Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Temple to Ba’al, Will Stand in Times Square

Temple to Ba’al, Ancient Idol Worshiped in Biblical Times, Will Stand in Times Square

By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz March 29, 2016 , 12:30 pm

794 40

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“And Eliyahu came near unto all the people, and said: ‘How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.’ And the people answered him not a word.” I Kings 18:21 (The Israel Bible™)


image: http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/idol-worship.jpg

(Shutterstock)

Next month, a symbol of Biblical paganism which was stamped out after monotheism appeared with the patriarch Abraham will rise in two of the major cultural centers of the world, London and New York, the New York Times reported.

The original center of idol worship on which the structures will be modeled stood in Palmyra, Syria, for 2,000 years – until ISIS arrived in August of 2015 and, viewing the temple as a formidable spiritual threat and symbol of idolatry, destroyed it.

ISIS has reduced to rubble many ancient religious and Biblical sites since it began its reign in Iraq and Syria: St. Elijah’s Monastery, the tomb of the Biblical prophet Jonah, the ancient city of Ninevah. While the world has mourned the loss of these irreplaceable sites, only one will be rebuilt: the arch of the Temple of Palmyra, better known as the Temple of Ba’al.

image: http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/temple-baal-300x150.jpg

Temple Of Baalshamin in 2010 (Now Destroyed) – Palmyra Ruins – Syria (Photo: Adwa/Shutterstock)

Uusing a database of thousands of photos, the Institute for Digital Archaeology will create a full-sized, 15-meter tall, 3D-printed replica of the entrance arch to the Temple of Palmyra, one of the few elements of the destroyed temple still standing. The pieces will be made off-site and then assembled in place in London’s Trafalgar Square and New York’s Times Square. The arches will be centerpieces for the UNESCO World Heritage Week in April.

Meanwhile, Syria has reconquered Palmyra and despite an ongoing humanitarian crisis, the government is dedicating resources to rebuild the temple.

Ironically, the Temple of Palmyra, lauded as a symbol of defiance in the face of religious extremism, was built for ancient idol worship which preached a form of moral decrepitude that may sound startlingly familiar.

Palmyra was dedicated in 32 CE to the worship of Bel, or as most Bible readers would know him, Ba’al. Lower levels of the ground underneath the Temple of Palmyra indicate human occupation that goes back to the third millennium BC. Converted into a Christian church during the Byzantine Era, parts of the structure were modified into a mosque by Muslims in 1132. It remained in use as a mosque until the 1920s.

The Temple was originally dedicated to the Mesopotamian god Ba’al, whose principal forms of worship were burning babies alive and bisexual orgies. Symbolizing a major religion that challenged Judaism, Ba’al was mentioned in the Bible over 90 times, becoming the archetype of worshipping evil.

image: http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/wp-content/uploads/useful_banner_manager_banners/360-SecretsofTheFutureTemple-600WIDE.jpg

The devotees of Ba’al believed he was the source of rain and universal bounty. Promiscuity was not penalized, as unwanted children could be offered up to the god, nor was procreation valued, as homosexual relations were encouraged. Pantheistic, they worshipped Mother Nature while rejecting the concept of a creator.

While these extreme beliefs are no longer widespread, disturbing parallels to modern morality and culture have emerged in recent years.

Throughout America and the world,  the rights of those that object to the growth of an unrestricted sexual culture are increasingly at odds with a liberal mentality which welcomes sexual freedom. In legal cases which pit religious freedom against gay rights, businesses, facing fines and punitive actions, are required to violate their religious beliefs and conform to state-enforced moral codes. Religious colleges are threatened with loss of accreditation over policies concerning sexuality.

In his State of the Union Address in January, President Barack Obama channeled pantheism when he stated that the largest threat to American security was climate change, ignoring the growing and immediate threat of Islamic terrorism and privileging nature over human life.

In contrast to the rest of the Western world, Ba’al is unlikely to be celebrated anytime soon in Israel, which has a history of triumphing over the pagan god. The story begins with the prophet Elijah at the Carmel.

As written in chapter 18 of I Kings, Jezebel, the foreign wife of King Ahab, convinces her husband to kill the prophets and promote the worship of Ba’al and Asherah. Elijah defied their decrees, hiding prophets and challenging the priests of Ba’al to a contest on Mount Carmel.

The priests of Ba’al were unsuccessful in calling fire down from heaven to burn the bull offering on their altar. Elijah soaked his altar with water and called down a fire that consumed his bull and the entire altar. The priests of Ba’al were killed and the Children of Israel repented, returning to God.

