Tag: New York

Christian Vs Hebrew Israelites (Isa 13, 14, 44; Jer 27, 28; Dan 5; 1 Ch 9)

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The Black Hebrew Israelites always claim that God is only concerned with Israel and not non-Israelites. They even go as far as to say the word Gentile refers to Israelites who somehow don’t know they are an Israelite and have been living in places in the Bible like Ethiopia, Phenice, Cyprus, Antioch, Seleucia etc. But the Bible is very clear in making distinctions between Israelites and Gentiles.

Passages such as Acts 11 after Peter preached the Gospel to Cornelius a Roman Centurion we’re told that God granted eternal life to the Gentiles in the same way He has given to the Israelites, shows a distinction these Gentiles are not Israelites who were living in these places. That’s not to say there weren’t Jews in other lands but God’s word keeps us from confusion in every occasion when it refers to Jews in another land we read words like synagogue and proceeding are indicators of what land Pisidia in the case of Acts 13:14.

The BHI will refer to Isaiah 14:1-2 and claim that Israelites are going to posses non-Israelites as slaves in the future. Is that what the Bible says, that Israelites will have non-Israelites as slaves or did this already take place? That’s what I’m going to demonstrate here.

Isaiah 14:1-2

Isaiah 14:1-2 For the LORD will have mercy on Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them, and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. And the people shall take them, and bring them to their place: and the house of Israel shall possess them in the land of the LORD for servants and handmaids: and they shall take them captives, whose captives they were; and they shall rule over their oppressors.

This is the jumping off text the BHI use for their argument that they will be given slaves. If we read the verse in isolation it does seem to say that Israel will possess non-Israelites as servants, but we must ask the question is did this already take place?

In the Bible we’re told that Israel suffered 3 major captivities, Egypt, Assyrian and Babylonian. The previous chapter in the same book Isaiah gives us the context to Isaiah 14:1-2.

Isaiah 13:17-19

Isaiah 13:17-19 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and [as for] gold, they shall not delight in it. [Their] bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children. And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

Isaiah 13:17-19 says that the LORD “will stir up the Medes against them”, who is “them” in this verse? If we continue on it tells us who the Medes are stirred up against “And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,”. We learn that the Medes otherwise known as the Medo-Persia kingdom were stirred up against Babylon and that kingdom will be likened to when “God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah”. We’ll see how this comes together in the book of Daniel. Continuing on the prophet Jeremiah made a prophecy concerning the children of Israel going into captivity.

Jeremiah 27:6

Jeremiah 27:6 And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.

Here we have the prophet Jeremiah telling us that the LORD gave the lands to “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon”. Also, 2 verses down God says that any nation which rebels against God’s will which is that these nations would put themself under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and if they refused they would be punished. How will God punish them? The LORD says that nation will be punished “with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence” until they have been consumed.

Remember king Nebuchadnezzar was a pagan Gentile who ruled over a Gentile nation called Babylon.

Jeremiah 28:13-14

Jeremiah 28:13-14 Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field also.

Hananiah makes a false prophecy saying the Babylonian captivity will only last for 2 years and the people rejected Jeremiah as he had told them previously the captivity would last for 70 years. Unfortunately, the people harkened to the false prophecy of Hananiah and suffered for it and Israel went into Babylonian captivity.

Daniel 5:25-31

Daniel 5:25-31 And this [is] the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This [is] the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and [put] a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, [being] about threescore and two years old.

Daniel gives the account of what happened when Israel was in the land of Babylon, in chapter 5 Belshazzar a descendant of king Nebuchadnezzar made a feast. While they feasted Belshazzar commanded that they bring the golden and silver vessels of worship which were used in the temple by the priest of Israel. The golden and silver vessels were then defiled by Belshazzar as they poured wine into the cups and drank out of them, and while committing idolatry as they “praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone”.

The finger of God writes on the wall “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN” and in fear Belshazzar has his astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers to interpret but were unable to interpret what was written on the wall. The queen tells him of Daniel, that he has a gift for interpreting dreams as he has done before for his father Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel is brought before the king and predicts doom for Babylon because of this abomination he committed in desecrating the the golden and silver vessels of the house of God.

