the longest-lasting Christian monarchy in human history (even more than the Byzantines)


Did you watch the service? Do you understand how profound a witness it was to the global historical faith that Christians share?

On an occasion while Jesus was with his disciples walking he asked them who people said he was and also who they said he is. That passage is one that in Catholic teaching has some significance for church hierarchy and government. Here is the passage
Matthew 16:
How do you handle the passage? What about your denomination, does it has a written view about the passage?

For those of you who might be interested, the C of E has put out a commentated order of service.

I looked it up and it's call the stone of Destiny. Does the Church of England supports this?

The book of Revelation is one of the easiest books of the Bible to interpret.
The main requirement is to have a general knowledge of the first 65 books.

The main thing to remember is that revelation is written in chronological order.
Jesus told John to write the book in 3 parts.
1.The things that were....1st chapter
2. The things that are....chapters w and 3
3.The things that will be.......chapters 4=20
Things that were in chapter one tells of Christ eartly years. Chapters 2 and 3 talk about the present,church years.
Chapter 4-20 Rapture,tribulation,millennium and final ending.
God bless

I feel like I am going crazy right now. I do not trust God. I do not trust his mercy. I do not trust him at all.

My mom died a year ago. She died with many unresolved issues. I know that she was imperfect. But I worry whether she made it in or not. I know that people gave me opinions about whether she made it in or not. So I am not going to ask about whether she made it or not. I am still worried about her and I can't seem to get peace. My brothers and sisters are no help whatsoever. They keep bringing up her sins and flaws. And it increases my anxiety. I am starting to hate my brothers and sisters with a passion. In fact, I am thinking of writing a letter to my oldest sister telling her to not call me. The truth of the matter is that I can't stand my siblings, even though both of our parents have died. And yes, it may be true that they may not like me too. But they want me to remain in their lives, not the other way around. My sister got upset with me when I told the doctor that I no longer have an emergency contact. She was not happy; and she demanded that I put her down. I do not want them in my life any more. Part of me wants to hurt them because they say bad things about mom. I loved mom. And she was imperfect. But so were we. And she had to deal with our baggage. But nobody ever thinks about that.

I would pray to God to have mercy on her soul. I know that is worthless. The Bible says that it is to become of men to die once and then the judgment. But I can't seem to help it. Sometimes I hate the fact that there is a hell. But I am human and have no right to question God. I don't see him as merciful. I see him as vengeful and wrathful. I am hoping he is merciful.

Anyways, I need prayer to stop hating my siblings so much. I am suffering with bitterness.

Presuming that you are a Christian and considering saint Paul's reflections on Judaism in Romans chapter three the question arises, "given that you are a Christian do you want to be a Jew?"

Romans 3:

I have ocd and the last three years it's been getting bad right before bedtime. I won't get too into it but I have scary thoughts about the devil and demonic things. During the day I'm fine it's right before bedtime. I pray over and over again but my ocd is even ruining my prayer life and interfering with my Bible study. Please join me in prayer and protection in the spiritual world.

Peace in Christ

The Lord Jesus shall send His “angels”….that is, His messengers…with a great sound of a trumpet (the Spirit of Truth) and they shall gather His elect from the “four winds”….from EVERY WIND OF DOCTRINE that is being preached by earthly-thinking men who lie in wait to deceive.

The 4 winds…every wind of false Bible teachings of men…. have scattered His people. They need to be gathered together from the 4 winds of heaven in the Word of Truth. “Heaven” = anything highly exalted among earthly men (their teachings, their commandments, their church handwritings of ordinances, etc)

Mat 24:31 KJV
(31) And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

His messengers (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers) are sent out to gather together His elect together in the UNITY (oneness) of the faith and of the knowledge (epignosis = FULL knowledge) of the Son of God unto a complete man. We are to be gathered together in one mind and one body (Christ) and no longer be "scattered" among the denominations of earthly-minded men.

Eph 4: KJV
(11) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
(12) For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
(13) Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

The Son of God comes to give us an understanding by the opening up of the Scriptures to our hearing ears and minds.

We were once children tossed “to and fro” in the “sea” of instability and carried about with the 4 winds….every wind of teaching preached by deceitful men who are “unlearned and unstable” and who are beguiling the unstable souls of those who listen to them. We were once scattered by the 4 winds.

Ephesians 4:
(14) That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

We are to take heed on how we hear Him….and grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are to glorify Him….and not earthly men.

2Pe 3:18 KJV
(18) But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

The “unlearned and unstable” currently wrest the Scriptures unto their own destruction. They lead MANY down that broad path to their mortal destruction.

We must not be led away with the error of the wicked and fall from our own stability. They will not believe the things that they will hear the Spirit saying at the end of this age.

2Pe 3:16-17 KJV
(16) As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
(17) Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.

