Luke 10:18
He (Yeshua) said to them, “I saw Satan having fallen like lightning (Baraq–bet resh quf) from heaven (High Places/ Baw-mah).
The translation in Aramaic is “You should have seen satan fall like Baraq (correct Hebrew spelling-bet resh quf) O Baw-mah (correct Hebrew spelling- bet mem hey). While many out there think Obama IS the anti-christ, I have been saying that Barack Obama is a type and shadow of the true anti-christ. Satan fell hard out of Heaven and Obama will fall like satan, and he will fall hard!
Here is the translation in Aramaic: Click on the center Younan Interlinear for Luke and scroll down to verse 18. Aramaic reads backwards like Hebrew.
Geremy George
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 9:08 am:
This is assuming that Jesus was an actual person, had prophetic abilities and said the things that are attributed to him in the bible. I’m just reporting the skepticism, you decide.
nocompromise
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 9:14 am:
How do I know you’re an actual person?
Geremy George
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 9:24 am:
First hand interaction with me, in really close to real time. There’s a date stamp on my comment. But all-in-all, I might be a bot, or a figment of your imagination. It’s good of you to be skeptical.
As an aside, I wonder why Jesus didn’t just say “Barack Obama, the 45th president of what will be called the United States of America is the anti-christ.” I mean, omnipotence it supposed to be precise.
nocompromise
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 9:42 am:
That’s pretty funny, dude, I mean if you really are, that is, if I’m not laughing at a figment of my imagination!
Jill Infidel
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 9:56 am:
The Anti Christ
- Denies that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah)
- Denies God
- He opposes and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped
- He sets himself up in God’s temple and proclaims that he is God (God’s temple or where it used to be is now where the largest mosque in the world is… hmmm will the antichrist be MUSLIM??? Who else will be able to set themselves in that mosque but a muslim???)
1. He comes from among ten kings in the restored Roman Empire; his authority will have similarities to the ancient Babylonians, Persians, and Greeks [Daniel 7:24; Rev 13:2 / Daniel 7:7]
2. He will subdue three kings [Daniel 7:8, 24]
3. He is different from the other kings [Daniel 7:24]
4. He will rise from obscurity…a “little horn” [Daniel 7:8]
5. He will speak boastfully [Daniel 7:8; Rev 13:5]
6. He will blaspheme God, [Daniel 7:25; 11:36; Rev 13:5] slandering His Name, dwelling place, and departed Christians and Old Testament saints [Rev 13:6]
7. He will oppress the saints and be successful for 3 ½ years [Daniel 7:25; Rev 13:7]
8. He will try to change the calendar, perhaps to define a new era, related to himself [Daniel 7:25]
9. He will try to change the laws, perhaps to gain an advantage for his new kingdom and era
[Dan 7:25]
10. He will not be succeeded by another earthly ruler, but by Christ [Daniel 7:26-27]
11. He will confirm a covenant with “many”, i.e. the Jewish people [Daniel 9:27]
This covenant will likely involve the establishment of a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem
[see Dan 9:27; Matt 24:15]
12. He will put an end to Jewish sacrifice and offerings after 3 ½ years and will set up an abomination to God in the Temple [Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15]
13. He will not answer to a higher earthly authority; “He will do as he pleases”[Daniel 11:36]
14. He will show no regard for the religion of his ancestors [Daniel 11:37]
15. He will not believe in any god at all [except for himself] [Daniel 11:37]
16. He will have “no regard for the desire of women”: He will either be asexual or homosexual
[Dan 11:37]
17. He will claim to be greater than any god [Daniel 11:37; 2 Thess 2:4]
18. He will claim to be God [2 Thessalonians 2:4]
19. He will only honor a “god” of the military. His whole focus and attention will be on his military. He will conquer lands and distribute them [Daniel 11:39-44]
20. His arrival on the world scene will be accompanied by miracles, signs and wonders [2 Thess 2:9]
21. Either he, or his companion [The False Prophet], will claim to be Christ [Matt 24:21-28]
22. He will claim that Jesus did not come in the flesh, or that Jesus did not rise bodily from the grave
[2 John 7]. He will deny that Jesus is the Messiah [I John 2:22]
23. He will be worshipped by many people [Rev. 13:8]
24. He will hate a nation that initially will have some control over his kingdom, but he will destroy this nation [Rev 17:16-18]
25. He will appear to survive a fatal injury [Rev. 13:3; 17:8]
26. His name will be related to the number six hundred and sixty six—but not necessarily in an obvious fashion [Rev 13:17-18]. (binary code?)
27. He will be empowered by the devil himself [Rev. 13:2]
Geremy George
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 10:09 am:
All of that, and the prophets/Jesus himself couldn’t even give an actual name, date or time of arrival.
nocompromise
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 10:14 am:
Not true at all Geremy. Yeshua said exactly when He would arrive the First time, and will arrive the second time. You need to study the Hebrew Festivals and you will learn that.
Geremy George
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 10:16 am:
An EXACT date and time? If you’ve studied it, you tell me.
nocompromise
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 10:20 am:
Kerry–bottom line is this:
I have said many times that Barack Hussein Obama IS a type and shadow of the true anti-christ. Obama IS NOT the anti-Christ, but we can look at how he behaves and what he says and how people react to him to get a picture of how the anti-christ will behave, talk, and how people will behave toward him.
The true anti-christ will come out of the middle east possibly Syria although Craig Winn thinks he will come out of Macadonia. Time will tell.
nocompromise
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 10:30 am:
No, Geremy!
You study it for yourself as nothing I say will convince you. What I will tell you is that you have to study to show yourself approved, rightly dividing the Word of Truth aka Torah. Start with the Torah, and really study the Festivals, and then read the Words of Yeshua. I encourage people to study Torah for six months and then Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John for six months and you will understand the Torah like never before. Many people disregard the foundation and then wonder why they are confused and repeat misunderstandings as Truth. No wonder so many people call the Bible crap! They have heard or been taught crap as Truth!
