Creation Moment 2/24/2024 - Dented Cars & Free Will Deniers of Materialist–Determinist Ideology

How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. 1 Kings 18:21

"Free will denial is a cornerstone of materialist–determinist ideology. We are, say the deniers, purely physical machines, meat robots.
Atheist-materialist evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne is a prominent proponent of deterministic free will denial, and there are many others — philosopher Stephen Cave, biologist Robert Sapolsky, author Sam Harris, attorney Clarence Darrow, to name just a few.

Free will deniers invariably acknowledge that we have the ineluctable sense of freely choosing, and that our belief in free will is a cornerstone of human psychology, of our social interaction, of our moral codes and of our judicial system. 

Nonetheless, deniers claim, we are deluded. We are not free at all — we are slaves to the laws of physics and chemistry that govern the physiology of our brains.

Q: What to make of this bizarre viewpoint that we have no genuine freedom to choose — a viewpoint that is contrary to the lived experience of every human being?
Q: So what are free will deniers really doing when they say that they don’t believe in free will, but never act like free will isn’t real? 

A: Free will denial is determinist signaling, in which materialists flaunt their bona fides.
*If you carelessly dent a genuine free will denier’s car in a parking lot, he wouldn’t hold you responsible any more than he’d hold your car responsible."
MichaelEngor/EN&V

IN the NEWS - Before 2024 Election? We will see.......

Will CBDC happen BEFORE the 2024 election? 

We will see....CBDC is a clearcut way of controlling buying and selling. 

*Whether BEFORE or AFTER the 2024 election it would be an enforcement mechanism for the Beast Entity and the "Kings" and "Merchants" of the earth to use.

And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
Revelation 13:17/18:3

"Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) threaten to replace the cash we use with programmable, trackable, and censorable tokens controlled by governments. 

Your financial choices could be suppressed, and privacy eliminated.

Based on what I’ve learned and experienced directly, this could happen before the 2024 election......Former President Donald Trump warned that a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) or a Fed-controlled Digital Dollar “would give our federal Government absolute control over your money.....They could take your money, and you wouldn’t even know it’s gone. This would be a dangerous threat to our freedom.”....... if a CBDC is not introduced this term, it is very possible that Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) could become the Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, which would oversee the push for a CBDC. Warren has recently expressed her enthusiastic support for and advocacy for CBDCs.
“We need a digital version of the dollar that can be exchanged quickly and cheaply by anyone, anywhere in the world. A CBDC would make it easier for people to access their money and participate in the economy.”
She has also taken the national security angle, stating, “A CBDC could help reduce the risks associated with cryptocurrencies, which are often used for illicit activities and are subject to changing technology and market conditions.”

Then we have Sen. Sherrod Brown’s (D-OH) pro-digital dollar draft—Senate Bill 3571—Banking for All Act. It describes Federal Digital Wallets.
Now, to add icing to the cake, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), along with Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), introduced legislation to abolish digital money privacy. It’s called the Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2022.

Christine Lagarde, head of the European Central Bank, admitted that the purpose of CBDCs, like the digital euro, is control. She also noted that those who pay more than 1,000 EUR in cash for any transaction are doing so off the grid and will be fined or go to jail.

On March 9, 2022, President Biden signed Executive Order 14067.

This EO places “the highest urgency on research and development efforts into the potential design and deployment options of a United States CBDC.” It also calls for a whole-of-government approach to regulating digital assets. As you will see in a further section below, the technology for a US CBDC has already been developed.

*The Federal Reserve has already completed three successful pilots. The technology works and is only pending the creative “legal and marketing” spin before it is rolled out.
The exploration of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)

through projects like Project Hamilton, Project Cedar, and the Regulated Liability Network (RLN) raises significant concerns over privacy, autonomy, and the consolidation of power within the hands of a few centralized entities.

Project Hamilton, a collaboration between the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and MIT, demonstrates a leap in transaction-processing capabilities with its digital dollar concept. However, the capability to process 1.7 million transactions per second not only underscores the technical feasibility of replacing traditional cash but also suggests a future where every transaction can be monitored and controlled. The Regulated Liability Network (RLN), meanwhile, represents a further step towards a dystopian future where every asset, from your house to your car, could be tokenized and tracked on a government-controlled ledger.

