COMBINATION OF [1]  THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [2]  DISCOURSE ON HOW JESUS (YESHUA) CHRIST SHOULD BE REMEMBERED.     With the Scripture of the Day first.

[1]   SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [143B]

And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply.  2  And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?  3  God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.  Judges 8:1 – 3,  [authorized King James Bible; AV]

Gideon proved to be a great peacekeeper among the Hebrew nation and wisely gave much credit to the tribe of Ephraim so as to soften their ruffled egos.  This act avoided trouble within the nation of Almighty God’s (YHWH’s) people.  They wanted him to become their ruler, but he said, “Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.  23  And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.”   


[2]   DISCOURSE ON HOW JESUS (YESHUA) CHRIST SHOULD BE REMEMBERED:

INTRODUCTION;

Many celebrate Jesus' (Yeshua's) birth on December 25 with much gift giving and merrymaking, but little thought is given to why and/or the reality of the situation.

As starters, he was not, could not, have been born on December the 25 because the scriptures clearly show as pointed out by Henri Daniel Rops, in his book "Daily Life in the Time of Jesus", relates that it was customary for the shepherds to go into the open fields with their flocks just before the Passover in the Spring and to bring them in during the Hebrew eighth month, about the middle of November, at the beginning of the rainy season. They then 'passed the winter under cover'.
In these circumstances, the 25th December cannot be the date of the birth of Jesus (a.s.). His birth must fall before the middle of November while the sheep were still in the open field.
Now why also the merrymaking that finds no parallel with the activities of the first century Christians?   Let's investigate and find out why and how the date of December the 25 was settled on.

WHAT DOES THE CELEBRATION HAVE TO DO WITH CHRIST TEACHING?

All should investigate what does the celebration have to do with Christ's teachings?   The short answer would be nothing.  Why?   Let's investigate.

Like the "World Book Encyclopedia" says, "Jesus Christ was certainly one of the most influential people who ever lived."

So many remember his birth rather than his deeds.  Throughout Christendom, most individuals can recall the events surrounding his birth as given at Matthew 1:18-26, "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." (American Standard Version; ASV); and Luke 2:1-7, " Now it came to pass in those days, there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be enrolled. 2 This was the first enrolment made when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to enrol themselves, every one to his own city. 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; 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." (ASV).
However, they should be more concerned about his teachings and the Sermon on the Mount which is as follows at Matthew 5:1-48, "And seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain: and when he had sat down, his disciples came unto him: 2 and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye when [men] shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you. 

13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men. 14 Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do [men] light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in the house. 16 Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

17 Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed [the righteousness] of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.
21 Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 but I say unto you, that every one who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of the hell of fire. 23 If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, 24 leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art with him in the way; lest haply the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the last farthing.

27 Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 but I say unto you, that every one that looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29 And if thy right eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body be cast into hell. 30 And if thy right hand causeth thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body go into hell. 31 It was said also, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: 32 but I say unto you, that every one that putteth away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, maketh her an adulteress: and whosoever shall marry her when she is put away committeth adultery.

33 Again, ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: 34 but I say unto you, swear not at all; neither by the heaven, for it is the throne of God; 35 nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, for thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37 But let your speech be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: and whatsoever is more than these is of the evil [one].
38 Ye have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 but I say unto you, resist not him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man would go to law with thee, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

43 Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy: 44 but I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you; 45 that ye may be sons of your Father who is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. 46 For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more [than others?] do not even the Gentiles the same? 48 Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (ASV).

Granted, Jesus' birth was remarkable, but his early disciples attached much more importance to what he did and to what he taught. Surely God never intended Christ's birth to eclipse his life as' a mature man.

HOW THE DATE OF DECEMBER 25 WAS INCORPORATED ALONG WITH THE MERRYMAKING:

To understand how the celebration of Christmas came to be in Christendom, we must understand the pagan celebration of the birth of the Sun or the Feast of Saturn [Feast of Sol Invicta, the Unconquered Sun, set in 274 A. D. (December 25)] 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 of pagan beliefs giving these pagan beliefs a so called Christian veneer.  As Selena Fox said in her writing, Celebrating the Seasons Lore and Rituals, "Winter Solstice also known as Yule, Christmas, and Saturnalia, occurs in mid December. It celebrates the birth of the new Solar year and the beginning of Winter. The Goddess manifests as the Great Mother and the God as the Sun Child. The God also appears as Santa Claus and Old Man Winter. Colors are Red, Green, and White. This is a festival of inner renewal."  Now how did Satan in keeping with 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]" (ASV)  get this pagan holiday turned into a so called Christian one and/or give it a so called Christian veneer?   Let's find out.
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" ... Many Pagan ideas, in fact, were incorporated into Christianity. "Christianity did not destroy paganism; it adopted it" [source - McClintock & Strong's Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, Vol. 6], and the celebration of the birth of the Sun Child was part and partial of it.

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 [source - (ENCYLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, 11th Edition, Vol. 3, (page 366)] .

Now let's see how Constantine got several pagan beliefs incorporated into so called Christianity, i.e., the Trinity, the celebration of the birth of Sun god, and Sundary as the sabbath.  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 and its associated celebration of the birth of the Sun god on December 25 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 and the birth of the Sun god by giving it a so called Christian veneer.   He knew however that he had to make them think it was their own idea. To this end, he, the Roman emperor Constantine, a pagan, 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 and the celebration of the Sun god.   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. [sources - 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].

