Tuesday, November 13, 2012

US guns sales soar after Barack Obama's re-election


Gun sales in America are soaring in the wake of President Barack Obama's re-election with weapons retailers reporting AK-47s flying off shelves "like hotcakes."


In October the number of background checks on people applying to buy guns, an indicator of future sales, increased by 18.4 per cent Photo: GETTY IMAGES



By Nick Allen, Los Angeles

5:58PM GMT 11 Nov 2012


Owners of guns have been stocking up because they are concerned about a potential tightening of regulations on assault weapons in the president's second term.


In October the number of background checks on people applying to buy guns, an indicator of future sales, increased by 18.4 per cent.


There was a similar jump when President Obama was first elected in 2008. A total of 12.7 million background checks were carried out that year, up from 11.2 million the year before, and the number has been rising since then.


Shares in weapons manufacturers like Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger also surged after Mr Obama's re-election.


The gun control debate in America was re-ignited by the July 20 massacre at a cinema in Aurora, Colorado, in which suspect James Holmes is accused of killing 12 people and injuring 58 during a screening of Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises." He used a semi-automatic rifle with a 100-round magazine.

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During the election campaign Mr Obama mostly steered clear of discussing gun control, but in a presidential debate on Oct 16 he gave his clearest statement yet on the issue.

He said: "What I'm trying to do is to get a broader conversation about how do we reduce the violence generally. Part of it is seeing if we can get an assault weapons ban reintroduced."

President Bill Clinton introduced had restrictions limiting the use of semi-automatic weapons in 1994, but the ban expired in 2004. Under the Clinton-era ban magazines with more than 10 rounds, and weapons with threaded barrels, pistol grips and bayonets were prohibited.

Mr Obama would still have to get any new restrictions past Republicans in Congress, but gun owners say they fear a limiting of their right to bear arms which is enshrined in the Second Amendment to the Constitution.

Mel Bernstein, owner of Dragonman Arms in Colorado Springs, told KOAA-TV that sales of semi-automatic weapons had boomed in recent days.

He said: "We're going from normally six to eight guns a day, to 25. I stocked up, I got a stockpile of these AK-47s, we're selling these like hot cakes. Luckily I had an idea of what was going on because it happened with Clinton."

Mr Bernstein said he normally orders up to 7,000 rounds a week from distributors but could now only get hold of 3,000 because of demand.

John Kielbasa, owner of Fernwood Firearms in Hankins, New York, told CNN: "Sales are up. I had a guy waiting here first thing in the morning (the day after the election.) He came in, bought two AK-47s. It's going to be good for me for business."

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Confesercenti della Provincia di Allessandria becomes Member of the Sunday Alliance


ITALY/ 17 September 2012




Confesercenti della Provincia di Allessandria is a Provincial Business organisation for commerce, tourism, services and crafts as well as small-medium sized businesses (SMB). It represents the interests of SMBs in the north-west Italian Province Alessandria. Founded in Rome in 1971, its national association is one of the leading business organisations in Italy. It represents over 270,000 businesses from commerce, tourism, services and crafts as well as from among small-medium sized businesses (SMB) of industry, capable of providing employment for over 800,000 people. Their common mission is to facilitate the work of SMBs through cooperation and capacity-building while stressing the contribution of the small- and medium scale companies for the Italian economy. Confesercenti della Provincia di Alessandria is already engaged as strong advocator for a work-free Sunday.

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Jim Arrabito - Babylon is Fallen 1 of 7 - The Babylon Connection


Uploaded by TheMedien on Jan 9, 2011

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Hindrances to Reform


Hindrances to Reform
To some extent the Bible has been introduced into our schools, and some efforts have been made in the direction of reform; but it is most difficult to adopt right principles after having been so long accustomed to popular methods. The first attempts to change the old customs brought severe trials upon those who would walk in the way which God has pointed out. Mistakes have been made, and great loss has resulted. There have been hindrances which have tended to keep us in common, worldly lines, and to prevent us from grasping true educational principles. To the unconverted, who view matters from the lowlands of human selfishness, unbelief, and indifference, right principles and methods have appeared wrong.

Some teachers and managers who are only half converted are stumbling blocks to others. They concede some things and make half reforms; but when greater knowledge comes, they refuse to advance, preferring to work according to their own ideas. In doing this they pluck and eat of that tree of knowledge which places the human above the divine. “Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve.” “If the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him.” Joshua 24:14, 15; 1 Kings 18:21. We should have been far in advance of our present spiritual condition had we moved forward as the light came to us.

When new methods have been advocated, so many doubtful questions have been introduced, so many councils held that every difficulty might be discerned, that reformers have been handicapped, and some have ceased to urge reforms. They seem unable to stem the current of doubt and criticism. Comparatively few received the gospel in Athens because the people cherished pride of intellect and worldly wisdom, and counted the gospel of Christ foolishness. But “the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” Therefore “we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:25, 23, 24.

We need now to begin over again. Reforms must be entered into with heart and soul and will. Errors may be hoary with age; but age does not make error truth, nor truth error. Altogether too long have the old customs and habits been followed. The Lord would now have every idea that is false put away from teachers and students. We are not at liberty to teach that which shall meet the world’s standard or the standard of the church, simply because it is the custom to do so. The lessons which Christ taught are to be the standard. That which the Lord has spoken concerning the instruction to be given in our schools is to be strictly regarded; for if there is not in some respects an education of an altogether different character from that which has been carried on in some of our schools, we need not have gone to the expense of purchasing lands and erecting school buildings.

Some will urge that if religious teaching is to be made prominent our schools will become unpopular; that those who are not of our faith will not patronize them. Very well; then let them go to other schools, where they will find a system of education that suits their taste. It is Satan’s purpose by these considerations to prevent the attainment of the object for which our schools were established. Hindered by his devices, the managers reason after the manner of the world and copy its plans and imitate its customs. Many have so far shown their lack of wisdom from above as to join with the enemies of God and the truth in providing worldly entertainments for the students. In doing this they bring upon themselves the frown of God, for they mislead the youth and do a work for Satan. This work, with all its results, they must meet at the bar of God.

Those who pursue such a course show that they cannot be trusted. After the evil has been done, they may confess their error; but can they undo the influence they have exerted? Will the “well done” be spoken to those who have been false to their trust? These unfaithful workmen have not built upon the eternal Rock, and their foundation will prove to be sliding sand. When the Lord requires us to be distinct and peculiar, how can we crave popularity or seek to imitate the customs and practices of the world? “Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” James 4:4.

