Various studies show that some Native Americans have both Egyptian & Hebrew roots, which I believe came from the tribe of Ephraim -

1 Kings 10:22 - "For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks."
(We know Peacocks come from India, so this shows the ships were capable of that voyage, and as we'll see, there's some evidence voyagers from Tarshish came to the Americas)

(DNA shows link of Cherokee & Egyptian):

The many interrelationships noted above reinforce the conclusion that this is a faithful cross-section of a population. No such mix could have resulted from post-1492 European gene flow into the Cherokee Nation. So where do our non-European, non-Indian-appearing elements come from? The level of haplogroup T in the Cherokee (26.9%) approximates the percentage for Egypt (25%), one of the only lands where T attains a major position among the various mitochondrial lineages. In Egypt, T is three times what it is in Europe.

(Artifacts show Phoenician travel to the Americas):
Whittall showed Fell a photograph of an inscription engraved on a cliff above Mount Hope Bay, in Bristol, Rhode Island, which was discovered and recorded in 1780. Because of vandalization, it was necessary to work from the photograph. Fell soon translated a single line, which was written in Punic: “Voyagers from Tarshish this stone proclaims.”

Tarshish was a Biblical city on the southern coast of Spain, and its citizens were among the boldest sailors of antiquity, famous for the size of their ships. In 533 B.C., the Carthaginians and their trade taken over by these ambitious, daring sailors destroyed Tarshish. Here was evidence of how the partnership between Celts and the Carthaginians began.

On Monhegan Island, 12 miles off the coast of Maine, another inscription was brought to Dr. Fell’s attention. It was written in Celtic Ogam and read, “Cargo platforms for ships from Phoenicia.” [(Also scan Photos) ] From these and other inscriptions, as well as an intensive study of historical data on the seafaring ability of the men of Tarshish and Carthage, Fell concluded that there was a highly developed trade route between America and the Mediterranean for at least 400 years before the birth of Christ. The principal products from North America were probably copper, furs and hides. Fell noted that there was evidence of very early mining in the copper fields of Minnesota as well as of an extensive fur trade. The Carthaginians used to proclaim that they obtained their furs from Gaul. But when the Romans finally invaded Gaul, they found very little evidence of a fur trade. Thus, Gaul might have been a code word for America. A prevailing obstacle to verifying Bronze Age voyages from Europe to America is the absence of bronze tools among the American artifacts

Data from America now began to multiply. Most important was Fell’s translation of the Davenport stele, which some people compare to the translation of the Rosetta stone—the 19th-Century breakthrough that enabled a reading of hieroglyphics and to grasp the awesome sweep of Egyptian history. On this inscription, which was found in a burial mound near Davenport, Iowa in 1874, Dr. Fell was able to read three kinds of writing. At the top were Egyptian hieroglyphics. Below them was the Iberic form of Punic writing found in Spain. The third line was in Libyan script. This mean that there were Egyptians, Libyans and Celtic Iberians living together in a colony in Iowa in 900 B.C. It also means that we have to revise a lot of our ideas about American history in general and the culture of the Amerindians in particular.
Revelations about American colonization
(Brazil associated with Ophir):
These original inhabitants, the aboriginal people of Brazil—whom Brandão depicts as provident and skillful traders, actively engaging in business with the colonizers—are the same people whose origin he investigates in relation to the Old Testament’s history of the Jews. The Brazilian Indians are the descendants of an ancient tribe sent by King Solomon to the celebrated land of Ophir in order to fetch wood for the construction of the Temple of God.
The Indians Who Came from Ophir: Prophecy and Natural History in Early Modern Brazil

Interesting prophecies regarding the tribe of Ephraim specifically, who is 1/2 of the tribe of Joseph:

"Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:
The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel)
Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren." (Genesis 49:22-26)

I've often wondered if the everlasting hills refer to the Appalachian mountains of North America, which is exactly where the Cherokee dwelt

"And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession." (Gen 48:1-4)

"And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?
And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.
Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.
And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.
And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.
And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him.
And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.
And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,
The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.
And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.
And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations." (Gen 48:8-19)

Who is Ephraim's mother? Asenath, daughter of the priest on On, and Egyptian. (Gen 41:45 & 50, 46:20) Also interesting is where it says Ephraim's seed shall become a multitude of nations: that's "Goy", specifically "goyim" which is usually a reference to heathen, or non Hebrew people's or nations, a foreign or Gentile Nation.

"Using a combination of DNA analysis, historical research, and classical philology, it uncovers the Jewish and Eastern Mediterranean ancestry of the Cherokee" - Old World Roots of the Cherokee, by Donald Yates, 2014

Finally, look at Deuteronomy 33:13-17,
"And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,
And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon,
And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills,
And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.
His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh."

It was back in 1993 when this just exploded like a revelation, and it was as if the Spirit was saying "Come and see" and to look into these things, which continue to be confirmed now over 30 years later.




