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A fearsome thing is coming upon the Earth.
I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.
– Revelation 6:12-13
Bible scholars debate whether the disasters prophesied in the Revelation are natural or manmade. What are the of the “stars” that will fall from the sky during the seven years of tribulation coming upon the earth before the Second Return of Christ?
Are these “stars” nuclear bombs? Hypersonic missiles? Asteroids, meteors, or comets?
Perhaps man will bring disaster upon himself in the form of war or another manmade catastrophe. God often used nations as the instruments of His judgments in the past, and the last book of the Bible prophecies a time of God’s judgment coming upon an unbelieving world.
The enormity and apocalyptic nature of this time will exceed the tribulation of the days of Noah, when God executed a catastrophic and divine intervention upon that evil generation. Our planet bears witness to this world-wide cataclysm, and secular scientists are increasingly acknowledging this fact. The moon is battered with visible craters, and 9,137 of these have been recognized by the International Astronomical Union. Researchers have discovered over 100 rings of impact craters on Earth, bearing witness to its own tortured past.
Space constantly bombards our planet.
Space debris constantly bombards Earth, most of it burns up in the atmosphere upon entry. Scientists have found evidence of wounds caused by larger objects. The planets and other bodies of our solar system bear the scars of many collisions with space objects.
Smaller space bodies orbiting around the Sun at a distance between 0.983 and 1.3 astronomical units are designated Near-Earth Objects (NEOs). Comets, asteroids, and meteoroids are NEOs.
An NEO with an orbit potentially in Earth’s path and large enough to cause significant destruction is called a PHO (Potentially Hazardous Object). Most of these are PHAs, or Potentially Hazardous Asteroids.
We are granted precious few insights into what an assault from outer space upon Earth might look like. So, what is the difference between an asteroid, meteor, and comet? Aren’t they just different names for the same thing?
Know your Potentially Hazardous Objects
There is a difference in terminology when we talk about NEOs. This difference applies mostly in reference to their size and interaction with Earth and the Sun.
Asteroid: A rock, smaller than a planet but larger than a meteoroid, circling the sun
Comet: A body made of ice and dust that circles the sun. As the ice and dust vaporize, the comet forms a “tail.”
Meteoroid: A space rock, usually a piece of an asteroid or comet
Meteor: A meteoroid that enters a planet’s atmosphere and burns up. Large meteor showers detectable from Earth occur when our atmosphere passes through the particles left behind by a comet.
Meteorite: A meteoroid that hits the ground
Better yet, know your Savior.
Learning about the prophecies of the Bible and the science of their potential means of fulfillment is interesting, but it only brings us closer to deliverance if we listen to the warning. Remember the words in the introduction to Revelation:
Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near.
– Revelation 1:3
If the time of the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy concerning the Second Return of Jesus Christ was near 2,000 years ago, it must be a breath away today. A blessing is granted to those who read the prophecy with open hearts and respond to it by accepting the message it contains. It’s not enough to read Revelation. It’s not enough to study it. We are called to respond to it, to bow to the Sovereign soon to be revealed to all mankind before the day of judgment falls.
Those who receive Jesus as Lord will not see the day of wrath coming upon the earth. If we love humanity, we must warn those in the path of danger. If we love as Jesus loves, we will show them the way of life.
Photo ID 46121991 | © Konradbak | Dreamstime.com
Coming next week: Like a Scroll
This weekly series follows the story line of the Christian thriller Blood Falls. Each episode occurs in chronological order, giving context, perspective, and Biblical foundation for the novel. Discover the true stories and incredible facts behind the book! See the entire series here: https://cmaddict.com/tag/behind-blood-falls/
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A secret is a terrible thing to bear.
Would not God find this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.
– Psalm 44:21There are myriad types of secrets. Some are trifles, only important to us. Others are life-shattering and may even have legal implications. If it’s a good secret, it’s hard to bear because we’re bursting to share it with others. Good news only gets better when it’s celebrated with a loved one or friend, right? Keeping it quiet is misery.
A dark secret can’t be shared, so there’s nobody to help relieve the guilt; no one with whom to share the crushing pain. There’s no heavier burden than carrying heartache alone. Sometimes the secret we carry is not for ourselves but for others.
