COMBINATION OF [1] THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [2]  DISCOURSE ON PARADIGM DIFFERENCES.   With the Scripture of the Day first.

[1] SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [104B]

The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.  Proverbs 15:28,  [authorized King James Bible; AV]

We need to use discernment with respect when is and when is NOT the right time to speak.  We should reflect on when is the right time to speak and discern whether the matter is serious enough to say something.  We should carefully ferret out the facts so as to know reality and not be speaking about something before we have all the facts.  False accusations can cause serious bad feelings and offend others very deeply.  It is never wise to approach the offender when we are upset and perhaps might speak a bit rashly and as Proverbs 15:29 says, “the heart of the righteous studieth to answer…”  So we must be patient and perceptive with others and speak the right words at the right time. 

[2] DISCOURSE ON PARADIGM DIFFERENCES: 

[b]INTRODUCTION TO PARADIGM DIFFERENCES:

This writing will contrast the differences between two religious organizations, one stuck in a paradigm rut for over 1,700 years, and one that 'thinks outside the box' and develops new paradigms to go along with new Bible learning.   It will show by the actions of the one stuck in the paradigm rut that in effect the Devil has gained control over it just as outlined in 2 Corinthians 4:4, "in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn [upon them]." (American Standard Version; ASV).   

Paradigm shifts are necessary for any individual and/or group who wishes to advance and most of all take advantage of new learning; however, most groups and/or organizations cling to outdated and usually wrong paradigms and throw up a wall to any incoming data that does NOT AGREE with their particular paradigm.    Now many may ask what is a paradigm shift and that is defined as is a change from one way of thinking to another. It's a revolution, a transformation, a sort of metamorphosis. It just does not happen, but rather it is driven by agents of change.    As in 1962, Thomas Kuhn wrote "The Structure of Scientific Revolution", and fathered, defined and popularized the concept of "paradigm shift" (p.10). Kuhn argues that scientific advancement is not evolutionary, but rather is a "series of peaceful interludes punctuated by intellectually violent revolutions", and in those revolutions "one conceptual world view is replaced by another. [source - Kuhn, Thomas, S., "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions", Second Edition, Enlarged, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1970(1962)].

Let's better illustrate this with an example by Kuhn on a paradigm shift some made when new data proved the old paradigm was wrong, and how one major organization opposed getting out of a paradigm rut, this will be later dealt with in detail.   "Agents of change helped create a paradigm-shift moving scientific theory from the Plolemaic system (the earth at the center of the universe) to the Copernican system (the sun at the center of the universe), and moving from Newtonian physics to Relativity and Quantum Physics.  Both movements eventually changed the world view. These transformations were gradual as old beliefs were replaced by the new paradigms creating "a new gestalt" [source - Kuhn, Thomas, S., "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions", Second Edition, Enlarged, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1970(1962) (p. 112)].

The resistance to the Copernican system by one organization stuck in a paradigm rut and the un-Christian extremes this organization went to under the control of Satan to kill the messenger.

Special note whose information will become very relevant after reading this article:

REALITY, a religious congregation does NOT have criminal investigation capability; nor does it have any other punishment it can melt out to proven evil offenders except throwing them out of the congregation.   It does NOT have the legal authority to incarcerate anyone or execute them.   The congregation’s primary responsibility is to serve Almighty God (YHWH) in spiritual matters.

Yes, of course evidence must be provided such as witnesses that such an act actually transpired and this for very good reason.  The preventing of false accusations against innocent people that occur with too great a frequency such as the criminal case in Texas where one man spent over 16 years in prison on the basis of only one witness,  only to be found innocent when advanced DNA technology proved him innocent.

Now, the society clearly does NOT have DNA technology, but instructs all alleged victims to report the matter to the appropriate civil authorities, i.e., police, sheriff, state prosecutor, etc.   Now really what more can a victim or congregation expect as a religious congregation is NOT a star chamber or criminal investigation unit.

Of course privacy with respect to handling congregation matters with respect to possible disfellowshipings (the throwing out of evil ones from the congregation) is required to
protect possibly innocent individuals falsely accused, and to give possibility for the evil one to reform.   A good example of a very evil one that reformed was Saul, who later reformed his way and was acceptable to Jesus (Yeshua) Christ to be appointed an Apostle, the Apostle Paul.   Hindering a person’s reforming definitely would be wrong and unloving.

Other religious groups try to cover-up wrong doing by transferring evil ones to other congregations that do NOT know of their evil ways, but NOT the JWs.


ORGANIZATION STUCK IN A PARADIGM RUT:

Let's look at a religious organization that became stuck in a paradigm rut that let Satan take complete charge of their organization to reinforce their paradigm rut instead of following Christian principles expressed by Jesus (Yeshua) at Matthew 22:36-40, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 And he said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second like [unto it] is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 40 On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets." (American Standard Version; ASV); and by what it says about his Father, God (YHWH) at 1 John 4:8, "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." (ASV).

--1 ST. EXAMPLE--

Now lets look at how this so called Christian organization got stuck in a paradigm rut, over pseudo-science with respect the Plolemaic system (the earth at the center of the universe) when they, if they were truly Christian should not even have worried over the latest flavor of pseudo-science thinking of the day.

This organization, while claiming to be Christ's organization on earth, caused great tribulation and even burnt some not believing their pseudo-science foolishness at the stake.  Let's look at one account of such activity where they burnt  Giordano Bruno at the stake for saying the earth revolved around the sun and not what they believed, that the sun revolved around the earth.

"Four centuries ago today, on February 16, 1600, the Roman Catholic Church executed Giordano Bruno, Italian philosopher and scientist, for the crime of heresy. He was taken from his cell in the early hours of the morning to the Piazza dei Fiori in Rome and burnt alive at the stake. To the last, the Church authorities were fearful of the ideas of a man who was known throughout Europe as a bold and brilliant thinker. In a peculiar twist to the gruesome affair, the executioners were ordered to tie his tongue so that he would be unable to address those gathered.

Throughout his life Bruno championed the Copernican system of astronomy which placed the sun, not the Earth, at the centre of the solar system. He opposed the stultifying authority of the Church and refused to recant his philosophical beliefs throughout his eight years of imprisonment by the Venetian and Roman Inquisitions. His life stands as a testimony to the drive for knowledge and truth that marked the astonishing period of history known as the Renaissance-from which so much in modern art, thought and science derives.

In 1992, after 12 years of deliberations, the Roman Catholic Church grudgingly admitted that Galileo Galilei had been right in supporting the theories of Copernicus. The Holy Inquisition had forced an aged Galileo to recant his ideas under threat of torture in 1633. But no such admission has been made in the case of Bruno. His writings are still on the Vatican's list of forbidden texts." [source - The Infinite Worlds of Giordano Bruno by Antoinette Mann Paterson, 1970].
So clearly this organization was stuck in a paradigm rut of their own making due to not obeying the word of, but the pseudo-science traditions of men that Jesus (Yeshua) warned against at Matthew 15:6, "he shall not honor his father. And ye have made void the word of God because of your tradition. " (ASV); and Matthew 15:3, "And he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? " (ASV).

Clearly this organization stuck in a paradigm rut since 325 A.D. when they first compromised true Christian belief to win the favor of a pagan Roman Emperor, Constantine, a worshipper of the Unconguered Sun rather than to follow the clearly given directions of Jesus (Yeshua) given at Mark 7:8, "Ye leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men." (ASV).   This also in clear violation of  Colossians 2:8, "Take heed lest there shall be any one that maketh spoil of you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ: " (ASV).   Now let's look at the facts of this compromise with the Devil in detail.

--2 ND. EXAMPLE--

Mainstream religions through the ages have anything in common be they so called Christian or pagan? Absolutely, history shows that one mainstream religion evolved into another one while maintaining many of the beliefs of the one before it, but simply changing the name of the God(s). No where is this more self evident than with respect to the doctrine of the Trinity. In has been with us since at least the time of ancient Sumeria as shown by The historian H. W. F. Saggs explains that the Babylonian triad consisted of three gods of roughly equal rank. Their "inter-relationship is of the essence of their natures." Is this positive proof that the Christian trinity descended from the ancient Sumerian, Assyrian, and Babylonian triads? (*1). No. However, Hislop furthers the comparison: "In the unity of that One, Only God of the Babylonians there were three persons, and to symbolize that doctrine of the trinity they employed...the equilateral triangle, just as it is well known the Romish Church does at this day." (*2).

