God & the Bible, squaring belief with reality

[lsmurphy]

Prophecy about Damascus

1The oracle concerning Damascus.
“Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city
And will become a fallen ruin.

2“The cities of Aroer are forsaken;
They will be for flocks to lie down in,
And there will be no one to frighten them.

3“The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim,
And sovereignty from Damascus
And the remnant of Aram;
They will be like the glory of the sons of Israel,”
Declares the LORD of hosts.

4Now in that day the glory of Jacob will fade,
And the fatness of his flesh will become lean.

5It will be even like the reaper gathering the standing grain,
As his arm harvests the ears,
Or it will be like one gleaning ears of grain
In the valley of Rephaim.

6Yet gleanings will be left in it like the shaking of an olive tree,
Two or three olives on the topmost bough,
Four or five on the branches of a fruitful tree,
Declares the LORD, the God of Israel.

7In that day man will have regard for his Maker
And his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel.

8He will not have regard for the altars, the work of his hands,
Nor will he look to that which his fingers have made,
Even the Asherim and incense stands.

9In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken places in the forest,
Or like branches which they abandoned before the sons of Israel;
And the land will be a desolation.

10For you have forgotten the God of your salvation
And have not remembered the rock of your refuge.
Therefore you plant delightful plants
And set them with vine slips of a strange god.

11In the day that you plant it you carefully fence it in,
And in the morning you bring your seed to blossom;
But the harvest will be a heap
In a day of sickliness and incurable pain.

12Alas, the uproar of many peoples
Who roar like the roaring of the seas,
And the rumbling of nations
Who rush on like the rumbling of mighty waters!

13The nations rumble on like the rumbling of many waters,
But He will rebuke them and they will flee far away,
And be chased like chaff in the mountains before the wind,
Or like whirling dust before a gale.

14At evening time, behold, there is terror!
Before morning they are no more.
Such will be the portion of those who plunder us
And the lot of those who pillage us.
.
.
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The above in red is a warning to amerika.

 

[maine04619]

From an email-



It's funny how some people only wish to argue. But as of this post, not one single unbeliever hasn't offered any proof to their argument. So, here's another challenge to them "IF" they have the guts to take it up!

Find 66 different books, written by 40 different authors, over a period of 1500 years, on several different continents in 3 different languages pointing to the PROOF of no God.

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Ok I will go let us start with a easy one. the age of the earth itself. To go with that the countless thousands of books written about well everything BEFORE the bible claims the earth was.

Next as I have stated many times here the FACT the bible itself has been edited so much the oldest known copy and the current version are two different books. Also the fact so many books in the originals where simply edited out like the gnostic books including the one that calls Mary a prostitute for example.

I find it odd you're standard is the amount of authors over time? Instead of say the koran that is the SAME today as it was when originally recorded.

 

[maine04619]

God gave me a new liver & new kidneys. Today there is no trace of any damage. I still have some health issues that have kept me from working. But, God is using this time to prepare the way for me to begin a life of full-time evangelistic ministry.

I love these. SO GOD gave you new organs? Remember a mere 100 plus years ago the church would have killed you for being a witch or one of satins minions for getting better by a means they could not explain.

 

[lsmurphy]

Ok I will go let us start with a easy one. the age of the earth itself. To go with that the countless thousands of books written about well everything BEFORE the bible claims the earth was.

Next as I have stated many times here the FACT the bible itself has been edited so much the oldest known copy and the current version are two different books. Also the fact so many books in the originals where simply edited out like the gnostic books including the one that calls Mary a prostitute for example.

I find it odd you're standard is the amount of authors over time? Instead of say the koran that is the SAME today as it was when originally recorded.

The bible never claims the age of the earth being 6000 years old......or whatever years you think it says.
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The earth is millions if not tens of millions of years old...........that is biblical.
.
Have you read a bible? or do you just pretend you have?

 

[tcox4freedom]

Prophecy about Damascus

1The oracle concerning Damascus.
“Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city
And will become a fallen ruin.

2“The cities of Aroer are forsaken;
They will be for flocks to lie down in,
And there will be no one to frighten them.