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, the former Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, made a prescient comment on the new moral reality in an article in the the Wall Street Journal in 2011, warning, “A tsunami of wishful thinking has washed across the West saying that you can have sex without the responsibility of marriage, children without the responsibility of parenthood, social order without the responsibility of citizenship, liberty without the responsibility of morality and self-esteem without the responsibility of work and earned achievement.”

Worship of Ba’al, replete with child sacrifice and orgies, may not be returning. However, in the name of freedom, Western culture has incorporated extreme elements that seriously challenge Judeo-Christian beliefs and values.

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

He will take His stand

As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth."Job 19:25

Magnitude 2.0 Earthquake - VIRGINIA


M2.0 - VIRGINIA

Preliminary Earthquake Report

Magnitude 2.0 Date-Time27 Mar 2016 08:00:52 UTC27 Mar 2016 04:00:52 near epicenter

27 Mar 2016 03:00:52 standard time in your timezoneLocation37.906N 78.028W

Depth5 kmDistances13 km (8 mi) S of Louisa, Virginia41 km (25 mi) ESE of Charlottesville, Virginia46 km (28 mi) NW of Short Pump, Virginia53 km (32 mi) WNW of Glen Allen, Virginia63 km (39 mi) NW of Richmond, Virginia

Location UncertaintyHorizontal: 1.2 km; Vertical 3.9 kmParametersNph = 16; Dmin = 14.6 km; Rmss = 0.59 seconds; Gp = 63°
Version =Event IDus 20005d2r

For updates, maps, and technical information, see: Event Page or USGS Earthquake Hazards Program

Disclaimer


Sunday, March 27, 2016

I have set my King on Zion

Psalm 2 

The Reign of the Lord's Anointed

2  Why do the nations rage1

and the peoples plot in vain?

2  The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,

3  “Let us burst their bonds apart

and cast away their cords from us.”

4  He who sits in the heavens laughs;

the Lord holds them in derision.

5  Then he will speak to them in his wrath,

and terrify them in his fury, saying,

6  “As for me, I have set my King

on Zion, my holy hill.”

7  I will tell of the decree:

The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;

today I have begotten you.

8  Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,

and the ends of the earth your possession.

9  You shall break them with a rod of iron

and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”

10  Now therefore, O kings, be wise;

be warned, O rulers of the earth.

11  Serve the Lord with fear,

and rejoice with trembling.

12  Kiss the Son,

lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,

for his lwrath is quickly kindled.

Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Footnotes

[1] 2:1 Or nations noisily assemble 
[2] 2:9 Revocalization yields (compare Septuagint) You shall rule

Psalm 1 Psalm 2 Psalm 3Live Support Feedback Donate News and Updates © 2001–2016

Friday, March 25, 2016

Pope Francis to Muslims: We are ‘children of the same God’

Pope Francis washes the feet of Muslim migrants, says we are ‘children of the same God

 Elahe Izadi March 25 at 1:05 PM  

Pope Francis washes feet on Holy Thursday

Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of Muslim, Orthodox, Hindu and Catholic refugees in a moving ceremony during Holy Thursday Mass at a refugee centre on the outskirts of Rome. (AP)

They came from Mali, Eritrea, Syria and Pakistan. They were Muslim, Hindu, Catholic and Coptic Christians. And one by one, Pope Francis knelt down before these migrants on Holy Thursday and washed their feet.

The ritual, performed in a center for asylum seekers outside of Rome, comes amid anti-immigrant sentiment in Europe and in the wake of a terrorist attack in Brussels, for which the Islamic State has claimed responsibility.

[Five stories you should read to understand the Brussels attacks]

"All of us together, Muslims, Hindus, Catholics, Copts, Evangelical [Protestants] brothers and sisters — children of the same God — we want to live in peace, integrated," Francis said during his homily.

The foot-washing ritual became a part of Holy Thursday Mass in the 1950s. Jesus washed the feet of his 12 apostles at the Last Supper. The symbolic act also imitates Jesus's gesture of servitude.


Pope Francis performs the foot-washing ritual at the Castelnuovo di Porto refugee center near Rome on Holy Thursday. (Osservatore Romano/AFP via Getty)

A number of the migrants whose feet were washed by the pope had tears streaming down their faces.

[Pope Francis has decreed that women can take part in the foot-washing on Holy Thursday]

Shortly after Francis became pope in 2013, he washed the feet of Muslims.

A massive crowd didn't turn out to participate in the ceremony or listen to the pope's homily on Thursday, though. From the Associated Press:

Francis was greeted with a banner reading “Welcome” in a variety of languages as he walked down a makeshift aisle to celebrate the Mass. But only a fraction of the 892 asylum-seekers living at the shelter attended, and many of the seats were left empty. Those who came out, though, received a personal greeting: At the end of the Mass, Francis greeted each refugee, one by one, posing for selfies and accepting notes as he moved down the rows.