Yes, the concept of a trinity has been a prevailing belief for a very, very long time perhaps longer than most Christians would imagine. While worshipping innumerable minor deities, triads of gods appeared in all the ancient cultures of Sumer, Babylonia, Egypt, India, Greece and finally Rome. The "mysteries" of the first universal civilization, Babylonia, were transported down in time. The names of the gods changed. The details of ancient incomprehensible religions changed, but the essential ideas were the same. The Sumerians worshipped Anu (the Father), Enlil (the god of earth) and Enki (the lord of wisdom). The Egyptians worshipped Amun who was really three gods in one: Re was his face; Ptah his body and Amun his hidden identity "combined as three embodiments or aspects of one supreme and triune deity." (*4 - page 201).

Now with respect the next evolution of mainstream religion, the Egyptian, Egypt's history is nearly as old as Sumeria's. In his Egyptian Myths, George Hart shows how Egypt also believed in a "transcendental, above creation, and preexisting" one, the god Amun. Amun was really three gods in one. Re was his face; Ptah his body; and Amun his hidden identity (*3). The well-known historian Will Durant concurs: "In later days Ra [sic], Amon [sic], and Ptah were combined as three embodiments or aspects of one supreme and triune deity." (*4). A hymn to Amun written in the 14th century BC distinguishes the Egyptian trinity: "All Gods are three: Amun, Re, Ptah: they have no equal. His name is hidden as Amun, he is Re before [men], and his body is Ptah." (*5). Certainly is not this positive indicator that the Christian trinity descended from the ancient Egyptian triads? However, Durant submits that "from Egypt came the idea of a divine trinity..." (*6). Laing agrees when he says that "it is probable that the worship of the Egyptian triad Isis, Serapis, and the child Horus helped to familiarize the ancients with the idea of a triune God and was not without influence in the formulation of the doctrine of the trinity as set forth in the Nicene and Athanasian creeds." (*7). And The Encyclopedia of Religions goes even farther when it states that as Christianity "came in contact with the triune gods of Egypt and the Near East, it developed a trinity of its own." (* .

The next evolution or more correctly one concurrent with the Egyptian but originating also from the early Sumeria was the Babylonian. A very important evolution of spread originated from the Babylonian trinity that ultimately spread to Rome by way of the Etrusans. The Etruscans were a group that all indicators indicate as having originated in Babylon. As they slowly passed through Greece and went on to Rome, they brought with them their trinity of Tinia, Uni, and Menerva (*9). This trinity was a "new idea to the Romans," and yet it became so "typical of Rome [that] it was imitated in the capitolia of Italy. . . (*7 - page 26)" Even the names of the Roman trinity: Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, reflect the ancestry. Is this positive proof that the Christian trinity descended from the Etruscan and Roman triads? No, but an extremely significant indicator of this fact. However, Dr. Gordon Laing convincingly devotes his entire book Survivals of the Roman Gods to the comparison of Roman Paganism and the Roman Catholic Church. (*7). Pelikan adds to Laing's work when he states that the early church fathers used and cited the Roman Sibylline Oracles so much that these were called "Sibyllists" by the 2nd century critic Celsus. (*10). There was even a medieval hymn, "Dies irae" which prophesied the coming of the day of wrath on the "dual authority of David and the Sibyl." (*10 - page 64-65).

Now let's consider the ancient Grecian world; And in order to fully understand it, we need to digress to gaining an understanding of the origins of the word Trinity and the two types that existed in the ancient world and evolved into the Trinity of mainstream so called Christian religions. First, the word trinity comes from the kemetic language. It consist actually of two words: hemt (three) and neter (which carries the concepts of gods). Therefore, Trinity defines a concept of three gods.

Ths pantheon of Gods is composed of two categories of Gods. We have the creator and self-created Gods on one side and the creator gods that are non autogenic on the other. The creator Gods that are self-created are those who form the first group of trinities. The gods that are not self-created then form the second group of trinities. The Gods of the second trinity exist only in the context of a group of Gods composed of a God-father, a Goddess-mother, and a God-son. They are somehow considered very close to the human nature. The original second group of trinities came from a story known as the holy drama, and is composed by a God-father called Wsr (Osiris) and a goddess-mother Aishat (Isthar or Isis) and the God-son Heru (Horus). It is the second group of trinities that taught humanity the concept of a family, giving a man and woman the idea of a spiritual union with the goal of procreation. We should observe that the importance of the trinities is such that they became a serious problem for the monotheistic religions that are stubbornly talking about the creation of the world by one single god while they are still maintaining the concept of a trinity.

The ancient Trinities of the Greek's were composed of the God-son Perseus, born from Zeus and Danae; Hercules born from Zeus and Alcmene; Apollo born from Zeus and Leto; Dionysos born from Zeus and Semele; Minos born from Zeus and Europe; Aesculapius born from Apollo and Coronis. (*11-A).

It if from an evolutionary merging of ancient Greek trinities and Roman trinities that in themselves partially evolved from the Greek, but with a precedence being taken by the Etruscans' of their trinity of Tinia, Uni, and Menerva. (*9). This trinity as previously mentioned, became the ancient Roman Trinity of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, which was campaigned by the mainstream religions of the empire of that era. Even the names of the gods in this Trinity reflect from whence it came. (*7). This one is of extreme importance to us of the modern era as it evolved into the Trinity of the mainstream so called Christian religions of today. This Trinity consisted of Jesus born from Yahweh and Mary. However, this new concept of trinities that is presented by the new Christian authorities only comes to add on the contradictions that were undermining the psychological stability of the human of the modern society. The Trinity of the modern time that the religions want us to accept is composed of a God-father, a God-son and a mother that is purely human and considered virgin. (*11).

However since the mother, the Virgin Mary, she is a human, she cannot be classified as a Goddess, and that will not complete the concept of trinity. In this evolution, the religious authorities had to use a little creativity to overcome this; the concept of personalizing the power or force of the supreme God (YHWH), Yahweh. To do this, something new had to enter the equation. What was this?

Whereas, the Gods of the first trinities stayed really far away from the philosophical and political arguments of the society, but the leaders used that fact to kind of drown them in the collective memory of the society. The world has been created in stages. The Gods of the first trinity are recognized by the fact that the first two of them have created the four elements (fire, air, water and matter) and the third God has used them to fashion and create everything that exists. The gods of the first trinity do not intervene in our daily lives, but they guarantee the harmony of the universe. They some-how occupy a very important place in the spiritual essence of anything that exists. By recognizing their exist-ence, we are illuminating the universal conscious on the makers of this world that we are trying to redefine. (*11).

At this point, we need to pause and regress a little. One may ask, How do we know these trinities are not just misrepresentations of the real threeness of God? (After all there were "flood stories" in every culture too reminiscent of the Genesis account.) Assyrian clay tablets now available have most strikingly confirmed the narrative of Scripture which give us revealing insight into our questions (*12). Where did the idea of a three-in-one God originate? After the flood, Nimrod a descendent of Noah's son Ham settled in Asia: "And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD and the beginning of his kingdom was Babel out of that land went forth Asshur [mar., "he went out into Assyria"] and builded Nineveh" (Genesis 10:8-11). "Mighty hunter" was the title given to the great conquering warrior-monarchs of the time. In rebellion of God's command to disburse and people the earth, Nimrod built the Tower of Babel, became very powerful and was even worshipped. We now know the ancient Babylonians worshipped the first person in the Godhead, the Great Invisible, also the Spirit of God incarnate in the human mother and also the Divine Son. Nimrod was this "Son," the first king of Babel, Babylon. And so in this the first notion of a triune God was born. (*7).

In the immediate centuries before the advent of Jesus Christ, we see Plato even in his deeply philosophical mode proposing a trinity of sorts. ("The Supreme Reality appears in the trinitarian form of the Good, the Intelligence, and the World-Soul"). Through all cultures, this perversion of the truth about God was handed down. (*7).

One God (YHWH), One culture, however, escaped this corruption of truth. From the line of Shem, Noah's other son, Abraham was called out of "Ur of the Chaldees" (Genesis 11:31; 12:1,2), the ancient Babylonian empire. His descendants were given the revelation of God by Moses from Mount Sinai. "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD" (Deuteronomy 6:4). No Hebrew scripture supports the idea of a trinity god. Some verses have been pressed into use by Trinitarians, but without success. For example, in the creation account, Genesis says, "God [elohim, plural.] created the heavens and the earth" (1:1). However, the plural does not have to do with number; it is "plentitude of might" (Pentateuch & Haftorahs, The Soncino Press). In any case, the verb "created" is singular, and would not indicate two gods, let alone three. Even the New Catholic Encyclopedia admits that the doctrine of the Trinity is not taught in the Old Testament (Vol. XIV, 306). And the world renown "International Standard Bible Encyclopedia" says, under the article on the Trinity in it, "The term 'Trinity' is NOT a biblical term....In point of fact, the doctrine of the Trinity is a purely revealed doctrine...As the doctrine of the Trinity is indiscoverable by reason, so it is incapable of proof from reason." (*14).

