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Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEYeG6_nHNY




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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

MONSTER STORM


The morning after the storm (Oct. 29) my friend, Bob Hdorek, began reading in Amos 9.  He immediately called me from Detroit.  Here are some of the quotes from this chapter:

"Strike . . . so that the foundation will shake . . . bring down the roof on the people below . . . I am determined to bring disaster upon them and not to help them . . . the Lord of Heaven's Armies touches the land and it melts and all its people mourn . . . the ground rises like floodtime and then it sinks again . . . HE DRAWS WATER UP FROM THE OCEANS AND POURS IT UPON THE LAND."

COINCIDENCE?

I don't think so.  God's people are at last beginning to listen.  And God is speaking loud and clear.

It is an exciting time!

Daniel 7:2

"I . . . saw a great storm churning the surface of a grat sea, with strong winds blowing from every direction." 

Psalm 83:15

 "So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm."

Job 27:21

"The east wind carrieth him away, and he departeth: and as a storm hurleth him out of his place."

Nahum 1:3

"The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet."

Luke 8:23

 " . . .and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy."

Click on the picture (below).  Someone placed this as a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal.



 

Friday, October 26, 2012

ABANDONED, BETRAYED . . . UNBELIEVABLE

"MR. PRESIDENT, IT IS BETTER TO DIE A HERO THAN TO LIVE AS A COWARD!"

THE ABOVE QUOTE IS FROM CHARLES WOODS, FATHER OF SLAIN NAVY SEAL, TYRONE WOODS. 

          IS THIS STILL AMERICA?

IS THIS THE AMERICA WE WANT FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS?

           "Someone gave the command for the American military not to save them."

When he met President Obama at the casket of his son,  he remarked,
 "He kind of just mumbled, you know, 'I'm sorry.' His face was looking at me, but his eyes were looking over my shoulder like he could not look me in the eye. And it was not a sincere, 'I'm really sorry, you know, that you're son died,' but it was totally insincere."


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/10/26/father-seal-killed-in-libya-says-clinton-vowed-to-arrest-and-prosecute/#ixzz2Agp43a00

THE FATHER OF NAVY SEAL, TYRONE WOODS, SPEAKS OUT:



http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2012/10/who-decided-not-to-save-tyrone-woods.php


http://www.inquisitr.com/376547/father-of-navy-seal-killed-in-libya-asks-who-made-the-decision-not-to-save-my-son/

Monday, October 22, 2012

THE REAPPEARANCE OF THE BEAST


The Reappearance of the Beast

A verse by verse study of  Daniel 12

Daniel wrote this book (in Babylon) about 533 B.C.

(Remember: The chapters are not in chronological order.  Chapters 7 & 8 occur between chapters 4 &5).

By reading his account we know that Daniel had several visitations from angels.

But . . . why did he have these encounters?

“. . . I, Daniel, learned from reading the word of the Lord, as revealed to Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years.  So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting.  I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes.  I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: (Daniel 9:2-4).

What were the passages in Jeremiah that impressed Daniel so much that he fasted for three weeks as he read and studied?  Could anything make such an impression on you that you would do this?

Here are a couple of the passages he read that I believe motivated him to fast and pray:

“Israel and her neighboring lands will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years” (Jer. 25:11).

“This is what the Lord says, ‘You will be in Babylon for seventy years.  But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again’” (Jer. 29:10).

Jeremiah prophesied for about 41 years: 627-586 B.C.  This was such an amazing prediction because he told about it many years before it happened.  And it got him in big, big trouble.

No wonder Daniel sat up and took notice!  He was a very brilliant man and it was easy for him to calculate that the 70 years would expire in about 17 years.

Scholars say several things:  One: 605 B.C. – 538 B.C.; Two: 586 B.C. – 516 B.C.; and Three: a remote possibility is that the 70 years is an approximate number meaning a lifetime.

The 586 B.C. to 516 B.C.  dates are the most commonly accepted.

Daniel accepted the 70 years as a literal number.

So . . . reading THE WORD, and BELIEVING IT, is what inspired him.  And this is why we have the book of Daniel.

