text:
mikamolyneaux
America about to be ATTACKED AND DESTROYED ???
Global Warming charts
Warming Trends causes & predictions
February 16, 2019 by mikamolyneaux
Quest for Absolute Truth
Posted on August 20, 2018 by mikamolyneaux
Few parents have all the knowledge needed to answer all the questions which children ask, especially when their children grow up. We usually consult the Internet (or sometimes professional experts) to find answers for the questions which we or our friends, parents and teachers don't know. But unfortunately, as much as the Internet can be a valuable resource for discerning truth seekers, the Internet is a source of misinformation and unfounded speculation – a minefield of tricks and traps for those who don't know how to distinguish truth from fallacy. This begs the question: what is truth and how can we discover Truth?
Before answering these questions, we need to take time to consider the fact that the vast majority of modern philosophers, social scientists and other academics have convinced themselves and their students that there are no absolutes in life and therefore no such thing as absolute truth, and that only relative truth is possible. It's important to stop and think carefully about what these people are actually saying: They insist that "There is no such thing as absolute truth."
To appreciate what "absolute truth" means in contrast with "relative truth" we should consider statements which are not possible to denote as either true or false until we know the context of the statement. For example, the statement "Sheep are large animals" is an example of "relative truth." Sheep are certainly bigger than many other animal species but much smaller than elephants, giraffes and rhinos. Likewise, the statement "It was cloudy all day in London on Tuesday." is an example of "relative truth." Without context, those statements are in fact ambiguous and inconclusive.
The following statement: "All living sheep are animals." is an example of absolute truth. Another example: "Five ounces of gold are more than three ounces of gold" That statement is absolutely true.
Some intellectuals might argue that all these statements are only relatively true because they are expressed in the English language which is not the only language people use to describe the nature of material or abstract realities. This argument appears to be like the argument that all religions are equivalent and only relatively true because they are only true for those who believe those religions. A similar argument contends that verbal expressions in the English language are only true (or perhaps false) for people who understand English but not for those who don't. But the ability or inability to read, understand and decide if expressions are meaningful and true or false is irrelevant. We agree that people who don't understand English are unable to decide which statements expressed in English are true in the absolute sense and which are meaningless or not true, but that does not mean that nobody can make those decisions. It's not necessary for everyone to know something is absolutely true before that conclusion can be made. That would be the same as asserting that because millions of illiterate people don't know that volcanoes are growing at the bottom of the oceans, therefore, there are no volcanoes at the bottom of the oceans. The argument is clearly irrational. We will return to this matter of the relativity of languages later in this monologue.
To repeat what was stated before, many modern intellectuals and philosophers insist that all opinions, beliefs, stated convictions, assumptions and concepts are relatively true and none are absolutely true and that there is therefore no such thing as absolute truth. That's astounding! In effect, they are asserting that expert opinions, religious beliefs and doctrines, value and ethical systems, scientific theories and formulas are equivalent and some if not most are somehow true in their own unique way.
In making these bold claims about the nature of the world and the non-existence of absolute truth, these people are opening themselves to a philosophical rebuttal from which they have no rational defence. If (as they say) there is no such thing as absolute truth and that different opinions, beliefs and convictions are equivalent and only valid in a personal sense, relative to other equally valid convictions, then by their own assertion on this matter, they must concede that the contrary view and conviction is just as good, valid and true as theirs: Now, in fact, there is a bold claim and conviction, that they are wrong in their assumptions concerning the non-existence of absolute truth. WHAT??? Yes, you heard it! The contrary view and conviction is based on relevant research and on considerably more analysis and reflection on this subject than any of those who deny absolute truth.
Before explaining the mistaken assertions and logic of those who deny absolute truth, we should note that these people are actually inviting us to dismiss their claims, because by their own admission, their convictions, opinions and assumptions are only relative, personal and subjective. They don't claim to know with absolute certainty or with any better evidence than anybody else. It's good to hear and note what they believe and claim, because we do have better research and can make a bold claim which contradicts them. A small but sufficient number of intellectuals know for certain that while most people are not aware of absolute truth, this concept and what it means is indeed an essential part of abstract reality.
Like time, space, gravity, death, justice and peace, absolute Truth is conceptually conceivable, and can even be mathematically represented and demonstrated to anyone who cares enough about discovering the truth to examine the evidence. People can ignore the truth for a long time; but they cannot forever ignore the consequences of ignoring the truth.
Absolute Truth is not impossible to define in terms of numerical principles and to demonstrate as an abstract concept, using a 3-dimentional graph, but it is admittedly difficult to demonstrate to everyone and there are very few who have the courage, integrity, emotional and mental energy to search until they find the answers they seek. If they persist, they will be able to observe the demonstration and eventually appreciate abstract reality in which we can discover and appreciate Absolute Truth. Let us be clear about this matter: ignorance of any facts does not eliminate or discount those facts.
Relativists claim that absolute truth does not exist, but they must also concede by their own theory of relativity that the opposite conviction is also valid and true when someone states that absolute truth does exist. Therefore, in the minds of these relativists, absolute truth does exist, according to one set of convictions and statements, and it does not exist, according to their own convictions and statements. Their theory of relativity admits that both convictions must be accepted as valid and true relative to one another. My position on this matter does not accept all convictions and I don't have to. Only their duality or multiplicity of different relative "truths" admits all convictions. We should note their convictions but we don't have to accept them.
For relativist philosophers, to live with these contradictions, they must have split minds with one statement existing in one half of their mind and the contrary statement in the other half and "Never the Twain Shall Meet" or else the failure of their logic and common sense will be obvious. Knowledge can expose and displace ignorance and confusion; but ignorance and confusion can never expose and displace knowledge. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss and people often choose (by greater or lesser degrees) to ignore facts and logic.
On the other hand, there is no need to have two separate minds. Those who are convinced that we all live in the same world, share the same reality and strive to use language to communicate and express our personal and sometimes unique experiences of this one and only world do not require two separate minds. Each of us has a unique mind and we live in only one common world (or reality) and that's why we can learn from partly different and partly collective experiences. We don't need to designate one half of our minds for this statement and another half for the contrary statement. By acknowledging one single ultimate reality that we all live in and participate in, and by acknowledging absolute truth as the goal of our communication we are not implying that anyone of us embraces all truth, or knows everything, or speaks absolute truth all the time. We are simply saying that there is one and only one universe which comprises both abstract and material realities and which we accept as the ultimate standard we should use to determine which of the many different perceptions, insights, descriptions and formulas or models of the world are better and definitely closer to reality than others, meaning closer to absolute truth. In other words, our statements and expressions of the world are not a matter of black or white, but of lighter or darker shades of grey. When we accept this perspective of the world which includes absolute truth (as the light) and this perspective of our communication about the world (as lighter or darker shades) we can intelligently discuss and objectively decide which statements or theories or explanations are confusing, ambiguous, meaningless or not true, or obviously false.
For example, it is obviously false to say that Father Christmas is a real person who hides at the north pole and comes to give presents to good children on Christmas Eve. Any philosopher who claims that this fantasy is true for all children who believe it is not using the English language the way dictionaries define the words TRUE and FALSE. We can only say that children who believe in Father Christmas think and act as if he is a real person; but their thoughts and actions do not bring Father Christmas into real life. Likewise, the words Truth and Fallacy are defined in the dictionaries and we should use these words the way they are commonly used and conventionally defined. Philosophers can twist and play with words for as long as they like, but we don't have to play those word games which confuse people who have not been warned and trained to watch out for people who cleverly twist the meanings of words. Let us be honest and stick to conventional dictionary meanings so that people we communicate with will not be confused and mistaken.
Surveys can be carried out on a near universal scale to test and determine which statements and expressions are meaningful and true or meaningless, ambiguous. relative or false. We conduct these surveys by translating lists of statements and expressions into several different languages and testing large numbers of individuals within all the different language groups. When we find small but significant samples of people from all language groups who agree about each of the specific statements and expressions we present for people in the survey to read and decide, then that proves the point. It proves that even though we do not have a single universal language, and even though many people might be confused or less intelligent, certain members of the population can still clearly understand what they are reading and talking about when they communicate in their own languages. Furthermore, those who are intelligent and rational enough, can use common sense and logic to clearly understand and apply the following concepts: (1) meaningful, (2) meaningless, (3) ambiguous, (4) true, (5) false, (6) relative truth and (7) absolute truth.
If tests carried out on a universal scale were to find all kinds of contradictions, random decisions and responses by different people in the survey and there was little if any consensus, we would have to conclude that such chaotic results prove that absolute truth is impossible for humans to understand, recognize or apply in their lives. But carefully designed surveys and tests of communication indeed show that absolute truth is possible, meaningful and useful to those who appreciate it; but admittedly, absolute truth is rare, difficult to recognize and adequately express in our languages. It is best expressed in mathematics.
Even though we don't know everything, not by a long way; even though our insights, descriptions, theories, models and formulas for most things are incomplete or inexact, even though we seldom find other people who agree with everything we believe or know, that doesn't mean we know nothing of any value or substance and that everything we think we know is in fact just an illusion or a fabrication of our own personal, subjective world and nothing more. If that really was the case, no one would ever be able to agree about anything. If that really was the case, there would be no purpose in communicating with other people to share experiences, convictions and beliefs, no value in seeking and paying experts to share their knowledge, insights and theories with us and no value in recording and preserving facts, knowledge and principles of science, philosophy and mathematics. Those who believe that are welcome to their own opinions, but it's good that we don't have to share those silly, irrational convictions.
