Given the UN’s track record regarding Israel, upon hearing this news, Guterres could probably scarcely contain his glee.
“Netanyahu tells UN chief Iran building missile production sites in Syria, Lebanon,” by Itamar Eichner, Ynet News, August 28, 2017:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres Monday that Iran is building sites to produce precision-guided missiles in Syria and Lebanon, with the aim of using them against Israel.
At the start of a meeting in Jerusalem, Netanyahu accused Iran of turning Syria into a “base of military entrenchment as part of its declared goal to eradicate Israel.”
“It is also building sites to produce precision-guided missiles towards that end, in both Syria and in Lebanon. This is something Israel cannot accept. This is something the UN should not accept,” Netanyahu said as the two spoke during a joint press conference.
Iran, Israel’s arch-enemy, has been Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s staunchest backer and has provided militia fighters and terror groups such as Hezbollah to help him in Syria’s civil war.
The prime minister lamented its “troubled relationship” with the UN, decrying what he described as an “absurd obsession with Israel,” which uses “flagrantly discriminatory tactics. You don’t have to be the Israeli prime minister to understand that, and I think people of good faith and common sense understand that.”
Netanyahu criticized the UN, saying that it fails to check Palestinian hate speech, “absurdly denies” Jewish connections to Jerusalem and has not stopped arms from reaching Hezbollah in Lebanon.
He was referring to a recent UN cultural agency resolution about Jerusalem that angered Israel after it failed to acknowledge Jewish ties with the city and recently denied Israeli sovereignty over the city.
Israel also criticized the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, for being too soft on Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces in the border area. The US recently backed Israel in its claims and suggested that more responsibilities be demanded of the group to curb Hezbollah’s activities….
somehistory says
And the chief said, “So what else is new?”
Or, “All according to plan.” “right on schedule.”
Wellington says
The United Nations (Useless Nations) is a moral cesspool where representatives of authoritarian regimes come to lecture representatives of democratic countries about what they’re doing wrong. I mean you have rank nations like Saudi Arabia (not really a nation at all but a family posing as a nation) and Iran being put on some kind of human rights or women’s rights committee/panel/commission, blah, blah, blah, regularly. Yep, can’t make this stuff up.
The UN has become a caricature of itself. It is beyond repair. Its presence in NYC is an insult to the country which has pioneered, defended, protected and promoted freedom as no other polity in history ever has, not even ancient Athens or England, both of which polities I do respect greatly.
It is time the UN move to, let’s see here, P’yongyang, Tehran, Harare, Mexico City, Beijing, Moscow————–ah, many worthy “candidates,” no? Yes, let’s make the farce of the UN up-front noticeable once and for all.
Were I President of the United States, I would give the UN one year to get out of New York, get out of America. Yes, I understand the many legal complications that would be involved here but what I’m saying is that to the extent that I could do such a thing were I POTUS I would do it. Sometimes, you know, the intention alone speaks volumes. As here.
paul says
United Muslim Nations against the west
John Forbes says
I believe there is a “PERFECT STORM” that has hit the West & continues to hit Western Nations :
WESTERN SUCCESS GUILT & LEFTIST MARXIST IDEOLOGY has been taught in the Western School systems & been ignored for decades & now the so called schools of LEARNING are bitter leftist swamps full of failed people teaching rubbish to this YOUNG GENERATION who now honestly believe that they are ENTITLED to many things without actually working for anything ! WESTERN GOVERNMENTS simply have no idea what to do with this lot & the best idea is shut them ALL DOWN for at least 5 years to give them a “taste of Reality”!
The WESTERN WELFARE that was originally set up to help those who were in need or disabled has become a true refuge for the LAZY & STUPID who have been allowed to manipulate the system to blatantly & dishonestly live off the Largess of this !
Little do they or the COSTS of this rise & rise & as they actually produce NOTHING are a huge waste of resources that should go elsewhere .
MANY MIGRANTS have seen this & Gleefully tapped in to it with more than ONE wife & political correctness together with self serving cowardice by a succession managers & governments has & does allow this to flourish !
WESTERN DEBT has been sold to Gulf & Far Eastern Governments in simply staggering amounts & none that I know of have anything resembling a balanced budget & probably never will !
Many of the HOLDERS of this debt are MUSLIM super rich Middle Eastern States,
A part of the WESTERN WEAKNESS is the reliance on this & the populations determination & political parties belief that this can be ignored & can run forever !
There are many warnings of Financial Chaos !
The ISLAMIC SUPER WEALTHY States of SAUDI ARABIA , KUWAIT Etc – being big Investors in the UK & Europe & North America & also big ARMS buyers are well aware of the Corruption & Lobby Group Powers that exist & can be set up .
They have also seen the WESTS Deliberate disguarding of their faith -Christianity & know full well of the faith void in the west & they know about the LEFTIST IDEOLOGIES of MULTICULTURALISM & POLITICAL CORRECTNESS & the POWER of the RACIST TAG !
They are also aware of the ARROGANCE of the WESTS ELITE & the determination of the ELITE to shove the FAILED MULTICULTURALISM Doctrine down the populations throats & they are well aware of the COWARDICE & SELF SERVING Parties !
They are also aware that very FEW in the WEST have a TRUE KNOWLEDGE of ISLAM & FEWER STILL are aware of both their OWN HISTORY & WARS with ISLAM or even WHY they were fought !
FEW AMERICANS actually know that the American Marines were used to to FIGHT the MUSLIM PIRATES on the NORTH AFRICAN COAST ( Barbary states) to stop the Taking of Americans off ships & selling them into slavery ! When the OTTOMAN EMPIRES AMBASSADOR was asked why this was being done he informed (JACKSON ) – because they are non believers & the KORAN allows this !
The OTTOMAN EMPIRE had been destroyed during & after the Great War ( WW1) & parts ofthe empire were split up by France & the BRITISH ! TURKEY was formed at the end by KEMAL ATTATURK ( the Turkish General who defeated the Allies in Gallipoli)
ISRAEL was proposed at the BALFOUR DECLARATION in this period !!
This remains a sore in the Middle East & this issue is one of the Most Dangerous potential Flash points on the Planet !!
What has also happened is that AMERICAN POWER has declined & there is no strong leadership in the West !
There has also been a HUGE LOSS of WESTERN CONFIDENCE as even the WESTS values have been attacked by LEFTISTS in the WEST & the RESULT has been a CONFUSED MESS & gleefully FUELED by the LEFT & ISLAM to CREATE CHAOS & later to PRESENT SHARIA as a better guide for LIFE & this is actually being QUOTED NEW CONVERTS NOW – MYRIAM FRANCOIS CERRA & RIDLEY & BOOTH bein three!!
There are collections of the greatest self serving dithers & Cowards on the planet in place with no real leadership of any real strength anywhere !!
The MUSLIMS SEE this , UNDERSTAND & together with SOROS Foundations have TAKEN ADVANTAGE of STUPIDITY , WILLFUL DENIAL & IGNORANCE & POLITICAL COWARDICE & the LOSS of WESTERN CONFIDENCE & POUNCED & very few are willing to Face them let alone take them ON !!
The GREAT DREAM of MUSLIMS is to CREATE a WORLD WIDE MUSLIM EMPIRE ( the old TERM for the OTTOMAN EMPIRE when it controlled huge parts what is now France , Spain, Portugal & areas right up to Eastern Europe!
The CHRISTIANS DROVE the MUSLIMS ( MOORS) out of Spain in 1491 & Queen Isabella became the Savior of Christendom .
The MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD is a GROUP & a VERY POWERFUL & WIDE SPREAD ORGANIZATION dedicated to the spread of ISLAM across the world & also determined to destroy Democracy from within ! The TERM ISLAMOPHOBIA has been created by the BROTHERHOOD to ensure that no criticism or inspection of ISLAM is allowed & it has been SPECTACULARLY SUCCESSFUL in the WEST & has been GLEEFULLY accepted by the LEFT & Indeed many WESTERN NATIONS as is used along with the RACIST TAG to shut down FREE SPEECH & so to STIFLE any OPPOSITION to the ISLAMIZATION of WESTERN SOCIETY
It is this FANATICISM that the WEST SO FOOLISHLY refuses to study or even acknowledge or make any SERIOUS ATTEMPT to UNDERSTAND in part because it seems so outlandish as to be an embarassment to even talk about that makes these tactics so effective & DANGEROUS for DEMOCRACY !
This REFUSAL gives the BROTHERHOOD FREE SPACE & Coupled with POLITICAL CORRECTNESS & the LEFTIST ALLIANCE means that the ADVANCE of ISLAM & ITS POISENOUS LEGAL CODE SHARIA continues to advance as it moves towards the Destruction of Democracy & the West!
In MY VIEW ISLAM is as DANGEROUS as the FASCISTS of the 1930″s & possible more so as they are now in OUR HOMES !!
REALISTICALLY MOST EUROPEAN Nations will probably be ISLAMIC STATES in our LIFETIMES( say 50 years at the outside ) with only POLAND ,HUNGARY , SLOVAKIA & the CHECKS being the possible HOLD OUTS !
D Austin says
The threat of all-out war over Jerusalem spiked when Netanyahu issued a decree allowing Knesset members to ascend the Temple Mount for one day to pray.
https://www.breakingisraelnews.com/93823/mk-glick-slams-one-day-trial-knesset-members-visiting-temple-mount/#8ZkRmZw3CFfMbYK
Nobody knows exactly how the upcoming Israel war will go down or who all will be involved. It is reasonable to believe that we are within about a 3.5 month window and the war will have something to do with the upcoming temple. IDF will stop Iranian threat in Syria, declares Israeli defense minister.
Kushner’s Mideast peace push met with Palestinian skepticism. Jared’s peace push right on cue, as we have long known sandwiched between the eclipse and the Revelation 12 sign in September. Next up, war and temple.
Wellington says
Respectfully disagree. All-out war has hung over Israel since its creation in 1948—–even before its creation going back to the days of Haj Amin al-Husseini, a Hitler admirer.
So, “the spiking theory” of yours means virtually nothing. It is just one more blip, among thousands, that adds up to the Islamic world wanting no Israel at all. Surely, you can see at least this. No?
As for Revelation 12, sorry. Though an agnostic and wish with all my heart that all Muslims would wake up tomorrow devout Christians, which would make the world infinitely better off, citing religious scripture as fact only functions well for those who believe in the veracity of Christian religious scripture. So how do you bring Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, agnostics, atheists, etc. into the broadest coalition possible to combat what Islam intends for us all by citing a passage from Revelation? Besides, the last book of the NT is so vague time and time again that you can read into it whatever you want to read into it.
As for the recent eclipse, get over it. It’s just an astronomical event and anyone averring otherwise has an agenda they cannot prove. Hopefully you gather my overall point here. Sure hope so.
gravenimage says
D Austin wrote:
The threat of all-out war over Jerusalem spiked when Netanyahu issued a decree allowing Knesset members to ascend the Temple Mount for one day to pray.
…………………..
I’m sorry–this is claptrap. Muslims have been vowing to take Jerusalem ever since the founding of Israel. Muslims don’t want *anyone* to be free of Muslim oppression,
Jews least of all.
The idea that that allowing Jews to pray at the Temple Mount is what sparked this is absurd. You also do not say why Jews *shouldn’t* be allowed to pray there.
You also seem to imply that there are plans to rebuild the Jewish Temple–but there are no such plans, certainly not at this point.
paul says
Ban muslims from the temple mount, and build a temple there. Whatever happens, happens
R Russell says
Yes, there is a Book which foretold c.2500 years ago of nations joining together to fight Israel. It also describes the effects of nuclear war and clean up techniques which could come out of a modern text book. Yes, it is a pretty accurate book and with Iran being one of these foretold nations, I wouldn’t dismiss Netanyahu’s concerns. However, when that time comes… there will be a miraculous intervention and Israel will be saved. More info available from the Bible.
Wellington says
Which book? Be specific.
I can be sympathetic to Judaism and Christianity, even though an agnostic, and one dedicated to eternal hostility towards the worst religion ever created by man, i.e., Islam, but all the “foretelling stuff” can be, as David Hume accurately pointed out some 250 years ago, explained by non-miraculous interpretations. No exception.
As Hume sapiently observed, there isn’t a single miraculous tale in the Bible, not one, including any prophecy, that cannot be countered by a non-miraculous explanation. As Hume further explained, quite accurately I would argue, no miracle in the Bible, not one, can be accepted UNLESS the non-miraculous explanation for the event in question would be even more astounding than the miraculous one. Go ahead, tell me of one, just one, Biblical miracle that cannot be explained away, a la Hume, by a non-religious explanation.
I don’t mean to trick you. I also accept the possibility that Christianity is the true religion (though I highly doubt it and would bet my life on it that it isn’t), but I do know this much: 1) the Judeo-Christian ethic is a very fine one, irrespective of what the Judeo-Christian world contends theologically; and 2) Islam is appalling and a prescription for the ending of freedom and the eternal closing of the mind as neither Judaism and Christianity are.
Your turn. Counter-argument time and all that.
Aloha Akbar says
Always love your comments Wellington.
Yes, the miraculous events can be duplicated & proven scientifically in a non-miraculous way. But I can’t see man duplicating the miracle of resurrecting a dead person as Jesus & a few other bible characters did.
Or perhaps creating a human from dust &/or a rib 🙂
There is one prophecy though that would be good to see either miraculously or through mankind, that is the destruction of false religion (esp Satans favourite, islam)
Wellington says
Aloha Akbar: Thank you for your reply. Perhaps there was no resurrection of a dead person but rather the coming back to full life of a person in a coma. Then again, in ancient times dreams were considered as real, if not more real, than waking life and this too could account for such extraordinary tales. What additionally can’t be ruled out is symbolic, spiritual resurrection as opposed to literal, physical resurrection.
Also, a story can be embellished greatly over time and the first accounts of Jesus’ life were written by Paul who never knew Jesus and who cared little about anything respecting Jesus’ life except the very end of it. As for the Gospels, think about it. They were written, at the earliest, around forty years after Jesus died (Mark is the earliest of the four) and in a language (Greek) he did not use (he of course would have spoken Aramaic). Jesus also, like Socrates, left no writings of his own. Loads of room here for filling in the “gaps.” Loads of room. Again, thank you for replying.
Keys says
Wellington –
I always look forward to your comments and try to not miss any, so I know you have mentioned before David Hume’s view on miracles and again in this post.
Regarding the miracles of Jesus mentioned in the NT, there is no way to go back and get more information, interviews, data, testing, etc.
This is one reason why I have been fascinated by the Shroud of Turin, and have read a bit about it over the years. It is something that can be examined, tested, etc.
Mark Antonacci is an attorney like you, and was an agnostic when he began his now 30+ year study of the Shroud. He still has a law office in Eureka, MO. He also is founder of the Test the Shroud Foundation.
http://testtheshroud.org/about-us-3/
I read his first book, but not his most recent, “Test The Shroud: At the Atomic and Molecular Levels” (November 1, 2016). The reviews on Amazon would give you an idea of whether or not you would be interested, and explain more than I can here.
