INTERESTING INFORMATION CHRISTIAN MINISTRY
CONFIRMING BIBLICAL TRUTH
SECTION II - SPECIAL ARTICLES/ BOOK REVIEWS
IN THIS SECTION:
· WHAT HAPPENS AFTER WE DIE? (WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS)
· WHAT’S IN A NAME?
· "BOB PIERCE - THIS ONE THING I DO" - A BOOKREVIEW/SUMMARY
· "THE HIDDEN CODES OF THE BIBLE" - A BOOK REVIEW/SUMMARY
· "SIGNS OF THE TIME” - A BOOK REVIEW/SUMMARY
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INTERESTING INFORMATION
Est. 1997
The following material is provided for information purposes only. Any conclusions or opinions formed should be based on the principles as outlined in Acts 17:11. The material is intended for use as a witnessing tool and to keep you informed so you will not be unaware (Luke 21:34) of what is happening according to Scripture’s
DE
“However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find any faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8b)
Ezekiel 34:2 “Shepherd, feed the Flock
Resurrection Sunday Sermons
"Crucified"
http://www.heritagechurchmckinney.com/messages/Crucified.mp3
"The Most Glorious Day In History"
http://www.heritagechurchmckinney.com/messages/The%20Most%20Glorious%20Day%20In%20History.mp3
Pastor Len Mclaughlin- Heritage Church, Mckinney, Tx
You will enjoy and find this interesting – Pass it on to your Homebound Family and Friends
CHRISTIAN MUSIC VIDEO
JESUS, THANK YOU FOR THE CROSS
Melania Trump
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK – “The empty tomb is the foundation on which our faith is built”- Our Daily Bread
INTERESTING ARTICLE SUMMARY
· 2000 years after history’s greatest miracle, signs and wonders continue at Jerusalem’s Garden Tomb
· Rare sign of End Time Prophecy now unfolding in the World
· When shame meets grace-the women at the well
· Biblical Archaeologist has supernatural encounter with Jesus
· A Heart for God
INTERESTING ARTICLES
2,000 YEARS AFTER HISTORY'S GREATEST MIRACLE, SIGNS AND WONDERS CONTINUE AT JERUSALEM'S GARDEN TOMB
Charisma News – Apr. 20, 2025 -- THE GARDEN TOMB, JERUSALEM, Israel – Jesus rising from the dead is the most celebrated miracle in Christianity. And in the Garden Tomb in eastern Jerusalem, the very place where many believe that wondrous event occurred, it seems that miracles and wonders still occur.
Scholars are divided on the exact location of the tomb, but the resurrection took place either in the recognized tomb here or one very similar to it. Workers at the Garden Tomb say miracles still occur here.
Cesar Fleitas is the head guide at the Garden Tomb. He told us what happened to a Romanian man who came to the tomb suffering from incredibly poor eyesight. The man walked into the tomb.
"He wanted to look at the symbol that is inside the tomb – the symbol of a cross that has the Greek letters – but he wasn't able to make out the symbol very well," Fleitas recalled. "So he removed his glasses and then all of a sudden, he was able to see perfectly."
Fleitas continued, "All of a sudden, I can hear the man screaming inside the tomb, 'I can see! I can see!' Of course, he was speaking in Romanian. His pastor, who was standing nearby, he translated for me. He said, 'He can see!'"
Another miracle that took place involved a boy suffering from hydrocephalus, an abnormal and dangerous buildup of fluid deep in the brain. Every year, his family came from Ecuador to the Garden Tomb.
Giancarlo Rodriguez was that little boy two decades ago. Then, he was paralyzed from the waist down due to his disease.
Fleitas explained, "Twenty-plus years ago, they came as a family. They brought the son inside the tomb. And as they were praying, they heard their son crying. The husband turned around to look back to see what was going on, and all of a sudden, they see their son standing there. And that was the miracle. The healing took place at that moment."
Before that healing, Giancarlo's sister had lost her faith.
Fleitas recounted, "She couldn't understand why God would allow such a thing to happen to her brother. But then, after she saw the healing that God performed in her brother's body, that became the turning point in her life."
In an interview recorded with the Rodriguez family, Rodriguez's sister stated, "I simply want to say that Giancarlo is proof that God is real."
As for the entire family, Fleitas told us, "They're all involved in ministry, serving the Lord."
Liz Tingman chronicles signs and wonders that happen at the Garden Tomb. She told CBN News that Pastor Hobson Lara had suffered an extremely painful, unending headache since he was 13 years old. Then, in 2010, at age 48, the pastor visited the tomb. "And he was suddenly overwhelmed with this uncontrollable urge to weep as he went into the tomb."
As Tingman described it, "He came out, and he went on to the area over here near the olive trees. And he said he just held onto an olive tree because he was weeping uncontrollably. He said he was praying for 40 minutes. And when the weeping stopped, he realized he was healed. He had no headache."
Tingman added, "The headache has never come back."
Fleitas experienced his own miracle when a Brazilian pastor came out of the tomb, insisting God just told him to pray for Fleitas' healing. Little did he know Fleitas had been suffering from sharp liver pains for years.
"And he looked at me and he said to me, 'I want you to understand that the power comes from the Lord,'" Fleitas remembered. "The pastor said, 'It is the Lord God Almighty who heals you.' And then he anointed me with oil, and he prayed over me. And that sharp pain that I was experiencing was gone. Completely gone."
We asked, "And forever?" Fleitas replied, "Yes, it's gone."
Tingman also recalled a Japanese non-believer who was taken around the tomb by a guide, starting at the overlook at Skull Hill, where many believe Christ was crucified.
Tingman told us, "And she took her to Skull Hill and explained about Calvary and so on. And this woman said – she spoke English –she said, 'I know nothing about Jesus Christ. Tell me more.'"
"She went into the tomb," Tingman continued. "And my colleague said when she was in the tomb, she was visibly moved. Something was moving her. And she was weeping, actually. And she said, 'I can see Him.' And my friend said, 'What can you see?' She said, 'I see a man with a crown on His head.' Now, this is a woman who didn't know anything about the Gospel story. And she said, 'It's not a gold crown.' And she began to describe a crown of thorns on this man's head that she was seeing."
If you don't know this Jesus Christ, we Christians believe that He can save you. Heal you. Perform a miracle for you right now, on the spot. You just have to pray and ask Him. That's the Good News of Easter.
RARE SIGN OF END TIMES PROPHECY NOW UNFOLDING IN THE WORLD
Charisma News – Apr. 20, 2025 -- “There’s only one country where God says when the end of the end comes, right before Jesus comes back, I’m going to save that whole nation. That’s Israel,” Joel Rosenberg told TBN’s Erick Stakelbeck in a recent interview. “Zechariah 12 and other prophecies say that God’s going to save every single Jew that survives through the tribulation.”
That kind of clarity — rare in today’s fractured discourse — cuts through the headlines like a sharp edge. Rosenberg, an Israeli-American dual citizen who lives in Jerusalem, isn’t just commenting from afar. He and his wife Lyn have boots on the ground, deeply involved with local pastors, ministry leaders and unbelievers in Israel. And what they’re seeing might surprise you.
“We’re seeing more Israelis talking about God, talking about the Bible and even willing to talk about Yeshua — Jesus. Is He? Isn’t He?” Rosenberg said. “More than ever in all of modern Israeli history.”
That’s a bold claim, but it’s backed by research. “In 1967, there were only 2,000 Jewish people on planet Earth who believed that Jesus is the Messiah,” Rosenberg said. “Today we’re at about a million.”
That million is spread across the world, with the majority in the United States, but about 30,000 in Israel itself. Still, that’s a jump from just 23 Jewish followers of Jesus in Israel in 1948, the year the modern state of Israel was reborn.
