“Whoever Disbelieves, Strike Off His Head”: Muslim Persecution of Christians
All throughout February, Copts, the largest Christian minority in the Middle East, were slaughtered
“Whoever Disbelieves, Strike Off His Head”: Muslim Persecution of Christians, February 2015
—Raymond Ibrahim
Around mid-February, the Islamic State released a video depicting 21 Coptic Christians being decapitated. The executions took place in Libya, another nation along with Syria and Iraq where the Islamic State has carved a niche for itself. While holding their victims’ bodies down, Islamic State members shoved their fingers in the Christians’ eyes, craned their heads back, and sliced away at their throats with knives—all in the name of Allah and Islam, even as the slaughtered called out on the “Lord Jesus Christ.”
—Over one month before the video appeared, the BBC had falsely reported that the majority of those now slaughtered Copts were “released.” (Such downplaying of Muslim persecution of Christians is standard for the BBC.)
In the video, the lead executioner waves his dagger at the camera while saying, “Oh people, recently you have seen us on the hills of as-Sham and Dabiq’s plain [Syrian regions], chopping off the heads that have been carrying the cross for a long time. And today, we are on the south of Rome, on the land of Islam, Libya, sending another message.” He concluded by declaring: “We will fight you [Christians] until Christ descends, breaks the cross and kills the pig” (all eschatological actions ascribed to the Muslim “Christ,” Isa).
Also in February it was revealed that Egypt’s Al Azhar University — seen by many as Sunni Islam’s most authoritative voice — continues to incite enmity for and violence against non-Muslims “infidels.” The Islamic university was exposed as offering free of charge “a book,” in the words of an Egyptian secular critic, “whose latter half and every page—indeed every few lines—ends with “whoever disbelieves [“infidels”] strike off his head.”
On February 23, yet another Coptic Christian man was fatally shot in al-‘Arish, Sinai, by members of the Islamic terrorist group, Ansar Bait al-Maqdis. Hani, the Coptic man, was in his shop when three terrorists drove by and opened fire on him; he immediately died from bullets lodged in his head. Weeks earlier, masked gunmen stormed the home of another Coptic Christian man residing in al-‘Arish. After robbing him and his family at gunpoint, they shot him several times in the head, instantly killing him. According to the slain man’s wife, her husband was murdered “only because he was a Copt [i.e., Christian].” She pointed out that the masked intruders robbed everything in sight—including the money in his pockets, the jewelry she was wearing, her handbag, cell phones, and even a Bible. Then, after plundering everything, and for no practical reason, they shot the Christian “infidel” in the head, leaving his wife widowed and his children orphaned.
On February 2, the Islamic State announced that it had executed yet another Christian priest in Mosul — Paul Jacob, who was kidnapped eight months ago. His parish was also blown up. The execution reportedly took place in Ghazlani Camp in southern Mosul where a militia camp is located. Although various Arabic media reported this story, the Chaldean Patriarchate denied “recent news stories that report a priest being executed by Islamic State militants in Mosul.”
The Islamic State terrorized Christians in other regions during the jihad. In the early hours of Monday, February 23, IS fighters attacked several Christian villages along the Khabur River in north eastern Syria. Four Christians enrolled in the Assyrian militia were killed and one young civilian child. One Christian woman was raped by the Islamic invaders before being slaughtered.
Approximately 250 Christians—including women and children—were taken hostage. The majority, around 230, are still being held. The Islamic State is demanding 23 million USD to release them. If the exorbitant ransom is not met, and based on precedent, the Christian hostages will likely be enslaved, raped, and or simply slaughtered.
Several churches were also torched or damaged during the jihadi raid, including the church in Tel Hurmiz, one of the oldest churches in Syria, the Mar Bisho church in Tel Shamiran, the church in Qabr Shamiy and the church in Tel Baloua.
This raid further “brought to light [the] deplorable conduct on the part of other persons,” namely the West, said Archbishop Jacques Behnan Hindo:
I wish to say quite clearly that we have the feeling of being abandoned into the hands of Daesh [Arabic acronym for ISIS]. Yesterday American bombers flew over the area several times, but without taking action. We have a hundred Assyrian families who have taken refuge in Hassakè, but they have received no assistance either from the Red Crescent or from Syrian government aid workers, perhaps because they are Christians. The UN high commission for Refugees is nowhere to be seen.
In a separate interview, the Syrian archbishop added:
With their disastrous policies mainly the French and the US, with their regional allies, have favored in fact the Daesh [ISIS] escalation. Now they persevere in error, commit strategic, grotesque mistakes … instead of recognizing that their guaranteed support to jihadist groups has led us to this chaos and has destroyed Syria, making us regress 200 years.
