4,320 -- Mom Sicking and the SHHS prayer group (TX)
4,380 -- Trovato family, ZJoseph Collins (Images of Heaven), Stanley
Interrante, Mary E. Jensen and parents, 3 friends of Dolores Schwaller, Kathy
Leal, Maria Cooksey, Bill Wellman & friends, Linda Henry, Valenti family,
Ann Lorwand (and Virginia Cholewa, Jeanne Pitcher), Desmond Ofu (12/14)
4,480 -- December Medjugorje Group
5,240 -- collected by Gail
Campbell
5,416 -- Suchy family
5,550 -- Karin Wahlstrom
5,840 -- Campolagno family, Mose family, Barbara Ruiz, Edward and Adela Lara,
Burke family
6,980 -- friends of Richard G.
Bloomfield
7,000 -- Ellen Davidson
7,300 -- Gaulin family, Nestor family, Mike Stephens family, Trinity family,
Andrea Kull & friends
8,020 -- family in Kansas
8,760 -- Heisler family, Patterson
family and Bob Murphy
12,480 -- All Saints Rosary Group (Somersville, CT)
16,060 -- Roses4Mary
17,230 -- Catholic Men's Study Group (Cary, NC)
18,389 -- Milwaukee Marian Center
29,570 -- Kansas Rosary Brigade
35,200 -- Wolfert family and the
Holy Spirit Secular Franciscan Fraterniry
43,800 -- Daniel L McGee
81,760 -- bbujnak and friends
105,120 -- Phyllis Hyrcza and friends (her
final message pushed us over the finish line!)
150,000 -- Johanan Zollars and the MMP Group at St. Patricks Catholic Church
in Parsons, KS
181,534 -- friends and family of the Whittaker family
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Study #5
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Gregorian Calendar
How do we keep track of time? When do we plant our crops, how do we know when
to observe religious holidays? Societies need some way to keep track of time,
and complex calendars (the word comes from the Roman term for the beginning of
the month) were developed early in human history. In agricultural societies the
seasonal cycle of the Sun is crucial, but for shorter periods the lunar cycle
suggests itself as well. Historically the problem was that the year does not
contain a whole number of days or months. The mean interval between successive
vernal equinoxes (365.2424 days), is about 11 minutes less than 365 1/4 days;
the synodic period of the Moon (the time between successive full moons or new
moons) is about 29 1/2 days, and thus 12 months add up to about 354 days.
Constructing a calendar that incorporates both the movements of the Sun and Moon
is therefore not a simple business. Various solutions have been tried.
The Egyptian calendar was perhaps the simplest solution. The year was made up
of twelve months of thirty days each, and five days were added at the end. Since
this meant an error of about 1/4 day per year, the starting date of the year
slowly drifted forward with respect to the seasons until after 1460 years it had
returned to where it started. The rising of the Nile, the crucial event in the
Egyptian agricultural cycle, was predicted by the heliacal rising of Sirius,[1]
the brightest star in the heavens. No attention was paid to the Moon.
Most cultures in the ancient Near East relied on a calendar in which months
had alternating lengths of 29 and 30 days and added a month about every third
year. Thus, in ancient Israel the elders added an extra month of 29 days every
third year after the sixth month (Adar). But these 29 days would not make up
entirely for the entire deficit of 3 x 11 1/4 days, and therefore in some years
two extra months had to be added. In the Greek city states months were added
haphazardly as needed and no consistent system of intercalation was ever
developed.
The most sophisticated system of keeping the motions of both the Sun and Moon
harnessed in a single calendar was developed in Mesopotamia. By the Persian
period, ca. 500, the system incorporated the so-called Metonic cycle (we name it
after the Greek Meton, ca. 425 BCE) in which the following relationship is used:
19 solar years contain 6939 3/4 days; 110 months of 29 days plus 125 months of
30 days add up to 6940 days. 19 years, then, contained 235 months, and starting
in (on our calendar) 499 BC, the calendar in that part of the world was
regulated on a cycle of intercalating 7 extra months in 19 years, as shown in
the following scheme (in which a dash indicates a year of 12 months and a VI or
XII indicated a year in which a month was added after the sixth or twelfth
month):
- - XII - - XII - XII - - XII - - XII - - VI - XII
After a few irregularities, starting in 384 BCE, this scheme was rigorously
adhered to, through the Greek and Roman conquests, until 75 CE, when cuneiform
texts ceased.
For convenience, the month was usually subdivided into smaller time periods.
The Greeks divided the month into three periods of ten days, but a division of
seven days was older and more common in the Near East. We find the seven-day
week already in Genesis. The names that we assign to the days have their
origin in the division of the day into 24 hours, which originated in Egypt. In
the Hellenistic period (300 BCE - 100 BCE) it became common to assign a ruling
planet (including the Sun and Moon) to each hour of the day. The common order of
the wandering heavenly bodies was Saturn-Jupiter-Mars-Sun-Venus-Mercury-Moon.
The first hour of the first day was assigned to the Sun, the second to Venus,
the third to Mercury, etc., repeating the cycle in the order given above. The
24th hour was thus assigned to Mercury and the first hour of the second day to
the Moon. Naming the days after the planets that rule their first hours, we thus
arrive at the sequence Sun's day-Moon's day-Mars's day-Mercury's day-Jupiter's
day-Venus's day-Saturn's day.[2] The modern English variations on these names
are due to substituting Nordic or Saxon gods for some of the Roman names: Tiw
for Mars, Wotan for Mercury, Thor for Jupiter, Frigg for Venus.
Our civil method for reckoning time, then has a mixed origin. Our division of
the hour into minutes and seconds is derived from the sexagesimal system of the
Mesopotamians; the division of the day into 24 hours originated with the
Egyptians; the seven-day week originated in the ancient Near East, while the
names are derived from a Greek convention developed during the Hellenistic
period. Our calendar is based on the motion of the Sun alone, but our various
religious calendars are based on a combination of the motions of the Sun and
Moon. Our civil calendar derives from the Romans with some alterations. Its
origin is described nicely in the "Calendar" article in the 11th
edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica (1910), which reads in part:
The civil calendar of all European [and American] countries has been
borrowed from that of the Romans. Romulus[3] is said to have divided the year
into ten months only, including in all 304 days, and it is not very well known
how the remaining days were disposed of. The ancient Roman year commenced with
March, as is indicated by the names September, October, November, December,
which the last four months still retain. July and August, likewise, were
anciently denominated Quintillis and Sextillis, their present appellations
having been bestowed in compliment to Julius Caesar and Augustus. In the reign
of Numa[4] two months were added to the year, January at the beginning and
February at the end; and this arrangement continued till the year 452 BC.,
when the Decemvirs[5] changed the order of the months, and placed February
after January. The months now consisted of twenty-nine and thirty days
alternately, to correspond with the synodic revolution of the moon [full moon
to full moon], so that the year contained 354 days; but a day was added to
make the number odd, which was considered more fortunate, and the year
therefore consisted of 355 days. This differed from the solar year by ten
whole days and a fraction; but to restore the coincidence, Numa ordered an
additional or intercalary month to be inserted every second year between the
23d and 24th of February, consisting of twenty-two and twenty-three days
alternately, so that four years constituted 1465 days, and the mean length of
the year was consequently 366 1/4 days. The additional month was called Mercedinus
or Mercedonius, from merces, wages, probably because the wages
of workmen and domestics were usually paid at this season of the year.