To lower the standard in order to secure popularity and an increase of numbers, and then to make this increase a cause of rejoicing, shows great blindness. If numbers were an evidence of success, Satan might claim the pre-eminence; for in this world his followers are largely in the majority. It is the degree of moral power pervading a school that is a test of its prosperity. It is the virtue, intelligence, and piety of the people composing our schools, not their numbers, that should be a source of joy and thankfulness. Then shall our schools become converted to the world and follow its customs and fashions? “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye ... be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:1, 2.

Men will employ every means to make less prominent the difference between Seventh-day Adventists and observers of the first day of the week. A company was presented before me under the name of Seventh-day Adventists, who were advising that the banner, or sign, which makes us a distinct people should not be held out so strikingly; for they claimed that this was not the best policy in order to secure success to our institutions. But this is not a time to haul down our colors, to be ashamed of our faith. This distinctive banner, described in the words, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus,” is to be borne through the world to the close of probation. While efforts should be increased to advance in different localities, there must be no cloaking of our faith to secure patronage. Truth must come to souls ready to perish; and if it is in any way hidden, God is dishonored, and the blood of souls will be upon our garments. 

Just as long as those in connection with our institutions walk humbly with God, heavenly intelligences will co-operate with them; but let all bear in mind the fact that God has said: “Them that honor Me I will honor.” 1 Samuel 2:30. Never for one moment should the impression be given to anyone that it would be for his profit to hide his faith and doctrines from the unbelieving people of the world, fearing that he may not be so highly esteemed if his principles are known. Christ requires from all His followers open, manly confession of faith. Each must take his position and be what God designed he should be, a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. The whole universe is looking with inexpressible interest to see the closing work of the great controversy between Christ and Satan. Every Christian is to be a light, not hid under a bushel or under a bed, but put on a candlestick, that light may be given to all who are in the house. Never, from cowardice or worldly policy, let the truth of God be placed in the background. 

Though in many respects our institutions of learning have swung into worldly conformity, though step by step they have advanced toward the world, they are prisoners of hope. Fate has not so woven its meshes about their workings that they need to remain helpless and in uncertainty. If they will listen to His voice and follow in His ways, God will correct and enlighten them, and bring them back to their upright position of distinction from the world. When the advantage of working upon Christian principles is discerned, when self is hid in Christ, much greater progress will be made; for each worker will feel his own human weakness; he will supplicate for the wisdom and grace of God, and will receive the divine help that is pledged for every emergency.

Opposing circumstances should create a firm determination to overcome them. One barrier broken down will give greater ability and courage to go forward. Press in the right direction, and make a change, solidly, intelligently. Then circumstances will be your helpers and not your hindrances. Make a beginning. The oak is in the acorn.

Testimonies for the Church - Vol. 6, pp.140-145.
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For 'preppers,' every day could be doomsday


Chuck Raasch @craasch USA TODAY



Scott Hunt shows how to build a fire in a small BioLIte stove which he is using to charge a cellular phone,. The stove converts heat from the fire into usable electricity.(Photo: By Tim Loehrke, USA TODAY)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The burgeoning "prepper" movement prepares for the end of civilization
Prepping has achieved cohesion and community in the Internet age
Some observers suggest energies could be better spent working for peace

5:50AM EST November 13. 2012 - Braxton Southwick is convinced a weaponized smallpox terrorist attack, or something similarly horrible, is inevitable.
He's read Revelations. He watches news about nuclear saber rattling, financial meltdowns, mega-storms rendering populations helpless for days. He is 40, and his research has led him to believe a biological attack "will happen in my lifetime."

Terrorists, he says, "would like to get a nuclear weapon, but I'm sure they'd take a pint of smallpox."

So Southwick and his wife, Kara, also 40, and their six children, ages 13-21, have stored 700 pounds of flour, 600 pounds of sugar, 800 pounds of wheat, water, gas, diesel fuel, chemical suits, coal, charcoal, 14 guns and eight chickens. They're ready to haul it in trucks and trailers to a cabin redoubt 90 minutes from their home in the West Jordan suburb of Salt Lake City if calamity hits.

They are part of a burgeoning "prepper" movement that believes preparing for the end of civilization is more rational than ridiculing those who do. Once viewed largely as a practice by survivalists on the fringe, prepping has achieved cohesion and community in the Internet age through best-selling writers, bloggers, risk assessors, conspiracy theorists and companies that cater to preppers' needs.

The number of preppers is unknown, but a poll done for National Geographic Channel in September indicated that 28% of Americans knew one. Preppers meet-up networks are proliferating on social networks. Doomsday Preppers is the network's most-watched series, and the Southwicks are featured in the series premiere Tuesday night.

Getting ready for the end is not new, of course, or strictly American. Recall how people across the USA dug fallout shelters during the Cold War. Doomsday prophets have been around as long as civilization. The federal government was the ultimate prepper during the Cold War.

One of that era's icons remains — a massive underground bunker designed to protect all 535 members of Congress and their aides against nuclear war. Dug into the Allegheny Mountains at the Greenbrier resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., it once had 75,000 gallons of water, a power system, medical and food services, 30-ton blast doors, art of the last days of Pompeii and a mural of Washington scenery that was capable of changing leaves on the trees, depending on the season.

After its cover was blown by a story in The Washington Post in 1992, the bunker was abandoned by the government as an emergency destination.

Almost 10 years later, the chaos of 9/11 prompted further calls for doomsday contingencies to protect the nation's leaders and sustain the government.

You can tour this slice of underground history today. After the Southwicks visited the bunker recently, they said they felt even more strongly about the need to prepare. Their family reflects a new preparedness instinct that has been growing since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. After that shock, the government urged people to store food, buy duct tape and roll water barrels into their basements.

Some went further.

Shelter builders saw a flurry of business right after 9/11, again after the financial meltdown in 2008, and in 2010, when predictions of a Dec. 21 end of the world — derived from interpretations of a Mayan calendar — hit popular culture.

Skeptics question movement

John Hoopes, a University of Kansas anthropologist and archaeologist, has spent much time debunking the Mayan end-of-the-world predictions, arguing they are "contemporary hype ... invented by our culture and promoted by the mass media." He blames, in part, a junk-science hangover from the psychedelic drug culture of the 1960s.

Although it is prudent to prepare for storms or power outages, Hoopes says, going underground based on predictions from a long-vanished culture is simply irrational. As for the prepper movement, he urges perspective. There have always been storms and earthquakes and threats from the unknown, he says — they just weren't tweeted in real time.

