Puritan Corner - The End Of Hearing Is For.....

"The end of hearing the word preached for the hearer, is not chiefly to know and understand, but rather to believe, practice, and obey that which is taught."

by Stephen Egerton (1555-1621)

But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

Luke 11:28

Doggerland

Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. Genesis 9:1 NIV

"Researchers suggest that Britain was separated from Europe in two distinct stages. Both stages occurred during the Quaternary Ice Age, the last of the five major ice ages proposed in the evolutionary timeline. 

 

Known as the Weald-Artois Anticline (land bridge), it allowed a wide range of animals, including hippopotamuses, to migrate from mainland Europe into Britain. This land bridge was washed away around 450 ka ago (in the evolutionary timeline) due to a huge Ice Age lake bursting just to the north of it in the southern North Sea. The resulting deposition and extensive erosional scars in the seabed are found in (and formed) the English Channel just to the south of where the land bridge was situated. This is a very clear example of the power of water acting quickly to remove a huge geological structure. 

 

In the evolutionary timeline there are numerous glacial and

interglacial periods during the five ice ages. It was during the last period of glaciation, around 20 ka ago, that Britain was once again connected to North West Europe. This was an exposed area of low-lying land called Doggerland, which at its maximum ran between England, France, Germany, Holland, and Denmark. The existence and habitation of Doggerland is well attested to, with remains of mammoths, lions, and flint tools being regularly dredged up by fishing trawlers in the North Sea.....the Storegga Slide, triggered by an earthquake just off the coast of Norway, then caused a tsunami in the North Sea. It was assumed that this wiped the islands away. 

 

However, the researchers, based on new sediment samples from the east coast of England, say this may not have been the case. They suggested that floodwaters from the tsunami withdrew, didn’t cause the islands final demise, and the landscape recovered temporarily. Instead, “the eventual inundation of the remaining parts of Doggerland resulted from the inexorable sea-level rise, rather than a lasting inundation from the Storegga tsunami”.

 

Biblical creationists have long explained that there was only one Ice Age (lasting between 500–700 years), which occurred directly after the Noahic Flood, around 4.5 ka ago. 

During this time, 

---the landscape around coastal areas changed rapidly, 

---with water from the sea being stored on land as an ice sheet 1–2 km high, 

---which later melted and returned to the sea. 

---The chalk land bridge connecting modern-day England and France would indeed have allowed animals and humans to cross until it was washed away. 

---The area directly behind the land bridge where the huge Ice Age lake burst, up to the edge of the ice sheet, would have briefly exposed an area of low laying land, now called Doggerland. 

From the material dredged up, it appears to have been temporarily inhabited before the water level rose to its current height, once again covering it. Of course, for people, animals, and plant life to move into, inhabit and grow e.g., this would be able to take place quickly as they would have been living in the surrounding higher areas already. 

As fishermen continue to dredge up material belonging to Noah’s descendants and the remnants of this early post-Flood civilization on the vast plain now called Doggerland, it may provide us with further information as to their lifestyle and movement into Northern Europe."

CMI

IN the NEWS - Could Solar Cycle 25 Contribute to the "Failing"?

Men's hearts failing them for fear, 

and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.  

Luke 21:26

Q: Could Solar Cycle 25 Contribute to the "Failing"?

Who knows...guess we'll find out...

"The current solar cycle has a forecasted peak sometime in 2025. In December 2022, the total number of sunspots was at its highest in eight years, indicating solar activity was ramping up. Earlier this year, scientists observed twice as many sunspots -- red flags that solar maximum could be nearing.

 In 2022, there were fivefold more C-class and M-class solar flares

than there were in 2021, and year on year, the number of the most powerful, X-class solar flares is also increasing, according to SpaceWeatherLive.com. The first half of 2023 logged more X-class flares than in all of 2022, and at least one has directly hit Earth. (Solar flare classes include A, B, C, M and X, with each class being at least 10 times more powerful than the previous one.)-- Live Science

What's concerning is a solar physicist at the University of College London, Alex James, told Live Science that the sun's increase in solar activity is a warning sign the solar maximum could arrive by the end of this year. He said the initial forecast was for 2025. 

All this evidence suggests that Solar Cycle 25 is "going to peak earlier, and it's going to peak higher than expected," James said. 

Other solar physicists have told the science publication very similar forecasts. 

They warned: "We are poorly prepared."...And remember, "Solar Storms Can Devastate Entire Civilizations."

ZeroHedge

Creation Moment 6/30/2023 - Leeuwenhoek Nailed It

 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible,...