While he walked the earth, Jesus clearly acknowledged, "My Father is greater than I" (*15) and that it was his Father who sent him, "He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me" (*16). He consistently acknowledged God as the source of power for his miracles and finally implored his Father, "yet not my will but thine be done." (*17) he be the one sent and also the Sender and why would he pray to himself that not his will but His other will be done? It seems the Trinitarians only answer, "It's a mystery"?

If the trinity is supposed to be an unexplainable "mystery," why do the apostles always talk about revealing mysteries to Christians? "I would not have you ignorant of this mystery [about Jewish blindness] (*1 the revelation of the mystery (*19) the mystery hidden God hath revealed (*20 1 Corinthians 2:7) Behold I show you a mystery (*21) "having made known the mystery of his will" (*22) "to make known the mystery of Christ" (*23) "make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (*24), etc. So how did the Christian Church accept a mystery of a trinity? This will be shown in the next part.

--history of political intrigue and deceit that evolved the trinity into so called Christianity--

To understand how the Trinity wormed its way into so called Christianity we need to know the political and social climate of the first three centuries after the passing of Jesus (Yeshua) and his apostles, and why true faith deteriorated into compromise; and then total acceptance by the mainstream so called Christian groups, not withstanding its violation of the Word of God, the Holy Bible. Now let's look at that period and try an insert ourselves mentally into it.

In the early church the apostles needed to refute another rising belief system gnosticism. It considered matter to be evil and sought salvation through knowledge. Gnosticism also focused on the "mysteries" meant only for the intellectuals to understand. Christ, the gnostics said, entered Jesus at baptism and left just before he died on the cross. The Apostle John particularly addressed this budding heresy: "Many false prophets, have gone forth into the world, You gain knowledge of the inspired expression from God by this: Every inspired expression that confesses Jesus Christ as having come in the flesh originates with God, but every inspired expression that does not confess Jesus does not originate with God. Furthermore, this is the anti-christ's [inspired expression] which you have heard was coming, and now it is already in the world." (*25). Jesus' humanity was repulsive to gnostics. After the Apostles died, Christians responded to gnosticism by claiming not only did Jesus Christ come in the flesh as the Son of God.

By the third and fourth centuries, Christians were weary of Pagan persecution. The temptation was to compromise. Besides, the Pagan emperor Constantine needed Christians to salvage his shaky empire. Constantine embraced; howbeit only on his deathbed. However, he saw Christianity as a tool he could use to firm up his shaky empire. To this opportunity for political intrigue, and happy blend of politics and people was the chief triumvirate of Roman gods Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. Jupiter was the principal deity of Roman mythology and Juno was the next highest divinity. Minerva, the "offspring of the brain of Jupiter" was regarded as the "personification of divine thought, the plan of the material universe of which Jupiter was the creator and Juno the representative" (26). Many Pagan ideas, in fact, were incorporated into Christianity. "Christianity did not destroy paganism; it adopted it" (*26).

Roman Emperor Constantine needed to make his subjects feel secure if he were to maintain control of the empire; he wanted to rule a unified empire, be it pagan and/or Christian. But first he would have to find a way to end the dispute over the divinity of Jesus-was he a man or God? So he ordered his Christian bishops to meet at Nicaea in 325 A.D. to settle the matter once and for all. To do this, "he made himself the head of the church, and thus the problems of the church became his responsibilities. As a whole the Western Empire with its Roman influence, with some exceptions, had accepted Tertullian and his new theory of the Trinity in the early part of the previous century, but in the East the church adhered more closely to the older formula of baptism in the name of Jesus, or Jesus the Christ. Especially was this true with the Armenians, who specified that baptism "into the death of Christ" was that which alone was essential (*28) .

Now let's see how Constantine got the Trinity. As previously shown, The Roman Empire at this time was being torn apart by religious differences between pagans, mostly Sun God worshippers, and Christianity. Constantine the Emporer was a worshipper of the Unconquered Sun, but he was a very pragmatic individual and saw the need to bring religious unity to his empire. The central doctrine of the pagans was the dogma of a Trinity that they had received from earlier pagans in Babylon (Chaldea). In this, the pagan Emperor, Constantine, saw a possibility for unifying his empire if he could only lead the majority of the Christians to accept a Trinity or a Duality. He knew however that he had to make them think it was their own idea. To this end, he, the Roman emperor Constantine summoned all bishops to Nicaea, about 300, but even though it was the emperor's direction, only a fraction actually attended.

This council went on for a very long time and the emperor worked behind the scene to get support for a Trinity or a Duality. This effort was not completely successful, but finally he got a majority and declared under imperial degree
that this hence forth would be the central doctrinal pillar of the Christian church, which by this time was apostate. Even with this declaration by the emperor himself not all bishops signed the creed. (*29).

So is was the political product of an apostate church, an apostate church that allowed a pagan Roman Emporer, Constantine, to tell it which dogma to accept at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D., and then have it rammed down their throats as blessed dogma by another Roman Emporer, Theodosius, at the Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D. This in direct violation of God's (YHWH's) word found in the Bible " Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." (James 4:4 AV), " If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." (John 15:19 AV).


Their solution was to create a creed making it illegal for anyone to believe Jesus was not the same as God by inventing the notion of a Trinity. This intellectual tower remained in full force for well over a thousand years, until the Reformation. (*29).

Contrary to popular belief, it was not Constantine's fourth century Council of Nicea in A.D. 325 that formalized the "Doctrine of the Trinity." The Athanasian Creed in the fifth century finally included the three, "the godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost...the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal So likewise the Father is God, the Son is God and the Holy Ghost is God; and yet they are not three Gods, but one God." Furthermore, this creed added that belief in the trinity "is necessary to everlasting salvation." Strong belief led to action. "Probably more Christians were slaughtered by Christians in these two years ([A.D.]342-3) than by all the persecutions of Christians by pagans in the history of Rome." (*30).


The fact is so called Christianity never conquered paganism--paganism conquered Christianity. (*31).
[sources -
*1 - Saggs,H. W. F. "The Greatness that was Babylon: A Sketch of the Ancient Civilization of the Tigris-Euphrates Valley." New York: New American Library. 1968.
*2 - Hislop, Alexander. "The Two Babylons: Or, the Papal Worship." 1853. 2nd American ed. Neptune: Loizeaux. 1959.
*3 - Hart, George. "Egyptian Myths." Austin: U of Texas. 1990.
*4 - Durant, Will. "Our Oriental Heritage". New York: Simon. 1935. Vol. 1 of The Story of Civilization.11 vols. 1935-75. (page 201)
*5 - Hornung, Erik. "Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and the Many." Trans. John Baines. Ithaca: Cornell UP. 1982.
*6 - Durant, Will. "Caesar and Christ." New York: Simon. 1944. Vol. 3 of The Story of Civilization. 11 vols. 1935-75. (page 595)
*7 - Laing, Gordon Jennings. "Survivals of Roman Religion.". New York: Cooper Square Publishers. 1963.
*8 - The Encyclopedia of Religions.
*9 - Carter, Jesse Benedict. "The Religious Life of Ancient Rome: A Study in the Development of Religious Consciousness, from the Foundation of the City Until the Death of Gregory the Great." New York: Cooper Square Publishers. 1972. (page 16-19).
*10 - Pelikan, Jaroslav. "The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition" (100-600). Chicago: U of Chicago P. 1971. Vol. 1 of "The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine." 5 vols.
*11-A - heraldmag.org
*11 - Morodenibig, Naba Lamoussa. "Light From the Trinities."
*12 - Edersheim Bible History (page 59-62).
*13 - New Catholic Encyclopedia, (Vol. XIV, 306).
*14 - International Encyclopedia of the Bible," Vol. 5, (page 3012).
*15 - The New Chain-Reference Bible, 4 th. Ed. (King James Bible), (page 116 in NT, John 14:29)
*16 - The Holy Bible (King James Bible), American Bible Society, NY (page 10 in NT, Matthew 10:40).
*17 - The Holy Bible, The Douay Version of the OT-The Confraternity Edition of the NT, John C. Winton Co., Philadelphia, Pa., (page 109 in NT, St. Luke 22:42).
*18 - The Holy Bible, The Douay Version of the OT-The Confraternity Edition of the NT, John C. Winton Co., Philadelphia, Pa., (page 205 in NT, Romans 11:25).
*19 - The Holy Bible, The Douay Version of the OT-The Confraternity Edition of the NT, John C. Winton Co., Philadelphia, Pa., (page 210 in NT, Romans 16:25)
*20 - The Holy Bible, The Douay Version of the OT-The Confraternity Edition of the NT, John C. Winton Co., Philadelphia, Pa., (page 213 in NT, 1 Corinthians 2:7).
*21 - The Holy Bible, The Douay Version of the OT-The Confraternity Edition of the NT, John C. Winton Co., Philadelphia, Pa., (page 227 in NT,1 Corinthians 15:51).
*22 - The New Chain-Reference Bible, 4 th. Ed. (King James Bible), (page 202 in NT, Ephesians 1:9).
*23 - The New Chain-Reference Bible, 4 th. Ed. (King James Bible), (page 206 in NT, Ephesians 6:19).
*24 - The New Chain-Reference Bible, 4 th. Ed. (King James Bible), (page 210 in NT, Colossians 1:27).
*25 - New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, 1984 revision, (pages 1517 and 1519, 1 John 7; also 1 John 4:1-3).
*26 - McClintock & Strong's Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, Vol. 6
*27 - Lamson, Newton & Durant, Will, "Caesar and Christ," cited from Charles Redeker Caesar and Christ, W. Duran (page 595).
*28 - ENCYLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, 11th Edition, Vol. 3, (page 366).
*29 - Payne, Robert, "The Holy Fire: The Story of the Early Centuries of the Christian Churches in the Near East" (1957); BETHUNE-BAKER, J,F. "An Introduction to the Early History of Christian Doctrine". Methuen; 5th Ed., 1933 and ENCYLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, 11th Edition, Vol. 3, (page 366); David, Francis and Blandrata, Georgio, "De falsa et vera unius Dei Patris, Filii, et Spiritus Sancti cognitone" [Latin](The False and True Knowledge of the Unity of God the Father, Son, and Holy spirit), 1566 A.D.; Eklof, Todd F., "David's Francis Tower, Strength through Peace," (06-16-02); The New Encyclopedia Britannica: " Micropædia, Vol. X, p. 126. (1976); Parkes, James, "The Foundation of Judaism and Christianity," 1960; Durant, Will. "Caesar and Christ." New York: Simon. 1944. Vol. 3 of The Story of Civilization. 11 vols. 1935-75.
*30 - Durant, Will, "Age of Faith,"
*31 - Jonas, Hans, "The Gnostic religion: the message of the alien God and the beginnings of Christianity," 2nd ed., 1963.]