The review by Bibliophile on this book on June 6, 2017 is comprehensive, well done.
Wellington says
Thanks for your reply, Keys. It has been my understanding that the Shroud of Turin has been carbon dated to the Late Middle Ages, probably the 14th century. Always willing, however, to reconsider any new evidence. Take care.
R Russell says
For some unknown reason, for I am not very computer savvy, since I got a new laptop and had my data transferred I no longer receive notifications of new posts from Jihad Watch. Hence I never know when there are responses to what I write so I can peruse them.
Wellington:
As a skeptic and appearing to believe in the teachings of David Hume I say to you to do your own research. I’m not here to spoon feed you. If you are interested enough you will research it. Search engines are wonderful things.
There are more than 2500 prophecies in the Bible, many fulfilled, and about 500 either in the process of fulfillment or still future.
If David Hume examined the c 2000 explicit prophecies (not vague predictions which are open to multiple interpretations) fulfilled by his day and gave the evidence for his belief it might be worth examining.
However, until an unbeliever, for whatever reason, allows themselves to be open minded enough to examine the evidence nothing will change.
The choice is yours.
Wellington says
Why not just name for me a handful of prophecies (three or four) that you believe have been fulfilled and I will attempt to provide a non-miraculous explanation for them.
Generalizations without examples are pretty much worthless, you know. Go ahead and give it a shot. BTW, I have never denied that Christianity could be the true faith but only highly doubt that it is. I don’t think there is any such thing as “the true faith” but I could be wrong. Could you? And if you say you couldn’t be wrong then what is the point of faith? Doesn’t faith imply that a certain amount of doubt must exist? After all, if you know something as opposed to believing in something, you don’t need faith, do you? One does need faith to KNOW that George Washington was the first President of the USA under the Constitution. But one cannot KNOW that Jesus rose from the dead. Here it takes faith, no?
Wellington says
That should read, “One does not need faith to Know that George Washington………”
Sometimes, one word, in this case “not,” can completely alter the entire matter to put it mildly.
R Russell says
Wellington.
I don’t know why I am giving you this for I very much suspect you will not be looking at it with an open mind. However what you do with it is entirely up to you. Getting to know the Bible Jesus makes a big difference in one’s life. I recommend you get to know him.
http://www.khouse.org/enews_article/2007/1190/
http://www.khouse.org/articles/2004/552/
http://www.khouse.org/articles/1996/46/
http://www.khouse.org/articles/1995/104/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTMagn5bz8M
I would recommend you obtain Chuck Missler’s 20/20 prophesy.
Wellington says
I wish you would have just given me three or four examples as I requested. Instead you had to give me links. Why can’t people just argue in their own words, minus a brief quote here or there? Besides, the links you gave me have a great deal to do with the Book of Daniel, which I addressed in my communication to “somehistory” in my 1:43 P.M. post of today. Please read that for ACCURATE information about the Book of Daniel and its so-called prophetic “capacity.”
But let’s take what is said in the first link you provided me. The author is just over the moon about Daniel 9: 24-27. But this passage is so vague you can read anything into it you want. I mean what’s with the seventy weeks stuff, the seven weeks stuff, the sixty-two weeks stuff, etc.? Why would a rational God in the first place engage in such obscure, recondite information? Why not just spell it out directly instead of condemning people to eternal hell fire for not believing what is so easily not believed because the human mind has every right to expect that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
Thus to threaten a person with eternal hell fire or oblivion or some terrible fate for rationally objecting to passages in a text, in this case the Book of Daniel, which could be read whatever which way (frankly, if one does not take into account that the Book of Daniel was composed in the 160’s B.C. and was a commentary on the Selucid monarch, Antiochus IV, then such a person is ready to accept a great deal which is malarkey) is evidence of a deity I can’t respect even if if exists, much as I can’t respect Allah even if Islam is the true religion.
Done here for now. Your turn if you care. But argue in your own words. No more links. Say things yourself.
R Russell says
Wellington
A bit of a control freak aren’t you? Trying to dictate that I frame my information in the way you want it framed. You have made it clear in what you have written that you aren’t interested in truth. You are a God hater, that you have made clear. That’s your choice.
I have no interest in what you have written about Daniel. I am content to go with its inclusion in the Septuagint.
I don’t engage with people who aren’t interested in truth. Until your mind is open there no point. It is a waste of time. You have stated you want to argue. I only debate when the person has an open mind.
You do what millions have done before you. Evidence found in the Bible is suspect yet most have no problem accepting history form non Biblical sources even although it is far less well documented.
You maybe aren’t aware of the content of the letter written to the Romans by Paul the apostle. Try chapter 1. I suspect you will find yourself in there. However, there is happier information the further into the letter you go. Your choice whether you read any of it.
All this delving into history only fills the mind.
The Lord Jesus wants you to get to know Him – not only to know about Him. He is a faithful friend and is recommended. Christianity is about knowing a person – Jesus – not about filling the mind only with information.
It is in a person’s spirit that the friendship with Jesus develops. That spirit is dead and has to be brought to life by accepting the result of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Again your choice.
I have said all I intend to say. I wont respond to any replies to this post.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAplJ0_jDFc
Wellington says
R Russell: I’ll make this brief as possible.
First, I am not a control freak and those who know me well would find it laughable that anyone would assess me as such. When teaching history at the college level for 29 years it was quite well known that students could disagree with me as much as they wanted to and it would not affect their grade in the course whatsoever. All they had to do was do the work assigned. Many, many times I gave very liberal students an “A” in my courses even though I am a very conservative man. Many of my students, including many liberal students, told me that the same could not be expected of numerous liberal teachers at the college where I taught.
Second, I am not a God hater. This is a ludicrous accusation by you. I am inclined to think God is a legend but I admit that some kind of Supreme Being could exist. Hate does not enter into my thinking whatsoever about a possible higher power. I am “merely” a skeptic, not a hater.
Third, I admit that Christianity could be the true faith. I think it unlikely but I admit it is possible. I wonder if you can admit that Christianity might not be the true faith. I kinda’ doubt it and so who is the close-minded one here?
Fourth, and finally, you mentioned history from non-Biblical sources. But such sources are NOT wrapped up with prophecy. The “prophecy stuff” isn’t history. It’s religious “stuff.” Oh yes, it could be true “stuff,” though I doubt it, but it ain’t history and so you have conflated one subject with another. This simply will not do.
Done here.
Aloha Akbar says
You’re correct Wellington, those that wrote about Jesus were imperfect men like us. The difference is that they were guided by Holy Spirit as God directed them in what to write.
Just like all 66 books of the bible written over some 1600 years & yet the all the books are in complete harmony with each other.
There may be some things that are not quite understood by some, but that is where faith comes in.
Two things are certain, not all will believe & those that do believe will never agree on doctrine.
One thing is great, we can have discussions & disagreements with others without resorting to chopping off each others heads a la mohammed style 🙂
Cheers
Wellington says
I too think it is great, Aloha Akbar, that we can have this discussion without violence or threats of violence, contra the whole Islamic approach. I would add here that since Kant showed that all intellectual proofs for the existence of God, however clever (and some are very clever), ultimately fail because existence is not necessarily a category of an idea, one is, a la Kierkegaard, thrown back on faith alone. This doesn’t mean that what one believes in could not be true (e.g., Christianity) but it does mean that faith is not only imperative but pretty much all one has.
Good to have this exchange with you. Take care.
gravenimage says
Netanyahu tells UN top dog that Iran is building missile sites in Syria, Lebanon to strike Israel
………………………..
