• Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.

  • CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.

8-year-old preacher becoming one of Brazil's most visible Evangelical figures

An 8-year-old kidney transplant recipient in Brazil is becoming one of the country's youngest and most visible Evangelical figures as she preaches to churchgoers and millions online amid a trend of child preachers drawing strong social media followings in the South American country.

Ester Souza delivers sermons at a church led by her parents in Votuporanga, located in the state of São Paulo, often drawn from personal experience.

She speaks in front of a congregation of about 50 people each week, including both adults and children, The Washington Post reports. Her mother records the services on a mobile phone and uploads the videos to her daughter's social media accounts. She has nearly 2 million followers across platforms, and one of her videos has more than 11 million views.

The girl began preaching shortly after recovering from a serious medical condition. In 2020, she was diagnosed with kidney failure and remained in the hospital for two months. During that time, pandemic-related restrictions prevented her parents from staying with her. She later said she saw a man in white who told her she would be taken care of. Her kidney transplant took place in March 2021.

Continued below.

The National Guard shooting in Washington DC: Why did it happen?

The day before Thanksgiving, Americans were shocked by the tragic shooting of two members of the National Guard by an Afghan asylum seeker allowed into the United States by the Biden Administration. According to the AP:

“The suspect in Wednesday’s shooting near the White House that killed Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and critically wounded Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, both of the West Virginia National Guard, is facing charges … Rahmanullah Lakanwal is a 29-year-old Afghan national who had been living in Bellingham, Washington … He worked with the CIA during the Afghanistan War.”
This killer left his five children in Washington state to drive to DC to ambush Sarah Beckstrom with shots from a .357 pistol, then grabbed Beckstrom’s weapon and mortally wounded her with a shot to the head. He then shot Wolf multiple times, and “When Lakanwal paused to reload, a National Guard major leapt from cover and turned the ambush back on the attacker — stabbing the alleged terrorist in the head multiple times and bringing him to the ground. During the initial attack, the major allegedly heardLakanwal yelling 'Allahu Akbar,'" the New York Post reported.

Many wonder how Lakanwal could go from seeming an American ally in Afghanistan to this. I’d like to offer some perspective from what I have learned of Lakanwal and my experiences with Afghans in Afghanistan.

Continued below.

America's stunning lack of academic freedom: As seen in this viral post

Even a cursory perusal of the national news media will suggest that among the significant problems afflicting American education from the elementary to the postgraduate level is a stunning lack of academic freedom. Indeed, anyone who has attended an American university in the last 30 years has been made aware to varying degrees that if you express certain “conservative” or “traditional” views on moral and political issues, you may well face varying degrees of discrimination or prejudice.

As I have interacted with students on campuses across the country over the past few decades, I have the clear impression that the “groupthink” on many college campuses (starting with a nearly monolithic faculty group liberal worldview) has reached stifling levels. Many, many times, I have had students tell me that they are fearful that if they say what they really think about various political, religious, or philosophical subjects in class or in term papers, they will be penalized by prejudiced liberal professors.

Even way back when I was an undergraduate (1965-1969), the overwhelming majority of my liberal arts professors at Princeton were liberal. I will always remember attending my first lecture in a history class. The professor, a man with a worldwide reputation, began by going through the syllabus, summarizing each of the assigned 16 required textbooks, giving each one’s historical worldview. He then volunteered that he was a Marxist-Leninist (he said he used to be a Communist, but he left the party as a protest to the crushing of the Hungarian Revolution in 1956) and he would be lecturing from that perspective.

Continued below.

The Door of The Sheep

“So Jesus said to them again, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.’” (John 10:7-10 NASB1995)

A door is a gate or an entrance into something. It is a way into something or to somewhere. And in his life and death and resurrection, Jesus Christ provided the way to salvation from sin and eternal life with God. He is the way into relationship with God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit. And he is the only way to forgiveness of sins and to victory over darkness. Even the faith to believe in him is gifted to us by God and is persuaded of God, and it is not of our own doing, not of the flesh of humankind.

And his sheep are all of us who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as servants of righteousness in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands, by God-gifted faith in our Lord Jesus (see Romans 6:1-23). For Jesus said that his sheep listen to him, i.e. they heed (follow) his voice, and he knows them, and they follow (obey) him. And he gives them eternal life, and they will never perish (see John 10:27-30).

All who came before Jesus, who could be classified by him as “thieves and robbers,” were false prophets and teachers who taught lies and who led many people astray. And he could have been referring to the Scribes and Pharisees and Sadducees, as well, i.e. to all the religious rulers and people of prominence and influence in the temple of God who were teaching the people lies and who did not practice what they preached to others, too. They claimed to be of God, but they did not believe in Jesus Christ, God the Son.

But anyone who enters the sheep fold through the door (Jesus Christ), they will be saved. But we can only enter through faith in Jesus Christ, which comes from God, which is gifted to us by God, and which is persuaded of God as to his righteousness and holiness and of our sinfulness and of our need to die with Christ to sin and to walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands in holy living, empowered by God. So this faith is not of our own doing, and so we don’t get to decide what that faith looks like. God does!

The thief who comes only to steal and kill and destroy is Satan, the devil, who is our arch enemy because he is the enemy of God. And all who are thieves and robbers are of the devil, because they serve his purposes and not the will of God. The goal of all of them is to keep us from believing in Jesus with God-persuaded faith in him, by which we die with Christ to sin and we now walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. And many of them are disguised as pastors who are teaching lies to the people.

So, test everything you hear coming from the mouths of all who say they are of God and who claim that they are teaching the gospel of Christ and of our salvation. Test what they are teaching against the Scriptures taught in their appropriate biblical context, and compare Scripture with Scripture, for they should agree with one another if they are teaching on the subject of faith in Jesus Christ, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life with God. And many are those who are teaching lies by willfully teaching Scriptures out of context.

But Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

My Sheep

Based off John 10:1-30 NIV
An Original Work / June 24, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love


My sheep hear me. They know me.
They listen to my voice and obey.
I call them and lead them.
They know my voice, so they follow me.
They will never follow strangers.
They will run away from them.
The voice of a stranger they know not;
They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that
I am the gate, so you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever enters
Not by the gate; other way,
He is the thief and a robber.
Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,
Who laid his own life down for the sheep.
I know them. They know me.
They will live with me eternally.
The thief only comes to steal and
Kill and to destroy the church.
I have come to give you life that
You may have it to the full…

They know my voice, so they follow me.

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The Door of The Sheep
An Original Work / December 5, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Pipe Bomb Suspect Sued Trump DHS, Asked Biden DOJ To Address Racism

Brian Cole Jr., the suspect who allegedly planted pipe bombs outside the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee on January 5, 2021, ran a bail fund that sued the Trump-led Department of Homeland Security in an attempt to free illegal aliens from custody.

Trump's crackdown on violent criminals hurt his business.

Los Angeles man arrested for throwing Molotov cocktails at security officers inside ICE building

“This case exemplifies how misleading and hateful rhetoric against federal law enforcement can and does result in violence,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “Irresponsible rhetoric by politicians and activists have real-world consequences. It must stop.”

They know this and won't stop the name-calling and the violent language. It's pushes people who are mentally on the edge into serious crimes.

Son of Georgia woman who gave birth while brain dead is ‘underdeveloped,’ still hospitalized: ‘Not coming home soon’

  • Adriana Smith was declared brain dead in February, but kept alive to deliver her baby in June due to Georgia’s strict ban on abortion
  • After nearly four months, Smith’s baby, Chance, is still hospitalized in the NICU
  • Smith’s mother, April Newkirk, asked for prayers and said baby Chance’s lungs are still underdeveloped
I do hope this baby can eventually have a normal life.

Date of authorship of Revelation

Revelation was written 41 AD. Paul in 2 Corinthians 12, 55 AD said he knew someone 14 years earlier caught up to heaven that saw things that can't be written which is what happens to John in Revelation 10:4 ; an angel tells him don't write some things down. Paul doesn't say it was the author of Revelation he is talking about because he does not want to boast. Internally in Rev 11 the temple is still standing, and being destroyed which is describing the Romans doing it 70 AD, and Daniel 9 which ended 70 AD said vision, and prophecy would stop 70 AD, and Revelation contains vision, and prophecy. Dan 9 was saying inspired scripture would stop 70 AD. I reject external evidence if it conflicts with inspired scripture therefore I reject apocryphal acts of John (150 AD), and Irenaeus (180 AD) that say Revelation was written in the 90s AD under Domitian. They must of had corrupted oral traditions of when it was written passed on to them.

Assumption of Moses, 1 Enoch, Jude

I made another post on Jude, and 1 Enoch (not pseudepigrapha) Jude, and 1 Enoch

Assumption of Moses has the same kind of language 1 Enoch 1:1-9 uses about 70 AD that Jude quotes. Also same kind of language Jesus uses in Math 24 about 70 AD. This book is very important. It is on audiobook on youtube (same with 1 Enoch). Some parts are quite at the end but there is one version on youtube that is the same sound level all the way through.

Assumption of Moses. Moses dying words to Joshua appointing him head of the Israelites. Internally written by Moses, Joshua, and someone else at the time of coming into Canaan around 1400 BC, and is not pseudepigrapha.

Chapter 10

1 And then His kingdom will appear throughout all His creation,
And then Satan will be no more,
And sorrow will depart with him.

2. Then the hands of the angel will be filled
And he will be appointed chief,
And he will forthwith avenge them of their
enemies.

Those things above were about Jesus first century death burial resurrection the kingdom of heaven arriving on Pentecost through the holy spirit, Michael the angel fighting the devil, and winning in Revelation 12 which was prophesied in Daniel 12, and happened when Jesus said now is the time for the prince of this world to be cast down, and behold I see satan fall like lightning from heaven. Revelation 1-12 happened 70 AD Rev 13-22 is future.

