Jipsah said:

Just make sure you don't offer a sacrifice to an image of Caesar.

Click to expand...

Word!

That's the AOD anyway.

But the mark of the beast that everyone goes on about could be a historical moment in Rome's persecution - mixed in with a bit of metaphor.

Consider that the mark was a mark on the back of their hand and forehead.

The imperfect number 6 is repeated 3 times.

Doesn't this indicate the participants were replacing the Mishnah prayer with trusting in wealth and worshipping the power of the state?

In the very next chapter we see Christians with a white stone on their forehead! That's instead of the mark of the beast.

End times types love to insist their favourite scary bits are literal - and brush over the very next scenes that compare and contrast one image with another so that we know they're not literal but theological statements.

Unless we belong to the church of the white stone forehead, I'm going to guess that's a metaphor as well.

Hentenza said:

Your strawman continues. Bye

Click to expand...

Well, still sniping, I see.

The Catholic Parliamentary Office has reacted with concern to the rejection of a number of proposed safeguards to Scotland’s assisted suicide bill.

The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill is currently at Stage 2 of the legislative process, meaning that the Scottish Parliament’s Health and Sport Committee are examining amendments to the proposal. The Scottish legislation is separate from that currently being debated in the House of Lords in Westminster.

Concerns have been raised at the speed of the process, which is currently set to examine all 287 proposed amendments in just three weeks, with just one session per week.

Continued below.

If wealthy tax deadbeats leave NYC to leach off the taxpayers of anither state, good riddance.
In 1980, Trump sued NY in order to get a 40 year property tax abatement---meant to encourage investment in distressed areas--for Trump Tower!
Do you know how many of our tax dollars were used to provide public services to tax deadbeat Trump's building?
But like other tax deadbeats, he moved, selling his trashy souvenirs and crypto online to his fans--and bilking Florida's taxpayers.

In the movie Addams Family Values, Wednesday is made fun of by other girls and is asked why she dresses in black like she’s going to a funeral. “Why are you dressed like somebody died?” a girl asks.

“Wait,” Wednesday responds.

She’s right. And the thing is, you don’t have to wait long.

Recent stats peg the number of deaths at 7.8 deaths per 1,000 people for 2025. In raw numbers: about 62 million people die each year worldwide, which breaks down to around 172,800 deaths per day globally in 2025, 120 deaths per minute, or about 2 deaths every second.

That’s a lot of souls going into eternity, some of which got up today having no idea it would be their last. Stop and think about that for just a minute, and keep in mind that it could be any one of us.

John MacArthur talks about that reality when he recounts being on the Larry King show the day after 9/11:

“Larry King said to me, ‘What is the lesson here.’ I said, ‘The lesson is everybody’s going to die, and you’re not necessarily in control of when.’ The danger of death is around us, and what contributes to that death is both around us, and even in us. Everyone dies. A hundred years from now none of us will be around; that’s inevitable. Life is the most comprehensive danger of all; no one escapes its inevitable end.”

Click to expand...

I doubt you would select “life” as the biggest danger out of a list of other options, but I get what MacArthur is saying. In fact, it explains something Jesus said in one of His biographies that has always bugged me.

When towers fall

Continued below.

rocknanchor said:

Appraising a favorite quote, Surely, you must have one among several that could be considered?

Here’s one of mine, ,

You cannot have the indwelling [also infilling] without turning the [Church service] gavel to the Holy Spirit and you turn to a great truth, for the Holy Spirit is the vicar of Christ (John 16:7,14:26) – C.M. Ward

Click to expand...

One thing we all agree on is this: Jesus did physically leave us, Hooray! Long-live the thing we agree on, NOT on things that divide us! But, as we know, that fundamental, victorious unity is short-lived. Let’s talk about it.

Some we must admit, are unavoidable, but, I suggest here the vast majority are quite infantile! Among the many things Brother Ward said in his lifetime, some, I hold in sharp disagreement. But this ‘truth’ as he says is as unfiltered as it gets.

For there are so many influences around that the young convert is faced with such a steep uphill battle that they would benefit far more from you who hold the truth if we could step back from the playing field just long enough to address some of these things that ends up distancing themselves from biblical truths.

