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End Times
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 Saul suffered a major psychotic break, possibly after a meal contaminated by ergot, which can induce really powerful hallucinations, or a Christian confederate may have laced his dinner with a psychotropic substance to interrupt his persecution of the nascent Christian sect. God never spoke to Nero, who lit Christians on fire to light his gardens. “Let your light so shine…” God has not spoken to others persecuting Christians like there was no tomorrow. God has not spoken to you or I. God doesn’t work that way, |
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But I recall you saying years ago (and reaffirming recently) that the theory of molecules-to-man evolution was “without flaw, chink or blemish and has been that way for 150 years.” Only the most fanatical evolutionists think that. Why do you think in such black-and-white absolutes? Especially when you can’t refute evidence that goes against what you think. Your explanation of Saul of Tarsus’ experience on the road to Damascus is refuted by his companions sharing that experience. And I find your claim of knowing how God works to be pretty absurd. God spoke to humans in the past (mostly through prophets and most directly as Jesus Christ) and He continues to speak to believers today, though not audibly in my experience and understanding. It’s much deeper and more profound than that. But you have to be patient, humble and listening. |
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“August 23, 2025” youtube.com Video is 2:44 Let your heart and mind rest in Christ ✝️ |
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<<The Jesus Boat, or Galilee Boat, is a well-preserved 1st-century AD fishing boat discovered in the Sea of Galilee in 1986 by two fishermen during a drought. Although it's not proven to be the exact boat Jesus and his disciples used, its age and design make it a significant artifact providing insight into the era's fishing and maritime technology, and it is now on display at the Yigal Allon Museum at Kibbutz Ginosar. Discovery and Significance When and Where: In the winter of 1986, two brothers, Moshe and Yuval Lufan, discovered the boat's remains in the muddy lakebed of the Sea of Galilee when water levels were low due to a severe drought. Archaeological Context: Radiocarbon dating confirmed the boat's age to the 1st century AD (approximately 40 BC to 50 AD), a period when Jesus was active in the region. Cultural Importance: Because boats were central to Jesus' ministry and are mentioned frequently in the Gospels, the discovery is particularly significant for Christian faith and for understanding ancient life in Galilee. The Boat's Features Dimensions and Construction: The boat is approximately 27 feet (9 meters) long and 7.5 feet (2.5 meters) wide, constructed from ten different types of wood, possibly indicating a shortage of a specific wood or that it was a vessel made of scrap wood that had undergone many repairs. Design: It was a shallow-draft fishing boat with a flat bottom, built using a shell-based construction method. Its construction style, including pegged mortise and tenon joints, is consistent with descriptions in Roman literature and the Bible. Preservation and Display Extraction and Conservation: After the discovery, the boat was carefully excavated over 12 days, wrapped in a polyurethane foam "straitjacket," and then floated to a conservation pool. Restoration: The conservation process took 11 years and involved replacing the water in the wood cells with a synthetic wax to preserve the fragile wood. Exhibition: The boat is now displayed at the Yigal Allon Museum at Kibbutz Ginosar, a popular site for tourists and pilgrims visiting the Holy Land.>> |
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Boat from Era of Jesus << And I find your claim of knowing how God works to be pretty absurd.>> That is the exact opposite of what I wrote. And you are so fond of saying I mischaracterize you. As for “molecules to man,” evolution presupposes no goal. You keep implying that if evolution were correct there should be no technology capable of, despite evolution have zilch, nada, nechevo to do with technology. Or equivalently that dinosaurs or some other species should have evolved technology ages before us. Brain to body mass ratios have increased over the ages, with dolphins only a small ways behind us and primates. Lucy, Little Foot, and the Taung child all had smalller brain/body ratios, though all could walk aright. So bipedalism preceded the sudden brain expansion. Then, as noted, FOX2P evolved 200K years back. |
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Josephus Huh. 230. I would have estimated a higher number, even for a tiny drink like Galilee. Though Lake Kinneret is 64 square miles. A lake not far from me is 50 square miles. No commercial fishing that I’m aware of. Huh, I guess I am wrong. A number of charter fishing boats operate on that lake, which has nine marinas. At twenty boats per marina (a very rough guess) that pushes us close to two hundred. I would expect there might be more. Back in 1910 the lake sported more steamboats than any other lake west of the Mississippi. So more than a century of lots of boats. Odds Jesus rode the discovered boat rises closer to half of one percent. The important thing is that the craft (if properly restored) was likely similar to one ridden by the Savior. So, kind of cool. I was on the Vassa, the first war ship built by the King of Sweden, which sank on its maiden voyage back around 1610, a mere 400 years ago. Neat salvage job, that! |
