Folks, there are a lot of strange birds out there.
On one hand, you’ve got the Orthodox Jews who only accept the Old Testament as being valid Scripture. Not only that, but they seem to view the opinions and interpretations of their rabbis in the Talmud — Mishnah and Gemara — as being more important than the Scriptures themselves.
Then you’ve also got what I refer to as the Pauline Extremists who seem to erroneously place the words of the Apostle Paul even before the words of Jesus Himself in the four Gospels. They don’t outright reject the four Gospels, but they view the Gospel to the Gentiles as barely beginning in the Book of Acts, and really beginning in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans.
Personally, I view both of those extreme positions as dangerous and a serious imbalance.
For the record, I embrace, read, quote from and teach from the entire Scriptures — from Genesis to Revelation — in many of my articles, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
After all, as they say, “the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed”.
Quite frankly, you can’t have one without the other. As Jesus said, He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, so the Old Testament is very important to modern-day Christians.
In fact, as you may know, even the Apostles quoted from the Old Testament, as did Jesus Himself, many times.
The truth of the matter is that the Old and New Testaments fit together like a hand in a glove. You need to know and understand one, in order to understand the other.
Please remember that a false balance is abomination to the Lord — Proverbs 11:1.
“The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.” Exodus 15:3, KJV
“And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries? And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the LORD’S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.” Joshua 5:13-15, KJV
“And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:16-17, KJV
“The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.” Psalms 34:7, KJV
“Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days. And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb. And, behold, one like the similitude of the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me. Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me, And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.” Daniel 10:5-21, KJV
“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.” Matthew 11:12, KJV
“Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?” Matthew 26:52-53, KJV
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12, KJV
“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,” Revelation 12:7, KJV
“These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.” Revelation 17:14, KJV
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” Revelation 19:11-16, KJV
I was inspired to write this short commentary after discovering that some of my friends didn’t quite understand how a town or city which is located many miles from a coastal area, and which is hundreds or even thousands of feet in elevation, could be so seriously affected by a hurricane coming off of the ocean, such as in the case of Asheville, North Carolina, USA for example.
I think this confusion results from not fully understanding exactly what a storm surge is, which is quite understandable if a person has never been through a hurricane, and if they don’t happen to live in a coastal area.
Basically, a storm surge is an abnormal rise in sea level that is caused by the strong winds and low pressure which are associated with a hurricane.
This rise in water level — which can be anywhere from a few feet up to as much as perhaps 30+ feet in the severest of storms — can lead to major coastal flooding, particularly in low-lying areas.
The storm surge is driven by the force of the hurricane’s winds raising and pushing water — like a giant, powerful wall of water — towards the shore, in conjunction with the storm’s low pressure, which allows the water level to rise higher than normal.
But that is not all. The height of that wall of water includes not only the storm surge itself, but the regular tide level as well.
For example, let’s say that at the time a hurricane makes landfall in a particular area, there is a very high tide in progress, or what is known as a spring tide. Even worse is a king tide which is higher than a spring tide.
If the king tide is 2.5 feet in height, and the storm surge is 20 feet in height, that means that when that powerful wave crashes ashore, it will be 22.5 feet in total height. Wow!
My friends, not only is there unimaginable force behind a storm surge, but they move very fast, typically 10-30 miles an hour, depending on the forward speed of the hurricane itself.
A storm surge is one of the most dangerous and deadly aspects of a hurricane, and is often responsible for widespread destruction and loss of life in a coastal area.
Here on Guam, I have witnessed firsthand the results of a powerful storm surge rushing ashore. The level of destruction is absolutely mind-boggling, as if you are in a war zone. Everything is uprooted and just gone down to the bare rock strata! Nothing is left!
Now, to be clear, the destruction that some people are describing at those higher elevations is NOT the result of an oceanic storm surge, because a storm surge can only penetrate inland a few miles at best depending on the topography of the land, the size, strength and speed of the hurricane itself, etc.
The destruction at those higher elevations results from a different set of factors including the following:
1. Wind speed
2. Amount of rainfall
3. Topography of the land
4. Flash floods
5. Rivers, lakes, etc. overflowing their regular boundaries.
For example, even though you live in a town or city that is at a higher elevation and miles away from the ocean, if that town or city is in turn surrounded by even higher hills or mountains — kind of like a bowl — it is going to be in serious trouble!
Now, if that same town or city is also located near a body of water, or even near multiple bodies of water — such as a confluence of rivers — that town or city is going to be in even worse trouble, not just from the excessive wind speed, but from all of that excessive rainfall filling up those lakes and rivers.
But that is not all. You’ve also got flash floods rushing down hills and mountains at tremendous speeds.
Lastly, there are landslides to boot, washed out roads, etc.
My friends, that is exactly what happened at places such as Asheville, N.C. It had nothing to do with the oceanic storm surge many miles away which could not possibly reach those elevations.
I hope this explanation clears things up for some of you.
For anyone who may not be clear regarding what Donald J. Trump’s position is regarding abortion, following is a screen capture, as posted by Elon Musk on his “X” social network on October 2, 2024 at 12:43 PM. While some Christians may not agree with the exceptions Trump is allowing, in the political world, room must be allowed for both pragmatism and realism. In other words, if Trump were to not allow for these exceptions, he would not obtain the female support and vote that he needs in order to win. Thus, I am assuming that he has gone for a middle-of-the-road compromise. It is better one small step at a time and win, than one huge step and lose.
“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:” Romans 1:20, KJV
“O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:” 1 Timothy 6:20, KJV
“God Created the Heavens – Intelligent Design” KJV Bible Verse List:
“It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.” Psalm 118:8-9, KJV
“Keeping Promises and Doublemindedness” KJV Bible Verse List: