MOST SIGNIFICANT PERSON IN HISTORY

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In 2013 Time Magazine did a story about the ‘Most Significant Person in History’ and concluded after a very comprehensive and detailed research program that Jesus was that person. If one googles ‘the most significant person in History’ and searches through the numerous websites claiming this title you will find that Jesus appears more than any other claimant. His life story on film has had more than eight billion views and counting.  The Jesus film has been translated into 1,800 languages. His life story is written in the most read and most published book in history. There have been some five plus billion copies of the Bible distributed in over 340 languages.  And at least one book of the Bible is available in over 2,000 languages. His life story has been translated and recorded and can be heard in some six thousand, five hundred different languages on the 5 fish app.

TIME Magazine Cover: The Jesus Revolution -- June 21, 1971
The Jesus Revolution | June 21, 1971

What do we know about Jesus from texts apart from the Bible? Jesus is mentioned in the writings of both the Jewish historian Josephus “Antiquities of the Jews” (Bk.XVIII.III.3 written about 93 AD) and the theologian Origen, in his book “Contra Celsum” written about 248 AD. 

More recently J. Warner Wallace, Author of Cold Case Christianity was a former homicide detective and former atheist.  He used his ‘cold case’ skills to verify the reality of the existence of Jesus.

Sir Lionel Luckhoo (1914-1997) is considered one of the greatest lawyers in British history. He’s recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “World’s Most Successful Advocate,” with 245 consecutive murder acquittals. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II — twice.

Luckhoo declared: “I humbly add I have spent more than 42 years as a defence trial lawyer appearing in many parts of the world and am still in active practice. I have been fortunate to secure a number of successes in jury trials and I say unequivocally the evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is so overwhelming that it compels acceptance by proof which leaves absolutely no room for doubt. It is recorded in the Bible that at least 513 people saw Jesus after his resurrection. These recorded eye-witness accounts happened on at least 8 separate occasions.”

Two computer scientists, Professor Steven Skiena of Stony Brook University in New York and Charles Ward used quantitative analysis to decide who the most significant people were in world history. They studied thousands of historical figures to determine which person’s opinions had the most impact on world affairs. Using an algorithm similar to Google’s ranking system and “other data sources,” they ranked the various historical figures by importance as referenced in the English version of Wikipedia — an online encyclopedia. Their analysis concluded conclusively that Jesus Christ was the world’s most influential person. 

The largest volume and most authenticated writings about the teachings of Jesus were recorded by those ‘eyewitnesses’ who actually lived with and were taught by Jesus himself.  The accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as recorded in the Bible have stood the test of time and the sceptics. Millions of followers of Jesus around the world can attest to the value and transformational nature of his teachings. Consider some other celebrations and events that would demonstrate the impact and the significance of this person Jesus.

  1. Throughout most of the world the usual way to refer to the calendar year was by using the abbreviations BC and AD. BC was shorthand for ‘before Christ’ and AD was shorthand for ‘anno domini – in the year of our Lord (Latin). Despite being unable to establish the exact date of Jesus’ birth, it was and is still used as the fulcrum for the Western way of marking time.
  2. In many countries around the world, the events of Christmas and Easter are celebrated. They came to be celebrated because of the significance of Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection.
  3. There are many phrases attributable to him, however the best known is the famous ‘Golden Rule’ sometimes articulated as ‘Treat others as you want them to treat you.’ Jesus said it like this ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’
  4. In a time and culture that was almost exclusively patriarchal, Jesus did not shy away from expounding the value of the women and children. Would he be the most potent advocate for women and children in history?

Is it any wonder, then, that Christians are the largest religious group in the world?

Jesus is the only hope for this lost world. He is the way the truth and the life. No one comes to our Heavenly Father and inherits eternal life except through Him. Why would you not want to come to Him? He is the only way you will discover true meaning and purpose to your life.