The recent horrors of October 7, when Hamas launched its brutal terror attack, have only deepened the spiritual reckoning inside the country.
“I don’t believe that God sent this horrible October 7th war,” Rosenberg said. “This is satanic. Satan is trying to rob, kill and destroy. God sovereignly has let it happen… but we are being shaken.”
He believes Israel is living through the moment described in Amos 9:9, where God declares He will shake the house of Israel among all nations. This shaking is not just political or military, but spiritual.
“Everybody wants to talk about God. Everyone wants to talk about the Scriptures. And many, not all, want to talk about Yeshua,” Rosenberg explained, especially near the frontlines in Gaza and Lebanon. “Almost everyone in the army is reading Psalms. They’re singing worship songs before they go into battle.”
But not everyone is on board just yet. In Israel’s more secular regions, like Tel Aviv and the high-tech corridor Rosenberg jokingly called the “Silicon Wadi,” interest is less pronounced. Still, change is bubbling up, even among the most unexpected places.
“I’ve met people from the Nova Music Festival — this one woman said to me, ‘I was a secularist. I didn’t care about God. I never picked up a Bible a day in my life. Now I’m reading the Psalms. Now I’m searching. I need God. I need to find Him. I don’t know how to find Him.’”
Rosenberg said the church must be ready for this. And more than ready — willing. Too many Christian leaders, he warns, are missing the moment.
“To say, ‘I’m standing with Israel, but don’t worry, I won’t share Jesus and the Gospel and the Good News with God’s chosen people’ — that’s not only not good, but I wouldn’t want to have that conversation with the Jewish Messiah face to face in heaven one day,” he said.
This is where the rubber meets the road. Rosenberg isn’t speaking in theories — he’s seeing transformation in real time.
“What is really happening? God, under the darkness — and there’s a lot of darkness — God is moving. The light of Christ, the Messiah, is actually starting to shine. And it’s a really interesting time — challenging, exhausting, but actually kind of exciting.”
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In Zechariah 12: 2,3 it says that: “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup 1that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah.
“It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely injured. And all the Nations of the earth will be gathered against it. (Will this include America?)
WHEN SHAME MEETS GRACE – THE WOMEN AT THE WELL
REVIVE ISRAEL -Apr. 4, 2025 -- Reading Scripture isn’t just about understanding intellectually—it takes us deeper. It speaks to the heart, to the soul, to those hidden places in us that don’t always see the light. When we open John 4, we’re not just reading about a woman from ancient Samaria. We’re seeing ourselves. In those moments when we’re thirsty for something more, when we hide, when we long to be whole.
She comes to the well at noon—the hottest part of the day. Not exactly the usual time to draw water. And that small detail says so much. She doesn’t want to run into anyone. She doesn’t want to be seen. She carries a story—one of loneliness, rejection, and shame. And so she comes when she knows nobody else will be there. But Yeshua is there. Not by accident. Not as a distant Messiah disconnected from the world, but as someone who deliberately seeks her out.
He looks at her and simply says, “Give me a drink.” She’s caught off guard. “How is it that you, a Jew, are speaking to me, a Samaritan woman?”
Given the history between their people, this conversation shouldn’t even be happening. But Yeshua isn’t bound by human divisions. He doesn’t see people the way the world does. And He isn’t really asking for water—He’s opening a door into her soul.
Then He offers her something greater. Living water. Not water pulled up from the earth, but water flowing down from heaven. Not just something to satisfy physical thirst, but a promise of deep, lasting fulfillment.
“Everyone who drinks this water will thirst again,” He tells her. The world offers relief, but it never lasts. We chase achievement, approval, relationships—yet somehow, we’re still thirsty. But there’s a different kind of water. One that isn’t dependent on circumstances, people, or emotions. There is a wellspring—a source of life—that flows from a heart that has drunk deeply from the life of God.
But before that living water can fill her, Yeshua touches a wound. “Go, call your husband,” He says. She answers with remarkable honesty: “I have no husband.” He affirms her words and reveals that He knows everything she has tried to hide—not to shame her, but to heal her. She has been living in isolation, perhaps even exile, burdened by her past. And suddenly, someone sees her. Truly sees her.
How many of us wear similar masks? Walking around with broken jars—fractured identities, hidden struggles, unspoken sins—trying to fill our lives with things that can’t hold. Even when Yeshua wants to pour into us, it won’t last if we refuse to confront what’s still in the dark. His light reaches precisely those places—not to destroy, but to restore.
And when the heart changes, everything changes. She came to the well alone, at midday, carrying a jar. She leaves without it. It’s more than just an abandoned vessel—it’s a symbol. She no longer needs to draw from the same source. The woman who once avoided everyone now runs to the city. She becomes a messenger. “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did.” No more shame—only joy. No more hiding—only purpose.
There are moments in life when God interrupts our ordinary routines just to meet with us. Moments when He offers us a different kind of water, a different way to live. But to drink from it, we must be willing to put down the jar. To release what’s familiar but no longer working. To step into the process of true healing. It’s not always comfortable. It’s not always quick. But it’s deep. It’s real. And it satisfies.
Yeshua told her: “The hour is coming when true worshipers will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem, but in spirit and in truth.” It’s not about geography or background—it’s about the heart. Do we worship because we truly love Him, or because we want something from Him? Do we lift our hands to impress others, or because He alone is worthy?
Then, in a rare and tender moment, Yeshua reveals Himself plainly: “I who speak to you am He.” It’s the first time in John’s Gospel that He so clearly declares Himself as the Messiah. And He chooses to do it—not before a scholar or a synagogue leader—but before a Samaritan woman. A woman who was broken, rejected, and alone. Because she—she—was willing. Willing to listen, to be seen, to be changed.
Maybe there are places in us still hiding at noon. Maybe we’re carrying jars that leak. Maybe God is already standing by our well, waiting for us to notice Him. Waiting for us to lay down the weight and run—not in shame, but in freedom—to tell others about the healing we’ve found. Because when we let Him shine His light into our darkness, we don’t just begin to live. We become a spring for others.
“Whoever believes in Me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” – John 7:38
So maybe now is the moment to pause. To look inward. To hear the voice of the One who waits by the well, offering us life.
BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGIST HAS SUPERNATURAL ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS. KABBALAH EXPOSED! (Excerpt)
Charisma News –Searching for the truth behind the Bible, Biblical archaeologist Jennifer Guetta, M.A., spent 10 years digging at Armageddon (Megiddo, Israel) and other sites throughout Israel. She did not believe in Jesus until one day she was attacked by darkness through Kabbalah and rescued by Jesus in dreams.
Her testimony shows that Jesus is still rescuing people all over the world and provides hope for such a time as this.
As a top supervisor of the Megiddo excavations, Guetta, an American-Dutch archaeologist with Jewish background, was in the middle of the hottest debates about archaeology and faith. As a scientist Guetta did not believe in the supernatural until 2012 after becoming involved with Kabbalah. She quickly woke to the reality of the invisible world after she and her family came under attacks by dark occult forces.
In desperation, Guetta called out to Jesus and He began to reveal Himself to her in dreams. Deliverance and freedom came as demons fled in His name and miracles began to happen that radically changed her world view. Jennifer is now an archaeologist on fire for Jesus.
"I spent many years undermining the Bible, but learned through this encounter with Jesus that the Bible is the literal Word of God and every word is meant for us today." She is preaching the gospel and sharing her powerful testimony to encourage believers and strengthen their faith. In 2020 Jennifer and her husband Elijah moved to Israel where they now reside by the Sea of Galilee.
A HEART FOR GOD
How is God's love transforming you?
