Secret and Unsearchable Things

The past year and a half or so, I've been working on several articles, each of which involved biblical questions without a completely satisfying answer. In fact most of these questions have been debated for centuries. This is not surprising in that, a deity of whom we could completely comprehend would not be much of a god. Of course, the true and living God is not like that. The late Ravi Zacharias once opined that, God revealed to us enough information to come to him, but not so much information that we could get by without faith.

Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us that, The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.

This was hammered home to me time and again as I attempted to work on these articles for a time, then get frustrated, back off for a while, and finally attempt to look at them from a different perspective, then rinse and repeat. During these projects, I felt much like Job must have when questioned by the Lord Almighty in Job chapters 38 through 41. I was also constantly reminded of a number of verses:

Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit (Ps 147:5).

Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. (Ps 145:7).

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. (Is 40:28).

Another one that entered my mind quite often was Isaiah 55:8-9, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

My number one go-to verses when I run into “unsolvable” obstacles remains the Doxology in Romans 11:33-36:

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and i knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Recently, I finally published the articles linked below:

Could Jesus Have Sinned when He took on a Human Nature?

The Sovereignty of God and the Free Will of Man

The Sovereign Power of God - Historical Development of the Doctrine

Who was Melchizedek? His Identity and Importance

Fox Business Host Declares Thanksgiving is a Secular Holiday

While flipping TV channels this morning, I happened upon Stu Varney's "My Take" on the Fox Business Network. He was speaking of the Thanksgiving holiday. Here is a transcribed exerpt:

"Thanksgiving is a uniquely American celebration. Everywhere else in the world, it is just Thursday. But here, it's a very special day. It's not a patriotic celebration, that's July 4th.

So far... so good. But then he proclaims "It's not a religious celebration. That's Christmas, or Easter for Christians. Thanksgiving is just that: a day to be thankful for the friends and family we hope to have around us.”. He then commented on typical foods, conversations and other thoughts. You can watch the entire two minute take at:

Stu's Take on Thanksgiving.

First, I want to note that Mr Varney is not a left-wing loon, but fairly conservative and a very likable well mannered host. But I must take exception to his comment that "Thanksgiving is not a religious celebration". This would have certainly come as a shock to the Pilgrims who celebrated that first Thanksgiving in 1621. Perhaps Mr Varney meant that it is no longer thought of as a religious holiday, since many, particularly those who have attended classes in the public school system in the past several decades, have long forgotten the true original meaning of the holiday. In that, he would certainly be correct.

In addition, I want to recognize and thank Mr Varney for acknowledging Christmas as a religious holiday. For the majority, Christmas, like Thanksgiving, has become a secular holiday in which the true meaning has been long forgotten. Each year, we're bombarded with so-called Christmas movies in which Jesus Christ has been replaced with Santa Clause, without even a hint of its true meaning. For those who would like to know more about our country's true Biblical Christian roots, we invite you to check out some of our previous writings.

America’s Christian Heritage.

Biblical Roots of America’s Thanksgiving Holiday.

Hope everyone has a very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!

The Book of Daniel Trilogy

Back in 2011, I wrote a series of three articles on Bible Prophecy called Are We Living in the Last Days?, The Study of Prophecy – in Perspective, and Present Living in Light of Prophecy.

Recently, I completed another trilogy on the Book of the Prophet Daniel. The first was an Introduction to the Book of Daniel. This led to two additional spin-off articles, the first being Interpretations and Fulfillment of the Visions and Prophecies of Daniel. For this article, I spent a few weeks combing through various commentaries and other resources such as the Encyclopedia Britannica to determine the various persons and events that fulfilled many of the prophecies from the seventh through the second century BC. I also attempted to explore the prophecies still to be fulfilled in our future. If you've always wondered about many of the strange images and predictions within the book, hopefully this article will shed some light on the subject. A knowledge of Daniel is essential to understanding almost all aspects of future prophecy, including the prophetic portions of the New Testament.

The Book of Daniel contains more prophecies that have since been fulfilled than any other book in the Bible. As I was researching the meanings, I couldn't help but be amazed at the detail and precision by which each phrophecy was fulfilled. Thus, the fulfillments have a strong apologetics application. Because we have so many prophetic visions that have already been precisely fulfilled in the past, we would expect the same accuracy for those visions concerning the future.

The final article in the trilogy was entitled The Seventy Weeks of Daniel 9 – Four Interpretations. In this article, I examined various interpretations and timelines for this prophecy from an Old Testament (Maccabean) view, a Preterist (Reformed Historical) view, a Covenantal (Reformed Futurist) view and from a Dispensational (Futurist) view, pointing out the similarities and the divergences of each view. The Seventy Weeks of Daniel is the key to helping us understand the basic timeline of historical and future events prophesized in both the Old and New Testament.

I initially didn’t set out to do another prophecy-themed trilogy, but it just happened that way. Incidentally, I’m now working on the Introduction to the Book of the Revelation and, wouldn’t you know it, I currently have two spin-off articles in progress on it as well. The first spin-off considers how various events (and their timelines) are interpreted from a Preterist, a Historicist, an Idealist (Allegorical), and a Futuristic view. The final article will discuss four major interpretive views of the Millennial Kingdom of Revelation 20.

I’ll add the links to the Revelation articles in a new post when finished. To God be the glory…

When the Skies of November Turn Gloomy

Guest Post by Jim Beatty – a fellow Servant of Jesus Christ… a sinner who has turned away from a sinful lifestyle… writing in hopes of throwing somebody a life ring.

Webmaster Note: This past week marked the 45th anniversary of the event of which Jim writes. He sent the article late last year, but we saved it until now for posting. The image below comes from the US Corps of Engineers and is in the public domain.

Most of us know about Veteran’s Day and I’m sure everyone knows when Thanksgiving is. Those dates are usually marked right on the calendar for us, because they are important days that we should remember. But there’s another important day in November that’s not generally marked on our calendar, and that is November 10th, the anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975.

The Fitzgerald wasn’t one of the thousand foot “super tankers”, but a pretty big ship on the Great Lakes, with a length of almost 750 feet. Being what’s known as a “straight decker”, the Fitzgerald was perfect for hauling iron ore pellets, as she was that fateful night. Gordon Lightfoot took poetic liberties when he sang “They left fully loaded for Cleveland” when in fact, they left fully loaded for Zug Island, which is near Detroit, but I suppose you just can’t make Zug Island rhyme.

Captain McSorley was a veteran sailor with over 40 years experience and had taken command of the Fitzgerald only a few years earlier. It’s ironic that this was scheduled to be his final journey before retirement.

Lake Superior that night had waves of 35’, and the wind was about 60 miles per hour. The weather was so bad that the Soo Locks had been closed and the Coast Guard had issued a warning for all vessels to take safe harbor and to remain at anchor until the storm had passed.

The Captain of the Fitzgerald radioed that his ship was listing. They were taking water across the deck and both radars were out. The Steamship Arthur Anderson was following some distance behind, trying to guide them by radio to the safety of Whitefish Bay.

We know how the story ends. The Fitzgerald sunk suddenly... very suddenly in about 600 feet of water and all the men on board died.