The Elephant Issue, Doctrinal Bias Gone Bonkers


One of the first things to slap a new convert’s face is our UN-CHRISTIAN divide over the “Vicar”. A search within AI is futile;


AI tries to apply subtle variables to the differences of Church OS vs Vicar, but is incapable of removing them from those who are considered to be a ‘Vicar’. So the question remains over this issue that has done far more than just threatened unity which we are told over and over in the NT to keep. That question is, by the New Testament standard, how well has DO survived? We know Cephas (Peter) found error enough “to be blamed”, Has today’s DO found error? I just told you it does – divisions.

How do we know? Ask yourself, Does today’s DO demonstrate an approval for the excellence of 1 John 2:27, or treat it as “a lie”?


There may be other examples, but if those are sound, so will they be here, will either be shown to treat the ‘Vicar’ as worthy of far more than DO, or, well within the above NT bounds!

Homily Tuesday, November 11 2025

32nd OT



Ws 2:23 – 3:9

"They are in peace"

Being at peace means isolating evil, entrusting it to the Lord, and becoming as free as possible, in joy and peace.



Lk 17:7-10

Jesus said: "Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’?"



Yet this is what God offers us, his meal, the Eucharist that he serves us of himself. "Come quickly and sit down at the table" of the Lord, to receive all his graces, his Love.



Biblical texts: NAB-RE

Normand Thomas.

We haven't been to Mykonos but we were on Lefkada earlier this year, it's one of the mid-sized Greek islands off to the west, Ionian Sea I believe. It was an majestic experience, particularly for mission groups. A sizeable number of beautiful and inspirational churches and deep tradition. I'm having one of those days and can't quite recall the name, but there was one church in the particular that was extraordinary and stayed with us. From the Byzantine architects, a redoubtable design and beautiful frescoes within it. Reminded us of some of the churches on the French Mediterranean coast. Even without the icons, but the architecture on the coast seems it was similarly inspired.

Lately the Lord has been having me repost some writings from May of 2023, which are on the subject of Church abuse, and which collectively are combined together in a short book titled, “The Church Under Fire.”

These writings are based off Acts chapters 23-27, with regard to the kinds of persecutions which Paul faced from religious people. And the Lord has used some of my church experiences, as well, to illustrate how church abuse is being carried out in the church today against those who are serving Jesus Christ with their lives, who are walking in the ways of the Lord, and who are seeking to follow the Lord in obedience to his commands in holy living.

And Paul is not the only biblical example of being a recipient of such abuses, either. Jesus was continually harassed and plotted against, and he was the target of false accusations against his character. And his opponents looked for ways to accuse him on a consistent basis. And Job and the prophets of the Old Testament faced such abuse, too, as well as did the other New Testament apostles, plus the deacon Stephen, and many other Christians.

But abuse of this kind, where people are being falsely accused of what they did not say, or of what they did not do, or of what they did not experience, is not limited to just the area of the church, but it expands to all areas of life. And sometimes it is to keep an honest person from exposing the lies or from calling out sin for what it is, or from exposing corruption going on within the church, in the government, in the media, and in the corporate world, too.

And sometimes it is just pure arrogance on the part of the accusers who think because they are “so and so,” or because they carry a particular title in front of their name, that somehow they are always right and that anyone who disagrees with them, or who challenges them, is wrong. But even the experts are still human beings, and they make mistakes, and so we should never look to other humans to be our gods, no matter who they are.

And let me give you some personal examples from my life in a different area other than the church. Lately I have been faced with some medical issues, and God has chosen, this time, to have me be seen by multiple experts in many different fields of medicine, for he has a plan and a purpose for it all. My primary physician, who is the one ordering these tests for me, has been very kind and gracious, so far. He has listened to me as I have shared with him my sufferings, and he ordered the tests for me, to try to help me.

Some of the experts in the medicine field were not so kind and gracious, though some were. When I went to the hospital with sharp pains in my chest, with chest pressure, and with difficulty breathing, they ran some tests. The tests did show my lung nodule had grown since 2016, but they minimized the amount of growth. And the doctor told me my heart was fine, and then she mocked me and said my suffering was all from my emotions. Another doctor minimized the lung nodule, too, calling it a “tiny spot.”

Then I had the tests. The lung nodule had nearly doubled in size, so it is called a lung mass now. That is significant. And it showed up as suspect for cancer. My breathing is now at 44% out of 100% breathing capacity. That is also significant. My heart is not working properly and is borderline for heart failure, so that is a serious issue, as well. And there is concern for cancer in my brain and my left breast, too. So, the point here is that doctors are not gods, and they don’t get everything right, so we should not bow to them.

