Bible verses about sisters

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2014.06.15 04:05 marhavik Christianity supplemented with psychedelics

For Christians who take psychedelics for spiritual growth and to strengthen their faith.

2015.04.29 01:34 MEGA__MAX The Brap Bible

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An unofficial subreddit for Jehovah's Witneses. This is the home of current, active, and spiritually healthy JWs wanting to have some encouraging discussion with fellow brothers and sisters. https://www.reddit.com/JWs/wiki/introduction

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2024.06.02 09:09 teabagandwarmwater Muslim girls marrying non-Muslim men... a CALAMITY of Unimaginable Proportions

by Asma bint Shameem
A new kind of calamity has hit the muslim world especially those living in non-Muslim lands.
Our muslim girls are marrying non-Muslim men and nobody seems to care!
This is happening left and right...in families that are practicing muslims and in families that are not so practicing.
Is that really allowed?
What does Islaam say about that?
Let's take a look.
🍃Allaah says:
وَلَا تُنكِحُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ حَتَّى يُؤْمِنُوا
"And give not (your daughters) in marriage to Al-Mushrikoon till they believe (in Allaah Alone)" (Surah al-Baqarah :221)
Here Allaah is telling us directly...clear and straight.
"Do not give your daughters to non Muslim men."
Simple as that. The Order couldn't be more straightforward or clearer.
🍃In the tafseer of this aayah, at-Tabari said:
"What Allaah, Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala means in this verse is that He has forbidden believing women to marry a mushrik (polytheist) of any type. So do not, O Muslim men, give them (Muslim women) in marriage to them (mushrikeen), for that is forbidden to you."
(Tafseer at-Tabari, 4/370)
🍃And Al-Qurtubi said:
"And give not (your daughters) in marriage to Al-Mushrikoon" means do not give a Muslim woman in marriage to a mushrik. The ummah is unanimously agreed that a mushrik should not marry a believing woman under any circumstances, because that undermines Islam." (Tafseer al-Qurtubi (3/72)
🍃Al-Baghawi said:
"And give not (your daughters) in marriage to Al-Mushrikoon till they believe (in Allah Alone)" - there is consensus on this point: it is not permissible for a Muslim woman to marry a mushrik man."
🍃In another aayah, Allaah says:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا جَاءَكُمُ الْمُؤْمِنَاتُ مُهَاجِرَاتٍ فَامْتَحِنُوهُنَّ اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِإِيمَانِهِنَّ فَإِنْ عَلِمْتُمُوهُنَّ مُؤْمِنَاتٍ فَلَا تَرْجِعُوهُنَّ إِلَى الْكُفَّارِ لَا هُنَّ حِلٌّ لَّهُمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحِلُّونَ لَهُنَّ وَآتُوهُم مَّا أَنفَقُوا
"O you who believe! When believing women come to you as emigrants, examine them, Allaah knows best as to their Faith. Then if you ascertain that they are true believers, send them not back to the disbelievers, they are not lawful (wives) for the disbelievers nor are the disbelievers lawful (husbands) for them." (Surah al-Mumtahinah :10)
Here Allaah is directly addressing us as believers.
"O you who believe..."
Isn't that you and me?
Yes, it is.
WE claim to believe.
So pay attention.
Our Rabb is calling out to you and me and telling us straight up that disbelieving men are NOT LAWFUL for believing women.
🍃Regarding this aayah, Ibn Katheer said:
"Allaah says: "they are not lawful (wives) for the disbelievers nor are the disbelievers lawful (husbands) for them". This verse is the one which prohibited Muslim women to mushrik men."
(Tafseer al-Qur'an al-'Azeem, 13/521)
It's as simple as that. No ifs and buts about it.
🔴 Such a marriage is NOT valid!
That's because one of the conditions of a valid Islaamic marriage is that the man should be Muslim.
If a muslim woman marries a non-Muslim man, this marriage is NOT A marriage in the eyes of the Shari'ah.
This woman is making a grave error and is guilty of committing zina!
May Allaah protect us.
🍃Statement of the Islamic Fiqh Council regarding this matter:
"Marriage of a kaafir to a Muslim woman is haraam and is not permissible, according to scholarly consensus, and there is no doubt about that because of what is stated in the shar'i texts." (Fataawa Islamiyyah (3/231)
🍃Just look at the rulings on such a woman!
"If a Muslim woman marries a non-Muslim man, knowing the ruling thereon, then she is a zaaniyah and is subject to the hadd punishment for zina.(Ya Allaah!!!)
If she was unaware of the ruling, then she is excused, but they must be separated, with no need for talaaq (divorce), because the marriage is invalid in the first place."
(Islamqa)
Astaghfirullaah!
Do we need any more proof than this?!
🛑 Should I go to such a wedding if I'm invited?
NO we should not be going to such a wedding that's not valid in the sight of Allaah.
If we take part in something that's haraam, then we're indirectly condoning that haraam.
In fact this is cooperating in sin and transgression, which itself is a sin.
🍃 Allaah says:
"And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression" (Surah al-Maa'idah :2)
🛑 What should I do?
Part of our being a Muslim is to enjoin the good and forbid the evil.
So here's what we can do depending on the situation.

If it's possible, go talk to the parties involved and help the man to understand and accept Islaam and say the Shahadah. That is the best scenario.
If he does not want to become Muslim, then explain to them how this marriage would not be valid and try to talk them out of it.
If they don't listen and still want to carry on with this adulterous relationship then simply DO NOT attend this so-called 'wedding' and be devastated about it in your heart. But at least you did your job.

🍃The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
"Whoever among you sees an evil action, let him change it with his hand [by taking action]; if he cannot, then with his tongue [by speaking out]; and if he cannot, then with his heart [by at least hating it and believing that it is wrong], and that is the weakest of faith." (Muslim)
🛑 But I love the man!
Many sisters 'think' they 'love' the non-Muslim man and they can't live without them.
Dear sister, this just a trick of the Shaytaan.
This so-called 'Love' for a non-Muslim man will destroy your dunya and Aakhirah, UNLESS he accepts Islaam and sincerely becomes Muslim.
Just think about it!
If the marriage is against the orders of Allaah, how can their be Khair in it?!
How can their be peace, love and happiness in it?!
How can there be ANY Barakah in it if you'll displease Allaah?!
Actually, it's better for you to marry a SLAVE who's Muslim rather than marry a free man who's not a Muslim.
🍃Allaah says:
And verily, a believing slave is better than a (free) Mushrik (idolater), even though he pleases you. Those (Al-Mushrikoon) invite you to the Fire, but Allaah invites (you) to Paradise and forgiveness by His Leave"
(Surah al-Baqarah :221)
🍃Imam al-Tabari said:
What is said concerning the interpretation of the words "And give not (your daughters) in marriage to Al-Mushrikoon till they believe (in Allaah Alone) and verily, a believing slave is better than a (free) Mushrik (idolater), even though he pleases you" is that what Allaah meant by that is that Allaah has forbidden the believing women from marrying to a mushrik, no matter what kind of shirk he believes in. So, O believers, do not give your daughters in marriage to them, for that is forbidden to you. For you to give them in marriage to a believing slave who believes in Allaah and His Messenger and that which he brought from Allaah is better for you than to give them in marriage to a free mushrik even if he is of noble descent and honourable origins, even if you like his descent and background...
🛑 But then, why are Muslim MEN allowed to marry a woman of the People of the Book?
First of all, when Allaah and His Messenger have ordered us something there's no arguing about it or any other way around it.
We have to listen and obey.
🍃Allaah says:
"It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allaah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error" (Surah al-Ahzaab :36)
So if we are believers, we obey.
That's what BELIEVERS do.
....even if they don't understand it.
Just obey.
No questions asked.
THAT is true submission to Allaah.
THAT is Islaam.
🍃 Allaah says:
"The only saying of the faithful believers, when they are called to Allaah (His Words, His Orders) and His Messenger to judge between them, is that they say: 'We hear and we obey.' And such are the prosperous ones (who will live forever in Paradise).
And whosoever obeys Allaah and His Messenger, fears Allaah, and keeps his duty (to Him), such are the successful ones"
(Surah an-Noor :51-52)
Even if there were no other reasons, and no other explanations except this one, that would be ENOUGH for us as Muslims to obey Allaah's Command.
But for those who want further explanation:
As Muslims we believe Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aalaa is al-Hakeem, al-'Aleem, the Most-Wise, the Most-Knowledgable.
There is a reason for everything He does. And He knows better.
Allaah has allowed the Muslim man to marry a woman who's a Christian or a Jew and NOT ALLOWED a Muslim woman to marry a nom-Muslim man because of several reasons:
A) The man is in a position of leadership over the woman, and it is not allowed for a non-Muslim to be in a position of leadership over a Muslim woman.
🍃The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:
"Islam prevails and is not prevailed over." (al-Daaraqutni and others -hasan by al-Albaani)
B) Allaah tells us in the Qur'aan that men are 'qawwaam' over their wives, meaning they're in charge.
The husband is the leader or head of the household and his status within the family is higher than that of his wife.
Because of this higher position, if a muslim woman were to marry a non-Muslim man, the husband would influence his wife in a negative way and make her leave her Deen or at least be very lax about it.
He would not be helping her to obey Allaah and in fact he would be an impediment in doing that. And would be an obstruction between her and Jannah.
C) The higher status of the husband will also influence the children to follow their father's religion, which would be nothing short of a DISASTER for the family, if these children grow up to be non-Muslim.
🛑Conclusion
Faith is not just words, my sister, unless it's accompanied by ACTIONS.
If Allaah has prohibited Muslim women from marrying non-Muslim men, even if they're from the People of the Book, then we have to submit to that order and accept it without any qualms about it.
Allaah's Guidance is the best guidance and His Way is the best way.
Alhamdulillaah.
رَضِيتُ بِاللَّهِ رَبًّا ، وَبِالْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا ، وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ رَسُولًا
"I am pleased with Allah as my Lord, with Islam as my religion and with Muhammad (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) as my Prophet"
And Allaah knows best.

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2024.06.02 09:08 teabagandwarmwater Muslim girls marrying non-Muslim men... a CALAMITY of Unimaginable Proportions

If it's possible, go talk to the parties involved and help the man to understand and accept Islaam and say the Shahadah. That is the best scenario.
If he does not want to become Muslim, then explain to them how this marriage would not be valid and try to talk them out of it.
If they don't listen and still want to carry on with this adulterous relationship then simply DO NOT attend this so-called 'wedding' and be devastated about it in your heart. But at least you did your job.

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2024.06.02 09:05 IDoWhatIWant2_ Anti-Denominational Ideas

Hello my brothers and sisters! I have been thinking and praying recently about some ideas I have about the way modern American church culture often supersedes the actual Word at times. And have contemplated what I, a very flawed man, believe would be the idea form of church service in my own opinion. Christianity has become, and historically been, split among its members into many different sects and factions. Frankly, it is a part of the human condition to wish to be around others that share your own beliefs. Often these sects, or as they are commonly referred to denominations, have their own cultural practices and traditions that exist alongside of the Word, which can often be dogmatic or even contradictory to the Word. Most often simply extra to the Word. I often find myself questioning these practices or superfluous belief systems found within churches, it personally often doesn’t sit right with me. And I will admit I am biased in my opinions, I am quite Protestant in my beliefs; I often personally dislike the embellishments of Protestant mega churches, Catholicism, and orthodoxy , among others (though I do believe they should worship as they see fit, and am just discussing my own views). And even non-denominational churches typically have the same flavor as other churches in the local area.
I’ve considered what would be my ideal church, one that attempts to get back to the spirit of the early church but also do its own thing. And in that purpose I’ve developed a list, and wanted to know you all’s thoughts on it:

Unprogrammed Services, similar to the way Quakers approach their services where any that feel lead to talk may do so. But different in the sense that people may lead sermons should they wish to, and it is encouraged to do so by all. In order that all within the priesthood of believers share their interpretations and beliefs of the Word. Often in traditional churches we are given information on how we should act or how we should proselytize, but without practice how are we to cement these ideas? Discussion and debate should be encouraged and done in a manner in which people of different beliefs of the Bible are able to sharpen each other. All are welcome
No Head Priest, similarly, there should be no pastor or head priest since we are all priests and saints. None should assume a position of power or increased authority, which we should all share. Often we are very happy to just sit back in our pews and listen without having to assume any responsibility. But as equals and priests we should have equal say and responsibility to our local church.
Deacons and Bishops, 1 Tim. 3:1-13, A deacon and a bishop are the only two official positions in the church. Deacons are servants of the church who are put in charge of activities or responsibilities that require special attention. Bishops or elders, are overseers that ensure the church maintains godly values and oversees the practical functions of the church. Neither deacons or bishops are above any other brother, but rather they only accept on more responsibility. They exist primarily to serve in an ancillary position in order to aid the physical churches needs, not necessarily the spiritual needs any more than anyone else is.
Physical Location Not Needed, a church building is no holier than any other peace of dirt. The world was created by God, and we should worship Him wherever we are. The early church often meet in each other’s homes, and there is something very intimate about worshiping in one of the brother’s or sister’s homes that add to the sincerity of the service. And without a physical location those funds from tithes may be directed elsewhere.
Tithe in Anyway, Let’s face it often at certain churches tithes do not achieve their purpose. Outside of church maintenance, often tithes are spent on pizza or other things at events meant to foster fellowship. Which is good but probably would be best not on the church dime, they are your church family and friends and you can fellowship with them independently. But also time can be an amazing tithes instead of money. Work to better your local church and support your brothers, or volunteer at a local nonprofit organization. Even if it is illegal to feed and cloth the homeless. Again, we are often very happy to sit in our pews without it actually costing us anything. We, myself included, must be willing to give of our time and do unto others giving of ourselves.