"In other words, the erosion of the landscape began long after the Appalachian Mountains themselves were pushed up" - Biblegeology.net

And here's a decent paper on the Appalachians

https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1147&context=icc_proceedings

Is masturbation a sin under the new covenant?
Yes, no, maybe, evidence.
Thank you.

Almost 30% of Generation Z women identify as LGBTQ, according to a new Gallup survey.

Could that possibly be true?

Well, the Gallup survey, which also found that 22% of Gen Z overall identifies as LGBTQ, is no outlier. In recent years, data has clearly shown a rising number of Americans identify as LGBTQ, in no small part driven by an enormous percentage of Gen Zers who identify that way.

A survey released in January by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 28% of Gen Zers consider themselves LGBTQ. Meanwhile, among high schoolers in 2021, only 74% said they considered themselves straight, according to a study released last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


What is driving this huge surge?

One possibility is societal acceptance. Same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide by the Supreme Court in 2015, the same year former Olympian and reality TV star Bruce Jenner announced that he now identified as a woman and wanted to be known as Caitlyn.

For Gen Z adults, which Gallup considers those 18 to 26, their youth was in an era of rapid change about LGBT views.

Since 2012, more Americans than not have favored the legality of same-sex marriage, according to Gallup. Since 2009, more Americans than not have said they believe that gay and lesbian relationships are moral. Even now, while 55% of Americans say they believe it is immoral to change one’s gender, as Gallup phrases it, a strong minority (43%) says they think it is moral to do so.

But widespread societal acceptance doesn’t seem to have so drastically affected other generations. Among millennials, about 10% say they identify as LGBTQ. That number drops to 4.5% for Gen X, 2.3% for baby boomers, and 1.1% for the Silent Generation.

This disparity is curious, and raises questions about the born-that-way argument about the innateness of LGBTQ identity. Wouldn’t Americans who had been hiding their identity now want to reveal it in light of current social views?

Continued below.

Hey. Over your latte, I saw the worry in your eyes. I know this isn’t who you want to be; you never wanted to be attracted elsewhere, you thought you would always be contented in your marriage. But I know your longing runs deep and you’re afraid of your own heart.

If only “I do” meant our eyes never swiveled from our mate’s. But the reality is, they do.

Sure, marriage is a big choice we make once. But it’s also saying “I do” over and over and over again. When you’re drowning in household chores. When he’s flipping on the news and tuning out right when he gets home from work. When you’re depressed after your mom dies, and are looking for anyone, anything, to fill the gap.

Unfortunately, Christians can fail to understand and openly admit how our hearts are “prone to wander” until it’s too late. Emotional affairs, in particular, can arise and flourish because there’s no clear line between appropriate and non-appropriate behavior. We drift into them.

The Clever Lie​

Continued below.

Jesus was praying to God the Father with regard to the fact that he was about to be crucified on a cross for the sins of the world and that he would be leaving the world to go back to the Father, and so his followers would no longer have him physically with them.


After this, Jesus also prayed for all who would yet believe in him, which includes us who are believing in him now (John 17:20-26). He prayed that we would be one in him and in the Father and that we would be united as one with one another as we are all one with Christ and with God the Father. And this oneness is to serve as a testimony to the world that the world might believe that Jesus came from the Father, and that the Father sent him, and that God the Father loved them even as he loved his Son Jesus, and that the love that the Father has for Jesus might be in them, and Christ in them.

Yet much of what he prayed for those who had been with him physically also applies to us who believe in him now. For if we are believing in Jesus Christ with genuine God-ordained and God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, and thus we have been crucified with him in death to sin, and we have been raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but as slaves to God, then we are also those who have kept and who are keeping (obeying) his word that is written for us to follow (Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Romans 6:1-23).

Now this specific prayer was for those who were presently his followers, and so those of us who are presently his followers can apply it to ourselves where it is applicable. Now here he said that he was not praying for the world but for those whom the Father had given him. This is not saying that he did not pray for the world, for this next section that I mentioned first indicates that he was very much concerned for the people of the world that they would believe in him and that Christ would be in them, and that they would know the love that the Father had for them.

But this first part was a prayer for his followers who he was going to leave behind when he returned to the Father. And what was his primary concern? He would be leaving them and thus he would no longer be in the world, but they would still be in the world, not of it, and he would no longer be with them in person to protect them from the evils that are in the world. For he did not want any of them to be lost. And so he prayed to the Father that he would keep them in his name. And he is still concerned for all who are his that we would remain in him and that his word would remain in us.

And another one of his concerns, which I believe is connected to this previous one, is that because Jesus had given them (and us) his word, they would be, and we are presently, at least to some degree, hated by the people of the world because we are no longer like the world (if this is true of us), just as Jesus is not of the world. And he is our role model for what it means to be separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are being made to be like Jesus in character, thinking, attitude, words, and deeds. Like the old cliché said, “What would Jesus do?”

