Equatorial Guinea plans to move its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem

As reported by Ron Kampeas of Jewish Telegraphic Agency, February 21, 2021:

Equatorial Guinea is the latest country that plans to move its embassy to Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

The pledge came in a conversation Friday with the oil-rich African nation’s president, Teodoro Mbasogo, Netanyahu’s office said.

Netanyahu has throughout his 11 years in continuous leadership pressed for greater Israeli engagement with Africa. Netanyahu “noted that Israel is continuing to deepen its cooperation with African countries and said that Israel is returning to Africa and Africa is returning to Israel in a big way,” his office’s statement said.

The United States and Guatemala have moved their embassies to Jerusalem since 2018, and about half a dozen other countries have pledged to do so as part of a diplomatic initiative launched by former President Donald Trump.

A handful of nations had embassies in Jerusalem until the early 1980s; most keep embassies in Tel Aviv, not recognizing Israel’s claim to the city until its status is resolved in a peace deal with the Palestinians.

See also my posts:

El Salvador denies that it's moving its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Ramallah (January 28, 2016)

U.S. President Donald Trump declares Jerusalem to be Israel's capital (December 7, 2017)

Guatemala follows U.S.A.'s lead in announcing that it will move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem (December 25, 2017)

South Africa downgrades its embassy in Israel to a liaison office (January 2, 2018)

Czech Republic recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital (January 2, 2018)

Romania reportedly intends to move its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem (January 2, 2018)

Philippines denies reports that it intends to move its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem (January 2, 2018)

Conservative Party of Canada promises to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital--if they ever get back into power (March 1, 2018)

Paraguay and Honduras are reported to be ready "in principle" to move their Israeli embassies to Jerusalem (March 16, 2018)

Honduran Congress votes to move the country's Israeli embassy to Jerusalem (April 18, 2018)

Australia recognizes West Jerusalem as Israel's capital (December 17, 2018)

Israel punishes Paraguay for moving its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem, and then back to Tel Aviv (December 31, 2018)

Brazil to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in 2020 (December 17, 2019)

Israeli and Sudanese leaders agree to move toward normalization of relations, while Uganda studies moving its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem (February 3, 2020)

Jews not mentioned among religious groups invited to Pope Francis' inter-religious prayer service in Iraq

Pope Francis continues his efforts to unite the world's religions; as reported by Mohammed Aty of Reuters, February 22, 2021:

BAGHDAD - Pope Francis is due to hold an inter-religious prayer service at the ancient Mesopotamian site of Ur when he visits Iraq next week - an event local archeologists hope will draw renewed attention to the place revered as the birthplace of Abraham.

Popular with Western visitors in the 1970s and 1980s, Ur is scarcely visited today after decades of war and political instability shattered Iraq’s international tourism industry. The coronavirus crisis now also keeps local tourists away.

Located about 300 km (200 miles) south of the capital Baghdad, the site comprises a pyramid-style Ziggurat and an adjacent residential complex as well as temples and palaces.

It was excavated about 100 years ago by Leonard Woolley, a Briton who recovered treasures rivalling those found in Tutankhamen’s tomb in Egypt. But little work has since been doneon one of the world’s oldest cities, where urban dwelling, writing and central state power began.

According to the State Board for Antiquities and Heritage director for Ur, Ali Kadhim Ghanim, the complex next to the Ziggurat dates back to about 1900 BC...

...According to Ghanim, the housing settlement was restored in 1999, after Pope Francis’ predecessor, Pope John Paul II, announced a trip to Iraq. But his visit was cancelled when negotiations with the government of then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein broke down.

This time, Ghanim hopes that Pope Francis’ visit will attract international attention to the site, which he says is badly needed to fund restoration works on its palaces and temples.

“Not only tourism, but we believe that there will be a Christian pilgrimage season,” Ghanim said.

Un Ponte Per, an Italian-based organisation, is working with the United Nations Development Programme on infrastructure works such as paths, rest areas and signposts to help visitors.

Roads around the site are being renovated and powerlines extended ahead of the pope’s visit.

But without adequate funding, Ghanim says his administration has been limited to containing further damage to the site, such as digging trenches to divert rainwater from the ruins.

Basra’s Archbishop Habib al-Naufaly stressed the symbolic importance of the pope’s March 5-8 visit as Iraq is still recovering from the war against Islamic State that destroyed scores of Christian heritage sites.

The inter-religious prayer service will be attended by Christians, Muslims, Mandaean-Sabaean, Yazidi and other religious minorities present in Iraq.

The focus will be on harmony between religious groups in a service the Vatican has named “Prayer for the sons and daughters of Abraham”.

As reported by Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz of Israel365 News, February 24, 2021 (links in original):

...Iraq declared war on the newly established Jewish state in 1948 and since then the two countries have technically been in a state of war. Iraqi forces participated in wars against Israel in 1967 and 1973.

The plight of the Christians in the Muslim country is not much better. Twenty years ago, Pew Research Center reported there were 1.4 million professing Christians in Iraq, but today there are only about 270,000.

Despite the oppression of Christians and suppression of Christianity, Iraq seems to hold a fascination for the Vatican. Pope John Paul II, planned a trip to Iraq in 1999 but his visit was canceled when negotiations with the government of then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein broke down...

...The pyramidic ziggurat, located about 200 miles south of the capital Baghdad, is a Neo-Sumerian structure located in what was the city of Ur near Nasiriyah, in present-day Dhi Qar Province. In ancient times, this ziggurat served as a religious center as it was part of a temple complex dedicated to idolatry. The recovery of about 2,000 burials by archaeologists indicates that the site, excavated about 100 years ago by Leonard Woolley, was used for the practice of human sacrifice on a large scale. The bodies were buried in elaborate graves nearby. The sacrificial murders were carried out by a sharp instrument being driven into their heads after which they were buried in elaborate funerals. Their bodies were usually arranged neatly, the women in an elaborate headdress, the men with weapons at their side.

The ziggurat also holds great significance to modern despots. In the 1980s, Saddam Hussein restored the façade of the massive lower foundation of the ziggurat, insisting that his own name be stamped on all of the modern bricks used in the reconstruction. He also built his personal palace to mirror the ziggurat. In 1981, the site was where celebrations took place to commemorate the first anniversary of the Iraqi invasion of Iran, with officials using the slogan, Nebuchadnasar al-ams Saddam Hussein al-yawm (yesterday Nebuchadnezzar, today Saddam Hussein). During the war led by American and coalition forces, Saddam Hussein parked his MiG fighter jets next to the Ziggurat.

The timing of the papal visit is auspicious and perhaps even prophetic. It will come right after the Jewish holiday of Purim commemorating the salvation of the Jews of Iraq from Haman, the descendent of Agag, King of Amalek and whose connection to the future war of Gog is hinted at by the Prophet Ezekiel.

As those who traverse the country make their rounds, any one of them who sees a human bone shall erect a marker beside it, until the buriers have interred them in the Valley of Gog’s Multitude. Ezekiel 39:15

The Hebrew word for ‘multitude’ is הֲמוֹן (Hamon, similar to the name Haman). Haman is known as an Agagite, also connecting him at least etymologically with Gog.

The visit also comes a few weeks before the “twenty-fourth day of the first month (Nisan)”, the day on which Daniel had his vision, described in chapter 10, that took place on the Mesopotamian River Tigris. In his enigmatic vision, Daniel saw, “a man dressed in linen, his loins girt in fine gold,” and the “sound of his speech was like the noise of a multitude.” The man in the vision gave Daniel a message:

“Do you know why I have come to you? Now I must go back to fight the prince of Persia. When I go off, the prince of Greece will come in. Daniel 10:20

Many modern interpretations of prophecy identify Persia as Iran and Greece, a country founded by the offspring of Esav, as Catholicism.

Since ascending to the papacy in 2013, Pope Francis has been working openly to bring Esau and Ishmael together by enhancing Christian-Muslim relations. On the return flight from a recent visit to Morocco, where the official state religion is Islam, the Pope spoke with journalists about his vision for uniting the descendants of Esau and the descendants of Ishmael.