Most of this Information was provided by my long time friend : Graham McDonald Email : graham@diduno.info

A WORLD GONE MAD – NOTHING IS THE NEW SOMETHING

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THE ART WORLD

Just when we thought it couldn’t get crazier… The most egregious example of speculative excess in the art world… $18,000 for ‘air and spirit’… Signing up to get nothing in the financial realm… Ignorance is not a valid excuse… We’re living in the ‘Age of the Emperor’.

For the past year and a half, collectors have been paying outrageous prices for some truly weird works… first, a banana duct-taped to a wall sold for $120,000 in Miami back in December 2019. Then, this past March, an artist known as “Beeple” sold a non-fungible token (“NFT”) of his work – a digital-only collage of 5,000 images – for $69 million at auction. The latest example occurred last month in Milan, Italy… Auction house Art-Rite sold a piece of work by Italian artist Salvatore Garau titled Io sono (Italian for “I am“) for $18,000. With Beeple’s NFT going for $69 million, how does a mere $18,000 sale qualify as egregious excess? The answer is simple… because Io sono doesn’t actually exist. It’s “invisible art.” It’s not there. The buyer got a whole lot of nothing for his $18,000. Instead, Garau issued a certificate of authenticity to the buyer (like the banana-and-duct-tape piece). The artist – and his piece of paper “verifying” it – said Io sono is a sculpture that consists of a 25-square-foot space and that light and climate control are optional.

You can’t sell a certificate of authenticity for something that doesn’t exist without concocting a fantastic story… Garau put together a great one. As he told one Spanish news outlet… You don’t see it, but it exists. It is made of air and spirit.

THE FINANCIAL WORLD – Information from Stansberry Research Digest – Largest USA independent financial research organisation.

Art is the flag of culture. And its excesses are frequently preceded by those in the financial realm, given as it is to stoke the fires of greed.

‘Nothing’ has been on sale in the financial markets for much of the past decade…

The most obvious example is negative-yielding sovereign debt. According to Bloomberg, $13.3 trillion of this debt is circulating around the world these days. Roughly $10 trillion of the total is the sovereign debt of countries like Japan, Germany, Switzerland, and France. (Nearly all the rest is corporate debt.) This is supposed to be the second-safest debt in the world, behind only the debt of the U.S. government. When you buy a bond trading at a negative yield, it means you’re guaranteed to get less in principal and interest at maturity than you paid for it in the first place. In other words, you’re guaranteed to lose money. You’re signing up to get nothing.

Bonds are supposed to be the “smart money”… It’s where savvy investors go to get a much safer return than the stock market. And for a $13 trillion swath of the bond market, that supposedly safer return is a little less than zero today… Nothing. Nada. Zip.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association’s 2020 Fact Book puts the value of the global bond market at $105.9 trillion. So negative-yielding debt – a guarantee to receive a little less than nothing for putting capital at risk – accounts for 12.5% of a massive global market.

And it’s not just bonds, either. The rational expectation for stocks is a negative average return over the next 10 to 12 years. That’s according to the work of often quoted economist John Hussman, Hussman’s return model suggests the S&P 500 is currently priced to return a 7% loss per year, on average, for the next decade. However, reality is that the market doesn’t simply tick down 7% each year for a decade. It falls 50% or more in a great washout that generally lasts somewhere between six months and two years.

Moreover, many would suggest that a great washout is about to occur or put another way the financial bubble is about to burst. In a Bloomberg interview, GMO’s Jeremy Grantham talked about his asset-management firm’s study of 330 bubbles across all asset classes. As Grantham succinctly put it… the last 12 months have been a classic finale to an 11-year bull market. And he cited plenty of data to make his point during the interview, ultimately concluding… The great bubbles by scale and significance… all accelerated late in the game and had psychological measures that could not be missed by ordinary investors. (Economists are a different matter.)

The data, like today, is always clear, just uncommercial and inconvenient for the investment industry and often psychologically impossible to see for many individuals. In other words, all of us “ordinary investors” ought to be like the child in “The Emperor’s New Clothes” who innocently blurts out that the emperor is naked. That emboldened others to say so… eventually making it impossible for the emperor himself to avoid admitting the truth.