Francis condemned the attack in Brussels and those behind such violence. "There are manufacturers, arms dealers who want blood, not peace; they want the war, not fraternity," the pope said.

"You, we, all of us together, of different religions, different cultures, but children of the same Father, brothers — and there, those poor people, who buy weapons to wreck fraternity," Francis said Thursday. "Today, at this time, when I do the same act of Jesus washing the feet of twelve of you, let us all make a gesture of brotherhood, and let us all say: 'We are different, we are different, we have different cultures and religions, but we are brothers and we want to live in peace.'"

[The astonishing new numbers behind Europe’s refugee crisis]

The Vatican said eight men and four women took part in the ritual, AP reported, including an Italian Catholic; three Eritrean Coptic Christians; four Catholics from Nigeria; three Muslims from Mali, Syria and Pakistan; and a Hindu man from India.

An image of Francis kissing one of the migrants' feet was also posted to his new Instagram page.

Pope Francis has previously spoken about Europe's refugee and migration crisis, calling migration "a structural reality" and saying that Europe needs to find a balancebetween security and assisting migrants.

"Migrants are our brothers and sisters in search of a better life, far away from poverty, hunger, exploitation and the unjust distribution of the planet’s resources which are meant to be equitably shared by all," Francis said in a statement earlier this year.

The fear of the Lord is Zion's treasure


Isaiah 32 

Isaiah 33 Isaiah 34

O Lord, Be Gracious to Us

33  lAh, you destroyer,

who yourself have not been destroyed,

you traitor,

whom none has betrayed!

When you have ceased to destroy,

you will be destroyed;

and when you have finished betraying,

they will betray you.

2  O Lord, be gracious to us; mwe wait for you.

Be our arm every morning,

our salvation in the time of trouble.

nAt the tumultuous noise peoples flee;

when you lift yourself up, nations are scattered,

4  and your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;

oas locusts leap, it is leapt upon.

pThe Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high;

he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness,

qand he will be the stability of your times,

abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;

the fear of the Lord is Zion's1treasure.

7  Behold, their heroes cry in the streets;

rthe envoys of peace weep bitterly.

sThe highways lie waste;

the traveler ceases.

tCovenants are broken;

cities2 are despised;

there is no regard for man.

uThe land mourns and languishes;

Lebanon is confounded and withers away;

Sharon is like a desert,

and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.

10  v“Now I will arise,” says the Lord,

“now I will lift myself up;

now I will be exalted.

11  wYou conceive chaff; you give birth to stubble;

your breath is xa fire that will consume you.

12  And the peoples will be as if burned to lime,

xlike thorns cut down, that are burned in the fire.”

13  Hear, you who are far off, what I have done;

and you who are near, acknowledge my might.

14  The sinners in Zion are afraid;

trembling has seized the godless:

y“Who among us can dwell zwith the consuming fire?

Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?”

15  aHe who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,

who despises the gain of oppressions,

who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe,

who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed

band shuts his eyes from looking on evil,

16  he will dwell on the heights;

his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks;

chis bread will be given him; his water will be sure.

17  dYour eyes will behold the king in his beauty;

ethey will see a land that stretches afar.

18  fYour heart will muse on the terror:

“Where is he who counted, where is ghe who weighed the tribute?

Where is hhe who counted the towers?”

19  iYou will see no more the insolent people,

the people jof an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend,

stammering in a tongue that you cannot understand.

20  Behold Zion, the city of our appointed feasts!

kYour eyes will see Jerusalem,

an untroubled habitation, anlimmovable tent,

whose stakes will never be plucked up,

nor will any of its cords be broken.

21  But there the Lord in majesty will be for us

a place of mbroad rivers and streams,

nwhere no galley with oars can go,

nor majestic ship can pass.

22  For the Lord is our ojudge; the Lordis our plawgiver;

the Lord is our qking; he will save us.

23  Your cords hang loose;

they cannot hold the mast firm in its place

or keep the sail spread out.

rThen prey and spoil in abundance will be divided;

even sthe lame will take the prey.

24  And no inhabitant will say, t“I am sick”;

uthe people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity.