In 2016, Pope Francis hosted Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the Vatican.

These efforts by Pope Francis culminated in 2019 when he signed the Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azha, an agreement that was harshly criticized by Catholics and Muslims alike.

Jewish tradition contains a prophecy that the children of Esau (today’s Western nations) and the children of Ishmael (today’s Arab nations) will unite against the Jewish people at the End of Days.

This alliance was forged at the very beginning of the Bible when Esau married Ishmael’s daughter, Mahalath, whose name means ‘disease’.

So Esau went unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives that he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife. (Genesis 28:9)

This is explained by Rabbi Yechiel Weitzman explains in his book The Ishmaelite Exile “During the End of Days, Ishmael and Esau will join forces to seek the destruction of the Jewish people.”

Rabbi Weitzman concluded his introduction to the End of Days alliance with good news. “At the very outset of their history, Ishmael and Esau forged a bond through marriage. And so it shall be at the End of Days. This alliance between them will bring history to its culmination in the redemption.”

While Jewish tradition and eschatology may be interesting, the Bible itself is the only authoritative and reliable source of truth.

Royal purple fabric from the era of Kings David and Solomon discovered in southern Israel

As reported by Judy Siegel-Itzkovich of Israel365 News, January 28, 2021 (link inserted by blogger):

Wool fibers dyed with Royal Purple,~1000 BCE, Timna Valley, Israel. Illustration of King David being anointed by Samuel (photo Credit: Dafna Gazit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority)

What did a fashionable King in Israel wear 3,000 years ago? The color purple as well as red and blue were prominent in their wardrobes.

Four years ago, archaeologists at Tel Aviv University (TAU) discovered reserved pieces of cloth from King David and King Solomon’s time at ancient copper mines in the Timna Valley in Israel’s southern Negev desert that had been colored blue and red with dye from various plants. Thanks to the very dry climate in the area, the colors have been preserved for three millennia.

Now, in a “breakthrough discovery,” the team have found ancient scraps of fabric dyed in true royal purple from shellfish. “The color immediately attracted our attention, but we found it hard to believe we had found true purple from such an ancient era,” said TAU’s Dr. Erez Ben-Yosef. According to the researchers, true purple [argaman in Hebrew] was produced from three species of mollusk native to the Mediterranean Sea – the banded dye-murex (Hexaplex trunculus), the spiny dye-murex (Bolinus brandaris) and the red-mouthed rock-shell (Stramonita haemastoma). The dye was produced from a gland located within the body of the mollusk by means of a complex chemical process that lasted several days.

Shells of the three species of murex snails: left to right:T. haemastoma, M. Trunculus and M. Brandaris (Photo Credit: Shahar Cohen, courtesy of Zohar Amar)

According to the Song of Songs, King Solomon had a carriage made from wood brought from Lebanon whose seat was upholstered with purple cloth. Now, for the first time, rare evidence has been found confirming this.

While examining the colored textiles from Timna in a study that has lasted several years, the researchers were surprised to find remnants of woven fabric, a tassel and fibers of wool dyed with royal purple.

Direct radiocarbon dating confirms that the finds date from approximately 1,000 BCE, corresponding to the biblical monarchies of David and Solomon in Jerusalem. The dye, which is produced from species of mollusk (shelled animal) found in the Mediterranean, over 300 kilometers from Timna, is often mentioned in the Bible and appears in various Jewish and Christian contexts.

This is the first time that purple-dyed Iron Age textiles have been found in Israel, or indeed throughout the Southern Levant. The research was carried out by Dr. Naama Sukenik from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Ben-Yosef of TAU’s department of archaeology and ancient Near Eastern Cultures, in collaboration with Prof. Zohar Amar, Dr. David Iluz and Dr. Alexander Varvak from BIU and Dr. Orit Shamir from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). The unexpected finds are being published today in the prestigious journal PLoS (Public Library of Science) One under the title “Early evidence of royal purple dyed textile from Timna Valley.”

“This is a very exciting and important discovery,” said Sukenik, the IAA’s curator of organic. “This is the first piece of textile ever found from the time of David and Solomon that is dyed with the prestigious purple dye. In antiquity, purple attire was associated with the nobility, with priests and of course with royalty. The gorgeous shade of the purple, the fact that it does not fade and the difficulty in producing the dye – which is found in minute quantities in the body of mollusks and often cost more than gold – all made it the most highly valued of the dyes. Until the current discovery, we had only encountered mollusk-shell waste and potsherds with patches of dye, which provided evidence of the purple industry in the Iron Age. Now, for the first time, we have direct evidence of the dyed fabrics themselves, preserved for some 3,000 years”...

Go here for more information on Tel Aviv University's Central Timna Valley Project (CTV).

Trudeaupia's Canada's public health officer wants "faith leaders" to promote Covid-19 vaccine acceptance

"Dr." Theresa Tam, who has consistently represented the interests of the Chinese Communist regime during the Covid-19 "pandemic" rather than the interests of the Canadian people whom she's supposed to be serving, isn't content with offering Canadians ridiculous advice on their sex lives (see here and here); now she wants "faith leaders" to promote acceptance of the Covid-19 vaccine among their congregations. As reported by John Longhurst of the Winnipeg Free Press, January 22, 2021:

Canadian faith leaders have an important role to play in promoting COVID-19 vaccines, including helping their members overcome vaccine hesitancy.

That was the message Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, delivered to more than 1,300 participants of an online information event Wednesday.

The event was arranged by the Canadian Council of Churches, Canadian Interfaith Conversation and Canadian Multifaith Federation, at the request of the Privy Council and Public Health Agency of Canada.

In her remarks, Tam said combatting the novel coronavirus is a "whole of government, whole of society effort."

As "trusted voices" in their communities, faith leaders are "instrumental" in that effort, since they "know the hearts and minds of their members" and are often "called on for guidance."

Faith groups can help battle the virus by sharing credible information about vaccines with their members, she said, including dispelling fears about their safety.

They can also help by staying "vigilant" and encouraging congregations to maintain safe practices (social distancing, hand hygiene and mask wearing).

By doing this, it will not only help prevent the spread of virus, it will also give vaccines a "bit of a runway" to get going, she added.

Tam said faith groups also have an important role to play by supporting members who are struggling due to the pandemic, especially those who are elderly, vulnerable or dealing with mental health issues.

"Maintaining social, and emotional and spiritual closeness is more important than ever," she said. "Your leadership is vital for supporting and building resilience in your communities as we move through this pandemic and beyond."

Noting some communication materials about vaccines might need to be translated or adapted for different faith and cultural groups, Tam said the federal government is open to providing financial support in such efforts.

She also said Ottawa is open to working with faith groups to use their facilities as vaccination sites.

However, she added, it’s not practical now, since the "first two vaccines are tricky to handle... maybe in the future as more vaccines become available."

As to whether clergy might be put on a priority list for getting the vaccine, Tam said it might be possible, if they are involved in supporting people in long-term care homes, homeless shelters or other services to marginal and vulnerable people.

She also assured faith leaders no animal products or fetal cells were used in the production of the two current vaccines.

When asked when religious groups might see a return to in-person worship services, Tam noted the decision is up to provincial public health authorities.

Her own view is "right now is definitely not the time," with the pandemic surging in some parts of the country.

"It’s really important to follow local public health advice," Tam said, adding: "The best thing to do is to reduce the number of contacts."

All pandemics come to an end, she said, "and this one will as well."

In remarks at the conclusion of the event, Ian Shugart, Clerk of the Privy Council, noted faith groups can contribute to dealing with the pandemic by "inspiring people to action on behalf of others" while showing "none of us is self-sufficient."

The reader will note the liberalism of the "faith groups" named above. Those in "faith groups" that are ostensibly more conservative would still do well to notice if their own "faith leaders" promote acceptance of the vaccine, providing evidence of whether they're shepherds or hirelings.

This blogger would like to see the vaccine administered to politicians, police, and other beings in positions of authority who have shown so little human feeling and done so much to make people's lives miserable over the last year. With reports of people dying from the vaccine (RIP, Hank Aaron), the disappearance from the scene of these authority figures would be what baseball legend Branch Rickey referred to as "addition by subtraction."

