It is natural and quite right that Christians should engage in debate over what the Bible says about the last days and the Return of Jesus. After all, the Bible has a lot to tell us about these issues. Regardless of one’s worldview or faith, the Bible is an ancient and vitally important book that has shaped the course of history and will continue to in the future.

But how can it be that there are so many differing opinions as to what will take place? We do, [mostly] all agree on the most essential point – that is, Jesus will physically Return to earth. It is in the timing of His Return and who exactly is the nation, the people that He Returns to, that there is disagreement.

Jesus said; Do not assume that I have come to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. Matthew 10:34-36
Luke 12:49 I have come to set fire to the earth and how I wish it were already kindled.

Jesus makes statements that contradict today’s picture of Him as a gentle pacifist and seems to differ from what the angels announced at His birth, but it isn’t; they told of the beginning of this age of enmity between God and humanity and the eventual final reconciliation. Matthew 3:12, Psalms 110:5-6

Until that happens, we are still in that age of enmity and God must impose consequences on both our good and evil choices. We have free will, mostly so that we can freely love Him, because only freely chosen love is true love. Thus, if God only rewarded the good but left the evil unpunished, He would act arbitrarily, against His just nature and our free choices would be meaningless.



From Isaiah 63:1-6...I resolved on a Day of vengeance.... we have a graphic description of the Lord carrying out His just retribution against His enemies. The reason for their destruction is foretold in Romans 9:22-23, Hebrews 10:26-27.
Many other passages describe this soon to happen, terrible Day of the Lords wrath. This cannot be at the same time as the Return of Jesus, as the Day of the Lord is a worldwide event, whereas at His Return, Jesus disposes of the beast, the False Prophet and the armies attacking Jerusalem, by the Sword of His Word and NOT by fire.

The fact that the Lord’s garments become blood stained during His Day of vengeance, then - at His Return, it states that He “is robed in a garment dyed in blood”, this proves that the Day of the Lord is some time before His Return.

Isaiah 66:15-16 See; the Lord is coming in fire, His chariots like a whirlwind, bringing retribution in His furious anger. The Lord will judge with fire – by His sword He will test all mankind. Many will be slain by Him.

Many people today, combine prophecies like Isaiah 63 & 66, the wrath of the Lord, with the Return of Jesus. To do this requires that you allegorize either these verses or the accurate descriptions of His Return in Revelation 19, Zechariah 14:3-5 and Matt 24:30

Psalm 50:1-6 The Lord God has spoken and summoned the world. He shines from Zion, in His glory. He will not remain silent, a consuming fire goes before Him and storms rage around Him. The heavens and the earth look on at the judging of His people. Gather to Me, My loyal servants, those, who by sacrifice have made a covenant with Me. The heavens will proclaim His justice, for God Himself is judge. Ezekiel 34:11-16

The Lord’s loyal servants are gathered into Zion, all the Promised Land. Ezekiel 20:34-38 Then, it isn’t until later, when the Great Tribulation is over, that Jesus Returns, destroys His attackers, gathers all His people and reigns for 1000 years.

Therefore, the next event on the prophetic calendar is the Lords Day of vengeance.

while on the way to work, was coming down a ice hill. Then went into hydroplane . There was no road only ice. You could stop at the sign and go left or right. If you went forward you go off a cliff. What is worse is a brick house is way down there. I hollered the name of Jesus and my vehicle made a sound like pavement was under me. and stopped right at the stop sign. Praise his name.

This has been percolating for a while, but anonymously. In some ways, it's still anonymous as the plaintiff is a John Doe, but it's reached the point of lawyers and lawsuits.

GOP strategist files sexual battery lawsuit against Matt Schlapp​

The Republican campaign staffer who has accused Matt Schlapp, a high-profile conservative activist, of sexual assault is now suing Schlapp and his wife, Mercedes, for more than $9 million.

The sexual battery civil lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the Virginia Circuit Court in Alexandria, also accuses both Schlapps of defamation and of conspiracy to impugn the accuser.

The complaint recounts accusations made by a Republican strategist, a male in his late 30s, who alleged that Matt Schlapp fondled him without his consent as he drove Schlapp back to his hotel in Georgia last October.

The Schlapps are both highly visible in Republican spheres and boosters of former President Donald Trump. Matt Schlapp, an alum of George W. Bush’s White House, runs the American Conservative Union, which stages the Conservative Political Action Conference, known as CPAC. Mercedes Schlapp was a communications director in the Trump White House.

The staffer tells CNN he is keeping his legal options, including the possibility of seeking criminal charges, open.

