UNESCO Claims Jewish Tomb for Islam

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) decided in October of 2015 that Rachel's Tomb and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron is now a Muslim site.  Never mind that the Bible clearly records Abraham bought the Cave in Hebron hundreds of years before Christ.  Author Tzi Ben Gedalyahu records that the UNESCO committee voted 26-2 (25 countries without a spine abstained from voting at all).

While tourists from around the world travel to Jerusalem to visit the site of the ancient Jewish temple where the Muslims have built a mosque and the Dome of the Rock few pay much attention to the large edifice in Hebron that stands as a reminder of the father of Judaism and the Christian faith.  When Sarah died Abraham bought the burial cave in Hebron (Gen 23:19).  The cave of Machpelah, about 19 miles south of Jerusalem, is where Herod built this grand monument to the patriarchs shortly before the time of Christ.  Unlike the temple site in Jerusalem it was not molested in the same way the Romans did to other ancient sites.  The huge stones laid by Herod are still intact with additional Muslim minaret and other construction which was added later.

Inside are cenotaphs marking the burial places of Isaac and Rebekah with classic Muslim red stripes.  In the 7th century what was then a church was converted into a Mosque then some time later Crusaders turned it back into a church.  In 1250 the Mamelukes conquered Israel and it once again became a mosque.

The Muslim prayer niche (mahrib) and pulpit (minbar) are very ornate and surrounded in Islamic green.

Notice there are no Arab Muslims buried in Machpelah, nor was Ishmael, he was buried in Arabia  (Gen. 25:17, 18).  Muslim tradition claim Ishmael is buried in Mecca next to the Ka'aba.

God is Love!

Any Questions?

Not all love is the same.

Those darn Ten Commandments

The Devil was a rebel from the beginning
 and his followers inherit his nature.
"The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to
keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of  judgment,
and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires
and despise authority." (2 Peter 2:9-10)

"These men revile the things which they do not understand;
 like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed."
 (Jude 10)

But It's Like We're Married!

The institution of marriage is under attack like never before.  What was once commonly referred to as sin has put on a new face.  After living together for a few years and having a number of children out of wedlock a couple might remark, "Well, it's like we are married".  If things go sour however and the relationship flies apart they can easily walk away from any responsibility because "we were never officially married" on paper.  A one night stand might be considered a sin making the woman a whore, the man a whoremonger, but if they live together for a time then it becomes socially acceptable.  Its a bit like considering a thief who robs a bank once a criminal, but if he continues the practice every week then it becomes a normal tradition and the alarms quit sounding.  It's just the cost of doing business.  Besides everyone is doing it so why not, eh?  As the farmer would say, "If you can get the milk for free, why buy the cow?"

The traditional Jewish contract of marriage, or Ketuba, had been officially codified as civil law by Simeon ben Shetach about 80 B.C.  It spelled out legal obligations in case of death or divorce.  A divorce was called a "Get" from an Akkadian word meaning a "court writ".  Both the Ketuba and Get were hand written contracts based on centuries of Jewish Scripture, history and tradition (Deu 24:1).

Lack of trust or fear of commitment is often the root of why people are not willing to enter into a legal contract of marriage.  "Once burned, twice shy" they say.  People who have watched the marriage of parents or friends fail, or have had a relationship crash and burn themselves, are less likely to commit to traditional marriage.  They can dream up all kinds of excuses to get around it.  In some cases a woman will shun marriage because she likes the thrill of dating and the leverage of being able to walk out at any time as a means to blackmail the partner.  He will treat me better if he thinks I might leave, the woman might think.  So the man therefore finds himself a slave to a whore. Sooner or later the package will lose its shine however and the true inner person will be revealed.  "Or do you know that the one who joins himself to a harlot is one body with her?  For He says, 'The two shall will become one flesh'" (1 Cor. 6:16).

Based on Jewish tradition Apostle Paul dedicated a whole chapter in his first epistle to the Corinthians (chapter seven) on the marriage relationship and obligation.  The basic guidelines were because of immoralities he says.

At one time we could point to the Scripture where we are instructed to obey the laws of the land (Rom. 13,  Titus 3:1) but now that same sex marriage has become part of the norm in our society we have to re-examine the foundation of our principles.  Typical of the cults who redefine words and religious terms the LGBTQ movement has attacked our cultural standards to fit their lifestyle, therefore we must hold our ground against the tide of deception.  See 1 Peter 3:1-7 for more reference to the biblical model.

With pressure from fundamentalist Mormons and Muslims we are being challenged with the idea of polygamy.  They will quickly point to many biblical characters that had more than one wife.  However, the Old Testament or TENACH should always be interpreted in the light of the New Testament.  Based on the failure of those in the past such as Solomon who took many wives Paul gave some basic guidelines for the pillars of Christian society, they must be "above reproach ..the husband of wife..." (1 Tim. 3:2, Titus1:7)

You Hater!

Have you ever been called a hater for simply quoting or referring to biblical truths?

Consider the following references from the Bible:

The words of Jesus:
You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Woe to you, blind guides... Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of deadmen’s bones and all uncleanness.

Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision.  Apostle Paul

Elymas the false prophet was struck blind by the words of Apostle Paul and another man was turned over to the devil for the destruction of the flesh.

Then, for lying, Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead, by the words of Apostle Peter.

Others were referred to as fornicators, adulterers, thieves and sons of the Devil. 

And they call you a "hater"?  Don't worry be happy, we have not been called to negotiate with false prophets or the Devil.  Jesus said the slave is not greater than the master.  If they hated him...well, you're in good company.

Someone expressed concern that I did not show the love of Christ in a video we posted in which we reminded some Mormons with the words of Apostle Paul in Galatians chapter one that they were under a curse for believing and promoting Joseph Smith's nonsense. Apparently when Jesus sent out his disciples they were not very loving either when they responded to unbelievers by kicking the dust off of their feet against them and claimed that it would be more tolerable for Sodom in the day of judgment than for their city (Luke 10:12).  

https://youtu.be/vVP4lURLHB4  

If God is the same yesterday, today and forever, 
and all scripture is inspired by God, we have a 
challenging job balancing the sacrificial love of God
 with another side of his nature which hates evil.
The Bible is loaded with imprecatory psalms and
 proverbs that call not only for God's judgment on
our enemies, but also praise for when
 he carries it out.

Moses and the sons of Israel sang one of the Bible's
 first psalms of praise after the Pharaoh's chariots
and his army perished in the Red Sea. (Ex. 15)

Jonah and Sailing

Jonah said, "I'd rather be sailing."

And God said, "Good luck with that."

https://youtu.be/vVP4lURLHB4

The satirical book of Jonah is one of the few books of the Bible whose main purpose is to show God's mercy toward non-Jewish people.  It has a polemical purpose that shows the general struggle of man with God.  The only minor prophet referred to by Jesus it is used in the gospel as an illustration of redemption which parallels the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, and is read by Jews during Yom Kippur, the day of atonement.  Verse one of the second chapter states that Jonah prayed to God from the stomach of the sea creature, whether a whale or a fish we cannot be certain based on the native language.  Jesus placed Jonah with the Queen of Sheba and Nineveh as historical characters (Matt. 12:38-42, 16:4, Lk. 11:29-32).  After his maritime experience Jonah had to make a trip to Nineveh over 500 miles from the coast to fulfill his mission.  Fragments of the Book of Jonah were found among the Dead Scrolls as well as the LXX thus validating its common use before the time of Christ.  Jonah (Yunus) is the only minor prophet referred to in the Quran, which might shed some light on what books were available to Muhammad over five centuries after Christ.

Whatever Became of Evangelism?

Now it came to pass that a group existed who called themselves fishermen. And lo, there were many fish in the waters all around. In fact the whole area was surrounded by streams and lakes filled with fish. And the fish were very hungry.

Week after week, month after month, and year after year, those who called themselves fishermen met

in meetings and talked about their call to fish, and abundance of fish and how they might go about fishing. Year after year they carefully defined what fishing means, defended fishing as an occupation and declared that fishing is always to be a primary task of fishermen.

These fishermen built large beautiful buildings for local fishing headquarters. The plea was that everyone should be a fisherman and every fisherman should fish. One thing they did not do, however, they did not fish.

In addition to meeting regularly, they organized a board to send out fishermen to other places where there were many fish. The board was formed by those who had the great vision and courage to speak about fishing, to define fishing, to promote the idea of fishing in faraway streams and lakes where many other fish of different colors lived. Also the board hired staffs and appointed committees and held many meetings to define fishing, to defend fishing, to decide what new streams should be thought about. But the staff and committee members did not fish.

Large, elaborate, and expensive training centers were built whose original and primary purpose was to teach fishermen how to fish. Over the years courses were offered on the needs of the fish, the nature of fish, how to define fish, the psychological reactions of fish, and how to approach and feed fish. Those who taught had doctorates in “fishology”. But the teachers did not fish. They only taught fishing.

Further, the fishermen built large printing houses to publish fishing guides. Presses were kept busy

day and night to produce materials solely devoted to fishing methods, equipment, and programs, to arrange and encourage meetings, to talk about fishing. A speaker's bureau was also provided to schedule special speakers on the subject of fishing.

After one stirring meeting on “The Necessity of Fishing,” one young fellow left the meeting and went fishing. The next day he reported that he had caught two outstanding fish. He was honored for his excellent catch and scheduled to visit all the big meetings possible to tell how he did it. So he quit fishing in order to have time to tell about the experience to the other fishermen. He was also placed on the Fisherman's General Board as a person having considerable experience.

Now it's true that many of the fishermen sacrificed and put up with all kinds of difficulties. Some lived near the water and bore the smell of dead fish. They received the ridicule of some who made fun of their fishermen's clubs and the fact that they claimed to be fishermen yet never fished. They wondered about those who felt it was of little use to attend and talk about fishing. After all, were they not following the Master who said, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19).

Imagine how hurt some were when one day a person suggested that those who don't fish were not really fishermen, not matter how much they claimed to be. Yet it did sound correct. Is a person really a fisherman if year after year he never catches a fish?

Is one following if he isn't fishing?