The Lord described David as “a man after My heart who will do all My will.” Wouldn’t you love to have Him say that about you? Obviously, David wasn’t perfect. In fact, he committed both adultery and murder, yet He loved the Lord and desired to obey Him. What set him apart was the priority he placed on his relationship with the heavenly Father.
David delighted in knowing the Lord and sought Him earnestly. He declared that God’s love was better than life and pledged to praise Him all his days (Psalm 63:3-4). He meditated on His Word and character and often cried out to Him in prayers of desperation, dependence, and trust. Whatever his circumstances, he sought to view them from a God-centered perspective.
The only way to be a person after the Father’s heart is to receive a new heart. And that’s exactly what happens in salvation (Ezekiel 36:25-27). If you’re a believer, you have everything you need for cultivating a heart that pursues the Lord. Meditating on God’s character and Word will fuel your delight in Him. And praying as David did will increase your trust so that you depend on God more fully.
In Touch Ministry
PRIOR ISSUE
INTERESTING INFORMATION
4/16/2025
BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD
Pastor Len Mclaughlin- Heritage Church, Mckinney, Tx
You will enjoy and find this interesting – Pass it on to your Homebound Family and Friends
CHRISTIAN MUSIC VIDEO
AT THE CROSS
Chris Tomlin
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK – “God writes with a pen that never blots, speaks with a tongue that never slips, and acts with a hand that never fails.” Our Daily Bread
INTERESTING ARTICLE SUMMARY
· What does the Cross mean to you
· 3 promises Jesus offered us on Palm Sunday
· 9 reasons the shroud of Turin is the real deal
· WHEN OTHERS FAIL US
INTERESTING ARTICLES
WHAT DOES THE CROSS MEAN TO YOU?
“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).
Thhe Christin Post – Apr/ 3, 2025 -- Why is the world offended by the cross? Why are so many disturbed when the name of Jesus is mentioned? Why is His name, above all others, often taken in vain?
The only source of true power
The answer is simple: There is power in His name, and there is power in the cross — power that shakes the spiritual realm. Philippians 2:9-11 says that God has highly exalted Jesus and has given Him a name that is above every other name, that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
No wonder the world hates the cross and the name of Jesus — they convict. The cross, sin, and repentance have never been popular terms even though they are at the heart of the Christian faith. Jesus Himself said that the cross would be offensive.
Watered down truth
Sadly, many today water down the gospel and avoid talking about the cross. They want the Bible to be more appealing and marketable. But truth is not marketable! We are to guard it, proclaim it, and defend it, but never compromise it.
A.W. Tozer addressed this decades ago, “There has come in modern times a new cross into popular Evangelical circles. It is like the old cross, but different; the likenesses are superficial, the differences fundamental. The old cross slew men; the new cross entertains them. The old cross condemned; the new cross amuses. The old cross destroyed confidence in the flesh; the new cross encourages it. The old cross brought tears and blood; the new cross brings laughter.”
Tozer continues, “Any objection to the carrying on of our present gold-calf [lukewarm] Christianity is met with the triumphant reply, ‘But we are winning them!’ And winning them to what? To true discipleship? To cross-carrying? To self-denial? To separation from the world? To crucifixion of the flesh? To holy living? To nobility of character? To a despising of the world’s treasures? To hard self-discipline? To love for God? To total committal to Christ? Of course, the answer to all these questions is … No.”
A clean cross
This pleasant, “new cross” view, often leaves people confused and deceived because they believe in a self-promoting, self-seeking Christianity that bears no resemblance to Jesus’ sobering call to full surrender … to dying to self. For this reason, it’s been said that one of the greatest mission fields in the world today is the church, as a whole, in America.
In our zeal to lead people to Christ, many paint a false picture of discipleship, or water it down altogether. Jesus didn’t say, “Follow me and you won’t have to change anything”; He said, “Deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). Jesus wants us to understand what’s involved when we follow Him — there is a cost. The cross cost Him and it will cost us.
Battleground not a playground
If current statistics hold true, many will continue to embrace a glamorized Christianity and be led astray. Life is a battleground, not a playground!
If you’ve never sincerely repented and trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, there is no better time than now. Many who are trapped in religion go through life lacking passion, direction, and purpose, often living with a sense of remorse and guilt. They wonder, “Have I been good enough?” A relationship with Christ changes that.
Second Corinthians 5:17 states: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Your past is forgiven, your present secure, and your future certain.
The resurrection and the cross set us free from sin and death: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
Don't live your life with a question mark
No matter what you’ve done, you have the opportunity to believe in Jesus and be forgiven of sin. Acknowledge that you are a sinner in need of a Savior (Romans 3:23). Acknowledge that Jesus died for your sins (John 3:16). Repent and turn from your sins (Acts 3:19). Live your life for Him (Hebrews 12:1-2).
This Easter, although we rejoice in the empty tomb, don’t forget about the power of the cross. The cross cleanses, redeems, releases, crushes, and triumphs. It offers hope and peace to a dying world. “There is no peace until we see the finished work of Jesus Christ — until we can look back and see the cross of Christ between our sins” (D.L. Moody).
What does the cross mean to you? Don’t live your life with a question mark here.
3 PROMISES JESUS OFFERED US ON PALM SUNDAY
Thee Christian Post – Mar. 25, 2024 00 If you were asked to describe our world in one word, would you choose the word “peaceful”? I’m guessing there are a lot of other words that come to mind before peaceful. Your list may include words like chaotic, broken, unstable, frightening, or disintegrating.
As a nation, we've lost confidence in our government, medical institutions, and scientific exploration. And many have lost confidence in religion, with church attendance at an all-time low.
Right now, the world is anything but peaceful.
But we all desire and need peace. So many people look for peace in superficial things, including drugs, alcohol, entertainment, and money. And yet, they still feel empty.
Truthfully, we’ve been looking for peace in all the wrong places and the world cannot offer true, lasting peace. We need a peace that isn’t of this world.
Other-worldly peace is just what Jesus offers us. On Palm Sunday, a week before He was to go to the cross, suffer and die, Jesus took His disciples aside and gave them an amazing promise, saying, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.”
This is a remarkable promise.
Think about what Jesus was going through when He made this promise. He had spent the last three years of his life hounded by the haters and suffocated by persecutors and oppressors. There was constant pressure on Jesus’ life.
Despite all this, Jesus had peace. It is this peace that He invited His disciples — and by extension us — to share in.
Today, Christ offers the world three kinds of peace:
1. Peace with God
Christ offers peace with God. In Romans 5:1-10, Paul tells us that all human beings begin as enemies with God and that it is only through faith in Christ that we can have peace with God. In fact, it was Jesus’ death and Resurrection that made this peace possible.
Jesus knew this was the case. He knew His death was the only way to reconcile a sinful people with a righteous God. This is what Christ came to do and it is why, hanging on the cross a week after giving His disciples His peace, He could proclaim, “It is finished!” The war is over. Peace between God and humanity is now possible.
2. The peace of God
Christ also offers his followers the peace of God. Earlier in John 14, Jesus gives an interesting instruction to His disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” This is a daunting command and I imagine all the disciples wanted to do was ask, “How?”
We turn to Isaiah 26:3 for the answer: “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” Jesus is saying that our minds are crucial to experiencing God’s peace. With our minds fixed on Him, we can be at peace in this chaotic and anxious world.
Paul picks up this theme in Philippians 4:8-9. He tells the Church, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.”
The result? “The God of peace will be with you.”
3. The peace God will bring when Christ returns
Finally, we’re offered the peace God will bring when Christ comes back to dwell among us.
It’s no coincidence that one of Jesus’ titles is “Prince of Peace.” We are promised that the world won’t have true, lasting peace until Christ comes again. But when he does, Isaiah 2:4 tells us strange things will happen: “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.”