Now, there is a difference between living in the world and being among the people of the world and us literally becoming like the world and participating in worldly practices. So we are to live in the world and among its people, and we are to go out into the world with the message of the gospel, but we are not to embrace worldly practices and attitudes and thinking and behaviors. We are to be in the world but not of the world. So we are not to seclude ourselves from the people of the world, but we need for the Lord to help us to not get caught up in the evils that are in the world.

But this involves our full participation with the Lord in his work of grace in our lives. We must choose the Lord over all else. We must choose to serve the Lord and not the flesh. Daily we must be putting sin to death, by the Spirit, and we must be walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands under the New Covenant, by his power, and in his strength and wisdom. Moment by moment we must be growing in the grace of the Lord in our walks of holiness and righteousness in surrender to God’s will for our lives. And then we have the hope of salvation and eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Broken and Contrite

An Original Work / May 13, 2012

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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Arachnophobia is what dramatized me as a kid. I remember looking under the covers to make sure there were no spiders in my bed. What about you?

How would a nuclear war between Russia and the US affect you?

Simulation and Explanation Youtube 4:08

Hi,

So Paul was a missionary and suffered sometimes. Some contemporary missionaries sometimes also suffer sometimes for example this youtube. I have heard this testimony and other testimonies of missionary, but thing is I still kinda disagree with God's way, my expectation is, at least God could have protected the missionaries, they already have sacrificed earthly wealth and comfort to spread the gospel. Those who know the story of Corrie Ten Boom from world war two, she also suffered sometimes kinda for doing the will of God. I really disagree with God on this.

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Br,

THREE TABERNACLES? OR THREE IN ONE?

(Pikudei: Exodus 38:21-40:38) "accountings of"


The Tabernacle is finished, and the congregation brings the finished product to Moshe for inspection. Giving an account of one's work, contribution, offerings, tithes, etc is very Biblical. The LORD expects nothing less from his people. Giving an account of what one has done. It is being accountable for what we have been given and what we have done with it all. That is why there are "accountants" in every business.

Even though Moshe probably didn't do any of the physical building (or perhaps he did) he was in charge of the building project as he received the instructions of how the Tabernacle was to be made directly from Adonai. We have the same method today. "Ronald MacDonald" himself doesn't make hamburgers, but all of his managers have to give an "account" to him of how the businesses are going, The gains and the losses, etc.

Once everything had been placed inside the Tabernacle, the "Anan HaKavod" (The Glory Cloud) came and surrounded the Tabernacle. The Torah states that Moshe could not enter the Tabernacle because of the Glory Cloud of YHVH, yet on other occasions, he went into the cloud (example, on Mt. Sinai). Why couldn't he go into the Tabernacle on that occasion?

One good answer might be; "He was invited by God to enter the Glory Cloud while on Sinai." This time, the invitation was not given. We might say this also. YHVH came down to inspect His house where He will dwell among His people. He wanted to see that all was done under His instructions.
The Tabernacle was finished and Adonai came in to dwell with His people on the 1st of Nissan, (April 9th this year) So, April 9th is "New Year's Day"
There is only one way to approach YHVH, and that is through Yeshua. The Tabernacle reflected the person of Yeshua in all ways. It is like if you had a house designed and built according to your specifications. Upon finishing the house, you will want to go in and inspect it to see if all is as you wanted it to be. After that, then you will want others to come in.

In this Torah portion, the Tabernacle is mentioned/referred to in three ways:

1. HaMishkan (The Tabernacle)
2. HaMishkan, HaOhel Moed (The Tabernacle, Tent of Meeting)
3. HaMishkan, HaEidut (The Tabernacle of the Testimony).

In reality, they are ALL the same, yet referred to by different names. Why is that? Why does Moshe refer to them in different ways? Perhaps we can see the ministry of Adonai in different ways.

“HaMishkan” If we go back to the ancient Hebrew spelling of the word “Mishkan” It is spelled with 4 Hebrew letters. “Mem” “Sheen” “Kaph” and “Nun” It comes from the verb “Sh’ken” which is “to dwell”. Adonai ordered Moshe to build the Tabernacle so that HE could dwell amongst HIS people. One can look at the letters from the ancient Hebrew perspective and say;

“The Living Water who is the All-Consuming Fire anoints (his people) with life” … or … “Our lives became anointed when the presence of the All-Consuming Fire /the Living Water is amongst us”

“HaOhel Moed” (The Tent of Meeting) Why do we go to the synagogue/church? Because it is the meeting place where we meet with Elohim. His spirit is there! Even if only two believers are present in some place, HE is in the midst! So, Adonai dwells with his people so we can “meet” with HIM. “Ohel Moed” has 7 letters, “7” is the number of perfection. “Aleph” “Hey” “Lamed” and then; “Mem” “Vav” “Ayin’ “Tav”

Again, going back to the ancient Hebrew understanding of the symbolism in the letters, we could understand these two words in the following manner: “Behold the God of Instruction and Teaching (gives his people/us) the “living water (of the word) which connects us with insight, which is at the door”.