As we have seen how one so called Christian group has been stuck in a paradigm rut, a trap set by none other than Satan the Devil to ensnarled them and make them his followers whilst many of their members do not comprehend who has successfully controlled their group since 325 A.D. in a paradigm rut that becomes ever deeper and harder to break out of with each passing year.


ORGANIZATION NOT STUCK IN A PARADIGM RUT:

Now let's look at an example of a religious organization that is NOT stuck in a paradigm rut , but instead constantly studies the Bible, the Bible being the Standard for God (YHWH) acceptable religious belief and not creeds and doctrines of men.   While those so called Christian organizations who have fallen in the Devil's trap of a paradigm rut  are no longer true Christians; there is a group that is NOT a part of so called mainstream religion, as would be expected due to what futurist Joel Barker said paraphrased as follows, "Data that did not go with preconceived notions is filtered out and stops us from seeing reality or making break through solutions or developing new ideas or re-thinking and making corrections in previous ones to fit with new learning or data."

Since as the foregoing in this article clearly shows how most get into paradigm ruts we must look for a group that can make paradigm shifts as new learning and/or data is received to identify a true Christian organization.   Of course, this organization would NOT be a part of so called mainstream any more than 'break through' innovations in industrial science by industrial leaders in an industry.   Whereas, Nokia made the break-through to digital portable communications while being a small outfit on the fringe of mobile phone communications, but the former leader, Motorola, was still in the analogue mobile communications paradigm rut, a small religious group, Jehovah's Witnesses, was capable of making rapid paradigm shifts to come in line with advanced Bible learning and new MS (ancient manuscript) finds that mainstream groups ensnared in the Devil's paradigm rut traps could not make.

As an example, a long time ago they said, the following:

These two quotes from your early publications show what were the "mayor events" the JWs thought would take place:

1897 "Our Lord, the appointed King, is now present, since October 1874," Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 4, page 621.

1899 "...the 'battle of the great day of God Almighty' (Revelation 16:14), which will end in A.D. 1914 with the complete overthrow of earth's present rulership, is already commenced." The Time Is at Hand, page 101 (1908 edition).

Yet with new Biblical learning and study of recently found MS not only readily accepted the incoming data with no attempt to filter it out, but quickly were able to change their paradigms to be in accord with it as can be seen by anyone who reads their current publications.   They now realize the true significance of the marked year 1914 and also realize that Jesus (Yeshua) return would NOT be visible as they once thought.   They are the true Bible scholars as they continue to search and study all new information and input data with a view of NOT filtering out that which does NOT agree with their previous thinking, BUT WITH A VIEW TO BRINGING THEIR CURRENT THINKING INTO LINE WITH revealed new information.

Of course this is in line with what  Thomas S. Kuhn said in his book,  "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions", Second Edition, Enlarged, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1970(1962) when he said, my paraphrase, "Agents of change are driving a new paradigm shift today [such as Jehovah's Witnesses]. There signs are all around us testifying to this fact today.   For example, the introduction of the personal computer and the Internet have impacted both personal and business environments, and is a catalyst for a Paradigm Shift. We are shifting from a mechanistic, manufacturing, industrial society to an organic, service based, information centered society, and increases in technology will continue to impact globally.  Change is inevitable. It's the only true constant." [source - Kuhn, Thomas, S., "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions", Second Edition, Enlarged, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1970(1962)].

Update on 1/18/2011:

Vatican warned Irish bishops not to report abuse, Associated Press – 27 mins ago,  [source - retrieved from  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110118/ap_on_re_eu/eu_ireland_catholic_abuse on  01/18/2011]

DUBLIN – A 1997 letter from the Vatican warned Ireland's Catholic bishops not to report all suspected child-abuse cases to police — a disclosure that victims' groups described as "the smoking gun" needed to show that the church enforced a worldwide culture of covering up crimes by pedophile priests.

The newly revealed letter, obtained by Irish broadcasters RTE and provided to The Associated Press, documents the Vatican's rejection of a 1996 Irish church initiative to begin helping police identify pedophile priests following Ireland's first wave of publicly disclosed lawsuits.

The letter undermines persistent Vatican claims, particularly when seeking to defend itself in U.S. lawsuits, that Rome never instructed local bishops to withhold evidence or suspicion of crimes from police. It instead emphasizes the church's right to handle all child-abuse allegations and determine punishments in house rather than give that power to civil authorities.

Signed by the late Archbishop Luciano Storero, Pope John Paul II's diplomat to Ireland, the letter instructs Irish bishops that their new policy of making the reporting of suspected crimes mandatory "gives rise to serious reservations of both a moral and canonical nature."

Storero wrote that canon law, which required abuse allegations and punishments to be handled within the church, "must be meticulously followed." Any bishops who tried to impose punishments outside the confines of canon law would face the "highly embarrassing" position of having their actions overturned on appeal in Rome, he wrote.

Catholic officials in Ireland and the Vatican declined AP requests to comment on the letter, which RTE said it received from an Irish bishop.

Child-abuse activists in Ireland said the 1997 letter demonstrates that the protection of pedophile priests from criminal investigation was not only sanctioned by Vatican leaders but ordered by them.

"The letter is of huge international significance, because it shows that the Vatican's intention is to prevent reporting of abuse to criminal authorities. And if that instruction applied here, it applied everywhere," said Colm O'Gorman, director of the Irish chapter of human rights watchdog Amnesty International.

Joelle Casteix, a director of U.S. advocacy group Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, described the letter as "the smoking gun we've been looking for."

Casteix said it was certain to be cited by victims' lawyers seeking to pin responsibility directly on the Vatican rather than local dioceses. She said investigators long have sought such a document showing Vatican pressure on a group of bishops "thwarting any kind of justice for victims."

"We now have evidence that the Vatican deliberately intervened to order bishops not to turn pedophile priests over to law enforcement," she said. "And for civil lawsuits, this letter shows what victims have been saying for dozens and dozens of years: What happened to them involved a concerted cover-up that went all the way to the top."

To this day, the Vatican has not endorsed any of the Irish church's three major policy documents since 1996 on safeguarding children from clerical abuse. Irish taxpayers, rather than the church, have paid most of the euro1.5 billion ($2 billion) to more than 14,000 abuse claimants dating back to the 1940s.

In his 2010 pastoral letter to Ireland's Catholics condemning pedophiles in the ranks, Pope Benedict XVI faulted bishops for failing to follow canon law and offered no explicit endorsement of Irish child-protection efforts by the Irish church or state. Benedict was widely criticized in Ireland for failing to admit any Vatican role in covering up the truth.