This section here is like 1 Enoch 1:1-9

3 For the Heavenly One shall arise from
the throne of His kingdom,
And shall come out of His holy habitation
With indignation and wrath for His children.
4. And the earth shall quake : even to its
bounds shall it be shaken:
And the lofty mountains shall be brought
low and shall be shaken,
And the valleys shall fall. 1
5. The sun shall not give his light, and the
horns of the moon shall be turned into
darkness,
And they shall be broken, and the whole of
the moon shall be turned into blood.2
And the circuit 3 of the stars shall be disordered;
And the sea shall fall even to the abyss ;
The fountains of waters shall fail,
And the rivers be afraid. 4
7. Because the Most High God, the Eternal,
the Only God shall arise,
And manifest Himself to punish the nations,
And to destroy all their idols

Both Enoch, and Moses started out with a blessing, and also refer to themselves in third person.

Deuteronomy 33

33 This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced on the Israelites before his death. 2 He said:

“The Lord came from Sinai
and dawned over them from Seir;
he shone forth from Mount Paran.
He came with[a] myriads of holy ones
from the south, from his mountain slopes.


Habakkuk 3
God came from Teman,
the Holy One from Mount Paran.
His glory covered the heavens
and his praise filled the earth.
4 His splendor was like the sunrise;
rays flashed from his hand,
where his power was hidden.
5 Plague went before him;
pestilence followed his steps.
6 He stood, and shook the earth;
he looked, and made the nations tremble.
The ancient mountains crumbled
and the age-old hills collapsed—
but he marches on forever.



Mathew 24 19. Jesus about 70 AD.
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Revelation 6:12
12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood,

Joel 2:10. Internally Joel can be written in the 500s BC. Has the same language but this section is about Maccabees

10 The earth quakes before them;
the heavens tremble.
The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.

Acts 2 cites the bottom part of Joel 2 about Pentecost, and the day of the lord - Gods judgment on Jerusalem 70 AD

16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’[c]
19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
20 the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

Joel 2

“And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
29 Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
30 I will show wonders in the heavens
and on the earth,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
32 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
there will be deliverance,
as the Lord has said,
even among the survivors
whom the Lord calls.[c]

Mark 13:24-25
24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

Joel 3. Same kind of language but I think about Maccabees not 70 AD.

15 The sun and moon will be darkened,
and the stars no longer shine.
16 The Lord will roar from Zion
and thunder from Jerusalem;
the earth and the heavens will tremble.
But the Lord will be a refuge for his people,
a stronghold for the people of Israel.

Isaiah 13:9 about God using the Medes to destroy Babylon after they judge Israel in the 500s BC.

See, the day of the Lord is coming
—a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger—
to make the land desolate
and destroy the sinners within it.
10 The stars of heaven and their constellations
will not show their light.
The rising sun will be darkened
and the moon will not give its light.
11 I will punish the world for its evil,
the wicked for their sins.
I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty
and will humble the pride of the ruthless.
12 I will make people scarcer than pure gold,
more rare than the gold of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;
and the earth will shake from its place
at the wrath of the Lord Almighty,
in the day of his burning anger.


Psalm 97

1 The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad;
let the distant shores rejoice.
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him
and consumes his foes on every side.
4 His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all peoples see his glory.

Luke 21:22. Jesus about 70 AD
For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written.

Galatians 4:25

25 Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.

Jude
14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones
15 to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

1 Enoch 1:1-9. 1 Enoch internally is written pre flood, and is not pseudepigrapha.

1. The words of the blessing of Enoch, wherewith he blessed the elect ⌈⌈and⌉⌉ righteous, who will be living in the day of tribulation, when all the wicked ⌈⌈and godless⌉⌉ are to be removed. 2. And he took up his parable and said--Enoch a righteous man, whose eyes were opened by God, saw the vision of the Holy One in the heavens, ⌈which⌉ the angels showed me, and from them I heard everything, and from them I understood as I saw, but not for this generation, but for a remote one which is for to come. 3. Concerning the elect I said, and took up my parable concerning them:

The Holy Great One will come forth from His dwelling,
4. And the eternal God will tread upon the earth, (even) on Mount Sinai,
⌈And appear from His camp⌉
And appear in the strength of His might from the heaven of heavens.

5. And all shall be smitten with fear
And the Watchers shall quake,
And great fear and trembling shall seize them unto the ends of the earth.

6. And the high mountains shall be shaken,
And the high hills shall be made low,
And shall melt like wax before the flame p. 32

7. And the earth shall be ⌈wholly⌉ rent in sunder,
And all that is upon the earth shall perish,
And there shall be a judgement upon all (men).

8. But with the righteous He will make peace.

And will protect the elect,
And mercy shall be upon them.

And they shall all belong to God,
And they shall be prospered,
And they shall ⌈all⌉ be blessed.

⌈And He will help them all⌉,
And light shall appear unto them,
⌈And He will make peace with them⌉.