Colossians 1:16

 

"From all these observations, we discern most plainly the incomprehensible perfection, the exact order, and the inscrutable providential care with which the most wise Creator and Lord of the Universe had formed the bodies of these animalcules, which are so minute as to escape our sight, to the end that different species of them may be preserved in existence."

 Antony van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), father of microbiology

Historian Will Durant on that 4th Beast in Daniel

After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. 

Daniel 7:7

"Historian Will Durant writes of Daniel’s fourth beast: 

“When Christianity conquered Rome, 

the ecclesiastical structure of the pagan church, 

the title and vestments of the Pontifex Maximus, 

the worship of the Great Mother goddess 

and a multitude of comforting divinities … 

the joy and solemnity of old festivals, 

and the pageantry of immemorial ceremony, 

passed like maternal blood into the new religion, and captive Rome captured her conqueror. 

The reigns and skills of government were handed down by a dying

empire to a virile Papacy. 

The lost power of the broken sword was reclaimed by the magic of the consoling word. 

The armies of the state were replaced by the missionaries of the church, moving in all directions along the Roman roads, and the revolted provinces, accepting Christianity, again acknowledged the sovereignty of Rome.

The church, with the shadow of ancient authority behind it, was the only symbol left of imperial Rome. 

Its bishop, the pope of Rome, was the city’s only recourse for leadership and protection.

The Roman Empire in Europe would be replaced by the spiritual empire, which came to be temporal as well, whose reigning seigneur was the bishop of Rome” (Caesar and Christ, page 672)."  

AdventMessenger

As True As It Is Trite

That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. Philemon 1:6

"The Christian's faith in something that cannot be seen is a source of

wonder to the unbeliever, and is often the object of ridicule and contempt. 

The worldling regards the simple faith of the Christian as an evidence of weakness of mind, and with a complacent smile at the thought of the superiority of his own intellect, he declares that he never believes a thing without evidence; he never jumps at conclusions, and doesn't believe anything that he cannot see and understand. 

The saying that the man who believes nothing that he cannot understand will have a very short creed, is as true as it is trite." E.J. Waggoner

SDA Issues: What Should Be Done With Beacon Light Tabernacle?

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

 

"On Sabbath, May 27, 2023, starting at 5:00 p.m., the Beacon Light Tabernacle Seventh-day Adventist Church in Wappingers Falls, NY, hosted the 27th Anniversary celebration of God’s Hands, a Seventh-day Adventist music and dance ministry. 

The concert included a variety of dance performances as well as secular songs by artists like Janet Jackson, such as “What Have You Done for Me Lately?” and the rap group Naughty by Nature’s “You Down with OPP.” 

The rap lyrics were changed from “You Down with OPP?” to “You Down with G-O-D?” and Janet Jackson’s song was change to “What Have you done for Him Lately?”

Q: When we play worldly rap beats and have young people imitating rappers in church, who are we worshiping? Our holy Creator? 

Q: When we use Janet Jackson’s music and dance to it in church, who is glorified? God? 

Q: Which God?

**When we come to Christ, the old cultures are passed away, and we become new creatures with new desires, new feelings, new attitudes, and new purposes in a new heavenly culture that’s based on purity and holiness. All things become new while all the old things pass away. We don’t mix the old with the new."

AdventMessenger

Creation Moment 6/29/2023 - The "And It Was So".....

"When the Psalmist speaks of the power of the word, by which God created the heavens and the earth, he says, "He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: He layeth up the depth in storehouses." (Ps. 33:7).

It may be well to notice here, in passing, the words, "And it was so," with which the record of every new step in creation is closed.

 God said, - "and it was so." 

His simple word was sufficient to establish it. 

Let it be remembered that this is the word which by the Gospel is preached unto us. 

Its power has never diminished; it is as able to save as it was to create." E.J. Waggoner

IN the NEWS - Spain to Sacrifice 12 Year Olds on Altar of LGBT

And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth.... Genesis 6:5

"The bill, which was approved by the lower house of parliament on Thursday, would allow trans people to self-identify, meaning they could change their legal gender on identification documents without the need for psychological or medical appraisals from the age of 14. It would also allow children aged 12 to 14 to change gender with a judge's approval if, as expected, it becomes law in 2023. The debate has split groups of activists who are more used to banding together in pursuit of greater rights for all, rather than fighting each other for the same space." Openly

IN the NEWS - That Old Fashioned Paganism

They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator... Romans 1:25 NIV

"Sun worship is still practiced today, not only in traditional Sunday-keeping churches but also in neo pagan rituals. 

Sunday was not merely one of the many pagan customs in the times of ancient Israel; it was an antichristian practice for the early church. 

 

In a very special sense, Sunday was a mark or symbol of apostasy.