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1628 “The Swedish warship Vasa sank on August 10, 1628, during its maiden voyage in Stockholm harbor, according to the Vasa Museum. The ship sank after sailing only about 1,300 meters due to a strong gust of wind that caused it to capsize. Water flooded the ship through open gun ports, leading to its quick demise.” The issue was that the boat was too narrow. Just two feet wider and it would have been less prone to roll. Their next ship fixed that. Plus, the ballast was round stone that rocked. Flat ballast would have better held position. They recovered the top side cannons with a diving bell (extremely dangerous work), but those underneath the ship remained until it was refloated back in the 60s or 70s. |
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1961 “The Vasa was recovered in 1961, after 333 years on the seabed of Stockholm harbor. The large-scale salvage operation successfully raised the nearly intact warship from the depths to begin its extensive preservation process and its eventual home at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm.” |
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You: <<That is the exact opposite of what I wrote. And you are so fond of saying I mischaracterize you.>> You claimed to know how God *doesn’t* work so I assumed you knew how He did. Remember writing…<<God has not spoken to you or I. God doesn’t work that way,>> So you apparently know God doesn’t speak to believers in their spirit but don’t know how he works? You don’t think He spoke through prophets in the Old Testament and spoke directly to humans as Jesus Christ but nevertheless don’t know how He works? You don’t know how He works but know He doesn’t work in the ways described in the Bible? Do you see the contradiction? |
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You know what’s interesting? “No one knows the day or the hour” is actually a Jewish idiom that refers to the Feast of Trumpets… From AI… <<Yes, the phrase "no one knows the day or the hour" is both a Biblical reference and a Hebraic idiom for the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah or Yom Teruah). During this holiday, the exact day and hour it began was unknown because it depended on the sighting of the new moon, which made it a suitable analogy for Jesus' unannounced return for His followers. Why the Feast of Trumpets is referred to as "no one knows the day or the hour" Unknown Start: The traditional Jewish calendar for the new moon was determined by eyewitnesses who observed the first sliver of the new moon and reported it to the authorities. Until the sighting and confirmation, the exact start of the holiday was unknown. Hiddenness: This made Rosh Hashanah, or Yom Teruah (Day of Blasting), a "hidden" or "concealed" day. Biblical Connection: Jesus' statement about "that day and hour" (referring to His return) directly alludes to this Jewish custom, making the phrase a well-known Hebraic idiom. Modern Interpretations of the Idiom Rapture of the Church: Many believe Jesus' use of this phrase refers to the Rapture, or His second coming to take the Church. Ancient Jewish Wedding Customs: The concept also parallels an ancient Jewish wedding custom where only the bridegroom's father knew when his son was ready to bring his bride home.>> “Is the RAPTURE Really Next Month? The Bible’s Timeline Is Shocking” youtu.be Video is 16:13 From the video description… <<For centuries, people have predicted the Rapture—and most were wrong. But what if the Bible has been pointing to a specific season all along? In this video, we break down Daniel’s prophecy, the Feast of Trumpets, the 7-year covenant, and how they might align with events in September 2025. The math… the patterns… the prophetic signs—they’re too precise to ignore. Could this be the final wake-up call before Jesus returns for His bride? Watch until the end, and decide for yourself.>> |
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“No one knows the day or the hour. You sure about that?” youtube.com Video is 1:03 |
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Science Works, Magic Doesn’t A lot of people have no idea how an ICE engine works, but they know their car doesn’t start just by talking to it. “Please start, pretty please?” <<Remember writing…<<God has not spoken to you or I. God doesn’t work that way,>> So you apparently know God doesn’t speak to believers in their spirit but don’t know how he works? You don’t think He spoke through prophets in the Old Testament and spoke directly to humans as Jesus Christ but nevertheless don’t know how He works?>> Look around you. www.youtube.com <<You don’t know how He works but know He doesn’t work in the ways described in the Bible?>> Well, I have turned water into wine. But not overnight. Plus I added grapes and yeast (no sulfites). So I don’t know how God works, but I do know I can search out the holiest man on Earth and coax him to pray and nothing will come of it. He can dance around an altar, singing and cutting himself, all to no avail. He cannot make it rain. Nor can Elijah, no matter how many gallons of kerosene he pours over his altar. <<Do you see the contradiction?>> No. |
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No Technology A leopard has a far easier time taking down a gazelle than Homo erectus ever did. |