To summarize the argument – Carefully designed research and controlled investigations into verbal communication show that absolute truth is possible, meaningful and useful to those who understand ultimate reality and think in terms of our personal perceptions, concepts and statements which are our efforts to express absolute truth, even if incomplete or inexact. Our incomplete or inexact expressions do not deny absolute truth. On the contrary, by objectively defining absolute truth and demonstrating by objective measurements, mathematics and graphs that our verbal expressions are incomplete or inexact compared to absolute truth we prove the existence of absolute truth as a universal ideal. Even relativists who claim that absolute truth does not exist, would have to admit, according to their theory of relativity, that we are right in asserting that we and a few others might know about absolute truth and also know something of the real, common but complex and often unpredictable nature of the world. On the other hand, we are not obliged, in our rational, absolute view of the world, to agree to the contrary perspective and irrational opinions which have no proof. Such ideas are mere philosophical assumptions. Furthermore, when they admit (as they should) that we are right in our perspective and convictions, because in their view everyone is right in their own personal worlds, they would have to admit that they are irrational or confused for accepting two logically inconsistent statements. It doesn't matter if the contrary statements exist in two different minds, as they say, or in two different personal perspectives of the world. Relativists must admit that the two logically contrary statements are both valid and true, or else they are simply playing word games and mind games and not really interested in logic, common sense and Truth. Then they don't merit serious consideration.
The search for absolute truth is not futile. It is possible and practically achievable, even if difficult to discover and apply in one's life. If other people are not able to discover the meaning and existence of absolute truth that's not our problem or loss; it's theirs.
The principles of knowledge and scientific investigation which we should use to discover absolute truth is the subject of another monologue.
The Little book and the Key of Knowledge – Revelations 10 and 11
Posted on September 8, 2015 by mikamolyneaux
Revelations chapters 10: The "little book" or "little scroll" is a new revelation that John received from Yeshua, "the Mighty Archangel," (one of His titles, according to the prophets). Eating the "little book" represents keeping the message until the right time to deliver it. Then John was told: "You must prophesy again…." He will prophecy at the right time, not immediately. The book of Revelation cannot be the "little book" because the book of Revelation was written and delivered to the church and we have been reading the book of Revelation for 2000 years. The "little book" was eaten, not written nor passed on. The book of Daniel cannot be the "little book" because the book of Daniel was sealed and said to remain sealed until the end times, but the open "little book" was given to John before the end times and was already open when it was given to John. Daniel sealed the book he wrote. John was told not to seal the visions he wrote. – Revelation 22:10. Peter was told he would be given the Keys of the Kingdom so that whatever he unsealed is what was being unsealed in heaven. This shows that it's not necessary that the Lamb should unseal every scroll, only the seven scrolls that no one else could unseal. The implication is that the open "little book" given to John was not cryptic (like Daniel) but easy for John to understand. But it was only for him to understand and no one else at that stage.
Yeshua would not give John a prophecy that he was to eat (not reveal) if that had already been given to Daniel who was told to seal (not reveal) the meaning. So the "little book" is neither the book of Daniel nor the book of Revelation, but a new revelation that John received. John did not read the "little book" but ate it immediately. Now it begs the question – what was that new revelation? Did John ever write it down for others to read? No, it was already in a written form and he ate the "little book." That doesn't mean the new revelation is lost forever because John was told: "You must prophesy again." The book of Revelation was John's first prophetic book and he was told: "You must prophesy again." Some scholars suggest that the book of Revelation was revealed in two stages and then combined into one book. They say the "little book" is incorporated in such a manner that it's difficult to tell which chapters or verses are in fact the "little book."
However, in reading through the book of Revelation we see that the sections are all consistent logical units and John explains how each section was revealed; mostly he saw all these things in his vision. He tells us in his record how each section was delivered to him. So there's no need to guess at a possible insertion of extra material without John mentioning the source of the material. No, the insertion hypothesis is contradicted by the evidence. If John had been given a secret message within a broader visionary revelation, he would not disobey when told not to write and to eat rather than to read. He would not add the secret message into his written "open book."
God gave the revelation to Yeshua (Jesus, his messenger) who made it known to his servant John, to show his servants (who now read the book of Revelation) what must soon take place. John must show God's (or Yeshua's) servants. So how can John show his servants if he eats the "little book?" That doesn't make sense. John was also instructed to go and measure the temple and the worshippers, which could not have taken place in history. John remained on the Island of Patmos where he received his visions and never returned to Jerusalem. We know in hindsight that "what must soon take place" (Revelations 1:19) didn't happen for those first century believers. We realize that "what must soon take place" will happen for the last century believers.
Here's the key, in the first chapter:- "I, John, who also am your brother…… was in the isle that is called Patmos…..I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day."
Many scholars say "on the Lord's Day" means on the first day of the week; however in John's day this tradition of calling the first day of the week "the Lord's Day" only arose a century or more later. When John wrote: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." He meant that in his visions he was watching events taking place in the last days of the last century. "In the spirit" means that he was somehow spiritually transported into the last days. He had witnessed judgments (terrible events) taking place on earth in the last days as a team of seven messengers were blowing trumpets. The Mighty Archangel doesn't blow a trumpet but gives John the "little book" and certain instructions when he appears. This is significant. John simply witnessed judgments after the other six messengers blew trumpets, but then the Archangel gave him tasks to do. So we ask ourselves – what's going on? This is the first and only time John finds himself in a period of interactions with the messengers when he is given instructions for tasks he is required to do "in the last days." He doesn't record what's happening at this point in the vision. Instead, he is the action in the vision.
Recall that the book of Revelation is to show God's servants what must soon take place. In general the visions he recorded do certainly show God's servants. But the instructions John received "Don't write," "Eat" and "Measure" don't seem to be relevant to show God's servants. These visions reveal "the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter," Revelation 1:19. By the time the sixth messenger sounds the trumpet that would be at the end of the age and John would be dead by then. But if these events predicted in the book of Revelation are in the future (in our modern day) when John would be long dead and gone, so we need to ask – is it possible that John would be resurrected in order to receive the instructions? Some scholars believe that to be the explanation for this quandary. Or others say John would not die but remain alive until the last days. But there's a better explanation: It's clear that the beast with seven heads, the beast (false prophet) with two horns, the woman with a crown of 12 stars, and Babylon the Great are actually empires and organized groups of people, not individuals although the organizations or groups might have a single leader. Similarly the two witnesses represent a group of prophetic people who operate in pairs the way the Apostles operated in pairs. Yeshua (Jesus) always sent his messengers and Apostles out in pairs. There's no reason for him to change that principle. In fact Yeshua (Jesus) said he would send his messengers in the last days "to separate the wicked from among the just." Matthew 13:41 and 49. He never indicated that Elijah would be present in person in the last days. But he did indeed say (after John the Baptizer had been killed) that "Elijah truly comes, and shall restore all things." Matthew 17:11. Therefore it is most likely that in the book of Revelation, John himself becomes a symbolic actor who represents a particular group who would operate not specifically as prophets, but as visionary people (the ones who measure) and the first to recognize Yeshua's two witnesses – the prophetic group who operate in the spirit of Elijah "to restore all things."
The first group will operate like the lesser known visionary people in first century Judeah – Anna, Simeon, Zechariah and the Magi from the east. Their lesser role was to recognize John the Baptizer and Yeshua at their birth and point them out as God's chosen messengers.
John does the measuring that precedes the commission of Yeshua's two witnesses. In line with this explanation of the actors and symbols in chapters 10 and 11, we understand that the ones who measure will also prophecy. That's in a general sense, because to announce the coming Judgment and Kingdom is a prophetic action. "The testimony of Yeshua is the spirit of prophecy." Revelation 19:10. Or better translated: "The spirit of prophecy is the witness to Yeshua." He instructed his disciple: "You shall be witnesses to me." Acts 1:8. And God "gave some to be prophets." Ephesians 4:11.
In prophetic symbols, measuring with a staff like a rod refers to a prophetic task, a test to see if everything is correct and in line with the plans and designs of YHWH [God]. Measuring must precede Yeshua's two witnesses. But John only receives the implement and instructions for measuring after six messengers have blown their trumpets. That's puzzling because Yeshua's two witnesses require 1260 days for their task, whereas the sixth trumpet seems too late in the program of end time events. One way of understanding this anomaly is to see John's interaction with the Mighty Messenger (the Archangel) from Chapter 10 to chapter 11:14 as an interlude, another self-contained unit or section rather than part of the seven angel trumpet sequence. In fact John's interaction [Chapter 10 to chapter 11:14] appears as a "little book" within the framework of his broader visionary revelation. It seems to be inserted in the wrong part of the time sequence – too close to the end – and it's perhaps this anomaly that gave rise to the suggestion that the "little book" John received was inserted (without mentioning that) by his editors within his visionary revelation. But as already mentioned, John would not reveal (write down) the content of the "little book" if instructed to eat it, meaning to keep it secret until the last days. The seven seals of Revelations are series of events that enable followers of Yeshua to understand the signs of the times. The seven trumpets of Revelations are series of events that enable servants of Yeshua to predict and announce events that take place in the last days. In chapter 12:4 Daniel was told "seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end." The Hebrew says literally "to the end of time" or alternatively translated "to the end of the age." So the seven seals of Revelations describe the unsealing of Daniel's visions, exactly as Revelations 10:7 describes.