How long before Iran tries to make good on its threat to “wipe Israel off the map”?
paul says
The UN top dog wanted to know how Net. found out. Where is the leak?
stan lee says
The U.N. is 100% cowardly, it will give Netanyahu “lip service” and nothing else, then if missiles are fired from Lebanese or Syrian territory, the U.N. may express surprise. If the Israelis have the map coordinates of the sites in concern, they will have to take action themselves. I doubt they will allow the problem to go so far as those sites would reach 100% prepared for firing. The Israelis know they’d be aimed at population centers. Either they’ll put together a Special Forces operation, or take it all out from the air.
paul says
They are on their own…. But at least mohammed obamba is out. No more finger in the chest from that scumbag!
Daniel Triplett says
This is provocation enough for an Israeli defensive nuke strike.
We must join them.
Let’s get this whole mess over with now. Iran is just one tree in the forest. We must force the Ummah’s surrender. No Islam on Earth. Our objective must be to extinguish the Islamic ideology, not to exterminate Muslims, but to apostatize every Muslim.
As every Superpower on Earth has ever learned, Superpower status and influence doesn’t last forever. What will we do with our time in the sun? Will we continue pissing it away, as we’re doing now, or will we capitalize on this historic opportunity to bequeath a worthy legacy to the World?
America is alone. We have an unprecedented opportunity to lead. We must not just protect Liberty, we must project Liberty.
The greatest legacy America can render to the World is liberating 1.7 Billion Muslims from Islam.
Our children are watching.
Guy Forester says
I suspect that one day, something will set off the next onslaught against Israel by the friendly neighbors. Will it be according to a schedule or planned event, or will it be an accidental altercation that keeps building and morphs into a war not seen before on this earth (at least not that we are aware of!)?
I hope Trump makes some better appointments and fires a bunch of the help. He needs to plan on being there to back up Israel.
Mark Swan says
Many cities around the world are from time to time the focus of violent conflicts…But the city of Jerusalem—especially its Temple Mount—is again and again at the center of world attention….This is no surprise to anyone familiar with Bible prophecy….Dozens of prophecies indicate that the city of Jerusalem will dominate news headlines just before Jesus Christ’s return and the end of this age.
In recent years…seemingly endless political negotiations have been launched in pursuit of Middle East peace…Yet success has eluded every effort…just as the Bible predicted…God inspired the prophet Zechariah to write…more than 2,500 years ago…that “it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces” (Zechariah 12:3). For nearly a century… Jerusalem has fulfilled this prophecy…Britain…Israel and the United States have all tried—and failed—to bring peace to this troubled city and its region…Now the Europeans…the Russians…the United Nations and even the Vatican want to try to solve this age-old problem…According to Bible prophecy…all who try will fail—until Christ returns!
Zechariah recorded another end-time prophecy…Behold, the day of the Lord is coming…I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city” (Zechariah 14:1–2). This prophecy appears to be on the verge of fulfillment…Jerusalem was devastated by the Babylonians in the seventh century bc…and by the Romans in 70ad…Later the Arabs…and then the Ottoman Turks…controlled the city…However, the prophesied end-time conquest and devastation will come at the hands of “all the nations…In previous sieges…the entire city was conquered and laid waste…half—East Jerusalem—becomes the recognized capital of a full Palestinian state…as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has proposed.
Jeremiah records another of God’s prophetic warnings to the people of Jerusalem…I will hand them over to trouble…to all kingdoms of the earth (Jeremiah 15:4)…Jerusalem has been dominated by individual nations at different times…but never by all the kingdoms of the earth…However…if United Nations observers and peacekeepers enter the picture…this prophecy will be fulfilled in a remarkable way…The Bible also reveals that Jerusalem’s future devastation will come suddenly at the hands of a multitude of nations (Jeremiah 6:26; 15:8; Isaiah 29:5; 30:13)…Recent decades’ developments in high-tech warfare…and anti-Israel hatreds inflamed by Arab nations and their allies…add ominous relevance to this prophecy.
Jesus Christ revealed an even greater significance of these Old Testament prophecies….When Jesus’ disciples asked Him, “what will be the sign of Your [second] coming, and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3), He told them to watch for one particular development involving Jerusalem: “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near” (Luke 21:20). Christ went on to reveal that “Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Luke 21:24). The Bible indicates that this end-time Gentile domination of Jerusalem will last for 42 months—three-and-a-half years (see Revelation 11:2)…Since 1948, the UN agenda has included an intention to place Jerusalem under international administration…This idea is gaining credence today…and variations of it have even been offered by popes and U.S. diplomats…In conjunction with numerous other prophesied end-time events…this should alert us to the real significance of the times in which we live (see Matthew 16:3; 24:32–34).
The Temple Mount is a focal point of religious interest in Jerusalem for three major religions…Though it was once the site of Solomon’s temple and of the Herodian temple during Jesus’ human lifetime…Jews are now forbidden to worship on the Temple Mount…which is now occupied by Islam’s Dome of the Rock…The Temple Mount has been called “the most volatile spot on the face of the earth….Bible prophecy indicates that significant events will occur on the Temple Mount just before Jesus Christ’s return. These events will be a warning—for those who have eyes to see—that the end of this present age is near!
Biblical prophecies describe two prominent individuals appearing on the world stage in the end times (see Revelation 20:10)…One is a powerful and persuasive political figure called the Beast (see Revelation 13:1–10; 17:12–13). The other is a highly influential religious figure known as the false prophet or man of sin (see Revelation 13:11–18; 2 Thessalonians 2)…The Bible reveals that they will focus their attention on Jerusalem—and on the Temple Mount in particular…These two Satan-inspired leaders will orchestrate two distinct events repeatedly mentioned in Scripture…They will cause the daily sacrifices to cease…and they will defile the temple sanctuary (see Daniel 8:11–12; 9:27; 11:31; 12:11)…These two distinct actions will take place in Jerusalem just before Christ’s return (Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14)…However…before the daily sacrifices can be stopped…they must begin…And before a sanctuary can be defiled…it must be established…These two events will also be extremely significant. Watch for them to be stopped, when they are stopped, the Great Tribulation will begin, NOW, WE CAN COUNT 3 ½ YEARS UNTIL CHRIST’S RETURN. This 3 ½ years will be horrifying for the Earth, with the last year being the Day of The Lord, which promises to be so much more ominous than the previous 2 ½ years.
Remarkable as it may seem to secular minds today…plans are well underway in Jerusalem that may lead to the fulfillment of these ancient prophecies….Since 1967…Jewish scholars have been studying the location of previous temples on the Temple Mount…selecting and training priests and preparing the vessels necessary to reinstitute the daily sacrifices previously carried out in the temple…All that is needed is a place to erect a sanctuary…and permission to begin the sacrifices—which the Bible indicates will happen just before the end of this present age!
Daniel writes of a coming leader who will deceitfully enter into a covenant (Daniel 11:31–32) with the Jewish people—a covenant that appears to include the resumption of sacrifices and the construction of a sanctuary (Daniel 9:26–27)…perhaps in exchange for ceding East Jerusalem to the Palestinians…This agreement…however…will be abruptly broken after three years probably in an effort to enforce religious uniformity…The rebuilt sanctuary will then be defiled in some way…Antiochus Epiphanes’ actions in 168bc can be understood as a prototype of end-time events…Antiochus attempted to exterminate the Jewish religion by placing a pagan idol in the temple and offering swine’s blood on the altar…Scripture describes the coming false prophet taking similar actions…He is described as one who actively opposes biblical religion and “sits as God in the temple of God…showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4)…These long-foretold activities will take place in Jerusalem just before Christ’s Second Coming…Millions…unaware of these events’ true significance…will be deceived…However…this deception will end…Jerusalem will be liberated and peace will finally be established when Jesus Christ returns to establish the kingdom of God (Zechariah 12:7–9; 14:3–11).