Here is a good book to read: http://ebible.org/bible/hnv/
Here’s the Orthodox Jewish Brit Chadashah http://www.afii.org/material.htm I really love this Collection.
Geremy George
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 10:40 am:
I mean, I’ll look into it, but if you’re educated on the topic, you should see it as your duty to enlighten others, even if they won’t be convinced by what you have to offer.
The things is, even if I were to study the Torah, the Festivals, the gospel texts, etc., it all relies on the premise of a universe creating deity that supposedly exists outside of physical reality. What you’re offering to me is akin to asking me to study Greek mythology in order to find out who is going to win the next Metaphysical League World Series.
The least you could do is give me a summary of your knowledge on the topic.
nocompromise
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 10:49 am:
I hear what you are saying but I have also learned that people hear what they want to hear and if they study it themselves they will accept it more than if I tell them.
If you adhere to a materialistic philosophy that denies any reality outside of any empirically observed phenomena then it will be impossible to accurately understand the Scriptural references that I would supply to you. You have to read in context. I can’t just tell you a summary of what I know. You must have a context. And to impute a philosophy that is alien to the Scriptural source text that I provide will only cause confusion and misunderstanding because you are denying the very premise that gives meaning to any Scriptural claim.
I would suggest you put aside the materialism while you are studying and assume there is something beyond what your eyes can see or you can touch or feel. Only for the moment. Give yourself at least that and perhaps a whole new world will open up for you. That’s all I’m suggesting. Then as you study we can chat.
Geremy George
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 11:04 am:
I do have a materialistic philosophy for what I can accept as natural reality, but that doesn’t mean I deny anything that might exist outside of it. But I can’t just move on from claims of existence outside of a materialistic viewpoint and accept them as given, especially in the case of a god which is the premise for a base of prophecy.
If I were to take on a reading of the Torah, gospel texts, etc. without good reason to believe in, or validation of the premise, then I would be reading them as fiction, and it would be as enlightening as a Harry Potter character prophesying within that text.
Do you see the dilemma. I’m not trying to say that I’m against reading the text, it’s just fruitless without validation of the premise.
nocompromise
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 11:12 am:
In science, you have to start with something that is unproven to begin the reasoning process. start there.
Geremy George
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 11:15 am:
Oh, I’ve been through the reasoning process on the existence of god(s) numerous times. Doesn’t seem to add up. Does it add up to you? If so, how?
nocompromise
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 11:31 am:
Geremy,
I don’t subscribe to postmodern dialectical circular thinking and I don’t believe we can come to a synthesis about science, reasoning, or Scripture. If you have made up your mind that you are right then you must prove your premise. I see no validation in your premise that there is no Creator YHVH.
Geremy George
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 11:51 am:
No, no, no… you see the premise was established, long before I was born that there was a creator, and to many, this creator is called God. This seems to be the creator you promote as well. So you see, I’m talking about the ACTUAL premise, as opposed to what you’re now calling a premise, which is actually a response to a premise.
I don’t subscribe to underhanded, burden-of-proof flipping rhetoric, so we might not be able to come to a synthesis about how to have a rational conversation.
ontologist
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 12:04 pm:
Hi Geremy,
Maybe this might be helpful:
Is it possible to conceive of a Mind that is superior to ours? Many people have speculated that aliens have started life on planet Earth. But this proposition only removes the ultimate cause for intelligent life on Earth, and you are then left with explaining the origin of aliens, which leads to an infinite regress of causes. This leads many to argue that the same difficulty applies to God as well. The issue is, that if there were to be a genuine cause for intelligent life anywhere, there would have to be an ultimate and final cause for intelligent life, otherwise there would be an infinite regress of causes, which would lead to absurdity and negating any true cause at all.
Intelligence and information are not material things. It has no physical properties such as mass, length, duration, or anything physical. This is self-evident. No mysticism here. Information is NOT a material entity, yet it is a very real thing that is essential for any order in the Physical Universe.
Now, the question remains as to the source of this information expressed in the order we see in the Universe. As you know, information can be embedded and stored into material media such as memory chips, hard drives, CDs and DVDs, and memory cells in the brain. But we all distinguish the media from the information itself. One is material, and the other is not. We cannot explain the source or origin of any information as the result of any random process, since information is ordered, and randomness is the destruction of that order. Chaos theory merely explains that what appears as random actually contains a hidden order and information that is not apparent, but is nonetheless there. But where is the information? It is not located in any physical place or time, but it is indisputably existent! So ‘where’ does it exist? Where does a perfect circle exist? A perfect circle cannot be expressed in a material form, since the relationship of the circumference to the diameter, or PI is a transcendental number that has infinite information in the PI ratio. It has a non-repeating, non-terminating decimal expression, indicating an infinite amount of information contained in a perfect circle, and completely incapable of being exactly expressed into any physical medium whatsoever. Does this mean that a perfect circle does not exist at all? If so, then how could anyone have any knowledge of it so that rational engineers are able to use it as a model for anything in the physical world? The perfect circle must therefore be pre-existent even before any human mind has any knowledge of it, since the laws of physics are based upon the Reality of a pre-existent perfect circle. This perfect circle must exist in something! That something where this pre-existent information exists can only be in a Mind. A mind is not a material thing either, just as the knowledge and information that is in that mind is not material. This will logically lead to the conclusion that the source of all order and information must be in a Primordial and Universal Mind. We can refer to this Universal Mind as God. Our minds are particular and limited minds, and therefore we do not have perfect or complete knowledge of all Reality or Truth. Another consequence of this is that this Universal Mind will be able to communicate to our limited, particular minds in some manner. One of the ways that the Universal Mind communicates to us is through the Hebrew Torah, and also through His created Order of the Universe.
ontologist
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 12:15 pm:
How can anyone prove a negative? You would have to have omniscient knowledge of everything in the Universe and in other non-material realms to be able to categorically demonstrate a negative. It can’t be done. It is impossible to disprove the existence of God, when God is defined to be a pre-existent, Universal Mind. Now many atheists will mis-characterize God as something particular in nature, and when this results in a logical contradiction and absurdity, they therefore conclude that “god” does not exist! I refer to this as the “straw-god” argument. It is another variation of the straw man argument, but on a much grander scale.