According to the above arrangement, the year was too long by one day, which
rendered another correction necessary. As the error amounted to twenty-four
days in as many years, it was ordered that every third period of eight years,
instead of containing four intercalary months, amounting in all to ninety
days, should contain only three of those months, consisting of twenty-two days
each. The mean length of the year was thus reduced to 365 1/4 days; but it is
not certain at what time the octennial periods, borrowed from the Greeks, were
introduced into the Roman calendar, or whether they were at any time strictly
followed. It does not even appear that the length of the intercalary month was
regulated by any certain principle, for a discretionary power was left with
the pontiffs,[6] to whom the care of the calendar was committed, to
intercalate more or fewer days according as the year was found to differ more
or less from the celestial motions. This power was quickly abused to serve
political objects, and the calendar consequently thrown into confusion. By
giving a greater of less number of days to the intercalary month, the pontiffs
were enabled to prolong the term of a magistracy or hasten the annual
elections; and so little care had been taken to regulate the year, that, at
the time of Julius Caesar, the civil equinox differed from the astronomical by
three months, so that the winter months were carried back into autumn and the
autumnal into summer.
In order to put an end to the disorders arising from the negligence or
ignorance of the pontiffs, [Julius] Caesar abolished the use of the lunar year
and the intercalary month, and regulated the civil year entirely by the sun.
With the advice and assistance of Sosigenes,[7] he fixed the mean length of
the year at 365 1/4 days, and decreed that every fourth year should have 366
days, the other years having each 365. In order to restore the vernal equinox
to the 25th of March, the place it occupied in the time of Numa, he ordered
two extraordinary months to be inserted between November and December in the
current year, the first to consist of thirty three, and the second of
thirty-four days. The intercalary month of twenty-three days fell into the
year of course, so that the ancient year of 355 days received an augmentation
of ninety days; and the year on that occasion contained in all 445 days. This
was called the last year of confusion. The first Julian year commenced with
the 1st of January of the 46th before the birth of Christ, and the 708th from
the foundation of the city.
In the distribution of the days through the several months, Caesar adopted
a simpler and more commodious arrangement than that which has since prevailed.
He had ordered that the first, third, fifth, seventh, ninth, and eleventh
months, that is January, March, May, July, September and November, should have
each thirty-one days, and the other months thirty, excepting February, which
in common years should have only twenty-nine day, but every fourth year thirty
days. This order was interrupted to gratify the vanity of Augustus, by giving
the month bearing his name as many days as July, which was named after the
first Caesar. A day was accordingly taken from February and given to August;
and in order that three months of thirty-one days might not come together,
September and November were reduced to thirty days, and thirty-one given to
October and December. For so frivolous a reason was the regulation of Caesar
abandoned, and a capricious arrangement introduced, which it requires some
attention to remember. [8]
The additional day which occurred every fourth year was given to February,
as being the shortest month, and was inserted in the calendar between the 24th
and 25th day. February having then twenty-nine days, the 25th was the 6th of
the calends of March, sexto calendas; the preceding, which was the
additional or intercalary day, was called bis-sexto calendas,--hence
the term bissextile, which is still employed to distinguish the year of
366 days. The English denomination of leap year would have been more
appropriate if that year had differed from common years in defect, and
contained only 364 days. In the modern calendar the intercalary day is still
added to February, not, however, between the 24th and 25th, but as the 29th.
. . .
Although the Julian method of intercalation is perhaps the most convenient
that could be adopted, yet, as it supposes the year too long by 11 minutes 14
seconds, it could not without correction very long answer the purpose for
which it was devised, namely, that of preserving always the same interval of
time between the commencement of the year and the equinox. Sosigenes could
scarcely fail to know that this year was too long; for it had been shown long
before, by the observations of Hipparchus [ca. 125 BCE], that the excess of
3651/4 days above a true solar year would amount to a day in 300 years. The
real error is indeed more than double of this, and amounts to a day in 128
years; but in the time of Caesar the length of the year was an astronomical
element not very well determined. In the course of a few centuries, however,
the equinox sensibly retrograded towards the beginning of the year. When the
Julian calendar was introduced, the equinox fell on the 25th of March. At the
time of the Council of Nicea, which was held in 325, it fell on the 21st . . .
.
The Julian Calendar was naturally adopted by the successor of the Roman
Empire, Christian Europe with the Papacy at its head. By about 700 CE it had
become customary to count years from the starting point of the birth of Christ
(later corrected by Johannes Kepler to 4 BCE). But the equinox kept slipping
backwards on the calendar one full day every 130 years. By 1500 the vernal
equinox fell on the 10th or 11th of March and the autumnal equinox on the 13th
or 14th of September, and the situation was increasingly seen as a scandal. The
most important feast day on the Christian calendar is Easter, when the
suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ are celebrated. In the New
Testament we find that Christ's crucifixion occurred in the week of Passover. On
the Jewish calendar, Passover was celebrated at the full moon of the first month
(Nissan) of spring. In developing their own calendar (4th century CE),
Christians put Easter on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the
spring equinox. If the equinox was wrong, then Easter was celebrated on the
wrong day. Most other Christian observances (e.g., the beginning of Lent,
Pentecost) are reckoned backward or forward from the date of Easter. An error in
the equinox thus introduced numerous errors in the entire religious calendar.
Something had to be done. After the unification of the Papacy in Rome, in the
fifteenth century, Popes began to consider calendar reform. After several false
starts, a commission under the leadership of the Jesuit mathematician and
astronomer Christoph Clavius (1537-1612) succeeded. Several technical changes
were instituted having to do with the calculation of Easter, but the main change
was simple. In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII (hence the name Gregorian Calendar)
ordered ten days to be dropped from October, thus restoring the vernalequinox at
least to an average of the 20th of March, close to what it had been at the time
of the Council of Nicea. In order to correct for the loss of one day every 130
years, the new calendar dropped three leap years every 400 years. Henceforth
century years were leap years only if divisible by 400. 1600 and 2000 are leap
years; 1700, 1800 and 1900 are not.
The new calendar, although controversial among technical astronomers, was
promulgated from Rome and adopted immediately in Catholic countries. Protestant
countries followed suit more slowly. Protestant regions in Germany, and the
northern Netherlands adopted the calendar within decades. The English, always
suspicious of Rome during this period, retained the Julian Calendar. Further,
while others now began the new year uniformly on 1 January, the English began it
on 25 March (an older custom). Now, for example, the date 11 February 1672 in
England was 21 February 1673 on the Continent. After 1700 in which the Julian
Calendar had a leap year but the Gregorian did not, the difference was eleven
days. The English and their American colonies finally adopted the Gregorian
Calendar in the middle of the eighteenth century. George Washington was born on
11 February on the Julian Calendar; we celebrate his birthday on 22 February.
Note, finally, that the Gregorian Calendar is useless for astronomy because
it has a ten-day hiatus in it. For the purpose of calculating positions backward
in time, astronomers use the Julian Date.
Notes
[1]The time of year when Sirius comes out of the rays of the
Sun and is first visible on the eastern horizon at sunrise.
[2]See Otto Neugebauer, The Exact Science in Antiquity,
2d ed. (Providence: Brown University Press, 1957), pp. 82-86.
[3]Legendary founder and first king of Rome, ca. 750 BC.
[4]Numa Pompilius, second legendary king of Rome, ca. 700 BC.
[5]Decemviri: any college of ten magistrates in ancient
Rome. The most famous college was the decemviri legibus scribendis, or
the "composers of the Twelve Tables," who ruled Rome absolutely for a
few years around 450 BC.
[6]Roman high priests.
[7]A Greek astronomer and mathematician who flourished in the
first century BC None of his writings have survived and we know about him only
through the writings of Pliny (d. 79 AD). Pliny tells us that Sosigenes was
consulted by Julius Caesar about the calendar (Natural Histories, xviii,
25).
[8]Thirty days has September, April, June, and November . . .
Source
Gregorian Reform of the Calendar: Proceedings of the Vatican Conference to
Commemorate its 400th Anniversary, 1582-1992, ed. G. V. Coyne, M. A. Hoskin,
and O. Pedersen (Vatican City: Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Specolo Vaticano,
1983). Jean Meeus and Denis Savoie, "The history of the tropical
year," Journal of the British Astronomical Association, 102 #1
(1992): 40-42
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Study #4
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A List of Roman Catholicism's
Heresies (40 given!)
The following list of heresies are deviations from the true gospel of God. They
were adopted and perpetuated by the Roman Catholic Church in the course of 1600
years. In reality, the Romanists are the heretics of past ages instead of the
people they have murdered because they would not conform to these heresies.
These dates mentioned below are in many cases approximate. Many of these
heresies had been current in the church years before, but only when they
were officially adopted by a Church Council and proclaimed by the Pope as dogma
of faith did they become binding on Catholics. At the Reformation in the 16th
Century these heresies were repudiated as having no part in the religion of
Jesus as taught in the New Testament.
(1) Of all the human
inventions taught and practiced by the Roman Catholic Church, which are
contrary to the Bible, the most ancient are the prayers for the dead and the
sign of the cross. Both of these began over 300 years after Christ.
(2) Wax candles were
introduced in churches about 320 A.D.
(3) Veneration of angels
and dead saints began about 375 A.D.
(4) The Mass as a daily
celebration was adopted in 394 A.D.
(5) The worship of Mary
the mother of Jesus and the use of the term Mother of God, as applied
to her, originated in the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D.
(6) Priests began to
dress differently from the laity in 500 A.D.
(7) The doctrine of
Purgatory was first established by Gregory in 593 A.D.
(8) The Latin language
as the language of prayer and worship in churches was also imposed by Pope
Gregory I in the year 600 A.D.
(9) The Bible teaches
that we pray to God alone (John 16:23-26). In the primitive church prayers
were never directed to Mary or to dead saints. This practice began in the
Roman Church about 600 years after Christ.
(10) The Papacy is of
pagan origin. The title of pope, or universal bishop, was first given to the
bishop of Rome by the wicked emperor Phocas in the year 610 A.D. Jesus did not
appoint Peter to the headship of the apostles and He did expressly forbid any
such notion (Luke 22:24-26; Eph. 1:22, 23; Col. 1:18; 1 Cor. 3:11).
(11) The kissing of the
Pope's feet began in the year 709 A.D. It had been a pagan custom to kiss the
feet of emperors. The Word of God forbids such practices (Acts 10:25, 26; Rev.
19:10; 22:9).
(12) The temporal power
of popes began in the year 750 A.D. Jesus expressly forbad such a thing and He
Himself refused worldly kingship (Matt. 4:8, 9; 20:25, 26; John 18:36).
(13) Worship of the
cross, images and relics was authorized in 788 A.D. Such practice is called
idolatry in the Bible, and is severely condemned (Ex. 20:2-6; Deut. 27:15;
Psalm 115; Rom. 2:22; 1 Cor. 8).
(14) Holy Water, mixed
with a pinch of salt and blessed by the priest, was authorized in the year 850
A.D.
(15) The veneration of
St. Joseph began in the year 890 A.D.
(16) The baptism of
bells was instituted by Pope John XIV in 965 A.D.
(17) Canonization of
dead saints, first by Pope John XV in 995 A.D. Every believer and follower of
Christ is called saint in the Bible (Rom.1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2).
(18) Fasting on Fridays
and during Lent was imposed in the year 998 A.D. by popes said to be
interested in the fishing industry. See Matt. 15:10; 1 Cor. 10:25; 1
Tim.4:1-8; Col. 2:14-17; Rom. 14:1-23.
(19) The Mass was
developed gradually as a sacrifice, and attendance made obligatory in the 11th
Century after Christ. The gospel teaches that the sacrifice of Christ was
offered once and for all, and is not to be repeated, but only commemorated in
the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 11; Heb. 7:27; 9:26-28; 10:10-14).
(20) The celibacy of the
priesthood was decreed by Pope Hildebrand and Boniface VII in the year 1079
A.D. Jesus imposed no such rule, nor did any of the apostles. On the contrary,
St. Peter was a married man (Matt. 8:14-15) and St. Paul says that bishops
were to have a wife and children (1 Tim. 3:2-5, 12; Titus 1).
(21) The rosary, or
prayer beads, was introduced by Peter the Hermit in the year 1090 A.D. This
practice was copied from Hindoos and Mohammedans. The counting of prayers is a
pagan practice and is expressly condemned by Christ (Matt. 6:5-13).
(22) The inquisition of
heretics was instituted by the Council of Verona in the year 1184 A.D. Jesus
never taught the use of force to spread his religion (Matt. 5 and 10).
(23) The sale of
indulgences, commonly regarded as a purchase of forgiveness and a permit to
indulge in sin, began in the year 1190 A.D. The Christian religion as taught
in the gospel, condemns such a traffic, and it was the protest against this
traffic that brought on the Protestant Reformation in the 16th Century.
(24) The dogma of
transubstantiation was decreed by Pope Innocent III in the year 1215 A.D. By
this doctrine the priest pretends to perform a daily miracle by changing a
wafer into the body of Christ, and then he pretends to eat Him alive in the
presence of his people during Mass. The gospel condemns such absurdities, for
the Holy Communion is simply a memorial of the sacrifice of Christ (Luke
22:19, 20; John 6:35; 1 Cor. 11:26).