Like this is a long post and I appreciate you making in all the way to the end. And I would love to hear your thoughts on my ideas! I love you all and wish you the very best!!!<3

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2024.06.02 08:11 echolm1407 Eunuchs are trans here's proof

What Jesus said about Eunuchs
Matthew 19:12
12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+19%3A12&version=NRSVUE
The eunuch trade:
https://medievalslavery.org/africa/source-eunuchs-in-ethiopia-hadiya-in-al-%CA%BFumaris-geography/
It shows that eunuchs were made by crushing the testicles of boys. This made them underdeveloped so they didn't go through puberty. They never became men. They were feminized. They were trans.
"The presence of eunuchs was not limited to the Mamluk court or to the Islamic world; Byzantine and Chinese imperial courts, among others, made use of eunuchs too. Nevertheless, despite their willingness to purchase and use eunuchs, both medieval Muslims and Christians banned the castration of enslaved boys."
And eunuchs exited in Babylon, Persia, India, Judea, Rome, Greece, and even Ethiopia. All of these civilizations knew of each other. All of these did trade with each other. The Bible and history confirms this. And in India we have surviving eunuch communities in the hijras from. Over 2000 years ago. They are LGBTQIA.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3354843/
Jesus himself insinuated that he was a Eunuch for the sake of the kingdom of God. Thus showing solidarity to trans and LGBTQIA people.
Pride month is a time of understanding and love. It's not of hate. Put away your hate as the Bible says.
1 John 4:16-21
16 So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. 17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. 19 We love[a] because he first loved us. 20 Those who say, “I love God,” and hate a brother or sister are liars, for those who do not love a brother or sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+John+4%3A16-21&version=NRSVUE

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2024.06.02 08:08 New-Issue4937 Are the Things my Mother is Saying, True?

Just a little background on my upbringing: I was raised by a single mother of 3, and we have always identified as Christians. While we didn't attend church every Sunday, my family and I always made an effort to, but sometimes life’s circumstances made it challenging. We are far from perfect Christians, but everyone has flaws and inevitably makes mistakes.
Over time, our family members took different paths. I joined the Military, my sisters pursued new careers, and my mom relocated back to our home state where most of our other family resides. Despite our physical distance, we maintained regular contact, but within the past few months, it’s been getting harder to find the energy to talk to my mom. She had been asking me for money fairly often, as well as taking money out of my bank account without even asking. I am always the one to help my family out in times of need, and I have never really minded it. But it was just getting to the point where I felt that she was doing it too freely and taking advantage of me, which led me to address the issue. This confrontation resulted in her kind of distancing herself from me and seeking financial assistance from others, despite having a stable income and manageable expenses. So i was just confused on where all of her money was going. I reached out, and offered to help her make a budget plan, to help budget her money more wisely, but she didn’t like that idea.
Fast forward to around February timeframe, and I still didn’t hear from her that often, unless it was for money. My sisters informed me that my mother had been spreading unfounded rumors about me having insider knowledge about government secrets and aliens due to me being in the military, and that’s why I don’t call them to talk to them often. But mind you, I talk to my sisters VERY often, and the reason I stopped talking to her as much, was because she would always ask for money when we would talk. Also, my job in the military rotates between MAKING FOOD at the chow hall and working at the FITNESS CENTER on base, and they all know that, so her claims definitely contradicts the reality of my jobs responsibilities.
What happens next? The solar eclipse in April. She called me for like a week leading up to it, begging and begging that I stay inside for it, because the government was gonna be releasing toxins into the air during it; telling me to keep my Bible next to me wherever I went; that the world was going to end, and just a whole lot of imagined dangers associated with the event, prompting her to believe that an apocalyptic scenario was imminent. I told her on the first day that she started to beg me, that I live on the opposite side of the world, and that the solar eclipse wasn’t even going to happen on this side of the world, so there was nothing for her to worry about. Ever since then, she has been frantically calling everybody in our family non-stop, telling us that the end of the world is IMMINENT, and that now is our time to get right with god, and pressuring all of our non-religious relatives members to embrace Christianity, and telling the ones with newborn children, that their babies are going to go to heaven, and they won’t, etc…
So it went from only hearing from her when she needed money, to all of a sudden, hearing from her 24/7, about doomsday prophecies, and everything about religion. I am a very stressed out and busy person, not just with work, but also with things outside of work, so the last thing I want to hear after a long day, is that the world is going to end tomorrow and everybody’s gonna die, so i try to avoid her calls as much as i can to preserve my mental well-being and to shield myself from the persistent doomsday messages. I LOVE God, I read the Bible, and I pray to God EVERY single day. God is my #1, so it kind of makes me feel like a bad person for ignoring her phone calls, and it makes me feel as if I’m avoiding talks about God and Christianity, but deep down, I know know I’m not, and that I’m just trying to protect my positive energy.
As bad as this may sound, my sisters and I believe that my mother's behavior might be influenced by substances like psychedelics or something, given her sudden immersion in conspiracy theories and erratic beliefs. Not just because of her talks about the world ending, but also because of the things she said about me knowing about aliens as well, and how all of this stuff just started happening out of nowhere. She’s never been the type to indulge in conspiracy thoughts or anything like that, so her sudden departure from her usual demeanor is just worrying and confusing. So I’m just wondering what other people may think, or if they have any input. Am I a bad person for thinking that her religious views are possibly influenced by drugs?

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2024.06.02 07:31 wesbren They Have Power Over This Earth And Nations And The Power Is In Their Hands, And They Can Destroy This Whole Earth And Nations And Upset All Government Plans Are Based On Real Ancient History And Biblical Prophecies And The Book Of Revelation'' Discover Ancient Knowledge Of The Bible And Secret

They Have Power Over This Earth And Nations And The Power Is In Their Hands, And They Can Destroy This Whole Earth And Nations And Upset All Government Plans Are Based On Real Ancient History And Biblical Prophecies And The Book Of Revelation'' Discover Ancient Knowledge Of The Bible And Secret Power And Illuminated New World Order Secret Societies And Secretive Power Elite And Freemasonry Brotherhood!!
And their hidden agenda is reuniting people under one religion organization so they can peacefully except UN goal, such as population control and abortion rights and one world government and the mark of the beast and new age movement combines with the new world order and the devil know this and through the new age movement have taught millions to trust in another Jesus and other Christ
antichrist and satanic agenda to control the world secret society and people have already heard about new age movement revolutions and new world order secret societies, is all true and based on the book of Revelation chapter 13 verse 11-18, they are going to create an image here in the future, a global spiritual body, a stature will come alive and speak and one world religion and if no one who does not
worship this image will be killed and based on the book of Revelation, a false prophet will be coming here in the future, and he is the second beast of book of Revelation and will have power to make fire come down from heaven and to give life unto an image, a global spiritual body a stature and what they are planning here is a kingdom of evil and think they can manipulate the world believing this is not true,
are based on real ancient history and biblical prophecies and they come from a cursed bloodline and are offsprings of the devils' seed and they are a danger and threat to our nations and countries and state, and they think what they are doing here in this time is a secret and no one doesn't know what they are planning here in this time and is setting up the stage for one world government and new world order
and the mark of the beast to attack the nations based on the book of Revelation and if they get complete control of these whole nations, they can destroy the whole world and through satanic occult people are being demonize and control and manipulated, using lust and money and drugs and alcohol and lottery and cigarettes and life simple pleasures and tv game shows and video games and music and
free vacations and leisure and pagan holidays and free food and recipes and beauty commercials ads and animals and pets and social media to distract them to infiltrate their minds tempting them and people do not know they have been brainwashed and lied too and are living here without God's law and no church here in this time were send from God and through new age movement have taught millions to
trust in another Jesus and other Christ antichrist and not the real gospel and this is a prophecy taking place here right now in this time and darkness is sweeping the face of the whole earth and is consuming everything in its path, a world out of control beyond redemption and without God's law the whole nations will be destroy and if people continue living here without God's law the whole nation will
perish and they do not want people to know the real reason what this is about and secret societies and where this power comes from, they have over these nations, are based on bible prophecies and the reason God gave them temporary power over these whole nations, was because their forefathers forgot God and did not keep his commandments and served false gods and involved themselves with
heathens and YouTube do not want this video being played in public on their web site, because they do not want the truth to come out and do not want people to know the truth and they know the video is being talked about them, are based on real bible prophecies and they are members of secret societies and are a part of the bible's history based on ancient prophecies people in this time are bringing to pass
and no church here in this time were sent from God they are all possessed with devils in them global worldwide using them to destroy and rob the whole world of salvation and they have nothing but pure evil in them and are not what you think they are, and they come from a corrupt bloodline because
of curses and the whole world is being ruled by evil people possessed with devils in them, for complete details please visit my page links from here.
https://biblepsalms23.livejournal.com/69910.html
https://www.deviantart.com/lbww/journal/Discover-Ancient-Knowledge-Of-The-Bible-And-Secret-1057781497
https://www.reddit.com/TrueGospelOfChrist/comments/1d3xxw7/discover_ancient_knowledge_of_the_bible_and/
https://nations94.wordpress.com/2024/05/28/discover-ancient-knowledge-of-the-bible-and-secret-power-and-new-world-order-secret-societies-and-who-will-it-be-this-man-of-sin-the-false-antichrist-of-book-of-revelation-hd-movie-will-broadcast-l/

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2024.06.02 06:41 OneOneEightNine TheCross Mission

This sub is dedicated to acknowledging gods wrath. You sinned, and I’ve sinned, let’s talk about how why and how in brutal honesty and how it’s a slap in the face to God so we can stop.
Not a Christian? Many things in this sub relate to everyday life. Addictions (Porn, Alcoholism, Drugs, Sex), Anger, Greed, Jealousy, and wrongs committed. Everyone can learn. New to Christianity? Post what’s affecting you so others can guide you to not make the same mistakes again. Already Christian? As you read your bible, give some verses that will help us recognize the cost of our sins and Gods mercifulness. Falling back into sin? We can’t be perfect, but this is a place to go when you feel like sinning to stop it in its tracks. Dealing with guilt? We all have. Talk about it, repent, and grow away from sin.
DO NOT CRITICIZE AND JUDGE! - (Mathew 7:5) be respectful, loving, constructive, but firm.
VERSES!! - (2 Peter 1:19) If you are giving advice back it up with gods word
EVERYONE IS WELCOME! - (Proverbs 11:11) I do not care if they are black white blue orange pink Atheist Jewish Muslim or anything. They are gods children and will be respected
Not a PC space. - speak your mind, smartly. If you are easily triggered you might want to try some other sub. Always remember though (Matthew 15:11)
NO SUGAR COOKIE POSTS! The tune of this sub isn’t Reckless Love (by Cory Asbury) but more like Sinners and saints (by Andrea Wasse). Post the visceral truth about the sins we make and continue to make so that we won’t forget the cross and what was sacrificed.
BE BRUTALLY HONEST! (Proverbs 12:22) Make a burner it doesn’t matter. God knows what you did and it’s in the past. All you can do now is help others from making the same mistakes. We only have one judge and every sin is judged equally.
GOD LOVES YOU - This sub will be dark, but God lead you here to come back to him and rebuild that relationship. God seeks sinners and loves all the same. Please read Luke 15

submitted by OneOneEightNine to TheCross [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 06:11 HeartBreakBonez Glory Be To Jah 1 Creator!

The way I feel is that all righteousness honors Jah. The Bible tells I
James 1:17 (KJV) Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
I&I was telling my bredren a week or so ago that the devil can bless no man. He was worried about a witch cursing him I&I told him she has no power. Witchcraft is a lie from the devil, trickery into giving him credit fir the blessings and mercy that Jah shows. That being said I&I then read this today.
Matthew 12:31-32 (KJV) Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
I&I was explaining too my roommate that I was raised learning about a vengeful and wrathful Jah. That forgave no blasphemy and was taught that I&I couldn't even ask certain questions less I commit blasphemy an unforgivable sin.
I&I believe that all righteousness honors Jah no matter our religion.
In this verse it says
And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
Jah understands that some will be raised different religions and worship different prophets that he send but there is only 1 Jah. As long as we honor Jah and not lie on the SPIRIT about from which our blessing come from being the one creator we will be forgiven if we are "wrong"
"And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him,"
It also says of the prophets we worship
Matthew 10:40-41 (KJV) He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.

submitted by HeartBreakBonez to rastafari [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 05:09 Normal_Customer_6116 Got any wisdom words from the Bible?

Any Bible verse, think about my post and just post ANY Bible verse. (KJV) only please.
The scripture could be about anything, whatever touched your heart to send to me.

submitted by Normal_Customer_6116 to Christian [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 04:49 brod333 Responding to Exion’s response pt 1

Exion has finally started to respond to my posts. It would be easier if Exion would unblock me and engage with me directly but they still refuse to do so. It would also be nice if they linked the posts they are responding to so anyone reading his posts can look up my posts. I made sure to do that for all his posts. In this post I’ll be responding to https://www.reddit.com/Quraniyoon/s/98oVSczZYe.
For the list of parts in my series see https://www.reddit.com/Quraniyoon/s/01K9X3Pjxj

In this post, I will be answering and refuting the individual who keeps writing posts about me and comments every second he gets trying to "refute" me and "expose" me. I am only doing this because some brothers and sisters have allowed themselves to be fooled by this dude.

In his last post before he started addressing my criticisms he made it clear he wouldn’t engage with my criticisms. It’s only after the mods told him to either respond or they’d remove his posts, as can be seen here https://www.reddit.com/Quraniyoon/s/c1XSgLQlZe, that he started responding to me. Given those facts I find it hard to believe his reasons given here for responding to me.

He begins by discussing my translation of the word "ישוחח," which I interpret as "argue" or "put forth."

That’s not where I begin. There is some important context before that. The first part of my first post was about showing the general sloppy nature of his posts using examples which he acknowledged his mistake, are things someone who knows Hebrew would be unlikely to make, and which he later copied elsewhere without fixing the mistake. The issue of ישוחח is just one part of this.

Firstly, in Biblical Hebrew, verb forms such as Qal and Piel (often referred to as Polel in some grammatical traditions) are distinguished by their specific diacritic markings (i.e., vowel points and consonantal diacritics).

Nope. The difference between the Qal and Polel forms in this case are not just in the diacritical marks but also have consonant differences.