Those are the worst.
We all have secrets of some magnitude. One researcher found 97% of people are keeping a secret at any given time. Most people carry an average of thirteen. We know how exhausting it is to live with the worry of having a part of us or someone we love exposed to others, of remaining silent when we want to speak.
Psychologists have known for some time about the effect that hiding secrets has on our emotional and physical well-being. Secrets are hard on both body and soul. Recent research has illuminated the emotional crisis further, finding that it’s not the work of keeping the secret as much as the living with the secret that ravages us.
As Michael Slepian writes in the Scientific American, confiding in a third party reduces emotional pain—not by lessening the need to keep the secret from others, but by reducing the amount of time spent wandering to that place in the mind and reliving it.
But sharing a secret with another is fraught with danger. It takes great wisdom to know when our peace of mind is worth the possible destruction of another’s life. It’s possible to lose a friendship or destroy entire relationships with an ill-timed revelation. Relieving our minds at the expense of another’s well-being is both unhealthy and narcissistic.
There is better way.
God already knows our darkest secrets.
“Can a man hide himself in hiding places
So I do not see him?” declares the LORD.
“Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.
– Jeremiah 23:24You have placed our iniquities before You,
Our secret sins in the light of Your presence.
– Psalm 90:8He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.
– Proverbs 28:13But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.
– Luke 12:2God already knows everything about us. We have no chance of impressing Him with outward appearances. We can’t keep our secrets behind closed doors, because no door can stay shut to His eyes.
He knows the secrets that are killing us, and they’ve never stopped Him from loving us. If the secret is a sin, it already killed Him. That’s why He came to Earth. He came to ransom us from the sins holding us hostage and keeping us from receiving the gift of life. The price we owed for sin was death. Christ paid that great cost for us. No secret is too dirty for God. Christ already bled to pay the judgment and free us from those spiritual chains.
For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
– John 3:17Why dwell in darkness when the light is so near?
Freedom is as close as the floor. Or a chair, or a park bench. Wherever we are, we can open the door and ask the Spirit of God to cleanse the rooms of our hearts. When we talk to Him and tell Him what hurts, confessing our sins and our secrets, He will make us new.
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity
And cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me.
Against You, You only, I have sinned
And done what is evil in Your sight.
– Psalm 51:1-4Intrigued? Do you yearn to climb from the pit of the Accuser into freedom?
God’s Word gives us everything we need to understand what sin does to our lives and how the sacrifice of Jesus Christ can redeem us. The book of John in the New Testament is a good place to start. Find a ministry, church, or another believer we trust to help us begin our new lives in the light.
We’re not meant to take this journey alone.
Photo ID102182186 | © Frannyanne | Dreamstime.com
Coming next week: Falling Stars
This weekly series follows the story line of the Christian thriller Blood Falls. Each episode occurs in chronological order, giving context, perspective, and Biblical foundation for the novel. Discover the true stories and incredible facts behind the book! See the entire series here: https://cmaddict.com/tag/behind-blood-falls/
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What is the big deal about a red heifer? Isn’t it just a cow?
A heifer is a young, female bovine that has not yet given birth. After a heifer has had a calf, she is called a cow. A heifer born completely red, without so much as two hairs of a different color, is exceedingly rare. Even more rare is a red heifer who remains red as she grows.
Jewish law, or Halakah, declares all Jews impure due to their direct or indirect contact with death. Today, many rabbis prohibit their followers from going to the Temple Mount even to pray, because they are considered ritually impure. The Torah commands those who attend Temple service and offer sacrifices be ritually pure, since the destruction of the second Temple in AD 70.
According to the Mishnah Parah, the ritual of the red heifer, whose ashes are used to symbolically purify a person, has only been performed nine times in history:
- Moshe (Moses) performed the first ritual as outlined in Numbers 19.
- Ezra the Scribe, an important Jewish scribe and first high priest of the Second Temple period. He is believed to have penned the Old Testament books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles, and Malachi.
- Shimon (Simeon) the Righteous (Simeon the Just), a Jewish high priest of the Second Temple period. He is known for rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and repairing the Temple, among other projects. He met with Alexander the Great but refused his demand to have his statue erected in the Temple.