When we meet with Adonai, we are taught His Word through his chosen teachers, we are taught about Yeshua who is the “Living Water” who gives “insight’ (or understanding). The understanding is there at the door, all we have to do is open the door (of our mind and heart) to receive it. It is interesting that the last word “Moed” has the letters “Ayin and Dalet” which spell “Witness” There are witnesses when we meet with Adonai, Adonai himself, and his holy angels besides those who are there to receive the Word of God.

“HaEidut” (Testimony or Pact) The Mishkan was also known as the “Eidut” the Tabernacle of Testimony. What is the testimony? The testimony is the presence of the “Tables of the Torah” The tablets of the Commandments placed in the Ark of the Covenant. The word “Eidut” spelled in Hebrew consists of three letters; “Ayin’ “Dalet” and “Tav”. When we see these from the ancient Hebraic perspective, we can see this message;

“Insight is at the door of the Covenant” or we could also understand it as; “The covenant gives insight, and that is at the door”. The letter “Tav” in the ancient spelling looks like a cross leaning to one side. It speaks of the New Covenant under Yeshua, and when we understand (insight) the message of “Yeshuah” (Salvation) then “Yeshuah” is at the “door”.

All that we need to do is open the door and receive “Yeshuah” which comes from “Yeshua” (which seems like a play on words). Again, we see the two letters “Ayin and Dalet” (ED) yet here they are reversed, yet they are still present, the “Witness”

Inside the Ark of the Covenant were the tablets of the Commandments which YHVH made anew after Moshe broke the original ones, and the broken pieces of the first tablets. We might ask why. It might be to remind us that we broke the law, and we are guilty and we have the sin nature, yet we have been renewed by Yeshua, who made us "anew" through His Holy Spirit. He is the one who fulfilled the Torah in full, without breaking it.

In conclusion, the Tabernacle was all about where Adonai came to dwell amongst his people to dwell with them, teach them his word, his ordinances, and his commandments, to direct them to a new lifestyle other than the life they had in Egypt.

We meet with Adonai in HIS place of worship to receive his word, and to allow HIM to dwell inside of us through His Holy Spirit. We learn His Word and his Word directs ALL to YESHUA/JESUS, who is the Messiah in the New Covenant.

"Chazak, Chazak, v'nitchazek" (Be strong, hold fast, let us strengthen one another) We say this when we come to the end of each book in the Bible.

Have a blessed week.

While we live on the face of this earth, we will have troubles, hardships and trials. As followers of Jesus Christ, we have an arch enemy in Satan, who is out to destroy the church. So, we should expect that we will be hated, persecuted, despised and rejected of humankind. Although Satan is our real enemy, he has many people working for him whose goal it is, also, to destroy the church. And, they are coming against us fiercely, either through physical warfare or through psychological warfare, manipulation, and deception.

Yet, their real enemy is Jesus Christ and his gospel of salvation. So, they are aggressively attacking the foundations of the gospel and the basis for our faith in Jesus Christ. Their goal is to discredit the gospel, and to prove it to be hateful, bigoted, intolerant and divisive, all the while they are passionately promoting global unity among all faiths.

Yet, we are to be encouraged. Our God is completely sovereign and in control over all things and over all powers. Although right now the enemy of our souls is coming against him, and his gospel, and his followers, he will reign supreme over all. One day his name will be lifted up throughout the earth, and he will be honored and worshiped as the King of kings, and Lord of lords. One day every knee will bow and will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Amen!

So, we should not be afraid or get discouraged. God has a plan and a purpose for all of this, which is to bring humans to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, to revive his adulterous church, to mature his followers in Christ, and to strengthen us in our faith. So, be strong and courageous! God is with us! He will never leave us or forsake us. Amen!

Forever with Us

An Original Work / February 5, 2016
Based off Psalm 46

Be still and know
God is over all things.
Throughout the earth,
He’ll be honored as King.
The Lord Almighty,
Forever with us.
He is our refuge
When we’re in distress.

Therefore, we have
Not a reason to fear.
Trials will come,
But our God is still near.
He is our helper,
So we do not fall.
Mountains will quake,
But on Jesus we call.

Joy to the Church,
Even if sorrow comes.
Enemies rage,
But our faith marches on.
God’s Holy Spirit,
Now living within,
Gives peace and comfort,
And grace without end.

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This will be a thread strictly about discussing "time", and what we know about it, and maybe also what we don't know about it, or might not know about it as well, etc.

But let's try to keep it on the topic of time, ok.

A certain CF poster posted this here (below), and so I'm going to try and respond to it, or will be using it here to start this off, ok.


I've been aware for a while now of how this works on the larger scales, so I'll discuss it first, ok.

For the record I did state that light, or the speed of light has little to nothing to do with time, etc, and I'm going to try and explain that one here in a minute, etc.

On the larger scales, the universe is the same age, and is therefore set at the same time, equally everywhere, etc. This is evidenced by when we look at places in the universe very, very far away, we're seeing them just as old as they are in the past, as it is light years away from us, and it would be vice-versa from that position observing us very, very far away from where they are at, etc, or they would also be seeing us as many years in the past, as they were the number of light years they were away from us, etc, and this is because either way, or from each reference point, that is the time it takes the light to reach there, but that is not the real or actual picture of how it is now, or how it would be if we were able to travel to it very, very, very quickly, etc. We'd have to account for billions of years of stellar change, if we could travel nigh instantly to something billions of light years away very, very quickly, etc.

But I never thought of applying this to much, much smaller scales, etc. This CF poster pointed out to me very correctly that light travels about 1 foot in a nanosecond of time, etc, and he is very, very correct about that, but didn't agree with me when I said light itself, or the speed of light itself, has nothing to actually do with time, etc. And also in my opinion, he's only halfway correct about events at different places not being able to be simultaneous, or not being able to be happening simultaneously, or at the same quote/unquote "time", etc, and I will try to explain that one here in a minute also, etc.

Two events happening 1 foot apart from one another, etc. Now when one is looking at the other, it takes the light 1 nanosecond to travel to his frame of reference, or reference point, or his eyes, etc. Now you could say they didn't or don't happen at the same time, but what's really happening is that from one of them's reference point, etc, the light took 1 nanosecond of time to get to each the other's reference point, so they are seeing each others events 1 nanosecond in the past, or one nanosecond old, etc, but as far as the "now" goes, they both happened at the same time, or simultaneously if they were truly the same age and/or old, or really did happen at the same "time" once they (those simultaneous events) had passed into "the past" simultaneously, etc. The pictures that we are getting are just older from each one another's reference point or frame, etc.

It is possible for two separate events in different reference frames to happen at the same "time" (and/or simultaneously) if they both happen in the "now" simultaneously, but no observer would be able to observe that unless they were in each others reference frames/points simultaneously, or could be one thing existing at those two places at once simultaneously, etc.

"Now" is how everything is actually at the same age everywhere equally, etc. But you'd have to be the same thing in two places at once to observe that directly. Honestly, it makes much, much more sense on the much larger scales, but it also applies to everything on a much much smaller scale also, like two persons, places, or things being one foot apart, but seeing each other as being one nanosecond old, due to the time it takes the light to reach them in each others reference frames, but that really has nothing to do with the actual time at all, the time it takes the light to reach each others reference frames, etc.

There are two other things that can actually affect how slow time passes for a person, place, or thing, etc. One is speed or motion through spacetime, etc, if it is fast enough for whatever happens to be moving or traveling this quickly through space, time will slow down or go slower for that thing, etc. The other is strong gravitational pulls, etc, if you are close enough to a strong enough one, this will also slow down the flow of time for that thing, etc. Obviously all gravitational pulls, and all speed of motion affects this slightly always, but it's barely measurable until it gets past a certain point in gravitational pull or speed, etc, and then it can start it's increase towards affecting the slowing down of the flow of time for that thing after that increasingly exponentially, etc, to where, like with speed, at the speed of light, anything having any mass, is said to maybe stop the flow of time for that person, place, or thing completely, etc. But everything else in the universe that was not with you in these situations or states, nothing changes for them unless they were with you in these situations or states. Time, and the flow of time, for them, etc, is still the same as it has always been for them always since you left them, or before your own situation ot state changed, etc.

Another thing which might be a third thing that I was researching, was acceleration alone possibly affecting time, or time dilation, but there are varying answers to this, and until I do more research I do not know if acceleration all alone, or all by itself, can affect time, or time dilation, some say it only can indirectly, by changing one of the two other factors just mentioned, but there are also some who disagree, etc, so I haven't been able to get any for sure answers about this possible third factor yet completely.

Anyway, this thread is for "all talk about time", etc, but I would please ask if we could please limit it to just that only please, etc.

I know many of you will probably disagree with a lot of what I just said, and that's more than ok, etc, and that's way, way ok, etc, because most of this is just to get "the talk about time" going, ok.

It came up so much in my other thread, that I had to make this one for it, as it was way, way off-topic in my other thread.

So let's hear everyone's ideas, and let's let "the talk about time" begin, ok.

Take Care/God Bless.

2 Peter 3

8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

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and we know this is a reference to Psalm 90

4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

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but even this is a reference to something even older in scripture.

Genesis 2

17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

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now we go to Genesis 5

5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.