Reflecting this fact that the governments of Western nations, far from helping often make matters worse for already persecuted Christians in the Middle East, reports appearing in February indicated that dozens of Western Christians have traveled to the Middle East to fight on behalf of their Christian brethren being persecuted and slaughtered by the Islamic State.In the words of Jordan Matson, an American who has been fighting the Islamic State since September 2014, “I decided that if our government wasn’t going to do anything about it, I would…. We’re getting shot at on pretty much a daily basis. It’s more of a World War II or Vietnam style fight. We don’t have the technology that the United States military has to push our enemies away.”The rest of February’s roundup of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes, but is not limited to, the following accounts, listed by theme and country in alphabetical order, not necessarily according to severity.
Muslim Attacks on Christian Churches and Monasteries
Cameroon:
Islamic militants fleeing a three-nation offensive took revenge Thursday, February 5, by attacking churches and shooting and burning to death as many as 100 people. According to Cameroon’s Information Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakari, approximately 800 militants from neighboring Nigeria’s Islamic terrorist organization Boko Haram entered the Cameroon border town of Fotokol where, among other things, they “burned churches” and “slaughtered youth who resisted joining them to fight Cameroonian forces” and even used them as human shields.
Egypt:
A project to build a road around Fayum, Egypt, crosses the territory around the Coptic monastery of St. Macarius and threatens to destroy the ancient archaeological site dating to the 4th century, or some 300 years before Islam was born and invaded Coptic Egypt. In response, the monastery’s monks objected with passive resistance —laying their bodies before the path of the bulldozers, which arrived with shouts of “Allahu Akbar” from the company drivers and workers (click here for pictures of monks lying before tanks). Previously the monks had submitted alternative plans that would allow for a road but also preserve Egypt’s ancient Christian site but authorities rejected them.
Islamic State:
“ISIS” militants blew up the Church of the Immaculate Virgin—one of the largest and oldest Chaldean churches in the ancient section of Mosul. A security source said: “The organization finished wiring the church with explosives this morning and detonated it, leaving widespread destruction in the church and neighboring buildings.” Prior to this, the old church—which stood on the foundation of what was the most ancient Christian church in Mosul—had withstood previous attacks by Islamic militants, including a 2008 car bomb attack. The Islamic State also continued to purge any sign or symbol of Christianity from one of the oldest Christian regions, the Nineveh plains of Iraq and adjoining city of Mosul. Acts of wanton hate and destruction at the hands of IS members throughout February include the destruction of the cross of the St. John Church in the Hamdaniya district and the ransacking of the church; and the destruction of the cross of the Church of the Hour in Mosul. Similarly, the large copper encased statue of St. George statue was stolen from the monastery of the same name in Mosul. Other Christian symbols and icons—including the Virgin Mary statue in the monastery’s courtyard—were smashed to pieces.
Islamic State/Egypt:
Hussein bin Mahmoud, a jurist of Islamic law for the Islamic State, said in an article published on February 17 and appearing in various jihadi websites that all Christian churches in Cairo must be demolished. Titled the “Ruling on Egypt’s Christians,” the article, written like a fatwa, asserts that,
The ruling concerning the churches that are in Cairo is that they be destroyed, according to the consensus of the righteous forefathers [Salaf], because they are new under Islam, and Cairo is a new city whose original inhabitants were Muslim; there were no churches in it previously. As for churches in Upper Egypt, which may have been in existence before the Islamic conquest of Egypt, these may remain but may never be renovated or fixed.
The Islamic state cleric cited medieval jurist Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328), some of whose fatwas deal with Islam’s views on churches which are described as “worse than bars and brothels.” And in fact, Taymiyya and many other jurists (such as Ibn Qayyim) called for the destruction of all churches built after the conquests (see Crucified Again, pgs. 35-36 for a review of the relevant fatwas/teachings).
Niger:
According to a nun who escaped the violence that erupted after the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo published cartoons of Muhammad, forty churches were torched and ten people slaughtered. She added that “the intention was to torch all the churches with us inside them on Christmas Day and thus burn us alive!” This never came to pass but with the Charlie Hebdo cartoons, an excuse was found (as discussed here, “collective punishment” is often an excuse to kill—in this case, blaming Niger’s Christians for the actions of Parisian atheists). Concluded the nun: “Boko Haram students believe they must kill Christians in order to take their place in paradise but we won’t surrender to fear because love must prevail over hatred.”
Pakistan:
On February 19, around nine in the morning, three armed men entered Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic church in Kasur district, Punjab, which is 97% Muslim. They took hostage the church personnel, the assistant parish priest Father Ijaz Bashir, and congregation. Before leaving the premises the terrorists stole mobile telephones, cameras and a computer. This is not the first time the church gets targeted. Earlier, Father Leopold, the parish priest, was robbed by thieves who “pretended to be ordinary members of the faithful wanting to enroll some children at the parish school. Then they suddenly pulled out guns.”
Tanzania:
A church building in a Muslim-majority area was set on fire. The pastor of the church had been repeatedly threatened before that. The church building was in in Mashewa, in the Muheza district of Tanga Region, which is overwhelmingly Muslim.