What is Isaiah saying?
He is saying there will be peace that our minds can’t yet even fathom. Deep, lasting, transcendent peace. A peace this world can’t explain or recreate.
But it’s a peace that makes perfect sense if you know Jesus.
At the very end of John 16, the very end of Palm Sunday, Jesus gives His disciples a powerful promise. Today, over 2,000 years later, Jesus extends to us the same transcendent promise of peace saying, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart. I have overcome the world.”
9 REASONS SHROUD OF TURIN IS THE REAL DEAL
Blood type identified as same found in another Jesus artifact
“When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple: He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher, and departed.”
– Matthew 27:57-60
WND -- With Easter and Passover just two weeks away, the Shroud of Turin is getting more attention than ever before, with many converts to the belief it may indeed be the burial cloth of Jesus.
What is the shroud? It is an ancient, sepia-colored, rectangular, 14.3 by 3.7-foot linen cloth woven in a three-to-one herringbone twill composed of flax fibrils with the front and the back image of a naked man with his hands folded across his groin.
While some consider it to be the burial cloth of Jesus left behind following His resurrection, others deny Jesus, arguably the most famous character in history, even existed.
For many years, some dismissed the shroud as a medieval forgery. That possibility becomes more remote with every scientific test to which the artifact is subjected, leaving researchers baffled about how it could have been created, aside from the supernatural power of a resurrection.
Here then are nine reasons the shroud is gaining more currency as the real deal:
1. Researchers from the Institute of Crystallography said they experimented with blood serum extracted from the cloth that suggests the person was suffering before death. They concluded it was the funeral fabric of a tortured man. Researchers there said these particles, called “nanoparticles,” were a “peculiar structure, size and distribution,” according to University of Padua professor Giulio Fanti. Tests on the nanoparticles reveal that they are not typical of the blood found in a healthy person. Instead, they show high levels of substances called creatinine and ferritin. Both are found in patients who suffer severe and forceful traumas such as torture.
“Hence, the presence of these biological nanoparticles found during our experiments point to a violent death for the man wrapped in the Turin Shroud,” Fanti said.
Fanti said the latest discovery debunks the age-old claim that someone simply painted the image on the shroud. The characteristics of these nanoparticles “cannot be artifacts made over the centuries on the fabric of the shroud,” he said.
“These findings could only be revealed by the methods recently developed in the field of electron microscopy,” said Carlino.
He said the research marked the first study of “the nanoscale properties of a pristine fiber taken from the Turin Shroud.”
2. In 2013, scientific tests on the Shroud of Turin, which went on display in a special TV appearance introduced by the pope, dated the cloth to ancient times, challenging earlier experiments dating it only to the Middle Ages.
Scientists at the University of Padua in northern Italy, tested fibers from the relic and dated it between 300 B.C. and A.D. 400, which includes the era of Jesus.
3. Even the blood type found on the cloth has been identified as the rare AB, representing less than 3 percent of the population. Interestingly, another artifact associated with the shroud, known as the Sudarium of Oviedo in Spain, is another linen cloth – 34 inches by 21 inches – a kind of handkerchief that legend said was used to cover Jesus’ head after the crucifixion. The blood type in the Sudarium has also been found to be AB.
4. A 2015 study of the pollens found in the shroud found 28 of them grown in Israel, with 20 of them in Jerusalem and eight nearby. Of the 28 plants, 27 are in bloom in march and April, the most likely time of the Passover. Half of the pollens are found only in the Middle East and never in Europe – virtually ruling out a medieval forgery on the continent.
5. Perhaps most fascinating is that the image on the cloth is not a stain. It is not painted on. It is not burned on. Somehow it was seared on to the cloth with a technology no one has yet to determine. Scientists in the 21st century have been unable even to reproduce it. It appears to have been caused by a burst of radiation.
Italian scientist Paolo DiLazzaro tried for five years to replicate the image and concluded that it was produced by ultraviolet light, but the ultraviolet light necessary to reproduce the image exceeds the maximum power released by all ultraviolet light sources available today. The time for such a burst “would be shorter than one 40-billionth of a second, and the intensity of the ultraviolet light would have to be around several billion watts.”
6. The image of the man on the shroud can be read by 3D imaging technology, something that can’t be done with paintings. The image on the shroud is also only a few fibers deep.
7. Despite traditions in artwork and movies, the image of the shroud shows the nail marks at the bottom of the hand into the wrist. Only recently has modern science determined nails through the middle of the hands would be insufficient to hold a man’s weight on the cross because the nail would tear through the tissues of this hands.
8. There are about 100 whip lacerations on the victim’s back that match the flagrums of the first-century Romans for scourging.
9. There is even evidence of what appears to be spear wound – consistent with what is described in John 19:34.
WHEN OTHERS FAIL US
A disappointing friendship is one area of life that causes great distress. Companionship is one of our essential needs, and when friends fail us, we feel wounded, rejected, and alone. We’ve probably all experienced this to one degree or another, and the apostle Paul was no exception.
Although he’d surrounded himself with friends and had sacrificed greatly to take the gospel throughout the Roman world, when Paul neared the end of his life, he was basically alone. As he spent his last days in prison, only Luke was with him.
Some of the apostle’s friends were ministering in other parts of the world, but others, like Demas, had deserted him. When Paul stood at his preliminary trial, no one supported him. In fact, everyone had abandoned him. To associate with Paul at this point was risky.
It would have been understandable for Paul to complain about friends who’d let him down in his time of need. But instead, he displayed a forgiving spirit by saying, “May it not be counted against them” (2 Timothy 4:16). Although betrayal or abandonment hurts, we will never heal if we yield to bitterness and resentment. Forgiveness is our only solution.
Like Paul, we need an eternal perspective when facing disappointment. Nothing comes into our life without first passing through the hands of our heavenly Father, and no experience of ours is wasted. His ways may not make sense to us, but He uses every painful situation to accomplish His will in our life—and He’ll walk through it with us.
In Touch Ministry
SECTION II - SPECIAL ARTICLES/ BOOK REVIEWS
IN THIS SECTION:
· WHAT HAPPENS AFTER WE DIE? (WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS)
· WHAT’S IN A NAME?
· "BOB PIERCE - THIS ONE THING I DO" - A BOOKREVIEW/SUMMARY
· "THE HIDDEN CODES OF THE BIBLE" - A BOOK REVIEW/SUMMARY
· "SIGNS OF THE TIME” - A BOOK REVIEW/SUMMARY
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER WE DIE?
By D.E. Davis
For Christians, we are told in Scripture in 2Cr 5:8 that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. For those who turn away from God, we are told that they are eternally separated from God and go to a place called Hell. Rev 14:11 says that the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever.
The question that everyone ponders is: What really happens after we die? Do we just lay dormant until the Lord takes us to be with him or until judgement is handed out at the Great White Throne as called out in Rev. 20:11? Are we conscience? Do we feel, touch, think, recognize loved ones, know what is happening around us? All questions that we have ask ourselves, no doubt, at some time in our life.
My own personal review of the Scriptures has led me to believe that after we die, even though our body may be dead and buried, our Spirit is alive and fully conscience. Chuck Missler likens this state of conscienceness to the software that runs the Computer; once the hardware goes, the software remains intact and available for further applications.
There are two illustrations in the Bible that makes it clear as to what happens after death, when we're in the spirit.
The first one is illustrated in the Luke account of Lazarus and the rich man in Chapter 16. After death, Lazarus, a man of God, is escorted into Abraham’s Bosom, a holding compartment in Hell for the Believers prior to the Cross. The non-believing rich man was "buried" and went into a separate compartment in Hell (Hades), apart from Abraham’s Bosom, where he was in Torment according to Scripture. Both were in a Spirit state; yet by the account, they could see each other and speak to each other.