We are to take heed on how we hear His voice as He speaks the revealed Word to us.

Man must not “upbraid”…defame…. what he hears the Son of God teaching (the knowledge of our Lord and Savior) in the Spirit of Truth.

The knowledge of our Lord Jesus shall be given to those who will not defame what they hear…but will be taken away from those who will waver in belief.

Jas 1:5-7 KJV
(5) If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

He that wavers in his faith (upbraiding what he hears) is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. They will not be able to receive the Word of the Lord as they will not believe what they hear.

(6) But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
(7) For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

The 4 winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea….as there are many unstable souls currently being deceived by every wind of doctrine being preached by the “natural brute beasts of men” who are likened to a “lion, bear, leopard”.

The 4 beasts of Daniel are the “natural brute beasts”….those preachers who are choosing to be sensual and not holding onto the Spirit…that come up from the “sea”.
They beguile the “unstable souls” who have become faint and weary in well doing. Those souls are “tossed to and fro” being carried about every wind of doctrine (the 4 winds) that they are “preaching” to those who are unstable.

Daniel saw the “dreamers” in his vision by “night”….for it is currently “night” where those who are in charge of their congregations do not have any understanding. They have no knowledge of God as the Scriptures are shut from the eyes of their understanding. They preach every wind of doctrine....the 4 winds of the heaven.

Dan 7:2-3 KJV
(2) Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.
(3) And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

They are as “raging waves of the sea foaming out their own shame” as they are “unlearned and unstable” and will rage against any who would preach the Word of Truth to them.
The 4th beast of Daniel 7 is about their speaking of evil words and evil actions against the Word of Truth....and will be judged for it.

They have no understanding as they are as “wandering stars” to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness to the age.

Jud 1:13 KJV
(13) Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

But the judgment will sit when the Lord comes to open up the Scriptures to our hearing ears.

The “fiery stream” issued and came forth from before Him as He opens up the Scriptures to our hearing ears. He comes with myriads of His saints to execute judgment upon all that are ungodly.

The 4th beast of Daniel has “iron teeth” as they speak against what they do not understand. They speak “hard” speeches against Him….against the hearing of His voice.

Jud 1:14-16 KJV
(14) And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
(15) To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
(16) These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.

Those who will behave as the 4th beast of Daniel 7 are those (earthly-minded “preachers” and their followers) who will continue to walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise the government of God as they will not do what He commands. They are “bold” men, self-willed (arrogant), and who are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.

2Pe 2:9-11 KJV
(9) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
(10) But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
(11) Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.

In the judgment, the rest of the beasts (the lion, bear and leopard) will have their dominion (to catch and destroy us) taken away as they will receive what they hear.

Their lives will be “prolonged” for a season and time: when the Lord comes to speak His words of life and spirit to them. They will be saved as they will inherit eternal life because they will believe. They will not behave like the 4th beast....raging against what they will hear the Lord speaking.

Not so with the 4 beast of natural men who will behave badly towards the hearing of the Word of Truth….the fiery stream of the Truth.

Dan 7:9-12 KJV
(9) I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
(10) A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
(11) I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.
(12) As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.

They …those natural brute beasts (the lion, bear, leopard) of men will hear and renounce the hidden things of dishonesty and will no longer walk in craftiness. They will no longer handle the Word of God deceitfully. They will no longer “retail” the Word of God for their own unjust gain.

2Co 4:2-5 KJV
(2) But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
(3) But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
(4) In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
(5) For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.

Like when the Lord called James and John, they will IMMEDIATELY leave their father “Zebedee” (meaning “my gifts”) and those who are “hired servants” and will follow after Him. They will no longer preach for “gifts” along with all the other hirelings who are preaching for pay’s sake. They will no longer retail the Word of God for "gifts" to be given to them.

Mar 1:19-20 KJV
(19) And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.
(20) And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.

Like Matthew who sat at the “receipt of custom”, they will hear His call to follow Him and will arise from the receiving of money from their congregations (that they “sit” at as leaders) and will leave off from that “occupation”.

Mar 2:14 KJV
(14) And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him

What does it mean to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? (Acts 16:31)

Some of us lean toward the Bible speaking for itself. Problem is, the Bible has been presented over the years through a myriad of translations. Sometimes in the effort to translate, ambiguities are fostered. In the Bible, in its true form, there aren’t ambiguities, unless we can accuse God of being ambiguous. In our understanding, though, God is not ambiguous in what He wants. There is no ambiguity in His destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, for instance. So, it’s probable that any perceived ambiguities are the result of centuries of translations and revisions of the original Hebrew and Greek that the Bible was written in. Perhaps those who’ve been translating and revising have had people looking over their shoulders to see if to them such translations and revisions are accurate. But we, centuries later, are left with what might be seen in at least some parts of the Bible as the resulting proverbial sausage, akin to Bills that are revised in the U.S. Congress before being passed. And along with these revisions, the fallacies of grammar may have reared their ugly hydra-heads.