So the adoption of the Trinity and its associated celebration of the birth of the Sun god 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 at James 4:4, " 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." (Authorized King James Bible; AV); and at John 15:19, " 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." (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 and attaching to it the celebration of the birth of the Sun god, but disquishing this by attaching Jesus/ (Yeshua's) name to the celebration in complete violation of God's (YHWH's) word. . This intellectual tower remained in full force for well over a thousand years, until the Reformation. [sources - 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].

So now we can see what is looked upon by many as a Christian belief and a Christian celebration steming from it is anything but Christian, but just a God (YHWH) dishonoring pagan belief and celebration given a so called Christian veneer to hide the facts that it is nothing but paganism in disguise.

WHY ITS CONTINUANCE?

This celebration and the false pagan belief it stems from is the most popular, international celebration for merrymaking and marketing. Also, the customs of other winter festivals, especially those celebrated in northern Europe, were gradually incorporated into the Roman model.   And in the 20th century, salesmen and marketing specialists enthusiastically promoted any custom that could generate hefty profits, i.e., it was both very profitable for the commercial secular interest and for the so called Christian churches that cared more for income than for the truth.

What has been the result?  The celebration of Cluist's birth rather than the signiificance of  his teachings and life have become of paramount importance.  In fact, in many cases, even the mention of Christ has practically disappeared from the traditional Christmas.  As noted in the  Spanish newspaper El Pais, "[Christmas] is a world festival, of a family nature, and everyone celebrates what he or she sees in it."   This comment reflects a growing practice in Spain and many other countries

The Christmas tree and the figure of Santa Claus are two striking examples of this trend of forgetting about Christ caused by the celebration of this disguised pagan holiday which is in keeping with exactly what the Devil desires; to wit, throughout the world while Christmas celebrations have become ever more extravagant, knowledge of Christ continues to diminishes.  In essence, Christmas festivities have largely reverted to what they originally were in Roman times -revelry, feasting, and the exchanging of presents in celebration of the birth of the Sun god.

Traditional Christmas has little to do with Christ even on the surface, how should true Christians remember the birth and life of Christ?  Seven centuries before Jesus' birth, Isaiah prophesied about him at Isaiah 9:6-7, " For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of Jehovah of hosts will perform this." (ASV).
This was prophecy of Isaiah was echoed by the Angel Gabriel when he announced Jesus' (Yeshua's) coming birth to Mary at Luke 1:32-33, "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." (ASV).   Clearly, the main significance ofJesus' birth lay in the work that Christ would accomplish as the appointed King of God's Kingdom. Christ's rule can benefit all, including you and your loved ones.   This fact was highlighted  at Luke 2:14, "peace on earth to those with whom [God] is pleased." (Today's English Version).

CONCLUSION AND LINKS:

All true Christians should break loose with respect accepting any pagan God (YHWH) dishonoring belief or celebration regardless of the veneer used to disguise its true nature in keeping with John 8:32, "and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (ASV); and Titus 2:1, "But speak thou the things which befit the sound doctrine:" (ASV).
Links for additional information:
<http://media.isnet.org/antar/etc/AsalNatal.html>

<http://www.mlife.org/Jesus/christmas.html>

<http://www.lasttrumpetministries.org/tracts/tract3.html>

www.wiemersnet.com <http://www.wiemersnet.com/xmas.htm>.

APPENDIX:

Of course history testifies that faithful servants of God (YHWH) shunned such celebrations.   For example,

"The Notion of a birthday festival was far from the ideas of the Christians of this perior in general. [source - The History of the Christian Religion and Church During the Three First Centuries, by Augustus Neander , 1848 (translated by Henry John Rose) Page 190].

And:

"In the Bible there is no instance of birthday celebrations among the Jews themselves.  The example of Herod the tetrarch the celebration of whose birthday cost John the Baptist his life, cab scacely be regarded as such, the family to which he belonged being notorious for its adoption of heathen customs.   In fact, the later Jews ar least regarded birthday celebrations as parts of idolatrous worship, and this probably on account of the idolatrous rites with which they were observed in honor of those who were regarded at the patron gods of the day on which the party was born."[source - Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, 1882, by John M'Clintock and James Strong, Volume I, page 817]

And:

"Of all the holy people in the Scriptures, no one is recorded to have kept a feast or held a great banquet on his birthday.   It is only sinners...who make great rejoicing overthe day on which they were born into this world below."[source - The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911, Volume X, page 709, quoting Origen Adamantius of the third century].

Only birthday celebrations or observances mentioned in the Bible were by pagans, let's look at several.

Genesis 40:20-22, "And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and the head of the chief baker among his servants. 21 And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand: 22 but he hanged the chief baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them." (ASV); and Matthew 14:6-10, "But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst, and pleased Herod. 7 Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she should ask. 8 And she, being put forward by her mother, saith, Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist. 9 And the king was grieved; but for the sake of his oaths, and of them that sat at meat with him, he commanded it to be given; 10 and he sent and beheaded John in the prison." (ASV)

Lastly John 15:19 clearly says, "If ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." (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]  APPARENT CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE COMPARED TO REAL ONES IN THE QURAN AND THE BOOK OF MORMON.     With the Scripture of the Day first.