*They are likely to roll out a CBDC using the problem-reaction-solution approach. 

Problem-reaction-solution is a concept often used to describe a pattern of manipulation and control that can occur in various aspects of society. 

It suggests that those in positions of power or influence can

deliberately create or exacerbate a problem or crisis (the “problem” stage) to provoke a strong emotional reaction or fear among the public (the “reaction” stage). Once this reaction is triggered, it becomes easier to implement a predetermined solution (the “solution” stage) that may not have been accepted under normal circumstances. This process has been observed in politics, the media, and even marketing. Sadly, it works every time.
Given the precarious state of the global geopolitical situation, I can very easily see a terrorist attack or a cyberattack used as the “problem” mentioned above. 

The reaction would be fear. 

The solution would be a CBDC which would be marketed as a way to keep us safe from terrorism and money laundering. 

The goal, then, is to have an alternative solution that can scale at the time of an emergency. You should be aware that the people pushing CBDCs (central banks, the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, Bank of International Settlements, and others) have refined their messaging and will be presenting a full propaganda campaign extolling the virtues of CBDCs.

Wired magazine reports that “China’s Digital Yuan Works Just Like Cash—With Added Surveillance.” 

ZeroHedge/Breitbart

IN the NEWS - Racism of AI

And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth... Acts 17:26
*Racism against blacks is Evil.
*Racism against whites is just as Evil.

Here is an Example of the Dangers of AI, when it is programed by radicals who incorporate their own agenda. 

NOW, apply these concerns to its use of Biblical concepts such as the State of the Dead (techno-spiritualism) or END TIME EVENTS. 

See the potential problems facing earth---much more serious than politics.

"Google’s AI image generator Gemini is being called racist after many on social media noticed it refuses to create images of white

people....a Google representative responded to the backlash, saying the company was working to improve the Gemini system.

“We’re working to improve these kinds of depictions immediately,” Gemini Experiences Senior Director of Product Management Jack Krawczyk told Fox News. “Gemini’s AI image generation does generate a wide range of people. And that’s generally a good thing because people around the world use it. But it’s missing the mark here.” 

Besides excluding white people from generated images asking for different nationalities, Gemini also explains it’s prevented from making images that specifically ask for “white” figures.
“I understand that you would like an image of a cowboy, but I’m unable to fulfill your request to specify the character’s ethnicity,” Gemini tells a user who asked for a “white cowboy.” 

IW

Creation Moment 2/23/2024 - Egg

And God created.....and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:21

"The amniotic egg enclosed by an eggshell design is employed for reproduction by most terrestrial animals, including many turtles and other reptiles, birds, and prototherian (egg-laying) mammals, (amniotes), in which the embryo develops inside of an amnion. 

This design is very different from the anamniotic egg (an-amniotic or non-amniotic) which is not surrounded by an eggshell and contains the embryo of a fish, an amphibian, or a mammal. This egg design is typically much smaller than the amniotic egg and is more dependent on environmental conditions than are shelled eggs.

Anamniotic eggs are enclosed in chorion membranes and lack both

an eggshell and extraembryonic membranes. In contrast, the amniotic egg consists of a set of fetal membranes including the amnion, chorion, and allantois surrounded by an external shell that is either strongly mineralized (as in rigid-shelled eggs) or weakly mineralized (as in parchment-shelled eggs).

The extra-embryonic membranes enclose specific egg elements, store nutrients, collect wastes, and regulate gas and fluid exchange between the egg and the external environment. To this over simplification must be added at least 

---five main classes of egg reproduction that greatly complicate egg evolution: ovuliparity (external fertilization), oviparity (embryos in eggs), ovoviviparity (internal retention of the egg until it hatches), histotrophic viviparity (zygote development within the mother’s oviducts and nutrients are provided by intra-uterine cannibalism), and hemotrophic viviparity (nutrients are provided by the mother via a placenta).