Kenneth Rose, a University of California-Chico professor and author of One Nation Underground: The Fallout Shelter in American Culture, says the prepper movement raises "neighbor vs. neighbor" scenarios and "troubling class issues."

"Will the well-to-do only be able to afford these types of activities?" he asks.

"Frankly, I think people should put their energy into making a more peaceful world, rather than contemplating saving their own skins," Rose says, adding that there is "no threat now that compares with the threat of nuclear annihilation" during the Cold War.

BRACING FOR THE END
Nine out of 10 Americans expect a world disaster to occur in the next quarter century, yet 56% say they aren’t prepared, according to a survey conducted for National Geographic Channel. The percentage in the survey of 1,040 adults who predicted the following catastrophes:

Significant hurricane: 58%

Major earthquake: 53%

Terrorist attack: 51%

Financial collapse: 49%

Widespread blackout: 33%

Pandemic: 25%

Nuclear fallout: 13%

Source: Kelton Research for National Geographic Channel

The premiere of the second season of National Geographic Channel’s seriesDoomsday Preppers airs at 9 and 10 pm ET on Tuesday.


Preppers don't buy that. Jay Blevins, a former deputy sheriff and SWAT officer in Berryville, Va., says social unrest from a financial meltdown could be devastating. He has formed a prepper network of family and friends, people with varying skills such as knifemaking. They'd help one another in such a calamity. He says his Christian faith drives him to help others prepare, and although he is not certain the end is near, he thinks getting prepared is an act of personal responsibility.

"We watch and pray," he says of his family's view toward doomsday scenarios.

Some preppers have considered ramping up efforts since President Obama's re-election last week, convinced it means the economy will soon collapse in a cascade of debt. Some are convinced Iran or another enemy is developing an electromagnetic pulse weapon that would wipe out the power, communication and transportation grids, rendering useless any device with a microchip.

Like the Southwicks — he a mechanic and former professional bike racer, she an employee of a financial company — some preppers live normal lives on the surface. Underneath, they are prepared to live in a world apart.

The Southwicks are part of a seven-family neighborhood group that vacations together and makes doomsday plans together. The neighbors know they can camp out at the cabin, Braxton says.

Others featured on Doomsday Preppers are more out there — literally. Robert and Debbie Earl, retired Florida chicken farmers, worry about the seas rising. So they are building a home constructed of old tires and sand-filled bottles near Alpine, Texas. Robert Earl describes himself as "Mad Max meets Rube Goldberg with a little bit of Al Gore thrown in."

A vulnerable world

A veritable industry has sprung up around the prepper movement. James Rawles, author of the non-fiction book How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It and a pair of best-selling novels on survival, says 130,000 people regularly read his survivalblog.com, where he and numerous contributors provide tips on how to prepare. The former Army intelligence officer has 40 advertisers selling everything from seeds to silver, and 30 more advertisers on a waiting list.

"It's a growing recognition we live in a very fragile, very interdependent society, with long chains of supply and an increasing dependence on the power grid," says Rawles, who won't say where he lives. "That dependence increases every passing year, and the vulnerability of the infrastructure to technological destruction increases by the year."

He says Superstorm Sandy's devastating impact on the populous Northeast ought to make the need for prepping obvious.

"If anybody had any doubts, if anybody was teasing their neighbors before Sandy" for storing food or preparing a "bugout bag" of essentials, he says, "they are not doing that anymore."

The day after Obama was re-elected, Rowles posted, "Several readers have written to ask me if I plan to stock up on more ammunition and magazines, now that the gun grabbers have further cemented their hold on Washington, D.C. My answer: No. I already have lots of ammunition and magazines."

The business of prepping

Scott Hunt, who co-founded a South Carolina company called Practical Preppers, says phone calls from potential customers increased the day after Election Day. "I am not going to make that correlation," Hunt says, "but you can."

Twenty months ago, Hunt, an engineer, and Dave Kobler, a military veteran, started Practical Preppers to advise people how to stockpile and defend their homes.

Business for Hardened Structures, an engineering firm based in Virginia Beach, is up roughly 40% since 2005, co-owner Brian Camden says. Some of his clients buy gold and silver and other precious metals as a hedge against a possible collapse of the currency, and they want to be able to protect it and their families, he says. So his company designs ways to build underground bunkers, strengthen walls and improve security systems on homes.

Camden says he thinks a grid-destroying electromagnetic pulse from a solar flare is the most likely threat but "after interviewing clients for 20 years, the one thing I do know is no one knows for sure what will happen."

"The rise of al-Qaeda, Islamic terrorism, political divisions here in the U.S., the rich getting richer, the separation of the economic classes," he says, describing what drives customers to him. "At the end of the day, it is asset protection. Most people identify their family as their most important asset. This is a family insurance policy."

The Southwicks sure see it that way. Braxton says his Christian faith turned him into an evangelist, urging people to prepare.

Braxton wrote a book, A Letter to My Friends, that includes the basics he preaches: Have emergency food and water in your home, have a "bugout bag" for every person that includes water, food, clothes, a thumb drive of your financial and other vital information, and other essentials.

Kara Southwick portrays herself as "more of a realist" and is not convinced that the threats are as dire as her husband portrays them. But, she says, "We prepare for everything."

Braxton and Kara Southwick from Utah offer a tour of a declassified bunker. They will star in the upcoming National Geographic Channel show 'Doomsday Preppers,' featuring Americans stockpiling for the end of the world. NGC conducted an online survey with 1,040 people to find out how they would spend their final days. Here are some of the results. By Tim Loehrke, USA TODAY
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Monday, November 12, 2012

Synchronicity? Or, further signs of a depraved world?






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The FBI spying on the Director of the CIA?



You're kidding me, right?
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What timing?

As they say 'Timing is Everything';  And this past presidential election week takes the cake:


Benghazi Cover Up: Petraeus Resignation May Have Been A Bit Too Perfectly Timed



Ethan Case



Benghazi Cover Up Petraeus Resignation May Have Been A Bit Too Perfectly Timed


General Petraeus, director of the CIA has resigned, abruptly, in a short letter made public. At first, I was skeptical that there was an affair at all, convinced General Petraeus was either being set up, or voluntarily falling on a sword for the Obama administration. The timing of his departure is perfect for two reasons.

1. He resigns after, and not before the election.

2. He resigns just days before he was scheduled to be the key witness in congressional hearings on the Benghazi incident.