9. And behold! He cometh with ten thousands of ⌈His⌉ holy ones
To execute judgement upon all,
And to destroy ⌈all⌉ the ungodly:

And to convict all flesh
Of all the works ⌈of their ungodliness⌉ which they have ungodly committed,
And of all the hard things which ungodly sinners ⌈have spoken⌉ against Him.



So Jesus came back 70 AD like he said he would to the apostles with all the angels over "Mt Sinai" aka Jerusalem, all the Israelites rose from the dead like Daniel 12 said they would at the "end" of waiting for the messiah, the faithful ones got raptured same with some of the living predestined elect remnant of the lost sheep of the house of Israel which was the 144,000 in Rev 7 all saved via belief in Jesus by 70 AD. Gospel of Nicodemus written pre 70 AD inspired apocrypha not pseudepigrapha has more details of the people that raised from the dead the day Jesus died. Jesus said it would be tribulation like Enoch did, and Enoch says it is a prophecy for a remote generation because he is writing pre flood between 5500 BC creation, and around 3300 BC Noahs flood. Revelation 1-12 happened 70 AD but Rev 13-22 is future still. Revelation was written 41 AD when John was exiled to Patmos by Claudius Caesar. It was not written in the 90s AD like Irenaeus, and apocryphal acts of John says.

If You Know Jesus

“Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.’”
“So they were saying to Him, ‘Where is Your Father?’ Jesus answered, ‘You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.’” (John 8:12,19 NASB1995)

Jesus Christ is the Light of the World. He is all that is righteous, just, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and holy. And he is The Word of God, for he is God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And so the words he speaks are the words of God. And he is the one who brings to us the truth of the gospel of our salvation, first in the words that he spoke, and then in his death and resurrection, for our deliverance from sin. For he put our sins to death with him so we will die to sin and live for him.

But in his teachings he taught us that to come after him, we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. But if we decide to hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we die to sin and now walk in obedience to his commands, then we have eternal life in him. For those who are his true followers will not walk (in conduct) in darkness (sin), but will have the Light of life, i.e. salvation from sin and eternal life with God.

Now Jesus was speaking to his fellow Jews, but many (or most) of them were not in agreement with him and with his teachings. And some (or many) of them opposed Jesus and fought against him and his teachings. And so they would try to pick a fight with him, often accusing him falsely of what he did not do or say, for they were trying to find fault in him so they would have cause to accuse him of wrongdoing. And so they were all the time laying traps for him, hoping to catch him in a snare so they could “take him down.”

And we have many people today doing the same thing, disagreeing with Christ and his teachings, trying to find fault with what he said, and attacking his words and his messengers, too, who are bringing forth the truth of the gospel of our salvation. For many are those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, but who prefer a more diluted and altered “gospel” which pampers human flesh and which makes no requirements of the person of “faith” other than they just make a verbal confession of Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives.

And Jesus is saying to them, through his word, and through his messengers, that they don’t really know Jesus Christ or God the Father, for if they truly knew Jesus, they would know the Father also. And to know Jesus is to deny self, die daily to sin, and to follow him in surrender to his will in walks of obedience to his commands. Yet this does not make us perfect people, for we are still clay in the hands of the Potter (God) being made into the likeness of Christ, if indeed we are of genuine faith in him, by God’s grace.

But the point Jesus was making here, and that he is still making, is that if we claim to believe in him, then we must follow him, and to follow him is to obey him and his commandments (New Covenant). And it is to die with him to sin daily, in his power. And if we claim to know God, but while we reject Christ’s teachings, and the teachings of his New Testament apostles, and so we continue living in sin, and not in obedience to our Lord’s commands, then we do not know God the Father or his Son Jesus Christ, in truth.

So we need to take Jesus’ words to heart, for he means what he says: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23 NASB1995).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

Follow Him

Based off Luke 9:22-25
An Original Work / February 21, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love


Jesus, Son of God,
Died for us on a cross.

Anyone who would come to Him
Must deny himself and follow.
He must take up his cross daily;
Die to sin and self each day.

Father, God above,
Loved us so: gave His Son.

If you want to save your old life;
Keep on sinning, follow your ways,
You will lose your life forever;
Hope of heaven gone away.

Spirit of our God
Gives us life in God’s Son.

Nonetheless, if you die to self;
Forsake your sin; follow Jesus,
You will live with God in heaven,
And forever praise His name!

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If You Know Jesus
An Original Work / December 4, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Problems with Dan 9 decrees, and dates

The sequence of the prophecy in Daniel 9 is decree goes out to rebuild - 49 years (7 times 7) pass and the city is rebuilt- 434 (62 times 7) years pass messiah is cut off aka the crucifixion. I will not be focused on the 70th 7 here.
Problem is there are 4 different decrees in the bible, and another problem is does year mean a solar year of 365 days or a 360 day year like is used in Genesis, Jubilees, and Revelation because over 483 years there is 7 year difference between those 2 things.