[1]   SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [145B]

And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.  Matthew 10:22,  [authorized King James Bible; AV]

Yes, all genuine true followers of the Prince of Peace, Jesus (Yeshua) will suffer persecution as foretold by James 5:10 – 11,  [AV] “Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.  11  Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.”  Therefore, all should pray for endurance so they can bare up under their affliction.   

[2]   APPARENT CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE COMPARED TO REAL ONES IN THE QURAN AND THE BOOK OF MORMON:

It is high time that some start to realize that there are only apparent contradictions in the Bible, but when examined closely we find that these are all due to failure to comprehend what is being said, failure to understand the writing styles of the time the item was written, failure to understand the sentence construction of the ancient language, errors in translation, and biases on the part of the translator. 

LET'S LOOK AT ONE EXAMPLE, MATTHEW 12:37-40 FROM WELL KNOWN:

"Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered Him, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and {yet} no sign shall be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."  (New American Standard Bible; NASB)

"Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you."  He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."  (New International Version; NIV)

"Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."  But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."  (New King James Bible; NKJB)

"Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.  But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:  For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."  (King James Version; KJV)

APPARENT CONTRADICTION AND ITS EXPLANATION WITH REGARD TO MATTHEW 12:37-40:

Some see an error or contradiction in these scriptures related to the amount of time Jesus (Yeshua) was in the grave, but there is NONE.  The true facts are:
"Yes, it does seem that way. We must remember that the Bible was written in other languages by cultures far removed from ours. Most alleged contradictions stem from a misunderstanding of certain terms and phrases. For example, Jesus predicted that He would be in the grave for "three days and three nights"(Matt.12:40). When we read the passion narratives, we see that He was crucified late Friday afternoon and that He rose from the dead, early on Sunday morning. It is impossible to get three days and three nights out of this, and I have seen many atheists refer to Jesus' prophecy as a "blatant error which completely destroys the credibility of the Bible."[source - I'd Like To Believe In Jesus, But...By Bob Siegel , Published by Campus Ambassador Press, A ministry of Mission To the Americas Wheaton, Illinois]

COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 12:37-40 EXPLAINING THESE SCRIPTURES:

For those who want a more detailed explanation, here is an exert from a well known commentary, Coffman Commentaries on the Old and New Testament:

Verse 37
For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.


Speech is one of the greatest endowments of humanity; and the greater the gift, the greater the sin of perverting it to unworthy purposes. It would be impossible to sum up all the sins of mankind in the area of sinful speech. It must appear even to casual thought of it that words, as used by millions, constitute the bulk of human shame and wickedness. James said, "If any stumbleth not in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also" (James 3:2). Beyond everything else, man should watch what he says. One's words can justify when they confess Christ, or teach the truth, or serve to make peace, bestow a blessing, or give encouragement; but on the other hand, when words condemn, cast a reflection, subvert the truth, utter profanity, vulgarity, hatred, or malice, or any one of a million other evil things - then such words bring the condemnation of those who speak them.


Verse 38
Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, Teacher, we would see a sign from thee.


This arrogant request came from a group who had already accused Jesus of being in league with the devil and who had already seen signs aplenty; but in this case, they were demanding a sign of their own choosing. Luke stated that they sought a "sign from heaven" (Luke 11:16). By that, they no doubt meant some spectacular wonder without moral value but which would appeal sensationally to a man's curiosity. Christ always rejected that type of sign, as, for example, when he refused to jump from the pinnacle of the temple (Matthew 4:6). In fact, there is more than a suggestion that the Pharisees' request for a sign was but a renewal of Satan's temptation of the Lord in the wilderness. Christ always refused to perform wonders for his enemies like Herod or the Pharisees. He did work miracles for the benefit of John's disciples (Luke 7:18-22), and raised Lazarus that the people might believe (John 11:42). For more on "a sign from heaven," see under Matthew 16:1.


Verse 39
But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.


The "adulterous generation" refers not merely to the morals of the people but to the rejection of Israel's covenant with their God. Barnes wrote:
The relation of the Jews to God was represented as a marriage contract with God as the husband and the Jewish people as his wife (Isa. 57:3; Hosea 3:1; Ezek. 16:15). Hence, their apostasy and idolatry are often represented as adultery.


The "sign of the prophet Jonah" refers to the resurrection of Christ, the greatest and most wonderful miracle of all time. Jesus' announcement of this "sign" at that time was actually a prophecy of his death, burial and resurrection. The Old Testament had plainly indicated the Messiah would rise from the dead (Psalms 16:10); but, in keeping with his usual methods, Christ again laid claim to Messiahship, but in such terminology, and in such analogies, that his enemies would not see it, or if they did, would be unable to prove what he meant!


Verse 40
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
The use of "whale" in this verse is in error; the Greek word is "sea-monster," as a glance at the English Revised Version (1885) margin will show; not that there is any essential difference, for the Bible states that "God prepared" a great fish (Jonah 1:17). In the book of Jonah is related also how God "prepared" a gourd (Jonah 4:6), a worm (Jonah 4:7), and a sultry east wind (Jonah 4:8)! Why it should be considered for God a more difficult matter to prepare a great fish than any of those other "preparations" is surely a mystery!