- Shimon (Simeon) the Just
- Yochanan (Johanan) the High Priest, a first century high priest assassinated in AD 58 by the Roman procurator Felix.
- Yochanan the High Priest
- El’yhoeini ben Hakof (Elioenai ben HaQayaph)
- Chanamel HaMitzri (Hannameel) (Ananelus) the Egyptian, a first century high priest appointed by Herod to the office. Josephus identifies him as Babylonian.
- Yishmael ben Pi’avi (Ishmael ben Fabus (ben Phiabi), a first-century high priest appointed by the Roman governor, Valerius Gratus. His time in office coincided with the life of Jesus Christ, but he is not mentioned in the New Testament.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, “This is the statute of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the sons of Israel that they bring you an unblemished red heifer in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never been mounted. And you shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and it shall be brought outside the camp and be slaughtered in his presence. And Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger and sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight; its hide, its flesh, and its blood, with its refuse, shall be burned.’”
– Numbers 19:1-5
It was long believed Temple service couldn’t be restored until the ashes of the red heifer last sacrificed were found. Today, a growing movement has opted to produce a new red heifer and use her ashes to purify Jews for Temple service. A vibrant and expensive program to create a new line of ritually pure red heifers has been established and has produced five red heifers raised under strict guidelines and found to be without spot or blemish.
These heifers arrived from the United States to Israel with great fanfare in 2022 and have been cared for on a farm at Beit Shean. The oldest is just months away from being of the age for preparation.
In July of 2023, a special contingent of Israelis met at the site of the ancient tabernacle in Shiloh for the Binyamin Temple Conference. There, they welcomed the arrival of the first of the five red heifers from the United States that will be housed at Ancient Shiloh heritage site.
The Red Heifer Center will continue to development the program devoted to producing the first ashes for purification in over two millennia. The event was organized by the Binyamin Regional Council in association with the Temple Institute and featured a banquet spotlighting ancient and Temple era foods.
Why Is It Important?
The influential Jewish astronomer, philosopher, and physician Moses ben Maimon lived from 1138-1204. He is often known as Maimonides. His Mishneh Torah is considered an authoritative work of Jewish law. This theologian and man of science is quoted as having made an amazing prediction about the coming of the Moshaich:
“…and the tenth red heifer will be accomplished by the king, the Messiah; may he be revealed speedily, Amen, May it be God’s will.”
The emergence of the red heifers in light of this ancient proclamation is not lost on traditional Judaism. The Temple Institute has been doggedly researching and collecting the materials for a third temple. A new generation of Levite priests is being prepared. The blueprints for the Temple have been drafted. A remnant in Israel awaits its king.
None of this changes the fact that their king is Jesus Christ. It will take seven heartbreaking years for the nation of Israel to realize their mistake.
A Bible prophecy teacher once quipped that when you see the Halloween decorations in the stores, you know Christmas is coming.
For the believer who loves Israel, the preliminary events leading up to the Tribulation are a reminder that if Israel is ready to crown a false messiah, the real one is at hand.
https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2015-07-19/ty-article/.premium/the-red-heifer-wrong-all-along/0000017f-f96c-d460-afff-fb6e523c0000?v=1695317714531
https://jbqnew.jewishbible.org/assets/Uploads/413/jbq_413_6_ezracohen.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananelus
https://peoplepill.com/i/ishmael-ben-fabus
https://allisrael.com/almost-everything-is-ready-for-the-third-temple-claims-israeli-tv-report-on-red-heifers-brought-to-israel-last-year
https://templeinstitute.org/red-heifer-the-tenth-red-heifer/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maimonides
https://jewishroots.net/library/miscellaneous/maimonides.html
Coming next week: The Secret
This weekly series follows the story line of the Christian thriller Blood Falls. Each episode occurs in chronological order, giving context, perspective, and Biblical foundation for the novel. Discover the true stories and incredible facts behind the book! See the entire series here: https://cmaddict.com/tag/behind-blood-falls/
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A National Yearning Whose Time Has Come?
As we read and study Biblical prophecy, we realize its fulfillment necessitates the presence of a Third Temple. Separate from Christian eschatology, Orthodox and Conservative Jews have long yearned for a new temple at its historical foundation on Mt. Moriah.