May 17, 2022 update: This is also happening in the United States; as reported by Beth Brelje in The Epoch Times, April 6, 2022:

Many who have chosen not to get the COVID-19 shots have cited religious objections. Now Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s administration wants church leaders to bring vaccination events into churches.

Pennsylvania’s public health leaders want to “harness the power of community trust in statewide faith-based organizations” to convince folks to get a COVID-19 shot. That is according to the mission statement of the Faith-based Organization Coalition, which is being formed under the state’s Department of Health and is expected to launch April 11.

The state aims to reduce vaccine hesitancy through the “Local Innovations in Vaccine Equity in Pennsylvania” project (LIVE PA), which is a grant program that pays churches and nonprofits to speak with their people and persuade them to get vaccinated.

That is, $10 for each person-to-person outreach including direct phone calls, direct text messages, direct social media messages, door-knocking campaigns, and anything that involves one on one dialogue promoting the COVID-19 shot. The church or other nonprofit gets another $10 for each person who gets the shot.

“LIVE PA is a collaboration between the Wolf Administration’s Office of Advocacy and Reform and the departments of Health and Human Services, working closely with United Way of Pennsylvania to fund hyper-local, grassroots nonprofit and faith-based organizations to partner with certified vaccine providers to help the populations they serve overcome barriers to vaccination,” Amanda McNaughton, member services manager and Resilient PA Staff Liaison for United Way of Pennsylvania, told The Epoch Times.

The funding comes federally from the Center for Disease Control with $4 million dollars allocated to nonprofit organizations and $630,000 for faith-based organizations, McNaughton said. Grant applications were open in July 2021 and will continue through the end of 2023. So far, 104 applications have been approved, combining faith-based and nonprofit organizations, and 93 clinics have been hosted.

The LIVE PA program was promoted in a March 24, 2022 training meeting for chaplain assistants at UPMC Health Care System. Usually connected to churches, chaplains visit the sick and offer spiritual services. The Epoch Times obtained a video of the meeting, during which Aubrey Juris, partnership opportunity initiative coordinator for the Pennsylvania Department of Health Office of Health Equity explained its faith-based initiatives and encouraged chaplains to bring LIVE PA to their churches.

She suggested churches and nonprofits get creative in hosting vaccination events. Churches could set aside two hours after the worship service and the state vaccination partner could give entire families shots. A program like Meals on Wheels could have a vaccination nurse ride along on deliveries and offer the shot immediately, right in people’s homes. Or a community block party with food and prizes could be held where vaccines are being offered.

In another program, the state is seeking partners, including churches, to help distribute COVID tests in high-need communities. Participating sites must manage test kit distribution and publicize availability.

Ultimately, Juris said, the state wants to “establish COVID-19 Resource Centers in nonprofit outreach centers and houses of worship that will serve as long term, trusted resources to local communities, paving the way for COVID-19 mitigation as a social norm.”

Of the $630,000 available for faith-based organizations to participate in LIVE PA, only about $16,000 has been spent, Juris said.

McNaughton says working with faith-based organizations has been helpful.

“We have been thrilled to partner with local faith-based organizations because they are often trusted representatives with long, established histories in their communities,” McNaughton said. “The remaining population of people who are not fully vaccinated are experiencing barriers such as lack of trust or lack of access. Faith-based organizations are uniquely placed to have long histories with the populations they serve and have earned mutual trust with them. Their efforts to promote the vaccine to their congregations and the communities they serve through their charity work have been successful at reaching vaccine-hesitant populations.”

As reported by Leo Hohmann, April 7, 2022 (bold, links in original):

...Is your church or favorite ministry one of these organizations sucking up tax dollars to poison and sterilize their congregants and followers? It’s not just local churches, but big ministries that are involved in this evil.

I reported previously that the Vatican was encouraging Catholic churches to partner with governments worldwide to promote the vaccine, and some of the big-name evangelical ministries such as Samaritan’s Purse are doing the same.



I received hateful emails for weeks because folks didn’t want to believe that such a trusted name in evangelical circles as Samaritan’s Purse could be involved in this plan to vaccinate every man, woman and child with an unproven, untested, and now proven deadly serum. If you still don’t believe it, don’t trust me: Read here, here and here.

Many other churches and ministries are involved in this deadly propaganda campaign. My advice would be to check with your pastor and/or the financial records keeping department of your favorite ministries and ask if they have or ever will accept any of these funds.

I did a quick online search and found several examples of churches participating in this.

An ad from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, states: “Bethel AME Church of Ardmore, Love Your Neighbor, Alpha Kappa Alpha Inc. Phi Beta Omega Chapter, VNA, Walmart Pharmacy and ACME Pharmacy will partner with the Montgomery County Immunization Coalition to hold a community vaccination clinic.”

St. Paul’s Catholic Church partnered with Penn Medicine Princeton Health in Princeton, New Jersey, to convert its church into a vaccine clinic last May.

Democrat Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez helped convert First Baptist Church of Corona in New York City into a temporary vaccination center.

You can find hundreds of such examples online of collusion between corrupt churches and the corrupt medical/pharma complex, all feeding off of taxpayer dollars.

I am sure not every one of these churches is being paid to promote this death shot. Some are no doubt doing it for free, thinking they are doing the Lord’s work. There are no more excuses for that kind of stupidity. At this point the data is clear. You just have to look for it, because you won’t find any reporting from the mainstream media on the issue of vaccine safety. They are all bought off.

When the lid finally blows on this story, and the perpetrators of the greatest crime in human history are exposed, every one of these church leaders will be held accountable for their roles in what is quickly becoming a genocide...

...Number one, those churches didn’t become trusted by working with corrupt governments that force experimental medical treatments on their citizens.

Number two, how can this promotional work be considered “charity” if the churches are being paid to do it?

This is not earning trust. This is abusing trust, which is exactly what the globalist elites said they would do when they sat down at the Event 201 conference in October 2019 to run a simulation of the coming global coronavirus pandemic. If you listened to those seminars, they made it very clear that they would tap into “trusted sources” in the community to promote their narrative and destroy competing narratives about the pandemic.

Watch the video below from Event 201 and fast forward to the 19:25 mark. That’s CIA operative Avril Haines speaking in October 2019 about “flooding the zone” with “trusted sources” during an upcoming pandemic. Haines would later become Biden’s director of national intelligence. Another speaker, LaToya Abbott, starts talking at the 23:56 mark about the importance of combatting “anti-vaccine sentiment,” which tells you they already knew (in October 2019 two months before the pandemic was discovered in China) they were going to roll out a first-ever coronavirus vaccine that would be controversial.



Recruiting pastors to entice their flocks to accept a medical treatment they know nothing about is fraud and abuse against the people of God. Only an extremely naive and stupid pastor, or one who is an evil globalist, would agree to work with the government on such an devious plan.

With more data coming out every day on not only the failed efficacy of these injections but the dangers to health and safety, there are simply no more excuses left for pastors to be naive.

God have mercy on any pastor or ministry leader who is participating in this program.

60 years ago: Sorcery on prime-time television

Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts. Revelation 9:21

The word rendered "sorceries" in the end-time prophecy cited above is the Greek word "pharmakeia," which according to Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words:

...primarily signified the use of medicine, drugs, spells...In sorcery, the use of drugs, whether simple or potent, was generally accompanied by incantations and appeals to occult powers, with provision of various charms, amulets, etc., purportedly designed to keep the applicant or patient from the attention and power of demons, but actually to impress the applicant with the mysterious resources and powers of the sorcerer.

Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond was an anthology series televised by the American Broadcasting Company from 1959-1961, directed and hosted by John Newland, presenting stories related to the supernatural. The episode broadcast on January 24, 1961, The Sacred Mushroom, instead of being a dramatic story, was instead a documentary on the use of a particular mushroom found in Mexico and whether or not users were able to achieve powers of extrasensory perception.