Regarding the truth of the Jonah narrative, it appears absolutely incredible that Christ, one of the Godhead, would have made a mere folk tale the principal prophecy and sign of his resurrection from the dead. We here register a protest against those expositors who are so wise above their Saviour in casting a reflection of doubt upon this astounding incident from the Old Testament. From Jesus' reference to it here, it appears that the experience of Jonah was an authentic event which God "prepared" to be a prophecy of a still greater one, the resurrection of Christ.


The question of "three days and three nights," as signifying the time of our Lord's remaining in the tomb, is one of the most widely discussed issues in the New Testament. An overwhelming number of scholars hold the conviction that the expression is a Hebrew idiom referring to any part of three days and nights which included an entire day, the two nights on either side of it, and portions of the other two days. The present custom of accepting a month to be 28, 30, or 31 days is held to be similar to the Hebrew custom of so loosely determining "three days and three nights." The traditional view that Christ was crucified on Friday and raised on Sunday draws its principal support from Matthew's word that Christ should be raised "the third day" (Matthew 16:21). This view asserts that if he was crucified on Thursday, and raised on Sunday, then he would have been raised on the fourth day.


In spite of the fact that a good case can be made out for the above explanation, some very respected students of God's word take another view. Torrey said, "There is absolutely nothing in favor of Friday crucifixion, but everything in Scripture is perfectly harmonized by Wednesday crucifixion." F12 Torrey's argument is the following: (1) Christ was crucified the day before the sabbath (Mark 15:42). (2) This does not necessarily mean the day before the ordinary sabbath, because the Jews always honored the day before the Passover (15th of Nisan) as a special "high" sabbath, no matter what day of the week it fell upon (Exodus 12:6; Leviticus 23:7; Numbers 28:16-18). (3) The truly important question is, therefore, whether "day before the sabbath" refers to an ordinary Saturday, or the special "high" sabbath related to the Passover, and occurring on any day of the week, depending where the 15th of Nisan fell. (4) John's gospel plainly says it was "the preparation of the Passover" (John 19:14), and that it was "an high day" (John 19:31). These Scriptures plainly show that the ordinary sabbath was not meant. (5) Thus, Christ was crucified on the day before the "high day," or first day of Passover. Since the Passover (15th of Nisan) in the year 30 A.D. fell on Thursday, the "day before" would make it Wednesday on which Christ was crucified. (6) Scriptures supporting this view are: Christ said he would rise "after three days" (Mark 8:31). "After three days" he would rise again (Mark 9:31; 10:34). "This is now the third day since these things were done" (Luke 24:31). Whatever one thinks of Torrey's argument, it must be admitted that it is supported by more Scriptures than the traditional view.
Warning: devout souls will not be troubled by this question; for, if it had been necessary to know the day of the week, the Lord would have revealed it. Furthermore, to resolve this question finally and dogmatically, it would be positively necessary to know the exact year of our Lord's passion; and THAT is not certainly known. Not even the exact year of his birth can be determined. It can never be known what day of the week was the 15th of Nisan until the overriding question of WHAT YEAR is fixed. This, of course, is the weakness of Torrey's position. He takes the year 30 A.D. as the base of his calculations.
The heart of the earth is a figurative expression for the grave which is also called "the lower parts of the earth" (Psalms 63:9; Ephesians 4:9).[source - Coffman Commentaries on the Old and New Testament, by Coffman, James Burton, Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.]

OTHER, SO CALLED HOLLY BOOKS, HOWEVER HAVE REAL CONTRADICTIONS, NOT JUST APPARENT CONTRADICTIONS:

Let's look at other so called Holy Books and see some real contradictions.

The eastern "scriptures" have no interest in history, because this is the world of illusion from which we are to be delivered. Ancient polytheistic religions likewise had no interest in history. Their gods acted only in myths, removed as far as possible from real history.

The Koran is almost entirely assertions of Allah. It has very little historical interface, and what there is contains clear inaccuracies.

Sura 26:55-60 says that the Israelites under Pharaoh were but "a scanty band" (in contrast to the multitude mentioned in Ex. 1:9) and that in leaving Egypt they forsook "their gardens and fountains and splendid dwellings" (in contrast to their slavery and hardship mentioned Ex. 1:11-14). This renders the whole motive for Israel's deliverance obscure.

Sura 5:119 reflects Muhammad's gross misunderstanding of the Trinity-that it is composed of the Father, Jesus and Mary.

The Book of Mormon makes many historical references, but it too is full of historical anachronisms and geographical inaccuracies.

1 Nephi 2:5-8 states that the river Laman emptied into the Red Sea. But there has never been any river that emptied into the Red Sea, either in historic or prehistoric times.

Alma 46:15 states that believers were called "Christians" back in 73 BC-fully seven decades before Jesus was even born![source - Xenos Christian Fellowship Christian Principles Unit 3: Provisions for Spiritual Growth]

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]  THE CULMINATION OF THE END TIMES  .   With the Scripture of the Day first.

[1]   SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [147B]

Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.  8  Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.   Hebrews 13:7,  [authorized King James Bible; AV]

Almighty God (YHWH), and His son, Jesus (Yeshua) never change, but always remain the same.  However their follower will face many trials as foretold a 1 Peter 4:12 – 14, [AV] “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:  13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.  14  If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.”