We can all see the truth. Our only remaining task is to acknowledge it and act accordingly. But the great herd of investors just can’t do it. The herd is like the courtiers and other sycophantic hangers-on around the emperor. They’re all scared of his ire and eager to gain his favour , prompting them to proclaim the surpassing beauty of his non-existent clothes.

They’re too vested in continuing the charade to notice that doing so is an unsustainable state of affairs.

The greatest charade perhaps of all is in the cryptocurrency called Dogecoin. Dogecoin was created as a joke to make fun of cryptocurrencies being worthless, and not only has it taken off, but it’s such a success that second-level joke cryptocurrencies making fun of Dogecoin have gone to multibillion-dollar valuations. An unabashed ode to the culture of nothingness has wound up with a massive valuation… Dogecoin’s market cap peaked on May 7 at $88 billion and still sits above $32 billion today. Its value has crashed over the past six weeks. But even so, that’s still a whole lotta nothin’.

There’s no fraud going on in these instances at all. Folks are saying, “Hey, sign me up. I want nothing and I’ll pay real money for it!” Nothing is the new something.

Any sane person can see that this cannot end well. In fact, it will get so crazy that the world will be crying out for a Saviour, the scene is set for the entry of the Antichrist on to the world scene. His appearance is the most significant prophesied “end times” sign. As I have said many times before there are far more prophecies about Jesus second coming than there were of His first coming. Are you aware of these prophecies? Are you prepared for what is ahead? For Christians it is a time of intense persecution. We are already seeing the “end times” prophesied falling away in the church from the truth of God’s Word and His moral values. Wake up church, God is purifying His church. Sadly, much of the church is like the church at Laodicea which will be left behind to face God’s wrath.

“I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” Revelation 3:15-17

It is the Church at Philadelphia that represents the church that is raptured prior to God’s wrath being poured out with the Trumpet and Bowl Judgements.

“Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.” Revelation 3:10-11

The Rapture of the Saints prior to God’s wrath being poured out on an unrepentant world with the Trumpet and Bowl Judgements

CHRISTIANITY WITHOUT CHRIST

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Have we arrived at a Christianity without Christ? Find out with guest Dennis Pollock and Tim Moore of the Lamb & Lion Ministries evangelism team as they provide their Prophetic Perspectives.

Lamb & Lion Ministries was founded in 1980 by Dr David Reagan as a non-denominational, independent ministry. The Ministry does not seek to convert people to any particular church. Rather, it seeks to lift up Jesus and draw people to Him as Lord and Saviour.

The Ministry was established for the purpose of proclaiming the soon return of Jesus. We do not believe it is possible to know the date when Jesus will return. But we do believe it is possible to know the season of the Lord’s return, and it is our conviction that we are living in that season. As all of my followers know this is also my calling.

GOD’S CONSTRUCTS ON EARTH A COPY OF HEAVENLY THINGS

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“They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” Hebrews 8:5

“Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.” Hebrews 9:23-24

Christ did not enter a man made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one, He entered heaven itself. The earthly sanctuary was a copy of the true one in heaven. The new Jerusalem that John sees descending from heaven to the new earth after the White Throne judgement is in the intermediate or present heaven.

“After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tabernacle of witness in heaven was opened, and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests.” Revelation 15:5-6

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant ” Hebrews 12:22-24

There is a city of the living God: the heavenly Jerusalem which John saw prophetically coming down to the new earth.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” Revelation 21:1-2

AROMA OF LIFE OR AROMA OF DEATH

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‘Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For to God we are the fragrance (the sweet smell) of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.  To one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life – and who is sufficient for these things?’ 2 Corinthians 2:14-16

As we go about our daily business, walking in the works God has prepared for us, The Holy Spirit is with us and, if we seek and ask, He will be answering our prayers. Read the scripture again He is always leading us in triumph. This should be our experience and if we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us the aroma of Christ is being diffused, released around us.  We may not be aware, but others pick up the scent for life or for death.

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesian 5:2 or Philip 4:18

As we approach the time spoken of by Jesus in answer to the the disciples question: “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” Matthew 24:3, we know from His response that in the “last days” the world by and large has turned away from God and therefore we are the aroma of death leading to death to them.