The affair was, according to inside sources but not Petraeus himself, with Paula Broadwell, the author of Petraeus's autobiography All In. She would be a likely candidate. She is not only a Westpoint graduate herself, but she is young and attractive and because she was writing Petraeus' biography, she spent an inordinate amount of time with him with the specific purpose of getting to know him. Also keep in mind, Petraeus was in Afghanistan with Broadwell when the relationship started, away from his wife, in a stressful place. He is not the first soldier to crack, it's even hard for the spouses left at home, the ones not facing war every day to stay committed to such long distance relationships. He won't be the last to go through this mess. Reportedly, the two broke it off shortly after Petraeus came home and assumed his current post, but still maintained an active correspondence via email.

The affair was discovered by accident. The FBI was investigating an unrelated matter regarding security leaks, possibly related to the massive amount of leaks in the months following the Bin Laden raid. During their investigation, which is still ongoing, Broadwell appeared on their radar. They were investigating her specifically for unauthorized access to Petareus' email, which undoubtedly would have contained top secret information. It was there that the FBI discovered emails between Petraeus and Broadwell that revealed their affair. Petraeus seems to have found out about the discovery from the FBI themselves, who were concerned that Petraeus was actually a victim. Though that turned out not to be the case.

Given how much information has become available about the specific details of the affair, it is hard to believe Petraeus would willingly ruin his reputation, much less other people's reputations all to protect the Obama administration, so it is likely thish affair actually happened.

In the days leading up to the election, the CIA, in a surprise move, released a detailed timeline of the events in Benghazi that, frankly, are rather damning to the Obama administration. At best, they were incompetent, displaying a shocking lack of coordination ability and a callous disregard for the truth as they tried to cover themselves during the campaign. At worst, they knowingly abandoned soldiers on the battlefield who were waiting for air support that never came and lied about it to secure the election.

Given the fishy timing of his resignation, there are a few possibilities:

1. Petraeus wanted to resign as soon as possible, but without creating a distraction: I find this to be the most likely case. Petraeus is too honorable not to resign ahead of a scandal like this, even though every person on planet Earth seems to have forgiven him almost immediately. However, Petraeus also is not a crass, self-absorbed politician. Petraeus never wanted to run for office, but this affair also puts the decision to outright reject Romney's VP nod into perspective as well. Petraeus is not one to cause a scene. He does his job to the best of his ability and maintains the highest standard of professionalism ... 99.9% of the time. It does the country no good to create such a huge distraction in the middle of such a contentious election. It is likely Petraeus had planned this departure in his head for a while, and waited until the first possible moment after the election to make it happen. President Obama seemed very confident deputy CIA director Mike Morrell could take over in the interim and handle the Benghazi fallout, leaving me to assume that Petraeus, Obama, and Morrell have been planning this abrupt departure for months, and preparing Morrell to step in. Anything less would have been highly unprofessional and irresponsible on Petraeus's part.

2. Petraeus is being forced to resign and this affair was used as a weapon: President Obama couldn't have been happy with Petraeus releasing that CIA timeline that not only reopened the Benghazi issue, but made the administration look exceptionally bad. Especially since it was only a week before the election. It is possible that the administration is forcing him out as retribution. However if they waited until the end of Obama's term for Petraeus to cleanly step out, that would mean a disgruntled Petraeus would be before congress next week, going into even more details about Benghazi. Something that could potentially be both very embarrassing and very bad for the administration. Once Obama's reelection was assured, they could act on removing Petraeus without worrying how the electorate would perceive it. They could have held this affair over his head, telling him that if he didn't lie to protect them, they'd go public. Rather than be blackmailed, Petraeus probably came out with it to disarm them, and left them without a replacement going into the hearings on purpose.

A spin on this possibility is that Petraeus is voluntarily resigning this way, because there is something to hide on Benghazi. If Petraeus has to get up in front of all that media scrutiny and invoke "that information is classified" over and over again, it will look terrible for both himself and the administration, and depending on the kind of questions that are asked, could invite a lot of unwanted speculation on issues that need to remain top secret — for national security reasons. Who was on the ground there in Benghazi? Who were the sources for the original tip-offs that something might happen? And the list of possible questions goes on. Petraeus may have decided that letting the investigation go with him involved in it was too risky, and opted to use the affair he had as an excuse to bail. Protecting not himself or the administration, but top secret information, the secrecy of which would protect everyone. It sounds like something out of a spy novel, but then again, so does this very well-timed affair.

3. The FBI is making the details public and Petraeus wanted to stay ahead of the news coverage: The FBI has been adamant that they do not believe the investigation will end in criminal charges. However, if she is about to face arrest, or if there is some kind of Freedom of Information Act request coming through the pipeline, it may be that Petraeus' secret was likely to be revealed and he wanted to get to the media first, so he could tell his story himself. In this scenario, the timing is merely a coincidence, though what a coincidence it is.

I tend not to be one to take conspiracy theories seriously. But there are so many unanswered questions on Benghazi, that will conveniently remain unanswered now because of this affair, I can't help but think there is something deeper going on.

One thing is for sure, there doesn't seem to be a single person, other than Petraeus's wife and possibly Broadwell's husband, who holds this against him. Despite this ungraceful exit, General Petraeus is still going down in history as an American hero and one of the greatest generals in our nation's history. He completely rewrote the book on how our country runs wars and is one of the few people who truly changed the world.

A man of his talents is not likely to disappear for very long. I am confident we will see General Petraeus again.

Source

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Related:


CIA chief Petraeus resigns over affair

Neither Hillary Clinton Nor David Petraeus Will Testify At Benghazi Hearings

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Sunday, November 11, 2012

Internet Addiction Is The New Mental Health Disorder

Alice G. Walton, Contributor

FORBESWOMAN

10/02/2012 @ 1:33PM



Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife

There’s been a lot of controversy about some of the maladies included in the freshly revised Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders (DSM-V). Internet addiction, or formally, Internet Use Disorder (IUD), may soon be included as an actual mental health disorder, although the authors do say it still needs a lot of additional study. So what are the symptoms of IUD, and maybe more importantly for those of us flirting with it, what’s the treatment?

Internet Use Disorder has the many of the basic hallmarks of any other addiction. According to the American Psychiatric Association, the crafters of the DSM-V, a person with IUD will experience “preoccupation” with the internet or internet gaming, withdrawal symptoms when the substance (internet) is no longer available, tolerance (the need to spend more and more time on the internet to achieve the same “high”), loss of other interests, unsuccessful attempts to quit, and use of the internet to improve or escape dysphoric mood.