[2]   THE CULMINATION OF THE END TIMES:

INTRODUCTION:

Many wonder about the culmination of the end times, when it will come, what part will Christians play in it, how vast the destruction will be, how and why wickedness will be destroyed, does destruction of the wicked violate the principle of 'agape' love, and most of all how to survive. This great destruction that will shortly be upon us is known to many as Armageddon and will do away with all present political systems and replace them with direct rule by God's (YHWH) appointed agent, Jesus (Yeshua) Christ.

However, Just as in times past, such as the days of Noah, the righteous will be delivered while the wicked are being destroyed as shown at Matthew 24:37-39, "And as were the days of Noah, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. 38 For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark." (American Standard Version; ASV); And affirmed at 1 Peter 3:20, "that aforetime were disobedient, when the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is eight souls, were saved through water." (ASV). So let's learn what will occur.



PRESENT POLITICAL SYSTEM IS UN-RIGHTEOUS AND WILL BE REMOVED:



The present political system is under control of the ruler of this system of things, Satan the Devil, and will be destroyed as revealed at Revelation 16:14 & 16, "for they are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the gread day of God, the Almighty, 16 And they gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew Har-Magedon. " (ASV); And this is further amplified at Revelation 19:19, "And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse, and against his army." (ASV) here speaking of the army of God (YHWH) under command of his appointed agent, his Son, the Son of God (YHWH), Jesus (Yeshua), who is shown as sitting on the horse when the political powers make war against him.

Now what is meant by referring to Jesus (Yeshua) as his Father's (YHWH's) agent? Clearly it is vital we grasp this concept early in this discourse so we can understand the Biblical facts better; As we will later vividly see, Jesus (Yeshua) was not carrying out his own will, but the will of the superior one who sent him with respect to him leading the armies of God (YHWH) is the destruction of the powers to be of this wicked system now existing. In fact Jesus (Yeshua) said, Matthew 4:10, to Satan when he was being tempted, "Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." (ASV); and Jesus (Yeshua) said, John 14:28, "Ye heard how I said to you, I go away, and I come unto you. If ye loved me, ye would have rejoiced, because I go unto the Father; for the Father is greater than I." (ASV); Clearly these both show that Jesus (Yeshua) considered his Father (YHWH) greater than himself, but there are those who mistakenly say they are one and the same, preposterous! In an attempt to prove their error they use Colossians 1:16-19, "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. 19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;" (Authorized King James Bible; AV). Clearly they overlook that verse 19 says, "For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;" showing two distinct beings or individuals, and the Jewish Law of Agencies or Schaliach Principle or their error would probably be self evident to them.



Some may find this a difficult concept, but is is similar to someone giving another a Limited Power of Attorney making him an agent to carry out an assigned task as did His Father (YHWH) at 1 Corinthians 15:22-28, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all." (AV), testifies that God (YHWH) had given his Son, Jesus (Yeshua) over all except himself when the scripture says "it is manifest that he is excepted." Clearly showing they were distinct individuals and that the Father (YHWH) was the superior one; hence they were not CO-EQUAL.



HAR-MAGEDON WILL BE A WAR OF DIVINE EXECUTION:



Some think that true Christians will have a part in this war and the slaying work; however, this is NOT the case as shown at 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds;" (ASV); And reaffirmed that true Christians would play no part at Romans 12:19, "Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto the wrath of God: for it is written, Vengence belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord." (ASV); Actually the fight true Christians NOW have just prior to the climax is detailed at Ephesians 6:12, "For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (ASV).

That this war at the climax of the end times will be a war of divine execution by God (YHWH) using his only begotten Son, Jesus (Yeshua), as the appointed leader of his armies, in keeping with the Schaliach Principle is made clear at Jeremiah 25:31-32, "A noise shall come even to the end of the earth; for Jehovah hath a controversy with the nations; he will enter into judgment with all flesh: as for the wicked, he will give them to the sword, saith Jehovah. 32 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest shall be raised up from the uttermost parts of the earth." (ASV); And affirmed at Zephaniah 3:8, "Therefore wait ye for me saith Jehovah, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy." (ASV); And at 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9, "if so be that it is a righteous thing with God to recompense affliction to them that afflict you, 7 and to you that are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, 8 rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus: 9 who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might." (ASV); And this is testified to in Jude 14-15, "And to these also Encoh, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their works of ungodliness which they have ungodly wrought, and of all the hard things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." (ASV).



This period of time, although short, will be dramatic unlike any ever known as revealed at Revelation:15-17, "And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the chief captains, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman and freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 and they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 for the great day of their wrath is come; and who is able to stand." (ASV).



WHY THIS WAR IS NECESSARY AND DOES NOT VIOLATE GOD'S (YHWH'S) CHIEF ATTRIBUTE OF LOVE:



Many wonder why this war is necessary. It is necessary so as to clear wickedness from the earth, to prove God's (YHWH's) right to rule beyond question, to both magnify and clear God's (YHWH's) name, and to destroy wicked entrenched political opposition to God's (YHWH's) kingdom. FIRST, we will deal with the need to remove wickedness from the earth as shown at Psalms 37:10-11, "10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: Yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and he shall not be. 11 But the meek shall inherit the land, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." (ASV); And at Psalms 145:20, "Jehovah preserveth all them that love him; But all the wicked will he destroy." (ASV); And at Proverbs 2:21-22, "For they that are upright shall dwell in the earth, and the simple shall continue in it. 22 But the wicked shall be destroyed from the earth: and they that do unjustly shall be taken away from it." (Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible; DRCB); And at Isaiah 11:1 & 4, "And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. 4 But he shall judge the poor with justice, and shall reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall slay the wicked." (DRCB), clearly showing the wicked will be done away with.