The summer solstice is an astronomical event that occurs each year and marks the longest day of the year. It refers to the sun’s position in the sky as it reaches its highest point. 

The sun was revered by ancient pagans as the supreme deity and the source of all life. Festivals, food, dance, prayers, music, and rituals were used to honor the sun. This is the origin of Sunday worship. 

 

The Roman solar deity Sol Invictus, also known as the “Unconquered Sun,” was revered in the Roman Empire. The cult of Sol Invictus emerged as part of the religious life of the Roman Catholic Church when the sanctity of Saturday was transferred to Sunday as the new day of worship.

 

On June 20, 2023, the Associated Press reported that 8,000 people

had gathered to worship the sun on this year’s summer solstice. We read the following from the report: “All hail the rising sun. Around 8,000 revelers gathered around a prehistoric stone circle on a plain in southern England to express their devotion to the sun, or to have some communal fun. Druids, pagans, hippies, local residents and tourists, many clad in an array of colorful costumes and even antlers, stayed and celebrated at Stonehenge for the night and greeted sunrise on Wednesday, which is the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere.” 

AdventMessenger

The "Really" File - (Pride of Special Forces)

The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time.

Genesis 6:5 NIV

 

"United States Army Special Operations Command posted an

intersex-inclusive Pride flag on all its social media accounts last week, prompting criticism from former Green Berets.

The command, which produces the Army’s Special Forces, posted the flag — known as the intersex-inclusive Pride Progress flag — on its Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook accounts, along with this message:

USASOC recognizes June as Pride month, celebrating all LGBTQ+

From the "Really" File

members in our formations. Throughout American history, LGBTQ+ members have not only fought for the right to serve openly, but have also fought in every major war and conflict. Despite the challenges LGBTQ Army Soldiers and Civilians faced, their commitment to service has made our military stronger and the Nation safer.

The flag included the “intersex” symbol, which is a purple circle on a yellow background. The flag was posted along with USASOC’s insignia.

A spokesman for USASOC said in a statement that the flag in its posts was reflecting a Department of Defense memo that recognized June as “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) Pride Month.” Breitbart

REALLY?

Perplexing to Atheism: Mind and Morality

For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son....

Romans 1:9

 

"The origin of mind and morality from energy and atoms has long been a problem for the materialist. 

It is a major theme of philosopher Thomas Nagel’s book, Mind and Cosmos,.....

 

A fig tree produces figs, not apples. That seems obvious. Likewise,

physics and chemistry produce physical and chemical outcomes. However, mind and morality are not just matters of physics and chemistry. Sure, creatures that are physical and chemical have mind and morality, but how did such non-material things arise from the material? 

 

This is a serious problem for materialism, and the Atheist Nagel candidly admits it, to the extreme annoyance of his atheistic colleagues." CMI

Creation Moment 6/28/2023 - The Dawkins Delusion

.....but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Romans 1:21

 

Maybe Dawkins should change the name of his book "The God Delusion" to "The Dawkins Delusion".

 

"Dawkins believes that Darwinism explains the whole shebang:

‘Think about it. On one planet, and possibly only one planet in the entire universe, molecules that would normally make

nothing more complicated than a chunk of rock, gather themselves together into chunks of rock-sized matter of such staggering complexity that they are capable of running, jumping, swimming, flying, seeing, hearing, capturing and eating other such animated chunks of complexity; capable in some cases of thinking and feeling, and falling in love with yet other chunks of complex matter. We now understand essentially how the trick is done, but only since 1859.’ (p. 366–367).

And this is the man who is trying to convince his readership that believers in God are deluded!"

CMI

The Atheist SIMPLIFIED

Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, 

He abandoned them to their foolish thinking...

Romans 1:28 NLT

 

"Professor of Molecular Biology (Biola University) Douglas Axe made the following perceptive comments in 2021:

‘For just a minute or two, put yourself in the place of someone who it

determined to deny God. 

To make that easier, take yourself back to a moment when you yourself were resolved to assert your sovereignty over your life.

In those moments, God’s presence seems highly inconvenient, so we push Him out of our minds. 

I’m suggesting that atheists are merely people for whom this momentary lapse becomes a consciously adopted way of life. … Atheism is a commitment, not a deduction”." 

CMI

Creation Moment 6/27/2023 - Circular Reasoning of Dawkins = Ultimate Rom. 1:22

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,...