I was working on the freighters in those days. In fact, we were safely at anchor in the lee of a small island on Lake Huron. But I remember from our lifeboat training that we were told, “There’s no need to panic, there’s no hurry, you don’t have to rush, it takes at least 45 minutes for a ship to sink. There’s plenty of time to get the lifeboats ready.”

But that’s not how it happened on the Fitzgerald that night. In fact, about a year later, I met a man who said he was working on the Arthur Anderson that night. He said it happened so quickly that with one sweep of the radar screen she was there, and the next sweep she was gone.

Gordon Lightfoot hit it square on when he sang, “The lake it is said... never gives up her dead... when the skies of November turn gloomy”.

You know, I have to wonder how many, if any, of those men had come to Christ at some time before that final journey. And I have to wonder how many of those men cried out to Christ with their last breath as they sank into that icy water.

Sometimes we get so caught up with the cares of the world and our own “stormy situations” that we forget about our relationship with God.

“Oh, you don’t understand! I’ve got to work a lot of overtime to pay off my student loans... or whatever. I don’t have time for that religious stuff right now”, or so we reason.

Others may be caught up in a lascivious lifestyle. Drinking and carousing, carelessly singing, “eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die!” Those poor spirits never even see the need to change their course, much less to get the lifeboats ready!

Others may think they can just put it off, “Oh, I’m a good guy and people like me. I mean, I go to church, you know... or at least sometimes. It’s not like you have to really follow all that stuff. Besides, I can always repent on my death bed. Certainly Jesus will wait for ME, won’t he?”

The trouble is, as the Edmund Fitzgerald shows us, sometimes the calamities of life happen so suddenly that we don’t always have time to even LOOK for the lifeboats. Proverbs 27:1 says, “Don’t boast about tomorrow, for a man doesn’t know what a day might bring”.

So the question is, “When should I change my course... when should I get my lifeboat ready?” Paul tells us in 2nd Corinthians 6:2, “And he said, in the favorable time, I listened in the favorable day, you needed salvation and I helped. Behold, THIS is the favorable time. Behold, THIS is the day of salvation”.

If there is anyone reading this message and has come to a point in your life where you see the need to change your course, you see that it’s time to get the lifeboat ready. I urge you to seek out competent biblical teaching, believe in the Word and repent from the world. Be baptized and receive the free gift of the Holy Spirit.

I urge you to seek out and build your relationship with the One who can calm the stormy sea. And I urge you to do this while it is still the favorable day, before one of life’s calamities can strike!

Things That Go Bump In the Night

Guest Post by Jim Beatty – a fellow Servant of Jesus Christ

Witches, demons, fortune tellers, skeletons, ghosts, monsters and the like are common themes in October!

Samhain was celebrated on the night of October 31 when the Druids believed the boundary between the world of the dead and the world of the living was blurred and demons would visit. These spirits played tricks and caused havoc, so the Druids would offer sacrifices to appease these spirits, hence the modern holiday question: “trick or treat?”

The Druids dressed in costumes to look like demons in attempt to befriend them and celebrated the holiday with drunkenness, psychoactive plants and debauchery. They believed that by communing with the nether world, they could tell fortunes, cast spells and speak with the dead.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Pope Boniface IV created All Saints day, celebrated November 1st, around AD 600. This holiday was called “All-hallows” and the night before it, “Samhain”. Later, it became known as “All-Hallows Eve” and eventually, “Halloween”.

Most people today believe such celebrations are just good, clean fun. Kids get to dress up and get candy while going house to house giving each one a choice, “trick or treat?” I mean after all, demons, witches, ghosts and goblins aren't real, are they?

If demons, astrology, divination, necromancy, sorcery and idols don't exist, why did God forbid these practices in the Law of Moses and again through Paul in 1st Corinthians 6 and Galatians 5, among other places in the bible?

There are at least a dozen Hebrew names for demons in the Old Testament and demons are mentioned by every writer in the New Testament, with exception of the unknown author of Hebrews; but he did mention their ruler, Satan. Jesus taught in many passages that demons do exist, and many instances are recorded of Jesus and his Apostles casting them out of people that had been possessed. Demons are the fallen angels and can take on various physical forms.

People of many faiths celebrate Halloween and the bible does say, “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” (Romans 14:5)

However, our bible also clearly says in 1 Corinthians 10:20-21 “But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.”

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but rather than putting on a ghost, devil, witch or monster costume, why not put on "the whole armor of God; the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, as shoes put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace; the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”? (Ephesians 6:13-20)

Honoring our Veterans – Veterans Day Weekend 2018

Each year, November 11 is recognized as a day of solemn reflection throughout many nations in honor of those who bravely served them. The day is known by many names, including Armistice Day, Remembrance Day in British Commonwealth countries, and Veterans Day in the United States. This year also marks the 100 year anniversary of the armistice to end World War 1, signed between the allied countries and Germany at Compiègne, France on November 11, in 1918. The armistice went into effect at 11am Paris time, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

In the United States this year, Monday, November 12 is set aside to commemorate and honor and recognize their service to the nation. Although we should honor our veterans every day, please make a special effort to thank all of those you know. Although most veterans don’t seek attention, it shouldn’t be difficult to find one. There are over 20 million former and active veterans in our country today. Even if you can’t thank them in person, please observe a moment to thank God for our brave men, women and their families.

Marine Corps Birthday 243rd Birthday

Coinciding with this Veteran’s Day weekend is the 243rd birthday of the US Marine Corps, whose origins trace from an October 1775 plan by the Continental Congress to use Marines to oversee a mission to intercept ammunition shipments from Britain during the Revolutionary War. The following month, a resolution was adopted that officially created a standing Marine Corps force on November 10, 1775, the date that became the USMC birthday. True to their humble roots, the Marine Corps Birthday is not a federal holiday, but observed only internally by the military branches; although some local government and civic organizations sometimes hold various events to honor the men and women of the Marines. The primary historical celebration is the traditional Marine Corps Birthday Ball. The first known Birthday Ball was held in 1925 Philadelphia, but is now held annually in our nation’s capital.

WWI Memorial Cross in Jeopardy

This Veterans Day Weekend also coincides with the recent Supreme Court’s agreement to hear arguments in the case of the Bladensburg Peace Cross. The dispute began in 2014 when members of the American Humanist Association filed a lawsuit to have the memorial removed, claiming it discriminates against soldiers who were not Christian. The humanists were later joined by the Council on American-Islamic Relations in their efforts to destroy the cross that has stood for almost 100 years, and was financed by the American Legion and private donors.

Stella Morabito at the Federalist has a must-read article in which she writes:

Sadly, precious few Americans today know a single thing about World War I. This is unconscionable, because we can still feel its aftershocks all over the world today. Forgetting our history has very damaging consequences if we ever hope to attain real progress in this world. And the point of war memorials is to remind us of such things, and to bid us never to forget.

So there is great poignancy in the timing of the Supreme Court’s recent agreement to consider the case of The American Legion et al. v. the American Humanist Association et al. The court will decide whether a World War I memorial in Bladensburg, Md., may remain standing, or if it constitutes an illegal mix of church and state. The American Legion is appealing the Oct 18, 2017, decision of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that the memorial must go, which overturned a previous ruling allowing the memorial to stand.