O'Gorman — who was raped repeatedly by an Irish priest in the 1980s when he was an altar boy and was among the first victims to speak out in the mid-1990s — said evidence is growing that some Irish bishops continued to follow the 1997 Vatican instructions and withheld reports of crimes against children as recently as 2008.

Two state-commissioned reports published in 2009 — into the Dublin Archdiocese and workhouse-style Catholic institutions for children — unveiled decades of cover-ups of abuse involving tens of thousands of Irish children since the 1930s.

A third major state-ordered investigation into Catholic abuse cover-ups, concerning the southwest Irish Diocese of Cloyne, is expected to be published in the next few months documenting the concealment of crimes as recently as 2008.

Irish church leaders didn't begin telling police about suspected pedophile priests until the mid-1990s after the first major scandal — involving the Rev. Brendan Smyth, who had raped dozens of children while the church transferred him to parishes in Dublin, Belfast, Rhode Island and North Dakota — triggered the collapse of the Irish government. That national shock, in turn, inspired the first victims to begin suing the church publicly.

In January 1996, Irish bishops published a groundbreaking policy document spelling out their newfound determination to report all suspected abuse cases to police.

But in his January 1997 letter seen Tuesday by the AP, Storero told the bishops that a senior church panel in Rome, the Congregation for the Clergy, had decided that the Irish church's policy of "mandatory" reporting of abuse claims conflicted with canon law.

Storero emphasized in the letter that the Irish church's policy was not recognized by the Vatican and was "merely a study document."

Storero warned that bishops who followed the Irish child-protection policy and reported a priest's suspected crimes to police risked having their in-house punishments of the priest overturned by the Congregation for the Clergy.

The 2009 Dublin Archdiocese report found that this actually happened in the case of Tony Walsh, one of Dublin's most notorious pedophiles, who used his role as an Elvis impersonator in a popular "All Priests Show" to get closer to kids.

Walsh was kicked out of the priesthood by a secret Dublin church court in 1993 but successfully appealed the punishment to a Vatican court, which reinstated him to the priesthood in 1994. He raped a boy in a pub restroom at his grandfather's wake that year. Walsh since has received a series of prison sentences, most recently a 12-year term imposed last month. Investigators estimate he raped or molested more than 100 children.

Storero's 1997 letter — originally obtained by the RTE religious affairs program "Would You Believe?" — said the Congregation for the Clergy was pursuing "a global study" of sexual-abuse policies and would establish worldwide child-protection policies "at the appropriate time."

Today, the Vatican's child-protection policies remain in legal limbo.

The Vatican does advise bishops worldwide to report crimes to police — in a legally nonbinding guide on its website. This recourse is omitted from the official legal advice provided by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and updated last summer. That powerful policymaking body continues to stress the secrecy of canon law.

The central message of Storero's letter was reported secondhand in the 2009 Dublin Archdiocese report. The letter itself, marked "strictly confidential," has never been published before.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIBLE AND RELIGION - BOTH TRUE AND FALSE - AT    WWW.JW.ORG [/b]

COMBINATION OF THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND THE RARE FRUIT TREES AND VEGETABLES - LONICERA JAPONICA   With the Scripture of the Day first.

 
SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [92B]

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.  Hebrews 13:5  [authorized King James Bible; AV]

A group of warnings and blessings are dealt at Proverbs 28:18 – 28, [AV] that are for our guidance, “Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once.  19 He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vain persons shall have poverty enough.  20  A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.  21 To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread that man will transgress.  22 He that hasteth to be rich hath an evil eye, and considereth not that poverty shall come upon him.  23 He that rebuketh a man afterwards shall find more favour than he that flattereth with the tongue.  24 Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a destroyer.  25 He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat.  26 He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.  27 He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.  28 When the wicked rise, men hide themselves: but when they perish, the righteous increase.”  A prudent individual will pay heed to these admonitions.

[2] THE RARE FRUIT TREES AND VEGETABLES -  LONICERA JAPONICA

Here is a Commentary on Bountiful Trees and Vegetables God (YHWH) has provided for mankind, specifically the Lonicera japonica, Japanese Honeysuckle

Abundance: plentiful
What: flowers, vine tips
How: raw, cooked 
Where: boarders, landscaping 
When: summer 
Nutritional Value: minerals (Ca, K) and protein
Other uses: nectar source for bees & butterflies; basketry
DANGERS: THERE ARE SEVERAL DEADLY HONEYSUCKLES, SO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE SAFE-TO-EAT JAPANESE HONEYSUCKLE (LONICERA JAPONICA). 

There are approximately 180 different Honeysuckle vines on the plant, most of which are found in China and other parts of Asia. Edibility of the different Honeysuckle vines ranges from a delicious, commonly-eaten potherb to deadly poison, depending on the species. Here in the USA, Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) is actually from China but was brought to the United States about 200 years ago from Japan. It is often sold in nurseries as a landscaping plant but it has escaped into the wild in many areas, where it runs rampant due to a lack of natural enemies. Luckily it is one of the best honeysuckles in regards to edibility.

Lonicera japonica produces both yellow and white flowers with the younger flowers being white and then fading to yellow. These flowers always appear in pairs, with a four-lobed upper petal, a single-lobed lower petal and four stamen. The leaves are oppositely arranged (one on either side of the vine) and hairy both on top and underneath. The stem also has fines hairs on it. 

Japanese Honeysuckle flowers can be eaten raw and have a sweet flavor due to their nectar. Many child have discovered the joy of plucking honeysuckle flowers and sucking out their nectar from the bottom. The last four inches of the vines make a pleasant and nutritious cooked green when boiled that contain calcium, phosphorous, and protein. These vine tips are bitter when raw but cooking reduces the flavor to somewhat spinach-like.

In some areas of China, the Japanese Honeysuckle vines were used to weave baskets.    [sourc - retrieved from  http://www.foragingtexas.com/2008/11/japanese-honeysuckle.html   on  7/1/2015]

In Genesis 1:11-13, "And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after their kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. (American Standard Version, ASV)[for more details, go to  www.jw.org].

To view this plant, go to,  http://www.foragingtexas.com/2008/11/japanese-honeysuckle.html

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIBLE AND RELIGION - BOTH TRUE AND FALSE - AT  WWW.JW.ORG

COMBINATION OF [1]  THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [2]  JESUS (YESHUA) FULFILLED MANY PROPHECIES.   With the Scripture of the Day first.

[1]  SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [107B]

Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.  4  For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.   Psalms 139:3 – 4,  [authorized King James Bible; AV]

Almighty God (YHWH) has perfect knowledge of us, and all our thoughts and actions are open before him.  It is more profitable to meditate on truths found in his book of guidance for mankind, the Bible.  We should apply them to our own cases, and with hearts lifted to Him in prayer, than with a curious or disputing frame of mind. That Almighty God (YHWH) knows all things, and the truths found in the Bible should be acknowledged by all. Unfortunately they are seldom believed in by much of mankind. However, Almighty God (YHWH) takes strict notice of every step we take, every right step and every by-step. He knows what rule we walk by, what end we walk toward, what company we walk with.  As it is written at Psalms 139:16, [AV] “Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.”

[2]  JESUS (YESHUA) FULFILLED MANY PROPHECIES:

Many falsely claim the Jesus (Yeshua) did NOT fulfill prophecies made in the Old Testament, but they are just plain wrong. One such individual actually claimed that the Apostle Matthew was grasping at straws, and did not write about the actual fulfillment of prophecy, but let's take a look at the facts of a few actual fulfillments of prophecy.

No, Matthew was not grasping at straws, but wrote under divine inspiration. Also, you clearly overlook what the Apostle Luke said at Luke 1:26-38, "Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord [is] with thee. 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this might be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. 31 And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 And Mary said unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee: wherefore also the holy thing which is begotten shall be called the Son of God. 36 And behold, Elisabeth thy kinswoman, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her that was called barren. 37 For no word from God shall be void of power. 38 And Mary said, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her." (American Standard Version; ASV).

This individual, a Muslim, forget the prophecies at Micah 5:2, "But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting." (ASV).

The fulfillment of this prophecy is clearly shown at Matthew 2:1-6 as being fulfilled, "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, Wise-men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, 2 Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we saw his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 3 And when Herod the king heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ should be born. 5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written through the prophet, 6 And thou Bethlehem, land of Judah, art in no wise least among the princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come forth a governor, who shall be shepherd of my people Israel." (ASV), and Luke 2:4-11, " And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David; 5 to enrol himself with Mary, who was betrothed to him, being great with child. 6 And it came to pass, while they were there, the days were fulfilled that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son; and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And there were shepherds in the same country abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. 9 And an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people: 11 for there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. " (ASV).

PROPHECY: And the prophecy at Genesis 49:10, "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh come: And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be." (ASV).