The following is help from chat GPT. I have checked the dates, and they are the same on human written websites
There are FOUR decrees in Scripture that relate to “restoring and rebuilding Jerusalem.”
1. DECREE OF CYRUS — Ezra 1:1–4; 2 Chronicles 36:22–23

Content: Return of exiles; Rebuild the Temple; Restore temple vessels
Does NOT authorize rebuilding the city walls
Historical Date: 538 BC (first year of Cyrus over Babylon)
2. DECREE OF DARIUS I — Ezra 6:1–12
Content: Reaffirms Cyrus’ decree; Orders governors to support Temple rebuilding; Provides funding and protection
Does NOT authorize rebuilding the city
Historical Date: 520/519 BC (second year of Darius)
3. FIRST DECREE OF ARTAXERXES I (Ezra’s commission) — Ezra 7:11–26
Content: Authorizes Ezra to restore the law, priesthood, and judicial authority; Permits more exiles to return; Provides resources for Temple service
Implied civil restoration but NO explicit command to rebuild the walls
Historical Date: 457 BC (seventh year of Artaxerxes I)
4. SECOND DECREE OF ARTAXERXES I (Nehemiah’s commission) — Nehemiah 2:1–8
Content: Explicit authorization to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls and gates; Letters to governors; Timber for walls and gates
This is the ONLY decree that explicitly fulfills “restore and rebuild Jerusalem” (Daniel 9:25)
Historical Date: 445 BC (20th year of Artaxerxes I; sometimes 444 BC depending on reckoning)
SUMMARY TABLE:
Cyrus — Ezra 1; 538 BC — Rebuild Temple, NOT city
Darius — Ezra 6; 520 BC — Enforce Temple rebuilding, NOT city
Artaxerxes (Ezra) — Ezra 7; 457 BC — Religious/civil restoration, partial/implicit
Artaxerxes (Nehemiah) — Neh 2; 445 BC — Rebuild walls, city, FULL restoration
Only the decree in Nehemiah 2 explicitly commands rebuilding Jerusalem itself.

The sources for those dates are
Here is a clean list of the exact sources for every date I gave, with each point on its own line and no blank line breaks, just as you requested:

The dates for the four biblical decrees come from these historical sources:
Cyrus’ decree (538 BC)
— Source: Babylonian Chronicle tablets (Nabonidus Chronicle) which record Cyrus’ capture of Babylon in 539 BC and his accession as king; Greek historians such as Herodotus and Xenophon; Jewish historian Josephus; ancient chronographers like Julius Africanus and Eusebius who date the first year of Cyrus at 538 BC; astronomical dating of Cyrus’ first regnal year using contemporary cuneiform sources.
Darius I’s decree (520/519 BC) — Source: Darius’ own inscriptions (Behistun Inscription) and Babylonian King Lists that date his accession to 522 BC; ancient chronographers (Africanus, Eusebius) who place his second year at 520/519 BC; synchronisms with the Persian regnal year system documented in cuneiform tablets.
Artaxerxes I (Ezra’s mission, 457 BC) — Source: Persian king lists (Herodotus, Ctesias), Ptolemy’s Canon, Elephantine papyri, and ancient chronographers who consistently date the seventh year of Artaxerxes I to 457 BC; widely accepted historical regnal tables that date Artaxerxes I’s reign from 465–424 BC.
Artaxerxes I (Nehemiah’s mission, 445 BC) — Source: Same Persian king lists (Herodotus, Ctesias, Ptolemy’s Canon); the year 20 of Artaxerxes I falls at 445 BC based on fixed astronomical anchor points used in the Persian regnal system; confirmed by Elephantine papyri that document correspondences with Artaxerxes’ regnal years.


In Nehemiah 2-4 the rebuilding the walls takes place in the same year the decree is given 445 BC, and is completed within 52 days Nehemiah 4 says. This means by 445 BC every single part of the city has been rebuilt. Assuming this is when the 49 years end then it means a decree went out 494 BC but none of the 4 decrees are close to that date.

1. The Second Temple was completed on the 3rd day of Adar in the 6th year of Darius I (Ezra 6:15).
Ezra 6:15 — “The temple was finished on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.”
This means: The Second Temple was finished → 3rd day of Adar → Year 6 of Darius.
2. Historical year: The 6th year of Darius = 516 BC.
Darius I began ruling in 522 BC; his first regnal year was 521 BC; therefore his 6th year = 516 BC.
Thus: The Temple was completed in Adar (Feb–Mar) 516 BC.
3. Summary: The Second Temple was rebuilt and completed in 516 BC in the 6th year of Darius I.
4. Compact biblical rebuilding timeline:
536 BC — Temple foundation laid (Ezra 3:8).
Work halts due to opposition (Ezra 4).
520 BC — Work resumes under Haggai and Zechariah in the 2nd year of Darius (Ezra 5).
516 BC — Temple completed (Ezra 6:15).


If the end of the 49 years was 516 BC then it means a decree went out 565 BC to rebuild which does not match anything. Assuming 445 BC is the true date for the decree in Nehemiah 2, and the city is fully rebuilt in the same year there is no decree 49 years earlier that matches. Forget about the crucifixion date 434 years later, and try to reconcile this 49 year timeframe if someone wants. Keep in mind the decree in Ezra is 7th year of Artaxerxes, and the one in Nehemiah is the 20th year therefore internally in the bible alone there are 13 years between those two events so the decree 457 BC (7th year) can not be the one in Daniel 9 as the city is fully rebuilt by 445 BC - not 49 years later 408 BC.

AND WHAT IS PAUL MEAN IN HEBREWS 8:13. ??

# 1 IN //. EN /////I is. a PREPOSITION''

# 2 THAT HE SAITH /////. LEGO. is in the PRESENT TENSE. in. the ACTIVE VOICE

# 3 A NEW //////. KAINOS. is. in. the ACCUSATIVE CASE in. the SINGULAR

# 4. COVENANT //// DIATHEKE

# 5 HE HATH. MADE /////PALAIOO. is in. the PERFECT TENSE in. the INDICATIVE MOOD pin. the INDICATIVE MOOD in. the SINGULAR

# 6 THE ////// HO is a DEFINITE ARTICLE. in. the ACCUSATIVE CASE in. the SINGULAR

# 7 FIRST //////. PROTOS in. the ACCUSATIVE CASE in. the SIGNULAR

# 8 OLD. //// PALAOO. is. in. the PERFECT TENSE in. the ACTIVE VOICE in. the INDICATIVE MOOD in. the SINGULAR

# 9 NOW /// DE is a CONJUNCATION

# 10 THAT WHICH DECAYETH. ////. PALAIOO is. in. the PRESENT TENSE in. the ACTIVE VOICE in. the NOMINTIVE CASE

in. the SINGULAR in. the NEUTER

# 11 AND //// KAI. is a CONJUNCATION

# 12 WEAXETH. OLR //// GORAS. is in. the PRESENT TENSE in. the ACTIVE VOICE is a PARTICPLE in. the NOMINATIVE CASE

in. the NOMINATIVE CASE in. the SINGULAR in. the NEUTER

# 13. READY ///. ONGYS. is and adverb

#14. TO VANISH AWAY. ///. APHANISMOS. in v the v. GENITIVE CASE in. the SINGULAR

# A AND Paul who wrote HEBREWS shows that the OLD COVENANT was to VENISH AWAY. and Paul did not ONLY. write. about it BUT

saw it VANISH AWAY !!

#B Hebtews 9 :18. shows why. THE OLD COVENANT. had to pass AWAY as animal sacrifices could not and NEVER save UNTIL

Christ died on. he CROSS

# C. Born Again or BORN of WATER. OR Unless ONE. is BORN OF WATER. AND THE SPIRIT. he cannot enter the KINGDOM of GOD .

# D. AS we are under the Law , PERIOD. !1. Rom 6:14

# E. WE are under GRACE , PERIOD ROM 6:14

# F PAUL REIGINS who preaches fr by GRACE ARE YOU SAVED

dan p

Daily Mail: Kristi Noem's ICE hiring chaos laid bare as fat, illiterate and violent misfits 'not ready to tie their own laces' are recruited

An exhaustive Daily Mail investigation has exposed how Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lowered standards so dramatically that the new cohort now includes recent high school graduates and applicants who can 'barely read or write' as well as those who lack basic physical fitness and even have pending criminal charges.

Meanwhile, total novices are being fast-tracked into the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Georgia, where instructors have been left astounded at the levels of incompetence.

In one shocking incident, they were left shaking their heads when one student asked to be excused from class so he could attend a court date on a gun charge.

Other recruits were even discovered to have tattoos associated with gangs and white supremacists when they stripped off their shirts during workouts.

'We have people failing open-book tests and we have folks that can barely read or write English,' one Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official told the Daily Mail.

'We even had a 469-lb man sent to the academy whose own doctor certified him not at all fit for any physical activity.'

The academy recently eliminated the sit-up requirement because so many students couldn't handle them — and subbed in a sprint challenge, the Daily Mail has learned.

Insiders say the vetting process has been so rushed that officials didn't even wait for drug test results to come back before hiring recruits and flying them off to Georgia, only to discover afterward that tests came back positive.

ICE still appears on track to meet its target of 10,000 new hires, an outcome insiders attribute to the lowering of standards.

'They're just trying to process them in as quickly as possible to say that we have people operational. Anything that they think may have a pulse, they're moving through.'

A source said ICE deputy director Madison Sheehan, at a recent meeting, chewed out staff about the purportedly slow pace of hiring, allegedly threatening them saying: 'if you can't meet this number, send me an email now and I'll have you reassigned to FEMA.'

Chicago-Area Church Nativity Scene Features Zip-Tied Jesus and ICE Agents

A Chicago suburb church is making a political statement with its nativity scene this year, depicting the infant Christ with zip ties around his wrists and Roman soldiers as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Lake Street Church of Evanston, Illinois, is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) denomination and practices “a progressive Christian theology that embraces people from all different religious denominations and religious traditions.”

The church is actively involved in advocacy work for immigrants and racial justice. On Nov. 14, Rev. Michael Woolf, the church’s pastor, was one of 21 individuals detained during a protest at an ICE facility in Broadview, another Chicago suburb.