You can avoid being misled by these momentous events if you understand what the Bible clearly reveals about the end times…Study your Bible….watch world events.
This Powerful force that invades the Middle East…will not be American…America will be under attack and seriously at the same time…this should make the watching even more ominous…and detailed…and the Middle Eastern folks had better understand the Armies under the Beast Power probably will not have any favorable rules of engagement…any perceived resistance will meet irresistible force.
somehistory says
With respect to those who are not Christian and have no interest in Christianity or the Bible and its prophecy: some say that the Bible shouldn’t be quoted or referenced if Christians expect those who are not of the same mind and heart to be with them against islum.
This is how I personally feel about the advice or counsel to not reference Scripture from the Bible. Christians feel that Christ commanded us to speak and to not give up. But each one can accept or reject what any Christian has to say.
The Bible clearly says that in the “last days” that Jerusalem will come under an all-out attack from ‘gog and his crowd, naming Persia….Iran…as one of the attackers, but they will be defeated by God’s angelic forces.
Whether or not agnostics, atheists, or those of other religious beliefs *like* these Scriptures does not change the fact that the Bible has them within and that Christians are required by God to tell about them.
Christians don’t always agree on the meaning of every verse. But two cooks don’t necessarily fry chicken the same way even following the same recipe. No two humans think exactly alike on every subject.
The point I am trying to make is this: If atheists and agnostics wish for Christians to be stating the evils of islum on a forum such as this…and without the number of Christians posting here, there would be a much smaller number of contributors to the conversations… then each one’s views must carry the same weight and not be ridiculed with insults.
It is not damaging to the goal of getting the word out about the evil designs of islum for the Bible to be quoted or referenced. After all, even agnostics and atheists have pointed out that Christians were the ones keeping islum from taking over the world in times past.
There are certainly more Christians than those without any faith. Christians expect and ask for Divine help against the evils of this world, including islum, and are regularly mocked for expressing that faith.
Christians believe that Christ was resurrected from the dead. He also, before being murdered, resurrected at least three other people. Without His Resurrection, there would be no Christian faith.
Now, I think I’m done here. If I come back and express my opinion at any time in future, I will be surprising myself.
But for those who are interested in whether or not prophecy in the Bible has ever been shown to have been true, i reference Alexander the Great and his view of what Daniel wrote, the pronouncement against the ancient city of Tyre and against the ancient city of Babylon. What happened to them was written before it happened… in the Bible …and has been recorded in secular history books after the events.
Wellington says
somehistory: Personally speaking I have zero problem with Christians asserting their beliefs here at JW AS LONG AS they convey their faith in a way that does not effectively exclude non-Christians from joining as large as possible a coalition against what Islam intends for us all. Some Christians over the years here at JW have stated their Christian belief beautifully and without animosity towards non-Christians. But there have been others who have gone on and on about Satan and how the Bible is the Word of God and you better realize this or else which has an off-putting effect for those who are not Christian, for instance Hindus and agnostics. I trust you see my point here, somehistory. It’s not the belief that is the problem but the way the belief is stated.
Respecting specifically the Book of Daniel, the vast majority of Biblical scholars hold to the view that Daniel was written in the 160’s B.C. and not in the sixth century B.C. So, the whole story about Alexander was written to make it look like a prophecy but, in fact, it was no real prophecy at all since Daniel was composed around a century and half after Alexander’s death. Easy, you know, to make predictions about the past. For instance, I predict that the Green Bay Packers will win the first two Super Bowls and that the New England Patriots will make a terrific comeback to beat the Atlanta Falcons in the fifty-first Super Bowl.
I will end here by quoting from The Oxford Companion To The Bible, certainly a very authoritative and scholarly reference work: “The discussion of the date of the book of Daniel can be summed up as follows. With the possible exception of minor glosses, the book reached its present canonical form approximately in the middle of 164 B.C., though the translation of 1.1—2.4a and chaps. 8-12 from Aramaic into Hebrew may have taken place later.”
Hope you are doing well. Take care.
dumbledoresarmy says
Offtopic a bit – but re. the dating of the *Gospels* (and for that matter the rest of the NT) – the view that they were late compilations subject to a process of distortion or even pure invention, really does not hold.
I would encourage you to read Michael Bird, “The Gospel of the Lord”, which is a brilliant and thorough – scholarly – overview of assorted modern theories and claims about the dates and composition process of the four canonical gospels. He shows that a great deal of what the most sceptical scholars claim – which claims are then unthinkingly assumed by many to be irrefutable, indisputable fact and are airily promulgated as such – do. not. wash with what *real* scholarship – including the study of the physical manuscripts, the papyri and so forth – tells us. The dating of the writing of the canonical Gospels is going back earlier and earlier, closer and closer to the time of Christ, and even the surviving copies of those gospels are closer to the subject in time than are the extant manuscripts of any other written accounts of any other figure from late antiquity. There just is no time for the interposition of ‘legends’ in between the events and the written record.
If Islam had not swept over the Levant from the 6th century onward, obsessively destroying libraries, monasteries and churches, who knows? – autograph copies of the Gospels might have survived to this day … that is, the actual physical manuscripts, the text as finalised by its authors, the original exemplars from which all subsequent manuscript copies derive. Which exemplars, all the available evidence (with more coming in from datings of newly-unearthed papyri, and quite probably, more yet to come) indicates, were produced – considered as physical objects – *very* early on.
And we should also not impugn the biblical witnesses by attributing to them the chaotically untrained memories of the vast majority of modern 20th-century or 21st-century westerners. Hebrew, Jewish culture was (and still is!) obsessive about learning and remembering in-community; both about memorisation of materials, and accurate copying of written materials.
One other point to make, that few remark upon: not one of the four gospels ever uses the term ‘Palestine’ – which was not officially used, by the Romans, as a name for the region, *until* AD 135 and after. Which suggests to *me* that the Gospels were ALL written and in circulation *at least* before AD 135.. most likely a good while before. The term ‘Palestine’ isn’t even a blip on the Gospel authors’ radar screen… nor does it appear in any other part of the NT, by the way.
Wellington says
Thanks for your reply, dda. I would not use the words “distortion” or “invention” to describe the four Gospels but I am inclined to use a word like “embellishment” or perhaps “enhancement” to characterize them.
I have not read Bird’s work but I suspect I should. I have questions right up front though. Does he dispute that Mark is the earliest of the Gospels? Does he think that any of the Gospels were written before Paul’s epistles? How much earlier does he place the Gospels? By a decade? A generation? And, of course, what is his evidence? I noticed when I read some reviews about his work that he does write from a very Christian perspective, that is to say that he seems to start with the assumption that Jesus was God and then looks for evidence to support this——which makes me dubious. As Bertrand Russell (whose political opinions I think it will come as no surprise to you, dda, I do not share) aptly wrote in his The History of Western Philosophy, “One of the defects of all philosophers since Plato is that their inquiries into ethics proceed on the assumption that they already know the conclusions to be reached.” p.79 And so can it be said about almost all theologians.
On a very specific matter, the Crucifixion, I have long been intrigued by how strange the whole Crucifixion story is as presented in the Gospels, specifically that it doesn’t accord with what we know historically. Let me explain.