[In addition the texts between Schlapp and the staffer, there are also (I have seen) alleged text messages between the plaintiff and a friend that are from the time of the alleged events. Plaintiff appears to be freaking out.]

Watching a video on YouTube and an ad came on real quick, like only a couple of seconds and it showed a crown of thorns turning around and I noticed at the top left the word COVID. It was so brief and I didn't grasp any other information but has anyone seen this and what do you think it means?

...

I used to come here a long time ago but everytime I try to get closer to God I have a manic episode where I think I am some sort of biblical figure and go off the rails for a month or so then I fear trying to get close to Him again for fear I will have that happen to me again.

I tried to go to a church a long time ago but in the sermon the preacher told everybody that he KNEW that some of them were not saved and was brow beating his own people till I got up and walked out. I mean how on earth would anybody know if somebody is saved. Who does he think he is? Jesus? I think not. I decided after dealing with a few of these churches around here that its not for me. I will say I just have had bad luck dealing with them and leave it at that.

So anyways I am going to try again to get closer to God. Mainly I want to study about Jesus because I really love Jesus. Last night I finished up watching the Passion again for just to remember what He did for me but it gave me a panic attack and I had to go to the ER. I love learning about Him but I dont always agree with what Churches and people say.

Oh by the way I got diagnosed as Schitzoaffective with bipolar type 1. I wasnt sure where I should post so I just came here.

I think I have a pretty good idea of motive.

If he had set the cross ablaze in front of an African-American’s house would the motivation still be “unclear?” Or how about the ran around vandalizing three mosques in one night. Would his intentions still be “unclear?”

6ABC News: A suspected vandal targeted three Catholic churches in South Jersey in just a matter of minutes on Friday morning.

Authorities say Peter Sirolli, 40, broke a window and set fires in two of the attacks.

He was arrested on multiple counts including arson, criminal mischief, bias intimidation, desecration of sacred objects and weapons charges.

“We are still actively investigating his social media pages and anything else. We have no ties to any organization that’s anti-Catholic at this time. We are not sure what his motivation is,” said Gloucester Township Police Chief David Harkins.

Investigators say it began at 7:11a.m. Authorities accuse Sirolli of setting a 10-foot cross on fire on the lawn of St. Patrick’s Church in Woodbury.

He also threw rocks through windows at two other churches.

Continued below.

A few years ago, I attended the Women of the World festival in London. Arriving late, I hurried up to a panel called “Faith and Feminism,” which featured a panel of women from different faith backgrounds talking about how they merged their religious beliefs with their feminist convictions. Halfway through the event, something surprising happened. A thirty-something-year-old woman in the audience abruptly raised her hand. The chair of the panel gestured for the microphone to be passed to the audience member and there was an uncomfortable stirring while we all waited.

Then a clear voice rang out: “I’m so tired of fighting Christian church leaders to be treated equally but I don’t want to leave the church. So, what do I do?” She paused before reformulating her question: “How do I stay?”

That question stuck with me long after the festival ended. At the time, I was just beginning five years of in-depth research with single Christian women in the US and the UK and had no idea just how many of them were asking the very same question.

It turns out that in both countries, single Christian women are leaving churches at increasingly high rates. In the UK, one study showed that single women are the most likelygroup to leave Christianity. In the US, the numbers tell a similar story.

Of course, there is a distinction between leaving church and leaving Christianity, and these studies do not make the difference clear. Regardless, leaving – whether it be your congregation or your faith — is a difficult decision. Women stand to lose their friends, their sense of identity, their community and, in some cases, even their family. And yet, many are doing it anyway.

What or who is driving them out?

Continued below.

At least two other nurse practitioners in Kansas and Virginia have filed federal lawsuits against CVS over the policy.

A Christian nurse practitioner has filed a federal lawsuit against CVS Health, charging that a CVS pharmacy wrongly fired her from her job after it ended her longtime accommodation of her religious objections to contraceptives and abortion-causing drugs.

Attorneys with the Plano, Texas-based religious freedom legal group First Liberty Institute say Robyn Strader’s case is important for all Americans who might face pressure to choose between following their faith and keeping their job.

“After accommodating Robyn for six and a half years without a single complaint, CVS fired her because it simply did not like her pro-life religious beliefs,” Christine Pratt, counsel for First Liberty, said in a Jan. 13 statement.

“It is illegal to issue a blanket revocation of all religious accommodations when it is so easy for CVS to accommodate its employees,” Pratt continued. “CVS is sending a message that religious health care workers are not welcome and need not apply.”

Continued below.

I think this is a good move on the part of the states that have started doing this.

