Jewish Prophecy

For the last six or seven years, I've been on the list of a Yahoo Group called JewishClubMaoz@yahoogroups.com . I'm not sure how I got the invitation to join, but I got it and I did. Many on the list appear to be Zionist radicals of the non Messianic sort -- a few of them, militant. Now and then I've found a gem. I believe I've found one just now. It would be easy, of course, to take the following the wrong way, but I believe there's something there.

This is not the usual sort of thing that a nice Christian boy like me would post on a blog, but here goes:

Prophecy

Prof. Paul Eidelberg

Many Jews talk about the need to make Israel an authentic Jewish state, and of course they know what is an authentic Jewish state. It's a state based on the Torah, on the Sinai Covenant. It's a state whose ultimate purpose is to sanctify the Name of God by revealing His infinite Wisdom, Power and Graciousness in every domain of existence.

But if we understand what an authentic Jewish state is, why don’t we have a road map to such state? The basic reason is because we have focused our attention and energies on the “Arab problem,” more precisely the “Palestinian problem.” This is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Not only is entire world is focused on the Palestinian problem, but Israel's Government is committed to the establishment of an Arab-Islamic state on Israel's own territory! Let's try to get to the bottom of this bizarre situation.

(1) Israeli governments have focused the world’s attention on the Palestinian problem because these foolish governments have failed to address Israel's most fundamental problem the Jewish problem!

(2) Stated another way, every Israeli government has been focused on the territorial-

cum-security issue. So lo and behold, Israel is losing territory and has never been more insecure!

Want more? Okay.

(3) Israel’s (paranoid) prime ministers are always preoccupied with Israel’s image in the media or among the nations. This is precisely why Israel has never had a more horrible image among the nations.

Are you getting the message? You all know that the Zionist enterprise had two basic goals: to provide for the security and restore the dignity of the Jewish people by establishing a Jewish state in Eretz Israel. Right?

But where was God in this scenario? Do you find God mentioned in Theodor Herzl’s The Jewish State—Herzl, the only name mentioned in the document now called Israel’s Declaration of Independence?

So, instead of God, what does Israel look up to—because if a people have nothing to look up to, it’s on the way to looking down on its feet. Instead of looking up to God it will look up to man. It’s called "humanism." But inasmuch as biologists such as Richard Dawkins have shown that man is descended from the apes, an awful lot of Israelis have discovered that Israel has no statesman at the helm—just apes!

Let me put it another way. What do Israel’s decision-makers and opinion-makers exalt? But of course—DEMOCRACY! Everyone knows this. Everyone knows that the paramount concern of Israel’s ruling elites—politicians and judges, academics and journalists—is to secure Israel’s reputation as a Democracy. This is what gives Israel's government Legitimacy and Israel's elites with Respectability. Right? But notice that the nations are now seeking to delegitimize Israel despite its vaunted democracy! Sort of ironic, no?

But where is the Torah in this Israeli scenario? Wasn’t it the Torah that preserved the Jewish people and endowed them with personal and national dignity?

Will someone tell me what would have happened to the Jewish people after the destruction of the Second Temple without the Torah? Why they would have become as extinct as the dodo. Which means that had Israel been led by the likes of Yitzhak Rabin (read Shimon Peres), Ehud Barak, Ariel Sharon, Ehud Olmert, and Binyamin Netanyahu—and let's add that "everything-is-justiciable" jurisprudent Aharon Barak—the Jews would have suffered the fate of the Neanderthals.

Poor Israel! Having abandoned the God of Israel and the Torah, various leaders of the so-called Jewish state are so desperate that they solicit the political support of Christians! Christians may think this is the fulfillment of prophecy.

But the Jewish sages knew that in the end of days, Israel would be ruled by paltry governments. That's where Israel is today. Like the foolish governments of Europe and the United States, they are succumbing to Allah and the Quran—to barbarians. But don't despair. The Jewish sages saw the current state of affairs as a preliminary to a renaissance of Hebraic civilization.

Jesus Manifesto: The Interview with the Authors at Next Wave

With all the perceptions of what "Emerging Church" stands for (ie: neo-liberal, social gospel, etc), I find this a breath of fresh air. It's written from what I would broadly refer to as Emerging Church, and it brings an emphasis that many see as lacking, namely, the centrality of Yeshua -- thus, the title Jesus Manifesto. Here are some quotes from the interview that stood out to me:

Frank: We believe that the Jesus disclosed to us in the New Testament is the same Christ whom the Holy Spirit reveals today. He is the Christ of the cosmos, the Christ of Eternity, the Alpha and the Omega, as well as the Christ who lived on this earth as the quintessential human – the second Adam, or more accurately, the Last Adam – who then died, rose again, was glorified, ascended, enthroned, and now lives in His people...

...Scholars have spent a lot trying to figure out the exact nature of the erroneous teaching that captured the minds and hearts of the Colossian believers.

One of the reasons why there is so much debate over it is because Paul never directly addresses the problem. Paul’s primary way of dealing with church problems is to give God’s people a stunning unveiling of Jesus Christ. (Therein lies a valuable lesson for all church leaders.)...

...One side argues for the Jesus of justice – who is largely derived from the Gospel accounts. The other side argues for the Jesus of justification – who is largely drawn from some of Paul’s statements in Galatians and Romans.

While Len and I embrace the Jesus of justice and the Jesus of justification, our book attempts to present a Christ who is far greater, far more glorious, and far richer than simply being the Justice-Giver or the Justifier.

We feel that this third vision of Jesus is sorely neglected in our time. It’s possible to put justice and justification on the throne, and leave the living Christ out in the cold....