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People think in human reckoning, that Adam ate for the tree and lived hundreds of years after so God must have meant a spiritual death that day. I used to believe that too.
But then if you think about it.. what is a day to God, if Adam died under 1000 years, if God sees every day as 1000 years for us.. then Adam ate from the tree and died and returned to dust on the same day (and yes God said in Genesis 3 what death would be for Adam, not spiritual, but returning to dust)

So a day to the Lord being 1000 years for us, goes all the way back to Genesis..... and extends all the way to Revelation 20.
The thousand years repeated over and over to that period as the Day of the Lord, because it is a Day by the Lord's reckoning, which can be up to 1000 years for us, because that's the scale He gave for a day in Genesis. Does that mean it has to be exactly 1000 years? No. because God gives figurative expressions for the length of time. Adam died "in" that day, within 1000 years, but died short of it by 70 years.
Revelation 20 has after the 1000 years are expired or finished, so it is at least 1000 but could be more than 1000, but probably not 2000, as that'd be 2 days, as God gives in Hosea 6:2, after 2 days (2000 years), but in the third day (year 2001-2999), the resurrection. This also applies to Jesus resurrection after Crucifixion. Jesus resurrected not 72 hours after dying, but sometime after 48 hours
So no Jesus does not have to come back exactly at 2030 or whatever those date setters will claim. If anything that's the earliest it could start... if we have an AD30 time right, and if anyone's considered how long it's been since the crucifixion in Hebrew years.

I suppose if you found someone proficient in the Hebrew Calendar who took the date of Jesus' crucifixion in regard.. you might tell how long it's been. Maybe. But that'd only indicate the earliest, not the latest.


Anyway.. all that to say.. the millennium doesn't have to exactly be 1000 years, it could be well over 1000 years, and it is all a reference to "the Day of the Lord" and the way God reckons time... based on Adam's lifespan and His promise.

anyway I'm sure it's going to all get ripped apart, but I've been meditating on this for awhile, and how statements in the bible are based on earlier statements and many of the concepts originate in Genesis. "Declaring the End from the beginning"

Smith — a noted critic of Trump who has long backed Democrat and left-wing causes — conceded that Trump made a “salient point” in reference to the lawfare tactics deployed against him.

It's chilling how people from the left have weaponized the justice system to persecute those with different political beliefs.

When I went up to get the Eucharist a couple days ago, I motioned my arms to indicate that I wanted a blessing instead, because I felt like I should not take the Eucharist. As soon as I did that, the priest looked at me and "Ok, what did you do?" And I barely opened my mouth when he said "You didn't do anything, take the bread. The Body of Christ!" However, he actually meant what he said - he literally felt I didn't do anything wrong and wasn't being snarky about it - in fact, he was being the exact opposite and I almost laughed as he put the host into my hand, lol.

I approached him after Mass and told him the thing I felt barred me from the Eucharist, and he immediately said "Nah! Venial sin! You're being extra scrupulous!" He was very friendly about it though. This was the same priest who I felt I could never break the ice with - I guess you could say progress has been made on that.

"Male and female he created them ..."

Are women different from men in the ways that they think or is it more truthful to think of any differences between people as mostly independent of sex? I am asking this in a biblical context, creation, and biblical practises may give slightly different messages. And one's interpretive framework will without doubt play a role in one's answer.

Halo,

I want to know your opinions. Your sincere personal opinions.

God allowed divorce because of the hardened hearts of the men/husbands. Only because of that. So the law has a SENSE OF MEANING and is not for the bad but for the good. And if time change, the law is changed by God, too! And also it is written in the scripture that the letter is killing (= the written law), that instead we should be from the spirit! Yes it is written that women should shout their mouths in the church. But also it is written in the bible that also the daughters, not only the sons, will make prophecy in the future. Times are hard. Many priests for example are loyal to the aggressors if the aggressor is a man and do not allow the abused women to divorce. This is only one example. Yes a women priest can be lead out of the right path in DETAILS but in general I believe because of the abuse of power of man, wich did NOT stop in front of the church doors, we need women as priests. Also I do not believe in a too great difference between women and men. Maybe not EVERY woman should become clergy member. But some should for sure. Also only Paul the apostel, who first was chasing the christians wrote against women. Possibly at THAT time women were not capable to become clergy or even only the specific place Paul addressed his letter to. Now is another time. Another apostle writes there is no difference between men and women.

I do not believe in a perfect book, because God existed also before the bible existed and there is no perfect church neither a perfect book. We should also be capable to think logically for our own. So tell me just your since opinion. Would you like women as priests if this is a capable woman?

Advanced physics is not kind to atheists in that too much of the way the universe works isn't random. So much is actually incompatible with randomness/chance. That is as deep into physics I will/can go, except to say that the concept of multiple universes, which I equate to multiple dimensions beyond our 4 dimensions - depth, width, height and time, is generally accepted as solid theory if not a prerequisite to any understanding of how the universe works. So far.

Given the above, God created this universe, while it is likely that He dwells in another (higher) dimension. It further seems likely that God obeys the Laws of nature He established for this dimension. Our dimension. If we are made in His likeness, then I think it would be fair that He follow those Laws, just as we must follow them.