Today, this movement is growing.
The Temple Institute, established in 1987, is dedicated to the rebuilding of the Temple and the restoration of all aspects of temple life. Along with its education and research efforts, the Institute has completed many of the utensils, instruments, and garments necessary for temple service when the actual Third Temple is constructed. From the sacred garments of the high priest to the golden incense altar, each piece is crafted for temple use. Their work has expanded to include a breeding program for the procurement of the ashes of a red heifer for the necessary purification rites, as well as the re-establishment of the priesthood for ritual service.
You Will Remember
After being lost to Israel for 1600 years, the blue dye of the Bible—a pigment from the murex snail—has made a return. This pigment is used, according to Numbers 15:37, to dye the tassel at each corner of the ceremonial garments of every Jewish man.
Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God. I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord your God.
– Numbers 15:37-41
The Jewish organization Uzchartem (You will remember), established by Yosef Steinberg, has dedicated its efforts to revive the wearing of the techelet (blue dye) tassel.
Today, the non-profit organization Ptil Techelet produces the Biblical blue dye from the murex snail along with the blue thread. The color, though purple when first procured, turns indigo blue in sunlight.
Production has tripled as demand has grown. The non-profit’s co-founder, Baruch Sterman, sees a Messianic connection to the growth. He quotes the teaching of the 16th century mystic, Rabbi Isaac Lyria, who predicted that the return of the techelet would coincide with the appearance of the Messiah.
Steinberg and Sterman represent those of the Jewish faith who believe the coming Messianic era may be near and have committed to the preparation for the service of the Third Temple.
The Dome of the Rock
For now, the probable site of the original temple is dominated by Muslim buildings. Most conspicuous of these buildings is the Dome of the Rock. It sits on the Temple Mount directly over the Foundation Stone, revered in all three monotheistic religions. It is believed by Jews and Christians to be the stone upon which Abraham planned to sacrifice his son Isaac before being stopped by God. Muslims believe it was the spot from which Muhammad ascended to heaven.
The Dome was built by the Umayyad Caliph Abd Al-Malik bin Marwan in AD 685. Several earthquakes and have damaged the Dome over the centuries:
AD 746: An earthquake destroyed the eastern and western sections.
AD 774: An earthquake destroyed a section of the Dome.
AD 1033: A strong earthquake nearly destroyed the entire building.
AD 1927: An earthquake undid most of the previous attempts to repair the building.
The Dome of the Rock has been repaired and rebuilt numerous times. In 1965, it was covered in an aluminum and bronze alloy covered in gold leaf. In 1993, Jordan’s King Hussein donated 8.2 million dollars for 176 pounds of gold to refurbish the Dome. Although Biblical prophecy dictates a third Temple on the Temple Mount, no one knows how that bodes for the future of the Dome of the Rock. Many questions surround how the events of this important element of the future of the Holy Land unfolds.
Menorah Photo ID 5497676 | © Jim Cottingham | Dreamstime.com
Tzitzit Photo ID 23485990 | © Blueenavim | Dreamstime.com
Dome of the Rock Photo ID 49399621 | © Petr Svec | Dreamstime.com
Coming next week: The Red Heifer
This weekly series follows the story line of the Christian thriller Blood Falls. Each episode occurs in chronological order, giving context, perspective, and Biblical foundation for the novel. Discover the true stories and incredible facts behind the book! See the entire series here: https://cmaddict.com/tag/behind-blood-falls/
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The largest building on the Temple Mount in Jesus’ day wasn’t the Temple.
Herod’s Royal Stoa won that designation.
A stoa in classical Greek architecture is a covered portico or walkway. It was usually walled at the back, open at the entrance, and supported by columns.
During his reign, Herod built a large, three-story stoa and basilica spanning the whole length of the southern wall of the Temple Mount. It was supported by 162 massive Corinthian columns. Each column soared to 50 feet and spanned 16 feet in diameter.
Its open concept served multiple functions, such as hosting political meetings and commerce.