Muslim Attacks on Christian Freedom (Apostasy, Blasphemy, and Proselytization)
Egypt: A 26-year-old Coptic Christian man and his fiancé were arrested on the accusation that they blasphemed against the prophet of Islam, Muhammad, and his child-bride, Aisha, on Facebook. When news, or the accusation, that Michael Munir had posted something offensive concerning Muhammad, dozens of Muslims surrounded his house in the village of Dimyana in Daqhiliya governate, Egypt. The angry Muslims were reportedly about to burn his home before security forces arrived and arrested him. The Copt was reportedly being held for four days pending investigation.
Iran:
As reported on February 2, Victor Bet-Tamarz, a sickly 60-year-old Assyrian Pentecostal church leader, and another unidentified Christians—both of whom were among many Christians to be arrested after Iranian security forces raided his Tehran home during a Christmas celebration—remained behind bars. According to reports based on Christians present during the anti-Christmas raid, “Police was seen filming the arrests, forcing each Christian to state their identity, explain why they were there and why they thought they were being detained. Authorities reportedly separated men from women and proceeded to search them, confiscating Bibles, mobile phones and identification papers. Police also searched Pastor Victor’s home, seizing his computer, mobile phones and books.”
Islamic State:
Ten elderly and disabled Christians (eight men, two women) who “managed to escape” from the Islamic State, after refusing to convert to Islam, shared their experiences. On Oct. 24, IS forced them out of a nursing home in Mosul and plundered their money, jewelry and IDs. The group explained how they were also pressured to say the shehada and become Muslim. Rahel, one of the women from the group, said “We did not want to become Muslim; we just wanted to leave.” Another elderly man said: “IS used to beat us every day with their weapons or hands. They gave us little food.” Separately, Islamic State members arrested the owner of Arab Generation, one of the oldest book stores in Mosul for selling Christian books. Islamic law bans the “promotion” of any religion other than Islam.
Lebanon:
In early February, a number of Muslim students closed off the entrance of the College of Business Administration in Tripoli, Lebanon, calling for the immediate resignation of the newly appointed director of the school, Antoine Tanus. His crime? He’s a Christian. In the words of the National News Agency, the students are protesting “over the hiring of a Christian director to manage the College of Business Administration.” Students said that they would continue protesting until the Christian director was removed and replaced by another, that is, a Muslim. (Around the same time it was reported that hundreds of teachers in northern Kenya refused to return to work. In their case, the “strike” was a product of fear from Islamic militants who have killed dozens of non-Muslims, most of them Christians.)
Saudi Arabia:
America’s close friend-and-ally reportedly decreed the death penalty for anyone caught trying to smuggle Bibles or any other “publications that have prejudice to any other religious belief other than Islam.” According to the Christian Post:
The Saudi Arabian government has reportedly passed a law that imposes the death penalty on people caught smuggling Bibles into the majority-Muslim country.According to the HeartCry Missionary Society, the Saudi government issued an official statement signifying that capital punishment may now be used on those who smuggle Bibles into the desert nation, where the royal family upholds a strict Wahhabi brand of Sunni Islam.The society’s report added that the death penalty, which usually comes in the form of beheadings, can also be used against people who simply distribute the Bible and all other “publications that have prejudice to any other religious belief other than Islam.” This means that anyone handing out any kind of religious literature that is not of Islamic faith can legally be executed. [For an idea of Saudi-style execution by beheading, the video of a recent one can be viewed here.]
Tanzania:
A February report told of how “a young woman from a Muslim background who had become a Christian, was beaten and badly burned by her parents after choosing to marry a Christian man. The attack came immediately after her baptism on Sunday 2 November in Zirai, Muheza district. Last year, Imamu Sudi Bin Umar of the Ansar Suna mosque in Al Masijid Tawaqal had urged all Muslim parents to punish children who chose to marry Christians.”
Uganda:
The Muslim uncle of two sisters in eastern Uganda physically beat and starved them for converting to Christianity. On Sunday, February 1, the sisters (aged 14 and 16) converted to Christianity. In the words of one of the girls: “My uncle became so furious because we had embraced Jesus. He locked us inside the house and began beating us with a wooden stick, and then we were left for three days without food. At the third day, we felt as if we were going to die, and we began crying for help.” A neighbor eventually heard the two girls while their uncle was away and let them out. They fled to the church for sanctuary and treatment. Beating and trapping the girls without food is the exact recommendation Islamic law offers for females who apostatize from Islam, especially as articulated by the Hanafi school of law. Weeks earlier, a Muslim father killed his young daughter for converting to Christianity in Uganda.
About this Series
The persecution of Christians in the Islamic world has become endemic. Accordingly, “Muslim Persecution of Christians” was developed to collate some—by no means all—of the instances of persecution that surface each month. It serves two purposes:
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To document that which the mainstream media does not: the habitual, if not chronic, persecution of Christians.
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To show that such persecution is not “random,” but systematic and interrelated—that it is rooted in a worldview inspired by Islamic Sharia.