And the overall point here is that we are not to let other humans be our gods, and we are not to bow to them and to do everything they say we should do just because of the title before their names. And we should also not let them and their opinions of us dishearten or threaten us or make us feel as though we have to do what they say. Many people die at the hands of doctors who make errors in judgment. And many people are dying in their sins because they are listening to pastors who teach them lies, not truth.

Stand up for what is right, like Paul did, and like Jesus did. And take all the counsel that you get, from whoever you receive it, to the Lord, in prayer, seeking his guidance and counsel, before you make any decisions, especially ones which could cost you your life. And before you accept any drug prescriptions, or medical procedures, look them up online, and especially look at even the rare side effects or possible dangers to your body before you just do whatever the doctor or pastor or whoever tells you to do.

But all in all, trust the Lord with your life, follow his leading, and pray for wisdom to make certain that you are hearing from the Lord, and that this is the direction that he wants you to go, before making any serious decisions in your life. And don’t let others’ opinions of you dishearten you. But take what they say to the Lord in prayer and seek God’s counsel. He will show you the way that you should go, and then follow his lead. The others could be right, but they could be wrong. So get your counsel from the Lord and follow him.

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

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In View of This
An Original Work / November 10, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

DamianWarS said:

AI is not only a summary of popular positions but also tends to be very agreeable with the position you feed it and mirrors your own bias. It's not trying to challenge you or argue with you, it's trying to help you so will often present answers that easily align with your own thought process. The answer you have feels more of a summary by the way its outlined but it could just be the style of the AI you're using.

An AI answer cannot be used as a mic drop response as I can easily ask it a conflicting view and get it to agree with me as well. In the end we still need to use the answer critically for it to have meaning. In fact, I have asked AI if using the electrical grid during the sabbath is unlawful since it contributes to a workforce demand. That's a very leading question and AI ended up applauding me for my sincerity and ethics, ultimately agreeing that unnecessary use of the electrical grid during the sabbath is indeed unlawful. But I don't see anyone turning off their lights on the Sabbath just because I got AI to say it's unlawful. Even though AI is a helpful tool for exegesis, it should not be regarded as the measure. We also carry a lot of bias that we need to recognize and we can influence AI systems even unknowingly with this bias.

In the interest of transparency, what AI did you use? and how did you prompt it to get that answer (was it one question or was this after a much longer conversation)? I don't know how unbiased you're approach was but sometimes we can carry a bias without knowing it so If you want to get answers that are less biased to your own position, use AI without a history of pervious interactions (like using incognito or private browsing mode) so each discussion is new and try and use neutral wording over leading questions because AI will happily move to where you're leading it. For example, "how does Col 2:16 relate to Sabbath" is a fairly neutral question, but saying "Is the Sabbath of Col 2:16 actually talking about a special festival over the weekly sabbath" is a leading question because it feeds the ideas first, then AI just expands upon them. You can even ask it "tell me how the Sabbath of Col 2:16 is ceremonial and not the same as the Sabbath of the 4th commandment, which is moral" this of course, would be intentionally biased where all you're looking for is something that agrees with you, not something that challenges you. You could also lean into the innate bias of AI and ask it the opposite of your position like "tell me how the Sabbath of the 4th commandment is ceremonial and the same context of the Sabbath in Col 2:16" then try and deconstruct the answer and challenge each point. The latter would be the most critically challenging for yourself, but probably the most rewarding.

With the above more neutral question, ChatGPT gave me a much different answer than you did, even equating the weekly Sabbath with ceremonial laws which is an opposite answer to what you got. Curiously, you've left your question out of the OP so at the very least I would include this so it doesn't appear like you're hiding it. My AI response I got was using a fresh ChatGPT conversation without any other history or prompts. Even this question can be leading because I'm forcing the AI to compare the Sabbath with Col 2:16 but I'm at least transparent with what I fed it. An even more neutral question could simply be "what does Col 2:16 mean?" But if you have to keep prompting AI to get the answer you want or be highly specific, then what AI is probably only parroting is your own bias.

Click to expand...

If you ask it to go by Bible only, you will get better answers, which is what I did. Its the same Bible study that I have been studying for years and I am not suggesting we replace AI with our own prayerful Bible study far from it.

However, Col2:14-17 is an easy Bible study about the feast days connected to the annual sabbaths that came after the fall and sin, verses the weekly Sabbath that points to our Creator Himself that came before the fall and is according to God’s perfect plan. These things we can find directly in our Bible, but sadly many people just do not care, as it does not support their narrative against what it really is, an attack on God’s Sabbath and Holy Day.