Submitted for your approval, John 14:26 and John 15:26. Jesus in John 14:26 says “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” Is the Helper the Holy Spirit? And if so, doe that mean that those who hear these words from Jesus are to wait for this Spirit to enter them? What do they do in the meantime?

But is the Helper identified as the Holy Spirit in John 14:26? Jesus in John 15:26 says, “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.” Here, it seems there is the Helper and there is the Spirit of truth. Leads to another question: Is the Spirit of truth the same as the Holy Spirit mentioned in John 14:26? Well, if it is, it would lead one to believe that the Helper in John 14:26 is the same as the Holy Spirit, who is the same as the Spirit of Truth. And if it’s not, it’s hard to determine what the connection is between the two Verses.

But the Holy Spirit exists. It exists in those whose love and faith is in God. Could we have been born with the Holy Spirit? Acts 1:8 lends to the notion that the Holy Spirit comes to us when we are ready to receive it. It says that Jesus tells his apostles, who question him about things that are to come in previous Verses, “...you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” We can presume that these are grown men Jesus is talking to, not newborn babies.

What does the Pentecost play in this? After all, the Holy Spirit appears everywhere, not just in Jerusalem. The Pentecost is a celebration of the event of the Spirit’s appearing amidst the assembly of the apostles and other followers of Jesus in Jerusalem during the Festival of Weeks. It seems that in terms of the Holy Spirit, this day is no different from any other day; the Holy Spirit appears in people as it will, regardless of time and place.

Please note - the AP has determined that the Tweet upon which I based this OP was fake and I fell for it. My only excuse is the case made about the extra space and my own viewing of the John Cornyn holiday Tweet in the blue section.

How did Ted Cruz respond to the latest mass shooting? By Tweeting* boilerplate that was copied, pasted and edited like a Mad Lib. We know this because there's a extra space after "horrific".

And the fact that he's* done it 12 times before.

*Most likely this is his social media person. We know he uses one because "he" once sent the exact same Tweet as John Cornyn.

What will tomorrow bring? And Monday? And Tuesday? Wednesday? Thursday...

I would like to apologize for my arrogant poem. I hope all of you are doing well. God bless you.

...

Operation Lone Star continues to fill the dangerous gaps left by the Biden Administration's refusal to secure the border. Every individual who is apprehended or arrested and every ounce of drugs seized would have otherwise made their way into communities across Texas and the nation due to President Joe Biden's open border policies.
The Biden border policies are madness and the human toll due to human trafficking and drugs are staggering. Democrats are going to have to unite to stop this. Texas alone will not be enough.

It is interesting writing prisoners. Each is of course unique in how they are accepting their situation. One prisoner that I am writing is named Gregory, and he comes across as very intense, but with a mind that is more childlike than adult. Not sure how far to go with this. Writing is a good vehicle for communication, but it does have some drawbacks of course.

He likes to write many small letters, mostly about one paragraph long, in big letters that look like a child’s handwriting. The writing is not cursive. Yet at the same time, when he writes on a serious note, he shows that there is a lot going on in his mind and heart.

When he writes about his faith in Jesus, he can share some profound insights in a very simple way, which only adds to the beauty of his words. His faith is simple, and direct, and seems to be constant for him. He does speak of struggles of course, and the burden of living in a prison with many different types of men. Some are very violent and need to be avoided. I do worry about him. He has an openness that is not present in the other prisoners that I write to, though they too are men who are seeking a deeper understanding of their faith.

Gregory is having some health problems, and he is having serious problems with one of his eyes. He has diabetes. He is in a special program, but they do not have it where he is at, so he is expecting to be moved soon to another prison.

I do not ask the prisoners why they are in prison, though some do tell me. Gregory has not told me but states that he will be out in a few years. Some of the men I write to are in for a long time, or even for life without parole.

Once you begin to know what their lives are like, and how they got into prison it quickly takes away from any simplistic judgment about what kind of people they are. I am not naïve, many in prison deserve to be there, even for life, but some, well I think it serves no purpose if they are not a threat to others and have proven that they can deal with the issues that brought them to prison in the first place.

When thinking about some of the situations that have led to a prison sentence, could in fact happen to just about any of us. Passions can run high in the human soul, which can lead to a spur-of-the-moment choice that can destroy more than one life.

I do fail in how I write to prisoners. Sometimes I let too much time go by before I respond. Working on that, but sloth is one of my struggles. Yet when I write, it does something deep in me that I do not understand. I think it is because no matter how limited communication can be by writing, it makes the men incarcerated real men and women. Though I have written one woman for a short time. It is mostly men who write to monasteries hoping someone will write to them.