Daniel tells Belshazzar his kingdom has come to an end and that the kingdom of Babylon is given to the Medes and Persians. Darius the Median took the kingdom and ruled Babylon once Belshazzar was slain that very night. This was a fulfillment of Isaiah 13:17-19 in which the LORD said He “will stir up the Medes against them” and overthrew them (Babylon) like Sodom and Gomorrah.

Isaiah 44:25-28

Isaiah 44:25-28 That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise [men] backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish; That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof: That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers: That saith of Cyrus, [He is] my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

Here’s where it all comes together after the 70 years of captivity king Cyrus a Gentile was raised up by the LORD as a shepherd and by a decree made by Cyrus, the Israelites were allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and city. Not all of Israel chose to return to Jerusalem, Daniel stood behind in Babylon as well as others, only a remnant went back to Jerusalem in order to rebuild the temple.

But not only Israelites returned to Jerusalem, Gentile nations, non-Israelites, would assist returning with them to live in the land. Israel’s former overlords would become bondservants to help in the rebuilding of the city and temple this is recorded for us in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

1 Chronicles 9:1

1 Chronicles 9:1 So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and, behold, they [were] written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, [who] were carried away to Babylon for their transgression.

The verse here in 1 Chronicles 9 tells us all Israel was “reckoned by genealogies”, those who returned came back in subsequent waves. Here in 1 Chronicles we’re told that “ the first inhabitants” were “the Israelites, the priests, Levites, and the Nethinims”. In Jerusalem we have “Judah, and of the children of Benjamin, and of the children of Ephraim, and Manasseh” which returned.

Here’s the knock out remember Israel would “possess” servants and handmaids, in Ezra 2 we’re given a long list of the rest of the people who returned but in verses 65 it says “Beside their servants and their maids”. and if we read further down to verse 70 it makes a clear distinction that these servants are Gentiles from the time when Cyrus back in Daniel gave the decree for the Israelites to return to their land and rebuild it.

Ezra 2:70 So the priests, and the Levites, and [some] of the people, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, dwelt in their cities, and all Israel in their cities.

And those particular servants and handmaids spoken of in Isaiah 14:1-2 at the beginning of this article are these Gentiles here in Ezra 2:65 who cleaved to the house of Israel and helped in rebuilding the temple and walls of Jerusalem. The BHI would try to argue that this is a future event but as we can see through the plain reading of the text this event has already taken place.

Conclusion

This is the deception of the BHI doctrine, they pull a verses out of context and run with it making an erroneous doctrine out of it claiming they will be able to own non-Israelite people as slaves in the kingdom. The BHI is a man made movement which started on 125th Street Harlem, otherwise known as 1West which is in reference to the address where the movement began.

It’s very unfortunate that there are many people who have been deceived into believing that God cares about a persons ethnicity. And if you’re not born in a specific ethnicity then you’re either part of His chosen people or and if not your condemned; this is obviously not the God of the Bible we serve. God is not concerned about what group of people you’re born into. What He does care about is if we’ve placed our faith in the Son of God Jesus Christ.

Next time we’ll take a look at the history of this cult and the different camps which came out of the BHI movement, until then stay in the word of God and be blessed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Governor Andrew Cuomo Commits Blasphemy against God.

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Revelation 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

It’s truly a sad day when we see how sinful mankind is, here we are smack dab in the middle of a global pandemic. People are dying by the truck loads, world wide according to the Wikipedia’s Template:2019–20 coronavirus pandemic data chart which has live updates, we now have 2,310,572 confirmed cases worldwide.

In the epicenter of this pandemic New York, there’s 236,732 in New York State confirmed with COVID-19, New York City bears a little more than half of that number tallying 131,263 and has resulted in 8,893 death thus far.

You would think this would wake people up to the fact of sin in the world. That individuals hearts would be open and there are those whose hearts have been opened to the fact that one day we all will be faced with death. None of us are immortal and have an appointment with death which we cannot change.

And while the numbers of deaths continue to climb due to COVID-19 New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo said this:

“The number is down because we brought the number down.” And emphasized: “God did not do that. Faith did not do that. Destiny did not do that. A lot of pain and suffering did that . . . That’s how it works. It’s math. And if you don’t continue to do that, you’re going to see that number go back up. And that will be a tragedy if that number goes back up.”

