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Yes. It requires a huge stretch of the imagination to think that because there are 33 sectors on the UN symbol, and Jesus was 33 years old when He was crucified, that must somehow mean that the UN is mocking Christ.

Like I said it is not so much as mocking as copying.

Isaiah 14:12

12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
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Jude, and 1 Enoch

I have no problem even if it did call Enoch the son of man
I'm reluctant to reply to this because I've had a few drinks but:

I've been toying with the idea in my mind for about a year now that the spirit of a person is not the same as the flesh of a person, and so this allows for re-incarnation of spirits of persons and permutations of persons. so imagine you bake a sourdough bread starting from the same starter, but you change the recipe each time. you save a bit, but save the original, and keep doing this over and over again. the recipe is the flesh. the spirit is from God. you combine the two you get a new "person" each time.

so for example, Jesus says john the baptist is Elijah. but john says he isn't Elijah... john is both right and wrong.

so suppose the spirit of a person (which is from God) is not necessarily new, suppose its been on the earth before. but each time results in a new person.

so while pondering specific details of these thoughts, within 1 day someone on a certain internet forum creates a post that suggests that Jesus is Elisha re-incarnated.
i read it thinking to myself: that's weird. never heard that idea before. I privately message him and initially the exchange is positive, then, he starts mocking me. I then think to mock him back saying, Jesus can't be Elisha, because i am.

but i don't, I knew i would be lying if i said that. so i ask him: what is the name of the spirit that called me by the name of Elisha, 12 hours before you made your post?"
and he replies back with "Yeshua"

I share this whole exchange with a friend of mine and.. turns out he met a man who started a cult that believes Jesus is Elijah re-incarnated.

---i'm still left wondering what called me by the name Elisha. -and had the ability to put the same idea into some random person's head who then puts it on the internet.. a person who chooses to mock me rather than accept my free will invitation to talk about the concept.?


for most of my childhood i assumed that Elisha was a female prophet, based on the character as expressed in the accounts. . to be honest i'm still left wondering on that.
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B flat B♭

Yes. It requires a huge stretch of the imagination to think that because there are 33 sectors on the UN symbol, and Jesus was 33 years old when He was crucified, that must somehow mean that the UN is mocking Christ.
I’m not into conspiracy theories, even if many turn out to be true. However, if you like such things, the 33 sectors would be most likely connected to the 33 degrees of the Scottish Rite of Freemasons.
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Trump dispenses with trials, orders military strike on alleged Venezuelan drug-trafficking boat (Now up to 2, 3, 4...)

Have they?
Yes evidently so. If the US is issuing warnings that the smugglers will be stopped then I think it will at least stop a fair percentage.
There is too much money in the drug trade for it to just dry up after a few destroyed boats.
Yes and they will find other ways. It needs to be a joint effort with Venezuela. But this would even be hard for the current Venezuelan government as they have no desire to stop it.
Besides, this isn't really about the drug trade. It's about the USA going after another country with oil that they think they can manufacture a reason to attack. With Iraq it was "weapons of mass destructions". With Venezuela it's "narco-terrorism".
Thats rather cynnical. I know that western nations have atrack record of vested interests in just about everything they do. Nothing done for the sake of good with no strings attached. To some degree that is the trade off and how politics works. They don't do it for nothing.

But I think there comes a time when forigne problems can spill onto another nation. Especially when they are neighbours. Look at Gaza. So its not always about money or oil but how far you will tolerate another nations encroaching and affecting another nation.

But I go back to the fact that all this moral outrage is all too late. Weher was it when this has been cultivated for years and allowed to get this bad. Nothing has worked with all the diplomacy and reasoning. I don't know what the answer is.

But certainly Trump has highlighted the isse and I don't think this is about oil. As Musk explained so well this is generational change in what direction and world we leave our children.
Just that this time, the government of the USA feels that they don't need to convince international allies and cobble together an "alliance of the willing". They just need to convince the people of their own country.
Thats because its comepletely different to the past issues that required an alliance of nations. This seems a localised issue between two nations. The administration is dealing with their own backyard instead of getting some far away issue.

I agree its a worry that governments can act without proper proceedure. I am not sure of the details. But what they are doing is not unprecedented from what I understand.

I think it can be rationalised both ways. It could be said the continued trafficking of people and drugs into the US is of national security considering the terror and crime that has happened recently. To export poison into the US that destroyed people and its communities.

But it also comes with organised crime and threats from foreign adversaries who often exploit these situations to undermine the US and other western nations.