Accordingly, whatever the anecdote of persecution, it typically fits under a specific theme, including hatred for churches and other Christian symbols; apostasy, blasphemy, and proselytism laws that criminalize and sometimes punish with death those who “offend” Islam; sexual abuse of Christian women; forced conversions to Islam; theft and plunder in lieu of jizya (financial tribute expected from non-Muslims); overall expectations for Christians to behave like cowed dhimmis, or third-class, “tolerated” citizens; and simple violence and murder. Sometimes it is a combination thereof.
Because these accounts of persecution span different ethnicities, languages, and locales—from Morocco in the West, to Indonesia in the East—it should be clear that one thing alone binds them: Islam—whether the strict application of Islamic Sharia law, or the supremacist culture born of it.
The Last Days Of ‘Normal Life’ In America –
The Last Days Of ‘Normal Life’ In America
If you have got family and friends that you would like to visit before things start getting really crazy, you should do so within the next couple of months, because these are the last days of “normal life” in America. The website where I have posted this article is called“End of the American Dream“, but perhaps I should have entitled it “The End of America” because that is essentially what we are heading for. The debt-fueled prosperity that so many of us take for granted is about to come to a screeching halt, and we are about to enter the hardest times that any of us have ever known. And I am not just talking about economics either. Based on all of the intel and information that I have gathered, we are about to enter a “perfect storm” that is going to shake this country in just about every possible way that it can be shaken. So I hope that you will truly savor this summer – days like this will not come around again any time soon.
Have you ever known someone that lived a seemingly charmed life even though that individual made foolish decision after foolish decision?
In the end, reality almost always catches up with people like that.
And in so many ways, we have been living a charmed life as a nation even though we have been making incredibly foolish decisions for decades. We have cursed ourselves over and over again, and just about every form of evil that you can possibly imagine is exploding all around us. As a nation, we now stand for just about everything that is foul, disgusting and wicked, and the rest of the world is absolutely horrified by what has happened to us.
Once upon a time, we were one of the most loved nations on the entire planet.
Now we are one of the most hated.
The things that we have been doing to ourselves and to other countries are about to catch up with us in a major way. We thought that we were getting away with everything that we were doing, but that was never the case. When you do evil, there is always a price to pay.
Over the past few weeks, some very strange things have begun to happen. And in the months ahead, we are going to see some more unusual events. But to be honest, this is just the tip of the iceberg. For now, you are just going to have to trust me on this one.
If my tone sounds ominous, that is good, because that is precisely the mood that I am trying to convey. Right now, there are major things going on behind the scenes, and all of our comfortable little lives are about to get shaken up big time.
I have often written about the global elite and about how they like to go about doing things. Throughout history, they have always liked to create order out of chaos. In other words, they will often purposely create a crisis in order to push through things that they would not be able to accomplish during “normal” times.
I believe that we are about to enter one of those periods of time. The problems that we are about to experience are going to be used to justify radical “solutions” that will further the overall agenda of the elite. But because we will be in the middle of an “emergency”, a lot of people will choose to go along with those solutions.
Sadly, most people don’t understand how the world works because they are so consumed with other things. We live in a society that is absolutely addicted to entertainment. Just recently, I wrote about how the average American spends more than 10 hours a dayplugged in to some form of media. If we are not watching television, we are listening to the radio, going to movies, playing video games, messing with our smartphones or spending endless hours on the Internet. And more than 90 percent of the “programming” that we are fed through these devices is produced by just 6 absolutely gigantic media corporations.
And who controls those gigantic media corporations?
The elite do.
And have you noticed how “the mainstream media” loves to divide us?
Today, Americans are more divided than ever it seems. Our news broadcasts endlessly fixate on “black vs. white”, “male vs. female”, “liberal vs. conservative”, “rich vs. poor”, etc, etc.
Americans are extremely angry and frustrated at this point, but most of our anger and frustration is directed at one another.
How can we ever hope to come up with any solutions for our nation if we spend so much time hating our fellow citizens?
But this is just how the elite like it.
They love to play divide and conquer. If we were united, we would be far more difficult to manipulate.
And even if we did find a way to come together, what values and principles would we use to rebuild this nation?
The truth is that most Americans deeply reject the values and principles that the founders of this country once held so dear.
Personally, I am very optimistic about the future. My wife and I believe that the greatest chapters of our lives are still ahead of us.
But am I optimistic about the future of the United States?
No, I am not.
Perhaps you are reading this and you have come to the conclusion that I am being irrationally negative. If so, you are probably spending way too much time plugged in to the “propaganda matrix” that I described above. The establishment wants you to believe that everything is going to be just fine and that the best days for this world are ahead.
If you think that I am wrong, I challenge you to bookmark this page. Then, after some time has passed, come back and revisit what I had to say today.
I believe that you will be quite shocked by how your perspective has changed.
The last half of this year (2015) is going to represent a major turning point, and we are moving into hard times unlike anything that America has ever seen before.
Unfortunately, most of the “sheeple” are going to be completely blindsided by what is coming. They just continue to follow their utterly clueless leaders down a path toward oblivion.
But the good news is that once the “shaking” starts, many of these “sheeple” will begin to wake up.
When that happens, who will those “sheeple” turn to for answers?
Courtesy of Michael Snyder @ End of the American Dream.
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http://www.dcclone.com/2015/07/13/the-last-days-of-normal-life-in-america/thesli
From the Book. Not long now. ? 9/1/2015 THE END OF AMERICA
INTRODUCTION AND CHAPTER ONE
This writing is an Epub (electronic publication) with all references placed in the text, rather than at the end. This is done as a stress reliever, since those of us who read epublications may consider going to the back for references but usually prefer to keep on reading, and by the end have forgotten what reference we had thought to look up.
On the other hand if an http “link” warrants further investigation by the reader, it can be simply reached.
Readers with “swipe” technology are cautioned in touching/taping the screen since a “link” may be reached. There are many references, thus, there are many “links”. A nice stylus is best, and guess what: no cleaning finger swipes later.fers to himself as “I” or “this writer”, or “the writer”. This writer considers himself a follower of “The Way” as d
The writer of this epub refers to himself as “I” or “this writer”, or “the writer”. This writer considers himself a follower of “The Way” as described in the Book of Acts in a book called “The Holy Bible”, or in other words, a biblically conservative Christian, based solely on what the Three-In-One God says in his book. This writer is an AVERAGE citizen of America, and a (sigh) detailed individual who wishes to put a subjective perspective of many End Times events having occurred and to be fulfilled in the near future in electronic form. For several years, many writers were saying “WAKE UP AMERICA”, with minimal results. Hopefully this epub will bring understanding to those who are unaware of external events happening in America and around the World.
Biblical quotations are in the NIV (New International Version), Zondervan Bible Publishers, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506 U.S.A., with a few King James Version (KJV) quotes. Biblical quotations are primarily posted in the text immediately. On occasion, when this writer felt the quotation could be verified by the reader going to the reference, the reference only is specified. The word “Christian” is listed with quotations due to Chapter 5 and the various types of “Christians”.
Especially and only for scan/speed readers:
Since the creation of the world, things have gone bad, then they went really bad, came back a little, and then America came along, which was fine til about 1961, when the people of America turned away from the God of their fathers or grandfathers. The God of America gave America 40 years, but then came 911 and the God of America allowed Satan to work through evil Islamists and other AntiGod entities to begin the destruction of America. Following His (God’s) seven year rule, in 2008 a financial collapse began and an anti-Christian POTUS (President of the United States) was elected. Assuming America does not repent of it’s turning away from God, Satan will be allowed to severely punish America again in 2015, September 1st. The only Jewish prophet to America is Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, who in his book, The Harbinger”, reveals a strangely realistic connection between America and Israel of Isaiah’s time–700 to 650 BC, using Isaiah 9:10 or Israel’s 910 as the beginning of Judgment. Scan/speed readers can stop here, but WOW – you will really miss a lot of stuff of which you really had no idea, and your comprehension will just explode. You’ll even miss out on “the one chance”.
Chapters one through eight focus on how everything began and the formation of America. There is an emphasis or the Jewishness of Jesus the Christ with a pointing out of the anti-Semitic aspects of most “Christian” bibles.
Chapter 9 and to the end of this epublication focuses on the destruction of America and several hundred Web articles are pointed out for the reader to “click” on to view numerous assessments of the End of America via a multitude of scenarios.
Why even write about End Times. Does it make any difference?:
Check this out: http://evenatthedoors.com/endtimesdiscussion.html
CHAPTER 1
The Beginning of Time
The fourth word in all Bibles in the original Hebrew is “Elohim” which also happens to be the Hebrew word for three in lower case of course.
Why is it best to start at the beginning? Understanding the beginning is fundamental to understanding End-Time prophecies or events.
In the Beginning, Eve, is characterized as the first woman, created especially to be a companion to Adam, the first man. See Genesis 1:26-27. “Ge 1:26 Then Elohim said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, (26 Hebrew; Syriac -all the wild animals-) and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So Elohim created man in his own image, in the image of Elohim he created him; male and female he created them.”
Since Elohim uses the word “us” it is assumed He is speaking to other entities or aspects of Himself. As mentioned above, elohim also happens to mean “three” in Hebrew, which Jews interpret as three but Messianic Jews and Gentile Christians interpret as Jesus the Christ God, and Holy Spirit God along with the Father God.
A further explanation of “the Holy Trinity” is as follows: The Father God did not create Jesus. John 1:1: reinforces the concept of Jesus as one aspect of the Three-In-One God. The writer of the Holy Bible book of John wrote apocalyptically and in John 1:1 uses the capitalized word: “Word” to mean Jesus, the Christ.
There is considerable confusion regarding this concept of a three in one God, but Genesis Verse 2 states:”And the Spirit of God, —”, which gives the Creator God a third aspect.
Some use the analogy of water, ice or steam. This may be difficult to understand but in first two verses of Bible “Elohim” is described.