Geremy George
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 12:19 pm:
Postulating the possibility of a universal mind outside of our own is fine… do as you wish with the unknown, but then to attribute communicative properties and point to specific texts as sources of this communication is taking that universal mind outside of the realm of the unknown and promoting a system of how it operates, or at least the products of how it operates, and that is the flaw in your logic.
So yes, it is possible to conceive of a universal mind outside of ours, but it is perverse to take it any further without good proof of the specific thing you are pointing to, before you go applying attributes of cause and effect to it.
will
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 12:23 pm:
Oh brother… Another weird video about trying to name the anti-christ.
This has been tried on multiple persons over the last 30 years…
nocompromise
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 12:25 pm:
Thank you Ontologist.
Consider me a third grader as I need to understand what you said in very simple terms:
You are saying that a circle is not material, in other words, something you can touch, so how do you explain a perfect circle?
Since we can touch circular objects that doesn’t mean we can touch a circle itself. Where is this perfect circle located and what is its atomic mass? LOL!
Since we can’t explain where a circle exists in the physical universe we are forced to conclude that this circle must exist in a Mind. Where is this Mind located? You call it Mind, I call it YHVH and both of these Names are True. YHVH has a Mind and is Mind.
All laws of physics depend upon the Reality of a perfect circle existing. Without the circle, there are no physical laws and therefore no physical Universe.
Bottom line, the existence of a physical universe is utterly dependent upon the existence of something non-material.
This is an air tight syllogism.
Geremy George
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 12:26 pm:
And yes, it would be impossible to disprove the existence of god, but I have in no way proposed such an idea. If god does exist and can communicate with humanity in some way, it should be possible to prove its existence. This I leave to those claiming its existence. Have at it.
nocompromise
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 12:33 pm:
Geremy,
You stated, “to attribute communicative properties and point to specific texts as sources of this communication is taking that universal mind outside of the realm of the unknown and promoting a system of how it operates, or at least the products of how it operates, and that is the flaw in your logic.”
If we can accept that there is a pre-existent universal mind, then we can also safely conclude that this Mind, which is superior to our particular and limited minds, can communicate with our limited minds in some manner. He did create the circle which we discovered and used to benefit Humanity.
Some scientists don’t deny this capability to aliens, when they attempt to send messages to them and expect a reply back (SETI project), so why do some deny this ability to the universal Mind? Perhaps some don’t want to acknowledge a more superior Mind to the human mind? It becomes an ego thing.
Geremy George
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 12:43 pm:
We can accept the possibility that there could be a universal mind, but in no way can we go beyond that. We can’t expound on the extent to its communicative properties, except in the realm of pure hypothetical possibility. This is in no way an argument for a defined god which you attribute as being the catalyst, inspiration, author, whatever, for the above referenced texts. You’re putting the cart before the horse.
I mean, why not just conclude that a perfect circle exists as a mathematical geometric proposition? Why attribute its creation to a mind that exists as an entity that has attributes? Clear up the leaps before you assert anything else unnecessarily.
nocompromise
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 1:03 pm:
You’re original statement was, “This is assuming that Jesus was an actual person.” This can be answered via historical documentation and forensics. Check out the legal scholar, Simon Greenleaf who wrote, The Testimony of the Evangelist.
Next you said: “I’ve been through the reasoning process on the existence of god(s) numerous times. Doesn’t seem to add up. Does it add up to you? If so, how?”
Ontologist answered and I answered. You have yet to answer anything except going down more rabbit trails which is why I said in the beginning, “study it for yourself as nothing I say will convince you.”
It appears that I was right in that statement.
You have decided what you believe in, and I have decided what I believe in. If I am wrong, no body cares, if you are wrong well, I don’t know!
Look into the science discovered by Claude Shannon who wrote A Mathematical Theory of Communication. He describes the process by which information is communicated. This communication can occur in many forms including the universal mind communicating through created natural objects.
Question: Why do you think that the Universal Mind can’t communicate by means of the natural world since the natural world has embedded information in it?
Plz answer. thanks.
Geremy George
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 1:09 pm:
Thanks for posing a question.
“Why do you think that the Universal Mind can’t communicate by means of the natural world since the natural world has embedded information in it?”
I never said it couldn’t. It is possible that if one exists, that it can and could. It’s a hypothetical, though, so we can’t really expound on it can we, let alone make this hypothesis a basis for proof for god.
And I haven’t been making new rabbit holes, I’ve been addressing the fundamental flaws in what you think are answers to issues that we’ve raised, which you need to think about.
nocompromise
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 1:14 pm:
Geremy,
I will be back in a little while. I must go do my laundry or my hubby and I will be clothesless. Be back in a few, then we can continue. thanks for hanging out with me for a while.
Doctor Bulldog
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 1:41 pm:
Geremy,
First of all, you started your whole premise with the ridiculous speculation that Jesus might not have existed.
Only the most idiotic of people think that to be the case. Historic writings by Josephus and others provide proof that there was actually a person named Jesus who died at the hands of the Romans on the cross.
As to if he was the Son of God, or not, that is debatable. But, what is a losing debate is the fallacious claim that Jesus never existed.
Now, onward to the concept of God Almighty, or God the Father.
God has proved to me that He exists…
I’m a physicist. One way to prove that something exists is to prove that it doesn’t.