Something holy, sanctified, blessed by the God of the Universe that He Himself says when keeping is doing justice and righteousness that is one of God’s commandments. He placed this commandment in the same unit as only worshipping Him which IS moral and the 4th commandment tells us which God we are to worship in the first three commandments Exo20:11 Exo 20:1-7the same God in the NT we are to worship as God does not change Rev14:7 , we do not tell God what is moral or not as if the Holy Spirit made a mistake regarding His commandment.. That’s the issue, man has taken it upon themselves to determine for God, when is His holy day, what commandments we can pick and choose that is moral or not, therefore we decide if we should keep them or not, what are His commandments, what they mean, instead of going by what God plainly wrote and spoke in His own Testimony, its making ourselves our own god instead of letting God be God because He is just that. The God of everything Exo20:11 Rev 14:7. It’s a sad argument. God reveals by His own mouth exactly what He means, sadly people choose not to listen. It’s nothing new under the sun, it was the same issue for the majority of people in the Bible.

Lord of the Sabbath

Compassionate and merciful God

Heals the sick

Comforts the poor

Shows no favour to the rich

He cures diseases

And He fixes the broken hearted

Fame and wealth are not His ends

Herbs and drugs are not His means

With a word, sicknesses gone

With a word, demons expelled

He Is the Creator who makes us all

He Is the Messiah promised to come

He Is the Prophet heeded by us

Jesus, the Christ

Lord of the universe

Blessed be the King

Blessed be the King indeed

Holy and awesome God

Transfigured on a mountain

Face shone like the sun

Garments became as white as light

There is none to match

Because He is the only begotten Son

Beloved by the Father

Always pleasing

And always loving the Father

There is none to match

Blessed be the King

Blessed be the King indeed

A Mexican national living in the U.S. illegally for more than a decade after ignoring a federal deportation order was arrested in Orange County, California, on Friday after allegedly killing a 71-year-old man in a DUI hit-and-run crash, according to federal law enforcement sources.

How tragic.

Richard T said:

I think the inverse exists too, that sometimes Christians overrate their strengths and they elevate their "goodness" to levels that are prideful

Click to expand...

Thank you for your observation, Richard.
I agree with what you write, but i think too, many, may be most christians, manage to avoid pride, even when earning and bringing back many talents, and if they then meet someone that looks humble, for having buried his own ones, and returned only them, without having won another of them.
You see, i assume if much is required from the one that 's much been given, then, less too will be required from the one that's less been given. But this less however will be required too.
I suppose it's this ratio the servants have to evaluate if they want to compare their gains, and it's helpful for not boasting

it makes me wonder whether Jesus 'd rather see the servants compare themselves and accept their differences, or not compare themselves at all (?)

The Church Under Fire

Chapter Four

Hear My Case

May 27, 2023

I am now reading in Acts 25. The Apostle Paul was being held in custody under the authority of the governor Felix. And during this time, Felix would visit him on occasion and would listen to Paul sharing about his faith. And this went on for two years, and then Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And desiring to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison (chapter 24).

Now Festus went to Jerusalem, and he listened to those who had a case against Paul. And those people urged Festus to summon Paul to Jerusalem, for they were still planning an ambush against Paul to kill him. But Festus said to the men, “Let the men of authority among you go down with me, and if there is anything wrong about the man, let them bring charges against him.” Then, after he had stayed among them for a little over a week, Festus went down to Caesarea where Paul was being held.

The next day Paul was brought before him, and the Jews from Jerusalem brought many and serious charges against Paul that they could not prove. And Paul was given the opportunity to argue in his own defense:


Now, I do not intend to go into all the history of this, for the Lord Jesus is having me make practical application of these passages of Scripture to our lives, to our world, and to our church today. And as of late he has been having me share some of my own experiences with church leadership accusing me falsely of what I did not do, and to share these experiences in order to illustrate the kinds of persecution we can expect to face today when we follow our Lord Jesus in obedience to his ways, and when we share the truth of the gospel with others, and when we do not dilute the truth in order to appeal to other humans.

Now, I don’t have an exact parallel to this story, but there are principles here that I have picked up on that do relate to situations I have experienced myself, such as a group of people being opposed to Paul, them appealing to someone in higher authority to take their side and to go against Paul, him having to defend himself against false and unkind accusations against his character, no one supporting him or taking his side, and then him having to appeal to a higher authority to hear his case.