Since I believe that the Masoretes distorted the Old Testament by adding these diacritics to reach a deviant interpretation, I do not consider them at all. I read the Old Testament without any diacritics. This is something he has yet to understand

Again in this case it’s not just the diacritical marks. I also understand Exion rejects them and in my responses I give reasons why his diacritical mark suggestions don’t work.

He later argues that the ancient Christian manuscripts (such as the Codex Sinaiticus, Septuagint, etc.) must agree with my claims and not with the Masoretic renderings of the Hebrew text, a conclusion he bases on thin air. I ask: Why is that so? Can you give us one good reason for this conclusion? You can't! He says this only because he considers these Christian manuscripts as divinely revealed criteria and translations.

Note the Septuagint was written by Jews not Christians. I’ve also given my reasons for why those should agree with Exion. He ignores those reasons and then attributes different reasons I never said. I’ll repeat again, Exion’s theory that he’s stated multiple times is that when the Masoretes added the diacritical marks they intentionally added ones that change the original meaning of the text to cover prophecies about Mohammed and Islam. He then claims he is discovering the original true meaning of the verses. If this is true then pre Masorete texts would still have the original meaning. Also any sources from after the Masoretes but which weren’t influenced by them should still have the original meaning. Also any before Mohammed and Islam wouldn’t have the same motivation to hide prophecies about Mohammed and Islam.

The Masoretes could even have been influenced by Christians and their manuscripts,

This is a textbook example of an ad hoc assumption. An ad hoc assumption is when an assumption is added without any evidence to modify a theory for the sole purpose of avoiding falsification of the theory by some evidence. Since these sources that should agree with Exion don’t agree he added a new assumption without evidence to modify his theory to avoid falsification.
It’s also a problematic assumption. The Masoretes were Jews. Jews and Christians were split a few hundred years earlier and so didn’t really influence each other. For the Septuagint this was written even before Christianity. It’s so far before Islam and Mohammed that it’s extremely unlikely they were trying to hide any prophecies about them. It’s one of our oldest sources for the text making them a good source for how early Jews understood the text. It serves as an excellent source for testing Exion’s claims since if they’re true we’d expect, at least a significant portion of the time, they’d agree with Exion. If no one else in history, even before the diacritical marks were added, agrees with Exion then Exion is not speaking the same language as everyone else.

In other words, both Qal and Polel essentially mean the same thing.

Here is what Exion said previously, “Regarding the phrase "Who will argue...", an alternative rendering could be "Who will claim..." However, using the word "argue" may be more faithful to the original text, as it carries a connotation of "complaining" or "disputing" rather than simply making a statement or engaging in ordinary conversation. This nuance helps capture the intended meaning more accurately.”
They specifically note the nuance of the meaning ‘complain’. What they failed to notice is that meaning is only part of the Qal form not the Polel. Both their original and new dictionary citation show this. Since the verb in question is in the Polel form that meaning doesn’t apply. Both source clearly listed the two different forms and the meanings for both. Either this is another case of Exion not reading his sources properly or he didn’t realize the correct form of the verb. Either way it shows the general unreliability of Exion.

Thus, he has fixated on this specific word, insisting it is (without a shadow of a doubt) in the Polel form (because his Pauline forefathers said so)

Actually I insist it’s in the Polel because I understand the different verb congregations. It’s not just diacritical marks but consonant differences as well. A key way we can tell is that the final consonant, ח, is duplicated.

Let's see if the Polel form does anything to save him:

This whole section is a lengthy that follows completely misses the point. Here is the original discussion, https://www.reddit.com/DebateReligion/s/f3XrmqDNqi. Like back then his response misses the point. I go on to note how is translation depends upon connecting two parks of the sentence where the diacritical marks have a break. I asked given all the mistakes he’s made up to that point, with the mix up of the Qal and Polel being the most recent at that time, why should we trust him over the Masoretes. The idea was to show how Exion is unreliable and doesn’t know Hebrew so he can’t be trusted over Hebrew speakers. He doesn’t justify why we shouldn’t take a break at that section, we’re just supposed to trust him but with all the mistakes he makes we can’t trust him. Furthermore after adjusting his translation to accommodate the Polel meaning the next day he copied his post to this subreddit without making the same correction but leaving the mistaken Qal meaning.

I believe (if I remember correctly) that he translates it as:

Nope. I never gave my own translation for this verse. He could have just checked the discussion but instead he made another sloppy mistake where he misrepresented what someone else has said. The discussion is public for anyone to read it themselves and see I never said that.

He goes on to say that I quoted from a fictitious source, which is not true at all. I simply didn’t bother looking through my entire library to find a quote I mistakenly mis-referenced, mainly because the quote turned out to be quite irrelevant, and I don’t waste my time like that.

That’s just an excuse. After giving the original citation a few people tried and couldn’t find it. He was pressed on the issue. Finally after some back and forth he gave a new book name and new author. However, the citation still couldn’t be found in that new book. It was at that point where he just ignored any further requests for proving the source exists. This is the first time since then he’s acknowledged it. Given that course of events it’s strong evidence the citation doesn’t actually exist. Until he provides proof the citation actually exists we should take the citation as fictitious. Though even if the source does exist his acknowledgment of a wrong citation is still evidence of his sloppy work and unreliability with representing sources, something he does very often.

So, I will not bother to refute every single point of the old stuff that I’ve already conclusively answered.

He never did. For the issue about copying the verse number and making it part of the verse all he could say before is that it’s a minor mistake that I’m overblowing. However, as I note the error is not a minor one but actually requires several points of failure, some of which are hard to accidentally make. E.g. removing the space between the verse number and first word after copying takes intentional action. For the pronoun suffixes his response boils down to just claiming every single person who has ever translated it is wrong and he is right. He refused to give a general account of pronoun suffixes that supports his translation along with a source to back up his account. I on the other hand took a picture of my Hebrew textbook showing the full chart to prove he is wrong.

Regarding the stone God mentions that was to be placed in the Temple of God, he says that it is saying

Notice in this section of his response he changes his original translation to include the second instance of the word stone that he previously missed. This acknowledges that he was originally wrong and missed that word. He just tries to rework the translation have that second occurrence of the word stone while still referring to God’s stone. Let’s see if it works.

The next word is אל: This is taken as a preposition according to them, and it generally means "to" or "toward," and never "upon." It is used to indicate direction or movement towards something. While the following word is, again, a stone "אבן."

I deal with his simplistic view of Hebrew pronouns in my pt 2. Once again we have the same problem. The relationship between pronouns in Hebrew compared to English is complicated. The pronoun in my pt 2 analysis has 8 pages in the BDB. אל has 2 pages. For על, which we be relevant in a moment, it has almost 6 pages for the proposition part. It’s far more complicated than giving a short list and only limiting translation to that list.
Regarding אל the BDB under note 2 points out there is a tendency to use it interchangeably with על. For על it lists upon as one of the meanings. Exion goes on to argue the limited set of meanings he gives don’t make sense and from that argues אל should instead be taken to be God. However, when we realized prepositions are more complicated than he makes them out to be and that אל can mean upon this argument fails.

Here, "אל־אבן" would translate to "God's stone" or "stone of God."

Here is the chapter from my textbook on the construct relationship singular. https://imgur.com/a/TWa8x4B. Take the first example. The first word on Hebrew is סוּס which means horse. The second word is הַמֶּלֶךְ which means the king. The translation given is “the horse of the king”. The second page gives examples of how this is translated into English with a ‘s. Based on that “the horse of the king” would be “the king’s horse”. This example shows us if we accept Exion’s claim אל means God and this is a construct relationship then the translation would actually be “God of stone” or “stone’s God”. Exion has flipped the words in his translation.

Thus, the phrase "מטרם שום־אבן אל־אבן בהיכל יהוה" would be understood as "before placing a stone as God's stone in the temple of YHWH" or "before placing a stone, God's stone, in the temple of YHWH"

Actually with the correct word order we’d have “before placing a stone, God of stone, in the temple of YHWH”.

Or you could simply not take "El" as a construct state. In Hebrew, a noun followed by another noun can indicate possession without needing a construct state (i.e. the equivalent of adding 's in English). This is often called "smikhut" or construct form, but it is not always necessary to explicitly form it.

This is confused. He thinks construct state refers to a specific different form or the noun but the possession meaning doesn’t require that different form. My textbook shows that’s mistaken. Yes it’s true the possession meaning doesn’t require a different form, however it’s still called the construct state. This is evident from my textbook. It notes at the bottom of the second page the construct state is sometimes the same as the absolute state. I didn’t mean to say Exion was taking it as having a different form from the absolute state but was pointing out he takes the phrase as indicating possession. That’s why I said if we add the missing word at take the phrase as indicating possession we’d get “stone’s God’s stone”.

This is something he doesn't know because, well, who knows why.

As my textbook proves it’s him that doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

Explicitly contradicting your claim that it doesn't exist, but you didn't know that because you have probably never even read the entirety of the chapter to begin with. The Temple was already there. A stone was to be placed in it, God's stone, the black stone of the House of God, and not that it was to be built or built anew. This is why I even wrote the article, because the temple of God was already in existence. How you could have missed this, if you've read the chapter in it entirety, is very baffling to me.

What’s baffling to me is how someone can be so confident and condescending while being so wrong. Not only did Exion fail to research the historical context of the literature he tries to interpret, he failed to notice my summary of the history. Haggai gives explicit historical markers for when the prophecies were made. “In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest:” Haggai‬ ‭1‬:‭1‬ ‭ESV‬‬. This places the prophecy in 520 B.C. This was after the Babylonians conquered Israel (specifically the southern kingdom as the northern was already conquered), brought them into exile, destroyed the first temple, the Persians conquered Babylon and allowed the Jews back to Israel to rebuilt the temple. They started to built the temple but stoped when opposition arose. Haggai’s prophecies are about pushing the Jews to continue rebuilding the temple. You can read about the fall of Israel by the Babylonians at the end of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. You can read about the return to Israel in Ezra and Nehemiah (note the events in Ezra are before those in Nehemiah).
Exion mentions Haggai 2:3 to disprove me. This is another case of him misrepresenting his sources. Let’s analyze it carefully part by part.
"Who among you is left, who saw this house in its former glory?” The word former indicates it had that glory in the past but no longer has it. That is because the previous temple was destroyed.
“And as you see it now”. This calls to attention a comparison of the former glory with the current glory.
“is it not as nothing in your eyes?" This expresses the current glory calling it nothing in their eyes. That’s because the previous temple was destroyed and not yet rebuilt.
Also check out these verses: ““Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes. “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.” Haggai‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬-‭11 ‭ESV‬‬. It’s pretty clear the previous temple lies in ruins and God is calling them to rebuild it.

This is why Jacob

Jacob lived long before the temple was built. His life is recorded in Genesis. There is a lot of history in between Jacob’s life in Genesis and the building of the temple in 1 Kings/2 Chronicles. Either Exion is completely ignorant of the history he is commenting on or he’s cherry picking which parts he wants to accept.

Lying and adding words to the Word of God to make it look like another House would be raised.

But that’s literally what happened in history. The first temple was destroyed and the later rebuilt. Again check out the books I mentioned for the historical background, especially Ezra which records the events during the time Haggai was prophesying.

The preposition "the" is not there before "Chemdat," while it is before "Goyim" (heathens), which makes sense because "Chemdat of all the heathens (will come)" and doesn't translate to "The treasure of all the heathens (will come)," as they have it.

Exion takes the lack of the definite article before chemdat as indicating it shouldn’t be translated with a “the” as its indefinite. He then argues taking chemdat the traditional way doesn’t make sense without the definite article so we should instead take it as a name. This again shows he doesn’t know Hebrew.
Note Exion translates it as Chemdat of. He interprets it as possession indicating he takes the Hebrew as being in the construct state. I linked above the chapter on the construct state. The first page notes a noun in the construct state never has the definite article. Instead the the last noun as the definite article then the noun in the construct state is also definite, and if the last noun is indefinite then the noun in the construct state is indefinite. Exion also acknowledges the last noun as having the definite article. When we actually understand the construct relationship we see that while there is no definite article on chemdat it’s still definite since it’s in the construct form with the last noun having the definite article. This undermines his argument for why chemdat is a name.

The phrase "הגוים" (ha-goyim) translates as "the heathens,"

The BDB lists this word as meaning nations/people. Heathen has very negative connotations which are not necessarily implied by the word.

He then says He will fill this house, which they saw as nothing, with glory. The house already exists;

Again look at the historical markers Haggai gives and the historical books for the historical background. Also look at the passage I quoted from Haggai 1 which clearly mentions the current temple in ruins and God calling the people to rebuild it. The promise God is making in Haggai 2:7 is about the new temple being greater than the former.

Going back to Haggai 2, the 18th verse also confirms that the Temple already was there:
"Consider, please, your heart from this day and onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the temple of the Lord was founded, consider your heart."

This particular section is Haggai 2:10-19. By this time the Jews started rebuilding the temple again and had laid the foundation. Haggai 2:15 and 18 are parallel passages calling the people to consider the time since that work on rebuilding the temple was done. God then points to the blessing they’ve experienced since then. That is in contrast to the hardships listed in Haggai 1:10-11 that God says we’re because they weren’t rebuilding his temple.

Nevertheless, he is right about one thing regarding this chapter: it does not mention the new moon to new moon and the end of the Sabbath—that was in Isaiah 66. My mistake.

Yes it is a mistake and it is one of way too many to count where he messes up representing his source in some way.

the second phrase can be interpreted as an end (if we interpret "Shabbat" as "End")

Actually it can’t. I missed this in my post but u/c0d3rman caught it in his comment on Exion’s post. The definition Exion gives in his post is the verb “to cease”. However, “an end” is not a verb but a noun. His translation doesn’t match his own definition.

but it is Biblically and generally interpreted as "Sabbath."

Because as a noun it means Sabbath.