The evolutionary importance of the amniotic egg was because the “amniotic egg with its complex fetal membranes was a key innovation in vertebrate evolution that enabled the great diversification of reptiles, birds and mammals”. Evolution of this design was first required for life to evolve from the marine life of fish to the terrestrial life of reptiles.

*Evolutionists have never been able to document even the most fundamental steps of this required evolution, even admitting that “It is debated whether these fetal membranes evolved in eggs on land as an adaptation to the terrestrial environment or to control antagonistic fetal–maternal interaction in association with extended embryo retention (EER).”

Two models of eggshell evolution exist: “In the terrestrial model,

non-EER oviparity was the primitive condition; oviparity with EER and viviparity evolved multiple times in amniotes. In the EER model, the evolutionarily labile reproductive mode of EER across oviparity to viviparity was primitive, while non-EER oviparity evolved multiple times in amniotes.”

Although the researchers have concluded that the EER model has overturned the once widely accepted Romer model, I fail to see how allowing the embryo to stay in the womb longer to develop further solves the many problems of the evolution-of-the-egg problem. Evolutionists believe that the amniotic egg evolved but do not know where and how, and both existing theories have major problems. What is totally ignored in this, and most, reviews of egg evolution, is the fact that the yolk sac, amnion, the chorion, and allantois are all required as a functional set because the system is irreducibly complex. 

*The amniotic egg requires all these functional structures to survive." 

CEH

3 Questions to Ponder on 2 Timothy 4:7

"It is written that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, but if we

are to fully surrender our lives to Christ, we must hate the very flesh that we selfishly protect and serve. We must willfully choose to deprive ourselves of the very things our bodies and minds crave.

This is the great race—a declaration of war—that Paul wrote about in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 

Q: Are you running the race? 

Q: Are you fighting the good fight? 

Q: Do each of you covet that crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give on that day to all who love His appearing?" 

LandMarksMagazine

Books of Ezekiel / Revelation Comparison SERIES Page

Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Ezekiel 1:1/Revelation 1:1

The throne vision

Dig Deeper: Books of Ezekiel / Revelation Comparison SERIES: The throne vision 

The Book

Dig Deeper: Books of Ezekiel / Revelation Comparison SERIES: The Book 

The Plagues

Dig Deeper: Books of Ezekiel / Revelation Comparison SERIES: The Plagues 

The seal on the Saint's foreheads

Dig Deeper: Books of Ezekiel / Revelation Comparison SERIES: The seal 

Gog and Magog

Dig Deeper: Books of Ezekiel / Revelation Comparison SERIES: Gog and Magog

The Harlot

Dig Deeper: Books of Ezekiel / Revelation Comparison SERIES: The Harlot 

The First Resurrection

Dig Deeper: Books of Ezekiel / Revelation Comparison SERIES: The First Resurrection 

The Scavenger's Feast

Dig Deeper: Books of Ezekiel / Revelation Comparison SERIES: The Scavenger's Feast 

IN the NEWS - Techno-Spiritualism Enters Politics

There shall not be found among you...a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD....
Deuteronomy 18:10-12
Opening that Techno Door.....

"As part of a campaign launched by March for Our Lives and Change the Ref, lawmakers are receiving pleas for gun control via the AI-generated voices of people killed in shootings." 

Breitbart

SDA Issues - La Sierra University Church all in for Ash Wednesday & Lent

And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 2 Peter 2:2

"Regrettably, Adventists are commemorating Ash Wednesday, a

Roman Catholic feast day and a man-made festival. There isn’t a single word or hint concerning Ash Wednesday in the entire Bible. These celebrations are on an equal level with Sunday keeping, the immortality of the soul, and papal supremacy because Ash Wednesday is associated with Easter Sunday in Roman Catholic tradition.

Ash Wednesday fell on February 14, 2024, which was also the first day of Lent. La Sierra University Church’s female pastor of discipleship and nurture, Raewyn Orlich, announced on the church’s website on February 14 that they would be observing the 40 Days of Lent, including Ash Wednesday.