The second account is in Revelation, where John is taken (in the Spirit) to Heaven to see those things that shall come to pass prior to the return of Jesus Christ to the Earth, or Second Coming (not the Rapture).
I had to conclude from the study, based on the following Scripture, that all of the senses we have here on earth will be with us throughout eternity, even unto death.
· THE ABILITY TO LOOK/SEE - Luke 16:23;Rev. 1:12;4:1,4; 5:1,2; 6:1,2,8,9; 7:1,2; 8:2; 9:1,17; 10:1,5; 13:1,2,3;14:1,6; 15:1,2; 16:13; 17:3,6; 18:1; 19:11,17,19; 20:1,4,11,12; 21:1,2,22; 22:8
· THE ABILITY TO HEAR - Rev. 1:10; 4:1; 5:11; 6:1,3,5,6,7; 7:4; 9:13,16; 10:4,8; 12:10; 14:2,13; 16:1,5,7; 18:4; 19:1,6; 21: 3; 22:8
· THE ABILITY TO BEHOLD ( to obtain knowledge of: understand: perceive) - Rev. 5:6,11; 6:5,8,12; 7:9; 8:13; 13:11
· THE ABILITY TO REASON - Luke 16:30
· THE ABILITY TO CRY (even though there will be no more crying in Heaven) - Rev. 5:4,5; Luke 16:24
· THE ABILITY TO SPEAK - Rev. 5:13; 10:9; 21:6,15; Luke 16:24, 29,30,31
· THE ABILITY TO FEEL/TOUCH - Luke 16:23, 24,25
· THE ABILITY TO REMEMBER - Luke 16:25
· THE ABILITY TO WONDER - Rev. 17:6
· THE ABILITY TO WRITE - Rev. 1:11; 10:4; 19:9
· THE ABILITY TO QUESTION - Rev. 7:13
· THE ABILITY TO TAKE (THE BOOK/ROD) - Rev. 10:8,9,10
· THE ABILITY TO FALL (ON KNEES) - Rev. 19:10; 22:8
· THE ABILITY TO STAND - Rev. 13:1
· THE ABILITY TO WORSHIP - Rev. 19:10; 22:8
· THE ABILITY TO PERFORM TASKS - Rev. 11:1
God has promised in 1 Thess 4:16 and 1 Cor. 15:52,53 that one day, we shall be reunited with Him in body and will be transformed and conformed to Him - in the twinkling of an eye. We are also told in Scripture that we shall see Him face to face- see the Lamb that was slain for you and me. We know by His Word, that we will Praise Him, Worship Him and Rule with Him.
One thing in the study that I found extremely fascinating was the difference in treatment between Lazarus and the non-believing rich man. Scripture says that Lazarus was escorted to Heaven by an Angel, but there is no indication in Scripture about how the rich man arrived at Hell. Could it be that God had a specific purpose why He chose not to tell us in Scripture?
Finally, knowing that others may have varying interpretations of these Scriptures, I strongly urge you to review the Scriptures yourselves to determine what you find as the truth according to God’s Word.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
For those who wish you had some other name because you don't like the name you were given, you had better think twice. It is most likely that the name your parents picked out for you was not their choice but God's choice. Let’ s face it, the word of the Lord is true. That's why in Eph. 1:4, God proclaimed that He had chosen us from before the very beginning of the world.
If you follow the Genealogy of Adam in Genesis, Chapter 5 (*) you will receive an insight into what importance God put in names - It's an exciting message:
Genealogy Meaning
Adam Man
Seth Appointed
Enosh Mortal
Kenan Sorrow
Mahalalel The blessed God
Jared Shall come down
Enoch Teaching
Methuselah His Death shall bring
Lamech The Despairing
Noah Rest, Comfort
Now let us look at God’s Plan for Redemption:
"Man (is) appointed mortal sorrow; (but) the Blessed God shall come down teaching (that) His death shall bring (the) despairing rest."
Let us now look at the Genealogy of Abraham (*):
Genealogy Meaning
Abraham Predestination
Isaac Called
Jacob Justified
Joseph Glorified
(*) Source: Chuck Missler’s Briefing package: “A Walk Thru the Bible”
WELL YOU SAY! BUT THAT WAS ALL OLD TESTAMENT AND WOULDN'T BE APPLICABLE FOR TODAY - WOULD IT?
Well, let us see.................. As a Christian, did God not choose you by name at the same time he chose Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph - before the very foundation of the world? If God had a purpose for their name, would you expect anything less for your name since He chose you at the same time?
As a Christian, You ought to thank God daily that you, by your given name, was written in the Lamb's book of life before the very foundation of the world and that you will be a partaker in all the promises of Rev 21:27.
Within the last couple of years, researchers have found many startling discoveries through the use of super computers, specifically, hidden codes that God supernaturally placed within the Hebrew text of the Bible. Over 2000 years ago, the names of historical and current leader’s names were placed in the Bible. Such names as Adolph Hitler, Eichmann, Arafat, Peres, Rabin, Rabin's murderer Amir, Ben-Zion Netanyahu, Saddan Hussein, George Bush, Schwarzkoph, Peter Arnet (CNN), Timithy McVeigh, Bill Clinton.
Do you think that God would limit His calling out to just those who had a highly visible historical impact on this world? There is no doubt that He had a purpose in doing this, if nothing else, just to get your attention that He is the Creator; that He alone knows the beginning from the end.
It is my firm belief that as we advance further with our computer technology and peel back the layers of the Hebrew text of the scriptures, we will make many more startling and exciting discoveries. One being that God has written each and every one of our names in His Word.
HERE IS WHAT GOD SAID: Isaiah 66:22 "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain."
BOOK REVIEW by D. E. Davis (September 1997)
BOB PIERCE -"THIS ONE THING I DO"
By Franklin Graham with Jeanette Lockerbie
It is amazing the worlds that open up to an individual, once the Power of the Holy Spirit comes upon him. Just three years ago, where once I was blind to Missions, to all the inspired men and women God has called to service and the multitude of people all over the world who have been saved, new worlds are ever opening to me to see how awesome the power of God is in our Christian lives.
Such was the power and strength of faith Bob Pierce had in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is difficult for me to even attempt to assess where God has put Bob along with other past great men of the faith, but from what I read about his life with Christ, he certainly had his eyes focused on Jesus! I personally feel inadequate and humbled to even put in words, my thoughts about this man. Bob was a man Blessed by God. I feel sad that I never had an opportunity to know him, but look forward to meeting him one day in heaven.
If ever there was a verse of scripture that represented Bob Pierce, it had to be the title of this book as taken from Philippians 3:13,14 ".......this one thing I do,....I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ."
Bob was raised in Los Angeles and at the age of 12, gave his life to Christ and was baptized in the Nazarene Church. "God simply called me to give my heart to Jesus, and I followed Him." He died in 1978 of leukemia but lived his life for Christ in between in between those dates as if Christ was coming tomorrow and he still had to witness to the whole world before dawn broke. Throughout his career, he dedicated his life mainly to Missions and over the years was responsible for founding such World re-noun programs as "World Vision", an organization dedicated to meeting the emergency needs in crisis areas such as Korea after the Korean war. During that time of need, he established a Korean Orphanage, serving over 30 thousand Korean war orphans. Bob was also responsible for starting the World re-noun Korean Orphan's Choir. As an outgrowth of "World Vision" he founded "World Medical Mission" which covered all emergency medical needs in countries all over the world which had no medical facilities. He was also founder of "Samaritan's Purse" and organization dedicated to funding World emergency need, no matter where they were. These organizations are still meeting the needs of those in crisis today.