There’s been more and more scientific research devoted to understanding what IUD is, how it works neurologically, and how we can treat it. Research has shown that people with internet addiction have demonstrable changes in their brains – both in the connections between cells and in the brain areas that control attention, executive control, and emotion processing. Most intriguing is the fact that many of these changes are what you see happening in the brains of people addicted to cocaine, heroine, special K, and other substances.

And other research has found that people who are hooked on the internet have changes in how the brain’s dopamine system operates – dopamine is generally credited for allowing us to experience pleasure and reward. Some studies have found that people with internet addiction have fewer dopamine receptors in certain areas of the brain, and others have suggested additional ways in which dopamine function might be impaired. And very recent studies have suggested how certain genetic variations may be involved in internet addiction.

If we accept that internet addiction or IUD is a legitimate mental health disorder, then what? How bad does it have to get before you get treatment, and for that matter, what is the treatment?

There’s been a smattering of horror stories about internet and gaming addiction: Parents who have let their children die while they played games hours on end, teens keeling over after day spent staring at a screen, or killing their parents after the object of desire was taken away. You might be right to suspect that there are other things at play in these episodes, but internet or gaming addiction may also be involved.

These cases represent the dark side of addiction, certainly, but internet addicts with a milder version of the disorder might argue that their dependence is actually beneficial, since it lets them be more productive professionally. At any hour of the day, your addiction will endow you with the capacity for lighting fast responses to work emails, making you a more valuable employee than your non-addicted colleague. That argument might hold water to some degree, but when it starts to intrude on your overall well-being, or sanity, or it takes precedence over time with your kids or spouse, then it might be time to cut back.

How to treat internet addiction is then the next question. One might suspect that treatment won’t be straightforward, since most of us have to use the internet at some level (or even a lot) throughout the day. In this way, it’s a bit like food addiction, which they say is the hardest to treat, since you can’t just quit the substance, you have to actually learn how to manage it. And for many people, managing is harder than quitting.

Some studies have found that cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) might be an effective method to treat IUD. This form of psychotherapy teaches people how to replace the damaging thought and behavior patterns that plague them with healthier, more productive ones. When people with internet addiction were taught how to apply CBT to their internet use problems, they reported improved well being and less of the offending behavior, internet use.

Researchers will keep trying to learn about what’s going on with our internet use these days, and how we can get a handle on it before it gets out of control. We’ll certainly keep apprised of the developments on internet addiction research (probably by combing the internet), and the best ways to manage it.

Does your internet use affect your life negatively? Have you tried to cut back? Please comment below.

Follow me @alicewalton or find me on Facebook.

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And there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places




And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Matthew 24:6-8



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Saturday, November 10, 2012

Earthquake rattles eastern Kentucky







  USGS
An earthquake map from the USGS shows Saturday's 4.3-magnitude quake.

By NBC News

Updated at 5:40 p.m. ET: A 4.3-magnitude earthquake struck eight miles west of Whitesburg, Ky., early Saturday afternoon, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The epicenter of the shallow, light earthquake was 0.7 miles deep under the Appalachian Mountains town of Blackey, near the Virginia border, the agency said.

There were no immediate reports of damage in the eastern Kentucky area.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Follow @NBCNewsUS

The tremor was felt from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Atlanta, Ga., USGS geophysicist Paul Caruso in Denver told NBC News.

"Normally, we don't expect major damage with this kind of intensity," but it's "not out of the question" that there could be some -- usually, major damage is expected when magnitude is 5.5 or higher, Caruso said.

Whitesburg police and fire officials told NBC News late Saturday afternoon that after making round they had no visible damage, only people calling to report that they "felt jolts."

Earlier, the Letcher County Sheriff's office said it was still assessing the quake but had no reports of damage or deaths.

Nick Howell, at Parkway Inn Hotel in Whitesburg told NBC News he felt light jolts but nothing serious. There was no visible damage outside, he said.

Most Kentucky temblors historically have occurred in the western portion of the state, near the New Madrid seismic zone, the USGS says.

Stay informed with the latest headlines; sign up for our newsletter


This story includes reporting by NBC's Michelle Acevedo, Ali Fateh, Brittany Tom and Jim Gold.

Source

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The Primitive Heart - Brian Neumann


Uploaded by TheClosingOfTime on Jan 28, 2012

Brian Neumann's music series provides a fascinating insight into the effects of music and the history behind our music. This series will definitely open your mind as one begin's to realize how music plays such an important role in our lives. Brian Neumann has spent more than 16 years in the industry and now speaks worldwide on the effects of music.


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The case for a day of rest




DISCUSSION

The soul’s Sabbath



The world today really needs the perspective, the rest, the enjoyment that Sabbath gives,” Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman says in an interview with Sally Quinn, making the case for a weekly day of rest. In this season of Congressional recess, family trips and controversy over whether or not President Obama should take a vacation, why does rest matter? Is vacation spiritual?
POSTED BY ON FAITH ON AUG 16, 2011 3:32 PM





The Sabbath we all need can look different for all of us

Sabbath is a method or a value more than it is a rigid recipe or fixed practice.
POSTED BY BRAD HIRSCHFIELD ON AUG 18, 2011 10:03 PM



Even God rests

Our human spirits have a finite capacity to carry stress, issues and problems.
POSTED BY ON AUG 18, 2011 10:31 PM



Protestant work ethic and the Jewish Sabbath

I had the privilege of previewing Senator Lieberman’s new book on the sabbath and it convicted this too-busy Baptist that a “weekly” Sabbath of rest is an important biblical concept.
POSTED BY RICHARD LAND ON AUG 18, 2011 10:09 PM



Sabbath rest, humans and humility

When it comes to rest, God leads by example.
POSTED BY JANET EDWARDS ON AUG 18, 2011 10:13 PM



Not resting --waking up

The Sabbath grew from the conviction that things need not be as they are.
POSTED BY SHARON BROUS ON AUG 18, 2011 10:17 PM



Spiritual rest

The Sabbath rest, if really practiced, is not duty, but the product of passion and intellect. Such rest waits for the deeper things of God.
POSTED BY JOHN MARK REYNOLDS ON AUG 17, 2011 5:12 PM



A holy weekend?

What was once the Holy Sabbath is now the weekend
POSTED BY ADIN STEINSALTZ ON AUG 17, 2011 4:08 PM



Spirituality: It’s only human!