Romans 1:22

 

"In addition, Richard Dawkins indulges in blatant circular reasoning on several occasions:

‘We exist here on Earth. Therefore Earth must be the kind of

planet that is capable of generating and supporting us …’

‘Darwinian evolution proceeds merrily once life has originated. But how does life get started? The origin of life was the chemical event, or series of events, whereby the vital conditions for natural selection first came about. … The origin of life is a flourishing, if speculative, subject for research. The expertise required for it is chemistry and it is not mine.’

He is right about his ignorance of chemistry. But, neither does the professor have expertise in theology or astrophysics, yet he discusses these at length. The real reason for his disclaimer is that nobody has the faintest idea how life got started—but that it happened is axiomatic for Dawkins:

‘… we can make the point that, however improbable the [naturalistic] origin of life might be, we know it happened on Earth because we are here.’

That has to be the ultimate in circularity....." CMI

Gleanings from Amaziah's Attitude

Amaziah asked the man of God, 

“But what about the hundred talents I paid for these Israelite troops?”

The man of God replied, “The Lord can give you much more than that.”

2 Chronicles 25:9 NIV

"If you have made a mistake, bear the loss of it; but do not act contrary to the will of the Lord. 

The Lord can give you much more than you are likely to lose; and if

He does not, will you begin bargaining and chaffering with God. 

 

The king of Judah had hired an army from idolatrous Israel, and he was commanded to send home the fighting men because the Lord was not with them. 

*He was willing to send away the host, only he grudged paying the hundred talents for nothing. 

 

---Oh, for shame! If the Lord will give the victory without the hirelings, surely it was a good bargain to pay their wages and to be rid of them."

Charles Spurgeon

Creation Moment 6/26/2023 - Water Tells Us....

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God...

Hebrews 11:3

 

"Our solar system is designed in such a way that life on Earth would

flourish, “The question about what exactly makes it [Earth] so special that it harbors life is still a good question.” 

Indeed, the surface of our planet being covered with 73% life-giving water is—according to evolutionists—unusual: “According to [secular] models of Solar System formation, Earth, as an inner Solar System planet, should have little to no water.”

 (Peslier, A. 2020. The Origins of Water. Science 369)/ICR

Choctaw Echoes of Creation & Babel

And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; ...Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. Genesis 11:4,9

It is documented that the Choctaw Indians of  Bayou Lacombe believed the following about Creation and Allusions to Babel BEFORE their Christianization by Adrien Roquette (*see Roquette sidenote).

 

"Thunder and lightning are to the Choctaw two great birds - Thunder (Heloha), the female; Lightning (Mala'tha), the male. 

Many generations ago Aba, the good spirit above, created many

men, all Choctaw, who spoke the language of the Choctaw, and understood one another. 

These came from the bosom of the earth, being formed of yellow clay, and no men had ever lived before them. 

One day all came together and, looking upward, wondered what the clouds and the blue expanse above might be. They continued to wonder and talk among themselves and at last determined to endeavor to reach the sky. 

So they brought many rocks and began building a mound that was to have touched the heavens. That night, however, the wind blew strong from above and the rocks fell from the mound. The second morning they again began work on the mound, but as the men slept that night the rocks were again scattered by the winds. Once more, on the third morning, the builders set to their task. But once more, as the men lay near the mound that night, wrapped in slumber, the winds came with so great force that the rocks were hurled down on them. 

The men were not killed, but when daylight came and they made their way from beneath the rocks and began to speak to one another, all were astounded as well as alarmed - they spoke various languages and could not understand one another. 

Some continued thenceforward to speak the original tongue, the language of the Choctaw, and from these sprung the Choctaw tribe. The others, who could not understand this language, began to fight among themselves. Finally they separated. The Choctaw remained the original people; the others scattered, some going north, some east, and others west, and formed various tribes." 

THE CHOCTAW OF BAYOU LACOMB By David I. Bushnell, Jr.

 

* Roquette Sidenote-  Adrien Rouquette (1813-1887) was the priest who converted the Choctaw of Bayou Lacombe around Lacombe, Louisiana.

---His father was a French immigrant from Bordeaux, France and served at the Battle of New Orleans under Andrew Jackson. Four years later he committed suicide by jumping off a cliff into the Mississippi River when his wine store when bankrupt.

---His mother, Louise Cousin, was the sister of my g-g-g-g-grandfather, Jean François Cousin Jr.

---When his mother died he was raised by his uncle Jean (himself had fathered children by a Choctaw, Rose Aimee, of whom he had my g-g-g-grandfather). 

---Adrien was sent to College in Nantes France, Kentucky and

The Great Oak Tree

Philadelphia. He earned degrees in Law & Medicine. Then decided to become a priest instead in New Orleans. He also gave the keynote speech for the anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans in the city at one time. He authored many books, including a translation of the Choctaw Language.