Beginning in AD 30, the Sanhedrin held its meetings in the Royal Stoa. In fact, it may have been the site of the money changers whose tables Jesus overturned (as recorded in Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-46; and John 2:13-16)
The Court of the Gentiles
A three-foot-high balustrade separated The Court of the Gentiles was separated from the temple area. A balustrade is a row of small, decorative columns topped with a rail, creating a beautiful and solid barricade.
Archaeologists have discovered stone signs etched in Greek and once posted at the balustrade on the Temple Mount, warning the ritually impure (both Jew and Gentile) not to proceed:
No foreigner may enter within the balustrade around the sanctuary and the enclosure. Whoever is caught, on himself shall he put blame for the death which will ensue.
The warning indicates Gentiles were at least allowed on the Temple Mount itself. It is unknown whether offenders of this ban were really executed by Jewish officials or left for God’s judgment.
Ancient reports paint a picture of non-Jews ascending onto the Temple Mount and bringing animals for sacrificial offerings. As with the ritually impure Jews, they could only stay within the outer court and give their offerings to the priests for sacrifice.
Who was Herod the Great?
The king who renovated the Second Temple and created the Royal Stoa was the progeny of intermarriage between Jews and Edomites. Herod identified himself as Jewish but didn’t follow Jewish rites. He was named governor of Galilee in 41 BC and ruled in the footsteps of his Hasmonean father before him.
When he supported Rome in opposition to the Hasmonean dynasty, however, Rome rewarded him the title King of the Jews and ordered him to conquer and rule Judea under its authority.
He accomplished this with a fervor earning him a reputation for both his benevolence and barbarism. After his conquest of Judea, he enlarged and renovated Jerusalem’s Second Temple in a bid to gain the favor of the Jews. Temple construction began in 19 BC and took 46 years to complete. It wasn’t truly finished, however, until the rule of procurator Albinus (AD 62-64), just seven years before its destruction at the hands of Rome. For a brief time, Herod’s Temple, as it was called, reportedly outshined even Solomon’s Temple.
Herod did not live to see his grand structure in its final glory.
This so-called “King of the Jews” built a splendid temple in his own name, slaughtered Jewish children in a vain bid to eradicate the competitor for his throne, and died an agonizing death in AD 4.
Researchers believe he died of kidney disease and Fournier’s gangrene in his groin. The cause may have been either an abscess, gonorrhea, or from scratching the intense itch he reportedly suffered. Maggots infested the infected area.
Herod’s body returned to the earth and his soul now awaits judgment. The Roman general Titus reduced his splendid temple to rubble in AD 70. His jealous bid for the title of King of the Jews never threatened the kingdom of God.
Jesus of Nazareth grew to manhood, conducted a three-year ministry, and surrendered His life to pay the debt owed by humanity. His body lay in a tomb for only three days. Shortly after His resurrection, He ascended to heaven, where He now sits at the right hand of the Father.
The pretender to the throne is dead. The real King of the Jews lives forever.
Temple Mount Photo ID 20310445 © Rkckwwjd | Dreamstime.com
Coming next week: The Third Temple: Will it be built?
This weekly series follows the story line of the Christian thriller Blood Falls. Each episode occurs in chronological order, giving context, perspective, and Biblical foundation for the novel. Discover the true stories and incredible facts behind the book! See the entire series here: https://cmaddict.com/tag/behind-blood-falls/
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Desert at the Bottom of the World
Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and the South Pole
The southernmost point on the globe features a moving center, altitude sickness, and the largest desert on the planet.
A desert is a region receiving less than 250 millimeters (ten inches) of precipitation per year and can be either a hot or cold desert. The largest desert in the world is the Antarctic Desert, covering 5.5 million square miles of the continent. Upon this icy desert sits the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
The first station at the South Pole was completed in February of 1957. It was rebuilt in 1975. An upgrade was initiated in 1997 and the new station dedicated in 2008. It is well equipped for research, housing the Atmospheric Research Observatory, the Martin A. Pomerantz Observatory, the IceCube Observatory used to observe neutrinos, the Dark Sector Laboratory housing the South Pole Telescope and the Keck Array, and computer systems for research.
The Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station was named in honor of two explorers: the Norwegian Roald Amundsen and Royal Navy officer Robert Falcon Scott, who reached the South Pole in 1911 and 1912.