I tried proving God didn’t exist, but after about 12 years, I only proved that I couldn’t disprove God, so I decided to “test” for God.
Since all my research has concluded that God is a “spirit” and since the Bible claims that there are ways to test for God, I followed the instructions found in the Bible; namely, prayer and tithing.
I tithed, and discovered that when I did, I always came into unexpected sources of cash flow. This conformed to the instructions and results given in Malachi. When I didn’t tithe, I never came into any unexpected sources of cash flow.
But, that could be just coincidental. So, one has to go further and pray. Pray for something you REALLY need.
Here is a sampling of what I prayed for and received:
For a period of time, I was homeless and without money due to a failed business partnership. I had two dogs that were my constant companions. One day, I didn’t have any money or resources to get them some food. So, I prayed for money to buy my dogs some food. A few hours later, I was walking my dogs down the street when a homely looking woman who I had never seen before stopped me on the street and handed me a few dollars, saying, “I just felt the need to give you this money so that you could get your dogs some food.”
Coincidence? Could be. But, there are other instances that when added up, cannot be just coincidental:
Again, I was walking one of my dogs, and I was wearing a pair of pants that had a huge rip in the seat of them. So, I decided this would be a good time to “test” God. I prayed that God would provide me with a decent pair of pants. A few minutes later, my dog caught a scent and started pulling on the leash, leading me over to some bushes that had overgrown in an abandoned lot. I looked down in the bushes and, to my amazement, I saw a pair of pants. I pulled them out, and what do you know? They were exactly my size and had nothing wrong with them!
Coincidence? Maybe. So, let’s go on:
I was going to leave California, but I kept having a nagging feeling that I had to stay there a few months longer. So I did, despite my parents constantly calling me up every few days and telling me to just the heck out of dodge. Now, it must be pointed out that a few years earlier, I had made a deal with God that I would do His bidding in California (that’s another loooong story) if He would repay me with a new wife and another daughter (my first daughter had died, which eventually put too much strain on my marriage and had led to a divorce). So, fast forward to when my parents were pleading for me to leave California and I had to tell them, “No, I have this strange feeling that God wants me to stay here a few months longer.” (In fact, I even gave them the date that I felt God wanted me to leave California, which turned out to be precisely when everything conspired and and my finances came together to allow me to be able to leave California – another long story). It was during that hectic few months that I met my current wife! Had I listened to my parents and not God, I wouldn’t have my wife and we wouldn’t now have a beautiful daughter together.
Coincidence? Maybe?
But, I’m a scientist. Repeatability is the hallmark of a scientific test.
So, after years of testing God, and many, many, many, many, more examples I could give you which ended with results that defied logic, yet were repeatable (in fact, I’m sure you are going to say that these are all coincidences, so, be prepared for me to continue citing my own numerous personal tests that God has continually passed to prove to ME, not YOU, that He exists), I have been forced to admit that God does exist.
I’m a physicist, after all. It is incumbent upon me to accurately report the results of my experiments, even when that data flies in the face of “conventional wisdom.”
God has passed my tests and proven Himself to me over and over and over again.
P.S. – I was an hardcore Atheist when, over 20 years ago, I started my grand experiment to attempt to prove there was no God…
The results, shall I say, were not what I was expecting….
Cheers
Doctor Bulldog
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 1:47 pm:
P.P.S. – Sorry for a couple of spelling and grammar mistakes in my previous post. My wonderful daughter loves to distract me while I’m typing and I didn’t catch those mistakes until after I had posted the comment.
Cheers
nocompromise
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 1:57 pm:
Dog! I love it and that’s amazing. God does exist and He has proven Himself to me on so many occasions I would have to write a book on it. Science aside, I am a flawed human and it would be quite arrogant of me to ever think that I could compete with the Universal Mind who created such things as DNA, or a tree, or weather or a circle or the laws of physics. No man could ever do that, only YHVH! Enough said.
Geremy, No matter what I say to you, you will say it is flawed. I have given you an excellent argument. You will believe what you believe and I will believe what I believe. That’s all I can say. If you want to believe there is no Creator known as YHVH who chooses to communicate with His creation there is nothing I can say to convince you otherwise, but thanks for sticking it out with me. I hope we can chat on others issues and I do hope you can get those books and read them.
Geremy George
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 2:14 pm:
Bulldog,
If there was a Jesus that didn’t have supernatural powers, it’s not the Jesus of the bible. There could have possibly been a teacher by that name, but we have no reason to believe a miracle-working, supernaturally-enabled Jesus ever existed. Also, you should read up on how Josephus is not a noteworthy historical source.
Just to be honest, I think you’re stories involve half-truths, if they’re not entirely fictional, BUT I have no way to be sure, so I can’t make a final judgment. I’ll just accept that you think those things happened to you in the way you describe, but I will leave you with a problem. What if there is some other deity or universal mind that has decided to respond to the calls from believers in the Christian god of the bible, but it is not actually this god at all? See, this is the issue with a god that supposedly interacts with humanity, but chooses to leave the ultimate question of its existence veiled in mystery. Even with your experiential data, we have no way to know what is really happening behind the scenes. This is why these types of claims about the metaphysical are not adequate. Do you understand what I’m getting at?
Nocompromise,
Of course you would say that I will say whatever you say is flawed, because you want to believe that. Once again, you are making assertions about something (me) to make yourself feel comfortable. From the two things we have discussed, this seems to be your natural approach to the unknown. So with that, I’ll just leave you to embrace your flawed state which you seem to nurture, even by your own admission.
It’s sad when humanity gives up on itself and places its burdens of progressed understanding onto external, metaphysical concepts.
Geremy George
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 2:22 pm:
Bulldog… I’ll tell you what.