And this was fulfilled at Matthew 1:2-16, "Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judah and his brethren; 3 and Judah begat Perez and Zerah of Tamar; and Perez begat Hezron; and Hezron begat Ram; 4 and Ram begat Amminadab; and Amminadab begat Nahshon; and Nahshon begat Salmon; 5 and Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab; and Boaz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; 6 and Jesse begat David the king. And David begat Solomon of her [that had been the wife] of Uriah; 7 and Solomon begat Rehoboam; and Rehoboam begat Abijah; and Abijah begat Asa; 8 and Asa begat Jehoshaphat; and Jehoshaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Uzziah; 9 and Uzziah begat Jotham; and Jotham begat Ahaz; and Ahaz begat Hezekiah; 10 and Hezekiah begat Manasseh; and Manasseh begat Amon; and Amon begat Josiah; 11 and Josiah begat Jechoniah and his brethren, at the time of the carrying away to Babylon. 12 And after the carrying away to Babylon, Jechoniah begat Shealtiel; and Shealtiel begat Zerubbabel; 13 and Zerubbabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; 14 and Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; 15 and Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob; 16 and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ." (ASV), and Luke 3:23-33, "And Jesus himself, when he began [to teach], was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the [son] of Heli, 24 the [son] of Matthat, the [son] of Levi, the [son] of Melchi, the [son] of Jannai, the [son] of Joseph, 25 the [son] of Mattathias, the [son] of Amos, the [son] of Nahum, the [son] of Esli, the [son] of Naggai, 26 the [son] of Maath, the [son] of Mattathias, the [son] of Semein, the [son] of Josech, the [son] of Joda, 27 the [son] of Joanan, the [son] of Rhesa, the [son] of Zerubbabel, the [son] of Shealtiel, the [son] of Neri, 28 the [son] of Melchi, the [son] of Addi, the [son] of Cosam, the [son] of Elmadam, the [son] of Er, 29 the [son] of Jesus, the [son] of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the [son] of Matthat, the [son] of Levi, 30 the [son] of Symeon, the [son] of Judas, the [son] of Joseph, the [son] of Jonam, the [son] of Eliakim, 31 the [son] of Melea, the [son] of Menna, the [son] of Mattatha, the [son] of Nathan, the [son] of David, 32 the [son] of Jesse, the [son] of Obed, the [son] of Boaz, the [son] of Salmon, the [son] of Nahshon, 33 the [son] of Amminadab, the [son] of Arni, the [son] of Hezron, the [son] of Perez, the [son] of Judah," (ASV), and Hebrews 7:14, "For it is evident that our Lord hath sprung out of Judah; as to which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priests." (ASV).

PROPHECY: Let's consider the prophecy at Jeremiah 23:5-6, "Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called: Jehovah our righteousness." (ASV).

And its fulfillment at Matthew 1:1, "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham" (ASV), and Luke 1:30-32, "And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. 31 And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:" (ASV), and Luke 2:4, "And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David;" (ASV), and Luke 3:23-31, "And Jesus himself, when he began [to teach], was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the [son] of Heli, 24 the [son] of Matthat, the [son] of Levi, the [son] of Melchi, the [son] of Jannai, the [son] of Joseph, 25 the [son] of Mattathias, the [son] of Amos, the [son] of Nahum, the [son] of Esli, the [son] of Naggai, 26 the [son] of Maath, the [son] of Mattathias, the [son] of Semein, the [son] of Josech, the [son] of Joda, 27 the [son] of Joanan, the [son] of Rhesa, the [son] of Zerubbabel, the [son] of Shealtiel, the [son] of Neri, 28 the [son] of Melchi, the [son] of Addi, the [son] of Cosam, the [son] of Elmadam, the [son] of Er, 29 the [son] of Jesus, the [son] of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the [son] of Matthat, the [son] of Levi, 30 the [son] of Symeon, the [son] of Judas, the [son] of Joseph, the [son] of Jonam, the [son] of Eliakim, 31 the [son] of Melea, the [son] of Menna, the [son] of Mattatha, the [son] of Nathan, the [son] of David," (ASV).

PROPHECY: And the prophecy that a virgin would give birth was clearly prophecied at Isaiah 7:14, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (ASV).

And the fulfillment of this is found at Matthew 1:18-25, "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. 20 But when he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she shall bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name JESUS; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, And they shall call his name Immanuel; which is, being interpreted, God with us. 24 And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took unto him his wife; 25 and knew her not till she had brought forth a son: and he called his name JESUS." (ASV).

PROPHECY: And that he would carry our weaknesses as shown at Isaiah 53:4, "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted." (ASV).

And its fulfillment shown at Matthew 8:16, "And when even was come, they brought unto him many possessed with demons: and he cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all that were sick: " (ASV).

PROPHECY: And that he would ride on an ass and enter Jerusalem as testified to at Zechariah 9:9, " Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy king cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass." (ASV).

This was fulfilled as shown by Matthew 21:1-9, "And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and came unto Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying unto them, Go into the village that is over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose [them], and bring [them] unto me. 3 And if any one say aught unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 4 Now this is come to pass, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, 5 Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, Meek, and riding upon an ass, And upon a colt the foal of an ass. 6 And the disciples went, and did even as Jesus appointed them, 7 and brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their garments; and he sat thereon. 8 And the most part of the multitude spread their garments in the way; and others cut branches from the trees, and spread them in the way. 9 And the multitudes that went before him, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed [is] he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. " (ASV); and at Mark 11:7-11, "And they bring the colt unto Jesus, and cast on him their garments; and he sat upon him. 8 And many spread their garments upon the way; and others branches, which they had cut from the fields. 9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, Hosanna; Blessed [is] he that cometh in the name of the Lord: 10 Blessed [is] the kingdom that cometh, [the kingdom] of our father David: Hosanna in the highest. 11 And he entered into Jerusalem, into the temple; and when he had looked round about upon all things, it being now eventide, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve. " (ASV); and at Luke 19:28-38, "And when he had thus spoken, he went on before, going up to Jerusalem. 29 And it came to pass, when he drew nigh unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, Go your way into the village over against [you]; in which as ye enter ye shall find a colt tied, whereon no man ever yet sat: loose him, and bring him. 31 And if any one ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say, The Lord hath need of him. 32 And they that were sent went away, and found even as he had said unto them. 33 And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? 34 And they said, The Lord hath need of him. 35 And they brought him to Jesus: and they threw their garments upon the colt, and set Jesus thereon. 36 And as he went, they spread their garments in the way. 37 And as he was now drawing nigh, [even] at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen; 38 saying, Blessed [is] the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. " (ASV).

PROPHECY: And Psalms 118:22, "The stone which the builders rejected Is become the head of the corner." (ASV).

And its fulfillment shown at Acts 3:14 & 4::11, "But ye denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted unto you" (ASV) & "He is the stone which was set at nought of you the builders, which was made the head of the corner." (ASV); and at 1 Peter 2:7, "For you therefore that believe is the preciousness: but for such as disbelieve, The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner; " (ASV).

PROPHECY: And Isaiah 53:12, "Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors: yet he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (ASV).

And its fulfillment at Matthew 26:55-56, "In that hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a robber with swords and staves to seize me? I sat daily in the temple teaching, and ye took me not. 56 But all this is come to pass, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples left him, and fled." (ASV); and Matthew 27:38, "Then are there crucified with him two robbers, one on the right hand and one on the left." (ASV); and Mark 14:48-49, "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a robber, with swords and staves to seize me? 49 I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not: but [this is done] that the scriptures might be fulfilled." (ASV); and Mark 15:27, " And with him they crucify two robbers; one on his right hand, and one on his left." (ASV).

PROPHECY: Psalms 34:20, "He keepeth all his bones: Not one of them is broken." (ASV).

And its fulfillment at John 19:33-36, " but when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: 34 howbeit one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and straightway there came out blood and water. 35 And he that hath seen hath borne witness, and his witness is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye also may believe. 36 For these things came to pass, that the scripture might be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken." (ASV).

PROPHECY: And Isaiah 53:9, "And they made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth." (ASV).

And its fulfillment at Matthew 27:38 & 57-60, "Then are there crucified with him two robbers, one on the right hand and one on the left." (ASV) & "57 And when even was come, there came a rich man from Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: 58 this man went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded it to be given up. 59 And Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed." (ASV).

PROPHECY: And Psalms 16:10, "For thou wilt not leave my soul to Sheol; Neither wilt thou suffer thy holy one to see corruption. " (ASV).