Ms Morabito also explains the religious and historical aspects of why we need the memorial cross. Other excellent articles are from World Net Daily, a concise story on the SCOTUS taking the case, and the Daily Signal, who has the perspective from actual veterans on their thoughts about the efforts to remove the memorial cross.

Please be in prayer for the families of these veterans and all others involved in this very important religious freedom case.

WWI and Technology

We’ll end this post on a lighter note. I was reading through this month’s issue of Electrical Construction and Maintenance (EC&M) Magazine, when I came across an article on Electricity and World War I. The subject of the article was the pivotal role that electricity played in the First World War. This article is also the source of the old photos used in this post.

The article notes some of the “firsts” that were introduced into combat during the First World War, in addition to rapidly developing electrical technology such as warplanes for bombing, steel helmets, blood banks, and guide dogs. In 1917 and 1918, the Holt Manufacturing Co and General Electric Co collaborated to invent the Holt gas-electric tank, the first prototype tank built in the United States. The tank used a gasoline engine connected to an electric generator to provide power to its various parts. Unfortunately, the tank was prone to overheating and lacking maneuverability, so the machine was the only one of its kind built. Fortunately, it was not needed since not a single American-made tank ever saw service in the war, and the US dominated technical development and manufacturing afterward.

In other technological gains, incandescent and carbon-arc searchlights became game changers for the allies. These lights were crucial for nighttime operations such as navigation, illuminating enemy ships, blinding enemy troops to allow torpedo boats to navigate closer to enemy ships, and for spotting and guiding warplanes during bombing raids (no GPS in those days).

WWI battleships also benefited greatly from advancements in electrical technology. Most devices and equipment were electrically power and operated, many by remote control. In addition, electricity was now being used to pivot and aim guns, and to lift ammunition from the magazines up to the guns.

The various weapons such as rifles, machine guns, artillery, mortars, and flamethrowers, led to millions of human injuries and created a medical crisis. In response, Marie Curie, a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, invented the “radiological car” (aka the “Curie car”). This vehicle contained an X-ray machine (a recently invented medical diagnostic tool) and photographic darkroom equipment. This invention allowed medics to bring this new technology to the battlefield. Ms Curie also incorporated an electrical generator into the car to power the X-ray machine.

WWI also resulted in the establishment of the first blood bank. Oswald Robertson, a US Army doctor came up with the idea of storing blood prior to the arrival of casualties. He established the first blood bank on the Western Front in 1917, from where it was transported to various medical stations as needed. This idea is credited with preventing thousands of deaths.

Finally, we mention that after the war, Dr Kurt Huldschinsky, a German pediatrician of Polish descent, noticed that many of his young patients were extremely pale. In addition, it is thought that about half of Berlin’s children suffered from rickets (a softening, weakening and/or deformation of skeletal bones). Since sunlamps had been used throughout the war to help treat soldiers’ wounds, the doctor began placing a few of the children under mercury-quartz lamps which emitted ultraviolet (UV) light. His patient’s bones slowly became stronger and the following summer (1919), he also began having them sit in the sun. The doctor’s research eventually led to the discovery that the process of Vitamin D strengthens the bones with calcium is triggered by UV light. Thus, God used the circumstances of the war to cure this children’s ailment.

In closing, we ask once again that we pray for, and honor all our veterans and their families.

Untold Story of North Korea at the Winter Olympics

By now, we’ve all seen the fawning headlines and stories of the media’s lovefest with Kim Yo Jong, the sister, close adviser and confidant to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. We haven't seen adoration like this from the media since the death of Fidel Castro. Here’s a small sampling:

NY Times: Kim Jong-un’s Sister Turns on the Charm, Taking Pence’s Spotlight

Washington Post: The “Ivanka Trump of North Korea” captivates people in the South

Associated Press: At Olympic Games, Kim Jong Un’s sister takes VIP seat

Reuters: North Korea heads for diplomacy gold medal at Olympics

Yahoo: All swagger and smiles, Kim Jung Un's mysterious sister gets her star turn at Winter Olympics

The winner of the “KJU Fan Club Best Propaganda Award” predictably went to CNN for a story entitled “Kim Jong Un's sister is stealing the show at the Winter Olympics”. The article began with

If “diplomatic dance” were an event at the Winter Olympics, Kim Jong Un's younger sister would be favored to win gold.

With a smile, a handshake and a warm message in South Korea's presidential guest book, Kim Yo Jong has struck a chord with the public just one day into the PyeongChang Games.

Seen by some as her brother’s answer to American first daughter Ivanka Trump, Kim, 30, is not only a powerful member of Kim Jong Un’s kitchen cabinet but also a foil to the perception of North Korea as antiquated and militaristic.

CNN thus implies that, KJU’s sister flashing a smile offsets all the images and other news coming out of N Korea. Evidently, all the military parades, missile tests, and the killings of vast numbers of their citizens were totally misinterpreted by those outside of the media. CNN gives us further enlightenment of how we’ve further misunderstood N Korea in a separate article.

Babilina Hwang, a visiting professor at Georgetown, told CNN that “Kim Yo Jong is the perfect counterpart to [Ivanka Trump]. And it also is a signal that North Korea is not this crazy, weird former Cold War state -- but it too has young women that are capable and are the future leadership.”

So according to CNN, if you’re a young woman looking for a great career with advancement opportunities, send your resume to Kim Jong Un today! To CNN’s credit, the writer did include some information that distinguished the article from that of a a press release written by the N Korean public affairs office.

But as North Korea's brutal dictator, Kim's brother has ruled with an iron fist since coming to power, operating Nazi-style prison camps, repressing political opposition and even executing senior officers and his own family members in an effort to consolidate power.

CNN also included the fact that Kim Yo Jong is a close aide to her brother, but you have to look for it deep into the article. The writer also mentioned the 2-3 million N Koreans that have starved over the past couple of decades, but blamed this on famine caused by withdrawal of food subsidies from China and Russia, collective farming [state-run and controlled], flooding and droughts. There was no mention of the millions and millions of dollars of foreign aid for food that was routinely diverted to the military, including nuclear facilities, but this would have contradicted CNN’s portrayal of N Korea as a modern peace-loving progressive society.

The North Korea that the Media Ignores:

We’re all familiar with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un’s constant threats of nuclear war, but there are many other stories that get ignored by the media. We often see videos of enthusiastic cheering by his military leaders and others around him, but no mention that KJU imprisons and tortures anyone who he even suspects of hinting at disloyalty to his regime. His government has systematically destroyed churches and attempted to eradicate any signs of Christianity except for a few “token” churches left open to promote his claims of religious freedom. Any true Church leaders and Christians are routinely rounded up and sent to prison camps.

Even associating with a Christian can result in being detained for questioning. In shades of Nazi Germany, children are targeted early for government propaganda and brain washing (the American left has also very successfully adopted this strategy). During school days, a few children are assigned the “honor” of keeping watch while the other students are studying or playing at recess. What do they watch for? They are told to watch for incoming bombing raids by American war planes. This is one of the reasons for lack of resistance to the N Korean nuclear program. People are taught from childhood that attacks by the West are imminent. Children are also taught to spy on their parents and neighbors, so Christians must pray with their eyes open and worship secretly, even in the “privacy” of their own homes.