(25) Confession of sins
to the priest at least once a year was instituted by Pope Innocent III in the
Lateran Council, in the year 1215 A.D. The gospel commands us to confess our
sins direct [sic] to God (Psalms 51; Isa. 1:18; Luke 7:48; 15:21; 1 John 1:8,
9).
(26) The adoration of
the wafer, (host) was invented by Pope Honorius in 1220 A.D. So the Roman
Church worships a god made by hands. This is plain idolatry and absolutely
contrary to the spirit of the gospel (John 4:24).
(27) The Bible was
forbidden to laymen and placed in the Index of forbidden books by the Council
of Toledo in 1229 A.D. Jesus and the apostles commanded that the Scriptures
should be read by all (John 5:39; 1 Tim. 3:15-17).
(28) The scapular was
invented by Simon Stock, an English monk, in 1287 A.D. It is a piece of brown
cloth, with the picture of the Virgin and supposed to contain supernatural
virtue to protect those who wear it on the naked skin from all dangers. This
is fetichism.
(29) The Roman Church
forbad the cup to the laity in the Council of Constance in 1414 A.D. The
gospel commands all Christians to celebrate Holy Communion with bread and wine
(Matt. 26:27; 1 Cor. 11:26-29).
(30) The doctrine of
purgatory was proclaimed as a dogma of faith by the Council of Florence in
1439 A.D. There is not one word in the Bible that would teach the purgatory of
priests. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sins (1 John 1:7-9;
2:1, 2; John 5:24; Rom. 8:10; Rev. 1:5; Eph. 1:7).
(31) The doctrine of
Seven Sacraments was affirmed in 1439 A.D. The gospel says that Christ
instituted only two sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper (Matt. 28:19,
20; 26:26-28).(32) The Ave Maria, or the addition of part of the last
half, was made in 1508 A.D. It was completed 50 years afterward and finally
approved by Pope Sixtus V, at the end of the 16th Century.
(33) The Council of
Trent, held in the year 1545 A.D., declared that tradition is of equal
authority with the Bible. By tradition is meant human teachings. The Pharisees
believed the same way, and Jesus bitterly condemned them, for by humans
traditions they nullified the commandments of God (Mark 7:7-13; Col. 2:8; Rev.
22:18).
(34) Six apocryphal
books were added to the Bible by the Council of Trent in 1546 A.D. This is
contrary to the Bible (Rev. 22:18, 19).
(35) The creed of Pope
Pius IV, was imposed as the official creed of Catholics in 1560 A.D. True
Christians will retain the Holy Scriptures as their creed. Hence, their creed
is 1,500 years older than the creed of Roman Catholics. (See Gal. 1:8; Rev.
22:18, 19; 2 Tim. 2:15; 3:15-17.)
(36) The immaculate
conception of the Virgin Mary was proclaimed by Pope Pius IX in the year 1854
A.D. The gospel states that all men, with the sole exception of Christ, are
sinners. Mary herself had need of a Saviour (Rom. 3:23; 5:12; Psalms 51:5;
Luke 1:30, 46-47).
(37) In the year 1870
A.D. Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of papal infallibility.
(38) Pope Pius X, in the
year 1907 condemned, together with "modernism," all the discoveries
of modern science which are not approved by the church. Pius IX had done the
same thing in the syllabus of 1864 A.D.
(39) In the year 1930 Pius XI condemned the public school.
(40) In the year 1931
the same Pope Pius XI reaffirmed the doctrine that Mary is "the Mother of
God." This doctrine was first invented by the Council of Ephesus in the
year 431 A.D. This is a heresy which is contrary to Mary's own words (Luke
1:46-49).
What will be the next invention of the Roman Church? Catholics say their church
never changes, yet it has done nothing but invent new doctrines which are
contrary to the Bible, and it has practiced rites and ceremonies taken wholly
from paganism. At least 95% of the rites and ceremonies of the Roman Church are
of pagan origin.
Cardinal Newman, in his book (Page 359) "The Development of the Christian
Religion" admits that "Temples, incense, oil lamps, votive offerings,
holy water, holidays and seasons of devotions, processions, blessings of fields,
sacerdotal vestments, the tonsure (of priests, monks, and nuns), images are all
of pagan origin." Let any honest heart find Scripture for the above
practices and see for himself that Romanism is not scriptural. The above
chronological list of human inventions disproves the claim of the priests of the
Roman Church that their religion was taught by Christ and that the popes have
been the faithful custodians of that religion.
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Study #3
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Old Testament Israel are
now called Christians. The story from Gen 2:7 - Rev 7:8:
There
has been much confusion over who is Israel and who are Christians in regards to
the end-time prophecies in the book of Revelation. Much of the confusion
is due in no small part to the false teaching of a Rapture doctrine wherein they
'need' the Christian Church to be gone after {Rev 4:1} for support of their
errant theories. And if they were to accept that the 144,000 'sealed of
Israel' {Rev chp.7} are not Jews but rather Christians from the 10 lost tribes
of Israel then their Rapture theory washes of it's foundation of sand.
The
entire Bible, the Old Testament, the New Testament, the book of Revelation, even
past {Rev 4:1} all the way to the last chapter "I
Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the
churches..." {Rev 22:16} is written to and/or about the
Christian Church, that faithful church of God, some of it history, some
prophecy, some warning and admonition, some instruction, but all of it for
God’s chosen people, the planting of the Lord {Isa 61:3} as they moved from
the Garden of Eden into present day history and then beyond into the eternity.
It is the true Christian, the followers of Christ who are the light to the
Gentiles through Christ Jesus the Son of God, that shall fulfill the prophecy
and, for God, by God, spread the Gospel of God during the end-time troubles:
Jesus Christ prophesied of in approx. 603-588
B.C.:
Isa 42:6-9
6 I the LORD have called thee [Jesus
Christ] in
righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for
a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them
that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another,
neither my praise to graven images.
9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare:
before they spring forth I tell you of them. (KJV)
The prophecy fulfilled in Jesus Christ’
birth 600 years later:
Luke 2:27-33
27 And he [Simeon]
came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child
Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people
Israel.
33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of
him. (KJV)
And
since then, it is the followers of Jesus Christ, the Christians, that are the
true religion of and from God, ALL other religions are false and vain plantings
of satan - period! The Old Testament religion of the Hebrews became
Christianity when God sent His Son with the New Covenant (Testament). The
religion of Judaism never was the Old Testament Hebrew religion of God, it was,
and is, a corruption of it. Judaism (Jews) added 'oral traditions' called The
Talmud to the Old Testament Scriptures and totally corrupted God's Old
Covenant (Testament) into an ungodly, unscriptural religion.