The consultant for the episode, who was also featured in the program, was Dr. Andrija Puharich (1918-1995), a medical and parapsychological researcher who supported the claims of alleged psychics Peter Hurkos and Uri Geller. Dave Hunt, in his book Peace, Prosperity and the Coming Holocaust (1983), devoted some space to the work of Dr. Puharich. Nowhere in the program was it suggested or suspected that the use of a psychedelic drug such as the sacred mushroom was opening the users to contact with and deception by demons.

Charismaniac dominionist drivel in the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada

The kind of nonsense that is typical of charismaniacs and dominionists is now infecting mainstream evangelicalism. An example is provided by Lorilee Jespersen, who, according to her biographical entry, has been working with the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada in the St. Lawrence District for 20 years. In both English and French (click on the link for both languages), Ms. Jespersen stated, on January 18, 2021:

As we were preparing for District Conference 2019, our St Lawrence District team felt the Lord’s prompting to engage in a time of corporate confession similar to that of the previous General Assembly, but particularly focused on Quebec and our realities here. A group of pastors and intercessors discerned a number of key issues that God seemed to be highlighting as common sins or struggles needing to be overcome for those of us working in this part of God’s Kingdom. We carefully went to work to prepare a time of guided prayer for all the delegates.

I was primarily responsible for the last category—discouragement and despair—feelings that sometimes come on us while working in the hard ground of Quebec. I was having difficulty knowing exactly how to finish the prayer and I had left it open, waiting for God’s direction. The morning of the district conference, God seemed to wake me up with a somewhat strange message to “taste the rainbow,” and a picture of a package of Skittles. As I shared this with the others involved we had a collective sense that God wanted us to push back the discouragement, and instead renew our sense of hope and belief in His promises for this place. As a prophetic act I bought Skittles for all the participants. We handed them out to everyone and claimed the rainbow as our God-given symbol of His promises, making some very clear and faith-filled declarations over Quebec.

Since the COVID-19 crisis, Quebec—Montreal in particular—has displayed rainbows as an act of hope. They are in windows, at the airport, in various boroughs across the city, and on billboards all around us. Even famous structures such as the Jacques Cartier Bridge, the Big O, and the downtown Marriott Hotel display rainbow-coloured lights every evening. Quebecois graphic designer, Karine Perreault, is the person behind the rainbow that is featured on profile pictures on Facebook.

When I began to see the rainbow appear around me, my mind went to that moment at the District Conference when we claimed the rainbow as a symbol of God’s promises, and declared with faith that God is moving, and is going to move, in mighty ways in this place. We continue to believe this is true, and many are pressing on in prayer for spiritual awakening through this crisis. Stories are beginning to emerge of prodigals coming home. My husband and I have recently had the privilege of helping people who were once associated with our youth ministry return to the Father.

With all my heart I believe that the rainbow we see in windows and on buildings is not a human effort to make us feel better, but it is an indication that God is mightily at work here and everywhere right now. We are tasting the rainbow even now. We will see the fulfillment of His promises for this place.

Those familiar with the excesses of charismania will be familiar with assertions such as "God seemed to wake me up with a somewhat strange message..." The phrase "taste the rainbow" is nowhere found in the Bible, which leads me to question whether the message Ms. Jespersen received came from God; it seems more likely that it may have been the result of something she ate. Since when is buying Skittles a "prophetic act?"

Claiming the rainbow "as our God-given symbol of His promises, making some very clear and faith-filled declarations over Quebec" is the language of dominionism. In fact, the rainbow represents just one promise from God--that He will never again cover the Earth with a flood to destroy all flesh:

And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:
I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.
And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.
And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth. Genesis 9:12-17

It should be noted that God's promise not to destroy all flesh with a flood is represented my the appearance of actual rainbows in the sky, not pictorial depictions. While the rainbow is God's symbol of His covenant, it's been hijacked in recent decades by New Agers and alphabet perverts as a symbol of their agenda. The rainbows that Ms. Jespersen sees on display in Montreal may very well be intended to represent these anti-Christ agendas. While I sympathize with Ms. Jespersen's frustration at working in a spiritually barren place such as Quebec, she's claiming, on the basis of an alleged message from God that isn't found in the Bible, that God has promised something for Quebec that He hasn't necessarily promised; this is the attitude and language of dominionism. Her husband should correct her on her false doctrine, and so should the leaders in her church. The fact that the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada puts this on its website for public consumption is an indication of the lack of discernment in the C&MA, and doesn't bode well for the future of the denomination.

Ancient tombstone of woman who lived "immaculate life" discovered in Israel

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. Proverbs 31: 10

As reported by Naama Barak of Israel 21C, January 11, 2021 (link in original):

A lady called Maria who lived some 1,400 years ago apparently led such an immaculate life that her loved ones thought it worth mentioning on her tombstone, which was recently discovered at the Nitzana National Park in southern Israel.

The flat round tombstone, measuring 10 inches in diameter, was unearthed by an Israel Nature and Parks Authority worker while clearing nature paths.

The Greek inscription on the stone, deciphered by Leah Di Segni of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, refers to a “Blessed Maria, who lived an immaculate life” and who died on February 9 of an unspecified year. The stone itself was dated to the late sixth to early seventh centuries CE.

“Nitzana is renowned as a key site in research into the transition between the Byzantine and the Early Islamic periods,” explains Tali Erickson-Gini of the Israel Antiquities Authority.

“During the fifth and sixth centuries CE, Nitzana acted as a center for the villages and settlements in the vicinity. Among other things, it had a military fortress as well as churches, a monastery and a road station that served Christian pilgrims traveling to Santa Katarina, which believers regarded as the site of Mount Sinai.”

The ancient town of Nitzana was founded as early as the third century BCE as a Nabatean station on a major trade route. It was inhabited intermittently for over 1,000 years until it was abandoned.

This latest archeological find joins numerous others from the area, such as a papyrus archive unearthed in the 1930s and other tombstones commemorating Christians buried in the churches and cemeteries around the town.

The ancient tombstone referring to a blessed Maria that was unearthed in Nitzana in southern Israel. Photo by Emil Aladjem/Israel Antiquities Authority

100 years ago: The beginning of religious broadcasting

As reported by Paul Guggenheimer of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, January 2, 2021 (bold, links in original):

Before Jerry Falwell, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Joel Osteen, Archbishop Fulton Sheen and famous radio evangelists such as Father Charles Coughlin and Aimee Semple McPherson, there was Edwin Van Etten.

It was the Rev. Edwin Van Etten, far from a household name, who helped popularize the live radio sermon. It began Jan. 2, 1921, at Pittsburgh’s Calvary Episcopal Church on fledgling KDKA radio and continued Sunday nights for decades. And as it happens, Van Etten, rector of the East Liberty church, initially shied away from the idea.

It was exactly two months after KDKA’s historic first broadcast of the 1920 Harding-Cox presidential election results that the station put together the first live remote broadcast from Calvary.

Broadcast pioneer Harry P. Davis — a vice president of Westinghouse Electric, which owned KDKA — was looking to sell “radio sets,” as they were called back then. In order to do that, he needed programming of all types to give people a reason to buy them.

“Davis wants to be successful. He wants this to be a major commercial enterprise for Westinghouse,” said Anne Madarasz, chief historian at the Senator John Heinz History Center. “And the more quality programming and the more variety they can offer, the better opportunity he has to sell radio sets.”

Plans were made to do all sorts of live, remote broadcasts, but the one from Calvary proved to be KDKA’s test case, according to Madarasz.

“Two weeks later, Herbert Hoover does an address at the Duquesne Club, and they do a remote (broadcast) from there,” Madarasz said. “By April, they’re doing boxing, by August they’re doing the Davis Cup and Pirates games, college football in October. So, they literally go right from the Calvary broadcast to this.”

How Calvary Episcopal was chosen

Calvary was chosen for that first church broadcast by an ancient tradition: Somebody knew somebody.

Davis wanted to do some type of religious broadcast on Sundays. A Westinghouse employee named Fletcher Hallock — a choir member at Calvary — suggested his own church.

Van Etten was open to the idea but expressed concern about how much of a distraction the broadcast would create. He and others also worried that people might be less inclined to attend church in person if they could just listen to it on the radio. However, he never suggested it shouldn’t be tried.