Since we have the wonders of the internet now, I’d like you to perform a few of your tests, capture them on video and post them to Youtube. Of course, video can be altered, so try to keep the film as raw and natural as possible without changing shot angles, or editing anything and we’ll see if your god can perform on tape. This will at least be a step in the right direction.
nocompromise
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 2:33 pm:
Geremy,
I am not discussing unknown things. There is a circle, & DNA. Those things just didn’t happen and man certainly didn’t create them. So where did they come from?
Geremy George
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 2:40 pm:
I don’t know, and neither do you. To jump to a conclusion is only for the purpose of comfort. Learn to be comfortable with the unknown as it is, and we can all approach the answers honestly, together.
I do have to ask why your “where did they come from” question seems to stop at a god. Why not apply that same question to your god. Sure, there is the prime move argument, but you would be hard pressed to find evidence to suggest that your god is that prime mover.
nocompromise
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 3:04 pm:
ok, if you want to start with 1st principles, we can discover certain attributes that are necessary for YHVH to have and be and certain things that He can not be. We can have definitive knowledge of some attributes of YHVH through human reasoning even though we may not have complete and comprehensive knowledge of Him because our minds are limited.
Why do you deny that we can have ANY knowledge of a supreme Being?
Doctor Bulldog
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 4:16 pm:
Geremy,
See, that’s your problem, right there. You accuse me and others of lying. A half-truth is a lie. I certainly did not lie. What possible reason would I have to lie? I could care less if you believe me or not.
As for Josephus, I am quite well aware of the controversy surrounding some of his historical accounts. Of and by itself, Josephus’ account is but nothing. That is why I mentioned, “and others provide proof.”
Like I said, only an idiot would attempt to argue that Jesus did not exist…
But, be that as it may. I don’t care what you believe or don’t believe.
As a physicist, I have a saying:
“A belief does not the truth make…”
……….
But, be that as it may, here is another one of my personal tests of God. Believe it or not. I don’t care. I’m just telling you my personal experiences when testing God:
…
When my new bride and I were getting ready to leave California, I was splitting my time helping her pack up her belongings at her house, and then packing up my stuff that was over at my trailer (which was about a mile away from her house—and we had no car. We rode our bicycles). One evening, I went back to my trailer and discovered that it had been broken into and all my audio/video equipment and whatnot had been stolen.
Well, it is Oakland, California, after all, so I took it with a grain of salt and continued repacking all my stuff (they had unsealed a bunch of boxes and had everything strewn all over the place).
Now, it must be mentioned here that my wife was going to meet up with me later on that night at my trailer to help me pack some of my stuff.
While I was packing and the evening drew to a close and darkness settled in, I noticed a large group of “thugs” gathering outside in front of the yard my trailer was parked at.
You learn real fast in Oakland to pay attention to your surroundings and notice anything out of the ordinary. This was certainly out of the ordinary, as I had NEVER seen anything like this in all the years I lived in Oakland.
As I keyed in to what they were saying and doing, it became apparent that they were part of the group that had burglarized my trailer earlier. They were there to finish the job, even if I was present—in Oakland, they’ll kill you for any reason at all, and I’m pretty sure that they were all hopped up on all that crack that they had purchased via my stolen audio and video equipment.
Fear began to take hold as I realized that my wife would be arriving soon, and there was no way for me to protect her. So, I pleaded with God to send Angels to protect her and I. I mean, I REALLY PLEADED to the point of welling up with tears, getting on my knees, and begging!
Anyway, for some reason, my wife was running late. It was around midnight and the crack-head mob out front was getting restless. They seemed to be egging each other on; trying to goad and entice one or two of them to take me out of the picture so the rest could swarm in and get the “booty.”
I was in quite the pickle, as they say. Then, just when it looked like they were about to jump the fence, two or three white vans (can’t remember exactly the number, but it was more than one, less than four) pulled up to the curb and about a dozen or so men and women jumped out, opened the back doors of their vans and began pulling out boxed meals and distributing them to the mob and talking to them about Jesus Christ.
Did I mention that it was midnight!?!
It was then that my wife finally arrived and safely walked past the mob and met me in the trailer.
I told her the story of what had happened, so we went outside to find out who these people in the white vans were.
Turns out, the folks in the vans were part of a church group that felt led by “the Spirit” to come over to my neck of the woods (one of the worst spots in Oakland – even the cops were afraid to go there at night) and distribute food and proselytize to the homeless—at midnight!
In fact, one of them gave me a business card with the name of their church organization:
“Angels of Mercy”
I had prayed for Angels, and God sent Angels!
After about an half-an-hour or so, the mob of crack heads soon dispersed and eventually disappeared, and the Angels of Mercy got in their vans and drove off.
I had never seen the Angels of Mercy before, and I never saw them again…
We had no more problems with the crack heads that night or any other night while we were moving.
Maybe one day, I’ll call the number listed on that business card the Angels of Mercy gave me and thank them for saving our lives…
But, for now, I thank God for answering my prayer and sending His Angels of Mercy…
nocompromise
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 4:31 pm:
Thank God! Thank God He has Angels and thank God he has mercy! Great testimony, Dog!
Daniel
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 8:52 pm:
Great discussion! Amazing testimony! Tracy, I know you well. You have an amazing heart, I know you are blessed but I expect more blessing for you and your family.
Geremy,
I appreciate your position. It is not unique. Paul, the Apostle, was a very passionate man and God honored that. I believe your passion is honorable to God. If you are not misrepresenting yourself as someone who truly seeks understanding, you will not be disappointed. If, however, you simply wish to feed your own ego by presenting yourself as an elite intellectual, your quest will end in disappointment and emptiness. Make no mistake, that will be your testimony. When it is, God is ready to answer.
He is close to all who call on His name.
Steve Caruso
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 8:52 pm:
There is a full analysis of this video’s claims point by point on my blog here.
http://aramaicdesigns.blogspot.com/2009/07/did-yeshua-give-us-name-of-anti-christ.html
Needless to say, where there are a few facts thrown into this video, the connections are all dubious. No modern linguist or scholar of any alignment would endorse this stretch of a claim.