While the laws don't require employers to divulge what each individual makes (For example, it's not gonna say "Hey everyone else on the team, Joe Smith makes $70k!")

It's now required for salary ranges for each job title to be published. I see this as a net positive on a couple of fronts.

1) With layoffs happening in some geographical regions and in certain sectors, there's going to be a lot of job changing in the coming few years. Which means a lot of people relocating. Knowing what the acceptable range is for a position in a different city can be helpful for potential applicants so they know what a reasonable number is to throw out on an interview and don't ask for too much or too little.

2) It can help existing employees know if they're getting ripped off or not. If a person's been a solid performer and been at their job for 5 years, and they can see that they're at the bottom of the range listed for their position, that can help provide the documentation they need to have a conversation with their boss about an increase.

The Embrace is a 20 foot tall bronze sculpture recently installed in the Boston Common. It was commissioned as a tribute to Martin Luther King. The sculptor, Hank Willis Thomas, based it on a photo of Dr. King hugging his wife Coretta after winning the Nobel Peace Prize. I understand the intention. But in the photos, the only clearly identifiable arms appear to be Coretta’s. And it looks like they’re holding up part of a thick, round inner tube.

I do like abstract art. This one will take some time. What do others think?



In Boston, ‘The Embrace’ Honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Legacy

To be clear, the t-shirt merely said Jesus is the only way and Jesus saves. That’s it.

This isn’t in Dubai. This isn’t in England or even Canada. This is the Mall of America.

How did we get to a “Jesus Saves” t-shirt is offensive and must be removed.

Some may point out that this man had been kicked out of the mall in the past for preaching but that’s not the case here. The security guard clearly tells him if he just removes the shirt he can shop freely. It’s about the shirt.

No word yet on whether this is policy at the Mall of America or it’s just a wacko security guard. The guard did say that they’d received complaints that the shirt was offensive. This is the soup we’re marinating in. If it’s offensive, have it removed!!!

Watch this:


Continued below.

New York Mayor says "no room" in his city for migrants

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The mayor of New York traveled to the Mexican border city of El Paso on Sunday and declared that "there is no room in New York" for busloads of migrants being sent to America's most populous city.

Eric Adams, a Democrat, was also critical of the administration of Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden, saying "now is the time for the national government to do its job" about the immigrant crisis at America's southern border.

Hello everyone. I need advice. I am a teacher. I work for a private school. I was lucky to find this job as I am a 54 yrs old recent immigrant. I teach Foreign Languages. I love the school and the admins, I worked hard this school year and I have a good relationship with everyone, parents, students and admins. It tyook me a lot of effort. And the benefits are really good.

But.

I now have another student who is transitioning from a sex to another. I already have two of them. They are 10, 12 and 11. Their families and the school are very supportive of their decision.
It is not okay for me though. I think it is a crime and an abomination but I cannot do anything to prevent this. And if I stay I will have to call a girl a boy and vice versa.
I should leave this job, right?
Even if it means leaving my family in an ocean of troubles?
Oh Lord, what do I have to do? I need the money. What can I do?

I think I already know the answer but I need to listen to you.
I do not want to be the accomplice of what I consider a crime for money.

The intro here is brief:


With the above in mind then: What constitutes the act of someone "Making Up His/Her Own Christianity"and how do we KNOW when this is actually the case?

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ. I recently started learning English. If someone can and wants to help me learn it, please send me a private message.

When I try to copy using my touch pad I sometimes have problems :
1--I high-lite the text or whatever and then try to right click on it; but the highlighted area goes away
2--so I'm going to try the way I found on the web using the keyboard to copy.
3--high-lite the area needed then press CTRl + C. Let me try that.

Please pray for my daughter, she is having a panic attack and they ain’t no fun

Who is this friend- the one who is closer than a brother. Jesus?

I'm addicted to rubber stamps. My favorite stamps are Penny Black and Pure Innocence.

I hope someone shares my passion.

I'm the son of a deadbeat father myself, and I'll be 19 in March. I keep thinking back to certain clues and events throughout my life, and I don't know why, but I feel like I should die. I don't feel scared to die, however I do feel sad and excited whenever I think about it.

My mother, grandmother, and stepfather, who are all believers of God and the Bible, looks down on my biological dad and his family. And rightfully so, since my dad walked out on me and my mom when I was 2, and we both had to go back to living with my grandmother.

Anyways, my grandmother hates my dad, my stepdad does too, and I'm pretty sure anyone else who knew that my dad was a deadbeat would hate him too, and would see me as unlucky for being a male child of his.

When I keep thinking about all of this, it makes the concept of death seem less and less scary. What do y'all think?