“Calvary has always been easygoing and welcoming when it comes to embracing new things,” said the Rev. Jonathon Jensen, the rector of Calvary since 2014.

Nevertheless, Van Etten decided radio was a passing fad and would just be “a fizzle.” So he sat that first broadcast out and delegated the duty of giving radio’s first sermon to his assistant, the Rev. Lewis Whittemore.

But a lot of planning and rehearsing had to be done at the church before Whittemore stepped up to that live microphone.

“The (engineers) practiced for two weeks moving the transmitters and microphones around to see how to get the best reception,” Madarasz said. “They used three microphones — one with the organ, one with the choir and one with the pastor — and it takes two engineers.

“They had a Jewish engineer and a Catholic engineer, and they wore choir robes the first week so they blended in and didn’t distract the congregants.”

The sound was transmitted over telephone lines back to the KDKA studios and broadcast from there.

You would think all of this would have been a cause for great excitement among the Calvary faithful. Not so, according to Jensen.

A ‘nonevent’ …

“The service 100 years ago was almost a nonevent,” Jensen said. “There’s two little paragraphs in the bulletin about it. The first radio broadcast received slightly less attention than the basketball league scores.” In the church calendar, Van Etten announced that “interesting arrangements have been made for tonight’s service. The International Radio Company (Westinghouse) has installed wireless telephone receiving apparatus in the chancel, and tonight’s music, sermon and service will be flashed for a radius of 1,000 miles through space.”

But at 7:45 that Sunday evening of Jan. 2, 1921, something magical happened. The sermon preached by Whittemore was titled “The Wood and the Sword.”

“My friends, one would not lose an opportunity to speak and be heard by the radio congregation,” Whittemore said. “He would want to say something that could be of use and of strength and of meaning to every one who might hear his word.

“He would want to point out with all earnestness that the real perils and dangers of life are never the outside ones. It is never the difficult tasks that prove fatal to life. The real dangers to life are always the inside uncertainty, the inside entanglements and the inside inability.”

Jensen noted that Whittemore’s address was long by today’s standards.

… becomes a sensation

But, more importantly, it was a huge hit with the radio audience.

“Apparently, that radio broadcast was reaching people a thousand miles away,” Jensen said. “People started sending in letters thanking them. They were excited about it. They started sending in dimes and nickels, and that’s eventually how we paid for the plaque on the front of the church” that commemorates the broadcast.

Van Etten was reported to have said radio should not be used to raise money for churches.

However, after seeing how well the broadcast was received, he decided to take on the lead role when the broadcasts became a weekly event on Sunday nights, thus becoming the first regularly heard radio evangelist. He gained a formidable following in the process.

Any concerns about radio keeping people away from church proved unfounded. To the contrary, people approached Van Etten to say they were coming to church because they had heard him on the radio.

Other churches wanted to be on the radio as well.

“Shortly after KDKA’s broadcast, other radio stations around the country start doing it,” Madarasz said. “They recognized there’s a market for this.”

‘The KDKA Chapel’

“By March, they’ve got the KDKA Chapel, as they called it, up and running. They’re bringing a revolving series of churches in, and they’re also doing other remote broadcasts.

“They’re dedicating three broadcasts on Sundays to church services.”

The following year, KDKA broadcast a guest sermon by William Jennings Bryan, the politician and popular orator, from Point Breeze Presbyterian Church. (The church building at Fifth and Penn avenues is now home to St. Paul Baptist.) It was Bryan’s first-ever radio broadcast.

The weekly KDKA broadcasts from Calvary would continue until 1962.

On Sunday, Calvary will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first broadcast. Some of the music from the 1921 service — “The Angels and the Shepherds,” “Carol of the Russian Children” and “Jesu Bambino” — will be performed, along with one of the hymns.

A reproduction of the 1921 service bulletin appears at the end of Calvary’s newsletter online.

HT: Puget Sound Radio

Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople blasts Moscow Patriarchate

A recent backlog item; as reported by Russian Faith, August 13, 2020:

Patriarch Bartholomew is a citizen of Turkey. He leads all Greek Orthodox churches in the United States of America, as well as the handful of Christians remaining in Istanbul, Turkey.

As reported by Tatyana Chaika of the Union of Orthodox Journalists, February 6, 2020 (links in original):

The Patriarchate of Constantinople is revered by spiritual children across the world, still there are the ungrateful who do not value its gifts, said Pat. Bartholomew.

On February 5, 2020, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople met with a group of clergy, professors, and students from Armenia, Romfea reports.

In his speech, Patriarch Bartholomew noted, “Constantinople is the spiritual womb of our nation, the ark in which everything that is sacred to our nation is preserved.”

He emphasized, “We consider this a special blessing and privilege from God, because we were granted this spirituality, this blessing to continue the tradition of many centuries, according to which our patriarchy is founded and worshiped not only by our own spiritual children but also by others, by the entire Orthodoxy, by the Christian world, by the whole mankind.”

According to him, the Patriarchate of Constantinople "is of particular value to us, the Greek Orthodox, as well as to all Orthodox faithful", while "the new Orthodox Autocephalous Churches, which were born from here, found healing. Unfortunately, there are unborn children and there are ungrateful ones who do not appreciate what they received from Constantinople – their Baptism, culture, the Cyrillic alphabet or otherwise.”

“The Church of Constantinople sacrificed itself, gave itself to others and, as grateful people tell us, the Mother Church, because She is the mother and still loves them all,” added the Phanar leader.

As reported by the UOJ, earlier Metropolitan Maxim (Vgenopoulos) of Silivria assured the head of Phanar that the Holy Theotokos is on his side “in the struggle of the Ecumenical Throne with its opponents, including the ungrateful Moscow Church.”

As reported by Yekaterina Filatova of the Union of Orthodox Journalists, August 11, 2020 (links in original):

Pat. Bartholomew spoke explicitly of visible and invisible enemies of the Mother Church, stressing that "we have ungrateful children, but we embrace them all with love."

The Head of the Phanar, Patriarch Bartholomew, called the Moscow Patriarchate, which broke off Eucharistic communion with Constantinople after the latter had granted autocephaly to Ukrainian schismatics, enemies and "ungrateful children." It was reported by the Orthodox Times.

Thus, according to the resource, Patriarch Bartholomew made a direct reference to both the visible and invisible enemies of the Mother Church of Constantinople and about the ungrateful children who benefited from the Church of Constantinople and yet “lifted heels of contempt against their benefactor.”

“We have enemies, it is not that we do not have, and in fact many,” the publication cites the patriarch. The enemies are not only who are declared, whom we know to be our enemies, but they are also the beneficiaries of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, its descendants, its spiritual descendants. So, we also have ungrateful children, but we embrace them all with love.”

The Phanar head recalled that on the occasion of the granting of Autocephaly to Ukraine, the Church of Russia “interrupted the Eucharistic communion and ceased to commemorate the Ecumenical Patriarchate.”

“However, the Ecumenical Patriarchate did not interrupt communion with the Church of Russia. Even this morning, while officiating at St. Panteleimon in Galatas, we commemorated Patriarch Cyril of Moscow,” the Ecumenical Patriarch stressed.

“We continue to embrace everyone, enemies and friends, with our love and our prayer and our understanding,” Patriarch Bartholomew upheld.

He made special mention of the continuous interest of the Mother Church for her direct flock in Constantinople, and for her care for every believer, “regardless of his/her national origin, as she takes care of the worship needs and the spiritual support of the Romanian, Ukrainian, Russian, Moldavian, Gagauz and, more recently, of the Georgian Orthodox Christians, who came as immigrants and now live permanently in Constantinople, being a flock of the Mother Church.”

As reported by the UOJ, earlier Patriarch Bartholomew claimed that the Patriarchate of Constantinople "is of particular value to us, the Greek Orthodox, as well as to all Orthodox faithful", while "the new Orthodox Autocephalous Churches, which were born from here, found healing. Unfortunately, there are unborn children and there are ungrateful ones, who do not appreciate what they received from Constantinople – their Baptism, culture, the Cyrillic alphabet or otherwise.”