The following is a quote from an internet site listed at the end of the next paragraph:”First, Judeo-Christianity is absolutely, positively and unequivocally a Monotheistic Faith. The One Lord thy God of Israel, was, is and will always be the only one, singular true God we acknowledge. Okay– so what about that word “Trinity”? The Trinity is sometimes a little difficult to wrap your head around until you achieve a certain level of understanding. The Trinity is simply: One whole, composed of three parts. Think of it just like you would think of yourself, as a human being. Are you simply just the physical? Are you simply just a sack of human flesh and bones? The component of the flesh is the least of what we are. If you become a quadriplegic or have limbs torn off, are you still you?
We, as humans are ..”created in the image of our Lord.” We are composed of three parts: First, there is our physical being. Our flesh and bones. Second, there is our spiritual being. The part of us that our God created from heaven. And, third.. there is our intellectual being. Our meta-physical mental faculties. Now, are “we” three separate human beings? No, of course not! We are one singular human being composed of three parts that make the one whole.
Further explanation: http://shariaunveiled.wordpress.com/2013/04/03/understanding-the-monotheism-of-the-trinity/
Eve disobeyed a direct order from Elohim, (who was the absolute authority), and did this before Adam. Adam did not seem to hesitate in following.
Here is the Biblical account: Ge 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,
3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.
5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”
First Fulfilled Prophecy
Ge 3:14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.
THE FULILLED PROPHECY HERE is verse 15. Verse 14 is shown only for continuity. Verse 15 is generally accepted by all “Christian” associations to be an illustration of Jesus The Christ dying on a Cross for the entire earth (Redemption). The death of Jesus the Christ was sought by Satan who thought it would end all spiritual interference from the Three-In-One God and allow him to kill the remainder of humanity. This latter is his wish since physical humanity will not openly “worship” him. He and his followers hate living beings with a passion, especially those who will (due to belief) end up in the Three-In-One’s God’s presence, since Satan (and the other fallen angels, and demons) are destined for a total separation from God’s presence as per: Re 20:10 “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” They have no second chance. Humans have multiple chances throughout our lives. Therefore, Satan and his followers hate humans.
According to the Holy Bible, Jesus did die on a cross. In so doing He “crushed” Satan’s head, but suffered great pain “bruising” in the process of trial and crucifixion. Between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning, it is felt Jesus the Christ descended into hell, (see The Apostles Creed), (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostles%27_Creed), confronted Satan, and demonstrated His absolute power over him.
The reader may be perplexed by the “three day” definition. It must be understood from a Hebrew perspective as in: http://www.askmoses.com/en/article/283,198/Why-does-the-Jewish-day-start-at-sundown.html. This explains an event occurring in what would be assumed to be afternoon (such as Jesus the Christ dying on the cross), would be the first day. Then there was Saturday or the Sabbath. If Jesus the Christ rose on Sunday morning, that would be the third day.
Understanding is also necessary of the Hebrew calendar being based on Lunar (moon) phases. See an in depth explanation here: http://www.tondering.dk/claus/cal/hebrew.php.
Due to the lunar calendar, periodic adjustments are needed. If a people group known to be “religious” needed to add a day, it would seem an extra Sabbath might be added. And if an “s” was not dropped from the word Sabbath in the Holy Bible, it would then read in paraphrase, “After the Sabbaths the women went to the tomb”. Either way a question regarding the third day is answered.
Jesus speaks in Re 1:18” I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”. These “keys” were given up when the first man, Adam, disobeyed God. Jesus then arose again from the dead on the third day having taken back those keys from Satan.
Many people seems to know the first words of the Book of Beginnings (Hebrew) or the Greek translation “Genesis”, were as follows: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”. Well then what happened? Apparently there was a war in heaven.
In the middle of a prophecy to the king of Tyre, most likely addressed to Lucifer, Elohim says: “Eze 28: This is what the Sovereign LORD says,: “‘You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of Elohim; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, (13 Or -lapis lazuli) turquoise and beryl. (13 The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain.) Your settings and mountings (13 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.) were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.
14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of Elohim; you walked among the fiery stones. Eze 28:15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.
16 Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of Elohim, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.
17 Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.”
(END OF ELOHIM SPEAKING THROUGH EZEKIAL)
Elohim left off three stones from Lucifer’s adornment. These were and see Genesis chap 49:
Isaachar- so Lucifer could not ever carry a burden. Issachar is also associated with being a Redeemer and again Lucifer could never be tied to Redemption.
Gad- so Lucifer would never be an over-comer.
Asher- so no royal seed would ever come from Lucifer.
Therefore after that “war in heaven” the result was Lucifer, now called Satan (along with less than a third of the other angels who sided with him being thrown to the earth.) (See Re 12:7 , Re 12:9 , Jude 1:6)
“Re 12:7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. being thrown to the earth
Re 12:9 The great dragon was hurled down– that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Jude 1:6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home– these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.”
(This verse explains the “less” than a third.)