If that is correct, then what we read as miracles are the result of physics we do not yet understand. And God, while not physical in this world, is a reality in another physical dimension. But it is a dimension of which we not yet knowledgeable.

It would explain why Scripture says that Heaven is here. "For indeed, the kingdom of God is among you” (in your midst Greek: entos) Luke 17:21 To my ears, Jesus says things with multiple meanings. In this case, I think He is being literal, but phrased to be figurative as well.

So, God is Spirit in our world and is real in His dimension to which we go when we pass. And it is why Heaven is described in concrete terms (pun intended), as things will be real in that dimension. There will be mansions and pastures, and lions laying down with lambs.

Does it bother anyone if God is not spirit in His Kingdom? I think that is what Jesus and the prophets have described. Perhaps I am just catching up.

Genesis 4:

1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.”

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The word "help" is not in the Hebrew. Its sense is expressed by a simple preposition.

With the help of
אֶת־ (’eṯ-)
Preposition
Strong's 854: Nearness, near, with, by, at, among

Literal Standard Version:

And the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceives and bears Cain, and says, “I have acquired a man by YHWH”;

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges:

the particle êth is rendered as a preposition in the sense of “in conjunction with,” and so “with the help of,” “by the means of.”
König, who holds an eminent position both as a commentator and as a Hebrew grammarian and lexicographer, has recently strongly defended the rendering of êth as a preposition meaning “with,” in the sense here given by the English version “with the help of” (see Z.A.T.W. 1912, Pt i, pp. 22 ff.). The words will then express the thanksgiving of Eve on her safe deliverance of a child. It is a pledge of Divine favour. Child-birth has been “with the help of the Lord.”

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Eve thanked God for giving birth to a baby. It is a standard acknowledgment.

NIV Genesis 30:

22 Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive.

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Isaiah 44:

2a Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you.

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A human soul is formed when a detached breadth of God enters a fetus' body.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone! Fom a Polish Croatian, LOL.

What is the Christian position on witches and witchcraft?

The Bible says:
Exodus 22:18
“Do not allow a sorceress to live."

In a truly Christian society, without any secularism, would witches be killed? And would you support such a thing?

Indeed, would you like to live in a Christian State that uses Christianity and the Bible as the whole basis of how to govern

My mother, sister and aunt are all witches.. and they all do spells that can hurt people.. my sister works with a deity called Lucifer (very familiar to Christians)... Should I keep relationships going with them?

Pelosi said Netanyahu must “be unaware or ill-informed” of the humanitarian situation in Gaza after the prime minister claimed Israel was letting in enough aid. Pelosi called it a “very sad situation” as aid organizations warn of a famine looming in the region.

Romans 12:19 says, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’” But what is meant by “vengeance”? Is there a line between vengeance and self-defense, say?

What is vengeance? The Cambridge dictionary defines it as “the punishing of someone for harming you or your friends or family, or the wish for such punishment to happen...”

Cen vengeance ever be regarded as a sin? It can be, to the extent that acts of evil are sins. In the Bible, God designates what is good and what is evil from out standpoint. There is no in-between. In some cases, which may seem grayish, it is necessary to dig down to the smallest granule to determine if something is good or evil.

Consider 1 Thessalonians 5:15 which says, “See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always use to do good to one another and to everyone.” Well, seems that at first glance, Romans 12:19 puts it into God’s hands to commit evil for evil, but that’s impossible when you consider that anything God does is for good. Looking at Romans 12:19 a certain way, sems that the same act that a person does which may be considered evil would be considered good if God does it, since nothing God does is evil. God killed everyone in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for the evil acts that were done in those cities. There is no word in the Bible that God spared the lives of the young, so we might presume that the young, presumed innocent, were not spared the fate that the adults underwent. It may be said that the killing of people in those two cities was God’s form of capital punishment for the evil they did.

Some may ask if vengeance is the Lord’s, then who is the governing authority to exact vengeance via capital punishment? Well, consider Romans 13:1-4 which says, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For HE IS THE SERVANT OF GOD, AN AVENGER who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.”

So, a governing authority that exists as an extension of the Lord, has been given the power to act as God would act. And if it’s determined that God would avenge the death of someone via capital punishment, then the governing authority who acts on behalf of God could be expected to do likewise.

Same as in matters of war. Take the recent instance of Hamas going into Israel and killing over a thousand innocent people. The Israeli government, who may be seen as a governing authority on behalf of God since under God, governments are set up to act on His behalf, decided that the best course of action is to kill those who are members of Hamas. One can infer that the Israeli government was doing its work, exacting vengeance on Hamas in God’s name. Similarly, in any acts of war in which a nation is attacked, it is a moot point as to whether a nation that was attacked is committing evil by returning the attack. That’s because as anything that God does is considered good, including that which may be evil in the hands of an individual, is also considered good if the act is done by a government that rules in God’s name. In that respect, what may be considered as pure vengeance in the hands of an individual would be a act of justice in the hands of a government under God.