A literal translation of the phrase in the 23rd verse would be:
‎>שבת (shabbat) - "Sabbath"
‎>בשבתו (be-shabbato) - "His Sabbath"
‎>יבוא (yavo) - "it will come"

Putting יבוא as part of this phrase has 3 problems. First it breaks the parallel in grammar and idea with the previous phrase. Second the subject of the verb then becomes the sabbath but that’s not possible. The gender of the verb and subject need to match but sabbath is feminine while יבוא is masculine. Third Exion’s translation has יבוא translated twice, both as part of this phrase and as part of the following phrase. However the word only occurs once in Hebrew so it can’t be translated twice into English as a part of 2 different phrases.
I also explained how this phrase is an idiom in my first post. I referenced the BDB which explains how we know it’s an idiom and what the idiom means, which corresponds to the traditional translation. The verse is not talking about a sabbath coming to a sabbath or coming to an end. It’s saying the frequency that all flesh shall come to worship before God.
I’ve mentioned the BDB often as a source. For those unaware there is an online version where words can be searched, https://www.sefaria.org/BDB. I’m mentioning this because unlike Exion I want to be sure people can easily find the sources I reference. If anyone has trouble finding any particular word I’m not sure how to link to specific words but I’m happy to take pics of my physical copy.
u/TheQuranicMumin you said “If he fails/refuses to do this, we will remove his posts for misinformation.” Can we agree already this counts as a failure to respond and consider his posts misinformation or do I really need to continue addressing his posts/responses?

submitted by brod333 to Quraniyoon [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 04:24 Critical_Gap3794 You, YEAH, you " Your view on gay?".

As a Christian how should you respond to the issue on homosexuality. What does Jesus himself ( red letter) say about sexual sin?
He did say "Neither do I condemn you" to the would allegedly caught in adultery..
Specifically how should we speak, what should be in our heart and what should we ask?
Many weaponize the Bible verses to condemn gays, but are deep in sin themselves.

submitted by Critical_Gap3794 to Christianity [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 03:49 darkredautumn Targeted individual to child of God

Hi my name is Andrea
My sister and I were gangstalked, had witchcraft done on us since 2020.
My sister made a friend in 2020. My sister got close to her. This friend was getting interesting as time went on. My sister and I would let a lot of stuff go when things happened between us and this friend. It was like there was a veil up, and we were blinded. We did however feel a lot was wrong, many things weren’t adding up. Eventually we got tired and angry and we broke things off in the beginning of 2023. I was starting to get into new age stuff in 2022, but after we cut this friend off I heavily got into new age stuff. I discovered frequencies, subliminals and more. I manifested so much. I was manifesting for this friend to be exposed, to know her secrets, and stuff like that. Immediately after manifesting that My sister and I started remembering things left right and center, and we became so aware. We realized that she was in a gang. One example, this friend went into my room with my sister while I was sleeping elsewhere for the night. My sister watched this friend go on a chair and unscrew my vent. My sister also saw that she had a remote looking device in her hand beforehand. A lil time went on and my sister and I were in an argument. I slammed my door and then we saw this device fall down from my vent and it was making noises. We both were too angry to care and we threw it in the garbage not thinking much about it. I was manifesting revenge and all the things all summer of 2023.
On august 9 2023 my sister encountered God. I was inside manifesting while my sister went for a walk to see if she can catch her ex friend in the act of stalking us. She saw a car drive around her for about an hour. She called me to tell me that she was seeing this car and then the call dropped. This tough looking biker guy parks and tries to come around my sister and grab her. Suddenly she heard the audible voice "pray". She prayed and people started coming out of their houses at the same time. Then my sister heard ringing in her right ear, and looked at the guy and he was holding his right ear. She said he was looking up at the sky like he was being questioned by God. This guy seemed confused and angry. So this guy left.
My sister sat down on the grass listening to music and her phone started flooding with bible verses that were relating to her. One that stood out was "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Psalm 23:1-6 ESV. She then felt this authority and conviction to lie down. She also felt the presence of God. She layed down and she said it felt like vacation. She heard the chaos of the world get quiet and she heard nature sounds. She said she felt relieved in a way that she never ever felt before. Her tension was all gone. She also felt her head being anointed with oil.
Then after about 15 minutes it showed a picture of me on her phone and then it said God was calling and it showed a picture that looked like the prince of peace painting. She answered and she said "hey Andrea" (that's me) and God said "instead of saying Andrea insert God" (God used my voice but she said it sounded more deeper) His voice was soft but firm, perfect, peaceful, loving and intriguing. She started to know it was God when she said she wanted to catch this friend in this gang and God responded with "be careful and be humble." "You don't know she could also be into other things". "We gotta think about her soul". At the time I wouldn't say that stuff because I was revengeful. I didn't even like talking about God. God also gave my sister feelings of what I was going through. He brought her through the emotions gradually. She started to cry. She described it as agony, heartbreaking, being super anxious, dissociated, and angry thoughts only I knew. She also felt like she wanted to run onto the street, and that's what I always wanted to do when I was drunk. My sister prayed to understand me because we always got into fights. They talked about a lot, and then God said he loved her and asked if she loved him back. My sister felt touched and said she loved him too. She wanted to talk longer because she felt so happy and intrigued to talk to him. He said that he will always be with her.
She called me right after to see if it was God she truly talked to because she was still in shock. I told her I knew nothing of that conversation, and that I never had it. I also was weirded out how she knew exactly my thoughts and feelings that I told nobody. I was angry that she was talking about God. I felt like I had to go to her and when we walked back I saw the biker guy stare at me. We crossed the street and I felt like we had to run inside. As soon as we got inside the biker guy was riding in a circle on our parking spot and he left.
A couple days after I got my sister to help heavily manifest revenge on this friend. Right after these people drove in front of our place and gave us gun fingers. 2-3 days after my sister woke up by angels at the end of the bed telling her "tell Andrea to come to God". I woke up shortly after but I was too disoriented and panicky to take in what my sister was saying. I felt like I was having a spiritual attack, like a panic attack but worse. I had this sense of doom that I was gonna die. My ears were ringing high pitch and I was getting weird symptoms. My mom who had been praying for me and trying to talk to me about God happened to stay the night at our place and I ran to her and told her to pray over me. As soon as she prayed it immediately left and I felt this voice inside of me "come to me" I knew it was God. I gave my life to him then and there. It felt like that verse (Matthew 11:28-29 KJV Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.) I felt a huge weight being lifted off me.

submitted by darkredautumn to gangstalkedtoGod [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 02:45 nevabecheckin Why does the Bible include certain verses?

Question about the new rule: The rule states that you can get banned even if your entire post is only Holy Scripture. Stating that "clobber verses" are harmful.
Why does the Bible include those verses? If I name all the verses that tell me not to steal something similar can I ignore them and still call myself Christian--by my definition and expect that definition to be shared by Jesus too?

submitted by nevabecheckin to Christianity [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 01:37 gabiand888 I'm Christian and I decided to read the Quran!

After seeing a lot of discussion about the Quran, and some people defending absurd things like child marriage, I decided to read this book to form my own opinions about it. I am aware that my analysis may be biased because as I have a different religious view, this may influence my opinion. However, I think that a Christian perspective on the subject may be valid, as Muhammad claims to have had revelations from the same God who presented himself to the Jews and Christians, but that the Jews and Christians distorted God's message, and that Muhammad came with the true message.
So I started reading and made notes of the differences I noticed in a Twitter thread: https://x.com/Gabi_Ichthys/status/1794385330906517660
I found the first Surah of the Quran to be somewhat acceptable, but problems arise in the second Surah, which for me is perhaps the worst text I have ever read in my entire life! It honestly seems like someone heard some stories from Jews and Christians, didn't understand most of them and made a big mix of everything.
It is as if the stories that in the Bible have several chapters, an entire context, and certain specific lessons, were summarized in a text of 1 to 3 verses, and even though it is very summarized, it still gets basic things wrong in the original story. For example, Satan's sin is not prostrating himself to Adam, the Israelites were transformed into monkeys in the desert, the central theme of the surah is a cow but the cow's color is wrong saying it is yellow while in the original story it is red. Saying that Solomon never worshiped other gods, prohibiting eating pork but ignoring all the other food prohibitions that Moses established. Thinking that the statues of cherubs that were in the ark were real angels that carried it, confusing the story of Gideon with Saul. And other random stories that no Jew or Christian has ever read or believed. The biggest problem isn't even getting the stories wrong, it's getting them wrong while accusing the Jews of lying about their own stories. It's simply bizarre, no Jew who knew how to read the Torah would ever agree with Muhammad, would see that he clearly didn't know the original stories and was mixing everything up into a big mess, and losing all their essence.
In addition to summarizing the stories, he tells them in such a random order that it seems like the text is going nowhere, while he says Islamic rules in the middle of the stories, which makes everything a mess without context. For example in 2:126 the text is talking about Abraham traveling with Ishmael to Mecca, a few verses later it goes to banning pigs then changes to the fasting of Ramadan, then the text starts talking about killing infidels, the theme changes again to husbands and wives, then the theme changes to King Saul and then the text returns to Abraham but telling another story about him. In other words, a big mess! In a single chapter he addresses so many topics in such a disorganized way that it is really difficult to continue reading.
I know the forum is for ExMuslims but I've been following the posts and felt like sharing my reading experience with you. I intend to continue reading and analyzing the other Surahs. And I would also like to know if there are other people here who, like me, are reading the Quran for the first time?

submitted by gabiand888 to exmuslim [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 00:19 truecrimeoklahoma "Monster hurt my Daddy"