(Also note that the Younan Interlinear that was linked to says “barqa men shmaya”.)
Peace,
–
Steve Caruso, MLIS
Translator, Aramaic Designs
Author, The Aramaic Blog
ontologist
on Jul 31st, 2009
@ 9:36 pm:
Hi Steve,
Yes, the Younan interlinear Aramaic does indeed render it as: barqa men shmaya, which would be translated into Hebrew as: baraq min shemayim. I have noted that the word baw-mah is not used in the Aramaic verse, which leads me to believe that the video author is translating Luke 10:18 back into Hebrew, and since the Greek word for heaven, ouranos, could be translated into Hebrew as either shemayim OR bawmah, there was an arbitrary choice involved here by the video author during his translation from the Greek verse. This is why I decided to check the Syriac Peshitta to verify his claims.
Another point to consider is that the popular rendering of the name Barak is beit-reish-kaf, and NOT beit-reish-quf. These two very different words happen to sound the same, which makes them Hebrew homonyms, but beit-reish-kaf means blessing or bending the knee, whereas beit-reish-quf means lightning. It is only a play on words or a pun, much like when people refer to the middle east “piece process” instead of “peace process”. It sounds the same, but they are two very different words.
I do not claim to be a linguistic or Semitic language expert, but even this amateur can see these two points.
Thanks for your input. I will examine your blog.
PAT
on Oct 31st, 2009
@ 8:32 am:
If you want the truth about Islam, go to http://www.radicalislam.org or
http://www.jihadwatch.org.
Islam is not a religion. It’s an evil ideology. Where else do you see ‘people’ protest
with signs that proclaim, for all to see, “BE PREPARED FOR THE REAL HOLOCAUST”,
“BEHEAD THOSE WHO INSULT ISLAM”, “EUROPE IS THE CANCER, ISLAM IS
THE ANSWER”, “EUROPE YOU WILL PAY, YOUR 9/11 IS COMING”.
I can go on and on.
What other group do you find parents killing their children and family members,
condoned by their faith? What other groups encourage their youth, 12 year olds,
to behead infidels? What other groups teach their own, from youth, that people
who think any different from themselves do not deserve to live? What other group Infest
other societies, not to integrate, but to Overtake and Destroy whole civilizations, whole
societies? Only one…Islam
nocompromise
on Oct 31st, 2009
@ 7:29 pm:
Pat! Why are you so judgmental against the religion of peace? If you would just get educated and have some understanding you would know that all religions, cultures and political systems are the same and no religion, culture or political system is better than another. I think you are probably an islam-o-phobe and bigot and you ought to get a life!
No one cares if western women would be put back in their place in the 7th century. No one cares that men would have utter control over every single aspect of family life. No one cares that there is no wall separating mosque and state. No one cares that freedom to have an opinion is not protected. What the heck is wrong with you? Get in the 21st century! Slavery is freedom!
Ann Frederickson
on Feb 2nd, 2010
@ 5:58 am:
Great post! I just suscribed to your RSS feed. Your site is kinda messy in my browser. I used Konqueror. Just to let you know.
Ahmed
on Mar 1st, 2010
@ 7:18 am:
Who Wrote the Holy Quran?
Quran, in Arabic, could only have been written by ONE of 3 possible sources:
1. the Arabs
2. Mohammad (peace be upon him)
3. God (Allah)
(NOTE: The first part is not meant to be a rigorous proof. It is something to ponder upon. However, the second part, about Mohammad [pbuh] wrote it’ contains more extensive proof.)
Besides the above mentioned sources, Quran couldn’t possibly have been written by ANYONE else.
No other source is possible, because Quran is written in pure, rich, and poetic Arabic, which was not known to anyone other than the above mentioned sources, at that time. The Arabic language was at its peak in expression, richness, vocabulary, artistic, and poetic value during the time the Quran was being revealed. Anyone speaking the classical Arabic ( the Arabic of Quran at the time it was revealed) would argue that a non-Arab entity couldn’t possibly have written such an extensive and brilliant piece of literature in the Arabic language. Quran could only have been written by an Arabic speaking entity. An entity, who’s knowledge, style, vocabulary, grammar, and way of expression was so powerful that it impacted the entire Arabian peninsula, the east, the west, and continues to impact people all over the globe today!
At no other time, in the history of Arabic language, had it ever achieved its peak in expression, literature, and development, than the time of Arabia during the 6th Century, the time when Quran was being revealed. At no other time in the history of Arabic language had the language ever achieved its highest potential than the time of Arabia during the 6th Century, the time when Quran was being revealed. The language reached its peak in richness, artistic value, and poetry, during that time. With the Arabic language at its peak, and the best of Arabic writers, poets present in Arabia, it is impossible that a non-Arabic speaking entity would write a book like Quran and have such a dynamite impact on the Arabs!
So only an Arabic speaking entity could have write Quran. With that in mind, we’re left with three choies:
1 – the Arabs wrote it
2 – Mohammad (pbuh) wrote it
3 – Allah (swt) wrote it
Lets examine the three choces one by one.
(1) Arabs Wrote it?
What Quran teaches goes DIRECTLY against the pagan Arab culture, religion, and gods, that existed before the Quran was revealed. Quran condemns idol worshipping, but the Arabs, loved their idol gods, and worshipped them regularly. Quran raised the status of women; the Arabs treated women next to animals. The Arabs would never write something that goes against their most important belief of idol worshipping. Quran goes against most of the social habbits (such as backbiting, slandering, name calling, etc) which the Arabs were heavily indulged into. For example, the Arabs would call insulting nicknames such as Abu Jahal (the father of ignorance). Quran condemns and prohibits taking interest on money, whereas, the Arabs freely levied heavy interest rates in loans and businesses. Quran condemns and prohibits Alcohol drinking, whereas, the Arabs consumed alcohol freely. The Quran condemns and prohibits gambling, whereas, the Arabs were some of the worst gamblers. The Arabs would never write something so comprehensively against just about all of their customs and culture and religious beliefs, as the Quran is.