Continued below.

YouVersion reveals top Bible verse of 2025

YouVersion, the most downloaded Bible app in the world, has revealed the top Bible verse of 2025 as its team reflects on a year of record-breaking Bible engagement worldwide.

In a statement shared with The Christian Post on Thursday, YouVersion identified Isaiah 41:10 as the most engaged-with Bible verse on its Bible app throughout the year. The verse declares: “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Bobby Gruenewald, founder and CEO of YouVersion, shared his views on the popularity of the Bible verse, which has taken the top spot in four of the past six years.

Continued below.

Four unidentified military-style drones breached no-fly zone to target Zelenskyy's arrival in Dublin

FOUR UNIDENTIFIED MILITARY-STYLE drones breached a no-fly zone and flew towards the flight path of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s plane at sea near Dublin Airport late on Monday night, The Journal has learned.

The plane landed, slightly ahead of schedule, just moments before the incident happened at about 11pm. The drones reached the location where Zelenskyy’s plane was expected to be at the exact moment it had been due to pass.

The drones then orbited above an Irish Navy vessel that had secretly been deployed in the Irish Sea for the Zelenskyy visit.

Sources have said that the drones took off from the north-east of Dublin, possibly near Howth, and flew for up to two hours. Enquiries are being carried out to determine whether the drones took off from land or from an undetected ship.

It is not yet known who launched and controlled the drones or where the drones are now.

[I can make a guess!]

The incident mirrors similar drone incursions in Europe in recent months which led to the closure of airports in Brussels and Denmark and caused significant security tensions.

It is understood that the drones missed the approach of the Ukrainian leader’s plane and then turned their attention to the LÉ William Butler Yeats, the Irish naval vessel which was secretly deployed off Dublin.

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world

Ex-wife of Hillsong’s first black American lead pastor claims he was extorted by transgender prostitute

The ex-wife of Hillsong Church's first black lead pastor insists his infidelity led to him being extorted by a trans-identified male prostitute, to whom she claims he paid $10,000 to keep quiet, even though he denies being unfaithful during his marriage.

During an interview on the “Girls Gone Bible” podcast in October, Toni Collier revealed that her ex-husband, Sam Collier, told her he was being extorted by a trans-identified prostitute months before she announced she was getting a divorce in 2023.

Toni Collier, who married Sam Collier in 2015, claimed she discovered her ex-husband had a pornography addiction and was paying women for sexual favors during the second year of their eight-year marriage, which was well before he was announced as Hillsong Church’s first black lead pastor in the U.S. in 2020.

“Our second year of marriage, I found out he had a porn addiction. He was hiring women for sexual favors, y'all. And then I would say I just was really isolated, and I was nervous to tell my parents and my friends, and then I didn't want to go through another divorce,” she revealed.

She said she tried to fix her marriage and assumed that conditions had been improving until 2023, when Pastor Collier told her he was being extorted.

Continued below.

Trump FBI, DOJ announce arrest of pipe bomb suspect after nearly 5 years at large

A suspect in attempted pipe bombings in Washington, D.C., has been arrested after remaining at large for nearly five years as an investigation into his motives continues.

United States Attorney General Pam Bondi discussed the details during a press conference at the U.S. Department of Justice headquarters Thursday alongside FBI Director Kash Patel, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro and other law enforcement officials to announce that Brian Cole Jr. was arrested early Thursday morning in connection with the placement of pipe bombs near the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee in January 2021.

“We were going to track this person to the end of the Earth,” said FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino. “We didn’t have to track him to the end of the Earth” because “he wound up in Woodbridge, Virginia.”

Woodbridge is located 23 miles from Washington, D.C.

“He has been charged with violating 18 USC 844, which is use of an explosive device,” Bondi said. Pirro clarified that Cole was arrested for “transporting an explosive device in interstate commerce” and “the attempted malicious destruction by means of explosive materials.” If convicted under the statute mentioned by Bondi, Cole could face up to 10 years in prison on the former charge and between five and 20 years behind bars for the latter charge.

Continued below.

I Commit To Pray requests.

Three Language Groups Will Soon Have Bibles

Front-line workers in Nepal report that three language groups will soon have Bibles available in print for the first time. Praise the Lord for the years of faithful translation work that have been completed and for the culmination of this work. Pray for the next steps of the printing and distribution of God’s Word to people who have long waited to have it in their own languages. Finally, pray that every Bible produced in these new translations will reach fertile ground and lead to spiritual maturity and church growth among all of Nepal’s people

Call For Unity

Front-line workers request prayer for unity amonG Kyrgyz Christian communities, especially those including Muslim-background believers. Converts from Islam are often beaten, and the small Christian minority is generally oppressed by society. Due to this constant pressure, church groups often have trouble trusting each other and working together. “Pray for the unity of the persecuted body there,” a front-line worker requested, adding that unity among Christians will help to advance God’s kingdom.