If his work through these organizations was not enough, he became a United Nations War Correspondent during World War II; was Co-founder for "Youth for Christ"; and became a Motion Picture producer/Radio program host, author and a lecturer, but first and last, he always considered himself an evangelist! Even though Bob knew that he was "extraordinarily gifted by God, he was never impressed with himself - he considered himself just an earthly vessel, available at all times for the exclusive use of the Lord".
In his own words, he had "many flaws, failings but had abundant faith in God who lives and cares about people."
If I had to pick four areas of the Christian life that I feel truly represented Bob Pierce, they would be 1) Unwavering Faith, 2) Compassion for others, 3) Obedience to God and 4) Commitment to accomplish the Will of God in his life.
From the Beginning, Bob knew his calling was for Missions to the Asian Countries. His first mission led him through Hawaii to Hong Kong and eventually to China. Getting to China was his first big test of faith - he had no money, even for the first leg to Hawaii. Bob held the opinion that God knows ones needs already and if He has called you to a task, He will provide and enable you - just move out! He did just that and went to the L.A. airport that day without any money in his pocket. His faith paid off as God provided the funding for each leg of his trip just at the moment he needed it. This was the norm rather than the exception throughout his career as an evangelist. What ever it was, where ever it was, if God called, Bob would act no matter what the circumstance......he knew that God would always provide.....and He did!
Bob had a compassion for the spiritually and physically suffering of the world. "He was the friend of the little people, the forgotten, the hurting, the maimed, the unheard and the unsung". Bob's theme was "Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God". It was Bob's personal belief that "wherever you find men and women who really love Jesus Christ, you find the compassion of Christ spilling out of them to meet human need." Over the years World Vision, Samaritan's Purse and other organizations like them; one in particular, Mission Aviation Fellowship Pilots (MAF), who flew Missionaries around the world in crisis situations, helped so many helpless and needy men, women and children. They knew first hand the healing power of God.
Bob dared it all to be obedient to the Lord's call. Once he had in focus the mission that God wanted him to accomplish, he followed in Faith to bring the unsaved to Christ. It was his opinion that " If you are an ambassador, act like one!"- no matter where you are. Bob would bring to memory how other great men of Faith were obedient even in the face of death. During World War II, a young South Korean Pastor, Mr. Im was mistaken for a North Korean Communist and imprisoned. During his internment, he would go around camp singing "Jesus Loves Me" and other Christian songs. He not only uplifted and inspired other fellow Christian prisoners to come together, he brought many more to Christ. Together he and another prisoner, Chaplain Voelkel, established a Bible Study where over 6,000 prisoners finished a six month Bible Study. Six Hundred (600) of those finishing the Bible Study became pastors and came back to Korea to preach the Gospel. In another instance, he related how a Korean school teacher was put to death in front of his students because of his faith and obedience to the Lord.
To be an ambassador for the Lord "is one of the greatest things that could ever have happened to anyone - to let God put a fish hook into you so deep that there is no way of ever getting off the hook."
"Bob did one thing all of his life, and that was to lead people to the foot of the Cross where they would put their faith in a risen Lord Jesus Christ. He lived every minute completely amazed that God could use him. No matter how much he was able to do in how many places, it was never enough." This was the kind of commitment Bob made to Jesus; "to commit yourself, give yourself away to God irrevocably, forever. Say to Him, go ahead and burn me up. Spend me. Eat me up. Use me for you Glory." And that's exactly what he did.
Being a man of God was not always easy for Bob and he paid a high price. In one measure or another he had to forsake his wife, his family, his Mother and Father, his brothers and sisters and other worldly possessions to follow Jesus. He not only lost his health, he lost his Daughter, Sharon, to death.
Committing your life to Christ in a Godless society is never easy; many times you feel like you may be the only one putting your life, your self image, your social acceptance on the line. As Bob came to realize, ". Someone has to go and pay that humiliating price of literally letting your ego be stomped on- not just pushed in and suppressed, but laid out there for people to stomp on. We need to do this by the grace of God with love and patience: sow the seed on rocky soil, nurture it, and maybe never be applauded."
Committing your life to Christ really comes down to this; What really matters
to you in Life?
On his death bed in the City of Hope, Bob left us this one message - "I don't care what you have attempted. What you have succeeded at, or what has been your work in Christ's name while you are here on earth - only one thing matters when you have reached the last step before you go to stand before Christ:
- Did you tell men and women who Jesus is?
- Did you bring them to some comprehension of His redeeming love?
- Did you make it plain to them that He alone can pay their way to heaven throughout His atoning death on the cross?"
Such was the life of a man of God, Bob Pierce.
HIDDEN CODES OF THE BIBLE
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ACT 17:11 - Exhorts you to daily review the scriptures to see if what is being said is true
References: Grant R. Jeffrey - "The Signature of God"- RECOMMENDED READING
Other reading: "The Hebrew Factor" by Yacov Rambsel
Prepared by D. E. Davis
Daniel 12: 4 - "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."
Here is undeniable proof, the third in the series, that every word, every letter and every punctuation in Bible text was put their by the inspiration of God. It gives new meaning to the words "increase knowledge". It's just one of the many signs, and without a doubt, the most exciting revelation that God said he would reveal to man in the "end time". As you will see, God has put his signature throughout the Bible, has revealed History before it ever happened, all through hidden codes that were supernaturally placed into text which was written over 2,000 years ago; which could only be found with today's computer technological advances. The codes are found in what scholars call "Equidistant Letter Sequences" or ESL. That is, each sequential letter in an encoded word or phrase was found the same distance apart numerically; The exact interval designed by God.
Actually, the discovery of hidden codes in scripture dates back to before WWI and it was not until 1988 that the use of computers were able to detect a significant amount of coding in scripture. Since then, the research that Grant Jeffrey and others have done has just exploded and new discoveries are happening every day.
Here is a summary of what has been found and outlined in Grant's book, referenced above. It is my understanding that he is in the process of writing another book to tell what he has found subsequent to "The Signature of God".
Luke 21:15 - " For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay (refute) nor resist."
Proverbs 25:2 - "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter."
THE SIGNATURE OF GOD
What follows is what most of the human race would find hard to believe. It unfathomable to think that the Hebrew Bible, containing 304,805 Hebrew letters, written by 40 individuals could contain hidden messages that if one letter was taken out of the text, one word was removed, the hidden message could not be revealed......yet the message has been sustained for over 2,000 years and has been revealed to man just as Jesus said it would be. Jesus has actually placed His name and other messages about Himself into text which proves he is the creator of all; King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
GOD'S SIGNATURE
God has personally signed scriptures throughout the Old and New Testaments in various ways. For example in the Old Testament, he has encoded his name, Jesus, in the following scripture:
THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD FROM ANCIENT TIMES UNTIL TODAY
God has also encoded unbelievable detail about many of the things we read about and which touch our lives daily. For example, he outlines:
PLACES AND THINGS
· Gen. 2: 4-10 - The key word "Eden" was spelled out sixteen (16) times in the span of 379 Hebrew letters. The letters were all equidistant from each other.
· Gen. 2 - In this chapter which deals with the garden of Eden, scientists found encoded in the Hebrew text, Twenty-five (25) names of trees that were in the
Garden of Eden.
· Gen. 1:1 - Starting with the first appearance of the Hebrew letter "Tav", the word "Torah" was found every 50th letter.
· Ex. 1: 1 - Again, starting with the first appearance of the letter "Tav" and counting every 50th letter, the word "Torah" was spelled. Num./Deut. - In the book of Numbers the word "Torah" was found spelled backwards every 50th letter. In the book of Deuteronomy, "Torah" was found again spelled backwards, but this time every forty-ninth (49) letter.