The seven trumpets of Revelations announce the end of the age." The fact that the "little book" or "little scroll" is described between the sixth and seventh trumpets does NOT imply that this unusual revelation takes place right near the end of the age. Yeshua, the Archangel who gave John the scroll was not the seventh angel. At this time John was told: "You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings." It makes no sense for John to prophecy when everything was almost over. Our explanation comes from the realization that the "little book" and the "staff like a rod" are part of three interludes marked by the first, the second and the third woes. The "little book" and the "staff like rod" take place after the first and before the second woe that are described and understood to be chronological. So this is chronologically part of another series of events that intersect with but not chronologically part of the seven trumpets.
The "little book" is indeed a fascinating and challenging riddle and just how it's meant to be. "None of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." Daniel 12:10. This "little book" is a unique revelation that YHWH gives his servants (visionary people) directly through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It does not come indirectly and second hand from someone else, nor purely through studying scripture. That unique revelation or discernment is described symbolically – namely eating (not reading) the little book John was given. There's no other way to receive the kind of prophetic insight illustrated by John in chapter 10.
These visionary people are the ones who will be first to recognize Yeshua's two witnesses – the prophetic group who operate in the spirit of Elijah "to restore all things." One should recall that Yeshua was hidden among the people until He first began his public work in Bethany on the other side of the Jordan. John said of Yeshua: "Among you stands one you do not recognize." John 1:26. Even John admitted: "I would not have recognized him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me." John 1:33. So we shouldn't assume it's easy to recognize visionary people and prophets among us.
If we are living in the last days then such visionary people are already in the making. If they are not in the making then we are probably not living in the last days, but all the signs indicate that we are and I am convinced of that.
We are required to prophecy, exposing the agenda and program of the architects of the New World Order and announcing the Kingdom of God. That's in a general sense, because to announce the coming Judgment of the nations and the coming Kingdom is a prophetic action. "The testimony of Yeshua is the spirit of prophecy." Revelation 19:10. Or better translated: "The spirit of prophecy is the witness to Yeshua." He instructed his disciple: "You shall be witnesses to me." Acts 1:8. And God "gave some to be prophets." Ephesians 4:11.
But we can and should also prophecy specifically, to our generation, and without speculating or guessing, announcing God's calendar events, including the two witnesses, the escape into the wilderness, the destruction of Babylon and the rest. We can set in motion a new spiritual awakening, in the spirit of Elijah, not seen before since the days of John.
John was told to prophesy concerning many peoples, nations, languages and kings. That would be a specific prophecy, not a general message, but specific to a particular generation, their institutions, actions and plans.
The Key of Knowledge will without a doubt reveal and confirm the visionary people illustrated in Revelations and symbolized in the person of John. That's the purpose of the Key of Knowledge and Yeshua said to the teachers and experts in the law: "You have taken away the key of knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering." Luke 11:52.
There are hundreds of sincere, honest, devoted and passionate followers of Yeshua. Most if not all sense the apathy, heresy, self-righteousness and hypocrisy that corrupts organized Christianity. This state of the church in the last days is described as Laodicea, Babylon, Egypt and Sodom. Babylon is the capital city in the kingdom of the beast and that's where we live – in a corrupt old church-state world order.
Christians in general are living like blind worms in compost – it's lukewarm, lovely and tasty, so why would we even think of leaving? Some are eaten by birds. How would we convince those born blind that they are blind? Yeshua was unable to convince the people He was sent to and unable to defeat the enemies that opposed His mission. He only infuriated them so they killed him. After they killed him, they killed nearly all the Ambassadors he trained and commissioned. He warned them: "Watch out for wolves in sheepskins." Yeshua's Ambassadors converted a small but growing number of followers but the enemies infiltrated the movement, deceived these gullible converts and mislead them into Babylon, Egypt and Sodom and they still love being there today. If we think we can do better than Yeshua and his Ambassadors, then we've got another thought coming. Perhaps we could lead more people into Babylon if we trained for the task.
The church will remain in Babylon's captivity, blind, confused and guessing about what's happening. Let's not fool ourselves – it's been like this for nearly 2000 years. But when God's chosen remnant use the Key of Knowledge, they will release a power to be reckoned with. When we use this Key and measure the worshippers we will release Yeshua's Witnesses. They are only few but they will stop the rain falling from heaven, infuriate those who oppose them, torment them and devastate them with fire from their mouths, until the church-state world order eventually silences them by killing their bodies. If they treated our Messiah that way they will do the same to His Witnesses.
Yeshua came to call out and save the chosen nation. This is the Good News: "Repent for the Kingdom of God is near." Those who announce that message when the Kingdom of God is not near, become false prophets. We will only be able to announce that message when we know for sure that the Kingdom of God is indeed near. How near is near? Within 10 years, 20 years, 30 or 40 years?
Surely 20 years, 30 or 40 years is NOT near! Remember that Paul said before the Day of Judgment comes the man of sin must first be exposed. When this deceiver is exposed in God's sanctuary, then the Kingdom of God is near. When this deceiver is exposed in the congregation, those who worship in spirit and truth will realize the leaders in the church are insincere, misguided and confused. Then true worshippers will leave the congregations and the fake, but look-alike Apostles will be even more exposed. That's the separation that Paul wrote about. How will those who worship in spirit and truth realize the leaders are misguided look-alike Apostles? The Key of Knowledge will expose them. Counterfeit Disciples will disparage the Key of Knowledge, resist and shirk from being measured for fear of being exposed. That's how we tell the difference between the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. We are all victims, to some degree, of the spirit of error, some more than others.
Our Messiah and His Witnesses were quite confident that their work would succeed. They confidently announced the coming Judgment and the Kingdom, but the Witnesses underestimated the power and tricks of the enemy. This is the only explanation for the fact that the Judgment and the Kingdom did not come as predicted and promised. We should not make the same mistake of underestimating the power and tricks of the enemy. If we don't accept that explanation we make the Witnesses out to be false prophets. But NO they were not false prophets, on the contrary, we can learn from their experiences. That's what it means to be a disciple – learning from someone more spiritually mature and experienced than we are. Our Messiah gave His Witnesses the Key of Knowledge. But before they could pass the gift on to their successors the Witnesses were killed. Therefore the small but growing number of followers were unable to expose the enemies that infiltrated their ranks and they were deceived.. "Watch out for wolves!" But we have the Key of Knowledge that can measure and expose wolves in sheepskins. Yeshua's Witnesses were confident and announced the coming Judgment and the Kingdom before they had passed on the Key of Knowledge to their successors and so the Key went with them to the grave. We can learn from their experiences and do this differently.
How do we know if someone is genuine and spiritually mature or a wolf in a sheep-skin.? This is not an easy thing for disciples to decide, but with the right spiritual implement for the task we can succeed. The Key of Knowledge can measure them and will expose them all and all of us.
John, the Beloved Disciple, had remained at the execution of his Master and was not himself killed but exiled. He had no fear or apathy, only love and devotion. He received his special unique insights from the seven thunders, the little scroll and the Prophet's Staff, the Key of Knowledge that Yeshua gave him. He was instructed to measure the temple and the worshippers. But he was exiled so he couldn't do that. John was not killed by the enemy so he could pass the Key of Knowledge on to any devoted Disciple who seeks the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, those who have no fear nor apathy, only love and devotion and they will not be killed. They will measure the temple on behalf of John in the last days.
Those who receive the Key of Knowledge and the Prophet's Staff will prophesy because the Key empowers them to prophesy. They will receive the Key from those who hear the seven thunders and receive a little scroll. These are the ones who seek the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
How do we measure the worshippers? We should start searching far and wide, looking for worshippers who might be more sincere, honest, passionate and devoted to the Master than we are. Do you know any worshippers who fit that description? Have you tried looking? Why should we do that? Because if someone is more devoted like John, then we can learn from them, imitate their example, become more like them as they become more like the Master they worship. Do you know any living person, someone more like John? If not we need to keep looking until we find someone. "Seek and you will find." If we don't find any because there are none to be found anywhere on earth, then the Day of Judgment will be delayed until we find someone who fits the description. And if we don't easily find anyone more spiritually mature, we can still start searching far and wide, looking for worshippers who might also help with the search.
The bible explains exactly why the Day of YHWH is being delayed generation after generation. Everything we see taking place in the world and in the church today for the past 2000 years, absolutely everything has been happening exactly the way the bible explains it would and it's so obvious once you can see it. The bible also explains that people, including the best of Christian bible teachers, will be deceiving themselves if they think they understand what's going on in the world and the church and what to expect in our future. Even the best among the early Seventh Day Adventists, the Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Herbert Armstrong and the likes, suffered from over-confidence and partial knowledge that leads to self-deception. Some mistakes were minor but critical. Without the Key of Knowledge it's impossible to attain the fullness of knowledge and they were unable to realize their spiritual short-sightedness. The same applies to the over-confident, mistaken announcements we see being published on prophecy forums today.
This Key will allow the followers of Yeshua to see clearly with new spiritual eyes, far more than any generation before. It's surprising but predicted in the bible that the church today rejects the very spiritual implement that will empower us to advance the Day of YHWH and announce the future in detail, with perfect knowledge and authority. The inhabitants of the earth will experience many economic disasters, wars, earthquakes, famines and plagues before the chosen nation realize that they are guessing and mostly confused about what's happening, what will happen next and what to do. However, a remnant will eventually realize they have been suffering from self-deception and then they will accept this Key and begin to prophesy, exactly as the bible explains; but only after much suffering.