Why do we have so much difficulty understanding some of the passages in this book?  I think the answer is very clear.  In Daniel 8:19 the angel told him, “I am here to tell YOU what will happen later in the time of wrath.”

Do you see it?  The angel came to tell Daniel. And the full revelation will only be understood at the time of the end, which many scholars believe is the time in which we are now living.

Daniel 12

Verses 1-2:  “At that time Michael, the archangel who stands guard over your nation, will arise.  Then there will be a time of anguish greater than any since nations first came into existence.  But at that time every one of your people whose name is written in the book will be rescued.”   

Michael: Hebrew, Me.ka.el (15 times in the Bible)  Michael means “Who is like God”.

Here, very clearly we are told the exact name of the angel who “watches” or “stands guard” over the nation of Israel.  His name is Michael.

Dan. 10:13—“Then Michael, one of the archangels came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia (not named).”

Dan. 10:21—“No one helps me against these spirit princes except Michael, your spirit prince.”

Jude 1:9—“But even Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, did not dare accuse the devil of blasphemy, but simply said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’ (This took place when Michael was arguing with the devil about Moses’ body).”

Rev. 12:7—“Then there was war in heaven.  Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels.  And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven.  This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.”

“at that time”;   Greatest:“time of anguish”; Rescued:“at that time”.

Archangel: Hebrew “sar”, means leader or chieftain.

This agrees with Jesus’ prediction: “There will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began.  And it will never be so great again.  In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive.  But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones” (Jesus, in Mt. 24:21-22).

This is a hint pointing to the rapture: “For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.  We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.  For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God.  First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves.  Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  Then we will be with the Lord forever.  So encourage each other with these words” (1 Thes.4:14-17).

“ . . .Then the Lord my God will come, and all his saints with him” (Zechariah 14:5).

“. . .We will not all die, but we will all be transformed!  It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown.  For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever.  And we who are living will also be transformed” (1 Cor.15:51-53).

Books opened: Rev. 20:11-15.

Verse 3:

“Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever.”

Shine, (Hebrew, “zahar”, to teach, warn, send out light).  :

This reminds us of what Jesus said in John 7:38: “He that believes on me as the Scriptures have said, out of his belly will flow rivers of living water”.

Vs. 4:

“But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end, when many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase.”

 “Keep this prophecy a secret” until the “time” (Hebrew: “ath”)

“Many will rush here and there”:  There are approximately 50,000 flights per day worldwide, which, rounded off, means 20 million people are flying each day.

About 500 million are riding in cars.

At least one million ride the subway in New York each day.

“Knowledge will increase”—What used to take someone 6 weeks of research can now be done in about 20 minutes on a computer.

Vs. 5-6:

“Then I, Daniel, looked and saw two others standing on opposite banks of the river.  One of them asked the man dressed in linen, who was now standing above the river, ‘How long will it be until these shocking events are over?’”

 Daniel saw two “others” standing on opposite banks of the river.  Another angel (not Michael, read the text carefully: Da. 10:12-14) was standing above the river.

“How long will it be?”  This is another reference to time.

Vs. 7:

“The man dressed in linen, who was standing above the river, raised both his hands toward heaven and took a solemn oath by the One who lives forever, saying, ‘It will go on for a time, times, and half a time.  When the shattering of the holy people has finally come to an end, all these things will have happened.’”

 “time, times, and half a time”; this is very, very obscure.  But, in spite of the mystery, many Bible scholars have made some conjectures.  I will not list them all here.  But I will mention the one that seems most credible.

 Bible scholars today tell us that “time” equals one thousand years.  “Times” equals two thousand years.  And “half a time” equals 500 years.”

Using this assumption:  From the “first year of Belshazzar” (552 B.C., Dan. 7:1) to the exact year Israel became a nation (1948) is 2,500 years!

From the 3rd year of Cyrus (Da. 10:1, 533 B.C.) until 1967 (when Jerusalem was free from Gentile rule) is 2,500 years!

Mathematically, it is almost impossible for these two events to be a coincidence!

This is a quote from Bishop Sophronius (560-638 A.D.).   He was the patriarch of Jerusalem who negotiated the surrender of Jerusalem to the Muslim caliph Umar I in 637.