So I have to my discredit tended to ignore Facebook as a source of liturgical videos, limiting myself to YouTube, despite it being the only place with the exquisite Lutheran liturgies of St. Peter’s, @MarkRohfrietsch ’s parish. I will be including links to his church in this thread. However after realizing that I needed to look into what else was on Facebook but not YouTube, I discovered that one of my favorite Anglo Catholic churches in London, indeed probably the most Anglo Catholic church in Greater London, and not just the Square Mile of the City of London, was present, St. Magnus the Martyr. This Sunday they did a Solemn Mass largely in Latin using Mozart’s Missa Brevis in D Minor: St Magnus the Martyr, London Bridge - Videos

---

I will be posting some of my favorite videos from Mark’s church as well as any other gems I find on Facebook that are not presently on YouTube in this thread.

Archaeologists Find 4,000-Year-Old Ostrich Eggs in Israel's Negev

"JERUSALEM, Israel – The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) recently
announced the discovery of eight ancient ostrich eggs in the Negev Desert.
The eggs are more than 4,000 years old and were found near a fire pit in
the sand dunes of southern Israel."

"Ostriches have been extinct in the wild since the late 19th century, but
the IAA points out that their eggs have been discovered on archaeological
sites from several different historical eras, indicating they were an
important food source."

"We find ostrich eggs in archaeological sites in funerary contexts, and
as luxury items and water canteens. Naturally, they were used as a source
of food: one ostrich egg has the nutritional value of about 25 normal
chicken eggs!"

"It is interesting," Gorzalczany noted, "that whilst ostrich eggs are
not uncommon in excavations, the bones of the large bird are not found.
This may indicate that in the ancient world, people avoided tackling
the ostrich and were content with collecting their eggs."
-

I would avoid tackling an ostrich myself.

This latest discovery, brings to mind a passage in the
book of (Job 39:13-18) that talks about the ostrich.

13 Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks?
Or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?

14Which leaveth her eggs in the earth,
And warmeth them in dust,

15And forgetteth that the foot may crush them,
Or that the wild beast may break them.

16She is hardened against her young ones, as though they
were not her's:Her labour is in vain without fear;

17Because God hath deprived her of wisdom,
Neither hath he imparted to her understanding.

18 When she lifts herself on high, She scorns the horse and its rider.
-

ostrich reproduction

The female ostrich are known for neglect of her young.
“usually only half of the eggs survive due to predators.”

Predators also included nomadic people of the desert .
-


The Jewish view of this bird [compared to other nations listed]

"The fact that the female ostrich may leave the nest unattended
(because the eggs are too thick-shelled to be easily broken open by
predators) is the reason why the bird is contrasted with the parental
instinct of the stork in the Book of Job (Job 39:13–18.[5][6])

This is also the reason why the Book of Lamentations (Lamentations 4:3)
refers to the female ostrich as heartless.[5] The Arabian ostrich is
possibly[7] among the birds forbidden to Jews as unclean under the
kashrut in Leviticus (Leviticus 11:16), though the Israelites would
just as likely have known the birds from the North African subspecies,
which was extant in the Nile Valley of Egypt at that time."

Got to wondering this after reading the account again of the raising of Lazarus.

After the raising of Lazarus we read that the Pharisees had started planning after that to Kill Yeshua, afraid they would lose
their powers under the Roman occupation.


I've looked up this city called Ephraim and it seems to be a bit obscure but did some digging and found it was somewhere outside of Bethany which was where Lazarus lived and today called Taybeh. Now I looked up and Bethany is 2 miles from Jerusalem, The Dead Sea, 6 miles.

However some believe it is today called Taiyibeh and is located Northeast of Jerusalem.

Since he was 'hiding out' from the Pharisees who sought to kill him, not from Fear of dying but of having it done at the wrong time.

Since the verse states it was near the wilderness, I got to wondering if he didn't go to Qumran? The Pharisees wouldn't seek him there would they? I don't think they would be welcomed.

Per a google map I've estimated it would take under 4 hours to walk from Lazarus' tomb to Bethabara/Qumran.

@daq @HARK! I thought you guys might want to chime in on this, share your knowledge.

I hope this will translate, here is the map link

Here's another link to more info on Ephraim.

Losing candidate arrested in string of shootings at New Mexico Democrats' homes
The losing candidate had a role to play

Pena lost his state House challenge to incumbent Democrat Miguel P. Garcia by 5,679 to 2,033, or 74% to 26%

Click to expand...

I mean it was even close...and hes an election denier? Pfft

Remember the Democrats getting shot at in November?