In the very heart of bible country, nearly the buckle of the belt, is the state of Oklahoma. It was October in Oklahoma, leaves were changing color, and the heat was gone. The fall hunting season was already on its way to another good year turnout of hunters for Oklahoma.
The Oklahoma City Walmart was stocked to the brim with Halloween candy, costumes, and color hair spray as far as the eye could see. And there were always many little eyes alight with delight as Halloween was known as the signal for the “holidays”.
Children dream. The possibility of becoming a ninja, superhero, Greek goddess, or even the main villain out of that summer movie, the one that everyone had to see. You know that villain.
These Children were easily found anywhere costumes were to be had. It was nothing to see a little head bob up over the isle of half shelf, the ones that ran for acres. And in a very juvenile voice, one could hear the pleading, “Please, please mommy.” Spooky sounds playing over the k-mart speaker system. As costumes were picked out with love and a small giggle of fun. A giggle of fun Michael Rhodes would no longer be able to share with his children.
In September of 2012, Brittany Dillard, one of the seven nieces and nephews staying with Michael Rhodes, when Britanny was asked to leave. Her behavior had gotten out of control and the Rhodes’s felt she was being irresponsible to her baby, by dating a gang member, especially sense he was a Crip and she was not. Some of her other behavior had been less than lady like behavior outside the home.
Brittany felt she was the victim of this, and she hadn’t been given a chance to explain how things really were. But her auntie and uncle were not here foolishness. Both parties were very head strong. Maybe because they were related.
Michael Rhodes was a family man. The beautiful wife and four kids plus the seven nieces and nephews meant stretching the budget to make it all work. Sometimes there was a stretching of the patience too thin, a consequence, Ms. Dillard discovered.
Michael Rhodes was a family man, with a teddy bear heart when it came to his wife, four kids and 7 nieces and nephews. He didn’t tolerate any foolishness either, didn’t do anyone any good. His nieces and nephews had been the victim of a different crime altogether.
Having just been received back from the Watchful Eyes of DHS, they were just getting settled back into some kind of home life. With the “holidays” fast approaching, they were excited the costumes were out in the stores.
A phone call, to Brittany Dillard, one of the 7 Rhodes had taken in, would start the evening of October 19, 2012, and shattered lives.
On the late evening of Oct. 19. Driving into the neighborhood, members Dulxw women, a small group of the gang known as 107^th Hoover Rolling Crips stop and get out of the car. Within just a few minutes, they had fired a weapon, slashed the tire of the family car, and threw rocks breaking two windows. No one was home at the time, much to the ire of the entire group. Then they left, they would go to call Fuston. Even though he rolled out of Enid, they were able to get him to Oklahoma City.
Brian Bulter went to Pennon’ s house before the incident took place. Bulter had ridden with Howard. Bulter had agreed to “rob some Mexicans”, but then he got to help kill an innocent person and nearly his daughter.
The police were called and there was a small investigation conducted. Without any evidence, there was not much that could be done.
For the safety of the children, Rhodes had the children picked up. Brittany was asked to leave as well. This was concerning the drama she had brought upon their household.
Brittany called and went to stay with Mrs. O’Neal, the maternal grandmother of Brittany’s baby.
On the evening of the Oct. 20t, Mrs. Rhodes had spent all day getting harassing phone calls from the women of Dulxw. Mrs. Rhodes repeatedly told them; Brittany was not there. The land line just rang with call all from these women. After it seemed to finally die down, Mrs. Rhodes and her daughter left the house to go to dinner. They wouldn’t even reach the place they were headed out the next evening with her friends to get a little rest from the ongoing drama dropped at her doorstep. She left her youngest daughter and her 19-year-old son, Jalan at home with their father.
That night late on the evening of the 20^th, Fuston and his crew rolled up on Rhodes’s house in two cars. Ronnie Fuston was impulsive, angry, and looking for another chance to kill. This Dillard woman fit the bill no matter what, but they all had to die, according to Fuston.
Ronnie Fuston, Terral Howard, butler, pennon, and Jordan crept up in the thick darkness. Anothy brown JR was told to remain in the car, according to court documents. The darkness of the neighborhood added to their stealth. The car had not had its tires replaced and thus sat in the driveway for them to hide from line of sight of the front door. It would only take a second for Fuston’s hot raging impulses to kick in. He ran for the door at a full barrel roar. With the other in tow, he kicked in the front door to find Rhodes on the couch half asleep with Rhodes three-year-old on his chest. The first hit was in the shoulder of Rhodes, the blood spattered on his toddler. The noise and the blood woke her, Rhodes dropping her on the couch behind him in protection. She screamed and cried, covering her ears.
Rhodes never had a chance to react as two more bullets struck him. Everyone else had fired wildly hitting nothing. They didn’t search the house, had they, they would have found Rhodes’ 19-year-old son, Jalan.
They ran out leaving the door wide open. Hearing the shots, neighbors were stepping out to see what happened, one neighbor would see Fuston speed away. She would later tell the police she saw it only leaving and didn’t have anything else.
Having heard the gunshots, Jalan had been playing video games in his room. He ran into the living room. Jalan found the door open and that his dad was on the floor up against the couch. He helps sit his father up and called 911. As he did, he snatched up his little sister.
Jalan tried to wipe some of the blood from face as he held his phone with his free hand. He had sat her on the edge of the couch so he could see both her and his father.
Rhodes was holding his son’s hand as he lay there and bled out. His eyes went dark as Jalan didn’t know if and how to do CPR. For Christ’s sake, he was just a kid!
When the police arrived at the scene, Mr. Rhodes was deceased. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital where he was officially pronounced. His wife and children were thrown into the middle of chaos and Mrs. Rhodes blamed Brittany for her bad choices and what she had done to bring this tragedy down on them.
This is not where this story ends. Things would take the road not taken with full knowledge of the consequences
The police would question every family member to see what they could learn. They even decided to question the three-year-old daughter. All she could tell them was, “monsters hurt my daddy.” This broke a lot of hearts. This child was fatherless, and the worst part, she was in his ears when Mr. Rhodes was murdered. When she was questioned, she was still wearing her father’s blood.
Jalan hadn’t seen the actual incident. This made his mother very thankful, and she praised God. She would praise him for saving her son and daughter again when hearing in court that Fuston wanted them all dead.
Fuston drove back to Enid with Butler, there would be no victory had in the split between Brittany and Dulxw Women. During the drive Fuston changed his cell phone number. Now did he change it to run from the murder or run from the girls, after a botched hit. It was time to cool his heels for a bit.
Butler told him on the ride back this murder was going to come back to haunt him. Fuston just shrugged it off. Either way, Fuston had the confidence of a gambling addict as he told butler confidently, that girl won’t testify.
For about a month, there was nothing in the investigation. But it had not grown cold.
Minor thefts and other minor offenses had been occurred. Nothing to really raise an alarm. Just the way it was designed to be by this “Lil’ thug that couldn’t.”
One night in December, thinking his murder of Rhodes was over for him, he continued his thug life just the way he liked it. After all, it was Oklahoma City, there are NY style clubs and women.
In 2012, Trelon Haley, Anthony Brown, Donta Young, and Ivan Williamson were all friends. They spent a great deal of time hanging out in “the Ville.” And often were found at the Martson Sisters or Judd Julian. When not there, they could be found at a vacant lot near Fuston’s mother’s old home.
This vacant lot was one of the places used to keep a cache of weapons. This was the place they stowed.
In October, around the time of the Rhodes murder, Fuston found himself at his cousin’s house, Judd Julian, where Fuston was using Judd’s computer to surf Facebook. Fuston found a picture of someone named “Marciano,” with a wad of cash in his gob.
He told Judd that he was going to “hit a lick” which meant he wanted to go kill someone. Judd didn’t take him seriously at the time.
On the evening of December 22^nd, 2012, Fuston decided he was going to get that money from “Marciano”. Fuston load Haley, young, brown, into the car. Haley drover. Fuston was sitting in the passenger seat, leaving the other two in the back. Fuston gave directions to Haley, he drove.
The location that Fuston directed Haley to, was a trailer home.
The four crept up, the darkness of the trailer court holding their shadows in secret. Haley was on one side of the door, brown and young on the other. When Fuston knocked, he used his best Hispanic voice and called out to behind the door.
Crites was home sick for work today and was certainly home when his unwelcome guests arrived. Crites opened the door, when he saw who it was, he tried to close it. Fuston’s name and face were all over the news, and not to mention they all lived in Enid together. Fuston prevented him from closing the door by placing his arm in between the door and the facing.
Fuston fired his gun into the trailer house. Crites had been hit with such a wild shot, that luck was not on his side, and Fuston shoved his way in, taking his cohorts with him. Crites was hit in the shoulder. When Brown and Young entered the trailer, Crites was holding his left shoulder with his right hand. Both walked past the scene and moved to toss the bedrooms.
Crites swore he had nothing. Angry, Fuston yelled at him and shoved him on his back. Fuston had taken the stance, rigidly over Crites in a fashion one might find a police officer standing over a suspected and again he screamed at Crites. “where’s the stuff? Where’s the money?”
Crites held his palm up to prove he wasn’t a threat. All Crites could do was think about his loving wife, Kelly Churchill. He loved her so much and was hoping, praying in his head they would just leave. “I don’t have anything, please don’t hurt met.”
Moments later, while searching for the bedrooms for drugs, and money, Young would hear shots ring out, as he later testified. Young left the residence after finding nothing in the bedrooms and heard one or two more gunshots.
They were all back at the car and moved out of there quickly. Haley was driving. The shots woke neighbors and at least one resident was able to make out the car as it sped away.
The ride back quiet, when the events just happened were brought up, Fuston said, “it was self-explanartory.”
Fuston couldn’t help himself not long after the murder of Rhodes was already bragging about it with the pride of a newborn’s father. Later when Crites was killed again with the chest thumping. This would not be his downfall, come on, it’s Oklahoma we all gossip.
Between 1:30 and 2:00 am, Churchill could not reach Crites by phone. He was late picking her up from work. Churchill caught a right home with two co-workers. She was taken to a house with all the lights on and the front door was standing wide open. Churchill ran up to the trailer home and walked inside. She found Crites lying in the middle of his own blood. Churchill called Crites’ boss then 911.
Sgt. Nick John with the Enid police department received the call around 2:18 AM. He was called to the residence of Crites regarding a homicide at his address. When Sgt. John arrived at the scene, Churchill was hysterical.
Through the hiccupping sobs, Churchill told the Sargent what she had found. Sergeant John went inside the residence and checked Crites for a pulse. He had none, there were others in the home at the time, Sargent ordered everyone out.
Tommy Rose, an evidence tech with Enid police department was called in around 5 am. Rose recovered 10 .45 caliber shells casing from the Trailer House. Rose submitted these to the Oklahoma Bureau of investigations for test.
The state medical would work on Christmas eve to complete the autopsy on Crites. Crites suffer eleven gunshot wounds in total. The Bullets recovered from the left arm, pubic bone, and the spine. The cause of death was ruled a homicide.
Sometime just after Christmas Williamson was walking with Fuston down to the store. Fuston asked if Williams had heard of the Columbia Street murder. When Wilson indicated he did and pointed to himself and looking crazy. Fuston said he went to somebody’s house, disguised his voice as Hispanic, when the man opens the door, Fuston fired.
January 9^th, 2013, Fuston was jailed on an unrelated charge. During a phone call to Haley, he was head telling Haley to get rid of the hammers.
Williamson went to the house on Wabash, where the vacant lot was. He then called a gentleman by the area of Oakley. Williamson would then send Haley a Facebook message letting him know the gun had gone.
On January 11^th the Enid Police contacted Oakley and informed him he had possibly received stolen property. After speaking with his attorney, Oakly gave him the .45 Taurus, purchased from Williamson.
During the summer of 2013, Judd Julian, was with Young, brown, Haley. While together young told Julian about the Crites murder. Julian would later testify about what Young.
All of which landed Ronnie Fuston on death row and a child without her daddy.

submitted by truecrimeoklahoma to Truecrimesokie [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 00:16 ppiudi1 Mariah’s discography revisitation (E=MC2)

Everyone has that cool, single auntie who’s always updated with trends right? Mariah made sure to update her sound here with the swaggiest album she ever made, successfully mixing modern hip-hop and R&B with a sprinkle of pop.
1) Migrate: Mariah is trying to be cool on this one. the instrumental sounds outdated, kinda cheap and doesn’t blend very well with the vocals but i like her creative approach. Hard vocal tuning is fine. I like T-pain but this feature is…painful. “Keep it moving, bounce heyyy” might be the song highlight.
✨2) Touch my body: The instrumental is very pretty, simple and doesn’t sound too outdated. The verses are pretty weak but the chorus is very strong. lyrics are corny but it’s okay.
3) Cruise control: the patois on the second verse takes me out everytime. Overall the beat and vocal arrangement are fun but not very strong, the feature is the highlight of the song imo.
✨4) I stay in love: This right here is classic Mariah but in a modern key. i like how the main focus is on the vocals rather than the beat. Intricate, dynamic and well written verses. Immaculate and memorable chorus. I appreciate the effort and emotion that was put in the vocals; even if the damage was noticeable, she made it sound nice still.
5) Side effects: This is a very personal song and the writing is on point. Sadly the beat is outdated, the vocals too processed and too low volume wise. The bridge is nice, the feature unnecessary. This song could’ve been reworked as a ballad to let the message shine through.
✨6) I’m that chick: This is the album’s highlight. The production is timeless, luxurious and screams Mariah; the vocals sit on top perfectly. She isn’t trying too hard here and that’s what makes the song very enjoyable, she’s very comfortable with the range and the layering is very dreamy. I wish the album followed this direction more.
✨7) Love story: One thing about Jermaine Dupri, you’ll hear him moan and laugh all over the track. This one is cute, it’s more classic Mariah and she’s so dreamy here. She’s kind of weak vocally but she’s still letting the emotions through without heavy vocal editing and i appreciate it.
8) IBLULT: I don’t know what it is but i can’t get into this song. Both the intro and outro have too many elements to the point that the sound becomes muddy and the chorus is too stagnant, almost weak. I feel like the beat and the sample don’t go very well with the vocals, imma need your opinion on this one.
✨ 9) Last kiss: This song is kind of a filler but that doesn’t mean it’s not good. I’m kind of biased bc i’m a huge fan of JD and Mariah’s collabs. That said, the highlight here is the beat (very reminiscent of charmbracelet) and the chorus. The verses kind of drag on and there’s too much staccato for my liking. I really like the mini-bridge with the background whistles tho.
✨10) Thanx 4 nothin’: This one is “Always be my baby” depressed sister. I like the beat, it’s not too outdated. I also like the vocal performance, even if the last bit sounds like it took way too many takes. The melodic “rap” in the verses is very fun, i dislike the “uh-oh-uh-oh-uh” tho; could’ve been replaced with something some interesting
✨11) O.O.C.: She’s winking to charmbracelet sooo hard here. I always seen mixed reviews about this one but i personally love it. It’s bouncy, nostalgic and i love how smooth she sounds here without trying too hard. She was saying anything with the lyrics but the whole vibe makes up for it. It’s fun!
✨12) For the record: I love the writing, the references and the witty lines here and there. The beat is nice and the feeling it gives goes along very well with the lyrics. I love the arrangement and agility on the chorus, same with the verses.
13) Bye bye: I really love the writing and the intention behind the song, the chorus is very cute too. The only thing is that i wish it was a classic Mariah ballad, without the outdated hip-hop elements. Since it’s supposed to be a celebratory song for everyone to relate to, i wish it had a timeless sound too.
✨14) I wish you well: Do i really need to say anything? Hearing songs like this i get to remember that Mariah is truly gifted. This song is healing, it flows nicely and keeps building adding more and more emotions. Love the vocal performance, the best on the entire album.
BONUS TRACKS:
❌15) Heat: Mimi where’s the class? :(
✨16) 4real4real: This is how you infuse R&B with hip-hop in 2008 while making it sound fresh and timeless. Love the very 90’s piano accords The vocals are smooth and sexy, the lyrics fun and witty. Da brat’s verse is hilarious and elevates the whole thing. I wonder why this song didn’t make it to the original tracklist.
FINAL NOTE:
I think that this is a very fun, complete and versatile album, very cohesive in some section. I like that you can tell they wanted to go for an updated sound both with the instrumentals and the vocal corrections. The only downside to it imo is the forced edginess in some points, resulting in some cringe-worthy lines.
🫶🏻🦋

submitted by ppiudi1 to MariahCarey [link] [comments]

2024.06.02 00:05 The_Sunhunter The Mythology of the Eikons #9: Leviathan

Leviathan, the Eikon of Water concept art
Leviathan, the lost Eikon of Water, has finally been found! After months of waiting, the Rising Tide downloadable content (DLC) has been released and with it, I am once again rambling about the mythological, religious, and cultural inspirations behind the Eikons of Final Fantasy XVI. If you would like to check out any of my previous posts on the subject of Eikons, you can find them here:

1.) Phoenix

2.) Ifrit

3.) Shiva

4.) Ramuh

5.) Garuda

6.) Titan

7.) Bahamut

8.) Odin

As I’ve said in the past, if you feel that I may have said something wrong, or if you would like to add to what information I have provided; by all means please do so. I absolutely welcome the discussion.
The sea serpent Leviathan, like most of the Eikons, has been a staple of the Final Fantasy series since its introduction as one of the original summons#Summon_Magic) from 1990’s Final Fantasy III. While modern usage of the terms “leviathan” and “behemoth” are often used to denote something large and imposing, these words actually originate as the names of two creatures from the Tanakh (or Hebrew Bible). According to the verses 40:15-41:34 in the Book of Job, Leviathan and Behemoth are two gigantic and nigh indestructible animals born around the same time as the creation of the first two humans Adam and Eve, with Behemoth residing over the wilderness east of the Garden of Eden called Duidain and Leviathan bound to the watery Abyss) as stated in verses 60:7-10 in the apocryphal Book of Enoch. While the term abyss may bring to mind the idea of a bottomless hole or even an underworld such as the Greek Hades, Hebrew Sheol, or Christian Hell; the Septuagint, the earliest Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, often uses the term abyss to instead refer to deep bodies of water. In fact, Abyss is the translated noun for the Hebrew Tehom, or the “deep” primordial waters from which the god Yahweh formed the world after the creation of light as stated by the verses 1:2-10 in the Book of Genesis; which is but one example of the cosmic ocean motif, whereby existence is conceptualized as originating from a watery void. I find it very interesting then that the Abyss is referenced several times in the Rising Tide DLC, such as in the name of Leviathan’s Eikonic ability Abyssal Tear; the Motes of Water adage “Know that even should you walk Abyss, our hands will guide you home” from the Minwu Arm Ring description; or the description of the Radiant Tidestrike weapon that says “Surge did the tide, the water rising as if it were some mighty whale stranding itself upon the shore. Behold, the Devourer of Worlds. The beast within whose foul belly our hopes are carried unto the Abyss. - Eikonomachy - Book of Currents 15:40-41”.
From the aforementioned verses of the diegetic Book of Currents, as well as one of the Active Time Lore Entries for Leviathan that states “Old writings clearly speak of Dominants past summoning great whale-like creatures capable of swallowing entire cities…”; we can possibly see a reference to Leviathan) swallowing the protagonist Firion and his allies on their way to the Mysidian Tower in Final Fantasy II. However, I would suggest that these quotes go further than mere references to past games and are actually an allusion to the parable of Jonah surviving in the belly of a whale from the eponymous Book of Jonah. For those unfamiliar with the story, the Hebrew prophet Jonah was tasked by God to preach on His behalf to the citizenry of Nineveh in the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Jonah instead refuses the call, and attempts to sail across the sea to Tarshish. On the journey, Jonah and the sailors he is accompanied by are caught in a huge storm, and believing that Jonah’s dismissal of God is the cause, the sailors thus throw him overboard. God then sends a whale to swallow Jonah, with the intention of preventing the Israelite from drowning. Miraculously surviving in the whale’s stomach for 3 days, Jonah vows to do God’s bidding and is thus safely returned to shore, whereby he travels to Nineveh and beseeches the citizens to renounce their wicked ways, lest they be visited by calamity. This story is meant to illustrate that Yahweh is a merciful god who allows for second chances, giving not only Jonah, but also the Ninevites the opportunity to learn from their mistakes and redirect their course of actions.
With this parable in mind, I would like to mention that in 1949, literary professor Joseph Campbell published “The Hero with a Thousand Faces”; a work of comparative mythology in which he proposed his idea of the Monomyth (later called the Hero’s Journey). Campbell’s theory of the Monomyth posits that while most narratives involving a heroic protagonist may have differing contents, these stories also typically follow a similar pattern; that being a three-act structure comprised of 17 subset stages. One such stage in Campbell’s model is the Belly of the Whale (sometimes also referred to as the Abyss), one of the literally or figuratively lowest points in the story for the protagonist in which the hero must engage in introspection and commence a process of self-transformation if they are to be equipped to finish their journey. This stage acts as a symbolic death and rebirth for the protagonist, with some Christians even interpreting Jonah’s story as actually being an allegory for Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection.
A prime example of this stage can be seen in Carlo Collodi’s 1883 novel “The Adventures of Pinocchio”, whereby the eponymous puppet Pinocchio and his creator Geppetto are swallowed by the Terrible Dogfish; with the typically irresponsible and selfish Pinocchio instead performing a self-sacrificial act in order to save his “father”, which he is thus rewarded for by being brought back to life as a human by the Fairy with Turquoise Hair. Viewing the Pinnochio narrative as an example of a more modern mythical epic, Thomas J. Morrissey and Richard Wunderlich state in “Death and Rebirth in Pinocchio”; “Gods can die and be reborn, or rise from the dead. Such mythological events probably imitate the annual cycle of vegetative birth, death, and renascence, and they often serve as paradigms for the frequent symbolic deaths and rebirths encountered in literature. Two such symbolic renderings are most prominent: re-emergence from a journey to hell and rebirth through metamorphosis. Journeys to the underworld [Katabasis] are a common feature of Eurasian literary epics: Gilgamesh, Odysseus, Aeneas, and Dante all benefit from the knowledge and power they put on after such descents. Rebirth through metamorphosis, on the other hand, is a motif generally consigned to fantasy or speculative literature… These two figurative manifestations of the death-rebirth trope are rarely combined; however, Carlo Collodi’s great fantasy-epic, The Adventures of Pinocchio, is a work in which a hero experiences symbolic death and rebirth through both infernal descent and metamorphosis”. We as the player also experience this Belly of the Whale stage in Final Fantasy XVI, when our heroes Clive Rosfield and Jill Warwick confront the Dominant of Darkness Barnabas Tharmr on the seafloor of the sundered Naldia Narrow, appropriately labeled as the Abyss, whereby Clive is soundly defeated by Barnabas for a second time. Fleeing their assailant, Clive and Jill consummate their love for one another on the shore of Ash, with Clive acquiring a portion of the Eikon Shiva’s powers from Jill so that he may finally triumph over Barnabas in a battle of physical prowess and ideals; proving to the false prophet and his God that compassion and the desire for freedom will always overcome any adversity.
With all this talk of whales, I should mention that from the descriptions as given in the Book of Job, Behemoth sounds to resemble that of a large ox or hippopotamus, while Leviathan is suggested as being similar to that of the tanninim) or “great whales” mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible. In fact, Islamic folklore has its own variant of this terrestrial and aquatic duo, that being the large bull Kujata and the even larger whale Bahamut; as outlined by the medieval cosmographer Zakariya al-Qazwini in his seminal work “The Wonders of Creation”. Even though I am going to hazard a guess that the name of the Kuza Beast), a variant of the Behemoth enemy in several Final Fantasy games, is named after Kujata; it is quite obvious on the other hand that the draconic Eikon Bahamut borrows its name from the Islamic whale of the same name as well as the dragon god Bahamut) from the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. While the Book of Job describes Leviathan as being a whale or even a crocodile as suggested by a footnote in the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, verse 27:1 in the Book of Isaiah instead equates Leviathan to a sea serpent or dragon, with the Book of Job description also making it a point to mention Leviathan’s fearsome fiery breath. Given its status as a tutelary god for the Japanese-inspired nation of Wutai in Final Fantasy VII, it could be argued that Leviathan in the Final Fantasy series also shares similarities with Eastern dragons, such as the Chinese Lóng or Japanese Ryū; beneficent, serpentine deities of water and rain.
It is presumed that the figure and name of Leviathan actually originates from the older Canaanite sea monster Lôtān, whose name in the Ugaritic language meant “coiled” and was given the epithets “the fugitive serpent” or “the wriggling serpent”. In the first two tablets of the fragmentary Ugaritic Baal Cycle text, the storm god Baal (Lord) Hadad engages in a feud with the deification of the sea Yammu) to succeed their father El) as the ruler of the gods. At some point in this first chapter of the Baal Cycle, Hadad strikes down the seven-headed serpent Lôtān, who given the missing pieces of the text, could either be a servant of or another name for Yammu, with it also being believed that the monster was a zoomorphic representation of the Lebanese Litani River. Why I bring this up is to illustrate that Hadad’s defeat of Lôtān is but one example of the Chaoskampf mytheme, a pattern found in numerous Indo-European mythologies whereby a younger storm god or culture hero representing order and human civilization slays an ancient serpent or dragon associated with water that represents primordial chaos); perhaps a sentiment held by early agricultural riverine civilizations wishing to triumph over the constant and often devastating threat of floods.
One of the oldest examples of this mytheme is that of the Mesopotamian god Marduk’s dismemberment of Tiamat. According to the Babylonian Enūma Eliš, in the beginning there existed only Tiamat, the female personification of salt water; and Abzu, the male personification of fresh water. From the union of the two primeval waters sprang forth the first generation of gods called the Anunnaki. One such god, Enki (or Ea) would capture and kill Abzu after he plotted to kill his children due to the commotion they were causing. Enraged by Enki’s actions, Tiamat gave birth to eleven monstrous children to wage war against the gods along with her new consort Kingu, who possessed the Tablet of Destinies); the mark of divine rule. Marduk, the son of Enki, challenged Tiamat and her monsters, eventually slaying his opponents with lightning and storm winds. Defeated, Tiamat’s body was sliced in twain, with the two halves becoming the sky and earth. From an earlier promise made with the Anunnaki and the Igigi (lesser gods) as well as the acquisition of the Tablet of Destinies from the beaten Kingu, Marduk was made king of the gods; later mixing the blood of Kingu with clay to also become the creator of mankind.
Through the lens of the Chaoskampf mytheme, we can start to see connections between Tiamat’s dismemberment, the defeat of the multi-headed Lôtān, and Leviathan form. The non-canonical Book of Enoch actually specifies that the land-dwelling Behemoth is male, while the aquatic Leviathan is female; possibly creating an inadvertent association between Leviathan and the sea goddess and mother of monsters Tiamat. This may also be why Leviathan’s Chronolith Trial is named the Hand of Tethys. While still following the moons of Saturn naming convention, it is very fitting that the trial is also named after the Greek Tethys); wife of the world-encompassing river Oceanus and mother to the male river gods and female water nymphs called the Potamoi and Oceanids, respectively. Furthering the connections to Tiamat and Lôtān, several accounts in the Hebrew Bible describe Yawheh triumphing over the forces of the sea, such as in Isaiah 51:9-10 “Awake, awake, arm of the Lord, clothe yourself with strength! Awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old. Was it not you who cut Rahab) to pieces, who pierced that monster through? Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed may cross over?” and Job 26:12-13 “By his power he churned up the sea; by his wisdom he cut Rahab to pieces. By his breath the skies became fair; his hand pierced the gliding serpent”. It is believed that Rahab, while occasionally used as a flowery term for Egypt or arrogance, was also a sea serpent either comparable to or synonymous with Leviathan. While Leviathan’s death at the hands of Yahweh in Isaiah 27:1 is viewed as a metaphor for the enemies of Israel who will submit to the Hebrew God, the Chaoskampf and the connection with the Canaanite Lôtān is further shown in verse 74:14 from the Book of Psalms, which says “Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness”; which is where the name of the trophy for beating Leviathan on Final Fantasy mode, Thou Brakest the Head, comes from.
Along with the account of Leviathan’s death in Psalms 74:12, several other Jewish sources, such as the Second Book of Esdras 6:47-52, the Apocalypse of Baruch 29:4, and the Bava Batra tractate in the Talmud state that Yahweh will slay Leviathan and Behemoth so that their flesh shall be given as food and shelter to the righteous during the End of Days and the Messianic Age. This may explain why the Behemoth King in FFXVI has several attacks referencing Christian eschatology from the Book of Revelation, such as the Four Horsemen; personifications of War, Conquest, Famine, and Death that herald the Last Judgment; and the Apocalypse, another term for a revelation which has since become synonymous with a cataclysmic end-time event, like the battle at Armageddon for instance. Leviathan and Behemoth’s statuses as eventual sacrifices is very similar to the role that Leviathan and its Dominant unfortunately play in Final Fantasy XVI.
Both DLCs, the Echoes of the Fallen and the Rising Tide, deal with themes of rectifying the sins of the past; whereby the Fallen and the Motes of Water engaged in questionable behavior in an attempt to create their own Mothercrystals to disastrous effect. The Motes of Water, a central focus of the Rising Tide, are a tribe originating from the southern coast of the continent of Ash and hosts to the Dominants of the Eikon Leviathan. After the loss of their Mothercrystal Drake’s Horn, the tribe migrated across the twin continent of Storm; where they were mercilessly persecuted by several groups, particularly the Greagorian faithful of the burgeoning Holy Empire of Sanbreque, causing the tribe and their Eikon to become “lost” to history. Due to their nomadic nature as well as Sanbreque’s similarities with the Roman and Holy Roman Empires, one could say that the Motes of Water mirror the Jewish Diaspora (exile) and transformation of the faith after the Roman Empire’s siege on Jerusalem) and the destruction of the Second Temple during the First Jewish-Roman War; or perhaps one could say the tribe is treated in a similar fashion to the oft demonized itinerant Romani people of eastern Europe. Either way, the Motes of Water are meant to represent the “Other”; ostracized outsiders to the customs of Storm who hid themselves away from the rest of the world to avoid further religious persecution.
After finding sanctuary in the northern territory of Mysidia, the Motes of Water tried to create for themselves a new Mothercrystal to replace the Northern Territories’ own shattered Mothercrystal called Drake’s Eye. The story of the Motes of Water is one of loss and a constant fight to carve out a place in the world to call their own, so it is no surprise then that they wished to regain something taken away from them so many years ago. However, the tribe would engage in a terrible act, enraging their Eikon Leviathan that laid dormant within the infant Dominant Waljas, and freeze both the baby and the Eikon in time to essentially act as an aether battery. Unsuccessful in turning Waljas into the heart of a Mothercrystal, all the tribe achieved was robbing the poor baby of its life and autonomy, imprisoning the Dominant and the tidal wave it summoned in that moment where the tribe’s greatest sin occurred for 80 years.
This frozen tsunami, dubbed the Surge, is not only a monument to the tribe’s greatest shame, but is also a constant looming threat over the tribe’s village of Haven; a reminder to never again engage in such a transgression, lest they be met with watery doom. This mirrors not only Jonah preaching to the Ninevites to change their ways, but also God’s warnings against individuals sacrificing children to Moloch in the Book of Leviticus 20:2-5. In fact, as ProfNoctis suggests in his video “Final Fantasy XVI Lecture Stream: The Mythos of Leviathan Part 2”; Leviathan and the Surge are symbols of human and divine regret, with Ultima, the creator of mankind and the Mothercrystals, referring to Leviathan as its “most profaned fragment”; due to the Eikon being rested from its creator’s control and the act of creating a man-made Mothercrystal being a repeat of the Fallen’s blasphemous attempts at attaining godhood during the War of the Magi and the Sins of Dzemekys, flagrant displays of mankind’s development of free will which is anathema to Ultima’s collective identity.
As a symbol of divine regret, the Surge could be seen as a parallel to the Flood from the Book of Genesis. Deluge or flood myths are motifs that can often be found amongst cultures residing near the Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, and Persian Gulf such as Egypt, Greece, and Israel; with these stories usually recounting a tale in which a deity or deities summon a world-wide flood as a form of divine retribution. One of the earliest examples is the Mesopotamian Epic of Atra-Hasis, in which mankind was created by the gods to act as servants and laborers. However, due to overpopulation, the storm god Enlil seeks to reduce their numbers by bringing forth a great flood. Enki, seen as a benefactor of mankind, warns the human Atra-Hasis about the flood, telling him to build a boat to protect himself, his family, and his livestock from the deluge. After seven days, the waters recede and Enki and Enlil agree on other means of maintaining the human population. This story is also thought to have been later adapted in Tablet XI of the Epic of Gilgamesh, where the survivor of the flood is renamed Utnapishtim; though both the Atra-Hasis and Gilgamesh flood accounts seem to originate from an even older source called the Eridu Genesis. Similarly, the Greeks also had a deluge myth, as outlined in the Roman poet Ovid’s Metamorphoses, where Deucalion, the human son of the divine Prometheus, is warned by his father to build a chest for himself and his wife Pyrrha to escape a gigantic flood that the storm god Zeus plans to bring forth as a response to the insufficient offering given to him by Lycaon), the king of Arcadia); with the pair washing up on Mount Parnassus nine days after the storm.
There are several theories, such as the Black Sea Deluge Hypothesis, that propose that the ancient Middle East did indeed experience a large flood at some point in the very distant past. Given that flood myths are thus believed to have originated from Mesopotamia, it should come as no surprise that the Hebrew flood narrative bears similarities to the previously discussed deluge myths as well. According to chapters 6-9 in the Book of Genesis, God grows increasingly distraught over the wicked nature of the humans descended from Adam and Eve and their inadvertent creation of sin, and so decides to reset creation to a state of watery chaos. God warns one of the few moral men, the Antediluvian patriarch named Noah, about His plan to flood the world and instructs him to build an ark to house himself, his family, and two of each animal to be the first creatures to inhabit the new world. After the firmament breaks forth and floods the world for 40 days, Noah’s Ark washes up on Mount Ararat. Noah then builds an altar, with God forming a covenant with Noah whereby He declares to never again summon a flood to devastate the world. As Genesis 9:9-17 states, this promise between Noah and God is commemorated by the rainbow, a symbol of peace; which as ProfNoctis points out, also appears once Clive saves Waljas.
Through a certain perspective, the Flood could be seen as a sort of baptism, a spiritual cleansing of the world through physical water. Baptism is considered one of the 7 sacraments of the Christian Catholic denomination; a rite of initiation whereby the individual joining the faith is either submerged in or sprinkled with water three times, representing the purification of sin and the grace given by the Holy Trinity. This is not unlike the Rite of Immersion that the infant Waljas is granted at the conclusion of the Rising Tide DLC; a ceremony for all babies born into the Motes of Water in which the initiate is sprinkled with mountainous rain water from Maiden’s March, river water from Riversmeet, and sea water from Tailwind Bay. The water used in this rite is used as a metaphor for life’s journey, likened by the tribe to that of a river, with this revealing that the Motes of Water hold a very cyclical view of life in a similar fashion to the Buddhist beliefs in reincarnation or the Lifestream from Final Fantasy VII. As the descriptions for the 3 kinds of water used in the ceremony state; “The rain that falls upon the mountains of Mysidia emerges in the springs of Maiden’s March. Thus the water collected from said springs represents birth-the fountainhead from which the river of life begins”, “In the Riversmeet valley, several tributaries merge into a single stream, where clear currents and roiling eddies swim side by side. Its water represents life-a course complete with myriad meanderings, yet one that runs inexorably from source to sea”, and “The Mysidian river empties into the ocean amid the shallows of Tailwind Bay, and thus its water represents death-the stillness that lies beyond the end of the river of life, and from whence the raindrops are born anew”. In fact, the symbol for the village of Haven is meant to be the combination of Leviathan’s scales and the river called the Ceaseless Rill, “...the circle of life that has neither beginning nor end”, not unlike the serpentine symbol of the Ouroboros. I would thus argue that not only does Leviathan represent regret and retribution, but also the chaotic journey of life.
If it’s not already apparent, I find Leviathan to be very interesting. I want to thank you all for sticking around and reading the whole thing, as I know this was a lot. If you would like to check out some more information about Leviathan, I would recommend checking out the videos “Leviathan of Final Fantasy VS the Leviathan of the Bible - FF16 The Rising Tide” by Country Kratos and “A Brief History of Final Fantasy Summons Final Fantasy Lore” by Alleyway Jack.
With the conclusion of both DLCs, Clive and by extension the player, is granted one additional Eikonic power. As such, I am actually going to do one more essay, which I will post next week. I hope you look forward to it and thank you again for reading this. Have a fantastic day!