“When Khalifah Omar (the Caliphate) entered Jerusalem in 637AD (5 years after Mohammed died), he was met at the gates by Bishop Sophronius who ushered him through the city.  Seeing the temple mount (then in ruins), Omar declared that he was going to build a memorial to Muhammad on the original site of the temple of God. Sophronius exclaimed in horror, “Verily, this is the Abomination of Desolation (God forbid that he should have a son”) as spoken of by Daniel the prophet, and it now stands in the holy place.”

Though Sophronius was an old man of 80 years, Khalifah Omar put him in prison and forced labor, the rigors of which killed him.

Somehow, we have managed to forget the truth for which Sophronius gave his life. The Dome of the Rock being the Abomination that maketh Desolate is not new theology.

This knowledge has been in the Church for 1373 years!

Mohammed was born in 570 and died in 632.

His full name: Abū al-Qāsim Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim

 

Vs. 8:

“I heard what he said, but I did not understand what he meant.  So I asked, ‘How will all this finally end, my lord?’”

  Intellectual knowledge is not enough.  He “heard” what the angel said, but he did not really understand.  When we read the Bible we certainly must use our minds.  But merely hearing is not enough.  Faith must come with the hearing, and something must enlighten us supernaturally.

Vs. 9:

“But he said, ‘Go now, Daniel, for what I have said is kept secret and sealed until the time of the end.’”

“kept secret” (Hebrew: raz) and sealed (kha.tham) until the time of the end.  Does this mean that the “secret” will become known when we approach the time of the end? Many people believe that it will.

“All the future events in this vision are like a sealed book to them” (Is. 20:11).

“The Lord our God has secrets known to no one.  We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions” (Dt. 29:29).

“ . . . I know that the Spirit of the Holy Gods is in you and that no mystery is too great for you to solve . . .” (Dan. 4:9, King Nebuchadnnezzar speaking to Daniel).

“Indeed, the Sovereign Lord never does anything until he reveals his plans to the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

“ . . . I will speak to you in parables.  I will explain things hidden since the creation of the world” (Mt.13:35).

“For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light” (Mk. 4:22).

Vs. 10:

“Many will be purified, cleansed, and refined by these trials.  But the wicked will continue in their wickedness, and none of them will understand.  Only those who are wise will know what it means.”

 “purified, cleansed, and refined by trials”

         “wicked will continue in wickedness”

         “those who are wise will know what it means”

There are prophecy scholars who insist that the Jewish people cannot begin sacrificing animals again until the Third Temple is built.

Number One:  some Jewish people are already sacrificing animals in Israel without a Temple.

Number Two:  We Christians assume so much without actually studying our Bibles!

Did you know that even before the Temple’s foundation was laid animals were being sacrificed.

“Show me that in the Bible!”

O.K., it is in Ezra 3:6.  “ . . . the priests began sacrificing animals . . . before the foundation of the Lord’s Temple was laid!

Verses. 11-12:

“From the time the daily sacrifice is stopped and the sacrilegious object that causes desecration is set up to be worshiped, there will be 1,290 days.  And blessed are those who wait and remain until the end of the 1,335 days.”

Although the Temple was destroyed in 586 B. C., there was still a remnant of Jews left there who continued sacrificing animals until 583 B.C.

One of the errors that is being taught today is that the Jews can't sacrifice animals until the THIRD TEMPLE is erected.  I can easily refute this claim with Scripture.

Ezra 3:6 clearly tells us that a Temple is not necessary for animal sacrifice: " . . . the priests began sacrificing animals . . . BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE LORD'S TEMPLE WAS LAID."

And all you have to do is travel to Israel today to discover that some of the Jewish people are already performing animal sacrifices (to the great dismay of the animal rights people).

When we read Jeremiah 52:30, it says: “The number of captives taken to Babylon in the seventh  year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign (599 B.C.) was 3,023.  Then in Nebuchadnezzar's eighteenth year (588 B.C.) he took 832 more.  In Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year (583 B.C.) he sent Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, who took 745 more---a total of 4,600 captives.”

Important note: The 1st year of Nebuchadnezzar was 606 B.C.

So this is absolute proof that all the Jews were not deported in 586 B.C.  This passage clearly tells us that there were three different deportations, years apart.

