D-Dawn

The CCP needs to stop messing with the natural order of things.

I've been looking into Psalm 83 but haven't found consistent commentary about the chapter. I'm just wondering how my Worthy Mates understand the prophecy listed here. Specifically, I'm trying to decide of the prophecy was fulfilled in OT times or later? If later, does the Six Days War fulfill this prophecy?

So, in what way is this even remotely Constitutional?

No, it's a bad thing because Iran will use it to build weapons to use against Israel and possibly the US. Iran is under tyrannical leadership that is a threat to the entire region.

10 Islamic kings? Just curious about how you came to that conclusion?

Church (RCC) and State were pretty much the same thing in that part of the world...with Monarchs and Popes constantly fighting about who had final authority of course. That being said, it seems appropriate that the Church/State would respond to direct threats to their safety and religion.

I am disappointed by Christians who refuse to wear a mask because it "violates their rights." (I'm not talking about those with legit health reasons.) Being required to wear a mask in public during a health crisis is no more "sinister" than being required to wear a shirt and shoes into a restaurant. Even IF mask requirements were a violation of some imagined right, that doesn't mean Christians should refuse to wear them. Christians surrender rights all the time for the sake of the Gospel. We are to obey those in authority over us...unless they require us to act against God's authority.

Trying to apply Scripture to test scores is silly. Let the Bible interpret the Bible. Being good at problem solving, applied math, spatial relationships, etc...has absolutely nothing at all to do with "worldly thinking." If Shape A is has the same surface area as Shape B...that is simply fact, not moral or immoral....and certainly not sacred or secular. The testing simply seeks to measure ones ability to correctly determine which given shapes fulfill a stated relationship...or which symbol should be next in an established pattern, etc... This has nothing to do with anything spiritual beyond God knitting us together in the womb.

Chick-fil-a is taking hits from both sides of the BLM vs Law Enforcement issue I spent quite a bit of time reading about some of the Chick-fil-a "scandal" earlier this week. I didn't dig into the CEO very much...just enough to know he doesn't have the same backbone or eloquence as his father did...and that he was desperately virtue signaling to save his business. The main situation I looked into involved a t-shirt. Part 1: I kept seeing memes and comments about Chick-fil-A (CFA) claiming they do not support the police. I knew that had to be wrong so I started digging. There is currently a huge controversy about a t-shirt raging on the internet. An employee wore a blue & black t-shirt to work that said something to the effect of supporting the Big Blue on the back. In this era of reporting facts and NEVER jumping to conclusions, rumors accusing CFA of designing and selling t-shirts that supported the police during the protests began circulating. Supporters of BLM were outraged and calling for a ban on CFA because the "evidence" PROVES it is a racist company. Meanwhile, the truth about the shirt came out...much more quietly than the angry rumors. The t-shirt worn by the employee was made in 2015 in support of the local high school. Yep, the school colors are black and blue...so, "we support the blue" is merely cheering on the home team. Part 2: In an effort straighten out the misunderstanding, CFA reps (maybe the CEO...not sure) ensured people they were not selling shirts in support of the police during the controversy. As is the tradition of "fake news" and the ridiculous types of conclusions "Sheeple" draw due to a huge deficit in basic reasoning skills...these statements were twisted to mean that CFA does not support law enforcement....which of course is a far cry from simply not making t-shirts. In turn, those who support Atlanta Officer Rolfe (who was fired for shooting the suspect who stole his taser, etc...) are calling for a ban on CFA because they are suddenly viewed as anti-police. This whole situation is based on half truths in reporting and Tweeting. So few people bothered to look at the whole situation...they just condemned the business based on 2 sentence phrases they read around the internet. This sort of thing happens all the time and it's exhausting. It also demonstrates a gap in learning in our school system.

I had the blessing of working at a Bible camp summer after summer as a youth. Members of the crew were required to attend tabernacle (chapel) twice a day according to the schedules of whatever group was having their camp at the time (by ages, family camp, adult retreats, etc...) I remember grumbling a bit one day on my way to tabernacle...something about how the speaker this weak was boring, and so on. An adult who overheard me gave me a gentle and wise rebuke, "If we come with the expectation that God is going to teach us/work in us when we come to hear teaching about His Word...we will." I am so thankful for that attitude correction in my youth.

I have seen God act in my life many times in various ways...but I don't know that I have ever seen what I would call an honest to goodness "miracle." I think we often use the word "miracle" more loosely than we should. God does many amazing and awesome things daily, but just because He is the One who does these things does not necessarily mean they are miracles. Is a sunrise a miracle? No. The birth of a baby? No. A tornado turning at the last second...just missing your house? Likely not. While all of these things are "miraculous" in a sense, they are not actual miracles because they are things God does quite often. How many of us can testify about times our well being, even our lives were saved in close calls we can't wrap our heads around? Most of us I'm guessing...so this is a work of God or an angel, which is ultimately still a work of God, but not an actual "miracle." It is an event that is quite common...much like parents steering their child away from danger. It is indeed the Hand of God and we should give thanks whenever we see Him at work...but I think a miracle is something extra-ordinary. The parting of the Red Sea. The earth standing still. A water-soaked altar bursting into flames. A donkey speaking. There may be exceptions in Scripture, but whenever God did a miracle everyone who witnessed it instantly knew it was God (or the most powerful god in some polytheistic cases) who had done it....even those who denied God's existence. There was often a reaction of overwhelming fear on the part of witnesses. .or absolute awe depending on whether one is in or out of favor with God. While God deserves the Glory for all things...common or not...I think miracles are extremely rare. They are reserved for special purposes.