Andrew Cuomo Governor of New York

Here’s a man who has blasphemed God, who has undermined people’s faith in the God who can save people from this pandemic. If Andrew Cuomo has no belief in God that’s his choice but to come out on a public forum a try to denounce the God who made you.

All of the things he enjoy’s car, home, political career as well as having a family, health and financial stability how are these things possible without God? Andrew Cuomo is not exempt from sin, he also needs the living Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ. Andrew Cuomo not only spoke blasphemous against the LORD GOD our Creator, Cuomo has also advocated for abortion rights signing the expanded abortion rights into law.

Cuomo made this statement towards the Catholic church in regards to abortion “The Catholic Church does not believe in a woman’s right to choose. Yes, I understand their religious view, I’m not here to legislate religion.” As a Christian I don’t agree with the unbiblical teachings of the Catholic church but I agree that abortion is murder and Cuomo is an advocator for the killing of babies.

Many of us have taken all that God has given us for granted, and because of man’s pride and sinful nature the nation has become ungodly by the day. By the removing of God from our schools, the open celebrations of homosexuality and pride parades; and by neglecting to teach our children the word of God. By the secular universities which teach evolution and the growing religion of atheism. This world has become a dark place.

Andrew Cuomo doesn’t realise it now but there’s coming a day when he will have to stand before the God of the universe to give an account for all he’s said and done. And for his sake I hope he does it as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and not as a secular humanist.

It’s up to Christians everywhere to continue to pray for all those people who lost their loved ones, those who are providing medical help in hospitals. For the homeless who are on the streets hungry and fully exposed to this disease, for police who are trying to keep order, for MTA workers keeping transportation running, for supermarket workers providing available food.

We need to continue to pray for America, Canada, Italy and all the countries of the world. People need God more than ever and nows the time for us to pray that they would seek the Lord while He may be found (Isaiah 55:6-7)

The word of God says in 2 Chronicles.

2 Chronicles 7:14-16 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer [that is made] in this place. For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.

Let us pray for Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo as well. God bless

A clear beautiful day…

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Bluest blue

It’s a sunny peaceful Tuesday morning a day like all the rest. The sky was clear and blue, so clear as if the sky were like the crystal clear waters of the Arctic. At this time people were getting out of their warm beds, taking their morning showers and getting ready for the day. The East Coast was ready for just another day or was it?

The bench

A man was eating a bagel with cream cheese by the east river on Wall Street while enjoying the river view, and a lady sat by him reading her morning paper. Two New Yorkers gearing up for another day of work as the hustle and bustle of the city grew. A strange thing occurred at that moment as confetti fell from the sky. The two individuals looked at one another perplexed; was a parade going on no one knew about?

The two individuals shrugged their shoulders as they parted ways from that bench not giving it another thought. Confused the man made his way into his place of business located on the 10th floor. The morning went on as normal until 9:02 am. A frightened coworker comes bursting through the doors yelling “a plane crashed into the Twin Towers!”. She was hysterical and you can see the fear in her eyes as her coworkers helped to calm her down. The CEO made an announcement stating the TV in the board room would be on for all who are interested in knowing what’s happening.

As you can imagine all channels were reporting on an event which changed life as we knew it not only for the people of New York only but also for all people in the world. The day is called September 11, 2001.

As The World Looked On

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None could believe it how can a plane crash into such a large building it had to be a horrible accident right? At 9:03 am a second plane United Airlines Flight 175 crashes into floors 75–85 of the WTC’s South Tower, killing everyone on board and hundreds inside the building. It’s now crystal clear this is no mistake this is a horrific event taking place before our eyes. As the world watched, eyes glued to their screens, and people watching from afar it was just unimaginable.

Those people who entered into the Twin Towers on 9/11 never thought it would be their last day to live. Neither did those men, women and children as they boarded those 4 aeroplanes. It was a tragedy of enormous proportions, a day in which the world will never forget; a day which is remembered each year since those attacks and how is it that we still go about living life as if we will never die?

The remembrance of that day is seared into my mind, the smell of the smoke, the sounds of sirens, the chaos and commotion in the streets of Manhattan. Life truly is fleeting.

Psalms 103:15 “As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.”