The station sits at an elevation of 2,835 meters (9,306 feet) on Antarctica’s ice sheet, 850 nautical miles south of McMurdo Station. The ice sheet—two miles of vertical ice—drifts about 10 meters (33 feet) each year. A striped pole topped with a reflective globe marks the ceremonial South Pole. The actual geographical South Pole shifts with the ice.
Visitors to the South Pole are prone to develop altitude sickness from the relatively quick ascent from McMurdo Station and the dry air. Some are affected immediately and must take the snowmobile ride from the plane to the station. Others are affected later. It catches up to everyone there eventually.
Without a Sound: Creation’s Silent Worship
The heavens tell of the glory of God;
And their expanse declares the work of His hands.
Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.– Psalm 19:2-3 NASB
Polar lights (aurora polaris) are found in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Most people have seen, or at least heard of, the Northern lights (aurora borealis). The southern polar skies are the canvas for a grand – if lesser known – display.
Timestorm Films has produced a breathtakingly beautiful video of the aurora australis, or southern lights, at the South Pole. They are seen here with the Milky Way, a phenomenon only experienced in Antarctica.
South Pole Photo 12519138 © Darryn Schneider | Dreamstime.com
Coming next week: King Herod and the Temple Mount
This weekly series follows the story line of the Christian thriller Blood Falls. Each episode occurs in chronological order, giving context, perspective, and Biblical foundation for the novel. Discover the true stories and incredible facts behind the book! See the entire series here: https://cmaddict.com/tag/behind-blood-falls/
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My pregnancy was pretty uneventful. All the check ups were good. My water broke in my home at 10 pm, it was around four weeks before Luisa’s due date. As I endured thirteen hours of labor, all I could think about was how when it was all over, I was going to have a baby of my own. I couldn’t wait to meet her and have a little family. I was so excited to see my baby. When she finally arrived and I laid my eyes on her I felt so much love, like I had never felt before.
I was in a new kind of love.
The doctor wasn’t handing her to me though. Things were not going the way I was told they would in my birthing class. No skin to skin. I could tell something was wrong. The neonatologist was apprehensive about handing her over for a picture with me and my husband. They wrapped my baby up tight in a blanket and he quickly sat her down on me for a photo. Then he took her back right away, and my husband was asked to go to the NICU with her.
“‘This can’t be real, everything will be fine in a few hours,’ I told myself.”
People showed up to see my baby, but we all just sat in my hospital room staring at each other. No baby in the room. I felt like everyone was disappointed. I gave birth at 11 am, and for the rest of that day my loved ones hung around waiting to see the baby. At the end of the day, I finally was able to stand and walk over to the NICU and see her. I was not allowed to hold her because she was too unstable. I was uneasy but I still felt like we would have her home in a few hours. Hours turned into days, days turned into weeks, and weeks would turn into months. No answers, just scary strange rhetoric from what felt like a very insensitive hospital staff.
After a few days of visiting our local NICU, where Luisa was, we were told about a genetic disease called central congenital hypoventilation syndrome. One lonely night sitting by my daughter’s bedside, a nurse decided to tell me the tale of Ondine’s Curse. Ondine’s Curse is another name for central congenital hypoventilation syndrome.
As I sat there, listening to him tell the mythical story of a mermaid who cursed her cheating husband to stop breathing each time he fell asleep, I felt like I was in the twilight zone. A numbness was growing in me. It was becoming very clear to me that bringing my baby home was not going to be easy. I wasn’t just going to wake up to the good news that she had gotten better overnight.
I began questioning, asking God to show me what my role was in this.
How can I still be her mom?
How can I still show her love?
How can I take care of her?
The birthing class had not taught me any of this.
The genetic test was ordered. We were told that it could take up to six weeks for results. Luisa was stabilized on noninvasive ventilation for about a week, and while things were a little less scary, she was not getting any better. There was no hope of weaning her off of life support.
We decided, after a few unpleasant encounters with the neonatologist in our local NICU, to transfer Luisa to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. The Kangaroo Crew picked us up in a private jet. They were so kind. I felt like it was the first time I had been treated with respect since my daughter had been born. They treated me like I was a mom, not a defective woman who gave birth to a defective little human.