To begin with, in all four Gospels Pilate doesn’t know who Jesus is until the day he is brought to him, Good Friday, the very day Pilate will have him scourged and then crucified. But every Roman governor (Pilate of course ruled a lesser province and thus was a prefect but it amounted to the same thing) would have had a spy service, informants and all that. Now here you have in Jesus someone attracting huge crowds, supposedly performing miracles, raising people from the dead, etc. for up to three years and Pilate doesn’t know about this man after some four years as Prefect of Judea until the day he is brought to him? Pilate would have been in regular communication with the High Priest, Caiaphas, and other members of the Sanhedrin. The Prefect of Judea actually appointed the High Priest on a yearly basis and we know that Pilate did this with Caiaphas for each of the ten years he was Prefect, 26-36 A.D., and yet Pilate doesn’t know who Jesus was until Good Friday, even though the Gospels state that the Sanhedrin tried to arrest Jesus on previous occasions and failed. Hmmm. Very, very strange.
Then there is the whole Barabbas story, found in all four Gospels. There is zero historical evidence that any Roman governor would have let a criminal off because of some locals’ religious holiday. Moreover, the very name is suspicious. In Aramaic it means, “Son of the Father.” As many historians have pointed out (e.g., Michael Grant) this appears to be a highly contrived name.
Then respecting the Crucifixion itself there are many odd things about it that don’t jive with what we know about Roman crucifixion. Among them are 1) those crucified took days to die since crucifixion was meant to be a long, agonizing death but Jesus dies in three hours; 2) those crucified were let to rot on the cross for weeks, even months, but Pilate agrees to let Jesus be taken down the very day he dies; 3) Roman guards were instructed to keep people far away from those crucified but in the Gospels we have, let’s see here, St. John, Mary and perhaps one or two others at the foot of the cross talking to Jesus; 4) crucifixion was meant not only to be painful but also humiliating, thus those crucified were crucified naked, but Jesus for religious, modesty and aesthetic reasons is always portrayed wearing a loin cloth; 5) in Mark and Matthew Jesus is crucified along with two thieves but the Romans reserved crucifixion for only two offenses: a) treason and b) slaves who rebelled against their status. There are other things that don’t sound right about the whole crucifixion story told in the Gospels but I think I have raised enough for now.
Always good to read your posts. Hope you and yours are doing well. Now, back to the fight against the worst religion of all time. Take care, dda.
Mark Swan says
dumbledoresarmy, You may be interested in this. It will be in two
The Bible asserts that it is God’s infallible, authoritative revelation to mankind. It claims to reveal truth that can be known in no other way. How did we actually get the Bible?
The portion of the Bible that we commonly call the Old Testament was completed in the days of Ezra the Priest and Governor Nehemiah, about 420bc. Ezra was sent by King Artaxerxes of Persia to Jerusalem in 457bc with the temple scrolls and other treasures which had been kept in Babylon since the days of Nebuchadnezzar (Ezra 7:14). Ezra came back to teach Scripture to the people (v. 10) and to institute religious reform for people who were on the verge of losing their very identity and absorbing the syncretistic paganism of their neighbors. About thirteen years after Ezra’s return, Nehemiah returned as governor and had the authority to insist that Ezra’s reforms be carried out.
The first century Jewish historian and priest, Flavius Josephus, recorded the history of the Hebrew Scriptures and contrasted them to the Greek writings extant in his day. “For we have not an innumerable multitude of books among us, disagreeing from and contradicting one another [as the Greeks have], but only 22 books… which are justly believed to be divine…” (Against Apion, 1, 8). Josephus went on to state that the Jewish scriptures had been compiled in their final form in the days of King Artaxerxes, who reigned in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. He emphasized that, while many books had been composed among the Jews since that time, they were not considered to have divine authority, because there had not been a succession of prophets since the time of Malachi, a late contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah. In addition to Josephus, the book of 1 Maccabees (second century bc), writings by the first century ad philosopher Philo, and traditions preserved in Seder Olam and the Talmud (ancient commentaries) all testify to a fixed canon since the time of Ezra.
The 22 books mentioned by Josephus correspond to the books of our Old Testament—normally counted as 39 books in modern translations. The difference in number is because of a difference in the way the books were counted. The 12 Minor Prophets, for instance, were kept on one scroll in Hebrew, and were counted as simply one book, not as 12 separate ones. There are several other combinations as well.
How can we know that the text of the Old Testament has been accurately preserved? The Jewish community has officially preserved the Old Testament in what is called the Masoretic Text. How was this done? Note the explanation from Appendix 30 of The Companion Bible: “The text itself had been fixed before the Masorites were put in charge of it… the Masorites were authorized custodians of it. Their work was to preserve it. The Masorah is called ‘A Fence to the Scriptures,’ because it locked all words and letters in their places.… It records the number of times the several letters occur in the various books of the Bible; the number of words, and the middle word; the number of verses, and the middle verse… for the set purpose of safeguarding the Sacred Text, and preventing the loss or misplacement of a single letter or word.” This meticulous attention to detail provides a background for understanding the literal truth of Jesus’ statement in Matthew 5:18 that not one jot or one tittle would pass from the Law. The jot refers to the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet and the tittle describes a part of a letter.
While the Hebrew Scriptures were complete from the days of Ezra, God’s revelation to mankind was not finished. In the aftermath of Jesus’ resurrection, accounts of His life and ministry were written. Letters to fledgling congregations were written. As the decades passed, those who were firsthand witnesses of what Jesus Christ said and did began to pass from the scene. False teachers arose who were teaching “a different gospel” (2 Corinthians 11:4). They also wrote letters, often signing the name of one of the Apostles (2 Thessalonians 2:2). In such confusion, how was an accurate account of Christ’s teachings and the teachings of His Apostles to be preserved for future generations of disciples?
Peter addresses this issue in 2 Peter, the last letter that he wrote. Written shortly before his execution, not long after Paul’s death, Peter puts things in perspective. Referring to his soon-approaching death in verse 14, Peter states: “Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease” (2 Peter 1:15). The only way that he could ensure a permanent record of what he had taught was to leave behind writings officially designated as Holy Scripture.
Beginning in verse 16, Peter abruptly switched from using the first person singular to using “we,” the first person plural. Who was the “we” to whom Peter referred in verses 16–19? He defined the “we” in verse 18, when he referred to them having witnessed the transfiguration of Jesus in the Mount. This event is detailed in Matthew 17:1–13 where we learn that only Peter, James, and John accompanied Jesus to the mount and were first-hand witnesses of this event. James the brother of John was the first of the Apostles to be martyred (Acts 12:1–2) and had been dead for decades at the time Peter was writing 2 Peter. Therefore, the “we” being referred to by Peter could only refer to him and John.
He goes on to explain in 2 Peter 1:19 that “we”—he and John—were the only ones remaining who possessed the “sure word of prophecy” (KJV). In other words, Peter was pointing out to his readers that he and John were the ones designated by Christ to leave behind an authoritative record that would guide the Christian community in generations to come, long after the death of the original disciples.
In 2 Peter 3:15–16, he referred to Paul’s writings in a way that indicated that they were complete, mentioning “all” his letters. He also referred to people distorting them as they did “the rest of the Scriptures.” Peter defined Paul’s letters as Scripture, on a par with the Old Testament, and intimated that Paul was no longer alive to respond to those who sought to twist his meaning.
There are 27 books in the New Testament, five of which are attributed to the Apostle John and believed to have been written approximately three decades after the death of Peter. This would indicate that Peter, prior to his death, put together a canon of 22 books, exactly corresponding in number to the Jewish way of reckoning the books of the Old Testament. The Apostle John then completed our New Testament canon, adding his five books—a gospel, three epistles and Revelation—for a total of 27 books in all. The 22 books of the Hebrew scriptures, added to the 27 books of the Greek scriptures, make 49 in all—seven times seven, God’s number of completion and perfection.