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Bad analogy. An ICE engine is an inanimate object. God is alive (not to mention omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient.) <<Look around you. www.youtube.com>> Didn’t watch the video, but if it has anything to do with the existence of evil in this world, that ought to be attributed to humans exercising free will in a fallen world in which Satan is the temporary god (little “g.”) <<Well, I have turned water into wine. But not overnight. Plus I added grapes and yeast (no sulfites).>> You’re limiting God to what humans can do? Seriously? <<So I don’t know how God works, but I do know I can search out the holiest man on Earth and coax him to pray and nothing will come of it. He can dance around an altar, singing and cutting himself, all to no avail. He cannot make it rain. Nor can Elijah, no matter how many gallons of kerosene he pours over his altar.>> Seems like you’re saying one’s holiness is based on behavior when all believers are the righteousness of God in Christ and all believers have had all of their sins (past, present and future) forgiven, and all believers have access to God the Father through Jesus Christ. And God answers prayers – just sometimes not in the way we want or in the timing we want. God is not a genie in a bottle who answers to humans and does their bidding – you’ve got the positions of God and humans reversed. Me: <<Do you see the contradiction?>> You: <<No.>> I suspected you wouldn’t. |
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Oh yeah? You never heard of a rifle? Man’s ingenuity and inventiveness have overcome his natural deficiencies and whatever advantages animals had over man in their natural states. |
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Rifles The point is that our cousin species were worse hunters than leopards over vast stretches of time. We lived alongside Neandertal for over a hundred thousand years with neither of us ever taking out a gazelle or any other big (or small) game with a rifle. So despite our slightly bigger brains, we were less successful at that task, and plenty of others. Even thirty thousand years ago tackling a leopard, lion, or bear with the best technology available was dicey, with the animal typically emerging victoriasas. A human might best only the youngest or most aged and infirm of these opponents. Our species has (likely) had fairly sophisticated language for much of the past two hundred thousand years. So for 170,000 years animals remained apex predators. Even now, people don’t always enjoy good outcomes against bears, despite all that technology, none of which has the least connection to evolutionary biology. |
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Homo Erectus <<Oh yeah? You never heard of a rifle?>> Homo erectus never heard of a rifle. |
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And the people who don’t have good outcomes today against bears are not prepared with the proper weapons (even bear spray is a good deterrent from what I’ve seen.) As far as technology being connected to evolution, I’m not sure how you account for humans having the ingenuity, inventiveness and problem-solving skills that have allowed them to have dominion over animals. A lot of that obviously has to do with technology *that man invented.* But if you’re saying the theory of molecules-to-man evolution can’t explain why man has such dominance on the planet and such greater abilities, capabilities and accomplishments compared to animals, I’d agree. |
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God Answers Prayer <<Bad analogy. An ICE engine is an inanimate object. God is alive (not to mention omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient.)>> I have no idea how you know God is not inanimate, or how God possesses any of those attributes you describe. <<Look around you. www.youtube.com>> <Didn’t watch the video, but if it has anything to do with the existence of evil in this world, that ought to be attributed to humans exercising free will in a fallen world in which Satan is the temporary god (little “g.”)> Fantasy. <<Well, I have turned water into wine. But not overnight. Plus I added grapes and yeast (no sulfites).>> <You’re limiting God to what humans can do? Seriously?> Hardly. Only noting I too can perform the Canaan miracle. As miracles go, that was kind of minor, telescoping yeast activity normally occurring over a month or so (including rackings) into a single evening. |
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memes.getyarn.io |
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From the Bible, which I believe is the Word of God (and for good reason, not the least of which are fulfilled prophecies and scientific facts that were centuries, if not millennia, ahead of man’s knowledge at the time.) <<Hardly. Only noting I too can perform the Canaan miracle. As miracles go, that was kind of minor, telescoping yeast activity normally occurring over a month or so (including rackings) into a single evening.>> Well when you can walk on water, multiply loaves and fishes, and raise people from the dead, let me know. BTW, do you think God has any interaction at all with creation? Or if God and creation are one and the same, which came first? Or have they both existed eternally? |
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“Amen. #fam #family #God #viral” youtube.com Video is 13 seconds |