“Offenders” are typically sent to prison camps for the smallest of infractions. There are two types of prison camps in N Korea. Both are basically concentration camps in which prisoners are used as harsh slave labor for government-owned factories, and are also subject to torture and public executions. The Kyohwaso is a re-education type camp for those accused of “lesser” offences. Theoretically, prisoners are eligible for release after completing their sentence and deemed to be “rehabilitated”, but many don’t survive the harsh conditions. The Kwanliso camps are for more “serious” crimes such as criticizing the government or attempting to flee the country. Prisoners in these camps are considered beyond redemption, so are basically under a life sentence in order to “protect” society.

Some Christians might be “fortunate” to be sent to a Kyohwaso camp, but many are sent to one of the Kwanliso camps since Christianity is considered as dangerous as narcotics in N Korea. Christians are also seen as political prisoners, since Christianity is viewed by the NK government as a means by which the West attempts to “invade” and infiltrate the country with Western and capitalist ideas. Nearly 40 percent of prisoners die from the beatings and/or starvation. Many others manage to barely survive by eating some of the rats that infest the camp. It is estimated that about 30% (30,000) of 100,000 N Korean Christians currently are imprisoned in one of the Kwanliso camps.

The Seed of the Gospel from a Highly Unlikely Source

Yet, even in the darkness is a glimmer of light, as reported in The Voice of the Martyrs February 2018 Newsmagazine. Here, we find the story of “Kyung-ja” (names changed for protection), a mid-fifties North Korean woman detained because her daughter had defected to South Korea. As Kyung-ja was being beaten with a club, she drifted in and out of consciousness and heard the guard shouting out unfamiliar words like “God”, “Jesus” and “Bible”.

After two months of beatings, it was determined that Kyung-ja had no ties to Christianity so we was sent to a Kyohwaso camp for “re-education”. Her curiosity had been peaked however, so one day she asked a fellow prisoner, “What is God, and what is a Bible?” The prisoner whispered that “There is such a thing, but you must not ask [for your own safety]”.

After six months, during which she witnessed many atrocities and deaths of fellow prisoners, Kyung-ja was released. Eventually, her daughter was able to raise enough money and obtain the aid of a pastor to help Kyung-Ja defect to S Korea. Only then, was she able to obtain some answers to her questions about Christianity.

Today, Kyung-ja never misses a worship service or an opportunity to share her testimony with others. She also works with a VOM-sponsored ministry that reaches out to N Korean Christians and defectors. The irony is not lost on her that, if she had never been arrested, she would have never heard of Christianity, and that the seeds of the Gospel were planted by a N Korean guard attempting to eradicate Christianity.

Kyung-ja story is amazing, but not as uncommon as we might think. Similarly, we continually see large numbers of Muslims turning to Christianity due to the brutal tactics of groups like ISIS, Boko Harem (W Africa), Al Shabaab (E Africa), Al Qaeda, FARC (Colombia), and others. I heard of one case about 18 months ago, where Muslim neighbors hid Christians in their homes after their village church had been attacked and burned by Islamic terrorists. Just as in the first few centuries in which the blood of the martyrs was the seed, we now see unequaled numbers of Muslims coming to Christ.

Let’s continue to pray for Christians in restricted and hostile nations.

Thanksgiving Then and Now

This week, millions of Americans celebrated Thanksgiving, a Christian holiday (holy day) patterned after the first Pilgrim festival in 1621 in Plymouth. Within the next ten years, the annual celebration had spread throughout most of the New England colonies. After America’s independence from England, presidents regularly declared national thanksgiving days until 1863, when Abraham Lincoln began the annual practice of issuing a national Thanksgiving Day proclamation for the fourth day of November. Subsequent presidents continued the tradition, annually specifying various Thursdays in November. Finally, Congress permanently established the fourth Thursday each November at Thanksgiving in 1941.

For non-believers, it is relatively easy to celebrate Christmas and Easter without knowing the true meaning for each. Most see Christmas as all about Santa Claus and commemorate Easter by searching for eggs hidden by the Easter bunny. Scores of people don’t realize the Biblical Roots of Thanksgiving, but a false alternate tradition has yet to be established. It remains to be seen however, just how long this will remain the case.

During the past several decades, the godless public school systems, federalized under Jimmy Carter in the early 1970s, began systematically scrubbing the strong Christian beliefs of our country’s founding fathers (and anything else relating to the Christian faith) from the history books. Children are now taught that the Pilgrims gave thanks to the Indians instead of God (even though their first abundant harvest wasn’t until the third Thanksgiving). According to a November 23, 1986 story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, children were being taught that “the Pilgrims were narrow-minded bigots who survived initially only with the Indians’ help, but turned on them when their help wasn't needed anymore”.

It thus comes as no surprise that, during various man-on-the-street type interviews, we hear answers to questions about Thanksgiving such as the Pilgrims landed in Hawaii, the attendees at the first thanksgiving were “a bunch of presidents”, the first Thanksgiving was held in 1940, and many other tidbits of historical wisdom from products of our modern education system.

Just prior to this era, Democratic President John F Kennedy stated in his first Thanksgiving proclamation issued on October 28, 1961:

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord.

More than three centuries ago, the Pilgrims, after a year of hardship and peril, humbly and reverently set aside a special day upon which to give thanks to God for their preservation and for the good harvest from the virgin soil upon which they had labored. Grave and unknown dangers remained. Yet by their faith and by their toil they had survived the rigors of the harsh New England winter. Hence they paused in their labors to give thanks for the blessings that had been bestowed upon them by Divine Providence…

I ask the head of each family to recount to his children the story of the first New England Thanksgiving, thus to impress upon future generations the heritage of this nation born in toil, in danger, in purpose, and in the conviction that right and justice and freedom can through man's efforts persevere and come to fruition with the blessing of God. (Kennedy Public Papers)

We’ve come a long way from Kennedy to Obama, who likes to invoke the socialist slogan “Forward”! Perhaps we’d be much better by returning to God and the traditions of our Christian Founders.

Lessons for America from Israel’s Monarchy

I believe that one of the most important sections on our website is our Introductions of the Books of the Bible. Actually, we hope that each is a little more than just an introduction. For each book (and each section), we attempt to offer information on the author, his purpose, major themes, theological teachings, and key verses. We include a brief survey of the book, historical background info, and a timeline of the people and events. Finally, we also discuss some interpretation challenges, present some hints to aid in properly interpreting the book, and attempt to answer some of the common questions that often puzzle readers.

Like many other sections on our website, our Bible Book Intros are still in progress. When we began the section, our original goal was to finish by the end of 2012. It didn’t take long for us to realize how short-sighted we were in setting this goal. We certainly underestimated the lack of available time due to other projects, the extra details the we would include in the intros, and the number of spin-off articles each intro would produce. That said, we are re-doubling our efforts to complete this section (but not setting a new deadline).