Consider Russia’s initial attack on Ukraine. Would anyone criticize the Ukrainian government for fighting back, and killing Russians in the process? One may say that like the Israeli government, the Ukrainian government had the authority of God in attacking the Russians in return for their being attacked. Even if one might consider it an act of vengeance, when the government is involved it is off the table as to whether such vengeance is evil; as anything that God does is good, so anything that is done by a government on God’s behalf is good as well.

Biden continues fundraising momentum, with a $53 million February​

President Biden notched record fundraising receipts in February with donations from nearly half a million people, overcoming poor polling to end the month with $155 million in the bank.

“Every single dime that we raise right now is going to talk to voters, whether that is on TV in ads, whether that is online in ads, whether that is opening offices,” said Rufus Gifford, the campaign’s finance chair. “Our opponents are spending tens of millions of dollars on legal fees. This is a huge, huge, huge advantage that we do have, and we are excited about that.”

Trump political committees spent more than $55 million last year on legal fees defending the former president as he faces multiple lawsuits and four separate criminal prosecutions, according to campaign finance disclosures.

The February total of $53 million raised between Biden’s campaign and other party accounts eclipses the amount raised by President Barack Obama during the same period in 2012, but not when inflation is taken into account.

But Biden clearly eclipsed Obama in another measure. While Obama reported nearly 350,000 donors in February of 2012, the Biden campaign claimed 469,000 unique donors at the same point in the current cycle.

Trump cutting back on rallies to save money as cash shortfall hobbles campaign: report​

Faced with a massive shortfall in raising campaign cash compared to his presumptive opponent in the 2024 presidential race, Donald Trump and his advisers have decided to cut back on his high-profile campaign rallies in an effort to not drain the coffers even more.

As the Times' Maggie Haberman and Shane Goldmacher wrote, Trump has been holding donor meetings at Mar-a-Lago imploring supporters to increase their contributions.

Pointing out that the former president is reportedly "concerned about the fund-raising gap" with the sitting president, the Times report adds that big money donors are "hesitant" to throw more money at him fearing they will only be paying his legal bills.

"In a sign of the Trump orbit’s urgent need for cash, at least two donors who made seven-figure pledges to support Mr. Trump this year were nudged to see if they could cut an eight-figure check — meaning $10 million or more — instead, according to a person familiar with the request."

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That's an interesting contrast. Biden is getting huge grassroots support from many donors. Trump is chasing after millionaires to dig deeper.

LINK

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has signed a bill to allow signers of ballot initiative petitions to revoke their signatures — a move opponents decry as a jab at direct democracy and a proposed abortion rights initiative, which would enable voters to protect abortion rights in the state constitution.

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Another example of Republican-led states trying to avoid the will of the people on the topic of abortion. This likely won't be successful, because the ballot initiative has thousands of signatures over the required number to qualify for the ballot. And despite claims that South Dakotans were 'deceived' by the nature of the initiative, it seems doubtful that thousands of people will withdraw their signatures. The new law clearly targets the current initiative in that it took effect immediately upon the governor's signature. This is a last ditch effort to stop this from reaching the voters.

I was thinking about how life really forms, you need a stable enviroment and warm water and plants for food, but why does it form? I think it starts with a will, my first thought was that this will have to learn how to take protein from plants, and build a body to move around it. But does it really have to learn? All matter is energy, if you break it down, you can set fire on anything because all matter is energy, but if everything consists of this energy, is that life itself, the will? I think we have found the God-particle, it`s energy, it doesn`t have to learn to make a body, it`s already all-knowing, it can take particles from plants, and use the protein to build a body, without learning how to to so. Scientists wants to know how life forms at the beginning, and control it, but since it starts with a will, it`s not possible. It`s like you want to control all energy around you.

Yes, the main problem with consciousness, is that how can it really be alive? Why aren`t it just adaptations to the enviroment, so it learns to move around, but it`s not really alive, and seeing? I feel alive, I don`t feel like a robot, sort of, I have a feeling of "self" also. So, in my opinion, energy itself is living, it`s the will that builds a body, otherwise I be dead, just moving around. If you weren`t really living, the mind has to trick you in order to make you believe you`re really living, but we know also that making children for example, isn`t for reproducing, it`s for the joy it brings, it`d be a paradox if you did it to survive.

But, if energy makes your mind from it`s own image, are you really seperate from it? I think you are, you have a free will, a soul, you evolve on your own, and you do what you want, but you`re always the child of this god, the children of your father of creation. I think we all know it also, because people in society usually avoids looking at energy directly, like with many other things, so they don`t seem cynical. You know how you have for example, bones in your body? But they`re seperate from the rest of the body, how did the body make the bone, and then seperate it, so it`s not connected to the body anymore? I think it`s the same thing with your mind, it starts in the same way, but it separates, and then lives on it`s own.