Please contact my if you believe you have a prophetic calling. mike.molyneaux@xtra.co.nz
New World Order to be in place within the next few years
Posted on May 18, 2015 by mikamolyneaux
It is almost certain that a New World Order, planned about 40 years ago or longer, will be in place within the next few years, five at the most.
According to experts and observers of the build-up in military equipment and deployment, the US and NATO allies are by far the most powerful military force in the world today. Consequently, the Anglo-American empire controls much of the world, mainly through covert military threats and attacks as well as by supporting revolutionary groups who act in their interests. The Anglo-American empire also exerts huge influence through international financial intrigue. However, the economic growth of China and the BRICS allies has reached a stage where these countries are about to eclipse the international financial influence of the Anglo-American empire; so the empire continues to resist and sabotage the BRICS allies and their trading partners through veiled threats and military force applied covertly most times.
This year a new era in global economic affairs is quietly unfolding – The Head of the International Monetary Fund welcomed news of an alternative financial system for international trade that dispenses with US dollars as reserve currency and pricing mechanism. China and the BRICS allies are launching the alternative system that will operate in parallel with the existing system. If the new system proves to be more equitable to participating countries and more trust-worthy than the existing system, the US currency will depreciate and US citizens will be economically disadvantaged. Awareness of this risk is not openly admitted in top US government circles but their military forces are being positioned and commanded to exert more threats and attacks against the BRICS allies. Conflict is brewing between the military might of the US/NATO allies and the growing BRICS economic power. As this process continues the risk of world war 3 is growing, mainly because US citizens will not be persuaded to give up their economic advantage over other countries. They will fight to defend the Anglo-American empire. The only way out of this potential war is for all nations to accept an internationally approved UN peace keeping force that will control all military forces of the world. In other words, the only solution is a New World Order.
A New World Order means the role of the different national military forces will change. The plan is that all the nations of the world should become brothers in arms. Instead of protecting their own territories, trade routes and allies from foreign attacks or interference they will be policing and controlling rebellious groups in their own territories or bringing any countries under control that are not towing the line. To help bring peace on earth it will also be necessary that all the religions of the world should become tolerant brothers in some kind of World Council of Cooperating Religious Faiths. Many religious leaders have been part of international movements to get this idea going, but it's not progressing as fast as the planners of the New World Order hoped. That's not at all surprising – On the one hand, some agents of the New World Order are fanning the flames of religious intolerance, suspicion and conflict in countries not willing to come in line with the new ideas. The strategy is to destabilize and take control of these countries; and on the other hand, another team of agents are trying to harmonize the different religions of the world. So these contradictory hidden agendas are struggling to succeed. The proponents of the New World Order have been at it for 40 years or more and they are patient.
As already mentioned, a major obstacle to the New World Order is opposition by wealthy US citizens and millionaires who can't be persuaded to give up their economic and military advantage over other countries. To some extent they are supported by wealthy Europeans who also enjoy privileged advantages as member states in the US/NATO alliance. Here's where Operation JADE HELM fits into the New World Order program. Before military forces can successfully police and control rebellious groups they need to disarm them. But US citizens are the most highly armed people of the world. In fact more and more alternative media, radio talk shows and websites in the US are advocating that people arm themselves against the so-called "tyranny of the Federal Government." So armed individuals and groups will be targeted for arrest by Operation JADE HELM if they refuse to surrender their weapons. Many independent journalists and smart Patriots have examined all the evidence being shared and accumulated through the internet about JADE HELM and it looks very much like this will be the final move after a period of failed attempts to disarm US citizens peacefully through legislation. The first phase of JADE HELM will be the arrest of journalists and talk show hosts that expose and publish secret plans and agendas of the Federal Government. After that the weapons will be confiscated. That will lead to outbreaks of protest and rebellion but by then such attempts will be easily controlled and quenched. Once the US population comes under full control by the Federal Government, the way will be prepared for the integration of all the major countries of the world into a global government. These journalists and talk show hosts have done a fine job investigating, but sadly their work will soon be coming to a sudden end.
After a short period of trouble and distress in the transition phase, the New World Order can be expected to usher in a time of peace, security and stability for most of the world. Whether that will last, or rather for how long, is a matter of speculation. History shows that every major empire without exception reaches a peak and then collapses, so the coming New World Order can be expected to collapse as well. When that happens the results will be devastating. The higher the rise to great heights of technological achievement, the greater the disaster when it collapses. The more powerful the tools the greater the damage when these fall into the wrong fallible hands – unprecedented death and destruction on a global scale, a time of trial, the coming great tribulation.
The world is soon to face a time of trial and the people who are going to suffer and die during this trial will suffer and die as a consequence of the decisions they make (or their parents make, if they are children) when others warned them about what's coming. They choose to block their ears and look the other way. But the blame for their fate should really be given to the spirit of antichrist that deluded them into thinking that the warnings were false alarms.
Simply knowing about the coming great tribulation will not be enough to escape and survive the devastation. We have to seek out and discover God's plans for the world and obey His instructions for escape and survival. These instructions are cryptically hidden in the books of the bible and revealed only to those with a humble, prophetic spirit, an upright heart and an open mind. "Seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you, ask and it will be given."
Some will question God's justice in allowing people to suffer and die when the spirit of antichrist really deserves the punishment, not them. But God sends His prophets and servants to warn them and if they listen to the spirit of antichrist instead, that's their responsibility. God does not interfere in the choices of His creatures even when He knows their choices will be fatal.
It's true that God creates us with the power of choosing whether or not to obey Him and He respects these choices; but that doesn't make Him responsible for our choices. In this way by leading the world into the great tribulation He selects for Himself a nation of people who will love and obey Him through their own free will. Those who love Him will make the effort to discover His plans for the world and to obey His instructions for achieving these plans. They will survive the great tribulation. Those who die but were blameless in their deeds will be resurrected to eternal life and rewarded for any good deeds. Those who survive the great tribulation will inherit God's Kingdom on earth and also be rewarded for their good deeds with eternal life and other privileges. But the spirit of antichrist will be destroyed forever. That means there will be no chance of deceiving the world again.
The fantastical theory of a pre-tribulation rapture
Posted on December 12, 2014 by mikamolyneaux
The idea of a Pre-tribulation rapture is NOT consistent with scripture
Those who believe the fantastical theory of a pre-tribulation rapture have either never studied the bible thoroughly for themselves, or never stopped to think seriously about what they believe, or they don't want to think.
Paul says the "change" that happens to those believers who survive the Great Tribulation is a secret. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 and 2 Thesalonians 4:15-17. But that doesn't mean a secret revelation. When considering other passages of scripture where Paul boasts about the revelations he received, one might think that he came to understand this matter of the "change" in the survivors, as another revelation. However after examining all the relevant details that the scriptures provide concerning the last days, it becomes clear that this "change" was actually a logical conclusion that suddenly dawned on Paul, rather than a supernatural revelation. Consider the relevant details.
Scripture provides the following information concerning the last days:-
The Kingdom of God will appear after a time of great distress and destruction that God will bring upon the earth in Judgement of the inhabitants.
Only a small number of people will survive the coming great distress and destruction.
In Paul's day, many people (including some very deserving servants of God) had died or would die before the Kingdom of God appears.
Yeshua (Jesus) and Paul promised that deserving servants of God who died before the Kingdom of God appears would still be resurrected so as to enter the Kingdom.
All those who deserve to be rewarded in the Kingdom would be subjects of the same Kingdom, whether they enter through death and resurrection or if they survive on earth through the Great Tribulation.
These five facts are all well-established on the basis of the scriptures. The logical conclusion then (without further information about a rapture) is that the Kingdom of God would include both resurrected human beings and ordinary living human beings – the survivors.
NOTE: If any bible scholars don't allow the rules of logic to apply in our faith, then ignore them because it means you would have to become illogical to accept their opinions. And illogical people don't realize when they have lost the plot.
These five facts, (undeniable conclusions from scripture) introduce a problematic situation:- (1) Resurrected human beings would have an unfair advantage in God's Kingdom – for example the very old and frail ordinary living people who survived would be in need of regular help and healing. (2) The survivors might feel cheated of the unique supernatural abilities and privileges of resurrected beings. (3) The resurrected husbands and wives from previous marriages would complicate relationships and loyalties for the ordinary humans. These were some of the logical conclusions the Sadducees raised with Yeshua to scoff at the very idea of eternal life.
As Yeshua explained to the Sadducees, only one type of existence would be found in God's Kingdom – all would become immortal, even if they have different responsibilities and rewards according to what each deserves. Paul came to the logical conclusion that any humans who survive on earth until the King appears would also have to take on the unique supernatural abilities and privileges of resurrected beings, like Yeshua. Having concluded that much, the question to ask is when do the survivors become immortal?
Paul concluded that it would take place at the very end of the age – at the last trumpet. That's completely reasonable. If the change from mortal to immortal were to take place before the time of great distress and destruction, then there would still be a problem with the others – those who survive on earth until the end when the King appears. The scriptures are very clear on this fact – some will survive right through and "out of" the Great Tribulation. Then there would have to be another change from mortal to immortal for those who missed the first boat and still survived. But the idea of a first and then a second rapture (rescue boat) is not what the scriptures say.