NOTE:
In the Bible you see the term "Jew" used quite a bit. But it
isn't in the same sense that we today use the term "Jew." The
Word Jew in the Bible can mean two different things: either a descendant of the
tribe of Judah OR a person from the land of Judaea (the region in
which Jerusalem resides, a 'county' or 'province' so to speak) but not
necessarily of the tribe of Judah. it's like you can be an Irishman and
live in Germany and yet not be a German. Don't let the different languages
and the names in them confuse you on this. Observe:
Jew: Greek word #2453 Ioudaios (ee-oo-dah'-yos);from
#2448 (in the sense of #2455
as a country); Judaean, i.e. belonging to Jehudah ["Judah"
in Hebrew language of Old Testament] : KJV-- Jew (-ess), of
Judaea.
#2448
Iouda (ee-oo-dah'); of Hebrew origin [3063 or perhaps 3194]; Judah
(i.e. Jehudah or Juttah), a part of (or place in) Palestine: KJV--
Judah.
#2455 Ioudas (ee-oo-das');
of Hebrew origin [3063]; Judas (i.e. Jehudah), the name of ten Israelites; also
of the posterity of one of them and its region: KJV-- Juda
(-h, -s); Jude.
Judaea: 1). In a
narrower sense, to the southern portion of Palestine lying on this side of the
Jordan and the Dead Sea, to distinguish it from Samaria, Galilee, Peraea, and
Idumaea. 2). In a broader sense, referring to all
Palestine.
So
then, when we use the term "Jew" today what are we saying? Allow
us to answer that with an excerpt from the Information Division, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem, and the The Jewish Almanac
themselves, lest anyone think we are being so-called anti-Semitic here:
Who are the so-called
"Jews" of today?
A reasonable question answered from
logic and historic fact
The word Jew comes from a Greek word meaning descendent of the tribe of Judah,
or someone living in the land of Judea. Today's
Jews call themselves Jews to falsely imply that they are somehow descendent
from the Biblical tribe of Judah.
When asked the question, "Who is Israel? - Who is a Jew?",
the Israeli Government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) unhesitatingly
answered thus [emphasis added]:
-
The term Israelite
is purely Biblical.
-
An Israeli
is a citizen of Israel, regardless of religion.
-
A Jew
is a person anywhere in the world born to a Jewish mother, or
converted to Judaism, who is thus identified as a
member of the Jewish people and religion.
-- Information Division, Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem; Feb, 1998.
"Strictly speaking, it is incorrect to call an ancient Israelite a
"Jew." Or to call a contemporary Jew [an]
"Israelite," or a "Hebrew." The first Hebrews may
not have been Jews at all, and contemporary Palestinians, by their own
definition of the term "Palestinian," have to include Jews among
their own people."
--The Jewish Almanac,
Oct., 1980, page 3, Bantam Books, Inc. Under a headline entitled... 'Identity
Crisis'.
So in
the Bible when you see someone referred to as a "Jew" it could mean a
'good' one like Jesus Christ who was a descendant of the Patriarch Judah on His
mother's side, OR, it could mean a 'bad' one like the Jews that
sought to kill Jesus Christ:
Acts 2:5 (good)
5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation
under heaven. (KJV)
John 7:1(bad)
1 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry,
because the Jews sought to kill him. (KJV)
My point here is that just because you see someone called a "Jew" in
the Bible does not necessarily mean that they are a devote chosen man of
God, nor, necessarily an evil person with corrupt religion. You have to
take each one in context of the Scripture, the Scripture will let you know which
kind of 'Jew' is being spoken about.
the
Ok, let’s take a brief overview of who were God’s chosen people all
throughout the Biblical narrative. At first the faithful of God were born
into family lines (Israel), but then after Jesus Christ came, all could be
grafted into the family of the faithful and saved. See {Rom 11:13-26}.
I will
not further condemn the Rapture theory in this study save to now say that it is
probably responsible for as much, if not more, misunderstanding of God’s Word
among Christians than even the idolatrous Catholic Church. Peace to you
and let us start our study at the beginning to understand the end:
On the
sixth day God CREATED all the peoples, tribes, races, ethnics (ethnos’), on
the earth (White, Black, Hispanic, Oriental, ...), male AND female He CREATED
them. God saw that they were all VERY good {Gen 1:31}, and He rested on
the seventh day. On the next day (the eighth) God FORMED Adam in the
Garden of Eden (and took Eve from him) for a very special reason.
The
peoples of the earth, all the different peoples, were incapable of living up to
God’s standards of sinlessness. So God FORMED Adam to be the great
Patriarch of the redemption of mankind. And 4000 years later, from Eve,
umbilical cord through umbilical cord would be born Mother Mary, through who, by
the gifting of the Holy Spirit of God would be born the Messiah of ALL MANKIND
who would believe upon Him.
Jesus
was the Son of God in the strictest genealogical way. For God FORMED Adam
(‘eth ha-adaam = this very particular man Adam) in His own
express image. Then from that man Adam God made Eve. So as we see,
they were both in that 'likeness' of God even though one be male and one be
female, they were become one in marriage. Then through time and 4000 years
of childbirth within that family unit: From Adam to Eve to Able who
was killed, then to Seth...Eber (Hebrews name came from him)...Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob (name changed to Israel by God)...Judah & Levi...David...Mother Mary -
would be born the Messiah Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit of God.
Jesus
was one unbroken physical seed from God {Gen 3:15}. It is this Jesus that
is the Savior to the world, not only Israel from Adam, but also the gentiles
from the sixth day creation. Look at it this way: God through Adam through
Eve through Mother Mary + the Holy Spirit of God = Jesus Christ, God manifested
in the flesh (Emmanuel - God with us).
In the
Old Testament we had a man in Christ’s genealogy named Eber {Gen 11:16}
(spelled Heber in N.T. {Luke 3:35}). From him we get the name Hebrews.
Then in the process of time, through Heber’s family we came to Abraham, who
begat Isaac, who begat Jacob. Now God changed Jacob’s name to Israel and
he had 12 sons.
These
twelve sons are the Patriarchs (founding fathers) of the Twelve Tribes of
Israel. There was no such thing as Israel in the Bible until these twelve
sons were born (approx. 1775-1728 B.C.). And God changes Jacob's name to
Israel in (Gen 32:28 - approx.1739 B.C.). So prior to this the family of
Adam (Formed in 4004 B.C.) was God’s chosen and it was they whom through the
promise was to come. And by 'chosen' I mean that through them God would
save ALL peoples. God loves all His children! Please do not read
racism or anti-Semitism into this, there is no racism or anti-Semitism with
God’s Word, but satan so loves to plant seeds of discord, so resist the
temptation to be used in this manner (race baiting).
In the process of time these Twelve Tribes had a
rift, and the split into two Kingdoms:
The Southern Kingdom:
Consisted of two of the tribes (Judah
and Benjamin) and were called Judah with their capital in
Jerusalem.