...With respect to your last question, I am of the opinion that the driving force of much of the house church, organic church, simple church, and missional church movements is not Jesus Christ. And so I’d like to see this changed. Hopefully, God will use the book toward that end...

Read the whole interview here...

From New York Times: The deminishing stigma of being self published

Times are changing, as this article from New York Times suggests -- entitled The Rise of Self-Publishing:

In this time of Twitter feeds and self-designed Snapfish albums and personal YouTube channels, it’s hard to remember the stigma that once attached to self-publishing. But it was very real. By contrast, to have a book legitimately produced by a publishing house in the 20th century was not just to have copies of your work bound between smart-looking covers. It was also metaphysical: you had been chosen, made intelligible and harmonious by editors and finally rendered eligible, thanks to the magic that turns a manuscript into a book, for canonization and immortality. You were no longer a kid with a spiral notebook and a sonnet cycle about Sixth Avenue; you were an author, and even if you never saw a dime in royalties, no one could ever dismiss you again as an oddball.

But times have changed...

Hypnotist turned best selling novelist

Here's an excerpt of a really great novel written by a hypnotist who made a career change to writing novels:

You are enjoying yourself. You can't stop reading. You will keep reading this all the way to the last page, stopping only to go to the toilet, or eat, or other urgent business, but you will go right back to reading this. You can't put it down. When you reach the end of this book, you feel like you've had the most wonderful reading experience you've ever had. You will tell your friends. You will look for other books written by me, and buy them immediately.
You are enjoying yourself. You can't stop reading. You will keep reading this all the way to the last page, stopping only to go to the toilet, or eat, or other urgent business, but you will go right back to reading this. You can't put it down. When you reach the end of this book, you feel like you've had the most wonderful reading experience you've ever had. You will tell your friends. You will look for other books written by me, and buy them immediately.
You are enjoying yourself. You can't stop reading. You will keep reading this all the way to the last page, stopping only to go to the toilet, or eat, or other urgent business, but you will go right back to reading this. You can't put it down. When you reach the end of this book, you feel like you've had the most wonderful reading experience you've ever had. You will tell your friends. You will look for other books written by me, and buy them immediately.

LOL !!!!!!

My books in the Amazon Kindle Store

My three self published novels are now available on Amazon.com in their Kindle Store. Look at them right here.

The price might be confusing, depending on what part of the world you're viewing them from. They should be available for $1.99 USD each. However, when I log in from N. Ireland, they show $4.69 USD. I think there might be a difference in what part of the world you're buying from.

If you're outside of U.S.A., you can still buy them for $1.99 USD at Smashwords.com. It's also available in a format your Kindle can read, as well as iPad, and numerous other formats.

That Makes Two (self published authors making a living)

Two interviews within days of each other of authors who have succeeded in making a living off their self published e-book sales: J. A. Konrath, and Karen McQuestion (click and read their stories).

For some of us (authors) that's good new.

Understanding Current Thai Politics

Thai society could be roughly divided between two groups:

Group # 1, a.k.a. the Yellow Shirts: The educated urbanites (though not all living in the cities) who are knowledgeable and supportive of the democratic process. They are the ones responsible for making Bangkok into a modern high-tech metropolis, to match modern high-tech metropolises world over. They are the group that most Westerners would identify with, as they know how to make the system work without breaking all the rules. That's not to say they don't break the rules often enough -- that's called corruption, of which Thailand has its fair share -- both sides.

Group # 2, a.k.a. the Red Shirts: The rural peasantry (though not all living in the rural areas) who have largely been left out of the process, and have been waiting a very long time to see any of the wealth generated by Group # 1 trickle down to them. They are not so well informed of the ways of democracy. However, without them, Thailand would not be a net exporter of rice and other foods, and without their cheap labour, Bangkok wouldn't enjoy the impressive skyline that it has. For that matter, perhaps, some of the wealth has trickled down, at least to those that provide the cheap labour, but they're also the first to suffer when an econimic crises hits.

Enter: Thaksin Shinawatra, a wealthy businessman cum politician, who made what Group # 1 considers to be overly rash campaign promises. He became the prime-minister with a land slide vote, and proceeded to keep, at least most, of his campaign promises (or enough of them to impress those of Group # 2). For the first time the members of Group # 2 were happy that someone at the top seemed to be aware that they exist. For the first time, real benefits began trickling down to them.

As far as Group # 1 is concerned, Thaksin Shinawatra was breaking all the rules. His war on drugs involved allowing the police to shoot to kill whenever they see a known drug dealer or drug lord. He bypassed all departments and bureaucracy to get benefits to the people. In fact, he was quite autocratic.

If you were to ask me, I'm reminded of the fact that, had Adolf Hitler died in 1939, he would have gone down as one of the greatest heads of state the world has ever known, for taking Germany out of the ashes and bring prosperity to the common people. It wasn't nice and smooth as the normal democratic process ought to be, but the common people agreed that his actions were timely and effective. Only later did he began to show his colours as the villain that he was. By then, he had Germany's working class and peasantry solidly behind him.

While the principals of democracy may be second nature to you and I, and to those of Group # 1, as far as Group # 2 is concerned, it's all a load of Western gibberish that hasn't done them any good. All they see is, Thaksin brought results, where normal democracy didn't. Personally, I'd agree that Thaksin Shinawatra's policies needed taming down, but if I put myself in the shoes of the typical North-Eastern farmer, or semi-employed construction worker, or Bangkok taxi driver, the answer isn't so easy.

For right now, there are no easy answers for Thai politics.