I haven't made the effort to dig into this before making this comment...so this is only an idea at this point. Is it possible the beauty of white skin is more about social class than race or region? Women who labored in the fields naturally got dark from the sun. Could it be that a lack of such tanning from hard work was a sign of elegance or status?

I think I might spend some time looking for and analyzing types from Scripture. Bible study has been discouraging for me lately because my ability to concentrate is really affected by health, life and likely medication right now. I can study types individually and in shorter segments. This might be just what I need right now. Yay...

I have just one vital question about Christmas in the USA...who decided primary red and green look great together??? While each are wonderful colors individually...together???

My two cents... The "metoo movement" has taken away the voice of those who are brutally abused. I am so tired of hearing about "survivors" who were groped once at a party but never put in any danger. Is groping wrong? Of course, but it's hardly an act that makes one a "survivor." When alcohol is involved I'm sure women often do their share of groping too. Alcohol does NOT raise IQ points. I think one of the biggest problems in the US is pornography. It poisons people's sexuality and creates cravings for acts that are far from loving. It perverts everything God intends sexuality to be.

This article is designed to give people half truths to stir things up. Reserves are always to be prepared in this way...it is not in signal of martial law to come. Just media fodder.

This is a bit cheeky but I can't resist: There are two kinds of people: Those who divide people into groups...and those who don't.

The Electoral College is NOT stupid. Without it a handful of cities would decide every single federal election this nation has....which means that whoever puts out the best ads in those cities controls everything. Remember, we are a Republic of STATES...not just some mass with all the same needs, wants, etc... Representatives are assigned by population..Senators are assigned two per state, giving smaller states a voice in political matters. I can't even imagine what kind of nonsense would exist in America if only voters from densely populated cities chose all of our leadership. Look how well things are going for New York, Chicago, L.A....

It seems to me the "Palestinians" in charge have no true interest in a peace plan. What they want is for Israel to not exist. Proposed peace plans always involve Israel surrendering land. Not only is Israel tiny to begin with, but giving up certain pieces of land would expose Israel to attacks from her enemies. They (Arabs) have been screaming about the land they lost since 1967 in the Six Days War. They lost the land because they attacked Israel without warning. Against crazy odds, Israel defeated the group of countries that tried to destroy her...because "the battle belongs to the LORD." Some other exciting (and scary) things happening are: - Iran and Russia building a cozy relationship - Putin in essence trying to reunite the USSR - Israel thriving economically (Ezekiel 36) - The amazing reconstruction of Baghdad in the works (Babylon?)

I think we sometimes overlap the intervention of God with actual miracles. Yes, everything God does is "miraculous" by man's standards...but is every supernatural act an actual miracle? In Biblical accounts miracles were "extra-ordinary." Even pagans recognized miracles of God as far beyond anything their own gods (often demons) were capable of doing. Angels and demons are capable of doing various "miraculous" things...but are their deeds actual miracles...or something quite common in the non-physical realm? It seems miracles are reserved for very unique purposes.

Ya, nice and chronological in Ezekiel.

I don't think I've ever quoted MYSELF in the forums before. lol I would like to correct the statement I made regarding Israel not living at peace during the Ezekiel invasion. I contradicted myself even. Assuming the invasion takes place near the beginning of the Tribulation (70th Week) Israel is of course "at peace" because the anti-Christ will have already come to power and united the world under his satanic schemes.

Oh no! I'm sorry if I gave the impression YOU are a know-it-all. We all see the sporadic posts by people think they have a direct line to God and have definite interpretations where scholars have debated for centuries. Usually they involve one sentence stances with no Scripture to develop a stance. I'm sorry Joe...didn't mean you at all.

- Unless I have completely overlooked key verses, I don't see that Israel is living in peace during the invasion described in Ezekiel. Prosperous as God promised in detail in Ezekiel 36, but no mention of peace is mentioned...again, unless I am overlooking something. Israel is already experiencing some of the prosperity God promised. Economy is booming, population is expanding, military is mighty, technology is cutting edge...etc.. - Gog is described as the leader of "Meshek and Tubal" (38: 1-2; 39:1-2) not the world. This prince will lead the invasion described against Israel. Allies of "Mershek and Tubal" are listed in following verses... still very specific by name and location. - God declares His purposes of the miraculous destruction of this massive army multiple times...so the nations will know He is God...and as another proof (after Dry Bones) to Israel that He is God. This demonstration to the world that He is indeed God would definitely set the scene for the massive harvest during the Tribulation. - Jews started coming home to the LAND as soon as the State of Israel was established in 1948 and they are still coming today. I think many more are yet to come, but this prophecy has already been set in motion. Battle of Armageddon may result in a huge wave coming, but it's not the only time Jews come home. - God told Ezekiel this miraculous destruction would happen in an hour...suddenly. - God's Name will no longer be profaned. It appears He is talking about Israel at this point...to contrast all of her sins in the past. How the nation continued to offend Him with idols, etc... God says in 39:23-24 the nations will understand that Israel was sent into exile as punishment for sins. God did it, not the nations He used to do it. This doesn't seem to be judgment on the nations yet. - If this war were the final war on the earth, how could the Israelites spend over 7 yrs cleaning up the carnage? - I don't see a conflict between God pouring out His Spirit on Israel in Ezekiel 39 and this battle being something other than Armageddon. - I think you must have noted the wrong passage when you described verses describing Jesus being physically on the earth. Ezek. 38:19-20 doesn't indicate that at all. Again, I don't claim to know all the answers and I cringe anytime someone acts as if they do on the forums. My desire is to sharpen iron here.

Why do you assume the events in Ezekiel 38-39 are the same as those described in Rev. 20?