The believers’ habit of passing off ‘emotional and psychological well-being’ under the label of ‘spirituality’ is an attempt to claim this kind of well-being as, at heart, a religious phenomenon.
POSTED BY PAULA KIRBY ON AUG 17, 2011 3:59 PM



Rest is a human need

At ten-years-old, while still an Orthodox Jew, I wondered why an all-powerful God had to take a day off each week to rest.
POSTED BY HERB SILVERMAN ON AUG 17, 2011 3:48 PM



The ideal Sabbath

Shabbat is the goal of the work week, not the pause that makes a week more productive.
POSTED BY JACK MOLINE ON AUG 16, 2011 3:17 PM



Rest (as we know it) a product of progressive values

Rest, vacation, R&R -- call it what you will, it’s very important to keeping an even keel. But the benefits are psychological, and to some degree physiological. They’re not spiritual.
POSTED BY TOM FLYNN ON AUG 16, 2011 3:22 PM



How to rest (Hint: Step away from the Blackberry...)

Instead of thinking of time away from routine obligations as merely escape, think of it as the freedom to contemplate the nature and harmony of the things of the spirit, and to experience the rewarding effect such a state of thought can have on your attitude and health.
POSTED BY RUSS GERBER ON AUG 16, 2011 3:31 PM


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I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes


Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:

That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.

Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

Matthew 23:33-36.

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.

And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

Matthew 10:41-42.
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Friday, November 09, 2012

BEWARE, COULD OUR CHURCHES BE USHERING IN THE “ONE WORLD CHURCH”?

The “New International Version” (NIV), “New World Translation” (NWT) and other modern Westcott sourced Bibles destroy God’s fruitfulness in the world as “The Great Commission” of Matthew 28:18-20 is now taught just to be the passion of some people while others just sing, eat and play yet the Devil runs rampant in the world and some churches.

NIV and NWT, with others deny that Jesus is equal with God.

In Philippians 2:6, The KJV says, “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:” while the NIV says, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,” and the NWT says, “who, although he was existing in God’s form, gave no consideration to a seizure, namely, that he should be equal to God.”


NIV and NWT and others teach gradual salvation & sanctification

In 2 Cor. 2:15 the KJV says, “in them that are saved” while the NIV and the NWT say, “those who are being saved”

In Hebrews 2:11 the KJV says, “they who are sanctified” while the NWT says, “those who are being sanctified”

In Hebrews 10:14 the KJV says, “them that are sanctified” while the NIV says, “those who are being made holy” and the NWT says, “those who are being sanctified”


NIV and NWT Remove the following Verses

(Reinserted as footnotes which create doubt and confirm association with Alexandrian Texts)

Matthew 17:21, Matthew 18:11, Matthew 23:14, Mark 7:16, Mark 9:44, Mark 9:46, Mark 11:26, Mark 15:28, Luke 17:36, Luke 23:17, John 5:4, Acts 8:37, Acts 15:34, Acts 24:7, Acts 28:29, Romans 16:24


NIV and NWT Remove “CHRIST”

Luke 4:41, John 4:42, John 6:69, Acts 2:30, Acts 15:11, Acts 16:31, Acts 20:21, Romans 1:3, Romans 1:16, Romans 14:10, 1 Corinthians 5:4, 1 Corinthians 9:1, 1 Corinthians 16:22, 1 Corinthians 16:23, 2 Corinthians 11:31, Galatians 3:17, Galatians 4:7, Galatians 6:15, Ephesians 3:9, Ephesians 3:14, Philippians 4:13, 1 Thessalonians 2:19, 1 Thessalonians 3:11, 1 Thessalonians 3:13, 2 Thessalonians 1:8, 1 Timothy 2:7, 2 Timothy 4:22, Hebrews 3:1, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 4:3, Revelation 1:9, Revelation 12:17, Revelation 22:21*     (* not removed in the NWT)

NIV and NWT Remove “HELL”

Matthew 11:23, Matthew 16:18, Luke 10:15,  Acts 2:31, Revelation 1:18, Revelation 6:8, Revelation 20:13, Revelation 20:14   (Hell is the English word for the abode of condemned souls, Satan and devils; the place of eternal punishment for the wicked after death – Hades, a Greek word, now used by modern translators instead of Hell to make it sound like a place of lesser punishment, causes confusion, destroys correct understanding of Hell’s eternal horror and kills passionate concern for lost souls, a self destructive belief of modern churches, many now disbelieving the fact of God’s perfect wrath on the day of judgment)

NIV and NWT Remove “JESUS”

Matthew 8:29, Matthew 16:20, Romans 1:3, Romans 15:8, 1 Corinthians 16:22, 2 Corinthians 4:6, 2 Corinthians 5:18, Galatians 6:15, Ephesians 3:9, Ephesians 3:14, Colossians 1:2, Colossians 1:28, 2 Timothy 4:22, 1 Peter 5:10, 1 Peter 5:14

NIV and NWT Remove “LORD”

Matthew 13:51, Mark 9:24, Mark 11:10, Luke 9:57, Luke 23:42, Acts 7:30, Romans 1:3, Romans 6:11, 1 Corinthians 10:28, 1 Corinthians 15:47, 2 Corinthians 4:10, Galatians 6:17, Ephesians 3:14, Colossians 1:2, 1 Timothy 1:1, 1 Timothy 5:21, 2 Timothy 4:1, 2 John 1:3

“Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. …. For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ. …. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. …. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” (Matthew 7:15, 2 Corinthians 2:17, Revelation 22:18-19, Revelation 18:4 – KJV/AV– Comparisons made with KJV, AV, Holy Bible including printed years of 1611-1985)

Other similar Westcott & Hort conflations found in: Amplified, Amer. Stand., Contemporary Eng., 21st Cent. KJV, New Amer. Bible, New Amer. Stand., New Cent. Ver., NIV, NIV Inclusive, New King James, New Living, New Revised, Revised Standard, Revised, Today’s English (Good News


Who was Brooke Foss Westcott? (Abridged - See Full Version)
Brooke Foss Wescott (1825-1901), the co-founder of the primary new testament NIV translation source, referred to as Westcott and Hort’s New Testament in the Original Greek,  by his own words, Westcott did not believe in a literal interpretation of Genesis concerning the creation of the world; Westcott wrote a letter supporting Darwinism; Westcott didn't believe in the reality or the necessity of the bodily resurrection of Jesus; Westcott believed the Second Coming of Christ as merely Christ coming to us through His Spirit from hour to hour; Westcott said he believed "eternal life" is the life right now and he made strange statements concerning incarnation, such as, “Incarnation lies not in the recognition of a distinct divine person”.