And we are told in Ezra 3:6 that the Jewish people actually sacrificed animals WITHOUT A TEMPLE.

And the remnant of Jews continued sacrificing until the last group left Jerusalem.

  “From the time the daily sacrifice is stopped”—583 B. C.---until the sacrilegious object is set up will be 1290 days.”

What year would it be if you subtract 583 B.C. from 1290 A.D?

The answer is simple: 707 A.D.

Did anything happen in 707 A.D. that would help us understand this text?

No!

Then how can we make any sense out of this passage?

The answer is really very simple, once we realize that the calendar used in the Old Testament is not the same as our calendar.

The Jewish Calendar (used in the Bible) and our calendar, The Gregorian Calendar, are many years apart.  For example: at the time of this writing our calendar tells us that the current year is 2012.  But the Jewish calendar this year is 5773.  This is a huge 3,761 year difference!

Our calendar, the Gregorian Calendar (also called Western Calendar and Christian Calendar) was named by a decree signed February 24, 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII.  It is the most widely internationally accepted civil calendar in use today.

The Jewish Calendar is lunar.  The Gregorian Calendar is solar.  The Jewish Calendar has 360 days per year.  The Gregorian Calendar (the one we use) has 365.25 days per year.

You might ask, “What is the .25 number?”  Remember leap year every four years?

So when the Bible mentions 1290 “days”, the way to calculate the number to our “days” is by dividing 360 by 365.25.  The answer we get by this division is .985626283.

Then we multiply 1290 by .985626283 and the result is 1271.45.

We use the same math for the 1,335 “days” and the result is 1315.81.

So the 1290 “days” end up as 1271.45 “days”.

And the 1,335 “days” end up as 1315.81 “days”.

But someone may ask, “The Bible (in Daniel) says “days” not years.  How can you switch from days to years?  What Biblical foundation is there to make the change?”

The answer is found in several passages:

Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:4-6;  Psalm 90:4;  and 2 Peter 3:8.

“Because your men explored the land for 40 days, you must wander in the wilderness for 40 yearsa year for each day, suffering the consequences of your sins.  Then you will discover what it is like to have me as your enemy (Num. 14:34).

“Now lie on your left side and place the sins of Israel on yourself.  You are to bear their sins for the number of days you lie there on your side.  I am requiring you to bear Israel’s sins for 390 days—one day for each year of their sin.  After that, turn over and lie on your right side for 40 days—one day for each year of Judah’s sin” (Ez. 4:4-6).

2 Peter 3:8—“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.”

Psalm 90:4—“For you a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours.”

So . . . at least four times the Bible tells us that “days” can also represent “years”.

But if God only said it once, wouldn’t that be good enough?

Using this Biblical foundation of “days to years” we can proceed and make some sense out of Daniel 12:11.

We know from changing lunar years to solar years that 1290 becomes 1271 days.

1271 minus 583 B.C. equals 688 A.D!

Did anything significant take place in 688 A.D.?

Yes!  The Islamic Dome of the Rock was built in 688, on the Jewish Temple Mount.

What about the next number (1335 days) in this verse?

O.K., change 1335 to solar days and we get 1315.

1315 minus 583 equals 732.

Did anything significant take place in 732 A.D.?

Yes!  A major battle took place in 732 A.D. in France called the Battle of Tours.

Those of us who went to school and church here in the United  States probably never heard of this battle.

Charles Martel (the Hammer) defeated the Umayyad Caliphate led by Abdul Rahman Al ghafiqi in 732 A.D.

Historians interpret this battle as divine judgment of Christianity over Islam.

The battle was fought near the cities of Tours and Poitiers in north-central France.

It was the decisive turning point in the struggle against Islam.

Leopold Von Ranke (German historian in the 1800’s) said, “This was the turning point of one of the most important epochs in the history of the world.”

“I saw that one of the heads of the beast seemed wounded beyond recovery (732 A.D.?)---but the fatal wound was healed (during our time?)!  The whole world marveled at this miracle and gave allegiance to the beast” (Rev. 13:3).

“He exercised all the authority of the first beast.  And he required all the earth and its people to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed” (Rev. 13:12).