We do read about the resurrection taking place in three successive stages – first, Yeshua and some of the saints of old; then immediately after the judgement of the world, those who are resurrected to take part in the millennial reign of Yeshua; and finally those who did not achieve the righteousness required to enter God's Kingdom but still deserve some rewards according to what each did during their lives. But we do NOT read about the "change" taking place in two or three stages. There's only one "change" – at the last trumpet.
A Contradiction apparent in descriptions of the Advent of Yeshua
1 The puzzling contradiction
The numerous descriptions of the second coming of Yeshua, also called the Day of the Lord, or the Day of Judgement can be puzzling. On the one hand, certain passages of scripture warn the disciples to be constantly vigilant for that day and to be ready at all times so that this day would not come and take them by surprise.
On the other hand, several other passages of scripture describe that day as a sudden event that happens without any warning. In other words, it's so sudden and unexpected that there's no sense in trying to anticipate the day and make any relevant preparation. So there is an apparent contradiction on this subject that cannot be overlooked or denied.
A possible but problematic solution
This apparent contradiction has led many bible scholars to accept an explanation put forward in a theory that has been around for almost 200 years, but not part of traditional Christian doctrine. These bible teachers theorize that the second Advent of the Messiah takes place in two separate stages – first an invisible Advent to gather the faithful followers and take them to Heaven, followed by another visible Advent some years later for the judegment of the rest of the world who were not included in the first Advent. They say the invisible Advent or the presence of Christ (Greek word PAROUSIA) is used distinctly in describing the rapture event and that it's very different than the visible Advent (Greek word EPIPHANEIA) used in describing the majestic appearance some years later. They try to make a big thing of these two words but actually, that argument does not apply consistently in the scriptures.
For example, 2 Thessalonians 2:9 "the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendour of his coming." The Greek word PAROUSIA is used here and this is obviously the powerful, majestic visible coming not an invisible presence. At his coming the man of lawlessness is destroyed! That's not the rapture!!!
Another example: 2 Peter 3:4 and 12 "You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire." Again the Greek word PAROUSIA is associated with destruction of the heavens. That's not the rapture!!!
Another example: 1 Timothy 6:14: "I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time." Now the Greek word EPIPHANEIA is used here concerning the saints remaining blameless until they meet Yeshua. In terms of the rapture theory the "meeting in the air" is supposed to be PAROUSIA, but the word EPIPHANEIA is used. Their argument does not apply consistently in the scriptures.
3. Problems with the two stage Advent of Yeshua
This theory can't possibly be correct for several reasons. For example, if there were to be an invisible Advent to take the faithful followers up to Heaven, it would be impossible for those who remain behind to ignore the magnitude and significance of that event. If some astounding global event like that really happened, there would be extremely few people who would be able to deny that this was an act of the Almighty God and actually a great Judgment too. This would be the most amazing miracle ever seen in the entire history of the world. It would be the equivalent of Noah, his family and the creatures being flown up to the clouds and waiting there in the ark for 6 months until the floods subsided. Only dumb imbeciles, mindless drug addicts or mentally deranged people would be able to ignore the implications of such a miracle. The existence of God after that would then be impossible to deny. As a result, almost the whole world would believe in God, but divided into two opposing camps – those who suddenly believe in God and fear him versus those who believe in God but continue to curse Him and try to oppose Him. The few others who know nothing can be ignored.
4. Why the most amazing miracle ever is preposterous and unscriptural
A miraculous conversion of hundreds of millions of people who suddenly turn to obeying and worshipping God out of fear and awe is simply not what Yeshua and the prophets wrote or said. They declared that conversion comes as a result of preaching by prophets BEFORE the GREAT DAY of the Lord, then those who scoff and ignore the prophets are punished without an escape. Yeshua and the Apostles and prophets explain in numerous passages and in no uncertain terms that by far the majority of mankind ignore the preaching and continue to believe the deception of the antichrist and worship him rather than the Messiah right until the end of the age. The book of revelation especially shows that only a few overcome the beast and survive the Great Tribulation. The rest of the citizens of God's Kingdom are deceived by the beast and enter the Kingdom through death and resurrection. These countless millions are depicted in Revelations 6:11 and Revelations 7:9-17. One cannot escape noticing that these have been through hunger, thirst, scorching sun and whatever else causes suffering and tears in order to attain the righteousness (white robes they were given) to enter the Kingdom.
5. Two groups who will be with Yeshua Messiah
There are two groups who will be with Yeshua Messiah in the end – those who enter the kingdom through death and resurrection and those who overcome the beast and survive until the return of Yeshua Messiah. The second group do not die (Revelations 3:10) but are changed the moment they meet Yeshua Messiah. – 1 Corinthians 15:51. The Greek word for changed is ALLASSO. Contrast that with ANASTASIO, meaning resurrection. In Luke 21:52 Yeshua said his followers must watch and pray to be able to flee away from the coming distress and in Matthew 24:33 Yeshua said his followers must watch so that they will know when the time for His return is near. It makes no sense to watch and be ready to be disappeared. Yeshua said his followers must watch, be dressed and ready for serving when he knocks. (Luke 12:35-38) If there is supposed to be a sudden, unexpected, miraculous disappearance into heaven there's no need to watch out for any signs and get ready to serve. What for? That makes no sense. But if the followers are to be ready to flee away from the coming distress then watching and getting dressed and ready for service certainly is necessary. Yeshua's followers need to know when to flee and where to go. Notice the parallel specific instructions for the first disciples – "When you see the armies (or the abomination) then you must flee!" Luke 21:20-22 and Matthew 24:15-17.
6. The scriptures offer no miraculous way to escape God's Judgment
Paul said in Acts 14:22 that to enter the kingdom of God "we must go through many hardships" (Greek = THLIPSIS, also translated "tribulations." Endurance through suffering is the training required to make us perfect – 1 Corinthians 11:32 and Hebrews 12:4-11.
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 is quite explicit about this – first the resurrection for those who died (ANASTASIO) and then the change (ALLASSO) for those who survived. There's no way to get around this sequence and no escaping judgment. There is either a Judgment after death for those who die (Hebrews 9:27 and actually death is part of the judgment for sin) or a Judgment of the living on earth (the trials) for those who live through tribulation. – 1 Peter 4:17 and Revelations 3:10. The scriptures show it's either one or the other. The distress or "tribulation" comes upon the earth as a test or trial and no one will fly off into the Kingdom by some magical rapture to escape – death is the only exit offered in the scriptures. The change into immortal bodies is for those who survive the test and remain alive. The reason the survivors don't die is because they become sinless through their trials and suffering, and receive glory, as described in Romans 8:17-18, Revelations 14:3-5 and 1 John 3:2, Luke 6:40 and Hebrews 2:10-11.
"He that has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin." 1 Peter 4:1. The rapture doesn't count as suffering in the flesh but persecution and perseverance through trials does.
7. Contradicting the plain and simple descriptions of the return of Yeshua
The rapture theory contradicts the plain and simple descriptions of the return of the Messiah, Yeshua, found in the parables and prophetic words. The obvious interpretation of these prophetic parables (and so many other passages of scripture) is that God will judge the whole world during one harvest season and Yeshua the Messiah will return from heaven to establish God's Kingdom, at the conclusion of the harvest. Successive devastating events will take place during the harvest, and these events will affect the earth's population differently, with multitudes and different groups of people and creatures dying (like Noah's flood) at different times; but there's only one final harvest season with multiple devastating events, not two separate, dramatic Advents.
The Greek word "Crisis" translated "Judgement" carries an inherent understanding that judgement includes selection – in other words, both the investigation and testing of those being judged as well as the selection of those who pass the test and rejection of those who do not. But even though investigation and testing comes before the selection, that doesn't mean the Messiah comes on two different occasions to complete the harvest.
Some bible scholars might point to one or two parables or paragraphs that imply a prior selection of the faithful and they call that the "invisible advent." However they ignore other passages that clearly indicate a prior punishment of the trouble makers before the rescue and reward of the faithful, e.g. Matthew 13:30 and 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10. So those who argue the rapture theory and read a two stage selection program into one or two verses are inconstant and selective in their reading of scripture.
8. Another faulty argument used to prove pre-tribulation rapture
Some say that Revelation 12:5 teaches the rapture theory because the word translated "rapture" (Greek = HARPAZO) is used in Revelation 12:5 to describe the resurrection of Yeshua. They say Revelation 12:5 is a symbolic description of all the saints going up to heaven in the last days because the word HARPAZO is used here. However, the word "resurrection" (Greek = ANASTASIS) specifically means rising up AFTER DEATH, or standing up from the grave, which is what happened with Yeshua. The word translated "rapture" (Greek = HARPAZO) does NOT mean resurrection, but in Revelation 12:5 it does symbolize Yeshua standing up from the grave and ascending to the Father. So if anyone wants to make Revelation 12:5 also a symbolic description of all the saints, then they would first have to die, as Yeshua did, before resurrection and ascension. Indeed, that's what so many other scriptures actually say – first death then resurrection. Paul realized he would have to face suffering and death. Philippians 3:10-11.
9. A better way to understand and resolve the puzzling contradiction.
We need to explain the ambiguity mentioned at the start – on the one hand, the Day of the Lord, or the Day of Judgement will be preceded by numerous warning signs and on the other hand it also comes without any warning. That's puzzling until we realize that these experiences refer to two different groups of people. One group are taken completely by surprise and the other are not; as described in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-9.