I think its much more complex than most people think and of bigger concern than just boats coming with drugs.

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Christmas

Probably not. I have heard it said that the sheep would not have been outside at night in winter

The idea of December was paganism & comes from Saturnalia,

AI Overview

How To Celebrate Saturnalia Like A Roman | DigVentures

Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival celebrated in mid-December in honor of the god Saturn. It was a joyous, carnival-like holiday marked by feasting, gift-giving, and the temporary suspension of social order, including role reversals where masters served slaves. Originally a one-day celebration on December 17th, it was eventually expanded to last seven days, ending on December 23rd.
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Christmas

The story of Santa Claus has a dark origin in the legends of Saint Nicholas, who is said to have resurrected three boys murdered and pickled by an evil innkeeper. This gruesome tale was a part of his mythos in medieval Europe and contributed to his being associated with dark companions like Krampus or Père Fouettard, who punish naughty children. Over time, the modern, cheerful Santa Claus image emerged, largely through Clement C. Moore's poem and Thomas Nast's illustrations, which downplayed or ignored these darker origins.

And don't forget what the name 'Santa' is an anagram of.

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Was Jesus really born on December 25th when the sheep were lying low ?

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Whose words are those? They don't sound like your own.

Anyway, from what you wrote or quoted referred to the innkeeper as wicked, dark and gruesome, not Nicholas.

Just because in English "Santa" (meaning "saint") is an anagram of Satan doesn't say anything about the nature of "Santa." "Lived" is an anagram of "devil." So what?

I agree that we do not know the date of the birth of Jesus.
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Game based on Bible passage about killing everything that breathes

Joshua is the beginning of carrying out the command to wipe out these nations, isn't it?
Yeah I didn't think of that. Moses never entered the cities of the promised land though Deuteronomy 20:16-20 talks all about it. So things in Joshua could be relevant too then like you were saying.
Oh. Not getting them to fly?
I couldn't get the arrows to attach to the animal - e.g. its leg or body.
How will you catch a runaway horse, or a cat for that matter... give it fish? :grin:
The animals in the game are very tame. Also there are holy hand grenades and the "Body Hacker" (hacks into the Matrix/simulation)
You are calling the shots here, John. Not me.
It's your game. I know what I would do for a game. It won't invite the lovers of violence, but it would still be fun.
Everyone has their own heart.
BTW in the Roman Colosseum the crowds also loved violence... "Executions by beasts were popular among plebeians, who saw them as thrilling entertainment". That is far too shocking for my tastes though.
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Trump dispenses with trials, orders military strike on alleged Venezuelan drug-trafficking boat (Now up to 2, 3, 4...)

That isn't Rocksinmyhead's point. His point is that people who committed one of the most horrible crimes ever received a fair trial. The alleged crime of drug smuggling is way less evil than the Nazi crimes. And yet they are murdered at sea on allegations alone and this murders are justified by the Trump administration and different members here.
It was actually my point but yes that’s it. we put the Nazis on trial not just to prove their crimes but also to show the world how we operate. That we’re better than them and for a little while, that was true.
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Jude, and 1 Enoch

mâshîyach - anointed; usually a consecrated person (as a king, priest, or saint), the Messiah:—anointed, Messiah.

Notice the comma, which is why every king, priest or saint is not "Messiah".

Same word used in 2 Samuel 1:16 - For David had said to him, “Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I killed the Lord’s anointed.’”

Someone killed the "Messiah" then according to you??
-----

Good luck to you too.

if you join the book of Enoch study group on facebook with 400k members, then click files, then download Enoch 71.14 it explains that son of man verse. Here is sneak peak

And he came to me and greeted me with his voice, and said unto me “This is the Son of Man who is born unto righteousness, and righteousness abides over him, and the righteousness of the Head of Days forsakes him not.” (1912, R. H. Charles)

● And that angel came to me, and greeted me with his voice, and said to me: “You are the Son of Man who was born to righteousness, and righteousness remains over you, and the righteousness of the Head of Days will not leave you.” (1978, Michael. A. Knibb

As we can see, this passage has presented a problem for translators. The difference between the two translations could not be more noticeable. The more recent translations by Daniel Olson and Nickelsburg/Vanderkam have followed the Knibb revision.790 Knibb’s idea has now become the most accepted understanding among textual scholars.791

I have no problem even if it did call Enoch the son of man
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B flat B♭

Nonsense.
That doesn't mock Christ at all.
Yes. It requires a huge stretch of the imagination to think that because there are 33 sectors on the UN symbol, and Jesus was 33 years old when He was crucified, that must somehow mean that the UN is mocking Christ.
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Game based on Bible passage about killing everything that breathes

Actually it is for 13+ year olds. You have to be at least 13 on Steam and there is no age check for the game (based on the game's cartoonish content). The warning says it isn't suitable for younger players which means under 13 year olds.
Oh, okay.