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2024.06.01 23:19 ds-10- My testimony to the TRUTH of the World...

Hello my name is Damian.
All my life I have pondered on why the world is the way that it is. Why evil seems to prevail in this world. Why people are called 'Great' for being conquerors and killing people. Out of everyone in history there hasn't been anyone like Jesus Christ. In 3 years of ministry with no army, spreading love has left such a massive impact 2000 years later. To me this proves his divinity. I truly believe in my heart that Jesus is God and the Son of Man. I am willing to die for this message. I have had 6 encounters with God now. He has revealed the secrets of the universe to me and confirmed my already existing suspicions of this world. I do not want any glory for my self, all glory to the one and true God Jesus. I am just simply relaying the infinite wisdom he has given me - but all glory comes from him. I am a mere mortal Human like yourselves. After what I experienced and have been told and the love I experienced and that engulfed my spirit. I know for my self, I just want to spread this to as many people as possible. Because Jesus loves every single one of us, he really does. He told me. However, we do also have free will and that plays a massive part in life. If you choose to live your entire life apart of him and you don't even dedicate 1 second of your time to get to know him - how can then you turn around and say "Father you have forsaken me" when something bad happens in your life? Imagine you are a father and you are responsible for a child's life. Now lets say that child grows up and chooses to disregard you as a teacher and chooses to never listen to you. Now lets say your child gets him self in some trouble. Can that child now turn around to the Father and say "This is because of you" or should that child take accountability? He chose to live his life outside the teachings of his father and got himself in the mess he got himself into. Regardless the Father still loves the child and can't stop loving him despite the fact the child does not listen. That is us and God. He still loves you even when you are sinning but he hopes you find the light. Just as the father of the child prays to see the day his child does well and succeeds and becomes a full grown well taught and well behaved functional member of society and adult. That can look after him self and others around him. God is everywhere around us, he sees everything. My human mind cannot begin to comprehend and articulate the greatness of God. I could wake up and talk about it and go to sleep and wake up and repeat and to the day i get old and grey I still will have words to say, and i would never run out of words. God is the word of life. To quote the scriptures John 1:1 - In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. He really is the word of life and this elaborates on his infinite greatness. God wants you to find him and he hopes the best for you - he wants you to eat among him in the kingdom of Heaven. The question is are you willing to let him in? What is the number one persecuted religion in the world? Christianity. The one religion that gets openly mocked, everyone feels disheartened by but nothing is done about. This proves it is the truth to be a Christian means to follow God and the teachings of God. Accept Jesus as the Son of Man and let the truth set you free. Amen. No other religion gets so criticized as much as us by Hollywood, media and music industry etc. Street preachers will be attacked on streets for spreading the good news of the Gospel in a 'FREE COUNTRY'? Do we have freedom? or is freedom just an illusion and a tactic of Satan, he made us all think freedom is money when in reality freedom is God. Take a look at Lil Nas X, Sam Smith, these are humiliation rituals taking part and they are openly mocking us now... They worship Ba'al as mentioned in Romans 11:4, Numbers 25:3 and Judges 2:11. Why are they doing this? Let me explain. They want to reject the one true God because they want to be God's themselves, they see them selves as icons and idols. They want worship of the people and we are giving them that. All the glory they want is from the people. I have seen heavenly things now personally so no earthly things could make me reject Jesus Christ. They want you all to think we are more advanced than what we are - this is a hard truth pill to swallow i am aware. But Jesus said in Matthew 11:15 - "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." So those who are willing to accept the truth. Note, this will disrupt the whole fundamental belief you was told to believe in and your reality will be shook. We have been brainwashed since school since kids we was told we live on a sphere, most of us grew up in Christian countries and they never put any emphasis on the Bible they just dismissed the teachings of it and replaced it with science. Who you going to trust the almighty all knowing God or a human prone to error. They hide the truth away from you. The Flat Earthers are correct the world is Flat, not because they are wise and they figured it out and we are all stupid. Everyone knew the world is flat since existence the concept of a spheroid Earth is a relatively new idea. The bible confirms this is true there are only 3 dimensions, Heaven, Earth and Hell. Even the concept of 3D they stole of the bible and tried making it their own. The bible gives you answers about life, Science just creates more questions not answers. Lets further dive into this so you know i am speaking of the truth, lets talk moon landing. The great deceptions to fool many due to a space race with the USSR, USSR sent the first satellite into space 'apparently'. America caught winds of this and thought how can we top them up and assert our dominance, we send people to the moon. People that believe that we have been to the moon you are greatly lost and i hope you find Christ and welcome him. Notice how when the USSR dissolved and countries became independent and Russia wasn't seen as a great threat no more as the ideology of Capitalism won against Socialism, we haven't been so eager to get ourselves back there... I wonder why that enthusiasm has burnt away? After all, i thought space is the final frontier? With the technology we had back then do you guys think this is possible? According to their own science it contradicts everything they said that the vacuum of space has so much radiation, that i am struggling to believe that a normal not even specialized for the event camera was abled to take photos on the moon and return back home with clear images... The Earth is flat and the moon and Son is within the firmament. I know the first human emotion of someone reading this is going to be that is a big bombshell. Now lets look into the deeper reason why that is, you have been programed to be hostile to the idea of any other theory besides the one you have been taught in school and subscribed to without knowing. And your first instinct when you hear a view as such is to say to the person 'you are stupid' and laugh at them because you think they didn't listen in school or they are slow. In reality they are the ones who are wise because they seen what the Earth is with their own eyes and made their decision on that. Lets have a look what the famous band had to say in the song 'Califiornication' by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. "The sun may rise in the East, at least it settled in a final location, it understood that Hollywood sells Californication." Now lets really analyze what was the authors intended message of this song, as everything is ambiguous and open to interpretation by others, however, the author always has an intended message. What can the Sun be looked as. God. So if you replace Sun with God, God raises us and he understood that Hollywood sells Californication. Now what is Californication? That is the fairytale that came from Hollywood, California - the AI dream all you guys are eating up. "Space may be the final frontier, but it is made in a Hollywood basement." Now what is a final frontier? It is the final and most biggest achievement for humanity. This is just a illusion sold to you by the devil for your soul and money. You can try discredit this particular group as conspiracy theorist or maybe look to the possibility they got given everything they wanted the money and they still wasn't happy, they was around all the wealthiest and most powerful people in Hollywood, just as i trust the eye-witness testimony of the disciples. So do i trust the subliminal eye-witness account secretly contained in this song. I can imagine he saw a lot of shady stuff going on in Hollywood that really troubled his soul. You don't have to look far to know Hollywood is a dark and evil place. Think R Kelly, Drake and Diddy to name a few but i could go on more. It is evil. Do not wish to be a part of that table, as thy not know what they are wishing for. The is a reason so many celebrities are leaving that place... Lets talk about Michael Jackson, a gifted and talented individual who the world once loved. He spoke out about the dark side of Hollywood and they killed him. You would think they would stop there... No they made allegations of him being a pedophile despite the fact that he is dead and cannot defend himself. Whether you believe in God or not, ask your self is this just. Now whenever i mention him people mock his name, yet he is not here to defend himself. These people are evil. As said in Isaiah 5:20 - Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil." bless him father. Lets talk some more about Ba'al the false deity of the rich and powerful. Jeremiah 19:5 says "They have built the high places of Ba'al to burn thier children in the fire as offerings to Ba'al - something i did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind." Bohemian Grove is a great example to strengthen this point. Isn't it strange that the top 0.1% of the most elite bankers and politicians gather together and dress as druids and offer burnt sacrifices to an owl God. In form of 'Prop' children. Everyone disregarded this as pure non-sense and conspiracy. Then Alex Jones of InfoWars infiltrated this event taking place and publicized it to many millions. It was news for some time and people know vaguely about it but the world swiftly moved on. In a free country he has been completely silenced by the Government. Even the US constitution that can't be changed was changed for that man. As the freedom of speech is a right given to all Americans. Why silence him? Because he spoke great truths that is the thing. Athletes who are spotted drinking partying with girls get spoken more about than this happening with the 0.1%. It is very sad how ignorant we all are... We indulge of the distractions of life too much to realize the truth is in front of us. They are dropping us hints and we still obey them like sheep. Whilst we are distracted with football, cars, material things of this Earth. They are dressing up as druids and laughing at us and how easy it is to deceive the world. As the colosseums were built as a tactic to not lose power and control and distract people from the issues at hand, so are they doing with football stadiums around the world. Ryan Garcia speaks openly about God and Hollywood and they are not trying to portray to the masses he is having a mental breakdown. They are scared of you o' father Jesus. Now lets talk Baalenciaga, every materials girl and boy most favorite 'devil worshipping' brand. The 2022 ad campaign featuring children holding teddy bears dressed in "Bondage". If you were to look into this and see that this is a ritual they are doing, study the photos and look at the hints and symbolism of it all, you will see how twisted they are. Are we really going to let them defile our children like this and do nothing about it? We are really enabling and allowing these scumbags to do this to us and our children... God bless all those children affected o'Lord. In regards to this matter. It was news for a week now it has been forgotten about and everyone still wears the brand now. Whilst we are busy distracted there doing this to our own people, orchestrating their evil plans. You might have read now and you might be thinking to yourself, but why that is the purpose of all this deception. Money. Money is the root of all evil. They want you to worship money and in return they also take your soul. Nasa the biggest space program in the world with annual budgets of $25.4 billion in 2023 and $24billion in 2024. And international space program being worth 447 billion dollars in 2022. This explains the collective deception and the argument why so many would be in on it. Here you go. Money. As said in 1 Timothy 6:10 - "For the love of money is the root of evil.". If you were to ponder for a long time you will realize as all roads in Europe lead to Rome. Anything you can think of evil is money related. People will kill for money, betray one another, because of lack of money the demons will tempt you to steal and get from other to benefit yourself. Money is evil and is the root for all our problems. Lets stop worshipping a piece of paper, a note that is a ledger that tells you that Government has gave this note this much value and worshipping the one true God Jesus Christ, o' Father put glory on your name, amen. Paper will not defeat us as people. If we all raise we all have a chance. Enough is enough, the world was made for all of us not them. Lets take back what is ours from them. Draw Jesus in closer and he will draw in closer to you. There is a reason there was film made called 'Don't look up' because if you did you will see all the angels in their glory. The time has commeth, the son of man will be back soon amen. Lets have a further look into Nasa for the non-believers of my testimony. Nasa in Hebrew means 'Nasha' or 'Naw-saw' it means to lead astray or delude/deceive. What does being lead astray mean "to be lead away from the correct path or direction." This is hidden in plain sight, only those with a deep consciousness can see these things, those who don't see these things have been swallowed up by the Earth and material things of the Earth. They are mocking us. The founder of Nasa 'Werner Von Braun' 1912-1977, guess what he got made to be put on his gravestone... Psalm 19:1, now what does Psalm 19:1 tell us "The heavens declare glory of God; the skies proclaimed the work of his hands." Guilty conscious? Maybe he was mislead, only God will know. What I do know is even he knew the truth. Lets not let them win guys. God has personally told me he loves us all; however, we do have free will. He can't decide what you do with your life. What was written has to be fulfilled; if you like this idea or not. It is the reality Amen, i do not seek any glory of the people as the only glory i seek is from the one true God. I am just speaking of what i know and what God has educated me on. It is not too late to get good with God, he loves you. He will always be there for you. Are you going to stand on the side of Evil or the side of the Light with God. I know what path i am personally choosing. They can build bunkers, you can't run away from the wraith of God, as Jesus drank the cup that the father gave him. So shall a lot of you people too. As mentioned in Isiah 2:19. You are smart Satan, but I a meer mortal like my self figured out your entire plan before the father even confirmed this to be truth. Shame on you. You will never be like my almighty power God, Jesus Christ. Trust his plans guys. God is Good and God is Great. What has been written has to come true. I have nothing to gain from this personally but I just hope this reaches a lot of peoples hearts... I hope you guys let him in. He is a jealous God, he is like a father to you all, of course he is upset when he is seeing his children going astray and living a life of Sin. Even if i see one person in Heaven that has read this and believed in the one true God. I will be the happiest man alive. I am just a witness of that light. May we give Glory and peace to the one and only true son of Man, and lets all be eternally thankful and grateful for the amazing life he gave us. If you break everything down, when you are on your deathbed, money is the last thing that will be on your mind, it will be the experiences, friends and family you will be thinking off and all these experiences are only made possible through God. Heaven is real you will see your loved ones again, i promise you. Believe. This is my testimony. I have so much proof and further evidence. Check my Tik Tok d.0113 for videos proving God performing miracles that can't be explained by Science. And if any of you feel lost in this world - just know i felt that too. If anyone needs a friend to speak to i am always here to help, just as is God. God can help you will a lot than I, however, i will do my best. God bless you all brothers and sisters, I once hated you all, now i love you all because God loves you all. Amen.