This account differs significantly from assertions, which allege that it was the Council of Carthage which fixed the New Testament canon in 397ad. How accurate is that claim? What did this particular council really do?
Since we do not have a bound copy of the New Testament consisting of all of the original manuscripts dating from 100ad, what proof do we have that the books we know as the New Testament were acknowledged as Scripture prior to the Council of Carthage? Among other evidence, we have the testimony of early writers dating from within a few years of the death of the Apostle John. These men—including Clement of Rome, Polycarp, Ignatius and Justin Martyr—all wrote within 50 years of John’s death. They quote from various New Testament books, showing that they were known and acknowledged as inspired writings.
Why, then, did several contradictory canon lists circulate? And what can we learn from them? The Muratorian canon was in use at Rome around 200ad. It omits Hebrews, 1 and 2 Peter and 3 John, and contains two spurious works—”Revelation of Peter” and “Wisdom of Solomon.” Yet soon after, when Origen drew up a canon list, the uninspired nature of these two spurious works forced him to omit them altogether. Origen’s list was otherwise almost identical to the Muratorian canon, except that he included 1 Peter and excluded James and 2 John and Jude. Shortly prior to the Nicene Council in 325ad, Eusebius gave a list of the books accepted as part of the New Testament by the western “orthodox” church. His list was virtually identical with Origen’s.
Neither Origen nor Eusebius wished to accept Hebrews or most of the General Epistles, but they acknowledged that these books existed and that many considered them inspired. These two men also advanced several other spurious works, such as the “Letter of Barnabas” and the “Didache,” for possible inclusion. Yet although Origen and Eusebius were influential theologians, they were unable to get their way, and the canon set by John remained intact—powerful evidence of God’s hand in the preservation of His inspired Word.
It is worth noting that, during debates on the canon, those writings which drew the greatest opposition. had two characteristics in common. They either contained warnings of an apostasy from the truth (2 Peter, 2 and 3 John and Jude), or they contained a strong “Jewish” flavor (James and Hebrews).
Clearly, many were uncomfortable with the message contained in these books! However, there was such an overwhelming awareness of the genuine nature of these books, particularly in Asia Minor and in Greece, that removing them from the New Testament proved impossible. The Council of Carthage, far from establishing the New Testament canon, simply represented an acknowledgment that the canon known and established since the end of the first century could not be altered.
Mark Swan says
dumbledoresarmy
Should we be concerned that some New Testament quotations from the Old Testament were taken from a Greek translation—the Septuagint—rather than from the Hebrew Masoretic Text? Greek was the most universal language at the time when the New Testament was being written. Gentile converts were unfamiliar with the Hebrew language and even most Jews outside of Palestine no longer had a good reading knowledge of Hebrew. The Septuagint was a Greek translation of the Old Testament that had been made in Egypt.
But it was not the only Greek translation of the Old Testament available in the time when the New Testament was written. There was at least one Greek translation that differed significantly from the Septuagint. It was used by Theodotion in the second century ad for his revised Greek text of the Old Testament. The book of Daniel, as preserved in Greek translation by Theodotion, matches far more closely the quotations from Daniel in the New Testament than does the Septuagint, for instance. Though none of the Greek translations of the Old Testament were totally accurate, most of their deviations from the Hebrew text were in areas that did not affect the overall sense of the message.
Extant Greek translations of the Old Testament, including the Septuagint, are quoted in the Greek New Testament where they either properly translate or paraphrase the inspired meaning of the Hebrew text. In cases where the readily available first century Greek translations were unusable, the New Testament writers made their own direct translation or paraphrase from Hebrew into Greek.
Gleason Archer and G. C. Chirichigno in their comprehensive work, Old Testament Quotations in the New Testament: A Complete Survey, make the following points about New Testament quotations: 1) in 268 New Testament citations both the Septuagint and Masoretic Text are in complete harmony; 2) in 50 citations the New Testament agrees with the Septuagint, even though it differs slightly from the Masoretic Text (although not seriously enough to distort the meaning); 3) in 33 citations the New Testament adheres more closely to the Masoretic Text than to the Septuagint; 4) in 22 citations the New Testament adheres closely to the Septuagint even when it deviates somewhat from the Masoretic Text.
The New Testament writers only made use of Septuagint quotations if those passages properly conveyed the inspired meaning of the Hebrew text. A valid meaning could be conveyed in cases even where the Septuagint offered more of a paraphrase or an interpretation than a literal translation of the Hebrew. What about surviving New Testament texts? There are literally thousands of complete or partial Greek manuscripts which survive from early times. The oldest is a fragment of John’s gospel that is dated to around 130ad, only about 30 years after John’s death (Eerdman’s Handbook to the History of Christianity, p. 93).
Most of the Greek manuscripts that have come down to us are of what scholars call the Byzantine (or Antiochan) family of texts. These manuscripts, though not the oldest, are the ones preserved by the Greek church. Because they represent the vast majority of Greek manuscripts they are sometimes referred to as the Majority Text or the Textus Receptus. This is the text from which the King James translation of the New Testament was made. However, beginning in 1881, other Greek texts have been published that have been the basis for nearly all subsequent translations, including the New International Version, the New American Standard Bible, and the New English Bible. These published texts have relied heavily upon two ancient Greek manuscripts, called Codex Vaticanus (also known as ‘B’) and Codex Sinaiticus (also known as Aleph). Where did these manuscripts originate?
Vaticanus was “discovered” in the Vatican in 1481 and was released as the Jesuit-Rheims Bible in 1582. It differs from the Textus Receptus in nearly 8,000 places. The use of recent technology such as the vidicon camera, which creates a digital form of faint writing, reveals that Vaticanus has been altered by at least two hands, one as late as the twelfth century. Noted scholar Dr. Bruce Metzger states: “A few passages therefore remain to show the original appearance of the first hand.” The corrector “omitted [things] he believed to be incorrect” (Manuscripts of the Greek Bible, Oxford University Press, p. 74).
The Sinaiticus manuscripts were discovered by Constantine von Tischendorf in a monastery in the Sinai desert in the 1850s. They differ in about 9,000 places from the traditional Byzantine Text (Textus Receptus). Dr. Bruce Metzger describes the carelessness of transmission that marks the Sinaiticus manuscripts. He declared that at least nine “correctors” had worked on the manuscripts over the centuries. “Tichendorf’s edition of the manuscript enumerates some 14,800 places where some alteration has been made to the text” (p. 77). Later use of ultra-violet lamps showed multiple additional places where the original reading had been erased.
Not only do Sinaiticus and Vaticanus disagree with the overwhelming majority of manuscripts, but also they disagree with one another perhaps a dozen times on every page. While many of these disagreements are small and may involve merely a preposition or the spelling of a word, others omit whole verses such as the ending of Mark’s gospel.
When the Apostle John put our New Testament into its final form, shortly before his death at the end of the first century, he was living in Ephesus, a Greek-speaking city located near the western coast of ancient Asia Minor (modern Turkey). This is the same city that had served as the repository of the copies of Paul’s writings decades earlier. It is the city used in Revelation 2 to represent the entire first stage of the Church of God. The Greek manuscripts that come from this area are the ones labeled by scholars as the Byzantine type.
Scholars fleeing from the Turkish invasion in the 15th century brought copies of Byzantine texts west. Many of these Greek scholars and the manuscripts that they brought with them ended up in the area of Basel, Switzerland after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. It is from these manuscripts that printed texts of Erasmus (1516) and Stephens (1520) were primarily derived. Stephen’s printed text was known as the Textus Receptus and was the accepted standard of the Greek New Testament until the latter part of the 19th century.