3“The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim,
And sovereignty from Damascus
And the remnant of Aram;
They will be like the glory of the sons of Israel,”
Declares the LORD of hosts.

4Now in that day the glory of Jacob will fade,
And the fatness of his flesh will become lean.

5It will be even like the reaper gathering the standing grain,
As his arm harvests the ears,
Or it will be like one gleaning ears of grain
In the valley of Rephaim.

6Yet gleanings will be left in it like the shaking of an olive tree,
Two or three olives on the topmost bough,
Four or five on the branches of a fruitful tree,
Declares the LORD, the God of Israel.

7In that day man will have regard for his Maker
And his eyes will look to the Holy One of Israel.

8He will not have regard for the altars, the work of his hands,
Nor will he look to that which his fingers have made,
Even the Asherim and incense stands.

9In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken places in the forest,
Or like branches which they abandoned before the sons of Israel;
And the land will be a desolation.

10For you have forgotten the God of your salvation
And have not remembered the rock of your refuge.
Therefore you plant delightful plants
And set them with vine slips of a strange god.

11In the day that you plant it you carefully fence it in,
And in the morning you bring your seed to blossom;
But the harvest will be a heap
In a day of sickliness and incurable pain.

12Alas, the uproar of many peoples
Who roar like the roaring of the seas,
And the rumbling of nations
Who rush on like the rumbling of mighty waters!

13The nations rumble on like the rumbling of many waters,
But He will rebuke them and they will flee far away,
And be chased like chaff in the mountains before the wind,
Or like whirling dust before a gale.

14At evening time, behold, there is terror!
Before morning they are no more.
Such will be the portion of those who plunder us
And the lot of those who pillage us.
.
.
.


The above in red is a warning to amerika.

I appreciate you posting this. ( I think you could also place the three previous post in that as well.) :smile:

Another discussion/study that would be good is talking about "what" and/or "where" America is when it comes to the tribulation period. I've often wondered if America (USA) has become so weak by this time period that it may no longer exist. I wouldn't mind hearing your take on it; as well as Ringo's & a couple of others. (I know there are a lot better "scholars" of the Bible than I.) :smile:

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[Ringo]

Ephraim is England.

Ephraim (ē`frēəm), in the Bible, younger son of Joseph and Asenath and eponymous ancestor of one of the 12 tribes of Israel. His tribe occupied the rugged country around Shiloh that later came to be called Mt. Ephraim. Ephraim was also a name for the Northern Kingdom when Israel was territorially reduced, the land of outlying northern tribes having been conquered (8th cent.) by the Assyrians. Hosea was a prophet who lived and prophesied just before the destruction of Israel in 722 BC. He preached to the northern kingdom. Throughout the book you will see that he refers to Israel and Ephraim. Ephraim was the largest tribe in Israel and sometimes the whole nation was referred to as Ephraim.

Ephraim Old Testament
1.
a. the younger son of Joseph, who received the principal blessing of his grandfather Jacob (Genesis 48:8--22)
b. the tribe descended from him
c. the territory of this tribe, west of the River Jordan
2. the northern kingdom of Israel after the kingdom of Solomon had been divided into two.

 

[lsmurphy]

Ephraim (ē`frēəm), in the Bible, younger son of Joseph and Asenath and eponymous ancestor of one of the 12 tribes of Israel. His tribe occupied the rugged country around Shiloh that later came to be called Mt. Ephraim. Ephraim was also a name for the Northern Kingdom when Israel was territorially reduced, the land of outlying northern tribes having been conquered (8th cent.) by the Assyrians. Hosea was a prophet who lived and prophesied just before the destruction of Israel in 722 BC. He preached to the northern kingdom. Throughout the book you will see that he refers to Israel and Ephraim. Ephraim was the largest tribe in Israel and sometimes the whole nation was referred to as Ephraim.

Ephraim Old Testament
1.
a. the younger son of Joseph, who received the principal blessing of his grandfather Jacob (Genesis 48:8--22)
b. the tribe descended from him
c. the territory of this tribe, west of the River Jordan
2. the northern kingdom of Israel after the kingdom of Solomon had been divided into two.