As reported by the Union of Orthodox Journalists, August 11, 2020:

The Ecumenical Patriarch made another direct reference to both the visible and invisible enemies of the Mother Church. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew spoke about ungrateful children who benefited from the Church of Constantinople and yet, as he stressed, “lifted heels of contempt against their benefactor.”

“We have enemies, it is not that we do not have, and in fact many…. The enemies are not only who are declare, whom we know to be our enemies, but they are also the beneficiaries of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, its descendants, its spiritual descendants. “So, we also have ungrateful children, but we embrace them all with love.”

This direct shot, of course, was aimed at the Church of Russia, which on the occasion of the granting of Autocephaly to Ukraine, interrupted the Eucharistic communion and ceased to commemorate the Ecumenical Patriarchate.

“You know that on the occasion of the Autocephaly of the Church of Ukraine the Moscow Patriarchate interrupted the communion with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, that is, with its Mother Church. However, the Ecumenical Patriarchate did not interrupted communion with the Church of Russia. “Even this morning, while officiating at St. Panteleimon in Galatas, we commemorated Patriarch Cyril of Moscow,” the Ecumenical Patriarch stressed, adding that “We continue to embrace everyone, enemies and friends, with our love and our prayer and our understanding.”

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew made special mention of the continuous interest of the Mother Church for her direct flock in Constantinople, and for her care for every believer, regardless of his/her national origin, as she takes care of the worship needs and the spiritual support of the Romanian, Ukrainian, Russian, Moldavian, Gagauz and, more recently, of the Georgian Orthodox Christians, who came as immigrants and now live permanently in Constantinople, being a flock of the Mother Church.

U.S. federal court of appeals rules against New York restrictions on houses of worship

It's not guaranteed, but if you dare to stand up for your rights, there's a chance you might win; of course, you won't win if you cravenly bow the knee to Caesar, as many churches have done. As reported by Shira Hanau of Jewish Telegraphic Agency, December 28, 2020 (link in original):

A federal court of appeals ruled that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s capacity limits on houses of worship in areas with rising COVID-19 cases constituted a violation of religious liberty.

The ruling on Monday comes after a Supreme Court injunction last month blocking Cuomo from enforcing the rules until the lower court could reevaluate an earlier ruling that upheld state guidelines limiting synagogue attendance to 10 or 25 people.

The case, brought by the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Agudath Israel of America, an advocacy organization representing haredi Orthodox Jews, was one of the first religious liberty cases to be decided by the court’s new conservative majority. The appeals court ruling was celebrated by Agudath Israel as confirmation that it had achieved a victory for religious liberty.

“The courts have clearly recognized that the restrictions imposed by New York State violate the constitutional rights of those seeking to attend religious worship services,” Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, executive vice president of Agudath Israel of America, said in a statement Monday.

The court of appeals did not rule on the constitutionality of percentage capacity limits, which would have impacted smaller houses of worship. Houses of worship in zones with the highest rates of COVID-19, so-called red zones, were subjected to capacity limits of ten people or 25% of building capacity, whichever is fewer. In orange zones, the limit was 25 people or 33% of capacity, whichever is fewer.

The court ordered the district court to reevaluate its ruling on the percentage capacity limits imposed by Cuomo to determine if they discriminated against houses of worship.

Crimes against church buildings in Saskatchewan are increasing

As reported by Canadian Press, December 23, 2020:

REGINA - RCMP say they are dealing with a new trend in Saskatchewan involving a significant increase in crimes affecting churches.

Mounties have issued a "Crime Pattern Alert" about a growing number of thefts, break-ins, attempted break-ins and mischief involving places of worship.

Police say that from January to November there were 64 such crimes involving 55 churches — a 60 per cent increase in break-ins from 2019.

In most cases, the doors of churches were opened by force at night and thieves took money, electronics, computers, guitars, safes, freezers and refrigerators.

Investigators says all denominations are being targeted and nothing indicates the crime trend is motivated by hate, racism or ideology.

RCMP crime analyst Monica Deters says people and communities are being urged to make their churches more secure.

"This increase in church break-ins is concerning enough that it creates a pattern," Deters said Wednesday in a release.

"This new criminal trend is noticeable because these break-ins happened all year and across Saskatchewan. It is imperative that we all get involved to better secure these buildings."

RCMP say most of the crimes that affected churches this year are in the central part of the province.

I suspect this is the result of the buildings not being used during the plandemic; one thing that might deter crime would be for the buildings to reopen.

Vatican's 2020 nativity scene displays occult symbols

To quote renowned cultural observer James Stolee out of context: "What utter blasphemy!" As reported by Vigilant Citizen, December 15, 2020 (bold, links in original):

On December 11th, the Vatican unveiled its 2020 Nativity scene in St-Peter’s Square. And, once the red drape covering the scene was removed, the crowd discovered a towering, brutalist, and totem-like Angel Gabriel staring back at them, along with an astronaut and a masked executioner (yes, those guys who kill people who are sentenced to death).

Let’s say that the applause following the unveiling was “polite”. Here are some pictures of the Nativity scene.

An ominous-looking angel looks down at the crowd while Jesus remains covered in red cloth for a while (not sure why). Behind the figures is a neon light that is probably meant to look like mountains on the horizon. However, at first glance, it looks like lightning striking the Nativity scene.

An astronaut and a masked executioner are also included in the Nativity scene.

In a press release, a Vatican City Governorate announced that the manger “aims to be a sign of hope and faith for the whole world especially in this difficult time due to the COVID-19 health emergency.”

But this thing did not bring “hope and faith” at all. In fact, nearly all observers absolutely hated it.

In no way does this horned creature bring me Christmas joy. And to think, in a few weeks, he's going to be standing over a Baby Jesus at the Vatican.

How did we get here?

--The Catholic Traveler

It is almost as if the Vatican created – on purpose – something that is so ugly that it causes devout Christians to hate piece depicting the birth of Jesus. Satanists wouldn’t have done better.

Weaponized Ugliness

Titled “Monumental Nativity”, this Nativity scene was originally created between 1965 and 1975 by students and teachers from the FA Grue Art School in Castelli, Italy. The original work contained over 50 pieces, but only a few were selected for the Vatican’s Nativity scene and they chose an executioner wearing a horned mask.

“Monumental Nativity” is said to be a tribute to the world-renowned ceramic works of the Abruzzo region while giving a post-modern twist to the classic Nativity scene.

Speaking with a local newspaper, Italian art historian Andrea Cionci asked if it was a “nightmare or a masterpiece”.

“Forget the sweet face of the Madonna, the tender, luminous incarnation of the Child Jesus, the paternal sweetness of St. Joseph and the devout wonder of the shepherds. For the first time in the middle of Bernini’s colonnade, the Vatican has erected a brutally postmodern work dating back to the sixties. In the choice of this crib, all the themes of Francis’ pontificate are recognized: Above all, heavy modernism and a drastic break with Tradition.

The figures resemble the masks of the ancient and ferocious Samnites, ancestors of the Abruzzese, who had a pantheistic, animist, fetishist, magical religion, a bit like the Andean fertility goddess Pachamama.

Castelli’s “Nativity scene” is an outdated work and the product of a strongly ideological art school. The work offers an image of Castelli’s ceramics that most certainly does not correspond to reality, given that this admirable art is famous for its formal elegance and exquisite, delicate decorative inspiration that are completely absent here.

The references to the Greek, Egyptian and Sumerian sculptures of the characters suggest the liberal historical-critical method of interpreting Scripture. Liberal biblical scholars have hypothesized various aspects of the Bible as adaptations of pagan cultures rather than the result of divine revelation.”

Although “ugliness” is subjective, this Nativity scene nearly goes out of its way to be as unpleasant to the eye as possible which, in turn, is unpleasant to the soul. The least one can say is that this scene is anti-devotional. I mean, who would actually pray to this thing? You just can’t. And that’s kind of the goal of the twisted minds behind this thing.