It was at Texas Children’s and the Ronald McDonald House that I began to learn my role as Luisa’s mom. We received the results of the genetic test, and they were positive. The staff at Texas Children’s treated my baby like she was something really special. They taught me how to care for a baby with a tracheostomy. I felt like I was getting some of my control back.
At Ronald McDonald House I met other families with sick kids. I felt like I wasn’t alone anymore. I also met another mom whose baby had a tracheostomy, and it was a magical moment I will never forget. The narrative in my mind was changing, and God was showing me what I had asked him for. After close to three months in the hospital, we finally brought Luisa home.
Luisa turned four a couple of weeks ago. She is a happy, healthy child who loves music and dancing. She takes jazz and ballet. Luisa’s favorite show is spider man and she loves to go to the beach.
My experience as Luisa’s mom is always changing, and God is always showing me how to navigate my role. I am so proud to say that throughout her life I have never gotten angry at God for this path we are on. I trust God more than ever now. I know what it feels like to be carried by him in love.
– Marilyn Bailey marilynbailey2935
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The Beasts of Revelation 13
Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.
– Daniel 9:26
As was prophesied in Daniel 9:26 and discussed in the previous episode, Jesus the Messiah, was “cut off” by his death on the cross. The people who destroyed the city and the sanctuary in 70 A.D. were the soldiers of the army of Titus of Rome. The “prince who is to come,” known in popular culture as the Anti-Christ, clearly emerges from the Roman Empire.
The European Union: A revived Roman Empire
And the dragon stood on the sand of the seashore. Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea…
– Revelation 13:1
On May 5, 1949, five years after the end of World War II, ten European countries created the Council of Europe. This was followed a year later by the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community, a merger of economic interests ultimately growing into the European Union of today. Two treaties were signed in Rome on March 25, 1957, establishing the European Economic Community.
At its completion in 1995, the Justus Lipsius Building in Brussels became the seat of the Council of the European Union. In 2017, an addition known as the Europa Building was completed. The new building houses the European Council and the Council of the European Union. The office of the President of Europe is one of the 250 offices in the Europa Building.
The addition is framed in a giant twelve-story patchwork of reclaimed oak windows from the member states. Though a reinforced behemoth, its haphazard-appearing façade resembles an oversized matchstick house. The structure creates an atrium housing a massive glass lantern containing the meeting rooms and offices of the new building.
Its atrium and lantern are illuminated with thousands of LED lights. When the sun is down and from a distance, the lantern resembles a large, glowing egg behind the patchwork of wood and glass. Public relations have billed the Europa Building the “beating heart of Europe.”
The media’s nickname: Space EGG.
In a later episode of Behind Blood Falls, we will examine what the Bible tells us about the beast of Revelation. For now, we can glean the following from the Scriptures:
- He will be a male, possibly homosexual.
- He will rule nations for seven years.
- He will be arrogant, blaspheming God and demanding the worship of every person alive.
- His power and authority come from Satan.
- He will persecute and kill the saints who have turned to Christ during the Tribulation.
- He or one of his satellite nations will suffer a deadly blow and be thought dead, only to rise again in a satanic resurrection.
- He will work in league with another “beast,” this one arising from the earth.
The second beast
Is the Anti-Christ the false messiah?
Though people mix the offices of the two beasts of the seven-year Tribulation, their roles are very different. While the leader of the revived Roman Empire will be hailed as the world’s savior, the title of messiah will likely go to the second beast, the false prophet who rules beside the Anti-Christ.
Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men.
– Revelation 13:11-13
It is believed by some scholars that the false prophet described in Revelation is of Jewish heritage. He springs from the earth, or the land, as opposed to the the first beast, who comes from the sea. Israel has long been associated with its land, the nations with water.
But the wicked are like the tossing sea….
– Isaiah 57:20
The false prophet will mimic the Old Testament prophets, but he will be a fraud and blasphemer. He is described in the Revelation as having the image of a lamb, an obvious reference to the Lamb of God. But he speaks as a dragon, described in Revelation as being Satan. He will appear to perform signs and wonders like the prophets of old. His job is to inspire humanity to worship the first beast, the Anti-Christ.
The appearance of the Anti-Christ, false prophet, and Satan provide the world with a counterfeit representation of the Trinity: Anti-Christ as the father, the false prophet as the son, and Satan as the spirit who indwells and empowers the other two.