During the time of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), the Arabs would indulge in all the social habbits that the Quran condemns and prohibits. How can Arabs then write something that would negate their entire society’s norms and ideologies?
Did a group of Arabs or an individual Arab write Quran? Perhaps a rebel Arab beduoin, or a society’s misfit, or someone with different ideals and norms decided one day to write Quran? The answer to those questions are also ‘no’. Because, if we read Quran, we notice that there is no author! No individual has his/her name written on the cover of Quran! Anytime an individual writes a book, he/she writes his/her name on the cover. The author’s name always appears on his/her book, and there is always an author who is credited for writing that book. No one in the history of the world has EVER claimed to have written the Quran, nor anyone’s name ever appeared in front of the Quran as bein the ‘author’. This is the only book in the world without an author. No one in the world has ever been accused of writing the Holy Quran, except the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), by non-muslims.
Quran has no author, and no group or individual in Arabia ever claimed to have written it, nor any group or an indvidual recited, taught, and explained Quran except the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) and his followers. The Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him) was the only Arabian who first practiced, explained, and preached Quran, and ended up making a lot of Arab tribes enemies. Any historian, Muslim or non-Muslim would argue that the only possible source of Quran can be the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), the man responsible to recite it, teach it, and expalin it to the people of Arabia. In fact, many historians today still think that only Mohammad (pbuh) could possibly have written it.
This leads one to conclude that the Prophet (pbuh) must have written it!
(2) Mohammad (pbuh) wrote it?
First, he was illiterate !! How can an illiterate person come up with such a rich, poetic, intellectual, and inspiring text that it rocked the entire Arabia?
Mohammad (pbuh) never went to school! No one taught him. He had no teacher of any kind in any subjects. How can he have the knowledge of all the science, astronomy, oceanography, etc that is contained in the Quran? (For example, the mention of ocean currents, stars, earth, moon, sun and their fixed paths in Soorah Rahman; and many other scientific statements that are found in Quran, that I cannot state in this short article)
When Quran was revealed, the Arabic language was at its peak in richness, poetic value, literature, etc. Quran came and challenged the best literature in Arabic, the best poetry in Arabic of the time. Mohammad (pbuh) being illiterate couldnt possibly have come up with something so immaculate that it even exceded the best of poetry, and literature in Arabic at the time of the language’s PEAK development. Arabic language had never been so rich in expression, poetic value, vocabulary, and variety in literature, as it was in the time of Quran. At a time like this, Quran came and exceeded the best of Arabic in all aspects of the language: poetry, literature, expression, etc. Any classical Arabic speaker would appreciate the unbeatten, unchallenged, and unmatched beauty of the language of Quran.
An illiterate man is simply not capable of writing such a book.
Mohammad (pbuh) had no reason to come up with something like Quran, and cause the entire society of Arabia to become his enemy. Why would he do something like that? Why would he write something going against almost all of the norms of the society, and lose his family, relatives, friends, and other loved ones, and not to mention all the wealth he lost
Quran was revealed over a period of 23 years! A very long time! Is it possible for someone to maintain the same exact style of Arabic speech , as demonstrated in Quran, for over 23 years?
Also, what the prophet Mohammad (saaw) used to say is recorded in what we call his hadeeth (sunnah). If we look at the Arabic style of the hadeeth, and compare it with the style of Quran, we can clearly see that they are clearly DIFFERENT, and DISTINGUISHABLE Arabic styles. The prophet (saaw) spoke in public. It does not make sense that a man has two UNIQUE, Distinguishable, and completely different styles of speech in public. Yet another reason why Mohammad (saaw) couldn’t possibly have written Quran.
Quran was revealed over a period of 23 years ! A very long time! Is it possible for someone to maintain the same exact style of Arabic speech , as demonstrated in Quran over 23 years?
Here’s what our famous Muslim Scholar, Ahmad Deedat said:
WAS QURAN WRITTEN OR INSPIRED?
“Behold! The angels said: “O Mary! God has chosen you and purified you – Chosen you above the women of all nations.” Qur’an-3:42
THE SOURCE OF HIS MESSAGE
“Chosen you above the women of all nations.” Such an honour is not to be found given to Mary even in the Christian Bible!
Knowing full-well, and believing as we do, that the whole Quran is the veritable Word of God, we will nevertheless agree, for the sake of argument, with the enemies of Muhammed (pbuh) for a moment, that he wrote it. We can now expect some cooperation from the unbeliever.
Ask him, “Have you any qualms in agreeing that Muhammed (pbuh) was an Arab?” Only an opinionated fool will hesitate to agree. In that case there is no sense in pursuing any discussion. Cut short the talk. Close the book!
With the man of reason, we proceed. “That this Arab, in the first instance, was addressing other Arabs. He was not talking to Indian Muslims, Chinese Muslims, or Nigerian Muslims. He was addressing his own people – the Arabs. Whether they agreed with him or not, he told them in the most sublime form – words that were seared into the hearts and minds of his listeners that Mary the mother of Jesus -A JEWESS- was chosen above the women of all nations. Not his own mother, nor his wife nor his daughter, nor any other Arab woman, but a Jewess! Can one explain this? Because to everyone his own mother or wife, or daughter would come before other women.
Why would the Prophet of Islam honour a woman from his opposition! and a Jewess at that! belonging to a race which had been looking down upon his people for three thousand years? Just as they still look down upon their Arab brethren today.