Yeah, I understand.........
.
Galiations 3:29
And if you are Christ's, then are you Abraham's descendants, and heirs according to the promise.
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Link Removed And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.
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Link Removed It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.
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Link Removed Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
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Link Removed In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring.
,
Link Removed and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.
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Link Removed For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
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Link Removed What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate.
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Link Removed Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
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Link Removed Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.
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Link Removed This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.
.

 

[lsmurphy]

Genesis 22:17
That in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies;
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Link Removed He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars--if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
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Link Removed "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
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Link Removed And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
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Link Removed saying, "I will surely bless you and give you many descendants."
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Link Removed Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved.
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Link Removed It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.
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Link Removed But you have said, 'I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.'"
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Link Removed The LORD your God has increased your numbers so that today you are as many as the stars in the sky.
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Link Removed Your forefathers who went down into Egypt were seventy in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.
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Link Removed None of those condemned things shall be found in your hands, so that the LORD will turn from his fierce anger; he will show you mercy, have compassion on you, and increase your numbers, as he promised on oath to your forefathers,
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Link Removed David did not take the number of the men twenty years old or less, because the LORD had promised to make Israel as numerous as the stars in the sky.
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Link Removed Now, LORD God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth.
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Link Removed "Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.'

 

[lsmurphy]

.....the sands of the sea........stars of the heavens.....
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They cannot be counted.
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Abraham's decsendents goes on forever. A remnant is always left and will be left again even through the tribulation........the Seed of God.....the children of Abraham.
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We have studied the Tribes, more than two years ago and I dont' have the energy and the time to go back through it but the three I paid attention to, those that matter to me, Manasseh (amerika), Ephraim (England), Dan (Ireland). Dan lost his promise but is hidden in Manasseh, there are more Irish in amerika than Ireland.

 

[lsmurphy]

Prophecy about Damascus

1The oracle concerning Damascus.
“Behold, Damascus is about to be removed from being a city
And will become a fallen ruin.

2“The cities of Aroer are forsaken;
They will be for flocks to lie down in,
And there will be no one to frighten them.

3“The fortified city will disappear from Ephraim,
And sovereignty from Damascus
And the remnant of Aram;
They will be like the glory of the sons of Israel,”
Declares the LORD of hosts.

.
.


Ephraim shares the same fate as Damascus, ruin.
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Damascus is the oldest city in the world, has been occupied for more than 5K years.
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Damascus was nearly destroyed one time, about seventy years before Isaiah was born, so cleary Isaiah was NOT speaking of that event........speaking to the future. So then who is Ephraim? England.

 

[lsmurphy]

Also note that Ishmael was sent away, Ishmael was NOT to inherit the promise of God, but he was blessed as a son of Abraham. Ishmael is the father of the Arab peoples.
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The strife between the good seed and the bad (illegitimate) seed continues, the Arabs will not, cannot, receive the promise.
.

 

[lsmurphy]

Know who you are.
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I have connected the dots here for you.
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This is what the 'church' does not teach.
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The church lies to you to keep you out of the Kingdom.
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The church belongs to satan.

 

[lsmurphy]

Damascus, ruinous heep

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[lsmurphy]

 

[lsmurphy]

Back in January Russia and the US traded accusations, the Russians were saying that the US was supplying weapons to Syrian rebels and the US said that Russia was supplying attack Helicopters to to Assad’s regime. Both the US and Russia denied the claims.
However both were true. While the US has denied suppling weapons to rebels in Syria, I’ve learned they they have been supplying weapons to the Syrian rebels yet not in a way that has been announced.
As I told you the US had supplied weapons to the rebels in Libya. We also know that the US supplied some weapons to the FSA (Free Syria Army in Syria. We know this via the FSA who told journalists last year during the struggle that rebels received both French and American military assistance, and that assistance was in the form of small to medium weaponry including anti-aircraft missiles. However after the fall of Qadaffi the weapons found their way into the hands of terrorists.
At the time of his death Amb. Stevens was attempting to get factions to turn the weapons over to the US for an “undisclosed sum of money”. It’s unclear is this was a direct swap of cash for guns – a program that is run in the US from time to time, or whether the money would be actually given directly to rebel factions. However the objective was to get the weapons and funnel them to rebels in Syria.