We’re pleased to announce that we’ve recently completed the Book of the Kings, originally one volume entitled Melakim (Hebrew for “kings”). The translators of the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew OT in the second or third century BC) divided it into two books called the “Third and Fourth Book of Kingdoms” (Samuel was designated the “First and Second Book of Kingdoms”). Together, these four books provided a complete history of the transition and the monarchy of Israel. We followed the later division of First Kings and Second Kings.

In writing these, I couldn’t help but notice (as with the other historical books of the Bible) that, even though cultures continue to change, overall human nature remains basically the same. One aspect that particularly stands out is our failure to learn from our pasts. This includes both our personal and historical pasts. The Israelites who were living during the monarchy had the book of Moses that taught the lessons of the Flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, the Exodus, the desert wanderings and other events. They should have also been familiar with the conquest and the repeating cycles of the judges. Throughout their own period of the monarchy, there were people and leaders who were repentant and faithful to God’s Word and thus enjoyed periods of God’s covenant blessings while others suffered the curses for disobedience, yet their pattern of returning to destructive behavior never ceased.

Likewise, as a whole in modern day America, we often follow the same patterns even though we have much more historical data available, including hindsight of the events concerning the fate of the Israelites. We also have the lessons of Rome and their self-destruction caused by elimination of the middle class, breakdown of the traditional family, high taxation, and other moral and economic issues (most economic crisis are caused by moral crisis). We also have the lessons of the millions upon millions of people killed by communistic and socialistic regimes.

A few weeks ago, we witnessed the Greeks celebrating in the street after following their far-left politicians’ advice to vote down responsible economic measures. Like much of America, the people were celebrating the fact that they were going bankrupt, but didn’t care as long as someone else bails them out with no resulting consequences. On the plus side, some parts of Europe are now learning some lessons from history and are subsequently making some attempts to change. At the same time, America has become the dumping ground of centuries of failed European political and economic ideas (ironically in the name of progress and going “forward”). We now witness America rushing ahead toward moral and economic bankruptcy. In the past month the US Supreme Court has flushed what was left of the Constitution (we’ll have more to say on this in future posts), and like Greece, people party while going broke.

So, how can America be fixed? Most moral issues can be fixed by repentance and a return to the Biblical foundations on which our country was founded. Similarly, most economic problems can be greatly improved by restoring the Christian work ethic (Pr 21:25, Th 3:6-12, 1Tim 5:8). The American Revolution was a direct result of the First Great Awakening. Our country today is barely surviving on the remnants of the Second Great Awakening, and is fast becoming post-Christian America. This second national revival however, also led to the sending of numerous missionaries to foreign nations around the globe. Perhaps, some of these countries in which Christianity is exploding will return the favor by sending missionaries here. Given America’s current deteriorating condition, I believe we need a Third Great Awakening. Since only God can send revival, this will require repentance and prayer by His people (2Chr 7:14). Unfortunately, like Israel, we tend to turn to God only as a last resort, so things may need to get even worse before this happens. I pray that I am wrong and that the church will arise and fulfill her calling. In order to effectively change laws, we must first change hearts. We should continue working through political and social channels but ultimately, our hope must be in the Lord.

The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord... From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth — he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do. No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength... But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you. (Ps 33:10-22)

Light and Darkness on Presidents Day

The holiday popularly known as Presidents Day began as a celebration of George Washington’s Birthday, but with the Washington-Lincoln Recognition Act of 2001 (HR 420), we recognize all the presidents who have led our nation throughout our history. Unfortunately, we currently have an empty chair in the White House, so in this post, we’re once again forced to look to the past.

This year, we’ve chosen to highlight a portion of a speech by President Dwight D Eisenhower from October 24, 1954 marking the 75th Anniversary of the Incandescent Lamp. Text from the speech is courtesy of our friend, Bill Federer’s American Minute.

“IN GOD WE TRUST.” Often have we heard the words of this wonderful American motto. Let us make sure that familiarity has not made them meaningless for us. We carry the torch of freedom as a sacred trust for all mankind. We do not believe that God intended the light that He created to be put out by men.

The term “light” is used in many contexts in the Bible, beginning with the ordinary physical sense. Light was the first thing God created after the heavens and earth (Gn 1:3). Yet, its primary use is in the figurative, allegorical or metaphorical senses to portray spiritual realities. The late Dr Henry Morris, who established the Institute for Creation Research, notes

Light is the most fundamental and important form of energy, and energy includes every phenomenon in the physical universe. It is appropriate for John to affirm that God is light, because everything created must reflect the character of its Creator. The term “light,” therefore, has come to be applied not only to light in the physical sense, but also to that which is true in the intellectual realm, and holy in the moral realm as well. In addition, the term is often used in opposition to dark or darkness as symbolizing good and evil. We see this in the Apostle John’s application to God Himself, “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 Jn 1:5).

Light is used to express knowledge, The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2Cor 4:4, see also Job 12:22 and Ps 119:130). Light and dark are also used to express morality or lack of, as illustrated by the Prophet Isaiah, Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness (Is 5:20). Light can even symbolize eternal life itself. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jn 8:12).

It is easy to see that, while much of the church sleeps and even looks to the government to assume part of her responsibilities, our country's “leaders” continue their quest to eliminate the spiritual light from our nation, replacing it with their own fundamental change. We could even say that our physical light is being dimmed as well. Radical environmental policies are condemning many to sickness or even death by depriving the poor of basic needs such as inexpensive utilities necessary for healthy food and clean water. Thus, please pray that God would again shed His Light on our once great nation. We should, like Job, long for the days when God watched over us; when His lamp shone on our head and by His light, we walked confidently through the darkness (Job 29:2-3).

Returning to Eisenhower’s speech, the former president also addressed the relation between faith and freedom:

Atheism substitutes men for the Supreme Creator and this leads inevitably to domination and dictatorship. But we believe - and it is because we believe that God intends all men to be free and equal that we demand free government.

Our Government is servant, not master, our chosen representatives are our equals, not our czars or commissars. We must jealously guard our foundation in faith.

For on it rests the ability of the American individual to live and thrive in this blessed land - and to be able to help other less fortunate people to achieve freedom and individual opportunity. These we take for granted, but to others they are often only a wistful dream.

Today, we see that Eisenhower’s prophetical words have been ignored or forgotten. As the current administration continues to drive God from our country, it is inevitable that American’s freedoms are also sliding away.

Still, we can be confident that God is in control. He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them (Job 12:23). Therefore, we must also continue to pray that God will turn the hearts of our nation back to Him, with the assurance that He alone controls the course of world events (Dan 2:21).

The Biblical Roots of our American Thanksgiving

This week, many people are celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday with friends and family. Yet, with Christmas decorations filling many retail stores for the past weeks or even months, Black Friday beginning earlier each year (even at the first of the week at some shops), the resulting shoppers brawls, and the general hustle and bustle, it’s relatively easy to overlook our Thanksgiving holiday. By doing this however, we make light of an important holiday that has its roots in the Bible.

As many of our readers are aware, the secular revisionist historians have been very busy in their attempt to scrub any references to God and Christianity from our society, and the Biblical connections to Thanksgiving are no exception. Thus we decided to write this article about some of the beliefs and events that helped establish the holiday.