And it fulfillment at Acts 2:25-32 & 13:34-37, "For David saith concerning him, I beheld the Lord always before my face; For he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 26 Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; Moreover my flesh also shall dwell in hope: 27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul unto Hades, Neither wilt thou give thy Holy One to see corruption. 28 Thou madest known unto me the ways of life; Thou shalt make me full of gladness with thy countenance. 29 Brethren, I may say unto you freely of the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us unto this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins he would set [one] upon his throne; 31 he foreseeing [this] spake of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he left unto Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption." (ASV) & "And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he hath spoken on this wise, I will give you the holy and sure [blessings] of David. 35 Because he saith also in another [psalm], Thou wilt not give Thy Holy One to see corruption. 36 For David, after he had in his own generation served the counsel of God, fell asleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: 37 but he whom God raised up saw no corruption." (ASV).

PROPHECY: And Deuteronomy 18:18-19, " I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him." (ASV).

And its fulfillment at Matthew 21:11, "And the multitudes said, This is the prophet, Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee." (ASV); and Luke 7:16, "And fear took hold on all: and they glorified God, saying, A great prophet is arisen among us: and, God hath visited his people." (ASV); and at Acet 3:19-24, " Repent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord; 20 and that he may send the Christ who hath been appointed for you, [even] Jesus: 21 whom the heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, whereof God spake by the mouth of His holy prophets that have been from of old. 22 Moses indeed said, A prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you from among your brethren, like unto me. To him shall ye hearken in all things whatsoever he shall speak unto you. 23 And it shall be, that every soul that shall not hearken to that prophet, shall be utterly destroyed from among the people. 24 Yea and all the prophets from Samuel and them that followed after, as many as have spoken, they also told of these days." (ASV).

As can readily be seen, Jesus (Yeshua) fulfilled many prophecies of which a few were given to illustrate this fact, so once more remember 2 Timothy 3:16, "Every scripture inspired of God [is] also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness." (ASV).

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIBLE AND RELIGION - BOTH TRUE AND FALSE - AT  WWW.JW.ORG

COMBINATION OF [1]  THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [2]  EVOLUTION DISPROVED BY MATHEMATICS AND THE INFRASTRUCTURE.   With the Scripture of the Day first.

[1]  SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [108B]

Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.  4  For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.   Psalms 139:3 – 4,  [authorized King James Bible; AV]

Almighty God (YHWH) has perfect knowledge of us, and all our thoughts and actions are open before him.  It is more profitable to meditate on truths found in his book of guidance for mankind, the Bible.  We should apply them to our own cases, and with hearts lifted to Him in prayer, than with a curious or disputing frame of mind. That Almighty God (YHWH) knows all things, and the truths found in the Bible should be acknowledged by all. Unfortunately they are seldom believed in by much of mankind. However, Almighty God (YHWH) takes strict notice of every step we take, every right step and every by-step. He knows what rule we walk by, what end we walk toward, what company we walk with.  As it is written at Psalms 139:16, [AV] “Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.”   

[2]  EVOLUTION DISPROVED BY MATHEMATICS AND THE INFRASTRUCTURE:

Let's face the fact that you must have a support system there to sustain life once it arrives, and this would be another system that must come into existence simultaneously with life for it to continue once it was created in some manner. As shown, just the possibility of life coming into existence is, as shown by Dr. Roger Penrose, a famous British mathematician and Oxford fellow, is 10 to the 123 a number so large as to stagger the imagination. Or consider: 103 means 1,000, a thousand. 10 to 103 zerosis a number that that has 1 followed by 1000 zeros. If there are six zeros, it's called a million; if nine, a billion; if twelve, a trillion and so on. There is not even a name for a number that has 1 followed by 10 to 123 zeros. And that it is a well known in practical mathematical probability reality that, a probability of 1 in 10 to 50 zeros means "zero probability". Penrose's number is more than trillion trillion trillion times less than that. In short, Penrose's number tells us that the 'accidental" or "coincidental" creation of our universe is an impossibility.

Now let's consider in light of this the possibility of the support system to sustain life once it arrives would also have the same probability and what this means in overall probability terms under mathematical permeations and combinations. If life only has one chance in 10 to 123 zeros of arriving and one chance of the support system being there to sustain it of the same probability, this would mean a joint probability of 10 to 15129 zeros. Therefore, if we have a probability of 1 in 10 to 50 zeros meaning "zero probability" which would mean zero (0) probability of life arriving given that it has 10 to 123 possibility, the possibility of both being there, that is life arriving along with the infrastructure to support it of 10 to 15129 zeros, it is absurd to even consider this even a remote possibility even given infinite time, even more so than 10 to 123 zeros.

Therefore, we can clued at Dr. Roger Pemrose did that that life is the product specific of a Creator (YHWH). How precise the Creator's aim must have been, namely to an accuracy of one part in 10 to123. As Dr. Roger Pemrose noted in his research article on the subject that this is an extraordinary figure. As another writer, Harun Yahya, noted, One could not possibly even write the number down in full in the ordinary denary notation: it would be 1 followed by 10 to 123 successive 0's. Even if we were to write a 0 on each separate proton and on each separate neutron in the entire universe- and we could throw in all the other particles for good measure- we should fall far short of writing down the figure needed.

In fact in order to recognize that the universe is not a "product of coincidences" one does not really need any of these calculations at all. Simply by looking around himself, a person can easily perceive the fact of creation in even the tiniest details of what he sees. How could a universe like this, perfect in its systems, the sun, the earth, people, houses, cars, trees, flowers, insects, and all the other things in it ever have come into existence as the result of atoms falling together by chance after an explosion? Every detail we peer at shows the evidence of God's existence and supreme power. Only people who reflect can grasp these signs.[source - The Equilibrium in the Explosion, by Harun Yahya ]

For further visual proof, just look at the common fig tree, a part of the necessary infrastructure to support life as we know it. The Bible says the following with respect the fig tree in the old testament:

Deuteronomy 8:8 - (Authorized King James; AV)
A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;

Judges 9:10 - (AV)
And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us.

Judges 9:11 - (AV)
But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?

1Kings 4:24 - (AV)
And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

2Kings 18:31 - (AV)
Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern:

Psalms 105:33 - (AV)
He smote their vines also and their fig trees; and brake the trees of their coasts.

Proverbs 27:18 - (AV)
Whoso keepeth the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof: so he that waiteth on his master shall be honoured.

Song of Soloman 2:13 - (AV)
The fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.

Isaiah 34:4 - (AV)
And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.

Isaiah 36:16 - (AV)
Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me: and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern;

Jermiah 5:17 - (AV)
And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.

Jermiah 8:13 - (AV)
I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.

Hosea 2:12 - (AV)
And I will destroy her vines and her fig trees, whereof she hath said, These are my rewards that my lovers have given me: and I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall eat them.

Hosea 9:10 - (AV)
I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.

Joel 1:7 - (AV)
He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.

Joel 1:12 - (AV)
The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.

Joel 2:22 - (AV)
Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.

Amos 4:9 - (AV)
I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD.

Micah 4:4 - (AV)
But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it.

The fig tree is one of the marvels of creation that shows that the Creator (YHWH) provided an amazing infrastructure for human life before he created man as stated at Genesis 1:11-12, "And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, F3 the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good." (AV).

The fig tree is one of the marvels of creation by Almighty God (YHWH). Many evolutionist claim life came about by chance reaction of elements to form low levels of life, but forget that the food for any life form must also be present for life to be sustained. Therefore, the fact that food sources, plants, were available at the right time, when an animal or reptile life form came into existence proves a higher power or intelligence was behind the appearance of life on the planet earth. Also, the right atmosphere must be present or the life form can not continue to exist; many other things must be present for a life form to succeed which the evolutionist conveniently forgot about or failed to take into account; therefore, the only answer is God (YHWH) as stated at Genesis 1:20, "And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven." (American Standard Version; ASV).

The fig tree played a major part in life at the time of Jesus (Yeshua) and he used it in several powerful illustrations such as at Matthew 21:19-21, "And seeing a fig tree by the way side, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only; and he saith unto it, Let there be no fruit from thee henceforward for ever. And immediately the fig tree withered away. 20 And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How did the fig tree immediately wither away? 21 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do what is done to the fig tree, but even if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou taken up and cast into the sea, it shall be done." (ASV)

The cursing of the fig tree, in Matthew 21:19, is explained by the fact that the fruit of this tree appears before the leaves, and a tree so full of leaves indicated that ripe figs should be there even though it was not yet the regular season. The meaning is then, that when one has the outward show of a good character, without its fruits, he is but a hypocrite, and of no value to the kingdom of God.

The fig tree and its fruit are well known; they were very common in Palastine, and there is mention often made of then in scripture. Our first parents clothed themselves with fig leaves, Genesis 3:7, "And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons." (ASV). The prophet Isaiah gave orders to apply a clump of figs to Hezekiah's boil: at 2 Kings 20:7, "And Isaiah said, Take a cake of figs, And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered." (ASV).