Furthermore, beyond its overall ugliness, the Nativity scene also contains many symbols and historical references that convey a rather blatant message: This is actually an anti-Nativity scene.

Anti-Nativity

Usually, the center focus of Nativity scenes is baby Jesus. However, in this thing, Baby Jesus is basically a random toddler, just standing there, looking like a giant cork.

WORSHIP ME

The center focus of this piece is not Jesus but rather the angel Gabriel. He is surrounded by a massive aureola while Jesus is still standing there looking like a giant cork. Furthermore, the angel towers over everything atop a rib ribbed pillar. The overall shape of this pillar is highly reminiscent of an important symbol in Ancient Egypt: The Djed pillar.

On the right: A djed pillar dedicated to the goddess Hathor.

The djed is a common symbol in Ancient Egypt and is believed to represent the god Osiris, more specifically his spine. While this symbol probably bears an esoteric meaning relating to the chakras (which are said to be based on the spine), the djed is also phallic in nature and associated with fertility rites. In fact, the “raising of the djed” was an important ceremony in Ancient Egypt.

Did the Vatican deceptively make its believers witness a “raising of the djed” ceremony? One thing is for sure, the Egyptian influence of this Nativity scene blends well with what’s immediately behind it.

Right behind the Nativity scene is St. Peter’s obelisk (which is originally from Egypt).

The general layout of the Vatican is Egyptian magic in plain sight. The phallic obelisk (representing Osiris and the male principle) faces the womb-like dome of the St. Peter’s Basilica (representing Isis and the female principle). The same exact layout can be found in various power centers of the world, including Washington DC.

In Washington DC, an obelisk (the Washington monument) faces the dome of the U.S. Capitol.

In Egyptian magic, the union of male and female principles (Osiris and Isis) produces a “star child” (Horus). In esoteric terms, that star child is potent magical energy...

...the Vatican’s Nativity scene also features an astronaut. Why? God knows.

The astronaut appears to be holding/giving birth to something. Also, there’s an eight-pointed star on the helmet.

Considering the fact that this figure was created between 1965 and 1975, it might be a reference to the moon landing of 1969. But why, in 2020, did the Vatican select this thing to stand next to Jesus?

Even more baffling, why is there an executioner wearing a horned mask standing next to Jesus?

Even he’s thinking to himself: “What am I doing here?”.

In ancient times, executioners carried out the death sentences of legally condemned persons by chopping their heads off. In some cases, they wore grotesque masks with macabre and menacing traits to further terrify the prisoners while depersonalizing them as an individual. In short, that’s a bizarre figure to place next to a newborn baby Jesus, especially considering the fact that Jesus himself was ultimately sentenced to death.

According to Religion News Service, the executioner is there to represent the Vatican’s opposition to the death penalty. That’s a pretty weak argument that barely makes any sense. I mean, I’m pretty sure that the Vatican is also against crystal meth. Should they also add a meth dealer to the Nativity scene as well?

In a scene that is literally called “Nativity”, this horned figure represents death. It is the antithesis of a “Nativity”. I don’t think that Satanists would have done a better job desecrating a scene representing the birth of Jesus.

In Conclusion

In a way, this year’s Nativity scene is a sad reflection of the year 2020. It is a collection of expressionless and socially-distanced figures who do not interact with each other while standing under the neon glow of phone and computer screens.

It also reflects how the occult elite reared its ugly head this year, poisoning every aspect of our lives with its toxic agenda. Through a display that is thoroughly anti-Christian, the elite sought to prove that its toxic ideology is also embedded in the Vatican.

While “Monumental Nativity” was created decades ago, it was selected for this year’s 2020 Nativity scene for a specific reason: It contains specific symbols while conveying a specific energy. Like everything else that happened this year, this scene is about showcasing the control of the elite and the demoralization of the masses.

Pope Francis approves Covid-19 vaccine despite its links to abortion

If any pope ever deserved the title of "Antichrist," it's Cardinal Bergoglio from Argentina; he gets more brazen in his promotion of ungodliness every time you look around. As reported by Tyler Van Dyke of the Washington Examiner, December 21, 2020 (links in original):

Pope Francis approved a note released by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith on Monday, condoning the use of coronavirus vaccines that have an indirect connection to abortion, saying it is "morally acceptable" to receive the vaccine.

"It is morally acceptable to receive Covid-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from aborted fetuses in their research and production process," the CDF wrote. "All vaccinations recognized as clinically safe and effective can be used in good conscience with the certain knowledge that the use of such vaccines does not constitute formal cooperation with the abortion from which the cells used in production of the vaccines derive."

The letter was signed by Cardinal Luis Ladaria Ferrer, the Vatican prefect, and Archbishop Giacomo Morandi, Vatican secretary. Pope Francis approved the text on Dec. 17 and released the note Monday.

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were involved in a commonly employed "confirmatory test" that relies on HEK293, a cell line derived from a human embryonic kidney cell from a fetus that was aborted in the 1970s. Because of this, some Catholics have expressed concerns about the ethics of getting the vaccine, with some calling for Catholics to "reject a vaccine which has been produced immorally."

The papal notice follows a similar missive from bishops in the United States who sanctioned getting the vaccine despite concerns from members of the Catholic community. One Texas church leader, Bishop Joseph Strickland, said that he "urge[d] all who believe in the sanctity of life to reject a vaccine which has been produced immorally."

"In view of the gravity of the current pandemic and the lack of availability of alternative vaccines, the reasons to accept the new COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are sufficiently serious to justify their use, despite their remote connection to morally compromised cell lines," the committees wrote, referring to the use of HEK293-derived tests. "Being vaccinated safely against COVID-19 should be considered an act of love of our neighbor and part of our moral responsibility for the common good."

The CDF's note continues a trend in previous pronouncements, according to Vatican News. As recently as 2017, the Holy See said the value of vaccines and their distance from contemporary abortion practices "lead us to exclude that there is a morally relevant cooperation between those who use these vaccines today and the practice of voluntary abortion."

"The morality of vaccination depends not only on the duty to protect one's own health, but also on the duty to pursue the common good," the CDF said. "In the absence of other means to stop or even prevent the epidemic, the common good may recommend vaccination, especially to protect the weakest and most exposed."

Morocco follows United Arab Emirates, Sudan, and Bahrain in normalizing diplomatic relations with Israel

Israel and her neighbours seem to have formed a "Peace Agreement of the Month Club" in recent months. First, there was the United Arab Emirates, as reported by Linda Gradstein of VOA News, October 20, 2020:

JERUSALEM - A senior delegation from the United Arab Emirates arrived in Israel for the first official visit since the two countries signed a peace agreement last month. They signed a series of bilateral agreements, including a visa waiver agreement.

A very happy Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the UAE delegation, saying “today we are making history.”

"The enthusiasm for this peace agreement among our people is enormous. It’s real, it’s broad, it’s deep, and it reflects the potential that is realized today," said Netanyahu.

One of the agreements says that Israelis will not need visas to visit the UAE, and Emiratis can visit Israel freely as well. With direct flights expected to start by January, the Israeli tourist industry, which has been hit hard by COVID-19, hopes for 250,000 Emiratis to visit a year. Some Israeli tour companies are already marketing trips to Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The two also inaugurated a three-billion dollar trilateral fund among Israel, the UAE and the US to encourage investment.

For Netanyahu, the UAE’s short delegation visit was a welcome break from his electoral woes. His popularity has plummeted amid criticism of his handling of the pandemic, and his trial on several charge of corruption is set to start in January.

President Trump also hopes the accord, which was signed last month in Washington, will give him an electoral boost. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the accords could transform the Middle East.

"The Abraham Accords established direct economic ties between two of the Middle East’s most thriving and advanced economies," said Mnuchin. "These ties create a tremendous foundation for economic growth, opportunity, innovation and prosperity."

For the UAE, Israel offers high tech innovation and business opportunities. UAE Minister of State for Financial Affairs Obaid Huamid Al Tayer said both countries offer opportunities."The UAE will continue to be a regional leader in terms of economic reform, openness in international trade, political stability and peacemaking," said Al Tayer.

"The economic cooperation in finance and investment will be realized after signing today the agreement for the promotion and protection of investment.