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2024.06.01 23:04 pinanij6870 Abortion - What does the Bible have to say about it?

I'm interested in learning more about what the Bible has to say about abortion. It seems that a lot of Christians think that abortion, in any situation, is a sin and that the mother will go to hell even if the pregnancy was non-viable, the mother would die giving birth, the pregnancy is the result of rape/incest, etc.
What are some verses from the Bible that discuss abortion? Does the Bible list any circumstance where abortion is allowed?

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2024.06.01 22:57 TheNerdChaplain At the beginning of Pride Month, here's Biblical support for same-sex relationships.

I've written and shared paragraphs and paragraphs on this topic, and I know few people really engage with walls of text, so I thought I might condense it down a little. There's less nuance in these statements, but people will get the general idea. Moreover, I'm not really going to get into specific verses - dueling clobber verses is fun, but ultimately not very useful. Rather, I'm going to talk about some big ideas and general principles about how we read, understand, and use the Bible.

Living the way God calls us to should not drive us to guilt, shame, fear, intensify mental health struggles, or lead to suicide. Rather, it should help us heal, grow, and flourish. While a traditional position on gender identity and sexual orientation may not be the sole cause of higher mental health issues among the LGBTQ population, it should not be a contributing factor at all. The Old Testament laws repeatedly state that when they are followed, the people will flourish. The New Testament reports the same in a different way - Christians will be known by their fruit, and we all know the fruit of the Spirit and that they are good.
Same-sex activity in the ancient Near East as well as in first-century Greco-Roman culture is described as being connected with idolatrous fertility practices, rape, inequality, and abuse. Temple prostitution, masters and slaves, or older men and younger boys. This is fundamentally different than what LGBTQ people - especially LGBTQ Christians - are looking for today. I am arguing that committed, equal, monogamous, same-sex partnerships are well within the Biblical umbrella of morality.
While the traditional ethic is "Biblical"; so is the reinterpretation of it. Jesus reinterpreted very Biblical laws about the Sabbath, and Paul reinterpreted laws about eating kosher. Even in the Old Testament, Biblical authors disagreed or reinterpreted on various topics; there's often not one single perspective or point of view on some things we'd consider some really basic morals. (Is it wrong to kill children? The answer might surprise you!) Alternatively, think of the Bible as a math textbook. There's lots and lots of practice problems with their answers in the book. But if you try and apply every math problem in your own life to what you find in the book, it's not going to fit quite right and the answers in the book aren't always going to make sense. But the point of a math textbook isn't to give answers, right? It's to teach you how to do the math for yourself, regardless of what math problems or variables you have going on. The Bible isn't a book of answers, it's a book of tools to help you find answers.
Allowing same-sex marriage is consistent with Paul's command to stop sexual immorality and provides a licit way for believers to fulfill their normal, healthy desires.
Paul's hierarchical model of marital, gendered submission sanctifies the hierarchical model that existed in Roman times. However, much like the example of slavery he also sanctifies just a few verses later, it doesn't mean that the hierarchical model is universal for all times and places. A model of mutual submission in imitation of Christ's love for the world, a kenotic model, so to speak, is equally if not more Biblical.
Marriage is a key path to sanctification for married Christians. By denying same-sex attracted believers one of the fundamental routes to greater Christlikeness, we make them second-class citizens in the Kingdom of Heaven.

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2024.06.01 22:32 TonyChanYT What is the day of the Lord?

u/Timely-Ad3716, u/Zestyclose-Ride2745, u/Sinner72
Amos 5:

18 Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! Why would you have the day of the LORD? It is darkness, and not light, 19as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him. 20 Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?

The day of the LORD was bad news for the unrighteous. Isaiah elaborated in Isa 2:

12 "For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:

In the Hebrew Bible, the term often refers to apocalyptic war. The Lord is the divine warrior conquering Israel's enemies.
Isn't the day of the Lord good news?
Yes, 1 Thessalonians 5:

1Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. 2For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

Paul was talking about Jesus' 2nd coming.

9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

2 Corinthians 1:

14b on the day of our Lord Jesus you will boast of us as we will boast of you.

Isn't the day of the Lord good news?
It is good news to those who trust in the Lord. It is bad news to the wicked.

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2024.06.01 22:32 HealthyYard6559 Revelation 4:1-3

"Then I saw: and behold, a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard like a trumpet speaking with me, said: Come up here, and I will show you what will happen hereafter. And immediately I would in spirit; and behold, a throne stood in heaven, and someone sat on the throne. And the One who sat was to be seen like a jasper stone and a sardine; and around the throne was a rainbow in sight like an emerald.
Rev. 4:1-3
Apostle John continues to describe what he saw so that we too could have an insight into what he saw, and primarily it is a message from Jesus Christ to show us what will be. This was the future for John and it is also for us. the future, but according to the signs of the times, this should be our near future. John here begins this part of the verse, we can say with amazement, Then I saw: and behold." So far, John has seen scenes that were mainly related to the visions in which John saw the Lord Jesus and also the advice that the Lord Jesus gave to churches and preachers in churches in Asia.
The key to understanding Revelation is found in scripture:
"Write therefore what you saw, and what happened, and what will happen afterwards;"
Rev. 1:19
Here we notice that this verse contains three times that John was supposed to write about. The first part is "Write therefore what you saw" and that is the time that has passed it is written in the first chapter of Revelation and that is where John saw the vision of the glorified Christ. The second part is "and what is," which is the present time for John and that is the second and third chapter of Revelation. This time began from the day of the Spirits and will last until Jesus comes for the Church, i.e. his bride. We live today in this period of the church where we have an ecumenical church and where many things are preached but Jesus Christ is preached very little, something similar to what happened in the period of the Laodicean church. for John and for us this period is "after" when Christ will take his bride or the Church and this third part of the Revelation begins with the fourth chapter and future events are described there.
"Then I saw: and behold, a door open in heaven" In Revelation we find an open door or open heaven in two places, the first place is here and the second is in Revelation 19:11 where Jesus and the Church come to earth to establish the Thousand Year Kingdom.
"And I saw the sky open, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and he judges righteously and makes war."
Rev. 19:11
John saw here what the Church of Christ is waiting for, which is an open door in heaven, and as soon as the door is open, one can pass through it, and this is in fact an event that the Lord Jesus showed His Church in advance, and that even the Church is joyfully waiting for for. as far as we know, this event according to the signs of the times from the Bible should happen very soon, so that the doors of heaven are opened, and then John writes what he heard:
"and the first voice that I heard like a trumpet speaking with me, said: Go up there" here we see that John heard the voice, the trumpet and the command just as this event is described in the first Thessalonians.
"Because the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a command, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ will rise first;"
1 Thess. 4:16
So the Lord Jesus will rise from the third heaven and descend into the clouds, or he will not descend to the earth this time and will come with three things: with a voice, a trumpet and a command. The voice will be for Israel, the trumpet for the Gentiles and the command for the church of Christ. In the following we read what the command will be. It says, "Go up there" so Jesus will command from heaven also all the believers who died will be resurrected and we who are living believers or the Church of Christ will be transformed in the blink of an eye and go to heaven to meet To the Lord Jesus who is in heaven.
We read about this:
"Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming when all who are in the graves will hear the voice of the Son of God."
John 5:28
"Because the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a command, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ will rise first; And then we who are alive, who are left, together with them will be taken up in the clouds to meet the Lord in heaven, and so we will always be with the Lord."
1 Thess. 4:16-17
This is a glorious event for all the faithful and especially for the Church because the members of the church who will be alive when this event takes place will simply never die, but will only be transformed in the blink of an eye, will receive glorified bodies and will be eternally together with the Lord.
"Here I am telling you a secret: because we will not all die, but we will all be transformed. Once, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound and the dead will rise incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality."
1 Cor.15:51-53
And John continues to describe what the Lord Jesus told him to write, and I will show you what will be after this." and then he writes, "And immediately I was in the spirit; and behold, a throne stood in heaven, and someone sat on the throne John now describes what he saw in heaven. Besides John, the apostle Paul was also in heaven, but he was forbidden to talk about it.
,, I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago (or in the body I don't know; or in the eighth body, I don't know: God knows) would have been taken to the third heaven. And I know of such a man (either in the body, or apart from the body, I don't know: God knows) That he would be taken to heaven, and I would hear unspoken words that a man is not free to speak."
2 Cor.12:2-4
Unlike Paul, John received permission and he describes to us what he saw.,,I would immediately in the spirit; and behold, a throne stood in heaven, and someone sat on the throne" John sees God's throne with the help of the Holy Spirit, "And immediately I was in the spirit" and "and behold, a throne stood in heaven." John first sees God's throne in heaven and immediately sees who is on the throne
,, and someone was sitting on the throne. And the One who sat was to be seen like a jasper stone and a sardine; "This "Someone" is God the Father whom John saw, of course he only saw His glory. From this throne, God the Father reigns because the throne is the center of God's rule, we read about this in Psalm 47.
"God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne."
Psalm 47:8
What John saw was the glory of God, and he probably did not know how to describe it differently, and that is why he uses terms that we can understand to some extent, "And the one who sat was like a jasper stone and a sardine". He described this glory, like" two diamonds, jasper and sardine. Glory acted "like a reflection" of these two diamonds, jasper, which has a light yellow and green color, and sardine, which is dark red.
A similar description of the glory of God is in Revelation 22:
"And he had the glory of God; and his light was like a precious stone, like a bright jasper stone."
Rev. 21:11
These colors that John saw and described symbolize God's holiness, righteousness and God's love through Jesus Christ.
Next, John writes what he saw:,, and around the throne was a rainbow as seen as an emerald. God's faithfulness to his people. The first mention of a rainbow in the Bible is found in the first book of Moses.
,, I put my rainbow in the clouds, to be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. So when I draw the clouds to the earth, a rainbow will be seen in the clouds, And I will remember the covenant that is between me and you and every soul that lives in every body, and there will be no more of the waters of the flood to wipe out everybody."
Gen. 6:13-15
We see here that after the flood, God promised that he would no longer punish and destroy the people in such a way that he would release a flood on the earth, and we are witnessing that a general flood has never been repeated throughout history and will not until the end of the world, of course there were local floods, but general the flood never happened again. We know that we see a rainbow in the shape of a semicircle after the rain, when the sun's rays pray, and it reminds us that there will not be a flood, but that does not mean that there will not be other troubles, on the contrary, this world is expecting terrible troubles in the end times. Jovan saw a rainbow in the sky, "around the throne", which means that he saw a full circle and it is a sign for the faithful and the newly born that the troubles have passed, it is a sign that the faithful are under God's eternal protection, and that on earth where only a semicircle can be seen nothing is always certain. Apostle Peter even warns:
"That's why the world at that time would have been flooded and perished. And the present heavens and earth are kept by the same word and are kept for the day of terrible judgment and the death of lawless people."
2 Perth. 3:6-7
"like an emerald" the emerald is green in color and it symbolizes life and the full circle is a symbol of eternity and as we see here a scene from heaven in which only born-again believers who are Christ's can enter, it is a clear conclusion that they have eternal life and have passed from death into life and to have God's complete protection throughout all eternity.

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