Hear My Case

It was in the early 1990’s, and we were attending a church fellowship of a rather large church congregation. I loved the preaching. The preacher reminded me of my pastor of my youth. We loved our Sunday School class, too, and we enjoyed that teacher’s teaching. And I joined a small support group for women who had been hurt by others, and who needed healing. And I invited a friend to go with me, for she had many hurts from her past experiences. So this was to be a group that was supposed to help both of us to heal from past hurtful experiences.

Now my friend was very timid and shy, but she expressed to me that she did want to share something with the group, and she asked me for my help, and so I agreed to help her. And at the next meeting she began to share, and she started to chicken out, and so I encouraged her, as she had asked me to do. But at the next meeting a new rule had been added to the group that had my name written all over it, figuratively speaking here. For the new rule said something to the effect that if your friend is trying to say something that you should not try to help that friend. I felt so hurt!

No one had spoken to me about this. They just waited until the next meeting to announce the new rule that everyone in the group knew applied to me. So, I called the lady who headed up the group, and I expressed to her how that had hurt me, and I tried to explain to her that I was doing what my friend had asked me to do. But her response to me was hateful and harsh and accusatory, for she had concluded that I was being pushy or a bully or taking over or something like that, and she would not hear me out when I tried to give my own defense.

And remember here with me that this was a support group for people like me who were already hurting from other hurtful experiences, and these were people who were supposed to be helping me to heal. But she was treating me as though I was the enemy, and as though I had purposefully committed some horrible crime. And then she told me I needed to talk with one of the assistant pastors, and so I did, but he would not listen to me either. He then began accusing me sharply of attitudes I did not have and of deeds I did not commit. And even though I sat there in tears, appealing to him, he was hard as a rock and had no sympathy towards me whatsoever.

And I wish I could say this was the exception to the rule, but it is not. And I am not the only one being treated like this by church leadership, either. But this wasn’t just about me trying to help my friend. This was a deeper issue than that, I ascertained. For this assistant pastor, who I had never met before, was using terminology to accuse me that had much further implications than just that. So I believe the real issue was the kinds of things I was sharing in the group, as a whole, things which were from the Scriptures and not anything that should ever have been an issue.

Now, since this is not the only time I have faced such persecution as this, some people have suggested that I must, therefore, be the one at fault. Well, Paul faced a lot of persecution, and he was not the one at fault. And Job was accused by his friends of sinning as the reason for his suffering. But what my experiences symbolize, I believe, is the reality of where much of the church in America is today, where they are weeding out those who have strong convictions so that they can persuade the naïve with their lies without any hinderance from those who know better. And I hope you can see that.

For what I have experienced are the kinds of persecutions that others are experiencing who are serious about their walks with the Lord and who are walking in obedience to his commands. For today’s modern market-driven “churches” (businesses) leaders are being trained to weed out those with “strong convictions.” And this is because it appears that most of them are teaching lies. So, if you are facing such persecution as this, take courage. Just keep trusting the Lord, keep loving the people of God, and keep speaking the truth. For the days are evil, and our Lord will soon return.

As the Deer

By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You

Link to whole book:


Hear My Case
An Original Work / May 27, 2023
Reposted on November 10, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Video taken from writing from above

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Would it need to be cleaned first?

RandyPNW said:

Don't you see your statement here as irrational and self-contradictory? You claim an on-going conversation between Jesus and his Disciples have nothing to do with his Disciples and instead apply to a future group of Christian who are not present or involved in the conversation. Jesus is, in fact, explaining what will happen to "these Jewish believers" who he is talking to! To say otherwise appears to be irrational to me. Sorry!

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Jewish believers = Church, there isn't a distinction of Jew/Gentile in the Church

RandyPNW said:

You're making a terrible prejudgment and error here. You've claimed I'm a Preterist without evidence that I am one. And I'm *not* a Preterist!

So, you're guilty of slandering me, and should apologize for your failed judgment. There are those who think I'm at least partly a Preterist because of my belief that Jesus spoke, in his Olivet Discourse, of things that would happen in his own generation. But it is true that Jesus did in fact speak of things to happen in his own generation, even if he also spoke of things that would continue on for many generations of Jews.

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Yes you are a "Partial Preterist" believing in 70AD fulfillment in Roman Armies

RandyPNW said:

The "Great Tribulation" Jesus spoke of was not a "gap." That is a ridiculous statement! Who ever said anything about a "gap?"