Brooke Westcott and his student, Fenton John Anthony Hort (1828-1892), through a modern process of textural criticism divided all Bible Manuscripts into four families.   They called the “Smallest” and “Rarest” (only about 5% of the over 5000 known manuscripts), the “Neutral Family” which they used as a basis for a new Greek Text effectively removing verses from the Bible and making thousands of changes from the “Original Tongues”, the 90-95% Majority Text of the KJV and earlier Bibles.

Evidence showing that Westcott, in his words, did not believe the Bible

Concerning Genesis and Creationism: “No one now, I suppose, holds that the first three chapters of Genesis, for example, give a literal history - I could never understand how any one reading them with open eyes could think they did - yet they disclose to us a Gospel.” (Westcott’s New Bibles, James H. Sightler, M.D.; Page 14; Westcott, A., op.cit.,Vol. II,p.89)

Concerning the bodily resurrection of Jesus: “It may indeed be said that the Church was founded upon the belief in the Resurrection and not upon the Resurrection itself; and that the testimony must therefore be limited to the attestation of the belief, and cannot reach to the attestation of the fact.”  (Westcott’s 1867 pamphlet, The Resurrection as a Fact and as a Revelation, page 13)

“The Revelation (of the Resurrection) was a Revelation to believers…That which is of the earth can perceive only that which is of the earth.  Our senses can only grasp that which is kindred to themselves…the world  could not see Christ, and Christ could not-there is a Divine impossiblility-shew Himself to the world.  To have proved by incontestable evidence that Christ rose again as Lazarus rose again, would have been not to confirm our faith but to destroy it irretrievably”

“The Resurrection, to set the matter in another light, was not an isolated event.  It was and is an abiding fact.  It was the beginning of a new and living relation between the Lord and His People.” (The Gospel of Life, New York; Macmillan & Co., 1892, p.35, Heresies of Westcott and Hort 1979, pp 32-33)

Concerning Darwinism: “A celebrated author and divine has written to me that ‘he has gradually learnt to see that it is just as noble a conception of the Deity to believe that He created a few original forms capable of self development into other needful forms, as to believe that He required a fresh act of creation to supply the voids caused by the actions of his laws.”   (Second edition of Darwin’s Origin, January 1860 quoting from Wescott’s letter)

Concerning the Second Coming of Christ: “In my Father’s house-the spiritual and eternal antitype of the visible temple-are many mansions-many resting places…The assurance stands in the grand simplicity, and we must not attempt to define further what at present we have no faculties to understand.  Heaven is where God is known as our Father…The ‘mansions’ are not, as it seems, simply fixed abodes in some spiritual city, but rather stations along the highways of some vast realm.  Even in the father’s presence life is still portrayed under the image of a journey, such that the idea of repose is combined with that of progress…If I go and prepare a place for you, I come again…The ‘coming’ is the strength of life, the ‘receiving’ is the crown of life.  Christ comes to us through His Spirit from hour to hour in the blessing and sanctifying of every circumstance and change.” (Westcott’s commentary on John 14:1-3)

Sample from Mark 9:44-47 showing Westcott and Hort’s Greek source for the NIV & NWT versions
Mk 9:44: (omitted)
Mk 9:45: και εαν ο πους σου σκανδαλιζη σε αποκοψον αυτον καλον εστιν σε εισελθειν εις την ζωην χωλον η τους δυο ποδας εχοντα βληθηναι εις την γεενναν
Mk 9:46: (omitted)
Mk 9:47: και εαν ο οφθαλμος σου σκανδαλιζη σε εκβαλε αυτον καλον σε εστιν μονοφθαλμον εισελθειν εις την βασιλειαν του θεου η δυο οφθαλμους εχοντα βληθηναι εις γεενναν
(1881 Westcott and Hort)      

From Christians caring about The Great Commission and unity in Christ: Way Truth Life Ministry  http://www.wtlministry.org

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The Gift of Prophecy




"And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:" Joel 2:28

Lesson #28
THE GIFT OF PROPHECY


Adam and Eve had the joy of talking face to face with their Maker. Sin abruptly ended that privilege, but we can all have that privilege, when we get to heaven, if now we will prepare our lives for eternal life with God and Christ.

After Adam and Eve sinned and could no longer commune with God face to face, God promised them a Saviour (Genesis 3:15) and deliverance from the consequences that they had chosen.

But how were they, with the face-to-face communion broken, to learn of God's plans for them and find His will? This was a problem they could not solve.

God chose to solve the problem of instructing mankind by giving them inspired messages by inspired prophets, such as Moses, Daniel, Amos, and the Apostles.

This special guidance is often called "the gift of prophecy," or "prophetic guidance

In this lesson, we will examine this important gift of God to man, through which He seeks to lead all men to eternal life.


1. THE GIFT OF PROPHECY

The gift of prophecy is a blessing from God to mankind, and it will remain in the church until the final unifying of the faith.

Ephesians 4:11-13 "And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."

Paul compares the church to the body; the various parts of which are parts of the body.

1 Corinthians 12:1-17,28 "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. . Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. . For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, -to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit. To another prophecy. . But all these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing to every man severally as He will. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body. . For the body is not one member, but many. . And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers."

The prophets are the eyes of this spiritual body.

1 Samuel 9:9 "Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer; for he that is now called a prophet (speaker for God) was beforetime called a Seer" [see-er for God; compare Luke 11:34 and Proverbs 29:18].


2. WILL THERE BE PROPHETS IN THE LAST DAYS?

The apostle Peter predicted that there would be prophets in the last days.

Acts 2:17-18 "And it shall come to pass in the last days saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy."

The above statement by Peter is based on a prediction in the Old Testament by Joel (Joel 2:28).

The warning that Christ gave against false prophets indicates that there will also be true ones. Satan will use counterfeits to divert attention from the genuine.

Matthew 7:15 "Beware of false prophets. which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."

God's law and God's prophets tend to be found together. If His people do not obey His law, then they will not have the guidance of His prophet.

Lamentations 2:9 "The law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the Lord."

Ezekiel 7:26 "Then shall they seek a vision of the prophet; but the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients" (compare 20:3,12,13,16),

Jeremiah 26:4-6 "Thus saith the Lord: If ye will not hearken to Me, to walk in My law, which I have set before you, to hearken to the words of My servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened; Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make of this city a curse to all the nations of the earth."

Proverbs 29:18 "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he."

The true church, Just before Jesus returns, will again have the gift of prophecy, because it keeps the law of God by faith in Christ.