NAMES AND EVENTS
· Holocaust
· Deut. 10: 17-22 - Beginning with the second to last appearance of the Hebrew letter "bet" in this passage, they found every Thirteenth (13) letter, the phrase "b'yam marah Auschwitz" which means "in the bitter sea of Auschwitz." Also encoded in this passage were the names of the other Nazi Concentration camp, "Belsen".
· Deut. 33:21 - Beginning with the letter (resh) that appeared in the Hebrew word "Yisreal," and counting every twenty-second (22) letter from the left to right they found the phrase "re'tzach alm" discribing the Holocaust, which when translated, means "a people cry murder, slaughter."
· Adolph Hitler
· Deut. 10: 17-22 - The word "Hitler" spelled out in Hebrew was found every twenty-second (22) letter.
· Deut. 33:16 - Beginning with the first appearance of the Hebrew letter "mem" and every two hundred and forty-sixth (246) letter from left to right you find that the coded letters spelled out the phrase, "Melek Natzim," which translates as the "king of the Nazis."
· Eichmann
· Deut. 32:52 - Beginning with the appearance of the first letter (aleph) and counting from left to right every six hundred and seventy (670) letters, the name "Aik'man" is spelled, which is the Hebrew form of the name "Eichmann."
· Egyptian President Anwar Sadat
· "Sadat occurred together with the name of the leader of the Moslem Brotherhood assassinating team that killed him.......it contained the year of his assassination, 1981, and the words "president," "gunfire," "shot'" and 'Murder".
· Desert Storm
· Beginning in Gen. 1:7 and continuing through the rest of Genesis, Grant Jeffrey indicated at the Prophesy Conference in Irvine,Ca. on 27 Sept. 1996 that they had recently found information in hidden code in scripture relating to Desert Storm. I believe more details will be available in Grant's next book.
· The French Revolution
· Gen. 39,41 - "Another passage in the Book of Genesis revealed a cluster of encoded words that deals with the French Revolution. The following words are clustered ogether" "Mapecha HaSarfatit" which spells "the French Revolution" in Hebrew, "Louis," the name of the French king, and the word "Beit (house of Bourbon,") his royal dynasty. In the same cluster were the following words: "Hamarseilles" (the name of the French anthem) and the word "Bastillia" (the infamous French prison for political prisoners........"
OTHER HISTORICAL INFORMATION
· Word pairs - "In their initial experiment, .......the scientists arbitrarily chose three hundred (300) Hebrew word-pairs that were logically related in meaning, such as hammer and anvil, or tree and leaf, or man and woman." ".....the researchers were astonished to find that every single word-pair had been located in Genesis in close proximity to each other."
· King David's Ancestors
· Gen. 28 - " Every one of the five Hebrew names of these ancestor of King
David (Pharez, Zerah, Boaz, Obed, Jesse) were found encoded at forty-nine (49) letter intervals, hidden within the text of Genesis 38".
· Famous Jewish Rabbi - "The Jewish people celebrate the memory of their famous sages by commemorating their date of death. Incredibly, the computer program found every single one of the sixty-six names of these famous rabbis embedded in the text of Genesis paired at significantly close proximity with their actual date of birth or their date of death."
IS THE HEBREW BIBLE UNIQUE TO GOD' S INSPIRED EMBEDDED CODES?
Grant points out that "The researchers attempted to reproduce these results by running the computer program on other religious Hebrew texts outside the Bible, including the Samaritan Pentateuch. .......the researchers could not detect word pairs in the Samaritan Pentateuch or any other Hebrew text outside the Bible. In fact, an exhaustive analysis reveals that no other Hebrew text outside the Old testament contains these mysterious codes, not even the Hebrew apocryphal books written during the four hundred years before the birth of Christ"
A WORD OF CAUTION
"No one can search the Torah using these codes to foretell future events. The reason is that it is impossible to extract the encoded information unless you already know what the future facts are." "The prophet Isaiah warned against false prophets and declared that only God can Prophesy future events accurately
(Isa. 46: 9,10).
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"Computer tapes are now available so that anyone with a computer can personally verify the existence of these codes beneath the text of the Scriptures.
As Christians, we can stand firm in the word and shout for joy. God has given us "the words and the wisdom that none of our adversaries will be able to refute or contradict", no matter how much they try!
PRAISE THE LORD!
SIGNS OF THE TIME
References: Grant R. Jeffrey - "The Signature of God"- RECOMMENDED READING
Prepared by D. E. Davis
June 10, 1997
Prelude
How do we know that Jesus is the one true God when there are so many religions, cultures and cults that claim that they serve the one true god? How about Buddha, Allah?
Scripture says that God alone knows the beginning from the end. The way that God establishes His authority is through Biblical Prophesy. There are over 500 prophesies that were prophesied over 2,000 years ago that have all come to pass. There are still some Old Testament that have yet have to be fulfilled (Daniel Ezekiel), but there has never been an event prophesied that has not come to pass in it’s time. 100% accuracy tells us that the God of the Bible is the only true God. No one else in the history of the world, living or dead, can make this claim.
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In Matthew 24:3, just before Jesus' ascension into heaven, the disciples of Jesus ask Him what would be the sign of His second coming. Over the centuries various groups have attempted to guess when Christ would return to the earth to claim His inheritance as promised throughout scripture. As we know, no one has been right yet!. God clearly states in Matthew 24:36 that no man, not even the angels, know the day or the time when Christ will return. Only God the Father knows.
This summary is clearly not another attempt to forecast this event. This summary does, however, attempt to provide an awareness of what is happening around you so that you will not be caught unaware. (Ref. Luke 21:34 and Matthew. 24:42).
ACT 17:11- Exhorts you to daily review the scriptures to see if what is being said is true.
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----------------------THE SIGNS OF THE TIME-------------------
Grant Jeffrey has done a wonderful job of providing critical information about events that are happening in this generation that all Christians need to know; Events that were prophesied over 2,500 years ago. Approximately 90% of the material contained herein was extracted and summarized from Grant's book. I highly recommend reading this book as it contains so much more that you will want to know.
THE REBIRTH OF ISRAEL
The rebirth of Israel was prophesied in several scriptures throughout the Bible. Isaiah 66: 8 predicted that Israel would be born again in "one" day. Ezekiel 4:3-6 and Levitcus 26:18 foretold the exact number of days that it would take Israel to re-establish themselves as a nation in the last days. ( The exact calculation can be found in Grant Jeffrey's book referenced above). On May 14, 1948, the Jews proclaimed their independence of the reborn state of Israel.....The exact day that was predicted over twenty-five (25) centuries ago.......No other ancient nation ever ceased to exist for a period of centuries and then returned to take its place on the stage of world history."
PRESENT ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT
In Psalms 83:2-8, God inspired King David to predict that upon Israel's rebirth as a nation it would be immediately surrounded by their enemies. The modern names of those nations named in scripture include Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria....the nations that have now joined the Palestinians in their attempt to destroy Israel.
In Gen. 12: 3, God has promised to punish those nations that come against Israel. "I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."
RESTORATION OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE
When Israel was captured by Nebuchadnezzar in approx. 562 B.C., Israel was no longer allowed to speak the Hebrew language, but had to learn the language of the Chaldeans. The Lord predicted, however, through Zephaniah 3:9, that he would restore a pure language to Israel so that they may "serve him with one consent". It was in the early part of this Century that the Hebrew language was revived from the dead language. Today, Hebrew is a living language to over 5 million Israelis.