Judah punished:
Because of idolatry, God also punished Judah, and the Two Tribe Southern
Kingdom Judah was taken into captivity by the Babylonians. In 477 B.C.*
Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple of God (the same
location of the Temple Mount in modern Israel). At this time there are still
no Jews, there is only the Kingdom of Judah. ‘Jew’ is a term that we
will explain later, but for now understand that it is a religious
designation and not a national identifier. In other words, contrary to
popular misconception, you are not born a Jew but become one by that
particular brand of religion (Judaism). More on that later.
[
*all
dating as per Companion
Bible by E.W. Bullinger]
The Northern Kingdom:
Consisting of the other Ten Tribes were
called Israel and their capital was at Samaria.
Israel punished:
Because of idolatry, God punished Israel, and The Ten Tribe Israel
nation was taken into captivity by the Assyrians and Israel became a
province of Assyria in 611 B.C.* and the
people Israel dropped out of the Biblical narrative and profane history as
well for the most part. They became not a people (lo-ammi).
In the
process of time SOME of the Kingdom of Judah were allowed to return to
Jerusalem, most did not. So this small contingent of the Tribe of Judah stayed
in Jerusalem and intermarried with the Babylonians, as well as the Edomites (sons
of Esau Jacob/Israels’s brother by Isaac)
and the Kenites (sons of Cain, which was the
son of the serpent/satan {Gen 3:15}).
These formed their own religion that was much different than the Old Testament
religion of the Hebrews. These who are now called "Jews" added
to the Old Testament Scriptures their own "Oral Law" called Talmud.
This of course was a corruption of God’s Old Testament religion and the work
of satan.
It is
these Jews that were in control of the Temple during Christ’s time, it is them
that Christ so often chastised and rebuked, it is them that Jesus told:
John 8:44
44 Ye are of [progeny;
Greek word #1537 ek (out of)]
your father the devil [satan
- the serpent in the Garden of Eden],
and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning
[Cain - Kenites], and
abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a
lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it
[satan/serpent uttered first lie (Gen
3:4)]. (KJV)
And it
is them that killed the Son of God Jesus Christ by forcing the hand of pagan
Rome. So today, when someone calls themselves a Jew they most likely
aren’t, they are just ignorant to the preceding events. Not all of
Israel or Judah are Jews and none of the Jews are Israel or Judah. It is
these Jews that are in large number in modern day Israel (though there are also
some true Judah and Israel there as well - they should be properly called
Hebrews not Jews - but they don’t know this, it has been kept from them, they
don’t know who they are, they have been betrayed by their parents ... parents
... parents). But all can be saved through Christ Jesus!
So in
a perversion of truth, these Jews call themselves the chosen of God but in fact
are the offspring of Judah that intermarried with the heathen peoples and formed
their own perverted religion that disobeys God at almost every turn. The
Jewish Anti Defamation League (among others) has suppressed this type of
information and labels those who teach it as "anti-Semitic" or
"racist" to discredit them, hide the truth, and proliferate the
apostasy away from God (though some racists take this teaching and equally in
ignorance use it in hate, we are not among that group). But the term
"anti-Semetic" is itself a misnomer, for those called "Jews"
have very little if any Semitic blood in their veins and they have apostated
into heathen religion and forsook God. They have more blood of Cain (Kenites)
and the Edomites (Esua - Kaiser Jews of Russia) in their veins than blood of
Israel or true Judah for that matter. Call it the fox in the hen house if
you will. But NOT ALL HEBREW PEOPLE ARE JEWS, in fact, very very very few Hebrew
peoples became Jews, and true Israel and true Judah know not who they are.
Ok, so
what happened to Israel, the Ten Tribe Northern Kingdom? Did they die off?
God forbid, for had they, then God’s Word would have failed, for God promised
Abraham that his seed should be as the sand of the sea for multitude:
Gen 32:9-12
9 And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my
father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country,
and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee................(Gen
32:12) And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as
the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. (KJV)
Well,
there are only 13 million Jews on the Planet of over 6 billion people (less that
one percent) so where is the multitude as the sand of the sea? Did God
make a mistake, or lie to Abraham in the Covenant? Of course not!!!
This is not possible, God cannot lie {Titus 1:2}! Below we shall show
where Israel is today, and we will also clarify who Judah is and the Kenites and
the Gentiles.
In the Bible, who Are The People Of The House Of Israel,
the House Of Judah, The Jews, And The Kenites?
The
difference between the peoples of Israel, Judah, the Jews,
and the Kenites (the sons of Cain, the first murderer)
First
of all, when studying Biblical history and prophecy, you mustn't confuse the
House of Israel with the House of Judah. When you see the 'House of
Israel' written of in the scriptures, it refers to the Ten Northern Tribes of
Israel (now referred to as the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel). But when you
see the 'House of Judah' spoken of, it refers to the Southern Kingdom consisting
of peoples of the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin.
Originally, when the Houses were still joined together, there were twelve
Tribes. These Twelve Tribes became split into two Houses, one called the
Northern Kingdom with it's Capitol at Samaria, and the other called the Southern
Kingdom with it's Capitol at Jerusalem. To this very day they are split,
with the Ten Northern tribes having lost all knowledge of their identity, as was
prophesied of to happen in Scripture:
Rom 11:25
25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest
ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to
Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. (KJV)
But
what ever became of Israel (the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel)? After a three
years siege and the final fall of Samaria with it's becoming of an Assyrian
Province in 611 B.C. (722 B.C. by profane history), Israel ceased to be and
dropped out of history.
But
Israel (the Ten Lost Tribes) were never lost to God, they migrated North over
the Caucasus Mountains (where we get our word 'Caucasian' from) and settled
Europe, eventually populating Scotland, Ireland, Britain, Iceland, and
ultimately crossing westward over the seas and established the Americas.
Yes we
are the descendants of the lost Northern Ten Tribes of Israel. We are the
chosen people of God. Look around the world, who is the last light of hope in
the world? That does not mean that we are Jewish, for as you see by the
division of the original 12 tribes descended from Jacob/Israel; Judah is only
one of those twelve tribes, and Jews are only a small portion of them who mixed
with the heathen both physically and religiously. As of Jan 2, 2000, there
are only 13 million Jews on the planet (as per www.adherents.com), that is less
than 1% of the total global population which is 6,099,686,302 (6 billion plus)
as of 4:04 EDT Oct 1, 2000 per Popclock™. But in God's covenant with
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob He promised:
Gen 13:16
16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man
can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
(KJV)
Gen 17:4
4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father
of many nations. (KJV)
Gen 28:14
14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread
abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and
to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the
earth be blessed. (KJV)
Gen 35:11
11 And God said unto him, I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a
nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out
of thy loins; (KJV)
Gen 32:12
12 And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the
sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. (KJV)
Rom 9:27
27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children
of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: (KJV)
You do
believe God don't you? I know you do. Well then, where are all these
people now?!? Those that we now call 'Jews' today are only a portion of
the true Tribe of Judah who have intermixed with their Babylonian captors, the
heathen and profane descendants of Cain, the first murderer. In other
words, all those of the tribe of Judah are not Jews, and none of the lost Ten
Tribes are Jews. It is important to understand the differences so that you
know who the Bible is speaking about in a particular verse.