Footnotes

[1] 33:6 Hebrew his 
[2] 33:8 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrollwitnesses

Isaiah 32 Isaiah 33 Isaiah 34Live Support Feedback Donate News and Updates © 2001–2016

Monday, March 21, 2016

Magnitude 6.6 Earthquake - KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA


M6.6 - NEAR THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA

Preliminary Earthquake Report


Magnitude6.6Date-Time 20 Mar 2016 22:50:21 UTC21 Mar 2016 03:50:21 near epicenter20 Mar 2016 11:50:21 standard time in your timezone

Location54.371N 162.773EDepth29 kmDistances207 km (128 mi) S of Ust'-Kamchatsk Staryy, Russia309 km (191 mi) ENE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Russia318 km (197 mi) ENE of Yelizovo, Russia330 km (204 mi) ENE of Vilyuchinsk, Russia2734 km (1695 mi) NNE of Tokyo, Japan

Location UncertaintyHorizontal: 7.3 km; Vertical 4.2 kmParametersNph = 97; Dmin = 311.1 km; Rmss = 1.05 seconds; Gp = 22°

Version =Event IDus 20005bbh

For updates, maps, and technical information, see: Event Page or USGS Earthquake Hazards Program

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake - ANTIGUA

M6.0 - ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA REG, LEEWARD ISLANDS

Preliminary Earthquake ReportMagnitude6.0Date-Time19 Mar 2016 11:26:33 UTC19 Mar 2016 01:26:33 near epicenter19 Mar 2016 00:26:33 standard time in your timezone

Location17.981N 60.719WDepth24 kmDistances122 km (75 mi) ENE of Codrington, Barbuda153 km (94 mi) NE of Saint John's, Antigua and Barbuda194 km (120 mi) NNE of Le Moule, Guadeloupe200 km (124 mi) NNE of Saint-Francois, Guadeloupe206 km (127 mi) NNE of Les Abymes, Guadeloupe

Location UncertaintyHorizontal: 5.3 km; Vertical 4.3 kmParametersNph = 265; Dmin = 118.1 km; Rmss = 1.09 seconds; Gp = 33°
Version =Event IDus 20005azy

For updates, maps, and technical information, see: Event Page or USGS Earthquake Hazards Program

Monday, March 14, 2016

Magnitude 6.3 Earthquake - 65km SSE of Atka, Alaska


M6.3 - 65km SSE of Atka, Alaska

III
DYFI?IV
ShakeMapGREEN
PAGER

Location

Data Source US451.624 °N 174.005 °W depth=22.4 km (13.9 mi)View interactive map

Time

2016-03-12 18:06:46 (UTC)2016-03-12 14:06:46 (UTC-04:00) in your timezone
Times in other timezones

Nearby Cities

65km (40mi) SSE of Atka, Alaska1542km (958mi) SSE of Anadyr', Russia1814km (1127mi) WSW of Anchorage, Alaska1842km (1145mi) WSW of Knik-Fairview, Alaska2574km (1599mi) W of Whitehorse, Canada

Sunday, March 6, 2016

ALERT: Geomagnetic K-index of 7

Space Weather Message Code: ALTK07 Serial Number: 101 Issue Time: 2016 Mar 07 0001 UTC ALERT: Geomagnetic K-index of 7

Threshold Reached: 2016 Mar 06 2359 UTC Synoptic Period: 2100-2400 UTC

Active Warning: Yes NOAA Scale: G3 - Strong

NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation

Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 50 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude. Induced Currents - Power system voltage irregularities possible, false alarms may be triggered on some protection devices.

Spacecraft - Systems may experience surface charging; increased drag on low Earth-orbit satellites and orientation problems may occur.

Navigation - Intermittent satellite navigation (GPS) problems, including loss-of-lock and increased range error may occur.

Radio - HF (high frequency) radio may be intermittent. Aurora - Aurora may be seen as low as Pennsylvania to Iowa to Oregon.

ALERT: Geomagnetic K-index of 6


Space Weather Message Code: ALTK06 Serial Number: 396 Issue Time: 2016 Mar 06 2049 UTC

ALERT: Geomagnetic K-index of 6 Threshold Reached: 2016 Mar 06 2048 UTC Synoptic Period: 1800-2100 UTC Active Warning: Yes NOAA Scale: G2 - Moderate

NOAA Space Weather Scale descriptions can be found at www.swpc.noaa.gov/noaa-scales-explanation

Potential Impacts: Area of impact primarily poleward of 55 degrees Geomagnetic Latitude. Induced Currents - Power grid fluctuations can occur. High-latitude power systems may experience voltage alarms. Spacecraft - Satellite orientation irregularities may occur; increased drag on low Earth-orbit satellites is possible. Radio - HF (high frequency) radio propagation can fade at higher latitudes. Aurora - Aurora may be seen as low as New York to Wisconsin to Washington state.

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Magnitude 7.9 Earthquake - Southwest of Sumatra, Indonesia

M7.9 - Southwest of Sumatra, Indonesia

I
DYFI?

Location

Data Source US14.905 °S 94.236 °E depth=10.0 km (6.2 mi)View interactive map

Time

2016-03-02 12:49:46 (UTC)2016-03-02 07:49:46 (UTC-05:00) in your timezoneTimes in other timezones