THE FERTILITY OF ISRAEL
In Isaiah 27:6; 35:7 and Joel 2:23, the Lord prophesied through these prophets that the deserted, unproductive, barren land of Israel would once again become productive in the last days and that Israel would experience tremendous increases of rain. Ever since Israel has returned to the land, they have flourished in the land and now supply over 90 percent of the citrus fruit consumed in Europe. Rainfall has increased by more than "10 percent every decade for the last century and Israel has planted in excess of two hundred (200) million trees and transformed the complete environment of the Promised Land." According to the United Nations, Israel is now "the most agriculturally efficient land on earth."
THE UNWALLED CITY
Ezekiel 38:11 speaks of the future invasion of Gog and Magog (Russia) saying "And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of un-walled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls and having neither bars nor gates". Grant explains that "even army bases and Israel's settlements in the West Bank and Gaza have no walls today.........How could Ezekiel have known twenty-five centuries ago that the development of modern weapons such as bombs, airplanes and missiles, would have made walls and gates irrelevant for defensive purposes in the last days. In the ancient past even small villages as well as cities depended on walls for defense against invading armies."
PLANS FOR REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE
Revelations 11:1, 2 foretells of Israel rebuilding the Temple in the last days. There is much controversy between the Israelis and the Muslim's because the Dome of the Rock (Al-Aqsa Mosque) it is believed, sits on the very spot where the Temple is suppose to be built. In recent years, however, aerial Infra-red photography shows that this may not be the case. Ezekiel 44:14-18, tell about the sacred vessels and linen robes that must be used in the Temple. "The Temple Institute in Jerusalem has already prepared over 75 of the objects, vessels, and linen garments required for future Temple service.......over 500 men from the tribe of Levi have already been trained to fulfill the duties of Temple worship and sacrifice."
Update:
Just recently in the Washington Post on May 28, 1997, it was reported that a 10 month old heifer named "Melody" is the first red heifer to be born in Israel in over 2,000 years. "In ancient times, the ashes of a red heifer were mixed with spring water to purify high priests before they entered the Temple."
THE REBUILDING OF BABYLON
We know that the old city of Babylon (now called Iraq) will be built again in the end times because Isaiah 13:6, 19 foretells of its destruction. In Isaiah 34:8-10 it is prophesied that the rebuilt City of Babylon will burn for ever.
"As unlikely as it seems, the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein has spent over one billion dollars rebuilding the ancient city of Babylon and intends that it will become the center of their future renewed Babylonian Empire. Interestingly, the whole city of Babylon was built over an underground lake of asphalt and oil."
THE ANOINTING OIL
The prophet Daniel prophesied in Dan. 9:24 that the when Jesus returns, that the most Holy of Holies will be anointed with the anointing oil. "One of the five ingredients, afars' mon, was thought lost forever, when the Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70 and the only two groves of afars'mon trees in existence were burned
to the ground. Incredibly, several years ago, archeologists in Israel found a clay flask buried near the Dead Sea caves filled with the ancient oil of anointing. Scientists confirmed that the oil is two thousand years old and is composed of the precise ingredients described in Exodus 30:25,26."
PESTILENCE/FAMINES/EARTHQUAKES
Matthew 24:7 prophesied that in the last days "For nation shall rise against nation and Kingdom against Kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilence, and earthquakes, in divers (various) places." Grand Jeffrey writes regarding these matters:
· Pestilence - In 1991, the Central Intelligence Agency produced a report which "concluded that up to 75% of the population of Africa living in the area south of the Sahara Desert may become infected with AIDS over the next 12 years. This will mean the death by AIDS of over three hundred million people in Africa alone. In July 1991, the South African Medical Journal reported that a staggering 47% of black male and female blood donors tested positive for AIDS during 1989."
In Nov. 1996, the Associated Press reported that "Sexually transmitted diseases are diagnosed 12 million times a year in the United States - including a staggering 3 million cases among teen-agers".
· Famine - The United Nations today "claim that over thirty million in Africa are now at risk of dying from the most devastating famine in this century. The UN estimates that one billion people are in danger of starvation while another billion lack proper nutrition. North American food reserves (grain and corn) are at the lowest level in sixty years."
· Major killer earthquakes – “Major Killer earthquakes (7.2 or greater on the Richter scale) occurred only once per decade throughout history until our century. However, since A. D. 1900, the growth in major earthquakes has been relentless. From 1900 to 1949 it averaged three major quakes per decade. From 1949 the increase became awesome with 9 killer quakes in the 1950's; 13 in the 1960's; 56 in the 1970's and an amazing 74 major quakes in the 1980's. Finally, in the 1990's, at the present rate, we will experience 125 major killer quakes in this decade."
WORLD WIDE COMMUNICATION
In Revelation 11:9,10, it is prophesied that during the tribulation period, the antichrist will have the two witnesses that God sent killed and their bodies will lay in the street for three and a half days while the whole world watches.
Did not the whole world watch Desert Storm on CNN television? With all the technological advances in telecommunications, including the recent opening of the World Wide Net to our computer industry, any event happening in any part of the world can now be viewed while it is happening. The prophesy of the two witnesses could literally be fulfilled today. This could not have happened just 10 or 15 years ago.
INCREASED KNOWLEDGE AND TRAVEL
Daniel 12:4 prophesies how much knowledge and travel will increase in the end time. "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the Book, even to the time of the end: Many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased."
Today, it is estimated that "Human knowledge is growing so quickly that it literally doubles every twenty-four months." With the discovery through the use of modern "Super" computers by Grant Jeffrey and other researchers of the hidden codes that God supernaturally designed into the original Hebrew text of the Torah describing not only the history of the world in advance, but also verifying his Authority through His personal signature throughout his scripture, we realize that God chose this generation to reveal this unique aspect about himself.
It is also amazing that in this century, we have gone from horses to cars, from cars to supersonic spacecraft; not only can we now travel the world in a matter of hours, but in the case of the U.S. Space Shuttle Discovery, we can now travel at speeds in excess of eighteen thousand miles per hour.
REVIVAL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Daniel 2:40-44 predicts that the old Roman Empire will be revived in the end times into a ten Nation alliance. We currently see the foundation being laid today through the European Economic Community. "In 1957, six (6) Countries signed the Treaty of Rome laying the foundation for the future United States of Europe.............Since then the Maastricht Treaty consolidated the fifteen (15) Nations of the European Union into the worlds first superstate." All it will take is the re-shuffling and/or the consolidation of Nations to bring this prophesy to a literal fulfillment.
ODDS THAT THESE PROPHECIES WERE FULFILLED BY CHANCE IN THIS GENERATION
"In the Bible there are several types of generations. One generation is defined as the length of life of the average person - seventy or eighty years. However, a generation of governing is usually defined as forty years,...........During the last two thousand years since the days of Christ, there were fifty such forty-year generations. Therefore, the odds are one chance in fifty that any one of these specific prophecies happened by chance in our generation rather than some other generation."
"The odds that more than one event happening in our life time are:
"Another way of looking at this is that the chance that the prophets of the Bible correctly guessed these prophecies is also one in 97,500 trillion............in other words, it is simply impossible that men alone could
have written the Bible without the supernatural assistance and inspiration of God."
Matthew 24:32-35 - "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."
Luke 21:28 - "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."
ANTI-CHRIST TO BE REVEALED
As of today, no one knows who the Anti-Christ is, but we do know what God has told us about him:
Many people try to spiritualize or say the events prophesied in the Bible are just symbolic. Any doubt about how God handles these prophetic events should have been erased on May 14,1948. God is literally fulfilling scriptural prophesy before our very eyes. Can we expect anything less for those few remaining prophesies for which He has promised the world; 1) the removal of the one who restrains the man of lawlessness/Sin (the rapture of the Church), 2) His second coming to take possession of His inheritance, 3) The millennial kingdom and 4) the new heaven and new earth.
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Ezekiel 33:6 - "But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand."
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