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Do You Own a Rifle? Moreover, rifles are only 600 years old (15th century). For most of human existence (400,000 years for our species) no one had a rifle. Your argument we evolved because some people had rifles is kind of ludicrous given rifles have nothing to do with biology, outside driving the passenger pigeon into extinction. Yours is a crazy, senseless argument. |
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Thylacine Someone can shoot a deer, so that makes YOU special? I’ve never even lit a fire from scratch, much less polished glass lenses or daubed pyrotechnic compound on a match stick to make a match. How does it count I simply use tech made by someone else? Only a tiny handful of the eight billion human inhabitants figured out how to make novel things. That makes most of us subhuman, then? |
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Not my argument at all. You’ve reversed it. <<is kind of ludicrous given rifles have nothing to do with biology, outside driving the passenger pigeon into extinction.>> Nothing to do with biology? Rifles just fell out of the sky? They didn’t require someone to invent them? <<Yours is a crazy, senseless argument.>> Whatever |
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That makes most of us subhuman, then?>> You’re part of the human race, right? When you think of everything humans have invented, and everything animals haven’t, I think that makes humans a special creation. You’re obviously free to disagree, but I think I’ll leave off responding to your posts for a while. |
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Inventing a Rifle We didn’t have some brains evolve to produce rifles, and other brains evolve to invent steam engines. No biologist fantasizes that. Instead, thanks to the opposable thumb, which early primates found useful for swinging from tree branches, our species was able to carry food, and make tools. Dolphins have big brains too, but lack the manual dexterity to fashion a decent tool. So for several hundred thousand years the only tool humans were capable of using was rocks and sticks for clubs. Again, most of human existence our tools were only mildly more advanced than the blades of grass monkeys use to snatch ants out of ant piles. Just because a tiny handful of people figured out how to make rifles these past six hundred years has zero implication for evolutionary biology, which concerns adaptations in species. |
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Works trusters often cite the book of James without understanding it. From YouTube… <<proclaimthegospelbahamas242 16 hours ago Many get confused here. Let’s look carefully: 1. Faith without works is dead (James 2:17, 26). James is not saying faith + works = salvation. He’s saying a believer’s faith, if not shown in works, is useless (dead in fellowship), not non-existent. “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” (James 2:17 KJB) Dead = unprofitable faith, not loss of eternal life. Eternal life is by believing on Christ alone: “He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.” (John 6:47 KJB) 2. “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:22–23). Notice Jesus does not say, “I once knew you, but you lost it.” He says: “I never knew you: depart from me…” (Matthew 7:23 KJB) These people trusted their own works (“Have we not prophesied…cast out devils… done many wonderful works?” v. 22) instead of trusting Christ’s finished work. They were never saved to begin with. 3. The will of God is to believe the Gospel. “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life…” (John 6:40 KJB) Salvation is by believing the Gospel (1 Corinthians 15:3–4 KJB). Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. So the difference is this: • James is talking about believers needing works to show their faith as useful before men. • Matthew 7 is about unbelievers who never trusted Christ but relied on works. Eternal salvation is only by faith in Christ. Works are good, but they flow from salvation, they do not secure it.>> |
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I never suggested that. I was talking about the underlying ability to invent and create, not a specific ability to invent or create something. <<Instead, thanks to the opposable thumb, which early primates found useful for swinging from tree branches, our species was able to carry food, and make tools. Dolphins have big brains too, but lack the manual dexterity to fashion a decent tool.>> What other species has opposable thumbs but are unable to do what humans can do? <<So for several hundred thousand years the only tool humans were capable of using was rocks and sticks for clubs. Again, most of human existence our tools were only mildly more advanced than the blades of grass monkeys use to snatch ants out of ant piles.>> But that’s not the case now with humans. Why did the human species progress to landing men on the moon, building skyscrapers, composing symphonies, building cars and airplanes, etc. while no other species is anywhere near that? <<Just because a tiny handful of people figured out how to make rifles these past six hundred years has zero implication for evolutionary biology, which concerns adaptations in species.>> You seem to be trying to separate the capabilities of the human brain from biology. I don’t think it works, especially without God. |
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