---One day he upped and moved across Lake Ponchartrain from New Orleans to Lacombe (where his uncle Jean owned much of the land at the time) to be a missionary to the Choctaw. He lived among them and began to teach around a great oak tree, which still stands.

---He was given the name Chahta-Ima by the Choctaw, which means

"to be like a Choctaw". From that time on he always signed his name as that. He spent nearly a quarter of a century living among them and dressing like them.

---His last year of his life he had to be cared for by nuns in New Orleans because of bouts of dementia. He was unaware of where he was and thought he was in his old boyhood home, yet would talk of his poetry, religion and his his mission work. He was also fond of various Protestant denominations. While being cared for, he grew a white beard and was visited by Choctaw children who would bring him dainties.

---His death came 3 days after he had regained strength to get out of bed. The nuns rejoiced of his recovery but one night was too weak to get out of bed. His probation closed while in his sleep that night.

---When he died, his funeral procession through the streets of New Orleans drew thousands and his wagon was followed by Choctaw children with wreaths and flowers. At his grave, when Chahta-Ima's casket was lowered, the children gathered around it and wept.

Creation Moment 6/25/2023 - The Fountain of Life

"Man is made in the image of God, but he has no creative power. 

In his breath there can be only the forms of living things; 

but in the breath of God there are not only the forms, 

but the very living things themselves, for He is the living God, and with Him is the fountain of life (Psalm 36:9).

When He speaks, the word which names the thing contains the very thing itself." 

E.G. Waggoner

Close Look at Ahab & Jehoshaphat 's Reaction to Mass Prophecy

"The king of Israel (Ahab) is preparing for war against Aram, to repatriate captured Israelite territory. He invites King Jehoshaphat of Judah to join the campaign, who agrees, but adds a stipulation:

And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day.

1 Kings 22:5

 

Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king.

1 Kings 22:6 

Q: Which “king” is it? 

---Its ambiguity allows for the possibility that “king” here refers to
the Aramean king, and therefore portends Ahab’s defeat rather than Aram’s.

---Ahab does not notice that the answer isn’t definitive, deafened to the prophecy’s nuance by his self-absorption.

 

Jehoshaphat is unimpressed with this mass prophecy, and pushes for further clarification:

And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him?

1 Kings 22:7 

---Jehoshaphat specifically requests “a prophet” in the singular, which may point to a level of suspicion against the mass prophecy."

JamesDiamond

On the Streets of Babylon: Twisting Jacob Trans Heard on the Streets

Babylon is fallen, is fallen,

Come out of her, my people,

Revelation 14:8/18:4

 

There seems to be some attempting  "Twisting Jacob Trans " Heard on the Streets of Babylon...

 

 

"Praying to “the Great Queer One,” students at United Methodist-

affiliated Duke Divinity School proclaimed God’s acceptance and support for LGBTQ relationships in a Pride worship service.

Tirzah Villegas, an M.Div student, encouraged listeners to accept their sexuality because “You are never called to abandon yourself. Abandoning the self is negating the truth of who you are, and that is always a lie,” Villegas stated. God is a “queer God” who loves “every part of us,” according to Villegas.

--- “I would like to suggest this as a trans text,” Surbaugh proposed about Genesis 32:22-31. The passage details Jacob wrestling with a stranger until daybreak. The man harms Jacob’s hip and commands Jacob to, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” Jacob responds, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” As a result, God blesses Jacob and gives him the new name “Israel.”

In this passage, Surbaugh sees “an example of a negotiated body, a trans body, which has been both momentarily injured and fundamentally blessed.” Surbaugh compares Jacob’s struggle to the experience of taking testosterone to transition from a female to a male identity. Surbaugh wonders “how Jacob felt after the angel had gone” and if “he felt the same way I did on the clear October morning when I learned to give myself a hormone shot.”

Transition, according to Surbaugh, “can be framed as a choice,” but “transition is better framed as a calling. It is a calling to wrestle with God and not let go until we receive a blessing in our own bodies.”

JE

Creation Moment 6/24/2023 - Interwoven Fabric of DESIGN

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!

Psalm 139:14

 

This would NEVER Form at Either End ---AT THE END WITH THE Complex Eye to Observe & Process Beauty---or at the OTHER END---the Physics & Chemistry that Produces the Symmetry  that Results in the Beauty.....This is all the Interwoven Fabric of DESIGN.

"The complex human eye harvests light. 

It perceives seven to ten million colors through a synaptic flash: one-tenth of a second from retina to brain. Homo sapiens gangs up 70 percent of its sense receptors solely for vision, to anticipate danger and recognize reward, but also — more so — for beauty."

 Marginalian