SECOND, It is necessary to prove, once and for all, God's (YHWH's) sovereignty and his unquestionable right to rule as shown at Psalms 83:17-18, "Let them be put to shame and dismayed for ever; Yea, let them be confounded and perish; (ASV) 18 That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH [(YHWH)], art the most high over all the earth." (AV); And affirmed at Daniel 2:44, "And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." (ASV). Ans a Isaiah 32:1 states, "Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness and princes shall rule in justice." (ASV); And at Psalms 45:16, "Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, Whom thou shalt make princes in all the earth." (ASV).

That God (YHWH) will take over the rule of the earth and use his appointed agent, Jesus (Yeshua), the Son of God (YHWH), to run it is made clear at Revelation 11:17-18, "sayhing, We give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who wast; because thou hast taken thy great power, and didst reign. 18 And the nations were wroth, and thy wrath came, and the time of the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear thy name, the small and the great; and to destroy them that destroy the earth." (ASV); And at Isaiah 46:8-11, "Yea, thou heardest not; yea thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened; for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb. 9 For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. 10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. 11 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it; for how should my name be polluted? And I will not give my glory unto another." (AV).



THIRD, To both magnify and clear God's (YHWH's) name as is vividly shown at Ezekiel 38:23, "And I will magnify myself, and sanctify myself, and I will make myself known in the eyes of many nations; and they shall know that I am Jehovah." (ASV); And affirmed at Psalms 74:10 & 18, "How long, O God, shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever. 18 Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Jehovah, And that a foolish people hath blasphemed thy name." (ASV). Clearly then it is required for God (YHWH) to clear his name as further shown at Isaiah 5:16, "but Jehovah of hosts is exalted in justice, and God the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness." (ASV); And in fact we actually pray for this outcome when we pray the 'Lords prayer' as shown at Matthew 6:9, "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name." (ASV); And affirmed at Psalms 145:21, (Psalms 144:21 in the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible), "My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever; yea, for ever and ever." (DRCB).



FOURTH, To destroy wicked entrenched political opposition to God's (YHWH's) kingdom as revealed at Revelation 19:11 & 16 & 19, "And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he that sat thereon called Faithful and True; and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 16 And he hath on his garment and on his thigh a name written, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. 19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against his that sat upon the horse, and against his army." (ASV); And this all in keeping with Jesus (Yeshua) being his Father's (YHWH's) agent in keeping with 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, ""But now hath Christ been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are asleep. 21 For since by man [came] death, by man [came] also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ's, at his coming. 24 Then [cometh] the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be abolished is death. 27 For, He put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is excepted who did subject all things unto him. 28 And when all things have been subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all." (ASV). It is to be noted that his Father, Almighty God (YHWH) has put his Son, Jesus (Yeshua), over all, except himself as pointed out at in 1 Corinthians 15:27 above, and given him all he needs to carry out his commission.



And that he, Jesus (Yeshua) has been given this authority by his Father (YHWH) is clearly shown by Revelation 17:12-14, "And the ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet; but they receive authority as kings, with the beast, for one hour. 13 These have one mind, and they give their power and authority unto the beast. 14 These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they also shall overcome that are with him, called and chosen and faithful." (ASV); And re-affirmed at Psalms 2:2 & 5-6 & 9, "The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against Jehovah, and against his anointed saying, 5 Then will he speak unto them in his wrath, And vex them in his sore displeasure: 6 Yet I have set my king, Upon my holy hill of Zion. 9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel." (ASV).



DESTRUCTION OF THE WICKED DOES NOT VIOLATE GOD'S (YHWH'S) CHIEF ATTRIBUTE OF LOVE, BUT IS REQUIRED BY IT:



This destruction of the wicked is necessary in the interest of showing his chief attribute of love to the righteous ones who have been abused, harassed, and worse by the wicked ones. All righteous ones experience abuse from the wicked and God (YHWH) being a righteous God (YHWH) must bring this to an end, but he takes no delight in having to do so as shown at Ezekiel 18:23, "Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked? Saith the Lord Jehovah; and not rather that he should return from his way, and live?" (ASV); And is affirmed at Romans 9:22, "What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering vessels of wrath fitted unto destruction." (ASV); And at Psalms 37:28, "For Jehovah loveth justice, And forsaketh not his saints; They are preserved for ever; But the seed of the wicked shall be cut off." (ASV).



Of course some feel God (YHWH) has been slow about bringing destruction to the wicked, but in reality he has been patient as shown by 2 Peter 3:8-9, "But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (ASV); And at Luke 18:7-8, shows when justice comes, it will come speedily, "And shall not god avenge his elect, that cry to him day and night, and yet he is longsuffering over them? 8 I say unto you, that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" (ASV).