Is it any wonder then that Jesus tells us that Christians living at that time will experience intense persecution.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” Matthew 24:9-12

Make sure you are one of the faithful: “But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:13

CONVERSION THERAPY OUTLAWED

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Book Review by Perter Barnes : Cause, Free to Change: Survey of 78 Ex-LGBT People, available through cause.victoria@gmail.com

Before the Victorian government (Australia) passed its oppressive laws banning ‘conversion therapy’ in February 2021, it drew on a predictable report from La Trobe University entitled Preventing Harm, Promoting Justice. This was based on the testimony of just fifteen individuals who claimed that ‘conversion therapy’ had been harmful and damaging to them. As a result, praying for and counselling a homosexual – even one who asks to be prayed for and counselled – has become a criminal offense carrying huge fines and long gaol terms. Against this, Cause (Coalition Against Unsafe Sexual Education) has found 78 people who have experienced lasting change through counselling. Indeed, the number is growing.

SURVEY OF 78 EX-LGBT PEOPLE

The 107 page work is thorough and trustworthy. The dangers in promoting the homosexual and lesbian lifestyle, and entrenching gender confusion, are well exhibited. The testimonies from former homosexuals, lesbians and transgenderites, in chapter 7 of the book, are powerful indeed, and deeply moving. Not all give a Christian story; some come from Muslims and some do not indicate any religious convictions. But transformation through Christ is a thread running through much of this book. La Trobe’s study was supposedly aimed at preventing harm, but achieved the opposite. Sin is a form of bondage and there is only one solution.

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free… So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:32,36

The Victorian legislation was a cruel form of keeping people in bondage, even if they expressed a wish to change. We can be grateful that this clear and brave study was put together by Con Kafataris, John Whitehall, John Steenhof and others. May God greatly use it!

Please circulate this information as widely as possible.

ARE YOU BEING A FAITHFUL SERVANT?

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‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ Matthew 25:23

Your faithfulness does not depend upon how much or how little you have, talents and resources, but what you do with them. Ninety percent of serving is just showing up. Are you faithful in showing up and using what God has given you.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10

In fact, God has preordained good works for us to do, the question is will we do them.

Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me… Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me’ Matthew 25:35-40

We are all called to share and serve Jesus by serving others and note Jesus takes this personally.

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. James 1:27

These two scriptures make it crystal clear what types of good works we are called to do. I would suggest not too many in our institutional churches today are doing them. Moreover, these same people are probably not giving the following Scripture the consideration it deserves.

“For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” Romans 14:10-12

Tough message, but we all need a wakeup call from time to time, I certainly do, even Paul wrote: “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” Romans 7:18-20

“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.” Revelation 20:11-12

LAST DAYS: AS IT WAS IN THE DAYS OF NOAH

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How and why the following statement has come to be regarded as coherent and meaningful is beyond comprehension to most males over the age of 60:

“I am a woman trapped in a man’s body.”

Carl Trueman in his latest book The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self states that “those who think of it as meaningful today are not restricted to the veterans of college seminars on queer theory. They are ordinary people with little or no direct knowledge of the critical postmodern philosophies whose advocates swagger along the corridors of our most hallowed centres of learning.”

The statement carries with it a world of metaphysical assumptions. It touches on the connection between the mind and the body, given the priority it grants to inner conviction over biological reality. It separates gender from sex, given that it drives a wedge between chromosomes (your biological identity) and how society defines being a man or a woman. And in its political connection to homosexuality and lesbianism via the LGBTQ+ movement, it rests on notions of civil rights and of individual liberty.

The so-called sexual revolution of the last sixty years, culminating in its latest triumph—the normalization of transgenderism—cannot be properly understood until it is set within the context of a much broader transformation in how society understands the nature of human selfhood.

The sexual revolution is as much a symptom as it is a cause of the culture that now surrounds us everywhere we look, from sitcoms to Congress. In short, the sexual revolution is simply one manifestation of the larger revolution of the self that has taken place in the West. And it is only as we come to understand that wider context that we can truly understand the dynamics of the sexual politics that now dominate our culture.