SARAH AND HAGAR
The Jews get their cock-eyed racism from their Holy Bible, where they are told their father, Abraham, had two wives -Sarah and Hagar. They say that they are the children of Abraham through Sarah, his legitimate wife; that their Arab brethren have descended through Hagar, a “bondwoman”, and that as such, the Arabs are inferior breed.
Will anyone please explain the anomaly as to why Muhammed (pbuh) (if he is the author) chose this Jewess for such honour? The answer is simple – HE HAD NO CHOICE – he had no right to speak of his own desire. “IT IS NO LESS THAN AN INSPIRATION SENT DOWN TO HIM.” (Qur’an, 53:4).
SURA MARYAM
There is a Chapter in the Holy Quran, named Sura Maryam “Chapter Mary” (XIX) named in honour of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ (pbuh); again, such an honour is not to be found given to Mary in the Christian Bible. Out of the 66 books of the Protestants and 73 of the Roman Catholics, not one is named after Mary or her son. You will find books named after Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul and two score more obscure names, but not a single one is that of Jesus or Mary!
If Muhammed (pbuh) was the author of the Holy Quran, then he would not have failed to include in it with MARYAM, the mother of Jesus, his own mother – AMINA, his dear wife – KHADIJA, or his beloved daughter – FATIMA. But No! No! this can never be. The Quran is not his handiwork!
Another Muslim writes:
From: Abu Abdullah;
Subject: Re: Mohammad Wrote the Quran? [KORAN]
Date: Sat, 05 Aug 95 12:44:14 EDT
I was reading about the charge that the prophet, Mohammed (pbuh), has written the Quran himself. Before you go any further in reading this post, please ask yourself whether you are a honest truth seeker or just another argumentative person, if the former, continue, otherwise, save your time and jump to the next post.
Islam is based on faith that is supported by a number of strong miracles such as knowing what events to take place ahead of time or coming up with supernatural deeds in front of people. The holy Quran has these signs and much more. First, The holy Quran predicted many events to take place ahead of the time of the revelation of that verse; for example, predicting the destruction of Persian empire at a time where the later had a monumental victory over Rome. If the prophet, as some people claim, has written the Quran, then he would have put his future in real jeopardy (50% chance) since neither satellite photos nor on-ground intelligence personnel were available to him at the revelation time. Further, numerous details about many natural phenomena were detailed in the Quran and, until recently, they were proven by experts to be amazingly accurate. For example of the physical development of the fetus inside the womb along with timing given by many verses matches exactly what leading authorities in Embryology are claiming to be recent discoveries. Moreover, verses that gives descriptions about the creation of the universe and the function of mountains in balancing earth and many other descriptions/explanations are available to be read and to be understood. If the prophet was the author, wouldn’t he be prone to make weak inferences similar to those who claim that earth is square and whoever says otherwise should be killed?
The prophet also has demonstrated many supernatural miracles not by his own power, but by the power of the creator. He went to Jerasalem back in one night and gave a detailed description of the carnival that was traveling on that route and also specific accedint happend to them at that noght (in those days, it takes a month or so for a round-trip). In another ocasion, he provided water for an entire army from a small plate between his hands. There are many other miracles that require serious truth seeker to read about and to think about it.
From the above, it reasonable to conclude that the Quran is not the PROPHET CREATION. HE HAD NO WAY TO PREDICT ALL THESE EVENTS AND TO BE RIGHT ALL THE TIME, ESPECIALLY WHEN KNOWING THAT THE PROPHET HIMSELFE WAS ILLITERATE!
Embryology and Life Sciences in Quran
“The Developing Human. Clinically Oriented Embryology”
Keith L. Moore
5th Edition, Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders Co. (1982)
ISBN 07216 4662-X $33.95
The work by Prof. Keith Moore is probably the most detailed study of the subject. Prof. Keith Moore is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Anatomy, University of Toronto.
His books on anatomy and on embryology are used at many medical school as standard instruction books. The Yale Medical school uses both his books. The Yale Bookstore phone number for Medical books is: (203) 772-2081. Their general information number is (203) 432-4771. (New Haven, Connecticut)
He is *the* authority on embryology. I strongly recommend the latest edition of the latter book as it mentions how accurately the Qur’an describes embryo development.
Prof. Moore has said: “It has been a great pleasure for me to help clarify statements in the Qur’an about human development. It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammed from God or Allah because almost all of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later. This proves to me that Mohammed must have been a messenger of God or Allah.”
Prof. Marshal Johnson, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Anatomy and Director of the Daniel Baugh Institute, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia
He says: “The Qur’an describes not only the development of external form but emphasizes also the internal stages — the stages inside the embryo of its creation and development, emphasizing major events recognized by contemporary science…. If I were to transpose myself into that era, knowing what I know today and describing things, I could not describe the things that were described. I see no evidence to refute the concept that this individual Mohammed had to be developing this information from some place, so I see nothing in conflict with the concept that Divine Intervention was involved…”
To receive a copy of the article that Moore wrote about ‘Highlights of Human Embryology in the Koran and Hadith’ please e-mail Adam at adam3@netcom.com
That leaves us to our third option: God wrote it!
May Allah Guide Us All to Straight Path. Ameen.
QURAN: Chapter 4, Verse 82: “Do they not consider (ponder) on the Quran? If it had been from anyone except Allah, they would surely have found in it much discrepency (contradictions).”
Still unsure or doubtful? Quran is the word of Allah. Allah challenges to His creations:
Chapter 2, Verses 23 & 24: “And if you are in doubt as to what We have revealed to our servant, Then produce a Chapter like thereunto; And call your witnesses or helpers besides Allah, If you are true. But if you cannot, and surely you cannot, Then fear the fire Whose fuel is men and stones, Which is prepared for those who reject.”
Try reading and understanding the meaning with explanation of the following verses also! Chapter 10, verse 38 Chapter 11, verse 13 Chapter 17 verse 88
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