THE CLIMAX OF THE END TIMES OR ARMAGEDDON WILL COME SUDDENLY:



It will come during the marked generation as shown by Matthew 24:34-36 & 43-44, "Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all these things be accomplished. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no one, not even the angels of heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only. 43-44 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through. 44 Therefore be ye also ready; for in an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh. " (ASV) clearly showing all would occur in this marked generation and that in the 1 st. Century even Jesus (Yeshua) did NOT know the exact time, but only his Father (YHWH).



As alluded to in Matthew 24:44 above, the climax of the end times will arrive as testified to at 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3, "For yourselves know perfectly that they day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 When they are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in no wise escape." (ASV); And affirmed at Revelation 16:15, "Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame." (ASV); And at Proverbs 6:12-15, "A worthless person, a man of iniquity, Is he that walketh with a perverse mouth; 13 That winketh with his eyes, that speaketh with his feet, That maketh signs with his fingers; 14 In whose heart is perverseness, Who deviseth evil continually, Who soweth discord." (ASV); There fore as Luke 21:34-35 says, "But take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you suddenly as a snare: 35 for so shall it come upon all them that dwell on the face of all the earth." (ASV).



THE CONCLUSION AND HOW TO SURVIVE:



FIRST, one must be a meek and righteous person as shown at Zepheniah 2:2-3, "before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of Jehovah come upon you, before the day of Jehovah's anger come upon you. 3 Seek ye Jehovah all ye meek of the earth, that have kept his ordinances; seek righteousness, seek meekness; it may be ye will be hid in the day of Jehovah's anger." (ASV);



SECOND, those wishing to be saved on this day need to per Joel 2:32, "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as Jehovah hath said, and among the remnant those whom Jehovah doth call." (ASV).



THIRD, we must be loving our God (YHWH) with all our might as shown by Psalms 145:20, "Jehovah preserveth all them that love him; But all the wicked will he destroy." (ASV).



FOURTH, we must accept his Son, the Son of God, Jesus (Yeshua) as our savior as testified to at John 3:16, ""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." (ASV); And re-affirmed at Romans 5:9-10, "Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him. 10 For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by his life." (ASV).



FIFTH, we must seek after wisdom as shown at Ecclesiastes 7:11-12, "Wisdom is as good as an inheritance; yea, more excellent is it for them that see the sun. 12 For wisdom is a defence, even as money is a defence; but the excellency of knowledge is that wisdom preserveth the life of him that hath it." (ASV).



SIXTH, we must let others know about God (YHWH) and his Son, the Son of God (YHWH), Jesus (Yeshua) since Romans 10:10 clearly shows, "for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (ASV); And given as an assignment to all true Christians at matthew 24:14, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." (AV).



SEVENTH, expect to be among the few in number who will be, per Matthew 10:22, "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved." (ASV).

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

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

[1] SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [149B]

Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.  1 Corinthians 11:1,  [authorized King James Bible; AV]

The Apostle Paul stressed the need to become followers of the Christ just as he was.  He went on to say at 2 Timothy 3:10 – 12, [AV] “But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,  11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.  12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”  Yes, genuine true followers of Christ should be the light to lead all righteously disposed ones among the gentiles (none Jews or followers of Almighty God (YHWH)) per Acts 13:47 – 49, [AV] “For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.  48  And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed.  49  And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.”

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THE RARE FRUIT TREES AND VEGETABLES -  Mafi   
Here is a Commentary on Bountiful Trees and Vegetables God (YHWH) has provided for mankind, specifically the Mafi or Menteng (Baccaurea racemosa).  This Indonesian fruit is almost extinct.
It seems that amino-acid sweet meat is very, a little because ore than. The fruits of this banyakterdapat in Bogor and surrounding areas In Central Java,. menteng called mundung.Menteng, kepundung, or (to) mundung is like a tree fruit producer by Almighty God (YHWH) unto period that can be eaten in brief. fruit menteng similar to buahduku but feature stories trees in different taste is usually.  [source - retrieved from   http://bloggerizq.blogspot.com/2010/01/buah-buahan-asli-indonesia-yang-hampir.html   and translated from Indonesian into English    on  5/24/2013]
Baccaurea racemosa (Reinw. ex Bl.) Mull.Arg., in DC. Prodr. 15, 2 (1866)
Latin for 'raceme'.
Synonyms
Baccaurea bhaswatii Chakrab. & M.Gangop.
Baccaurea wallichii Hook.f.
Coccomelia racemosa Reinw. ex Bl.
Pierandia racemosa (Reinw. ex Bl.) Bl.
Pierardia racemosa (Reinw. ex Bl.) Miq.
Description
Understorey tree up to 20 m tall and 34 cm dbh. Stipules ca. 5 mm long. Leaves crowded at twig tips, alternate, simple, penni-veined, glabrous. Flowers ca. 3 mm diameter, white-yellow, placed in racemes. Fruits ca. 16 mm long, red, ramiflorous, dehiscent capsules, seeds with blue aril.
Ecology
In undisturbed mixed dipterocarp to sub-montane forests up to 1100 m altitude. Common on alluvial and dry (hillsides and ridges) sites. On sandy to clay soils. In secondary forests usually present as a pre-disturbance remnant tree.
Uses
Fruits are edible.
Distribution
Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Lesser Sunda Islands, Borneo (Sarawak, Brunei, Sabah, West-, Central- and East-Kalimantan), Celebes, Moluccas.
Local names
Borneo Engkumi, Kayu masam, Kokonau, Kunau, Kunyi, Longkumo, Moho liox, Tunding undang, Umbarian.
Java Menteng.
Peninsular Malaysia Asam tambun, rambi, tamut, tampoi.
Sumatra Roesip, kisip.  [source - retrieved from    http://www.asianplant.net/Phyllanthaceae/Baccaurea_racemosa.htm   on  / /2013]
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 see picture of this fruit and other tropical fruits found in Indonesia, go to,  http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=id&u=http://masyants.blogspot.com/2011/01/buah-asli-indonesia-yang-sudah-langka.html&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dmafi,%2Bbaccaurea%2Bracemosa%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3Desa%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official