The different experiences result from the different ways people understand the world they live in and whether or not they believe the scriptures that describe what happens in the world and why. One group believe all events are caused by the Almighty Creator who controls or permits all these events including the people using technology and that the Almighty is working with His servants on earth towards a great plan and purpose for the world. They believe they should be obeying God and collaborating with Him in His great plan and purpose. They know to expect things to start looking troublesome in the lasts days of the kingdoms of this age and that they will have a role to play in the conclusion of the systems of this age.
Another group believe all events are caused either by people (often using technology) or by nature (without any purpose or goal) and there's no reason to ask if there's a God controlling or permitting all these events – they just happen by chance or are made to happen by people. When things go wrong it's just bad luck and if immoral or evil people cause trouble they feel they have to fight back and try to stop them.
10. How the two groups see and react differently
So when things start looking troublesome, the first group keep watching and waiting for their pre-arranged and recognizable signals to act on cue. They know what it's all about and they collaborate with God in His plan and purpose to bring down and replace the kingdoms of this age. When they see trouble in the world increasing they are excited to know that everything is going according to plan and that the Kingdom of God is near and about to replace the kingdoms of this age.
The other group, if they are concerned about things becoming troublesome, start getting frustrated, angry, fearful, suspicious, short-sighted or violent if they can't fix the problems. But the more fearful, suspicious, short-sighted or violent they become the worse their solutions for fixing the problems become. Serious thinking people who are interested in what's going on in the world and hope to help fix things up will resort to more drastic measures, using more technology. But many of the world's troubles are actually caused by the misuse and overuse of technology and therefore using more technology adds to the problem rather than fixes the problem. People in this group will be at complete odds with those in the other group and the clash in goals, beliefs and values only acts to aggravate the situation.
People in the first group are looking out for signs and planning what to do about the world's state of affairs but those in the second group (if they are concerned) are only paying attention to the problems and making the situation worse. They don't believe in any God and don't see any plan or purpose for the world, other than their own careers, comforts and entertainment, or their own ambitions to control and dominate others for personal gain. Even if and when the state of the world gets really disastrous as multitudes of people are dying from wars, famine, epidemics, pollution, weather extremes and earthquakes they make no attempt to ask whether there is any higher plan or purpose for everything they see going on. They keep doing what they have always done and keep getting what they have always got – for better or for worse and as things progress it will be for the worse. They become angry with anyone who talks about a higher plan and purpose for the world and brand them as parasites or lunatics.
In this situation a stage will be reached where drastic measures and the misuse or overuse of technology sets the ultra-complex system up for failure and then the whole system will fall down in successive waves of crashes. The collapse of our civilization will happen without warning for those who believe it won't happen or who believe it won't affect them. Once the collapse starts there's no chance of preventing it. But the collapse can be delayed awhile.
A Time of drastic, desperate attempts to prevent a crisis
The bible indicates that our great and complex civilization will not progress rapidly to complete ruin in one great crash. Instead as the cracks and creaking start there will be an attempt by those in control of global affairs to take drastic steps to prevent collapse, and the steps they take only delay but do not prevent collapse. These drastic steps to prevent collapse include the formation of one central government and authority for the control of all weapons, technology, healthcare, education, all military organizations and religious organizations for the whole world. Out of desperation and because there's no real alternative for them, most people will give their support to the central government and accept authoritarian control of all religions in spite of a loss of privacy, personal and religious freedom, loss of national sovereignty and private wealth. They worship and obey the beast because have no idea of God's plans and purposes.
Because the second group don't believe a collapse can happen or can affect them they will be unprepared for the collapse and will not survive. They trust in themselves and their technology. Collapse of modern civilization is simply not part of their vocabulary or thinking and will come as a massive shock and calamity – like a thief in the night.
But those who believe in and fully trust in God and His plans and purposes will understand that this is part of a higher plan and purpose for the world. They will not put their trust in technology and a central government and will not be taken by surprise when the collapse comes. They will have correctly read the signs of the coming collapse, made their preparation for escaping the distress of those days and will do what is necessary to survive and thrive. These are the ones who will build the foundations of the Kingdom of God in the age to come.
CONCLUSION: For one group the Day of the Lord, or the Day of Judgement of this world will be heralded by numerous signs and warnings (because their minds are tuned in and they are forewarned) so they will be prepared and take the right action to escape. For the other group it will come like a thief in the night without any warning. Even if the first group try to warn the second, they will be unable to see it. They will be consumed with their own lives and plans and fail to see God's plans and purposes. Or if they consider the possibility, they will conclude that God would never allow such a decisive and final Judgment of this world. They think God should and will ignore the increase in wickedness, so they just don't get it!
12. Preparing for our common future and victory over the beast
It's important to take note of EVERYTHING written in the bible.
"For he has set a day when he will judge the world." – Acts 17:31. That says "judge the world" not just the wicked!
"For it is time for judgement to begin with the family of God." – 1 Peter 4:17.
"The Lord's coming is near. Don't complain to each other, brothers, so that you will not be sentenced. The Judge is standing at the door!" James 5:8-9
Romans 14:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:10 say all the saints will also be judged.
Going through great distress and trial at the end of this age qualifies as Judgement but the rapture (the idea of an escape) does NOT qualify as Judgement. We cannot escape the coming judgement. But we sure can survive what's coming.
Can the Almighty Father rid the world of injustice, wars, fear, poverty, disease?
The Almighty Father YHWH (God) created this world. Can He rid the world of injustice, wars, fear, poverty, disease, crime, addictions, mental disorders, genetic deficiencies, pollution, natural disasters and all other causes of pain and suffering? Most say He can but very few believe He really will. It doesn't seem possible and being raptured or dying and going to heaven is much easier to believe.
YHWH (God) requires of His people to be righteous and holy.
We know that to be righteous means to be fair, honest, kind, responsible, etc, and these qualities are necessary. But Yeshua (Jesus) said they are not enough to inherit God's Kingdom. He explained that we need to be become model citizens of His Kingdom, taking on the right attitudes of humility, forgiveness, self-discipline, simplicity, reliability, service of others in service of YHWH. Many do understand righteousness, but we fail to appreciate what it means to be holy. YHWH (God) made an Eternal Covenent with Abraham and His descendants to establish for himself a holy nation. We think we follow the instructions of Yeshua (Jesus) when in reality we don't properly understand all that YHWH (God) requires and so we miss the mark.
The common notion of a holy person is one who wears certain religious items, observes certain religious rites and rituals on special days, regularly performs personal religious prayers and duties and does not mix with other groups but lives in relative seclusion. While these special religious practices may be useful for keeping up holiness, the essential concept of holiness is not so much the religious clothing, rites, prayers and special days but the practice of living with other similar people apart from the political, economic, legal and justice systems of the rest of society.
God's Eternal Covenent (as the foundation of holiness) establishes and organizes His specially chosen Community – the descendants of Israel living in the world but not entangled in its godless culture or taking part in its law enforcement practices, its wars and politics, or its ruthless exploitation of resources for piling up wealth and its excessive profiteering slave labour. Holiness requires building a radically different community and culture that promotes the values, attitudes and practices of God's Kingdom. That's what is meant by being the light of the world. Yeshua (Jesus) warned that It's very difficult but it's the heart of the Good News.
Most Christians understand why YHWH (God) requires them to be righteous – if nearly everyone in the world practiced righteousness then the world would really be a much better place. But we fail to understand why YHWH (God) requires us to be separate, which means holy. That seems anti-social, fanatical, counter-productive and illogical. So we choose not to do that. We think we are quite alright the way we are and miss the mark without realizing it. Does it matter?
YHWH (God) requires His people to be holy (separate from the rest) because that is the way that He will transform this corrupt natural order and rid the world of injustice, wars, poverty, disease, pollution, crime, addictions, mental disorders, genetic deficiencies, natural disasters and all other causes of pain and suffering. This world order, the kingdoms of this civilization are Satan's and they cannot function without the support of all the Christians and other good people. When our society and this world is chalenged and shaken by the separation of light from darkness, of the righteous from the unrighteous, the sheep from the goats, then and only then will we see a traumatic process of rebirth and be transformed from this present state into the new and perfect world that YHWH (God) planned from the beginning. "Church" means literally "called out." Disciples of Yeshua (Jesus) are called out from the kingdoms of this world to be spiritually transformed and become holy citizens of God's Kingdom in order for the global rebirth process to begin.
This is not my opinion, it's what the WORD of YHWH (God) declares. Most Christians fail to understand because we have been wrongly taught and so we fail to obey and fail to inherit God's Kingdom. We hope to be raptured and let others get on with it. So the Kingdom might not come in our lifetime but at least we will know why not. Or perhaps pray that YHWH (God) will send us prophets, as the WORD of YHWH (God) declares, to wake His people up and lead us into becoming a holy nation. There is great power in a righteous and HOLY nation.
Where will I be by 2015?
Posted on June 4, 2014 by mikamolyneaux
Because the decreed punishment by exile of 2730 years for the House of Israel, is over now, or at least very soon, then the Lord will act against the 'evil neighbours' that currently occupy the holy Land. Jeremiah 12:14 The Day of the Lord's wrath is also the Day He saves His people, Isaiah 30:26, so I expect the Call – Zech. 10:6-12, to come and we will travel to and live in all parts of the holy Land. Great will be that Day!