Because of COVID-19, the delegation did not leave the area of the airport. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu invited them back for a sightseeing trip when the pandemic passes.

Then there was Sudan; see my post Israel and Sudan agree to normalize relations (October 23, 2020).

Bahrain was next; as reported by France 24, November 18, 2020:

Bahrain and Israel said on Wednesday they would open embassies, establish online visa systems and launch weekly flights between the countries soon, in a broadened cooperation promoted by Washington as an economic boon and means of isolating Iran.

On the first official visit by Bahraini officials to Israel, the Gulf kingdom’s foreign minister, Abdellatif al-Zayani, was welcomed Wednesday at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport by his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi, a live Israeli television broadcast showed.

Bahrain and its Gulf neighbour the United Arab Emirates both signed US-sponsored normalisation accords with Israel at the White House on September 15, pacts that were condemned as a "betrayal" by the Palestinians and their allies.

The agreements shattered a longstanding Arab consensus that there should be no normalisation with Israel until it reaches a comprehensive peace deal with the Palestinians.

The Bahraini envoys went on to Jerusalem, which Israel, with US backing, considers its capital. Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem for a state, have been outraged by the Arab countries' engagement with Israel while their own goals are unmet.

In a possible sign of a rethink, a senior Palestinian official told Reuters that Palestinian ambassadors would return to Abu Dhabi and Manama after having been recalled in protest.

Al-Zayani's trip coincided with a visit to Israel by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who hailed the regional rapprochement brokered by the Trump administration as it presses sanctions against Iran.

The normalisation deals "tell malign actors like the Islamic Republic of Iran that their influence in the region is waning and that they are ever more isolated and shall forever be until they change their direction", Pompeo said alongside his Bahraini counterpart and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Al-Zayani announced that, as of December 1, Bahrainis and Israelis will be able to apply online for entry visas. He also submitted a request to open a Bahraini embassy in Israel and said an Israeli embassy had been approved for Manama.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Askenazi, who is due to visit Manama next month, said he hoped opening ceremonies for the embassies would be held by the end of 2020.

Sudan followed Bahrain and UAE in announcing last month it would move towards ties with Israel...

...The United States has very close relations with Bahrain too. The tiny but strategic kingdom just across the Gulf from Iran is home to the US Fifth Fleet.

All three allies – Israel, Bahrain and the US – see the mainly Shiite Muslim regional power Iran as a common threat.

Al-Zayani's visit is expected to be followed by others.

On Tuesday, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin sent an official invitation to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayad Al-Nahyan, seen by many as the UAE's de facto ruler.

The latest to join the club is Morocco; as reported by Steve Holland of Reuters, December 10, 2020:

WASHINGTON -Israel and Morocco agreed on Thursday to normalize relations in a deal brokered with U.S. help, making Morocco the fourth Arab country to set aside hostilities with Israel in the past four months.

It joins the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan in beginning to forge deals with Israel, driven in part by U.S.-led efforts to present a united front against Iran and roll back Tehran’s regional influence.

In a departure from longstanding U.S. policy, President Donald Trump agreed as part of the deal to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over the Western Sahara, a desert region where a decades-old territorial dispute has pitted Morocco against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, a breakaway movement that seeks to establish an independent state...

...Trump sealed the Israel-Morocco accord in a phone call with Morocco’s King Mohammed VI on Thursday, the White House said.

“Another HISTORIC breakthrough today! Our two GREAT friends Israel and the Kingdom of Morocco have agreed to full diplomatic relations – a massive breakthrough for peace in the Middle East!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

Mohammed told Trump that Morocco intends to facilitate direct flights for Israeli tourists to and from Morocco, according to a statement from Morocco’s royal court.

“This will be a very warm peace. Peace has never - the light of peace on this Hanukkah day has never - shone brighter than today in the Middle East,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement, referring to a Jewish eight-day holiday starting on Thursday night.

Palestinians have been critical of the normalization deals, saying Arab countries have set back the cause of peace by abandoning a longstanding demand that Israel give up land for a Palestinian state before it can receive recognition.

Egypt and UAE issued statements welcoming Morocco’s decision. Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1979.

“This step, a sovereign move, contributes to strengthening our common quest for stability, prosperity, and just and lasting peace in the region,” Abu Dhabi’s crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, wrote on Twitter.

But Senator Jim Inhofe, the Republican chairman of the U.S. Senate’s Armed Services Committee, denounced Trump’s “shocking and deeply disappointing” decision to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara. Inhofe said people living in the area should vote in a referendum to decide their future.

“The president has been poorly advised by his team. He could have made this deal without trading the rights of a voiceless people,” Inhofe said in a statement.

A senior U.S. official said Trump knew about Inhofe’s opposition to recognizing Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara. But Inhofe’s argument lost ground with the president when the senator refused to hold up the annual defense spending bill when Trump demanded it be used to repeal a law granting liability protection to tech companies, the official said...

...Under the agreement, Morocco will establish full diplomatic relations and resume official contacts with Israel.

“They are going to reopen their liaison offices in Rabat and Tel Aviv immediately with the intention to open embassies. And they are going to promote economic cooperation between Israeli and Moroccan companies,” Kushner told Reuters.

Trump’s agreement to change U.S. policy on the Western Sahara was the linchpin for getting Morocco’s agreement and a major shift away from a mostly neutral stance.

In Rabat, Morocco’s royal court said Washington will open a consulate in Western Sahara as part of Morocco’s deal with Israel.

A White House proclamation said the United States believes that an independent Sahrawi state is “not a realistic option for resolving the conflict and that genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the only feasible solution.”

“We urge the parties to engage in discussions without delay, using Morocco’s autonomy plan as the only framework to negotiate a mutually acceptable solution,” it said.

Washington had supported a 1991 ceasefire between Morocco and the Western Sahara’s Polisario Front independence movement that called for a referendum to resolve the issue. Last month, after a border incident, the Polisario pulled out of that deal and announced a return to armed struggle.

A representative of the Polisario Front said it “regrets highly” the U.S. change in policy, which it called “strange but not surprising.”

“This will not change an inch of the reality of the conflict and the right of the people of Western Sahara to self determination,” the Polisario’s Europe representative Oubi Bchraya said.

For further reading, see Joel Rosenberg's views: Peace on earth? Arab-Israeli peace deals seem like Hanukkah miracles (December 15, 2020).

250 members of "lost" "Sons of Manasseh" make aliyah from India to Israel

And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,
And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.
If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. Deuteronomy 30:1-5

As reported by Israel365 News, December 14, 2020:

Jerusalem – Tonight, 250 members of the Bnei Menashe Jewish community of northeastern India will make Aliyah via a special flight chartered by both Israel’s Ministry of Aliyah and Integration and the Jerusalem-based nonprofit Shavei Israel.

The Bnei Menashe, or sons of Manasseh, from Mizoram and Manipur claim descent from one of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel who were sent into exile by the Assyrian Empire more than 27 centuries ago. Their ancestors wandered through Central Asia and the Far East for centuries, before settling along the borders of what are now Burma and Bangladesh. Throughout their sojourn in exile, the Bnei Menashe continued to practice Judaism just as their ancestors did, including observing the Sabbath, keeping kosher, celebrating the festivals, and following the laws of family purity. They continue to nourish the dream of one day returning to the land of their ancestors, the Land of Israel.

The effort was coordinated by Shavei Israel, a nonprofit organization founded by Michael Freund, who immigrated to Israel from the United States with the aim of strengthening the ties between the Jewish people, the State of Israel, and the descendants of Jews around the world. The organization is currently active in more than a dozen countries and provides assistance to a variety of communities such as the Bnei Menashe of India, the Bnei Anousim (referred to by the derogatory term “Marranos” by historians) in Spain, Portugal, and South America, the Subbotnik Jews of Russia, the Jewish community of Kaifeng in China, descendants of Jews living in Poland, and others.

See also my posts: Jews from "lost tribe" move from India to Israel (December 24, 2012)

More descendants of "lost tribe" from India arrive in Israel (April 19, 2017)