A mahdi and a messiah
The concept of the Mahdi, though not mentioned in the Quran, is accepted in Islam among the Sunni and Shia. It has been included in the Muslim creed for 1400 years. The term means “guided one” in Arabic—a divinely guided person who will restore Islam to a place of power and religious purity in the world.
It is believed this messianic deliverer will bring in peace and prosperity for the last seven to nine years before the end of the world, will convert all nations to Islam, and will prepare the way for the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Messiah or usurper?
As those in the Muslim faith long for their Mahdi, the Jewish nation yearns for its Messiah.
The hope of a leader to deliver Israel from her enemies and reign over a period of peace and prosperity has long been in Jewish hearts. This leader is described as Melech HaMoshiach, or the King Messiah, in Talmudic literature.
The Hebrew word for Messiah is Moshiach and means “anointed.” Talmudic literature reserves this title and the title Melech HaMoshiach (King Messiah) for the leader anointed to bring in the Messianic era at the end of days.
And now behold, I go to my people: come, I will admonish thee what this people will do to thy people at the end of days.
– Numbers 24:14 (DARBY)
While Westerners tend to interpret the phrase “end of days” to mean “end of the world,” it is connected in Jewish religious thought to the coming Messianic era. The prolific author Rabbi Moishe ben Maimon (1135-1204) taught the eventual rise of a Jewish leader from the lineage of David who would rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem and regather the Jewish people from their exile around the world.
This Messiah is believed to usher in an era of worldwide peace and a time when all nations will worship the one God.
Though scholarly views within the Jewish community differ on the genesis and development of the Messianic theme, the Tanakh clearly promised a king from the line of David to Israel. There is evidence of the longing for a Messianic kingdom in the Second Temple Period, although these expectations varied. Apocryphal works are not considered inspired text but still attest to the traditional Jewish understanding of a single Messianic figure.
The New Testament bears witness of this hope, as expressed in this exchange between John the Baptist and the religious leaders at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry:
This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” He said, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
– John 1:19-23
Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, They said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”
– John 6:14
Some of the people therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, “This certainly is the Prophet.” Others were saying, “This is the Christ.”
– John 7:40-41
His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.
– John 9:22
But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.
– Luke 24:21
Rejected by His own people
When the long-awaited Deliverer and king arrived, He was rejected by most of His own nation. Speaking of this rejection, Jesus prophesied of a coming usurper who would take the name of Prophet and Messiah for himself.
I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him.
– John 5:43
Jesus was likely speaking of the false prophet, or false messiah, described in Revelation.
A crown for a king.
You shall also make a plate of pure gold and shall engrave on it, like the engravings of a seal, ‘Holy to the Lord.’ You shall fasten it on a blue cord, and it shall be on the turban; it shall be at the front of the turban.
– Exodus 28:36-37
In 2018, the rabbi of King David’s Tomb on Mount Zion and direct descendant of King David launched a project to gather the funds to craft a golden crown for the coming Messiah. Rabbi Yosef Berger believes we are now living in the time of the beginning of the messianic period and anticipates the soon arrival of the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Scriptures.
A golden crown specifically crafted for the high priest has already been completed, however.
The Temple Institute, a Jewish organization dedicated to the rebuilding of the temple and the establishment of the temple priesthood and service, displays a golden crown made especially for the high priest of the temple in its museum. At its unveiling, its value was estimated to be around $30,000.
The true Messiah wore a crown of thorns.
Photo 49369537 © Ig0rzh| Dreamstime.com
Photo 178797282 © Olrat | Dreamstime.com
Coming next week: Icy Desert
This weekly series follows the story line of the Christian thriller Blood Falls. Each episode occurs in chronological order, giving context, perspective, and Biblical foundation for the novel. Discover the true stories and incredible facts behind the book! See the entire series here: https://cmaddict.com/tag/behind-blood-falls/
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This is my pick for Most Addictive Song……….for now. Until the next one, listen below and on our Most Addictive Song (for now) playlist HERE.
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This is my pick for Most Addictive Song……….for now. Until the next one, listen below and on our Most Addictive Song (for now) playlist HERE.
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