We should be horrified when Catholic doctrine is introduced into Adventism. 

Q: Why is this allowed to go on unchecked? " 

AdventMessenger

Creation Moment 2/22/2024 - Darwin on Women

"Today, many secularists blame Christianity for misogyny and mistreatment of women. However, many would be shocked to learn that the “father of evolutionary theory,” Charles 

Darwin, believed and taught that women were inferior to men. 

His views greatly influenced society and scientific research both in his days and for later generations.

Darwin’s book The Descent of Man is a deeply racist book that

clearly spells out the troubling implications of evolution when applied to human beings. But his statements about women are no better. The book contains a section titled “Mental Powers of Men and Women” where he stated that men attain “a higher eminence, in whatever he takes up, than can women whether requiring deep thought, reason, or imagination, or merely the use of the senses and hands.” He further claimed that “Man is more courageous, pugnacious and energetic than woman, and has a more inventive genius. His brain is absolutely larger . . . .”

Darwin had an evolutionary reason for this hypothesis. He believed

that the struggle to reproduce was central to evolution. He believed that men were engaged in continual “struggle with other males for the possession of the females.” This struggle meant that only the smartest, strongest, and most capable men succeeded in procuring wives, creating continual pressure for “fitter” men. Darwin saw women as more passive in this regard. He believed that selection created stronger men over time, but it didn’t act on women at all.

As a young man, he wrote that the primary advantage of marriage

included children and having a wife as a constant companion, a friend in old age “who will feel interested in one, [an] object to be beloved and played with—better than a dog anyhow—Home, and someone to take care of the house—Charms of music and female chit-chat. These things are good for one’s health.”

Some nineteenth-century evolutionary biologists argued for women’s inferiority to attack the contemporary women’s movement. They believed that “unchecked female militancy threatened to produce a perturbance of the” roles of the sexes and “divert the orderly process of evolution.” 

One sees a similarity with the attitude expressed by the men in Esther 1:16–21. 

(Then Memucan said in the presence of the king and the officials, “Not only against the king has Queen Vashti done wrong, but also against all the officials and all the peoples who are in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus. For the queen’s behavior will be made known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt, since they will say, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him, and she did not come.’ This very day the noble women of Persia and Media who have heard of the queen’s behavior will say the same to all the king’s officials, and there will be contempt and wrath in plenty. If it please the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes so that it may not be repealed, that Vashti is never again to come before King Ahasuerus. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she. So when the decree made by the king is proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, for it is vast, rall women will give honor to their husbands, high and low alike.” This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did as Memucan proposed.) 

In other words, evolutionary ideas about the inferiority of women gave a scientific veneer to the worst stereotypes about female inferiority.

Among those who objected to Darwin’s views on women was Mrs. Caroline Kennard (1827–1907), who sent a letter to Darwin inquiring about his views. As someone whose scientific achievements allowed her to be listed as a specialist on the botany of ferns and mosses in the 1886 Scientist’s International Directory, she was an example of a woman who disproved Darwin’s opinions regarding female

inferiority.

Darwin wrote back, assuring her that his views were not being misunderstood. “Women . . . are inferior intellectually,” he wrote. But he conceded that he believed women were superior to men in moral qualities. Darwin concluded the letter by stating, “I have written this letter . . . only for your private use,” implying that it should not be shared with others." 

AIG

Books of Ezekiel / Revelation Comparison SERIES: New Jerusalem

In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south. 

And he brought me thither, and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate. 

And the man said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine

ears, and set thine heart upon all that I shall shew thee; for to the intent that I might shew them unto thee art thou brought hither: 

Afterward he brought me to the temple....Then he brought me forth into the utter court, the way toward the north: and he brought me into the chamber that was over against the separate place, and which was before the building toward the north. 

And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of My throne, and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and My holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile....And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty....and the name of the city from that day shall be, 

The LORD is there.

Ezekiel 40:2-4/41:1/42:1/43:7/48:17,35

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: 

for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; 

and there was no more sea. 

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, 

coming down from God out of heaven, 

prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, 

Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, 

and He will dwell with them, 

and they shall be His people, 

and God Himself shall be with them, 

and be their God.