What marks the modern sexual revolution out as distinctive is the way it has normalized these and other sexual phenomena. The sexual revolution does not simply represent a growth in the routine transgression of traditional sexual codes rather, it involves the abolition of such codes in their entirety.

In fact, it has come to in certain areas, such as that of homosexuality, to require the positive repudiation of traditional sexual mores which are of cause based on God’s/Biblical values to the point where belief in, or maintenance of, such traditional views has come to be seen as ridiculous and even a sign of serious mental or moral deficiency.

Criticism of homosexuality is now homophobia; that of transgenderism is transphobia. The use of the term phobia is deliberate and effectively places such criticism of the new sexual culture into the realm of the irrational and points toward an underlying bigotry on the part of those who hold such views. This kind of thinking underlies even decisions in the Supreme Court of the USA.

The old sexual codes of celibacy outside marriage and chastity within it are considered ridiculous and oppressive, and their advocates wicked or stupid or both. The sexual revolution is truly a revolution in that it has turned the moral world upside down.

Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor, in his book Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity gives us important clues to the nature of the modern self. In that work, Taylor highlights three points of significance in the modern development of what it means to be a self: a focus on inwardness, or the inner psychological life, as decisive for who we think we are; the affirmation of ordinary life that develops in the modern era; and the notion that nature provides us with an inner moral source. They lead to a prioritization of the individual’s inner psychology—we might even say “feelings” or “intuitions”—for our sense of who we are and what the purpose of our lives is. Transgenderism provides an excellent example: people who think they are a woman trapped in a man’s body are really making their inner psychological convictions absolutely decisive for who they are; and to the extent that, prior to “coming out,” they have publicly denied this inner reality, to that extent they have had an inauthentic existence. This is why the language of “living a lie” often appears in the testimonies of transgender people.

The changes we have witnessed in the content and significance of sexual codes since the 1960s are symptomatic of deeper changes in how we think of the purpose of life, the meaning of happiness, and what actually constitutes people’s sense of who they are and what they are for.

Nietzsche, Marx, Freud and particularly Darwin were all used by Satan to remove God from society. Nietzsche and Marx, argued, certainly in different ways, but that ultimately the history of society is a history of power and oppression and that even notions such as human nature are constructs designed to reinforce and perpetuate this subjugation. Freud taught sexuality lies at the very heart of what it means to be an authentic person. Indeed, along with Darwin, they all dealt lethal blows, philosophically and scientifically, to the ideas that nature has an intrinsic meaning and that human beings have special significance or an essence that determines how they should behave.

Teaching our children that they evolved from apes and this world started with a big bang rang the death knell for God and the Bible and that the chaos we are seeing play out in our world today was inevitable. The God of the Bible from whom the basis of our morality in the West was derived is no longer considered real. The Bible is considered a collection of myths and fables and Jesus, if he ever lived at all, but a good man. For most people moral truths are now an expression of moral preferences.

It is not as if this has taken God by surprise the state of moral decay that existed prior to Noah’s Flood which caused God’s judgement and destroyed all mankind is escalating in our world today exactly as Jesus said it would prior to His return to restore righteousness.

“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.” Luke 17:26-27

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In not publicised Egyptian history the Benben (sacred stone) placed on the top of the pyramids represents the primeval mound, the first land that appeared from the primeval ocean, called the Nun. It was upon this land that the eight ‘gods’ (OGDOAD) sprang into being; four males and their wives, headed by the chief god ‘Nu’ which is phonetically similar to Noah.
The pyramids were themselves extensions of the Benben. We know this to be a fact linguistically, because the Egyptian word for pyramid is bnbn.t which is the female version of the bnbn sacred stone. 
This explains the size and shape of the pyramids. They were a constant reminder to the Egyptians of the worldwide flood and the rebirth of the world from the deified eight occupants of Noah’s Ark.