Since the 19th century, Bible translation has undergone a further change. Dismissing the idea that the Bible was supernaturally inspired and preserved, many scholars have taken the approach that the oldest manuscripts, whatever their source, are closer to the original and therefore must be more accurate. Most 20th century Bible translations, apart from the New King James Version, have used these texts touted by such critics, and relegated the readings of officially preserved texts to footnotes. While these translations can be useful for Bible study, they should be treated with caution, and not accepted to the exclusion of the more historically sound texts.
The Creator God not only inspired the writing of the Bible, He also guided the process of both canonization and preservation of the text. In spite of numerous attempts by carnal men through the centuries to suppress or distort the word of God, God has been faithful to ensure that His “instruction book” for life is still available for us today.
I hope any of this is useful to you, take care.
Cameron Tremblay says
As a Canadian, am concerned our PM jihadi justine may come up on the wrong side of this. I sure hope not, as am sure most Canadians would support Israel…most of us are aware of the history. It’s like so many places in the world today…if the muslims would lay down their weapons, there would be peace…on the other side, to lay down their weapons, the muslims would massacre them! Israel, Myanmar, Philippines, India, and the list goes on! Unbelievable, how islam can bring out such hatred for themselves from others! I find myself thinking of something I should never think about another culture. Islam needs to be taken to task…not just iran, but pakistan, saudi, all of the muslim nations and all muslims need understand sharia is illegal by all standards and all this islamophilia of governments providing special treatment needs to end…one set of rules and laws and no special treatment for islam…we need to help them to separate state from mosque!
FYI says
Perhaps if the Iranians believed in the True Biblical Revelation of God rather than their allah they would understand the utter folly of trying to destroy Israel.
They would understand that Israel exists because God promised it to the Jews but it also exists because at some future time(Revs 16:16)it will be used by God as a sorting out zone when He judges the nations.
“At that time I will restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem.
I will gather all the nations and bring them to the Valley of Judgement”
Joel 3 v 1-2
And the valley of Judgement is where exactly?In the Middle East,in Israel.
So you see any attempt to destroy Israel will be met with a ferocious response:by God Himself.
No amount of missile technology will spare the Iranians from God’s wrath:-
“At that time,I will destroy every Nation that tries to attack Jerusalem”
Zechariah 12 v 9
Now of course the Iranians,being followers of allah rather than God,cannot understand this.
allah,unlike God doesn’t even mention Jerusalem anywhere in his koran.
see..
Zechariah chapters 12,13 and 14{The future deliverance of Jerusalem}
Joel 3
Any attempt to destroy Israel will result in the annihilation of the attacking nations.
This has nothing to do with military technology or power:it has to do with God.
The Iranians will huff and they will puff and they will..blow their OWN house down for reasons they won’t understand.
Israel is{will be} God’s sorting out zone for the judgement of the nations:to try to destroy Israel is actually to seriously interfere with God Himself.
The Iranians don’t get this but to try to destroy Israel is to declare war on the True God.
…who happens to be..the God of Israel…and He has foretold precisely what will happen to those nations that try to destroy Israel.
In fact,just as God promised Israel to the Jews(Fulfilled!),He also promises protection in these times.
Baucent says
If Iran installs missiles in Syria, expect a preemptive air strike on them from Israel. There will be no hesitation, unlike the hand wringing over North Korea
Mark Swan says
Yes, Baucent, I agree that Israel May have to destroy them—-The U.S. and all the
free world should make it clear that the Iranian plan to destroy Israel must stop now.
If Iran does not respond cheerfully then these sites and many more of Iran’s assets must
be destroyed—that is what we must do.
It is long past time for the free world to show that Israel is a part of it.
João Oliveira says
Hi,
I am from Portugal, as Guterres.
He is the most chinkensh*t of all Portuguese politicians ever.
Early this year he blamed islamic terrorism on “islamophobia”.
He he’s the perfect dhimmi on UN.
Don’t expect nothing of him.
Mark Swan says
Yes João Oliveira, thank you, Mr. Spencer had already gave us that heads-up.
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/02/un-top-dog-islamophobia-fueling-terrorism
João Oliveira says
Quod erat demonstrandum, my friend. This guy Guterres dragged Portugal into a deep crisis a few years ago, when he was a PM and left the power because, in his own wrds, “Portugal would become a swamp if he continued on the office”. Now he is creating a new “swamp” as UN secretary. Note that he quited has Portugal’s PM only to become UN minister for “refugees”! He did such a terrific job, praising the islamization of Europe and the West, that he is now secretary of the UN. Muslims and Communists couldn’t have a “better” puppet. I’m ashamed he is Portuguese as me. 🙁
mortimer says
I smell the stench of Iranian mullahs in the Iraq missiles. Israel is no threat to Iraq.
Tom says
The UN has become nothing more than an organization of Islamic appeasers who ignore the Iranians working on the production of a nuclear bomb, which was facilitated by Obama and Clinton.
Isreal and the Trump USA will have to take this UN organization by the scruff of its neck and shake it until it cries for mercy. Only then will Iran, Russia and all the rest of the despotic nations back off their anti Israel stance.
The alternative is to remove funding for the UN and let it flounder.
Kesselman says
Obama is the prime culprit speaking of several disasters doing his ill-fated reign. Most notably the Iran nuclear deal.
Daniel Triplett says
The Ummah strongly believes they’re on a mission with divine mandate from their deity to conquer the World.
Words won’t alter Iranian and Ummah behavior. It’s time for Plan B. Many nations have already tried diplomacy, and we’ve all failed. Iranian leadership doesn’t care if we smoke them in a nuke retaliation. This would make them martyrs for Allah, guaranteeing them the highest level of Paradise. They care more about advancing Islam for Allah than they do their country or their lives, or even their children’s lives. Muslims don’t subscribe to reason as we do.
When Iran develops their nuclear arsenal, and they will if we don’t light them up, they’ll distribute the weapon devices to their proxy goon squads. Therein lies our biggest threat. Tracking and defending against those distributed weapons would be nearly impossible. We can destroy launch sites, and even airborne missiles, but not so much a nuke on a container ship or nuke in a van.
Allowing Iran to develop a nuke arsenal would be letting an evil genie out of the bottle, with staggering consequences. We will be recorded in history as the most foolish people who ever lived.
The Free World is at stake. We must destroy the Iranian nuke production facilities now, and continue the kinetic force until the Iranian people change their regime, apostatize, and criminalize Islam. Unconditional surrender.
We must criminalize Islam domestically, and force all 57 OIC states to do the same. 20 to 30 nuke strikes, at most, with 1 every 72 hours on random Dar al-Islam targets would be enough to collapse Islam globally.
The Islamic War is our problem, and will be won or lost on our watch. We can’t bequeath this mess to our children. It’s time to develop the stomach and Will to get this over with.
Kesselman says
This is on the spot, an adequate answer to the worldwide menace the world hasn’t seen since WWII.
Paul Mugerwa says
Wellington, Russell and company. Why do you have to look very far in biblical history when the Catholic church has many miracles as recent as 20th century?
Look at the incorruptible saints such as; Saints; Charbel/Sharbel – 1828 to 1898, Cecelia who died a century ago but her body has not decomposed, Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes France – 1844 to 1879. And many more…. this is just to mention only one category of numerous different miracles God has bless the Church with.
Wellington says
Not convincing. For instance, the face and hands that are shown of Bernadette are made of wax. Or are you not aware of this?
Really, and I say this kindly, if this is the best you can do, give it up.