Scientifically the fig is ficus carica. It is a somewhat strange fruit since it is actually a collection of many fruits which grow, not in a flat umbel or from a cluster of stems as many fruits do, but inside of a fleshly receptacle. The outer wall of the fig is actually a stem with a specialized shape. It forms a cavity, in some cases almost closed, in which sprout a number of tiny flowers, some male and some female. In the Smyrna fig, this cavity is almost closed at the bottom end-the end which, in apples or pears, would correspond to the blossom end. And since Smyrnas bear only female flowers, it would seem that they would be doomed to falling, infertile, from the tree each year, for lack of pollination. Which is exactly what does happen without the aid of a specialized wasp, the fig wasp, or Blastophaga psenes, which has been busy fertilizing this type of fig for many centuries in the Old world. It was not unto this was understood and the wasp was imported to this country, that Smyrna figs were successfully grown here.

However the climate which favors the culture of fig trees is not always cogenial to the fig wasp. In this country the trees may be grown where the temperature does not go below 20 degrees for extended periods. While in its completely dormant state, the tree will sometimes even survive temperatures as low as 10 to 15 degrees, though after the buds start to swell, they will be damaged at 28 to 30 degrees. The wasps, unfortunately cannot stand this cold.

However, the common fig, in contrast to the Smyrnas fig, produces its fruit asexually and any pollination or seed development which follows is not necessary to the production of fruit. Trees of the San Pedro group produce two crops, the first asexually and the second which must be fertilized by pollen from the caprifig. These two types of trees are recommended for home gardeners, even those who live in mild climates where the wasps can grow.

Fig trees are rapid growing like many tropical plants. Under favorable conditions, cuttings of certain varieties may be raised to tree size and bear a crop in the first year. I believe the easiest to grow for the home gardener are the Brown Turkey, Celeste, and the Green Ischia. When I lived in Charleston, South Carolina, I had two wonderful Celeste fig trees. One grew 20 ft. high and covered one side of a not so beautiful shead.

Besides producing a bountiful crop, fig trees, especially the Brown Turkey and the Celeste make very beautiful additions to the landscape with their large green leaves giving a tropical garden effect; however they will not grow much further north than Durham, North Carolina. If you decide to grow figs, please do NOT give them too much fertilizer, because if you do you will get plenty of leaves, but very little fruit. Also, do NOT grow on soil where cotton has ever been grown as a disease that cotton puts into the ground, cotton root rot, will kill the plant in time. Also supply sufficient water in hot dry weather, but not too much. In reality the tree does not require a lot of attention and few insects bother it extensively.

Once more, with the need of the Smyrnas fig for its relationship with the fig wasp shows the marvels of creation and that evolutionist are in error.

If you decide to grow figs or any of the other fruits I write about, please post your results and suggestions for all to see.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIBLE AND RELIGION - BOTH TRUE AND FALSE - AT    WWW.JW.ORG

COMBINATION OF [1]  THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [2]  DISCOURSE ON THE RANSOM PAID BY CHRIST ON OUR BEHALF.   With the Scripture of the Day first.

[1]  SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [110B]

For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.  Hebrews 7:19,  [authorized King James Bible; AV]

Yes, we need to draw close to Almighty God (YHWH), but in order to do so, we need four things, which are as follows:

1 – Knowledge which can be gained from His book of guidance for mankind.

2 – We must fulfill His commandments found at Matthew 28:19 - 20, [AV] “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

3 – We must continue to learn as shown by 1 Corinthians 14:20, {Rotherham Bible; RB] “Brethren! do not become children, in your understandings; but, in baseness, become babes, while, in your understandings, ye become, full–grown.”

4 – We must strive to help others become strong in the faith just as the Apostle Paul did.   

[2]  DISCOURSE ON THE RANSOM PAID BY CHRIST ON OUR BEHALF:

INTRODUCTION:       

This interesting article on the Ransom paid by Christ on our behalf will be in an unusual style, solely by scriptures from the Bible, God's (YHWH's) word for mankind to provide a guidance or standard for mankind to live by. The scriptures will be taken from two very different translational style Bibles so as to give the reader the flavor of both a standard Christian translation, The American Standard Version (ASV) and that of a Messianic Jewish Translation, The Complete Jewish Bible, published by the Jewish Net Testament Publications (TCJB). It uses scripture alone to tell the story of the Ransome paid by Christ on our behalf.

THE SCRIPTURAL STORY:

Ransome price corresponds to the perfect human life lost by Adam's disobedience:

1 Timothy 2:5-6, "For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, [himself] man, Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself a ransom for all; the testimony [to be borne] in its own times;" (American Standard Version; ASV)

Philippians 2:5-6, "but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; 8 and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient [even] unto death, yea, the death of the cross." (ASV).

1 Corinthians 15:22, "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive." (ASV).

Christ died to provide a ransom to open the way to everlasting life for all who would believe:

Ephesians 1:3-7, "Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ: 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love: 5 having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved: 7 in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace," (ASV).

John 3:16-18, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him. 18 He that believeth on him is not judged: he that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God." (ASV).

1 John 4:9-10, "Herein was the love of God manifested in us, that God hath sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins." (ASV)

John 3:36, "He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. " (ASV).

1 Timothy 2:5-6, "For there is one God, one mediator also between God and men, [himself] man, Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself a ransom for all; the testimony [to be borne] in its own times;" (ASV).

The Need of mankind for a ransom to free us from bondage to sin and death:

Romans 5:12, "Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned:--" (ASV) as I previously told you.

Romans 3:23, "for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;" (ASV)

Psalms 49:7-9, "None [of them] can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him; 8 (For the redemption of their life is costly, And it faileth for ever;) 9 That he should still live alway, That he should not see corruption." (ASV).

Psalms 51:5, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me." (ASV).

The price paid for release from bondage to sin and death;

Matthew 20:28, "even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." (ASV).

Romans 3:24, "By God's grace, without earning it, all are granted the status of being considered righteous before him, through the act redeeming us from our enslavement to sin that was accomplished by the Messiah Yeshua." (The Complete Jewish Bible, Jewish Net Testament Publications; TCJB).

Hebrews 2:14-15, "Therefore, since the children share a common physical nature as human beings, he became like them and shared that same human nature; so that by his death he might render ineffective the one who had power over death (that is, the Adversary) 15 and thus set free those who had been in bondage all their lives because of their fear of death." (TCJB).

The ransom was paid by Christ with his human life blood poured out in death:

John 10:11, ""I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." (TCJB).

Ephesians 1:7, " In union with him, through the shedding of his blood, we are set free - our sins are forgiven; this accords with the wealth of the grace" (TCJB).

1 Peter 1:18-19, "You should be aware that the ransom paid to free you from the worthless way of life which your fathers passed on to you did not consist of anything perishable like silver or gold; 19 on the contrary, it was the costly bloody sacrificial death of the Messiah, as of a lamb without defect or spot." (TCJB).

Revelations 5:9, "and they sang a new song, "You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals; because you were slaughtered; at the cost of blood you ransomed for God persons from every tribe, language, people and nation." (TCJB).

Christ died, not due to sin, but as a sacrifice on behalf of mankind;

Hebrews 7:26 & 9:25-26, "This is the kind of cohen gadol that meets our need - holy, without evil, without stain, set apart from sinners and raised higher than the heavens; " & "Further, he did not enter heaven to offer himself over and over again, like the cohen hagadol who enters the Holiest Place year after year with blood that is not his own; 26 for then he would have had to suffer death many times - from the founding of the universe on. But as it is, he has appeared once at the end of the ages in order to do away with sin through the sacrifice of himself." (TCJB).

1 John 4:10, "Here is what love is: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the kapparah for our sins." (TCJB).

1 Peter 2:22, "who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:" (ASV).

After Christ was resurrected, he presented the value of his sacrifice to his Father, Almighty God (YHWH), in heaven:

Hebrews 9:11-12 & 24, " But Christ having come a high priest of the good things to come, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, 12 nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption. " & " For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us:" (ASV).

Ephesians 5:2, "and walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odor of a sweet smell." (ASV).

Romans 8:34, "who is he that condemneth? It is Christ Jesus that died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." (ASV).

The Purpose and benefits of the ransom:

Isaiah 53:12, "Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors: yet he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (ASV).

Hebrews 2:9, "But we do see Yeshua - who indeed was made for a little while lower than the angels - now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by God's grace he might taste death for all humanity. " (TCJB).

Galatians 1:4, "who gave himself for our sins, so that he might deliver us from the present evil world-system, in obedience to the will of God, our Father." (TCJB).

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIBLE AND RELIGION - BOTH TRUE AND FALSE - AT  WWW.JW.ORG