We see from the beginning that multiple variables are to be considered, such as the fact that Eve was lied to, that doubt in the form of wisdom was provided, and the potential of “choice” was introduced. In any case things went very bad for Adam and Eve, keeping in mind their existence was in a Theocratic society.
Still, we can extrapolate some of the existence of Adam and Eve in that Adam had a city named after him. Perhaps he even planned/built it (See Jos 3:16).
“Jos 3:16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) (16 That is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.”
The human race was given some guidelines starting right away:
“Ge. 3:16 To the woman he said, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
Looking at the rules given humans, post Elohim making Abraham the first Hebrew, and post formation of the people called Israel, and post 400 years of this nation being enslaved in Egypt , we see Ten Commandments below.
This was the first “LAW” given to humankind. I emphasize this due to some God-seeking people who see divination by Joseph in Egypt before the Law was given.
This writer has labeled the Commandments by number, preceding the verse:
Ex 20:1 And God spoke all these words:
The Ten Commandments
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
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“You shall have no other gods before (Or besides) me.
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“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
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“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
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“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.
For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
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“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
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“You shall not murder.
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“You shall not commit adultery.
8 “You shall not steal.
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“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
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“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
The above is as written in various Holy Bibles. The number two commandment differs from some the reader may have seen in that Roman Catholics and Lutherans (and some other denominations) place the number two down upon and replace number three and so on. This was felt to be due to the statues (some individuals have called these idols) found in churches, many of which are bowed to, and candles lit below. When the Lutherans came about, the Commandments were not changed in their printed “Confirmation books”, although no statues are usually seen in Lutheran churches. The “New Jerusalem Bible” is recommended for Roman Catholics and has an explanation for the difference at the bottom of the page upon which these commandments are listed.
The Flood
Adonai decided the human race had become extremely wicked and had to be destroyed. He decided to do this by a great flood which is prophetically similar to a practice called “Water Baptism” in which an individual decides to essentially make a complete turn-around and being sorry for “sins”, (mistakes – anti-God actions) becomes immersed in water to “wash” away the previous mistakes and begin again. (See conflict: views on “sprinkling/washing with water” in Chapter 7.
Prior to this “Flood”, there was no rain. In looking at Genesis or The Book of Beginnings, it would appear there was the earth, then air, then water, then “the heavens (or sky). The above can be found in Genesis one, especially in early King James Versions, but appears to have been removed in later versions, as seeming to be repetitious. Then we read: Ge 2:6 but streams (Or -mist-) came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground–. There was no rain.
This would mean there was a radiation protection to the human race from the sun with water absorbing much of the radiation.. One can assume all life on earth was affected including trees and animals. The effects of radiation on human beings primarily, but also on the earth itself can be found in many books as well as the Web by doing a simple search on radiation prior to it reaching the earth. The effects of radiation on the human race following the Flood, appeared to shorten the life span of human beings from almost a thousand years to less than a hundred.
During the process of the Flood, the sky water came down and water below the earth came up producing water that covered the entire earth. This writer has never come upon a publication covering where the “souls” of the flood victims went. This writer speculates of the fallen angels becoming territorial “spirits” to rule over cities and towns, with the evil “souls” of the flood dead being called “demons”. This is simple speculation, however, and the vast majority of “Christian” dogma feels demons are lesser dark angels. Humans cannot “see” them, although Jesus the Christ often “cast” them out of humans, therefore it is understood demons are “spirit” beings.
Adonai made a covenant with Noah after The Flood, in which all life was destroyed except for those on Noah’s Ark. Noah seemed to promptly negate that covenant by getting drunk with the first grape harvest. Sigh.
The Name of God
Elohim chose a man named Abram to be the first of His People, i.e. first Israelite/Jew:
Ge 12:1 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.
Eventually as noted above, the Israel Nation ended up as slaves in Egypt.
The Exodus of the Jewish Nation from Egypt was preceded by a number of plagues on Egyptian people, soil, and water, numbering the same as the primary “gods” worshipped by Egyptians. Moses was chosen by Elohim to do the work. When Moses asked Elohim for His name. “Ex 3:13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. (14 Or I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE) This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, (15 The Hebrew for LORD sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for I AM in verse 14.) the God of your fathers– the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob– has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.
Once Israel was out of Egypt, a portable Tabernacle or Tent of Meeting) was built for “mankind” to communicate with Elohim and a place for Elohim to stay if He wished to assume a type of physical form. From above it strongly resembles a Cross. The lampstand, (Menorrah) contained seven candles – Six being the number of man and with Jesus Christ (servant candle) in the middle and higher would be seven or God’s number of perfection, also representing illumination such as via Holy Spirit God, and possibly speaking to the seven churches Jesus wrote to in Revelations.
On the table were 12 loaves representing the 12 tribes of Israel, prophetically speaking of the 12 disciples of Jesus.
The incense altar speaks of the prayers of the priests, prophetically speaking to the future prayers of Jesus and the prayers of those who believe in Jesus as the Lamb of God.