Revelation 21:1-3

Prayer is the opening of the heart to God

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. Matthew 26:36

“Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. 

Not that it is necessary in order to make known to God what we are, but in order to enable us to receive Him. 

Prayer does not bring God down to us, but brings us up to Him.

Jesus Himself, 

while He dwelt among men, 

was often in prayer.

And if the Saviour of men, the Son of God, felt the need of prayer, 

Q: how much more should feeble, sinful mortals feel the necessity of fervent, constant prayer." 

E.G.W.

Weekly Sabbath separate from "Ceremonial" Sabbaths

"When the Lord instructed Moses concerning the annual feasts which

revolved around the seven annual Sabbaths, He declared in conclusion, “These are the feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations . . .beside the Sabbaths of the Lord.” Lev. 23:37-38. 

Thus are we instructed by God Himself that the annual Sabbaths are apart from, and in addition to, “the Sabbaths of the Lord,” i.e., the weekly Sabbath. As the Bible commentary by Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown well observes:
"Leviticus 23:38 expressly distinguishes ‘the Sabbath of the Lord’ from the other Sabbaths." - Comment on Col. 2:16.

Ron du Preez has written an excellent article for the SDA Encyclopedia on this topic of the ceremonial sabbaths versus the weekly Sabbath. He notes:
“Each of these annual times fell on specifically identified days within the first, third and seventh lunar months of the yearly religious calendar of ancient Israel. Of these, only the Day of Atonement is directly labelled a “sabbath” in the original Hebrew language (e.g., Lev 23:32), as it is the exclusive annual ceremonial day on which all work was prohibited (v. 28). The other six sacred occasions were days when only “servile” or “regular” or “laborious” or “occupational” work was prohibited (vv. 7, 8, 21, etc.), thus permitting the cooking of food (e.g., Ex. 12:16).” 

F.D. Nichol 

Creation Moment 2/21/2024 - Astrophysicist Admits.......

And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: Ephesians 3:9

"......astrophysicist Paul Sutter at Universe Today "We are, to put it bluntly, remarkable. 

*There is nothing in this cosmos that even begins to approach

anything resembling the complexity of the human brain. 

*There is no other world that we have discovered, within our solar system or without, that can support the dizzying array of chemical reactions that we call life, let alone consciousness." 

EN&V

Books of Ezekiel / Revelation Comparison SERIES: The Scavenger's Feast

Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, 

thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: 

I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, 

and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
Ezekiel 29:4.5

And I saw an angel standing in the sun; 

and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 

That ye may eat the flesh of kings, 

and the flesh of captains, 

and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, 

and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, 

both free and bond, both small and great.
Revelation 19:17,18

Lesson of Peter on the Water

"Following the occasion of the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus instructed His disciples to board a ship and cross the Sea of Galilee while He remained behind to send away the multitude and to pray. 

A windstorm arose on the sea during the voyage, and the small ship

was tossed among the waves. To add to their distress, the disciples were confronted with what they thought was a spirit, and they cried out in fear. 

What they saw was Jesus walking on the water. Although the Savior announced that it was He, that they need not fear, some on the ship were skeptical. Peter challenged, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” And Jesus responded, “Come.” Matthew 14:28, 29

Peter left the boat and, like Jesus, walked on the water. 

*But when Peter looked away from his Master to the buffeting winds around him, his faith wavered, and he began to sink helplessly into the water.

This is one of the most profound illustrations in the Bible about how we all must approach every minute of every day, every trial, every tribulation, every season of blessing or hardship—by beholding the Christ." 

LandMarksMagazine

Creation Moment 2/20/2024 - Reagan's Speech

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Genesis 1:1

"......in 1988, Reagan delivered remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC.

He told attendees that he had “long been unable to understand the

atheist in this world of so much beauty.” With a touch of mischief in his voice, he added: “I’ve had an unholy desire to invite some atheists to a dinner and then serve the most fabulous gourmet dinner that has ever been concocted, and — after dinner — ask them if they believe there was a cook.”