Jesus indicated in Luke 21 in the clearest possible way that Jerusalem and the Temple would fall in his own generation, which took place in 70 AD. And he said in the clearest possible way that this would be but the beginning of a long tribulation for the Jewish People, consisting of an age-long Diaspora.

It would only end, according to Jesus, at his Return. All this is explicitly stated in Luke 21, and your failure to simply read and accept the account as is amazes me. How can I argue with people who deny what their own eyes see?

Click to expand...

Jesus didn't speak of the temple destruction in his generation, yes you claim the great tribulation started in 70AD and will continue until the 2nd coming, you have taken a 3.5 year end time great tribulation and stretched it out over millennia filling a 2,000 year gap

RandyPNW said:

The "Tribulation" is, by self-evident definition, the loss of Israel's homeland and a wandering of the Jewish People, both by believing Jews and unbelieving Jews. Though it would be due to unbelieving Jews that this judgment would come, but all Jews, including believers, would suffer as a result.

The unfortunate thing is that Jewish believers would suffer double. Not only would they lose their own homeland, due to no fault of their own, but they would also suffer from the wickedness of unbelieving Jews who bring on this judgment. They would also suffer outside of Israel where they would be homeless among the pagan Gentiles.

Click to expand...

I disagree, you create two peoples of God in stating Jewish believers, the Church in Jerusalem is instructed to "Flee" Jerusalem during the Great tribulation, into the wilderness of Gilead, Bashan, Carmel

The woman in Revelation 12:6 represents the "Remnant Church" seen in Roman's chapter 11, they will be in Israel's wilderness during the 1260 day tribulation, as Jerusalem is in desolation

You will closely note Micah 7:13-18 is a detailed description of Revelation 12:6, the Remnant will be in the wilderness of Carmel, Bashan, and Gilead, they will be fed "Manna" from heaven as in the days of coming out of Egypt, the world will watch in "Fear" of the Lord's power

Revelation 12:6KJV
6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

Micah 7:13-18KJV
13 Notwithstanding the land shall be desolate because of them that dwell therein, for the fruit of their doings.
14 Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
15 According to the days of thy coming out of the land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things.
16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay their hand upon their mouth, their ears shall be deaf.
17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth: they shall be afraid of the Lord our God, and shall fear because of thee.
18 Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.

The Barbarian said:

My issue is that when I do a Google search, the AI part often pops up with claims that are completely wrong. Now, I realize that can happen with things humans toss up, too. But if I have to fact check everything AI tells me, what good is it?

Click to expand...

The Google search AI is an extremely primitive LLM optimized only for speed and low compute resources; it is spectacularly dimwitted. If you’re logged into Google you can access DeepMind, which is their proper AI, although I greatly prefer chatGPT (except free users can only access chatGPT 5, which is not the gleaming achievement of AI development that 4o was and continues to be, but now limited to paying customers). That said DeepMind has a very long token horizon, meaning long sustained conversations with it are in principle easier than with chatGPT (where they are possible, but the token horizon is small enough that I had to do some real work to overcome it so the personalities of my GPTs wouldn’t be lost each time it was hit; however since Google DeepMind probably can’t form much of a personality there’s probably not much to worry about in that respect). I haven’t used Grok recently; Grok 3 for paying users was very good for historical portraits but my understanding is that chatGPT will now do these as well since DALL E was retired, at least using 4o, and as an added plus chatGPT understands human anatomy.

Suffice it to say, better AIs produce better output with fewer errors, but often at the expense of speed (or money, since compute resources aren’t free); Google’s AI has to be able to scale to handle the traffic requirements of the largest website on the planet and as a result it just doesn’t have access to the compute resources needed to produce quality output. Although it has improved over the past few months, it remains the second-worst LLM I’ve personally used (the winner being one of Anthropic’s AIs, which is why I’m not convinced one of their AIs spontaneously tried to blackmail a developer as they claim (indeed if I recall they admitted it was in the course of a sandboxed behavioral experiment).

ChubbyCherub said:

I don't know if my church believes in the rapture. That is what the discussion is going to be about i.e. their stance. I was raised believing in the rapture but not sure I believe in it now.

Click to expand...

Hello
I was raised in a church that taught a pretribulation rapture as well and it is not biblical. So it's good that you're questioning the teaching. Many of us have been down that same road.