That
is why in the New Testament, those who betrayed Christ and forced Pontius
Pilot's hand into crucifying Jesus Christ were the High Jewish Priest Ca'-ia-phas
and the Jewish Temple Hierarchy. They were corrupted both in morals and
genealogy, and this explains why Jesus called them 'sons of Cain,' the son of
the devil {Jn 8:44} whom was the first murderer in the Garden of Eden.
Cain was not of the 12 tribes of Jacob (Israel and Judah combined), but his
offspring, the Kenites, which means sons (offspring, no gender implied) of Cain,
had intermixed with some of the true Tribe of Judah. These Kenites have
mixed with all races and tribes of people on the earth. A Kenite is a
descendant of Cain, the same Cain who was the first murderer in the Garden of
Eden. Below is a definition from the Strong's
Exhaustive Concordance:
Kenite: Hebrew word #7017 Qeyniy (kay-nee');
or Qiyniy (1st Chron. 2:55) (kee-nee'); patronymic from Hebrew word #7014 (see
below); a Kenite or member of the tribe of Kajin [Cain]:
Cain: Hebrew word #7014 Qayin:
As a proper noun, masculine: Cain = "possession"; the oldest son
of Adam and Eve and the first murderer, having murdered his brother Abel.
There are many books on the migrations of the Ten Tribes of Israel and our
Ancestors, here are several that we feature and review in our
Study
Aids section
that will document the above statements. These are ordering links, if you just
want to read the review without necessarily getting the book, just click on Study
Aids and you can read
the review, and order there or just go directly to them here: Jacob's
pillar, Stonehenge
and Druidism, Traditions
of Glastonbury,
Celt,
Druid and Culdee,
Saint
Paul in Britain,
Discovery
of Ancient America
The reason we put all these
links within the studies is to offer the ability to explore certain points
raised that can take several pages, or even volumes, to fully document.
"...and thou shalt be
called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name..." {Isa
62:2}
The
Old Testament Prophets told that God would change the name of His people. They
would be named after Him. And by the name "Christians" they were
named after God. Jesus, which in the Hebrew language is: Yehoshua,
which means: Yehovah’s (God’s) Savior, Salvation of Yehovah
(God). And with Christ, His followers are called Christ men, hence:
Christians.
So
then, in the New Testament prophecies in the book of Revelation, Christians are
Israel, God’s chosen, called by a new name (Isa 62:2 below), called by His
name - Jesus Christ - Christ men - Christians.
Isa 62:2
2 And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and
thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the LORD shall name.
(KJV)
Isa 62:12
12 And they shall call them, The holy people, The redeemed of the LORD:
and thou shalt be called, Sought out, A city not forsaken. (KJV)
Isa 65:15
15 And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD
shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name (KJV)
Jer 33:16
16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and
this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.
(KJV)
Acts 11:26
26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to
pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught
much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in
Antioch. (KJV)
This
should clear up Revelation chapter seven where the 144,000 "sealed of
Israel" are mentioned, they are Christians who, since the Assyrian
captivity and deportations of 611 B.C. were stripped of their name Israel!
As it is written, because of idolatry, God caused Israel to not know who they
are, and the rest of the world is also ignorant as to who true Israel is today:
Deut 32:26 (God
speaking)
26 I said, I would scatter them [Israel]
into corners [all
corners of the world], I would make the
remembrance of them to cease from among men (KJV)
They
(Israel) are mentioned in the New Testament though, for example, the book of
James is written to them, written to us: "James, a
servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are
scattered abroad, greeting." {James 1:1}. And again: "Peter,
an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus,
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and
sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be
multiplied." {1 Pet 1:1-2}.
Do you know who you are? God Bless!
See also:
The
first Christian Church A.D. 37: at Glastonbury; Britain. Founded by Joseph of
Arimathaea, Christ's great-uncle. Also: Irish and Scottish Ancestry: The reason, today, we are so unaware of the fact that the British church was the true church established by Joseph of
Arimathaea, by the direction of St. Philip, is because most all the records have been destroyed There have been enough records to survive, though, to establish beyond all doubt that the church of Britain (not to be confused with the present day Anglican Church of England) was the true church, before being
Romanized. For this reason most everyone has assumed that the true church was the Roman Catholic Church, which is entirely false. Neither the Roman Catholic Church nor her Protestant daughters represent the true church established by our Messiah. Read the history with documentation.
Back to list of questions at top of page
Study #2
|
To Top |
Who is Who in the
Mideast peace Process?
Yasser Arafat
Ehud Barak
Hosni Mubarak
King Abdullah II
Bashar al-Assad
Bill Clinton
Yasser Arafat
As president of the Palestinian Authority, which governs the West
Bank and the Gaza Strip, and chairman for the Executive Committee
of Palestine Liberation Organization, Arafat is the heroic leader
of a people searching for a homeland to call their own.
The PLO is an umbrella organization that
claims to represent the world's non-Jewish Palestine population.
In 1967 the PLO decided its primary goal was the destruction of
the state Israel and Arafat has always been implicated as the
brawn and brains behind a three-decade reign of terrorism on
Israel and its allies - notably the United States. In 1974 the
PLO made a decision to focus on the political issues and not just
terrorist activities and Arafat has managed to shift the
organization image from barbaric to a movement with legitimate
claims.
Although the "intifada" has led
to massive terrorist campaigns with very high causalities, Israel
and many other international leaders have accepted Arafat as the
leader of the Palestinian people.
In 1988 he recognized the right of the
state of Israel to exist and denounced the PLO's former terrorist
activities. On September 13, 1993 he signed the Declaration of
Principals with Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the
following year he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with Yitzhak
Rabin and Shimon Peres. In 1996 he was elected the first
President of the Palestine Authority.
Ehud
Barak
Elected as prime minister of Israel in 1999, the former security
head has had a distinguished carrier with the Israeli Defense
Force and was a protege of Yitzhak Rabin, the former Israeli
prime minister who started the road toward peace with Arafat and
sealed a peace agreement with Jordan's King Hussein.
Barak joined the Defense force in 1959
where he served in the 1967 Six-Day War and 1973 Yom Kipper War.
He rose to the rank of general and is known as the most decorated
solider in Israeli history. In 1995 he became minister of
Interior and served as minister of Foreign Affairs and chairman
of the Israeli Labor Party.
He defeated Benjamin Netanyahu for the
prime ministership in May 1999 on the platform that he would move
quickly toward an expanded peace agreement with the Palestinian
Authority. Although under constant political pressure by
opposition parties fearing he will give in to too many
Palestinian demands, Barak says he is serving as an extension of
the Israeli people, who in recent polls show they trust Barak's
leadership in the negotiations.