Revelation 12:17 "And the dragon was wroth with the woman. and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

Revelation 19:10 "For the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy."

Just before Christ's return, His people will again be obeying His moral law through His empowering grace.

Revelation 14:12, 14 "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. . And I looked, and behold a white cloud. and upon the cloud One sat like unto the Son of man. having on His head a golden crown. and in His hand a sharp sickle."



3. HOW DOES PROPHECY COME TO US?

It comes to us from God through His prophets.

2 Peter 1:21 "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."

Revelation 1:1-2 "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to shew unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John: Who bare record of the Word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw."
4. WHAT ARE THE MARKS OF A TRUE PROPHET?

A true prophet will speak in harmony with the Bible.

Isaiah 8:20 "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this Word., it is because there is no light in them."

Deuteronomy 13:1-3 "If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known and let us serve them; thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul."


A true prophet will exalt God and Christ rather than himself.

Jeremiah 1:4-9 "Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou earnest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put My words in thy mouth."

2 Corinthians 10:5 "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. "

A true prophet will reprove men of sin.

Ezekiel 3:17-19 "Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at My mouth, and give them warning from Me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if you warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul."

A true prophet will emphasize the necessity of Jesus in the heart.

1 John 4:1-3 "Beloved , believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is the spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world."

A true prophet will live a godly life and will produce good fruit.

Matthew 7:15-18, 20 "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. . Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them."

The predictions of a true prophet will come to pass.

Deuteronomy 18:21-22 "And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him."

Jeremiah 28:9 "The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him."

A true prophet will have visions and dreams.

Numbers 12:6 "And he said, Hear now My words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make Myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak to him in a dream."

Both men and women can be called as prophets of God.

Examples of men who were called to be prophets: Enoch (Jude 14), Moses (Exodus 3:9-10), Elijah (1 Kings 17:1-3), John the Baptist (Luke 1:13-17), John the Revelator (Revelation 1 :10).

Examples of women who were called to be prophets: Miriam (Exodus 15.20), Deborah (Judges 4:4), Huldah (2 Kings 22:14), Anna (Luke 2.36), Philip's daughters (Acts 21:9).

The weakest of the weak may be called to this work.

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; That no flesh should glory in His presence."

2 Corinthians 12:9 "And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (also 13:4).


5. WHAT ARE THE TESTS OF A TRUE PROPHET?

We are commanded not to despise prophets, but to test them.

1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 "Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1 John 4:1).

We must test them by the Word of God.

Isaiah 8:20 "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this Word. it is because there is no light in them."

While in vision. a prophet has no breath, and his natural strength is gone until the angel strengthens him.

Daniel 10:17-18 "As for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me. Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me."

While in Vision, a prophet can nevertheless speak.

Daniel 10:15-16 "And when he [the angel] had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb [unable to speak]. And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake."

While in vision, a prophet keeps his eyes open.

Numbers 24:16 "He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open."

While in vision, a prophet is unconscious of his surroundings.

2 Corinthians 12:2,4 "I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. . How that He was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter."



6. HOW DOES THE GIFT OF PROPHECY HELP US?

The abiding gift of prophecy provides counsel and guidance before a crisis.

Noah, was sent with warnings before the Flood came (Genesis 6:9-17). Moses was sent to lead the people of God out of Egypt (Exodus 3:4-12; 4:10-16; Deuteronomy 4:10-12). Elijah called men back to obedience to God and warned of judgments because they refused to render obedience (1 Kings 17:1; 18:20-41; 2 Kings 2:11-13). John the Baptist called all men to repentance and announced the soon coming of Christ (Mark 1:25; Luke 7:28).

The messages of the prophet bring comfort and encouragement to the people of God.

2 Peter 1:19 "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed. as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts."

1 Corinthians 14:3 "He that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort."

It is only as the people heed the words that God sends them through the prophet that they can have truest success.

2 Chronicles 20:20 "Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe His prophets, so shall ye prosper."

The counsel of the true prophet protects from unbiblical errors and enables the people of God to obey His Written Word.

Ephesians 4:11-16 "And He gave. . prophets. . for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every Wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive."

We may expect the prophetic gift among the remnant of the true church. down in the time of the end:

Revelation 12:17 "And the dragon [Satan. through his own agencies] was wroth with the woman [the true church], and went to make war With the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

Revelation 19:10 "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."


Communication Restored: Supplement

"Before the entrance of sin, Adam enjoyed open communion with his Maker; but since man separated himself from God by transgression, the human race has been cut off from this high privilege. By the plan of redemption, however, a way has been opened whereby the inhabitants of the earth may still have connection with heaven. God has communicated with men by His Spirit, and divine light has been imparted to the world by revelations to His chosen servants. "Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter 1:21).

"During the first twenty-five hundred years of human history, there was no written revelation, Those who had been taught of God, communicated their knowledge to others, and it was handed down from father to son, through successive generations. The preparation of the written Word began in the time of Moses, Inspired revelations were then embodied in an inspired book. This work continued during the long period of sixteen hundred years - from Moses, the historian of creation and the law, to John, the recorder of the most sublime truths of the gospel.

"Written in different ages, by men who differed widely in rank and occupation, and in mental and spiritual endowments, the books of the Bible present a wide contrast in style, as well as a diversity in the nature of the subjects unfolded. Different forms of expression are employed by different writers; often the same truth is more strikingly presented by one than by another. And as several writers present a subject under varied aspects and relations, there may appear, to the superficial, careless, or prejudiced reader, to be discrepancy or contradiction, where the thoughtful, reverent student, with clearer insight, discerns the underlying harmony,

"As presented through different individuals, the truth is brought out in its varied aspects, One writer is more strongly impressed with one phase of the subject; he grasps those points that harmonize with his experience or with his power of perception and appreciation; another seizes upon a different phase; and each, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, presents what is most forcibly impressed upon his own mind-a different aspect of the truth in each, but a perfect harmony through all. And the truths thus revealed unite to form a perfect whole, adapted to meet the wants of men in all the circumstances and experiences of life.

"God has been pleased to communicate His truth to the world by human agencies, and He Himself. by His Holy Spirit, qualified men and enabled them to do this work. He guided the mind in the selection of what to speak and what to write. The treasure was entrusted to earthen vessels, yet it is, nonetheless, from Heaven. The testimony is conveyed through the imperfect expression of human language, yet it is the testimony of God; and the obedient, believing child of God beholds in it the glory of a divine power, full of grace and truth." Great Controversy. 5-7

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