We begin with the many directives throughout the Bible to give thanks or to have a thankful heart (eg Eph 5:20, 1Th 5:18). Although the Book of the Psalms is permeated with expressions and exhortations of thanksgiving, only the 100th Psalm carries the subtitle “A Psalm for Giving Thanks”. Many Bible readers treat these subtitles as supplementary to the Bible text, as if later added by a scribe. These subtitles however, are found in the oldest known Hebrew manuscripts, so should be accredited the same level of inspiration and authority as the other text. Psalms 100 reads:

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

The observance of our American Thanksgiving can be traced back to the celebrations by the Pilgrims as an expression of thanksgiving to God for their survival in the early 1620s. Most secular historians claim that the Pilgrims were expressing thanks to the American Indians, but a brief examination of Pilgrim history will show otherwise.

Read the entire Biblical Roots of Thanksgiving article that includes a brief history of Christianity in England, the Biblical basis for the Pilgrim celebrations, England’s Thanksgiving celebrations, the connection of our American Thanksgiving with the Hebrew festival of Sukkot, the “God with us” connection, and more. The complete article will be uploaded and linked later today or tomorrow. Thank you.

Veterans Day 2014

In appreciation of veterans who have, and who are, bravely defending our freedom.

THANK YOU!!!

God Bless our Veterans!

Remembering our Heroes on Memorial Day 2014

Although we should honor our brave troops every day, today is set aside to remember and say a special “thank you” to those who paid the ultimate price for those freedoms that we too often take for granted. No mere words can adequately express our gratitude, particularly the empty words of our current commander-in-chief. Still, we offer an excerpt from the remarks given at the 1982 Memorial Day Ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery by a great leader who truly honored and cared about our nation and our troops.

In America's cities and towns today, flags will be placed on graves in cemeteries; public officials will speak of the sacrifice and the valor of those whose memory we honor.

In 1863, when he dedicated a small cemetery in Pennsylvania marking a terrible collision between the armies of North and South, Abraham Lincoln noted the swift obscurity of such speeches. Well, we know now that Lincoln was wrong about that particular occasion. His remarks commemorating those who gave their “last full measure of devotion” were long remembered. But since that moment at Gettysburg, few other such addresses have become part of our national heritage -- not because of the inadequacy of the speakers, but because of the inadequacy of words.

I have no illusions about what little I can add now to the silent testimony of those who gave their lives willingly for their country. Words are even more feeble on this Memorial Day, for the sight before us is that of a strong and good nation that stands in silence and remembers those who were loved and who, in return, loved their countrymen enough to die for them.

Yet, we must try to honor them -- not for their sakes alone, but for our own. And if words cannot repay the debt we owe these men, surely with our actions we must strive to keep faith with them and with the vision that led them to battle and to final sacrifice…

The willingness of some to give their lives so that others might live never fails to evoke in us a sense of wonder and mystery. One gets that feeling here on this hallowed ground, and I have known that same poignant feeling as I looked out across the rows of white crosses and Stars of David in Europe, in the Philippines, and the military cemeteries here in our own land. Each one marks the resting place of an American hero and, in my lifetime, the heroes of World War I, the Doughboys, the GI's of World War II or Korea or Vietnam. They span several generations of young Americans, all different and yet all alike, like the markers above their resting places, all alike in a truly meaningful way.

Winston Churchill said of those he knew in World War II, they seemed to be the only young men who could laugh and fight at the same time. A great general in that war called them our secret weapon, “just the best darn kids in the world”. Each died for a cause he considered more important than his own life. Well, they didn't volunteer to die; they volunteered to defend values for which men have always been willing to die if need be, the values which make up what we call civilization. And how they must have wished, in all the ugliness that war brings, that no other generation of young men to follow would have to undergo that same experience.

As we honor their memory today, let us pledge that their lives, their sacrifices, their valor shall be justified and remembered for as long as God gives life to this nation. And let us also pledge to do our utmost to carry out what must have been their wish: that no other generation of young men will every have to share their experiences and repeat their sacrifice.

Earlier today, with the music that we have heard and that of our National Anthem -- I can't claim to know the words of all the national anthems in the world, but I don't know of any other that ends with a question and a challenge as ours does: Does that flag still wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? That is what we must all ask.

Thank you.

- President Ronald Reagan, May 31, 1982, speaking after he placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

For a brief history of Memorial Day, and drawings in honor of those who gave their lives for our nation, see our Memorial Day 2014 Tribute on our main website. May God Bless all our Veterans and their families.

Presidents Day - Our Biblical Foundations

Each February, we set aside a holiday that began as a celebration of George Washington’s Birthday, but later became popularly known as Presidents Day. Unfortunately, the philosophy and resulting policies of our current president has consistently been diagrammatically opposed to biblical principles and out-right hostile toward most Christian beliefs and freedoms. Historically however, this has rarely been the case.

Only a small percentage of our presidents have been evangelical Christians, but until the past 50 years or so, virtually all recognized the providential hand of God in the establishment of our nation, and the abundant contributions that Christianity has made throughout our nation’s history. Even in the last five decades, the majority have either been supportive of Christianity and religious freedoms, or at least remained relatively neutral.

To illustrate, we’ve assembled a small sampling of quotes by a number of US presidents on the subject of God, the Bible, and our country’s Christian foundation. As we read these, let’s pray for another great revival in America.

41 Years of Legalized Killings in America

As another Sanctity of Life Month passes, we have some good news to share. Public opinion is slowly turning against abortion as polls indicate almost 60% of the population now consider themselves pro-life. Much of this is due to increased awareness of the unsanitary conditions, corrupt practices, and criminal activities commonly found at many of these clinics. A recent report from Operation Rescue indicates that 87 surgical abortion clinics halted abortions in 2013. In addition,

The total number of surgical abortion clinics left in the U.S. is now 582. This represents an impressive 12% net decrease in surgical abortion clinics in 2013 alone, and a 73% drop from a high in 1991 of 2,176... Planned Parenthood clinics account for 29.55% of all active surgical abortion clinics (172 of 582) and 93% of all clinics that offer the abortion pill only. Each year, Planned Parenthood is responsible for about a third of all abortions done in the U.S.

Our state of Texas led the nation with 11 closings, primarily due to the passing of a new law that required abortionists to maintain local hospital privileges. Pennsylvania and Maryland also enacted new safety rules for clinics. According to the Americans United for Life 2013 Life List, over 60 pro-life laws were passed last year.

Yet, less encouraging facts remind us that the fight is far from over. Even though reported abortions by Planned Parenthood fell 2% from the previous year, the organization still accounted for 327,166 abortions last year, or about 900 of the over 3000 babies that are murdered on an average day. PP also continues to receive over 500 million dollars a year (about 45% of its income) from Obama and his fellow Dems. In addition, most of their atrocities are covered up by their supporters in the media. So we must be ever vigilant in continuing to educate the general public of the truth.

To that end, we'd like to share a video produced by the Texas Alliance for Life. This must-see pro-life video provides an excellent concise history of legalized abortion in America since 1073, interspersed with a few personal testimonies.

Please pray that we'll be the generation to end the abortion holocaust.