1. Scene from the west wall (north side) of the Pronaos of the Temple of Hathor and Maat, West ‘Uaset’-Thebes: 2. Nun and Naunet, Deities of Chaos and Water

OVER 7 MILLION IN EAST AFRICA ON BRINK OF STARVATION

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Over 7 million people across six East African countries are at the cusp of starvation as communities have faced existential threats from violence, flooding, the pandemic and locust infestation, the evangelical humanitarian organization World Vision has warned.

According to the charity, which operates in nearly 100 countries, thousands of children could face death or long-term health consequences if the international community does not respond quickly to East Africa’s worsening crisis. 

World Vision Food Distribution

“The situation is very severe in East Africa, and particularly Ethiopia. Over 2 million people are in need of food assistance,” Debebe Dawit of World Vision told The Christian Post in a Thursday interview. “Among conflict, COVID-19, flooding, locust infestation, all these are adding [an] additional burden to the community.”

Before the pandemic began, several countries in East Africa faced a widespread desert locust infestation that impacted hundreds of thousands of hectares and damaged croplands and pastures. Later in 2020, large-scale floods destroyed crops that were ready to harvest, which impacted the food supply for 4 million people in the region.

Matters have also been complicated by military conflicts — most recently the Tigray conflict —  and the rise of Islamic extremism. Witnesses who spoke with The Associated Press have detailed killings, looting and other abuses committed by Eritrean soldiers in Tigray, a predominantly-Christian northernmost region of the East African country.

To address the starvation and poverty crisis in East Africa, World Vision launched a multi-country emergency response for Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. The goal is to reach 2.4 million people, which includes 490,000 children. 

“One of the critical elements in this one is when famine or drought is happening, we always act after the fact. … Usually, we respond after people have died,” Dawit shared. “We need to be proactive in responding and providing funding to avoid the [deterioration] of the situation. The key thing here is people are dying before the famine of the drought is declared. So that needs to be looked at, and we need to act immediately and prevent further suffering.” 

As many of you would be aware the Kenya House Church Movement which LEN supports has requested aid for the House Church Group in Tanzania. They encountered widespread famine in Nyamuzi on their recent visit. Check out my recent post KHC Missions Trip. If you would like to help click on the Donations icon on my LEN Home Page.

EBRAHIM RAISI ELECTED PRESIDENT OF IRAN

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Iran’s hard-line judiciary chief won a landslide victory Saturday in the country’s presidential election, a vote that both propelled the supreme leader’s protégé into Tehran’s highest civilian position. However, the voter turnout was the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history.

Mass executioner, Ayatollah crony wins Iranian election, Amnesty Int’l calls for war crimes prosecution
Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, whom Amnesty Int’l accuses of war crimes. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

The election of Ebrahim Raisi, already sanctioned by the U.S. in part over his involvement in the mass execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988, became more of a coronation after his strongest competition found themselves disqualified from running.

That sparked calls for a boycott and many apparently did stay home — out of over 59 million eligible voters, only 28.9 million voted. Of those voting, some 3.7 million people either accidentally or intentionally voided their ballots, far beyond the amount seen in previous elections and suggesting some wanted none of the four candidates.

“That Ebrahim Raisi has risen to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance and torture is a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran,” Amnesty International’s Secretary-General Agnes Callamard said.

Previous President Hassan Rouhani, who in 2017 dismissed Raisi as an opponent in his re-election as someone only knowing about “executions and imprisoning” people, met the cleric Saturday and congratulated him.

Raisi’s election puts hard-liners firmly in control across the government as negotiations in Vienna continue to try to save a tattered deal meant to limit Iran’s nuclear program, at a time when Tehran is enriching uranium at its highest levels ever, though still short of weapons-grade levels. Tensions remain high with both the U.S. and Israel, which is believed to have carried out a series of attacks targeting Iranian nuclear sites as well as assassinating the scientist who created its military atomic program decades earlier.

I would suggest the election of Raisi moves the world one step closer to the prophesied “end times” war with Israel, the appearance of the Antichrist on the world scene, and the escalating persecution of both Jews and Christians. The good news is:

“Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Luke 21:28