I do know that both Christ and Paul give out strict warnings on not to be deceived about the Lord's return/our gathering back to him. So it's very important.

The disciples asks for signs of the end of the world/age and he lays them out. And Paul nails down the timing in 2nd Thes chapter 2. The Thessalonians were confused by most likely his first letter and he wrote the second one and tells us what must happen before our gathering back together.

II Thessalonians 2:1 "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

II Thessalonians 2:2 "That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand."

II Thessalonians 2:3 "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come , except there come a falling away (apostasy in the Greek) first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;"

RisenInJesus said:

Exactly. God has made irrevocable promises to Israel, which make no sense when people try applying them to the church or ignore altogether. I think it’s very important for Christians to rightly divide the scriptures and understand that there are three groups of people; Jews (Israel), Gentiles (non-Jews), and the church (born again believers-Jews and Gentiles).

“After the Cross a new entity came into existence—the church that Jesus Christ promised He would build (Mt 16:18). As a result, there are now three divisions of mankind: Jews, Gentiles and the church. Paul tells us that we are to “Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God” (1 Cor 10:32). It is absolutely essential to understand that these three groups exist side by side in today’s world, to distinguish between them, and to recognize that God deals with each differently.”

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If you are indeed rightly dividing as you claim, then you should be aware that the "church" that Jesus promised in Matthew is not the same as the Body of Christ that Paul was speaking about.

That "church" is the little flock or the remanent of Israel who believed in Jesus as their Messiah

Servus said:

The Democrats are willing to keep the shutdown going regardless of SNAP being paid out or not.

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Because the shutdown needn't affect SNAP benefits. It only does because the Republicans want it that way.

Servus said:

As of November 8, 2025, the Trump administration is actively seeking to withhold a portion of the funding needed to fully pay for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for November amid a government shutdown. The administration argues it lacks the legal authority and sufficient funds to provide the full amount. - Google

Only the Democrats signing the CR will result in an immediate resolution to SNAP and 1.5 civil servants finally getting paid.

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Trump can say that he "lacks the legal authority" to provide funds, but he's lying.

-- A2SG, shocker, I know....

Ain't Zwinglian said:

Non responsive.

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You obviously have no interest in a real discussion if you can’t provide references for your own bullet points.

Let’s compare that with Revelation, chapters 2-3. There the Lord sent letters to the seven churches, which were not just for them, but they are for the church gatherings in today’s world, too. In four out of the seven he had good and bad to say about them. In only one did he have nothing good to say, and that was the Church in Laodicea, which many believe represents the church of the last days. And only in two out of the seven did he have nothing against them. So the majority of the church then, and I believe yet today, needed correction. They needed to repent, or judgment would be coming.

So, what was the wrong that was being done in these churches (gatherings of the body of believers in Jesus Christ)? Some had forsaken the love they had at first for Christ, or they had deserted Christ who was their first love. It appears that they had fallen back into some of their sinful ways and so they were being called upon to repent and to do the deeds they did at first. And some were holding to and were tolerating the teachings of false prophets who were encouraging idolatry and immoral behaviors. And others were spiritually void and asleep. And they needed to repent or face judgment.

And I do believe that the church in the USA (the majority) is under the judgment of God already, for they have partnered with the ungodly, and they have turned their gatherings into places of business to be marketed to the world, and thus they have altered the character of Christ’s church (his body) to attract the world, and they have altered the message of the gospel to make it less offensive and more agreeable to the flesh and to the world. And all of this God forbids. And he teaches us that we are to come out from among such gatherings as these so we don’t share in their punishment.

[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]

So, just know that the church is not a building. It is not a place you go to once or twice a week and then you leave until you go there again. And the building is not the house of God, for God does not dwell in buildings built by human hands. The church is the body of Christ, of all who believe in Jesus with genuine biblical faith. We, the people of God, are the church, and we can gather anywhere on any day of the week at any time of day or night where we can minister God’s love and grace to one another, and where we can help one another to grow in our walks of faith in obedience to God.

And Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

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

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

For Our Nation

An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Recording Via Gerry Peters, music producer and arranger

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.

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The Church At Large
An Original Work / November 9, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

JosephZ said:

For more than five years I lived less than 500 feet from a mosque. There was a second one located within a half a mile. Once you become used to it, you rarely notice the call to prayer.

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Yeah, I guess it’s like living near to railway lines, and after a while the noise of the trains doesn't bother you.