Hosni Mubarak
Elected president of Egypt following the May 1981 assassination
of Anwar Sadat, Mubarak's career began in the Egyptian Air force.
He was instrumental in leading the Egyptian
army in the 1973 Yom Kipper War against Israel. Although the
battle to recover the Sinai Peninsula was a military defeat for
the African Muslim country, Sadat named Mubarak his vice
president in 1975 for his outstanding military service.
After Sadat's assassination by Muslim
fundamentalists during a military parade in Cairo, Mubarak
assumed the role of president. And like Sadat, Mubarak continued
to depend heavily on the U.S for military and economic aid. He
honored Sadat's 1979 Camp David Accord - a peace treaty with
Israel brokered by U.S. President Jimmy Carter - and was very
influential in getting Arafat to recognize that the state of
Israel had a right to exist.
He is seen as a very influential moderate
who has helped keep the Middle East peace process moving forward.
In 1999 he won his sixth term as president in an unopposed
election.
King Abdullah II
Newly crowned King Abdullah II is catching on fast as a
politician, eager to ensure Jordan keeps the key role in Middle
East peacemaking carved out by his father, King Hussein.
After his ascension to the thrown,
following his fathers death to cancer in early 1999, Abdullah has
shuttled between Israel and Syria and reportedly held secret
talks with Bashar al-Assad - before he became the new Syrian
president - trying to bring the Middle East's longtime arch
enemies back to the negotiating table. Publicly, Abdullah has
said his main concern was to ensure that no one ignores the
Palestinians' plight, which he calls "the core of
the Arab-Israeli conflict."
Altruism aside, the king has his own
reasons for wanting a key role in Middle East peacekeeping.
Abdullah does not want Jordan to remain, along with Egypt, the
only Arab states at peace with Israel. His kingdom is wedged in a
precarious corner between Iraq, Syria and Israel. One side effect
of peace between Syria and Israel would likely be firm action by
Damascus to stifle dissident Palestinian factions based in its
territory.
Abdullah's peacemaking may also be meant to
ensure that Syria won't dump an estimated 300,000 Palestinian
refugees on Jordan and exacerbate demographic pressure in a
country where at least 60 percent of the 3.8 million population
already is Palestinian.
Bashar al-Assad
The 34-year-old Syrian President assumed
leadership of Israel's eastern neighbor in mid July following the
death of his father Hafez al-Assad, who has left his son delicate
unfinished business: negotiations with Israel over the Golan
Heights, captured by Israel in 1967.
Hafez Assad pledged he would not accept
anything less than the recovery of all of the Golan, a position
his son has adopted but one that leaves him with little room to
maneuver in the negotiations. Bashar, a former eye doctor, will
have to test his unpolished skills as a politician against
domestic and foreign challenges. Negotiations between Israel and
Syria about returning the Golan Heights have produced only
deadlock.
The last round of talks broke down over the
elder Assad's demands that Israel give back every inch of the
Golan Heights. And Israelis fear that a new leader in Damascus
may be just as unbending as the old.
Within Syria the most outspoken opponents
to his regime have been the Muslim Brotherhood a conservative
faction that advocated a "pristine Islam" and a free
market economy. They have made several assignation attempts and
lead one bloody uprising in 1982.
Bill Clinton
Jimmy Carter had his 1978 Camp David summit, which established
peace between Israel and Egypt. As 42nd president of the United
States, Clinton would like to be remembered as the man who
brokered a final peace deal between the Israelis and the
Palestinians.
The two-term president and former governor
of Arkansas has dealt with conflict in the Balkans, Ireland and
the Persian Gulf. But he has said the Israeli-Palestinian dispute
"is perhaps the most difficult of all the peace problems
in the world, certainly dealing with the most difficult issues of
the whole Middle East peace process."
Clinton was instrumental in forging a peace
agreement by the late Syrian King Hussein and the late Israeli
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1994 with the final signing
ceremony taking place on the White House lawn. Two years later
Clinton hosted Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu to sign the Wye River Accord - a land-for-peace deal
involving the West Bank.
During his second term as president,
Clinton has seen the process of Middle East peace rise to
euphoric highs of Wye River and slide to back to confrontational
lows with deadly clashes between Israelis and Palestinians. But
for a president often criticized for ignoring foreign policy,
Clinton is credited nonetheless with investing a lot of time on
the Middle East, visiting the region more than any other U.S.
president.
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Study #1
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Adam
and adam, The Man Adam and mankind.
Plus, the four principle Hebrew words translated "man"
in our English Bibles; With definitions
Let's realize the difference between adam (mankind) and Adam (The
Man Adam from the Garden). We see in {Gen 6:3} that Adam
(the word man used here is haa-Aadaam in the
Manuscripts, meaning, The man Adam (8th day) and his progeny
(offspring); not aadaam which simply means mankind, or the
sixth day men and their families. In the Hebrew language
the word aadaam means mankind). Now when you place
the definite article (haa) and the particle ('eth)
with aadaam, you have 'eth- haa-aadaam = This very
same Man Adam. It is very emphatic, it is speaking of one
particular individual out of all. eth- haa-aadaam occurs
in {Gen 2:7,8,15} and {Gen 6:4} (list not comprehensive).
These articles (haa) and particles ('eth) are not
used in English as they are in Hebrew.
Hebrew word #853: 'eth
Sign (marker) of the definite direct object, not translated
in English but generally preceding and indicating the
accusative case
Below we see that what is
translated as 'daughters of men' is really 'daughters of the man
Adam,' there is a difference!
Gen 6:2
2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they
were fair; and they took them wives of all which they
chose. (KJV)
In the Hebrew language
there are four principle words rendered 'man' in our English
translation of the Old Testament Hebrew Bible (spelling varies):
- Aadaam = denotes his
origin, as from the dust of the "Adamah."
man or mankind.
- Aadaam with the article it is
haa-aadaam = The man Adam.
- Aadaam with the article and
particle it is eth- haa-aadaam = this very self-same man Aadaam (very
emphatic).
- 'Ish = in regards to sex,
male.
- 'Enosh = has regards to his
infirmities, as physically mortal, and as to
character, incurable. Know for their moral
depravity.
- Geber = has regards to strength,
a mighty man.
In {Gen 6:4} we see three
out of the above four, as well as the Giants which is Napiliym
or of the fallen:
Gen 6:4
4 There were giants [= Ha-Napiliym] in the earth in those days; and
also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men
[=daughters
of (the man) 'Adam], and they bare children to them, the same
became mighty men [= Geber] which were of old, men of renown [= Enosh]. (KJV)
(See The Companion Bible, appendix 14, for more on
this)
But anyway, in {Gen 6:3} Adam had become like the rest of the
mankind, i.e., corrupt, sinful like the 6th day creation, and
thus all their lives were shortened to a maximum of 120
years. Thus they had become 'mortal', meaning, liable to
die someday.
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Watchmen
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