The Source of Abe Lincoln's Thanksgiving

From our country's early history, the Thanksgiving holiday was celebrated in many individual states. Finally in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation instituting the National Day of Thanksgiving as a official holiday. The October 3, 1863 proclamation began:

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.

The empty suit currently occupying the White House often compares himself to Lincoln (aided by his adoring media), yet these words would be foreign to him. We've previously documented the differences between BHO and Lincoln on our National Day of Prayer. When asked by a reporter for a self-assessment in comparison with former leaders, BHO credited Lincoln as being only one of three presidents that has been as good a president as himself. The other two were FDR, whose war on free enterprise led to the Great Depression, and LBJ, whose "War on Poverty" has cost the country trillions of dollars and actually increased the poverty levels.

Yet, when our nation marked the 150th anniversary of Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address earlier this week, BHO was a no-show. He did join with many other politicians, celebrities and others in filming a recital of the address to encourage the others to memorize the speech. Unlike every other participant however, he purposely left out the words "under God" in his version of the address. While Lincoln encouraged and defended religious freedom, BHO has used his influence to suppress freedom of belief and speech in the military, government, schools and other public venues. To Obama, it is the federal government rather than the Creator that is autonomous and responsible for the blessings we enjoy.

Further evidence for President Lincoln's reliance on the Almighty is seen in his proclamation issued the following year (Proclamation 118 on Thanksgiving Day, October 20, 1864).

By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

It has pleased Almighty God to prolong our national life another year, defending us with His guardian care against unfriendly designs from abroad and vouchsafing to us in His mercy many and signal victories over the enemy, who is of our own household. It has also pleased our Heavenly Father to favor as well our citizens in their homes as our soldiers in their camps and our sailors on the rivers and seas with unusual health. He has largely augmented our free population by emancipation and by immigration, while He has opened to us new sources of wealth and has crowned the labor of our workingmen in every department of industry with abundant rewards. Moreover, He has been pleased to animate and inspire our minds and hearts with fortitude, courage, and resolution sufficient for the great trial of civil war into which we have been brought by our adherence as a nation to the cause of freedom and humanity, and to afford to us reasonable hopes of an ultimate and happy deliverance from all our dangers and afflictions:

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, do hereby appoint and set apart the last Thursday in November next as a day which I desire to be observed by all my fellow-citizens, wherever they may then be, as a day of thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God, the beneficent Creator and Ruler of the Universe. And I do further recommend to my fellow-citizens aforesaid that on that occasion they do reverently humble themselves in the dust and from thence offer up penitent and fervent prayers and supplications to the Great Disposer of Events for a return of the inestimable blessings of peace, union, and harmony throughout the land which it has pleased Him to assign as a dwelling place for ourselves and for our posterity throughout all generations.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this 20th day of October, AD 1864, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-ninth.

By the President: ABRAHAM LINCOLN.

WILLIAM H. SEWARD,
Secretary of State

Unfortunately, the moral state our nation has deteriorated much over the past century. We must hope and pray that our nation will return to the worldview of reliance on God rather than government or self.

Dating Historical Bible Events – Progress Update

Recently, we’ve been working on a series of articles tentatively entitled “The Bible in History” emphasizing the historicity of the Bible; that is to say that the events portrayed as literal episodes really happened and the associated characters were real people that physically existed, as opposed to being myths and legends as critics like to charge. Because these biblical narratives are real, we can date them along the historical timeline along with extra-biblical secular events. Unlike modern historical books however, events in the Bible are not tied to a chronological calendar dating system. Still, there is enough internal (within the Scriptures) and external evidence to date most characters and events with reasonable accuracy.

At the moment, the series will consist of a main article, currently in progress and subtitled simply as “Dating Bible Events”. This article will discuss various methods and challenges of establishing a Biblical timeline within our modern calendar system. There will also be several spin-off articles on subjects such as the date of the Exodus and Conquest and the life of Christ, both in progress.

Part of the series has already been completed and uploaded. We first mention the article Biblical Genealogies - Interpretation Challenges and Bible Inerrancy Issues. This was uploaded to our Bible Genre section in May, but it also contributes. It was written prior to the “Dating Bible Events” series, but contains much info that contributes to the current articles.

A major challenge we face in translating the dates of Bible events is the various calendar systems themselves, so we composed a Calendar Systems series consisting of an introduction and five parts that we uploaded last week. This sub-series not only examines the various calendar and dating systems, but provides much background on the various political and historical backgrounds for the various nations and time periods in which they developed.

The introduction contains a table of contents with links to all chapters. In part 1, we examine the basic types of calendars and dating systems along with their common components. In Part 2 we explore the political and historical context of Israel, Egypt, Babylon, the Roman Empire and other major nations in which the various calendar systems developed during the biblical era and the early church period.

If you think that “BC” stands for “Before Christ” and “AD” for “After Death”, and thus wondered how the years between Christ’s Incarnation and Crucifixion are dated, you might want to check out Part 3. Here, we discuss the origin and significance of our modern dating system (aka Anno Domini system). In part 4, we look at the historical events that led to its acceptance by Christendom in the midst of the church-state power struggles between the papacy and the Roman political leaders from the eighth to the fourteenth centuries. We then consider the development of alternative naming conventions to the Anno Domini system by unbelievers.

In our fifth and final installment, we focus on the historical events that led to the development and adoption of our modern Gregorian calendar system to replace the Julian calendar. We also summarize the methods and process of converting dates between different calendar systems and add some final thoughts on the Anno Domini system as it relates to the Christian era.

Ministry and Website Programming Updates

Spare time from my “other” job (the one that pays the bills) has been quite minimal over the past couple of years, but I'm finally seeing a small work decrease the past few weeks. The maritime port in South Jersey is under construction and the electrical design for the International Terminal in Virginia is getting close to completion. I still have the electrical substation, transmission, distribution, telecommunications and street lighting design for a few industrial cities in the Middle East, but they've been relatively quiet for the past few months. I'm hoping the trend continues and that I can even drop back to flex or even part-time withing the next couple of years. I can just hear many of my friends thinking, "yeah, we've heard that before", but I did turn down the offer of taking the lead for the substation, and electrical and telecom distribution for the downtown renovation of a city in the western US, something that I would never have done a few years ago.

That said, my primary goal is to be able to devote more time to our ministry. I have dozens and dozens of articles in various stages of completion, some from over ten years ago. I'd get to a certain point, get interrupted (job deadlines, questions from readers or class members, deciding to do additional research on a particular topic ect) and be off on another engineering or ministry project. I'm still planning new articles and series, but will attempt to place a priority on finishing existing ones.

Website Programming Update

Still, although we neglected our blog during this time, we were able to make excellent progress on many articles and series for our main website. We’ve completed two articles on the historicity of the Bible that includes a discussion of the sources and methods used in dating bible events, difficulties and challenges that are often encountered, and a look at the history and development of various calendar systems from Biblical times to our modern day. We should have these formatted and uploaded in the next few days and will continue work on other articles in this series. We’ve also made some headway on the series of articles related to the OT prophets overview that was loaded last fall.