The cars such as Hafei were designed to be handled with care and then regularly maintained. To preserve the quality and comfort you made an investment in with your Hafei, it's vital to buy only the most reliable new OEM parts. Buyers who choose a Hafei realize that reliability and elegance are well worth every penny. Reliable parts will keep your vehicle going strong. When it comes to performance and value vehicle owners choose the engineering that is featured in every Hafei car. Hafei vehicles are renowned for featuring great looks, value, and performance that vehicle owners can rely on. Those who select a Hafei realize that performance and comfort are worth every penny. Quality parts and accessories are sure to keep your car or truck going strong. Luxurious and elegant cars like your Hafei were made to be used carefully and always regularly repaired and serviced. If you need to find parts by VIN number then we advise to use Hafei VIN number decoder to find a model.
Are you seeking for reliable Hafei parts online?
Hafei OEM and aftermarket parts are existed to choose from. Here on our web site you'll be able to find a huge collection of genuine Hafei parts and Hafei accessories. Just like our name suggests, we specialize in OEM Hafei parts. Needless to say, we provide Hafei parts to customers across the world. Factory OE Hafei parts are a great choice for your Hafei because they were made specifically to fit. Browse our site for great deals on Hafei auto parts and save today. Please do not heistate to reach out to us with any questions and problems you may have. We will do our best to help you. Hafei cars are reliable and so are the genuine Hafei parts we sell here on our web site. Hafei aftermarket and OEM parts is a unique source for high quality Hafei auto parts. If you plan to buy a used vehicle, then do not for get to find out more about Hafei problems, recalls and complaints to make a right choice.
Looking for Hafei tires or wheels ?
Check Hafei tire size to get complete specs and techical parameters.


text:
Tag Archives: election
1964: Malcolm X on "The Ballot or the Bullet"
[In the last year of his life, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (popularly known as Malcolm X), left the Nation of Islam and organized the Organization of Afro-American Unity. He launched a series of internationalist initiatives, including taking the denial of human rights of Blacks in the United States to international arenas (including the UN). His life was a series of extraordinary pathbreaking steps for Blacks and for people in the Americas, Africa, and worldwide. He spoke constantly, determined to open new initiatives and thinking for all who seek justice and freedom. One April 12, 1964, he delivered the following speech, (The Ballot or the Bullet) detailing the contrary pathways toward justice and debating the prevailing views at that time. While sections promote a black capitalist solution, more compelling are his comments on the nature of the state and the illusory prospects of change within the system, or the necessity of struggling against it. These comments continue to resound today, amid largely unchanged conditions. Malcolm X was assassinated (less than a year after this speech was given) on February 21, 1965, at the age of 39. — Frontlines ed.].
The Ballot or the Bullet (April 12, 1964)
Mr. Moderator, Reverend Cleage, Brother Lomax, brothers and sisters, friends…and I see some enemies. In fact, I think we'd be fooling ourselves if we had an audience this large and didn't realize that there were some enemies present.This afternoon we want to talk about the ballot or the bullet. The ballot or the bullet explains itself. But before we get into it, since this is the year of the ballot or the bullet, I would like to clarify some things that refer to me personally concerning my own personal position.
I'm still a Muslim. That is, my religion is still Islam. My religion is still Islam. I still credit Mr. Muhammad for what I know and what I am. He's the one who opened my eyes. At present, I'm the Minister of the newly founded Muslim Mosque, Incorporated, which has its offices in the Theresa Hotel, right in the heart of Harlem that's the black belt in New York city. And when we realize that Adam Clayton Powell is a Christian minister, he's the…he heads Abyssinian Baptist Church, but at the same time, he's more famous for his political struggle. And Dr. King is a Christian Minister, in Atlanta, Georgia, but he's become more famous for being involved in the civil rights struggle. There's another in New York, Reverend Galamison I don't know if you've heard of him out here, he's a Christian Minister from Brooklyn, but has become famous for his fight against a segregated school system in Brooklyn. Reverend Cleage, right here, is a Christian Minister, here in Detroit. He's the head of the "Freedom Now Party". All of these are Christian Ministers, but they don't come to us as Christian Ministers. They come to us as fighters in some other category. I'm a Muslim minister the same as they are Christian Ministers, I'm a Muslim minister. And I don't believe in fighting today in any one front, but on all fronts. In fact, I'm a Black Nationalist Freedom Fighter.
Posted in Abusive Police, Africa, African-Americans, Black Liberation Movement, COINTELPRO, FBI, Government Repression, infiltration, Jim Crow, Muslims, Police, Racial Profiling, Racism, reformism vs revolutionary politics, Slavery, U.S., violence	| Tagged black nationalism, El Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, election, electoralism, islam, malcolm x, muslim, pan-africanism, self-defense, self-determination | Leave a comment
Hong Kong's Leader: "Poor People Would Ruin Elections"
Posted on October 22, 2014 by reed
[The ongoing protests in Hong Kong continue in waves of intensity, as the protest struggles for greater organized strength and programmatic unity, and as supporters of the Hong Kong Chief Executive C.Y.Leung (a wealthy capitalist closely supported by the restored-capitalist/imperialist Beijing regime) continue to denounce the protests as a US/British plot. How it will develop, what changes it may bring, is yet to be seen. But in the meantime, C.Y. Leung who opposes the protester's demand for more inclusive electoral reform, has let an underlying and unspoken issue come to the surface: the question of class, of bourgeois rule, and the role of the poor. While elections cannot solve the problem of capitalist ownership of the state, classes and class struggle cannot be hidden from any major political dispute between state powers and the resistance of the masses.. — Frontlines ed.]
As protests continue in the crowded city of Hong Kong, thousands of immigrants and low-income families live in tiny subdivided units, unable to afford sky-high rents. Meanwhile, leader Leung Chun-ying lives a lavish lifestyle in an upscale community.
Hong Kong Chief Executive C.Y. Leung, as police march past
Leung proved today that he is not a "man of the people". Instead, he came off as an elitist out of touch with the realities of living in Hong Kong.
He said that open elections shouldn't happen because "many poor" might end up dominating politics.
Leung gave the interview to the Financial Times, The New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal and reiterated his position that free elections were impossible:
"If it's entirely a numbers game—numeric representation—then obviously you'd be talking to half the people in Hong Kong [that] earn less than US$1,800 a month. You would end up with that kind of politics and policies."
Leung made millions in real estate and has the nickname "emperor of the working class." Already he has been hung in effigy, depicted as Dracula, and openly told to go to hell during the protests in Hong Kong. Continue reading →
Posted in Asia, China, Chinese Communist Party, Economy-China, Hong Kong, People's Struggles-China, State Repression, Working Class	| Tagged chai yan leung, democracy, democratic, election, financial times, hong kong, Leung Chun-ying, Poverty, the Hong Kong Chief Excutive C.Y.Leung, the new york times, voting, voting rights, wall street journal | Leave a comment
US election: Who will wage — and win — the battle for full health care and reproductive rights?
Posted on November 5, 2012 by reed
[For all the talk of democracy that fills the air and sucks all the oxygen out of the air preventing honest discussion, the capitalist / imperialist system continues to maintain the system of bourgeois class rule with its essential pillars of patriarchy/misogyny/traditional familial property relations, white supremacy/black and brown oppression, xenophobia/exclusion/aggression, Christian club membership, and, bottom line, class exploitation and privilege.
At election times, competing candidates — who have been fully vetted (by the bourgeois powers-that-be) as potential administrators of these systems of power and privilege, oppression and despair — spew volumes of hype and fatuous solutions to the more contentious divides. But none, ever, speak to the root cause of these systems in the structures of capitalist power, which have invented and/or maintained these pillars throughout its time in power, (and have re-worked and re-branded, from time to time, these systems).
So, with the Democrats, there has been an embrace of the process of making full use of women workers, professionals, and technicians in service to imperialism. Upholding women's reproductive rights including abortion is a critical part of women's inclusion, BUT it has been steadily restricted (and in many places, practically eliminated and non-existent) on the resource level for poor, working, migrant, imprisoned, unemployed, black, brown, and undocumented women, under every recent President including Obama. There does not appear to be any effort by the Obama administration or the national Democratic Party to block and roll back these restrictive measures at the state level. Activists and pro-choice Democratic politicians on the state level have been losing round after round without help from their national party. In this sense, Obama and the national Democratic Party are silent partners and complicit in the growing restrictions on abortion rights. Obama Democrats have formally supported Roe v Wade but have still let the substantive rights go. But because rich and professional/petty-bourgeois women have not suffered the loss of reproductive and abortion services — and most people tend to look at these services through their access by privileged classes, (as that is how the mass media tends to frame the issue) — they are praised, though the poor have increasingly lost access to these basic health services.
The other capitalist/imperialist presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, in line with the Republican party program, has cast the issue as a formal rejection of public-financed reproductive rights, and toward the formal elimination of Roe vs Wade. Given the way power works, a Romney in the White House would likely appoint a fellow Christian misogynist to the Supreme Court, which could lead to elimination of Roe vs Wade. For poor women, this would mean the expansion of forced pregnancies and childbirth, and rapid re-establishment of illegal abortion mills on a massive scale. At the same time, for privileged women, abortion services would be concealed within readily available and re-named health services, and continued as a class privilege.