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COMBINATION OF [1]  THE SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY AND [2]   DISCOURSE ON NOT SAVED BY 'DEAD' FAITH.   With the Scripture of the Day first.

[1]   SCRIPTURE OF THE DAY [VOL. 152b]

The friendship of Jehovah is with them that fear him; And he will show them his covenant.  Psalms 25:14,  [American Standard Version: AVS]

We should forum a close friendship with our creator, Almighty God (YHWH).  As Hebrews 12:1, [ASV] “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,”  Yes let us run the race to win His friendship and approval.  Abraham of old did just that as testified to at 2 Chronicles 20:6 - 7, [ASV] “and he said, O Jehovah, the God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and art not thou ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? and in thy hand is power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee.  7  Didst not thou, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and give it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?”  Yes, the Bible clearly states that Abraham was the Creators friend at James 2:23, [ASV] “and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God.”   

[2]    DISCOURSE ON NOT SAVED BY 'DEAD' FAITH:

INTRODUCTION:

Many believe that they can be saved by faith alone, but forget and/or do not realize that 'live' faith will lead to action and is not just a passive entity. Also, they forget that true faith is a fruitage of God's (YHWH's) spirit as clearly shown by Galatians 5:22, "But the fruit of the Spirit is, charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, longanimity," (Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible; DRCB). They argue that faith alone can save which is true, but conveniently forget that a 'live' faith leads to action as shown by James 2:17, "So faith also, if it have not works, is dead in itself." (DRCB).

ARGUMENTS AND SCRIPTURES OF THOSE CLAIMING FAITH ALONE IS SUFFICIENT:

Here are some of the actual arguments with accompanying scriptures put forth by those claiming that faith alone is sufficient:

"For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God through faith.

Eph 1:12 - 14 ...so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, may be to the praise of his glory. And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation) - when you believed in Christ - you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit,
who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of God's own possession to the praise of his glory.

Eph. 2:8, 9 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not of works, so that no one can boast.

Eph 3:17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, by being rooted and grounded in love,

Phil 3:9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;

1 Tim 1:16 But here is why I was treated with mercy: so that in me as the worst, Christ Jesus could demonstrate his utmost patience, as an example for those who are going to believe in him for eternal life.

2 Tim 3:15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

1 Pet 2:6, 7 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious;"

2 Pet 1:1 Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

1 John 3:23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.

1 John 5:4, 5 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world; our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

1 John 5:10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.
[note, as best I can tell, they took these quotes either from the Holman Christian Standard Bible and/or the Web Bible as they did NOT have the intellectual honesty to state the translation]"

THE FACTS, THE BIBLICAL TRUTHS:

Of course faith is absolutely necessary, and the Apostles gave emphasis to this fact in their writings as many of the Jews believed they could gain salvation by works alone which is of course NOT possible. First of all you must have faith or works are clearly of no value. Second, if you have true deep faith, it will also cause you to have works as clearly if you have faith, you will make known to others the truth as your faith will drive you to do so. Let's not forget Romans 10:12-21, "For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek: for the same [Lord] is Lord of all, and is rich unto all that call upon him: 13 for, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 and how shall they preach, except they be sent? even as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad tidings of good things! 16 But they did not all hearken to the glad tidings. For Isaiah saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So belief [cometh] of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. 18 But I say, Did they not hear? Yea, verily, Their sound went out into all the earth, And their words unto the ends of the world. 19 But I say, Did Israel not know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy with that which is no nation, With a nation void of understanding will I anger you. 20 And Isaiah is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I became manifest unto them that asked not of me. 21 But as to Israel he saith, All the day long did I spread out my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people." (American Standard Version; ASV); and Matthew 24:14 says, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come." (ASV). And as the Bible clearly says at James 2:21-26, "Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Thou seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect; 23 and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God. 24 Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith. 25 And in like manner was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead." (ASV); clearly showing Abraham had works" (ASV); and this same truth is testified to at James 2:17, "Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself." (ASV), and we both know for faith to be of any value it must be 'alive' and NOT 'dead.' Enough said, I hope you see this Bible truth that faith must be alive to be of any value. This point is clearly made at 2 Timothy 4:7, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: " (ASV). Be like the eunuch at Acts 8:26-31, "But an angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza: the same is desert. 27 And he arose and went: and behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was over all her treasure, who had come to Jerusalem to worship; 28 and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some one shall guide me? And he besought Philip to come up and sit with him." (ASV), and start realizing the need to not only know what the Bible says, but to comprehend it as well. I stand ready to assist you.

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