The altar and washbasin speak prophetically of the faith to believe in Jesus as the Lamb of God. Unfortunately, this is also called the Outer Court, where many believers stay and do not progress further.
To enter the next level is to enter the Holy Place. This cannot be done without the knowledge provided by those of Ephesians 4 – Apostle, Prophet, Pastor, Teacher, Evangelist. There are five posts outside the Holy Place and these represent those of Ephesians 4, who lead the supplicant into the knowledge to enter.
At this point the Baptism of the Holy Spirit as seen in numerous references in the Book of Acts, is required, and Holy Spirit God takes the supplicant past the curtain into the Holy of Holies, wherein is the presence of God Himself. Hebrews 9: “This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper”. Ga 3:21; Heb 7:18-19; 10:1,11
10 They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings– external regulations applying until the time of the new order.
Le 11:2; Nu 19:7; Eph 2:15; Col 2:16,20; Heb 7:16
11 When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation.
Heb 3:1; 8:2; 10:1
12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.
Da 9:24; Zec 3:9; Ac 20:28; Eph 1:7; Col 1:14; Heb 9:26,28; 10:4,10; 1Pe 1:19; Re 1:5; 5:9
13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.
Le 16:14,16; Nu 19:2,17
14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God , (probably right after Jesus told the woman at the grave site not to touch him – because he had not yet ascended to the Father) to cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! Lu 1:74; Ro 1:4; 6:13,22; Eph 5:2; Tit 2:14; Heb 1:3; 6:1; 7:27; 10:22; 1Pe 1:19; 3:18; 4:2; 1Jo 1:7; Re 1:5
15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance– now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
Ro 3:25; 5:6; 1Ti 2:5; Heb 3:1; 7:22; 8:6; 12:24; 1Pe 3:18
For a more in depth look at the Tabernacle and animal sacrifices please see “Mystery of the Priesthood and the Blood” by Perry Stone, Jr. Voice of Evangelism Outreach Ministries, 2007.
http://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Priesthood-Blood-PerrYStone/dp/0978592050/ref=sr_1_35?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1387770651&sr=1-35
Messianic Jewish choices of bibles are listed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messianic_Bible_translations
The High Holy Days of Israel
The High Holy Days or “Feasts” of Israel, as listed in Lev. 23, are as follows falling into three clusters. The first three feasts Passover, Unleavened Bread, immediately followed by First Fruits occur in rapid succession in the spring of the year over a period of eight days. They came to be referred to collectively as “Passover.”
The fourth feast, Harvest, occurs fifty days later (from Passover time) at the beginning of the summer. By New Testament times this feast had come to be known by the Greek language as Pentecost, “pente” equaling fifty.
The last three feasts Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles extend over a period of twenty-one days in the latter part of the year. They came to be known collectively as Tabernacles.” (The Feasts of Israel A Study in Symbolic Prophecy by Dr. David R. Reagan).(See www.inplainsite.org/htlm/seven feast of Israel.html.)
Gentiles read (newspapers) of Jews celebrating Rosh Hashanah, not knowing this as “Trumpets”, also not knowing this is the Jewish New Year and a call to repentance.
Messianic Jews feel this blowing of the trumpets (Shofar-tradionally a Ram’s horn), references what many Gentiles call “The Rapture”, per Matthew 24:31. Also see 1Cor.15:52 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16. (Reference: Jews for Jesus newsletter -Vol. 1:5773, Sept. 2012. http://www.jewsforjesus.org/ .
This Trumpet day signaled Elohim entering into judgment with Israel on the Day of Atonement. Many Jews fast on the Day of Atonement, some attending services in observance, and some just fast because they are Jews, “and it’s the Jewish thing to do”.
Jesus the Christ God fulfilled the first four High Holy Days in that He celebrated Passover with His followers, ate Unleavened bread, was the first to rise from the dead (First fruits), and prior to Pentecost, by ascending to the Father God, made way for Holy Spirit God to pour Himself out upon the believers praying for his presence).
Jesus also celebrated Chanukah (Hanukah), as stated in: Joh 10:22 “Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter,
23 and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.”
Solomon’s Colonnade was the deposit place of the sacrificial altar defiled by Antiochus Epiphanes (a Jew-hating Syrian King) who invaded and conquered Jerusalem for a period. He offered a pig on the altar, with his men completely defiling the temple, using it as a huge toilet. He was defeated by a spontaneous movement in the Israel community led by very angry men.
Sacrifices
Cain and Abel sacrificed to the Creator God. Abel sacrificed a lamb which was accepted. Cain sacrificed some vegetables/fruits, grudgingly – not accepted – no blood and bad attitude. Noah sacrificed as soon as he left the Ark.
The sacrifice of animals seems to have been a necessary symbol (from God’s perspective) until the final sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. The Lord said “the life is in the blood”. When the Lord told Cain that Abel’s blood cried out to him from the ground, the word “blood” is plural in the Hebrew. God was referring to all the generations of people Abel would have produced.
(more to come in a few days)