Sobering Messages

Many loved ones were lost in those tragic moments, they were their one moment hugging their loved ones and gone the next. How fragile is the life of man, the Bible says that our life appears for a moment and then vanishes away.

James 4:14 “Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

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Please consider these actual last messages from those who perished in those attacks on 9/11. Think hard on this because you don’t know when you’re last day on this earth will be. The following are messages from victims of these attacks.

Melissa C. Doi was a graduate of Northwestern University, with hopes of one day becoming a ballerina. She worked as a manager at a financial company. The terrified young woman called 911 from the 83rd floor of Tower 2.

MD: It’s very hot, I see…I don’t see, I don’t see any air anymore!

911: Okay…

MD: All I see is smoke.

911: Okay dear, I’m so sorry, hold on for a sec, stay calm with me, stay calm, listen, listen, the call is in, I’m documenting, hold on one second please…

MD: I’m going to die, aren’t I?

911: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, say your, ma’am, say your prayers.

MD: I’m going to die.

911: You gotta think positive, because you gotta help each other get off the floor.

MD: I’m going to die.

911: Now look, stay calm, stay calm, stay calm, stay calm.

MD: Please God…

Brian David Sweeney a passenger on Flight 175. He left a voicemail for his wife Julie that day. In the message, he can be heard telling his wife that he loved her and to “go have good times.”

Jules, this is Brian. Listen, I’m on an airplane that’s been hijacked. If things don’t go well, and it’s not looking good, I just want you to know that I absolutely love you. I want you to do good, go have good times same to my parents and everybody. I just totally love you… and I’ll see you when you get there. Bye babe. I hope I call you. — Brian David Sweeney

How heart-wrenching are these messages can you imagine being in such a situation knowing that you’ll never see the faces of your loved ones again?

The Bad News

My friend life is fleeting, you hear one moment and gone the next. Will you continue to live life as if you’ll never face death? Will you continue to gambling with your soul. Do you know where you’ll spend the rest of eternity once you die? If you’re not saved the bible gives us a clear understanding of what the future holds for those who are not saved.

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Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

God tells us in His word the Bible that we all have sinned, we’ve all have lied before, or lusted after another person, been angry at someone. We’re born in sin and have committed sin. We can look at God’s law and know for certain that none of us are perfect. Let’s look at God’s law.

God’s Law (Ten Commandments)

  1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
  2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
  3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
  4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
  5. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
  6. Thou shalt not kill.
  7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
  8. Thou shalt not steal.
  9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
  10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

As you can see we fall short on all of these if you never loved God fully every moment of your waking day that’s a sin. If you’ve used God’s name in vain that’s a sin, if we have spoken a lie against someone that’s a sin.

You may be thinking I never killed someone?! Do you know what the Lord Jesus said concerning this He said:

Matthew 5:21, 22 “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”

Just being angry at someone is a sin and I’m certain that if you’ll think hard you’ll remember being upset at someone before. Because we are sinners we are not capable of standing before God. We are in desperate need of a Saviour and God in His loving tenderness did just that.

The Gospel (The Good News)

God loves us so much He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross as a perfect sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sins. He was crucified on the cross and cried out “it is finished” meaning He paid the penalty for our sins taking the wrath of God upon Himself.

And physically rose from the dead three days later proving His sacrifice was acceptable to God the Father. Jesus Christ ascended up into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father triumphant over death. And anyone who places their trust in the ransom sacrifice He provided will be granted everlasting life, a home in heaven. We can be saved from death and hell once we place our faith in Christ alone.

Therefore, if you want to receive the free gift of life thereby removing the wrath of God upon you, then you must receive Him and His sacrifice by faith. If you want forgiveness for your sins against God, you must ask for forgiveness of your sins with a truly repentant heart and He will grant you everlasting life.

God’s Promise of the Free Gift of Eternal Life

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Ephesians 2:8, 9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

As Christians, we pray that those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, were saved, we hope they knew the LORD GOD that they knew while they were on their way to death would pass unto life eternal, having perfect peace with God. The sobering thought is that while we pray for them if they never placed their faith in Jesus Christ then they perished and are lost forever in hell. It’s not easy to say but it’s the truth. You still have a chance to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, do it today and live!!!

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