By the grace of God, we were able to format and upload some articles during this busy time. We added Bible Genealogies to our Bible Genre Analysis section that explores some of the common literary types found in the Bible. In this latest entry, we examine the nature and purposes of genealogies in the Hebrew culture, along with some various interpretation challenges when encountering the genealogical records. Many people skip these lists when reading through the Bible, but they have some very important applications which we include in the discussion.

Finally, a good friend emailed us with a question that came up in their Bible study class, “Did Judas Go to Heaven or Hell?” In response, we wrote an article examining the most popular arguments for and against, reveal what we believe to be the key question in the matter, and provide reasons for our answer to the subject question.

We’d like to thank our readers for your patience during these times of heavy workload. The good (and bad) news is that Obamanomics is catching up to us again, so it appears we’ll have more time for writing this fall. Let us continue to pray for all those who are unable to find work in this economy or must work multiple jobs in an attempt to support their families.

Who Christened the Titanic?

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. One of the best articles regarding the event is written by Dr Jerry Newcombe entitled Who Christened the Titanic?. The short answer appears to be that the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company, a British shipping company commonly called White Star Line did not believe in the custom. There have been many accounts (with a few conflicts) on exactly what happened that day, but Dr Newcombe's central purpose is to draw some very good parallels between its voyage and the current spiritual direction of modern day America. One of the best evidences we have for the article's truthfulness and effectiveness is that the usual pundits on the left have labeled the writing as anything from "scare tactics" to "hate speech". Here are a few excerpts:

The steamship [Titanic] was 885 feet long, and it was more than ten stories tall. As of that time, it had been described as "the largest moving man-made object in the world" and a "floating palace." On its maiden voyage this huge steamship was going from Southampton, England to New York City when it collided with an iceberg about 400 miles from Newfoundland and sank within three hours. There were 2,207 people on board, and 1,500 perished.

Daniel Allen Butler wrote a book I highly recommend, entitled Unsinkable. In the Preface, he wrote, “No other disaster in history could have been more easily avoided or was more inevitable… a once-in-a-lifetime combination of weather and sea conditions came together to make the iceberg nearly invisible to the ship’s lookouts.”

The Greeks had their ancient plays where the flawed hero ended up in tragedy because of his hubris---his arrogance. And when you look at many of the facts surrounding the sinking of the Titanic, you find multiple examples of pride, in the worst sense of the word. The Titanic is indeed a reminder of that ancient principle from Solomon the Wise: Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. One error compounded on another… but each was predicated on the assumption that the ship was unsinkable.

Before the voyage, one woman, a Mrs Albert Caldwell, watched “a group of deck hands carrying luggage aboard the Titanic. Impulsively, she stopped one of the men and asked him, ‘Is this ship really nonsinkable?’ ‘Yes, lady,’ he replied, ‘God Himself couldn’t sink this ship.’” (Butler, Unsinkable, p. 39).

Author Doug Phillips [president of the Christian Boys' and Men's Titanic Society, an organization dedicated to preserving the memory of the Titanic] writes this about the Titanic: "She was the floating embodiment of the new age of scientific optimism, and the international symbol of the century that would finally realize Utopia… Many perceived the ship to be a modern incarnation of the Tower of Babel. The sinking represented God's unwillingness to allow man to build any edifice of invincibility or to seek salvation through technology."

It was supposedly unsinkable… but there are some things that should have been done:

1. They should have made sure they had binoculars (which they called lookout glasses). There were binoculars on board, but they had been stashed away by someone before the voyage.
2. They should have gone through the drills. The standard procedure was to have the crew and passengers practice getting to the lifeboats.
3. They should have had far more lifeboats, one space for each passenger.
4. They should have at least slowed down or even stopped after the warnings. They were going at the fastest speed of the voyage at the time (22 1/2 knots). The captain was trying to make the trip in record time.
5. They should have heeded the six wireless messages from different ships warning them about the ice-fields. The last one… at 11PM came from a nearby ship: “Say, old man, we are surrounded by ice and stopped.” To that message, the Titanic’s radio operator responded, “Shut up! Shut up! I am busy…”

Butler writes about the actual tragic hitting of the iceberg. “Up in the crow’s nest it looked as if the ship would never turn in time. Bracing themselves for the shock of a head-on collision… as the berg brushed past, large chunks of ice thudded onto the foredeck and into the well deck… Over the noise of the falling ice it seemed to the two lookouts that they could hear a faint, metallic ripping sound.” It only took ten seconds of colliding with the iceberg to impart fatal damage to the ship, costing 1,500 lives.

America at present reminds me of the Titanic, chugging away in a major ice-field, with major moral icebergs ahead (if we haven’t already collided with them). Some of these moral icebergs include same-sex marriage, abortion, pornography, family breakdown, expelling God from the public arena by using a faulty view of church and state separation. May God have mercy on us before it’s too late.

The Bishop of Winchester said: “The Titanic, name and thing, will stand for a monument and warning to human presumption.”

Who was it that christened the Titanic? No one. It was never christened. It didn’t need to be. After all, it was unsinkable.

Motherhood – Where is My Wondering Boy Tonight?

On November 19, 1862, a child was born on an Iowa farm to a very godly mother. His father, who was serving in the Union Army, sent word to name him William Ashley. His father never saw him, dying of pneumonia when William was only four months old. His mother held out as long as she could, but eventually was forced to send her children to an orphanage. During his time, William was exposed to religion, read and gained some Bible knowledge, but didn’t become a Christian.

After high school, William worked as a firefighter and gained somewhat of a reputation because of his great speed. One day in 1833, as he was playing baseball on an sandlot in Chicago, a scout from the White Sox saw him and signed him to a contract. William was a great fielder, but not a good hitter, but his speed forced many opponent's errors, and his stolen base count was second only to Ty Cobb at the time.

Unfortunately, William’s career was marred by drinking, and he spent a lot of time on skid row. One night however, as he staggered down a street, he heard a Salvation Army group singing one of his mother’s favorite songs, “Where Is My Wandering Boy Tonight?”. Later that evening he wandered into the Pacific Garden Mission and gave his life to Christ. Soon after, William left the baseball diamond, turning down a $5000 monthly salary in baseball for the pulpit that paid about $85 a month.

Throughout his career, it is estimated that William preached to hundreds of millions and became the most successful evangelist of the early twentieth century. The combination of his celebrity background, business sense, and period of poverty attracted every class of people. Indeed, there were so many people being saved as a result of William's fiery preaching (250,000 to over a million by some estimates) that hundreds of pubs and bars were closing. Some even said that he was the most amazing evangelist since John the Baptist.

Yet, for the thousands of sermons preached by William Ashley (Billy) Sunday, one of the most famous was entitled “Motherhood”. Remembering his own saintly mother, he said

Being a king, emperor, or president is mighty small potatoes compared to being a mother. Commanding an army is little more than sweeping a street compared with training a boy or girl. The mother of Moses did more for the world than all the kings that Egypt ever had. Oh, you wait until you reach the mountains of eternity, then read the mothers’ names in God’s Hall of Fame. I tell you women: Fooling away your time, hugging and kissing a poodle dog, drinking a cocktail, and playing cards is mighty small business compared to molding the life of a child.

The entire Motherhood sermon can be read on our main website.