Emotional Healing For Survivors

Kemi, her husband and several others were abducted in 2017 by radical Islamists. The militants killed most of the Christians, including Kemi’s husband, but spared Kemi. Instead, they marched her into the forest and abused her. For nine months she prayed that God would rescue her. One day, while fetching water, she was able to escape her captors. After living on wild fruit for three weeks, she finally stumbled onto a road, describing it as a miracle. Later she learned she was pregnant, and her community rejected her and the baby. Kemi became depressed, and she had trouble sleeping and taking care of herself and her child. With the help of VOM and a local counseling ministry, Kemi has received spiritual and emotional care. She can now sleep, work and serve in her local church. Front-line workers requested prayer for spiritual and emotional care for others like Kemi who have suffered for their faith.

State leaders speak out about plans to expand the Islamic Academy of Alabama

Plans proposed by the K-12 school were denied by a Hoover zoning commission.

In a statement, the Academy said objections to their plan were “…unrelated to zoning criteria and instead reflected harmful stereotypes and conspiracy theories about Muslims and Islamic institutions.”

[Article provides ample evidence of the harmful stereotypes and conspiracy theories]

“We really just don’t have a place for such here,” said Rep. Butler. “Where you’re screaming ‘kill the infidel, death to America.’ That’s just not welcome here. There are plenty of Muslim countries that would welcome that.”

“What they’re doing is going against our Constitution,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) in an interview with Breanna Morella on Infowars, speaking out against the Academy. “I mean, you can’t preach hate, you can’t preach death. ‘Kill all infidels. Kill all Christians.’ You can’t do that.”

Why is so much nonsense coming from America?

Everyday, something new and mean stuff is coming from American online. For example that unemployed people drain the system. That's how I understand it from you. Now it's like your dream of a society where everyone works will never happen, a kind of utopia. The reason I'm writing is because my mother worked in a factory for 32 years or something, and got a medal, and my father has worked for about 30 years also in different places, woke up to the same alarm every day for 30 years, yet they are treated degradingly when we are out because they "just" go there.

Its fun to be mean perhaps, I never understand it, but americans have to kinda weirdos to put all this nonsense out there. I'm always treated well because I've sung so much, but I think it's a bit the opposite of what it should be, maybe then, I've learned a lot on my own, worked hard, but I think 30 years in a factory is tougher

Terrorists Kidnap Pastor, Wife, and Others During Church Service in Nigeria

Armed Muslim bandits attacked Ejiba, a community in Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi state, on Sunday morning, abducting a pastor, his wife, and several worshippers during a church service.

The incident occurred at a newly established Cherubim and Seraphim Church, where congregants had gathered for worship before the gunmen stormed the building.

Eyewitnesses shared on the Egbe Mekun Platform that the attackers surrounded the small church shortly after the service began. The worshippers were forced to flee in different directions as the gunmen entered the sanctuary. Adegboyega Oguns, who was present when the attack occurred, said the pastor, known as Orlando, was seized along with his wife and multiple members of the congregation. He described the moment as chaotic, with people running into the nearby bushes to escape.

Continued below.

Vatican commission rejects female diaconate, although without a ‘definitive judgment’

The Vatican published on Dec. 4 the summary of the work carried out by the commissions studying the possibility of admitting women to the diaconate, presented to Pope Leo XIV by Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi.

Petrocchi, the president of the Study Commission on the Female Diaconate created by Pope Francis, stated that — with seven votes in favor and one against — the possibility of admitting women to the diaconate as a degree of the sacrament of holy orders is ruled out.

However, he emphasized that for the moment it is not possible “to formulate a definitive judgment, as in the case of priestly ordination.”

Historical investigation into so-called ‘deaconesses’​

This second working session — following the one held in 2021 — ended last February, and the conclusions were presented on Sept. 18 to Pope Leo XIV, who ordered that they be made public on Dec. 4.

In a seven-page document, the cardinal stated that, based on a historical investigation, the commissions agree that the so-called “deaconesses” existed in the history of the Church but with diverse functions and not equivalent to the male diaconate.

Petrocchi emphasized that this question cannot be resolved solely with historical data and that, ultimately, it is up to the magisterium to issue a doctrinal judgment.

Continued below.
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Seahawks player rejoices that he got his 'Lord and Savior Jesus Christ back'

Seattle Seahawks linebacker Ernest Jones is rejoicing now that he's gotten his “Lord and Savior Jesus Christ back,” and suggested that his recommitment to Christianity has played a role in his team’s athletic success.

The Seahawks posted a video on the team’s X account Sunday featuring Jones' locker room speech from the linebacker. Jones detailed how he had “been through a lot this year” and revealed that he “found myself feeling stuck.”

“I found myself feeling like I was missing something, and what I was missing was God,” he added. “I got back on my knees, I started back praying.”

Jones also shared his belief that his newfound embrace of Christianity was having an impact on the team’s athletic success: “Just look at what we got, man. Look at what’s real.”

As Jones’ teammates erupted into applause, the athlete remarked, “It’s bigger than this interception. I got my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ back, and I’m with my boys.”

Continued below.

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