One of my friends on Facebook contacted me for an address for one of the prisoners I wrote about. The prisoner was overjoyed and looks forward to letters from this loving person. He only has a couple of people writing him.

The older I get, the less I understand about life. Yet I am also at peace with that. Not sure it is just about getting answers, but more about living, helping, and growing in the ability to show compassion, and yes empathy for others. Still working on that.-Br.MD

Hi, I have been reading about Carl Jung, the swiss psychoanalyst and his inroads into christianity....the main critique I have read is by Leanne Payne, who didn't agree with the uncritical use or mixing of Jungian theory with Christian teaching on spiritual formation. However I already have read some of that through Morton Kelsey, who Payne was sharply critical of. And I don't feel comfortable reading more of Kelsey. There are other writers though and I am not sure about them, eg. John A. Sanford (son of Agnes Sanford). The issue seems to be does their Jungianism overshadow their Christian faith. The main problem Leanne Payne had with Jung was the neo-gnosticism in his writings. I was wondering whether or not John A Sanford might be a safer guide than Morton Kelsey??

Mason argued for the states option because "no amendments of the proper kind would ever be obtained by the people if the government should become oppressive," wrote another Virginian, James Madison.

Oppression is what we have now, Levin says.

"I see that as we move further and further away from constitutional government with more and more power centralized in Washington, DC, more and more power centralized in the Democrat Party," he said." You see the Democrats in Congress doing things the Framers could never have dreamed of: When they have a Democrat president, they can further legislative power to that president. When they don't, they try to destroy the Republican president who's in office.

Levin: Backing Convention of States is a no-brainer for conservatives

A move is under way, perhaps a quiet move, to give more governing authority to the man or woman you're prone to see at church, the grocery store or the community 4th of July fireworks celebration.

afn.net

It is obvious that Congress is not going to reform itself. Ross Perot was so right about health care for all Americans, he said that if you want a good health care system make sure your servants in Washington get the exact same health care plan. Likewise we see members of Congress getting wealthy in the stock market because they have an advantage over you and I. We can certainly MEET to discuss crucial matters, whether or not amendments can be passed is another story--but we need to try. The framers of the Constitution were so wise in giving us two methods to amend our U.S. Constitution.

Not Every Man Will Be As Dumb As Marcus Silva​

This controlling behavior didn’t stop during the divorce proceedings. Before she moved out, Silva went digging through Brittni’s phone and purse, and discovered that she was pregnant and seeking an abortion. Her two best friends, Amy and Jackie, had allegedly offered to help her get abortion pills. Silva got in touch with Jonathan Mitchell, the architect of Texas’ bounty-hunter abortion ban, who helped Silva file a lawsuit. It made a rather extraordinary claim: He sued his ex-wife’s two friends for wrongful death, demanding $1 million from each, claiming that the terminated pregnancy was a child, his child, and that they had caused its “murder.”

Silva is not the first man to use the courts to further his alleged abuse of a woman who was trying to escape his control. Domestic violence experts have coined the term “litigation abuse” to describe the tactic of using protracted, frivolous, and repeated lawsuits, unnecessary motions, and invasive, harassing discovery demands as a means of prolonging contact with victims and inflicting further distress and expense on them. Frequently, abusive litigation is pursued in the aftermath of a victim’s successful attempt to leave the relationship. It has the effect of maintaining the abuser’s control, and of punishing the victim for trying to escape it. This is exactly the strategy Silva deployed.

Now, with abortion bans on the books, abusers have a powerful new ally in their quest to inflict suffering, isolation, and private control over women: the state.

It was only after Brittni’s abortion was complete that Silva revealed he knew about the plan and, according to the lawsuit, threatened to turn her in if she didn’t submit to his continued abuse.

What happens now to Silva? While nothing that Brittni, Jackie, or Amy did was illegal, his own alleged conduct most assuredly was. According to the counterclaim, he repeatedly accessed Brittni’s password-protected phone without her consent, reading messages between the women that were meant to be private. Under Texas law, that’s an actionable invasion of privacy. Silva’s alleged snooping also violates Texas’ Harmful Access by Computer Act, which prohibits unauthorized access of any computer (including a smartphone). By showing photographs of Brittni’s text messages to the police, Silva inadvertently “admitted that he committed a crime in violation of Texas Penal Code.”

(see also)

My 21yo son broke up with his 3rd gf over a year ago and is "afraid" to date again because he doesn't want to break another girl's heart. He is a Christian and has only dated to identify a suitable wife. In each case, big issues arose about 1 yr in. By then, hearts were invested as it was difficult to guard their hearts for that long. He really listens to our advice. What advice can I give him. "Get back on the horse" isn't working...☹️ TYIA

There is an ongoing war in Sudan, I think some Christians are still in the Country and the situation seems bad. Please pray for an end to the war