http://macsmind.com/wordpress/2012/...er-off-of-us-weapons-supply-to-syrian-rebels/

 

[lsmurphy]

So far, only the last bit is speculation.
But what if Turkish, Jordanian, Russian, or Israeli concerns about the appearance of MANPADS close to their borders made the administration decide that it had to exercise more control over weapons shipments to the Syrian rebels? What if the State Department told Ambassador Stevens to clamp down on the shipments or to stop them all together? If Stevens had told his militia allies that he was cutting back or cutting off the CIA-organized shipments to Syria, could they have been angry enough to kill him?
weapons from Libya going to Syria | The Counter Jihad Report

 

[nosreme]

Just when you think things in this forum couldn't get more bizarre. My theory (in keeping with the prevailing sentiment among too many here) is that the same small number of posters you see here and in a couple of other subforums rambling on (and on, and on...) about just about everything (sometimes with strange and usually irrelevant biblical ramblings) are actually BATF undercover agents. Their mission: destroy gun forums. Their method: just as bad currency drives out good ("Gresham's Law"), unrelenting, irrational, have-the-last-word nonsense-type posts will drive out the good, rational, articulate ones. The result: Rational and potential effective (and therefore dangerous!) anti-gun control forum members (whether conservative or liberal) finally give up and disperse to other gun forums, diluting their effectiveness. If they stay, nobody sees their intelligent pro-2A positions because they're buried under so much garbage. Maybe the tinfoil hat types are onto something.

 

[lsmurphy]

Just when you think things in this forum couldn't get more bizarre. My theory (in keeping with the prevailing sentiment among too many here) is that the same small number of posters you see here and in a couple of other subforums rambling on (and on, and on...) about just about everything (sometimes with strange and usually irrelevant biblical ramblings) are actually BATF undercover agents. Their mission: destroy gun forums. Their method: just as bad currency drives out good ("Gresham's Law"), unrelenting, irrational, have-the-last-word nonsense-type posts will drive out the good, rational, articulate ones. The result: Rational and potential effective (and therefore dangerous!) anti-gun control forum members (whether conservative or liberal) finally give up and disperse to other gun forums, diluting their effectiveness. If they stay, nobody sees their intelligent pro-2A positions because they're buried under so much garbage. Maybe the tinfoil hat types are onto something.

Pot, meet Kettle.

 

[Ringo]

Another discussion/study that would be good is talking about "what" and/or "where" America is when it comes to the tribulation period. I've often wondered if America (USA) has become so weak by this time period that it may no longer exist.
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The United States is mentioned nowhere in Bible prophecy by name. However, as the greatest nation ever to exist --technologically and scientifically speaking-- and as a nation that seems to have been designed by God to act as midwife and protector of Israel in its rebirth in 1948, one has to wonder if America is referred to somewhere in God's Word.

The only reference we find, even obliquely, is in the Gog-Magog account of Ezekiel 38.

The "merchants of Tarshish" is reference to traders that came from the area of "Tarshish" or "land of tin." This is most often said to be the area of present-day England. The Scripture where this is mentioned is as follows:Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?" (Ezek. 38:13). The "young lions" that follow "merchants of Tarshish" could include America, the offspring of Tarshish, as well as Australia, Canada, and a number of others that England spawned.

My own view is that when the rapture occurs, the US, which contains the largest numbers of true believers in Christ, will be in considerable disarray and chaos. Out of that might come a determination to join with the European Union in an effort to bring some semblance of order to the world (NWO). Thus the US could be absorbed by that growing beast-state, out of which the beast, Antichrist, will come. This last world government is seen in Daniel 7 and more details are given in Daniel 9. More on Antichrist is found in Daniel 8 and in Revelation 13, which also speaks of this beast-state in the first few verses.

 

[tcox4freedom]

You and I seem to be following the same line of thought Ringo.

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