I'm not an atheist - I believe in a non-obvious intelligent force. I did include entire Bible passages rather than leave out the problematic verses.
I'm not saying you are atheist.

Like I said there was a Christian that reviewed it and he thought it didn't involve enough suffering. i.e. Christians are playing it too.
Loving God and identifying as Christian aren't one and the same thing.

The goal was to show some of the most controversial passages in the Bible - not to portray everything in the best possible light.
I understand.

Well for Deuteronomy 20:16-20 every single verse is in the game:

Except that I only mention the Jebusites. It includes soldiers telling you not to chop fruit trees and you have to chop other trees to build ladders to climb over city walls.

The parts I added were obviously not historical - e.g. magic laser swords, holy hand grenades, etc.

I think Joshua wasn't set at the same time as Deuteronomy 20. Apparently it happens after Moses' death.
Joshua is the beginning of carrying out the command to wipe out these nations, isn't it?

Well I had technical issues adding in arrows.
Oh. Not getting them to fly? How will you catch a runaway horse, or a cat for that matter... give it fish? :grin:

I think it is far more closely based on the Bible than most Bible games - e.g. in the SNES Noah's Ark game you have to shoot food at aggressive animals and they fall asleep.
Yes. Lots of games take the course of of the maker.

Well when I began this game as part of the university subject "Playcentric Game Design" the player experience goal was for the player to feel shocked. Now the goal is for the player to feel conflicted - i.e. the gameplay could feel fun but they can feel bad because they are committing war crimes (including killing babies - though you can order the soldiers to do that)
You are calling the shots here, John. Not me.
It's your game. I know what I would do for a game. It won't invite the lovers of violence, but it would still be fun.
Everyone has their own heart.
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The world will be re-Christianized after World War III

Interesting conjecture. I guess I'll check back here a year from now, and we'll see if you were right.
The war in the higher-dimensional divine realm began long ago, and the forces of Lucifer, along with some of the foreign gods who colluded with them, suffered a crushing defeat.
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Struggling with feeling God’s presence

I often heard from the Holy Spirit.

But I never got the "feelings". I always hear about Christians getting distinct good feelings which they clearly recognize as from the Holy Spirit.

Feelings of comfort and great contentment with myself is probably the closest thing but I don't think that's it.

I never forced it either.

I was in a pentecostal group prayer couple times surrounded by people falling and wriggling on the floor and felt absolutely NOTHING even though I'm praying.

Eventually, the group thought I'm possessed by an evil spirit so they all surrounded and laid their hands on me and I still felt nothing. If I'm actually possessed, that would mean the group have absolutely no power over the spirit that's possessing me or lack the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in them. Either way, it's bad.

I feel better (not necessarily feeling the Holy Spirit) alone and can hear the Holy Spirit way better alone and in silence.
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Why Is It So Hard for Christians to Talk About Justice and Greed?

I’ve been reflecting lately on how often Scripture warns us about greed and how closely that warning is tied to God’s call for justice and care for others. Jesus speaks about money and the dangers of wealth more than almost any other topic, yet many Christians today find conversations about justice uncomfortable or “political.”

So I wanted to ask the community here:
Why do you think discussions about justice and greed create such tension among believers?
Is it a matter of theology, culture, politics, or something deeper in the human heart?


I’m preparing a video on this topic and would truly appreciate hearing a range of Christian perspectives!
I have never noticed this.
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Recipes using inexpensive items

Do any of you think Christians will still be living in cities in the end times? And if so, do you think any of them will live off the waste of society in that time period?
I believe that the cities in the end times, starting very soon, will be very much like Sodom and Gomorrah. Get out of the cities.
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Trump dispenses with trials, orders military strike on alleged Venezuelan drug-trafficking boat (Now up to 2, 3, 4...)

"Even the top Nazis were put on trial. How are these South American drug traffickers so much worse?"
Did you see any low rank noncom Nazis on trial along with Goering?
That isn't Rocksinmyhead's point. His point is that people who committed one of the most horrible crimes ever received a fair trial. The alleged crime of drug smuggling is way less evil than the Nazi crimes. And yet they are murdered at sea on allegations alone and this murders are justified by the Trump administration and different members here.
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