Some will vote against Romney this year with hopes that this will secure reproductive rights. But since this election bears no prospect of eliminating the systems of privilege and power which continue to require restrictions on reproductive rights, no electoral solution is at hand. Capitalism vs socialism is not on the ballot. In the period ahead, as grassroots forces organize and set an independent course from the degrading and confusing bourgeois electoral process, there must be an emphasis on building and struggling for grassroots health services, including contraceptive and abortion services. And the importance of developing programmatic unity on these issues — as part of fighting to establish free and complete medical service for all — is essential for the development of the revolutionary forces.
The following article from the New York Times (representing the bourgeois forces who advocate continued administration of the system by Obama) which argues the view that Romney's program would create more problems. — Frontlines ed.]
How Romney Would Treat Women
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF, New York Times, OP-ED COLUMNIST, November 3, 2012
IN this year's campaign furor over a supposed "war on women," involving birth control and abortion, the assumption is that the audience worrying about these issues is just women.
Give us a little credit. We men aren't mercenaries caring only for Y chromosomes. We have wives and daughters, mothers and sisters, and we have a pretty intimate stake in contraception as well.
This isn't like a tampon commercial on television, leaving men awkwardly examining their fingernails. When it comes to women's health, men as well as women need to pay attention. Just as civil rights wasn't just a "black issue," women's rights and reproductive health shouldn't be reduced to a "women's issue."
To me, actually, talk about a "war on women" in the United States seems a bit hyperbolic: in Congo or Darfur or Afghanistan, I've seen brutal wars on women, involving policies of rape or denial of girls' education. But whatever we call it, something real is going on here at home that would mark a major setback for American women — and the men who love them.
On these issues, Mitt Romney is no moderate. On the contrary, he is considerably more extreme than President George W. Bush was. He insists, for example, on cutting off money for cancer screenings conducted by Planned Parenthood. Continue reading →
Posted in U.S.	| Tagged abortion rights, election, health care, Obama, reproductive rights, roe v wade, romney, US, women's health, women's rights | 1 Comment
Obama's Destructive Foreign Policy and Black Disillusionment
Black Agenda Report, Tuesday, October 9, 2012
"It is painfully distressing to witness members of my community so willfully complicit with lethal war policies simply because they are coming from a brown skinned man," writes the author. "African-Americans' honorable legacy of opposing Euro-America's imperialist wars is quickly eroding."
by Solomon Comissiong
"We must undo the mental spell placed upon us by the Democratic Party and their Trojan horse – Barack Obama."
The anti-imperialist war legacy of African (black) people in United States is a rather long one. Most American born Africans have historically opposed Euro-America's bloody legacy of global military engagements aimed at everything from regime change to plunder to flat out planetary domination. Prominent African leaders like Fannie Lou Hamer, Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, not only opposed Euro-America's voracious appetite for death and destruction, by way of war – these leaders were outspoken in telling the world exactly why they opposed these wars. For instance, it was in 1967 at Riverside Baptist Church [5] in New York City that Dr. Martin Luther King said:
"As I have walked among the desperate, rejected, and angry young men, I have told them that Molotov cocktails and rifles would not solve their problems. I have tried to offer them my deepest compassion while maintaining my conviction that social change comes most meaningfully through nonviolent action. But they ask — and rightly so — what about Vietnam? They ask if our own nation wasn't using massive doses of violence to solve its problems, to bring about the changes it wanted. Their questions hit home, and I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today — my own government. For the sake of those boys, for the sake of this government, for the sake of the hundreds of thousands trembling under our violence, I cannot be silent."
Dr. King, like countless other Africans, simply could not accept the US's deadly imperialist war in Southeast Asia. It clearly weighed heavily upon his conscience. He was not fearful that his rightful opposition to the Vietnam War would greatly distance himself with President Lyndon Johnson – doing the right thing mattered much, much more. Dr. King was not alone; a critical mass of African people refused to support this war.Professional athletes, like Muhammad Ali, were also among the great number of Africans who took courageous stances, vociferously speaking out against the war in Southeast Asia. I say all this to, not only provide historical context, but also to contrast history to the present day.
"Dr. King was not alone; a critical mass of African people refused to support this war."
It distresses this African author to slowly come to the realization that African-American's honorable legacy of opposing Euro-America's imperialist wars is quickly eroding. This is by no means a rush observation on my part; my assessment dates back to 2008. It was in 2008 that a United States senator named Barack Obama was elected president. I was definitely within the minority of Africans who made the strong decision not to vote for either corporate candidate (Barack Obama & John McCain). Senator Barack Obama made it clear that he intended to expand the war in Afghanistan if he was elected – and he more than made good on that promise. This is merely one of the reasons I had for not supporting Barack Obama as president. And if there was no better option for me, I would simply not have voted in that election. I don't buy in to the lesser of two evils argument; if you do you are ultimately still voting for evil. Continue reading →
Posted in U.S.	| Tagged african american foreign policy, african americans and elections, black independence, election, foreign wars, Obama | Leave a comment
Haiti: Massive protests over fraudulent election
Posted on December 5, 2010 by reed
AlJazeeraEnglish | December 02, 2010
Port-Au-Prince, Haiti's capital, has seen the fourth consecutive day of protests over Sunday's presidential electons.
Al Jazeera's Sebastian Walker reports from the capital.
Posted in Haiti, Peoples struggles, UN-MINUSTUH forces, US domination	| Tagged camoflaged occupation, Demonstration election, election, fraud, haiti | Leave a comment
Massive fraud in Haiti's presidential election ignites protests
Haiti election polls closed in chaos, posted with vodpod
November 29 -Haiti's voting stations have closed amid the chaos and confusion that has marked most of the election.
Haiti on edge as credibility doubts taint elections
Haitians run on the street while tires burn during a protest in Port-au-Prince November 28, 2010.
By Pascal Fletcher
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – Earthquake-hit Haiti's political future hung in the balance on Monday after Sunday's turbulent elections were roiled by popular protests and repudiated by most of the presidential candidates.
The international community faces a difficult decision of whether to endorse the voting on Sunday that was at best confused and at worst flawed. This could complicate hopes of achieving a stable, legitimate government to lead the Caribbean country's recovery from a devastating January 12 earthquake.
A declaration by local electoral authorities that the polls had been largely a success flew in the face of widespread popular anger over voting problems and a public denunciation of "massive fraud" by 12 of the 18 presidential contenders. Continue reading →
Posted in Caribbean, Haiti, Peoples struggles	| Tagged election, haiti, protests | Leave a comment

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Louisiana is in a financial mess for a number of complicated reasons — including that former Gov. Bobby Jindal and the Louisiana Legislature passed budgets for years that used temporary funding for ongoing expenses.
For example, Jindal would use legal settlements or the profits from state property sale — money that wouldn't be available the following year — to cover the state's basic, ongoing bills. This created problems, because the money wasn't available in the next year to cover those same expenses.
In the current budget, Edwards says Jindal and the Legislature included $800 million of the so-called one-time money. Now, new funding must be found to replace that money for the next budget cycle.
Blanco initiated a rollback of what's called the Stelly Plan — a tax program approved statewide by voters in 2002. Jindal and lawmakers then fully trashed the initiative in 2008, during the governor's first year in office.
Named for former Lake Charles lawmaker Vic Stelly, the plan raised income taxes on mostly moderate-to-wealthy people and did away with a sales tax on food and utilities that disproportionately affected poor people.
It was passed and supported by Republican Gov. Mike Foster, but it had become a target for conservative talk radio by 2007, when lawmakers and Blanco passed the first portion of the repeal. Lawmakers and Jindal followed up by fully rolling back the Stelly plan the next year.
Albrecht said if Louisiana still had Stelly in place, the state would have about $800 million more in the bank each year. That amount of money would go a long way to addressing Louisiana's current $940 million shortfall and the $2 billion problem that exists for the next fiscal cycle.
The new Gov. John Bel Edwards is proposing raising taxes on booze and cigarettes to raise the money needed. If legislators can't solve the problem, there will be devastating cuts to higher education in the state. One state college said today that it might have to close before the end of the spring semester.
It gets worse. Next year's state budget is going to be short $2 billion.
A friend who is in a position to know — really — tells me that the main problem is Jindal's gimmicky budgeting, but it's also the case that there is an incredible amount of, yes, waste, fraud, and abuse in state government, especially in Medicaid (a point that the Republican state treasurer is now making). Gov. Edwards just took a swipe at Jindal, widely disliked, even among Republicans, for gallivanting around the country running for president while the state's finances stumbled toward collapse.
So, yeah, baby, your booze or your baccalaureate? That's where we are after eight years of Republicans in charge of the executive and legislative branches. Again, it would be inaccurate and unfair to say it was entirely their fault; some of this stuff is baked into Louisiana's constitutional cake. Still, eight years they had to fix this, to work on it, to lead. And … this.
Posted in Louisiana. Tagged Louisiana, state, legislature, budget, John Bel Edwards, Jindal.
By that measure Louisiana spends about $5800 and change per year, per resident. Reducing by $444 puts you at about $5400 per resident. Which just so happens to be the average spent per state, per resident.
So if Louisiana converged withe average state spending per resident, next years budget hole would be zero dollars.
Look. Maybe there are reasons Louisiana needs to spend more. But it's not obvious that the state is mired in Norquist-style anti-tax ideology. If it spent an average amount per resident the taxes it currently collects would be perfectly adequate to balance the budget.
Those horrible high-falutin' universities that have programs in LGBT studies also have programs in stuff like engineering.
But hey, I guess it's not all that important that your buildings don't fall down and the roads remain paved.