It was Reagan’s riff on the age-old argument for intelligent design, the idea that the order and purposefulness of nature point to a designer. 

 Just as a sculpture implies a sculptor — or, in Reagan’s telling, a gourmet meal implies a master cook — the elegant and functional features of nature imply a creator." 

EN&V

Books of Ezekiel / Revelation Comparison SERIES: The First Resurrection

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, 

there were very many in the open valley; 

and, lo, they were very dry. 

*And He said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? 

And I answered, O Lord GOD, Thou knowest. 

*Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones;

Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: 

And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, 

and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; 

and ye shall know that I am the LORD. 

*So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 

And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. 

Then said He unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; 

Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 

And ye shall know that I am the LORD, 

when I have opened your graves,

 O My people,

 and brought you up out of your graves,

Ezekiel 37:1-10,12,13

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, 

and judgment was given unto them: 

and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus,

and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, 

neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 

*But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. 

This is the first resurrection. 

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: 

on such the second death hath no power, 

but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Revelation 20:4-6

Floating Island of Monkeys

And with every living creature that is with you, of the fowl, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. Genesis 9:10

".....there are numerous floating islands in bogs, wetlands, lakes, and

rivers. Most of these floating islands are created by mosses that reach out from the banks and then break off. Nonetheless, the example of lizards being swept off one Caribbean island by a hurricane to a nearby island on a vegetation mat is a trivial example. The rafting of mammals, with their high metabolic rate and resource requirements (and, for many mammals—large size), appears to be the most difficult problem for biogeography.

Mazza et al. list many variables that all must be satisfied for a successful colonization over water, but they can be grouped into three main considerations: 

(1) biological variables 

(2) characteristics of the vessel, and 

(3) physical variables.

Nonetheless, these variables do not exhaust the issues.

To colonize a faraway land, there must be enough interfertile animals on the rafts. Just considering the vessel, it must be able to provide enough food and fresh water, be capable of staying afloat until it reaches the new location, and be carried by the right currents.

There are numerous small floating islands on isolated water bodies

adjacent to the Magdalena River of northwest Columbia. The rafts are composed of aquatic plants, bound together and floating. As the floating islands grow, they can support large woody vegetation such as vertical trees. These floating islands typically are 30 m long, but some are greater than 100 m long. One floating island was observed to have trees up to 10 m tall and monkeys on the limbs.

Creation scientists have a much better option for explaining biogeography. First, the rafts of logs and vegetation are a result of a

violent global Flood, so they do not have to drift down a river to the sea, but would already be floating on the oceans. Based on the estimated amount of coal, it is likely that the pre-Flood biosphere had about 10 times the amount of carbon, which could translate into 10 times the number of plants and trees compared to the present earth.

Moreover, there was much more rain during the early- to mid-Ice Age, so that the need for fresh water on the log mats would not necessarily have been a problem.

The recent observation of ‘floating islands’ large enough to support trees and monkeys provides interesting support for the Biblical framework of animal dispersal after Noah’s Flood." 

CMI

Wabash, IN Obituary Lesson: Just Out For A Ride [1918]

To day if ye will hear his voice,
harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.
Q: For what is your life? 

A: It is even a vapor, 

that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 

Hebrews 3:15/James 4:14

"MILDRED BAILEY

DOUBLE FUNERAL
WABASH, Ind, May 10 Mildred Bailey, aged 12 years. died at

Duke's hospital, in Peru. Wednesday afternoon, following an accident Tuesday morning, at Rich Valley, In which the father of the child was killed.
The couple was riding in a machine, which was hit by train No. 9 on the Wabash railroad A double funeral was held from the Rich Valley United Brethren Church, Friday morning, for the father and child. Six persons have lost their lives at this crossing during the last two years.
Date: 1918-05-10; Paper: Fort Wayne News Sentinel."

BIRTH 7 Oct 1905
DEATH 8 May 1918 (aged 12)
Peru, Miami County, Indiana

BURIAL
Friends Cemetery
Wabash, Wabash County, Indiana, USA

*The poor child lies near my great grandfather