When we were growing up most of us had never heard about Islam!

But a little after 1990 we all began reading about the angry muslims and their Islam faith that urges them to kill infidels.  In case you did not know it---infidels are people who are not muslims.

Today there is probably no one in our country who has not heard of muslim terrorists.

Was the first beast Islam?  And then the second beast is also Islam?  We cannot be absolutely positive about this concept, but it sure makes sense. 

And . . . if this approach is not the truth, then what do we have to replace it with?

Revelation 17:8 mentions “the reappearance of the Beast”.  Did this “reappearance” take place in the time in which we now live?  To tell the truth, most of us had barely heard about Islam before 1990.

Vs. 13:

“As for you, go your way until the end.  You will rest, and then at the end of the days, you will rise again to receive the inheritance set aside for you.”

  This last verse tells us that there will be an “end” (#7093, Hebrew “kats”).  It is also interesting to note that from the time Daniel died until the “end of days” he would be “resting”.  But the promise is clear: “you will rise again”.  We have the hope of eternal life.  The grave is not the end for believers.  There will be a glorious inheritance.

I welcome comments and feedback. 

Email: wesed@hotmail.com


EXTRA NOTES:





Extra Notes:

If you really want to do a serious study of the book of Daniel:  The Coming Prince, by Sir Robert Anderson.

Three key dates to know in Daniel:

586 B.C.: the destruction of Jerusalem.

583 B.C.: the year when sacrifices were stopped (12:11).

March 14, 445 B.C.,when Artaxerxes ordered Jerusalem to be rebuilt, to April 6, 32 A.D., the exact date Jesus’ presented himself as King (9:25).

These dates are absolutely amazing.  We have 173,740 days, plus 24 days (from March 14 to April 6), plus 116 days (leap years) for a total of 173,880 days.

Gabriel’s margin of error was ZERO!

GABRIEL TOLD DANIEL THE PRECISE DAY THAT JESUS WOULD PRESENT HIMSELF AS KING! (LUKE 19 AND Psalm 118).

 

 

Saturday, October 20, 2012

IF OBAMA IS ELECTED AGAIN . . .



ANOTHER "PEACEFUL" SHIP HEADED TO GAZA

THE VIDEO ALL MUSLIMS WANT BANNED:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU9CauJP4Pg

AMAZING!

THE DO-GOODERS OF THE WORLD ARE TRYING IT AGAIN.

THE LAST TIME THESE "PEACEFUL" PEOPLE ATTEMPTED TO BRING A SHIP TO GAZA THEY ALMOST MURDERED SEVERAL ISRAELIS.

CLAIMING TO BE BRINGING HUMANITARIAN AID TO THE PEOPLE IN GAZA, IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE Mavi Marmara HAD HUNDREDS OF RIFLES AND AMMUNITION ABOARD.

SO THE JEWS STOPPED THE ESTELLE, TOO, AND ARE IN THE PROCESS OF EXAMINING THE CARGO.


OF COURSE, WE CAN EXPECT AN OUTCRY FROM THE PRO-PALESTINIAN CROWD.

WHY WOULD THE JEWS WANT TO STOP SHIPMENTS OF ARMAMENTS TO GAZA?

DUH!

BECAUSE THE TERRORISTS ARE USING THESE WEAPONS TO MURDER ISRAELI CITIZENS.

BUT THE BLIND PEOPLE OF THIS WORLD WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND.

IF YOU KNEW THAT YOUR NEIGHBOR ACROSS THE STREET WAS PLANNING TO SLAUGHTER YOUR FAMILY, WOULD YOU DO ANYTHING TO STOP HIM?

OF COURSE YOU WOULD.

AND THE VERY BEST DEFENSE IS A GOOD OFFENSE.

GOD BLESS ISRAEL!

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

HOPE


Hope:  130 times in the Bible

Definition:  a strong and confident expectation

Hebrew : Tik.va;(#8615)  Hatikva is Israel's national anthem.  Read the English words at the end of this article.*

Greek: Elpis (#1680)expectation ( of evil or good)

Hope is mentioned only once in the Gospels (Luke).

Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never Is, but always To be blest:
The soul, uneasy and confin'd from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.”
-Alexander Pope,
An Essay on Man, Epistle I, 1733

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.”
Emily Dickinson

“I like the night. Without the dark, we'd never see the stars.”
Stephenie Meyer, Twilight

“We dream to give ourselves hope. To stop dreaming - well, that’s like saying you can never change your fate.”
Amy Tan, The Hundred Secret Senses

“It is often in the darkest
skies that we see the brightest stars.”
Richard Evans

“Hold fast to dreams,
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird,
That cannot fly.”
Langston Hughes

“I don't think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains.”
Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl

“Walk on with hope in your heart,
and you'll never walk alone”
Shah Rukh Khan

“Shoot for the moon, even if you fail, you'll land among the stars”
Cecelia Ahern, P.S. I Love You

“It's the children the world almost breaks who grow up to save it.”
Frank Warren

“They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.”
Tom Bodett

The Hope Diamond is owned by the Smithsonian Museum, $250,000. 45.52 carats. The Hope Diamond, also known as "Le bleu de France" or "Le Bijou du Roi", is a large, 45.52-carat (9.10 g), deep-blue diamond, now housed in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, D.C. It is blue to the naked eye because of trace amounts of boron within its crystal structure, but exhibits red phosphorescence after exposure to ultraviolet light. It is classified as a Type IIb diamond, and is notorious for supposedly being cursed, although the current owner considers it a valuable asset with no reported problems associated with it. It has a long recorded history with few gaps in which it changed hands numerous times on its way from India to France to Britain and to the United States. It has been described as the "most famous diamond in the world".

Hope is the emotional state which promotes the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life.
Despair is the opposite of hope.  Hope is the "feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best" or the act of "looking forward to something with desire and reasonable confidence" or "feeling that something desired may happen". Other definitions are "to cherish a desire with anticipation"; "to desire with expectation of obtainment"; or "to expect with confidence". In the English language the word can be used as either a noun or a verb, although hope as a concept has a similar meaning in either use.]

In Psychology:

Dr. Barbara L. Fredrickson, Principal Investigator of the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Lab and Professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, argues that hope "...comes into play when our circumstances are dire", when "things are not going well or at least there’s considerable uncertainty about how things will turn out". She states that "hope literally opens us up...and removes the blinders of fear and despair and allows us to see the big picture [, thus allowing us to become creative" and have "belief in a better future".

Philosopher Richard Rorty understands hope as more than goal setting. Hope assumes a metanarrative, a story that serves as a promise or reason for expecting a better future.

In Philosophy:

Alfred Adler said: “We cannot think, feel, will, or act without the perception of a goal.

Dr. Barbara Frederickson states that, “Because positive emotions arise in response to diffuse opportunities, rather than narrowly focused threats, positive emotions momentarily broaden people’s attention and thinking, enabling them to draw on higher-level connections and a wider-than-usual range of percepts or ideas through cognitive, psychology, physical, or social resources”. Frederickson is explaining hope in a moment of great need. With the sense of hope come positive emotions such as happiness and joy, courage, and empowerment. She describes these “positive emotions” as coming from four different areas of one’s self: from a cognitive, psychological, social, or physical perspective.

"Hope springs eternal" taken from Alexander Pope's Essay on Man, the phrase reading "Hope springs eternal in the human breast, Man never is, but always to be blest:" Another popular reference, "Hope is the thing with feathers," is from a poem by Emily Dickinson.

“Hope” in the Holy Bible means “a strong and confident expectation.” Though archaic today in modern terms, hope is akin to trust and a confident expectation". The author of the book of Romans, Paul the Apostle, argued that hope was a source of salvation for Christians. Romans 8:24-25 states "For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one also hope for what he sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it".

According to the Holman Bible Dictionary, hope is a "trustful expectation, particularly with reference to the fulfillment of God's promises. Hope, is the anticipation of a favorable outcome under God's guidance;... the confidence that what God has done for us in the past guarantees our participation in what God will do in the future.

The concept is considered one of the three theological virtues of the Christian religion. "Hope is an essential and fundamental element of Christian life, so essential indeed, that, like faith and love, it can itself designate the essence of Christianity".

  • Faith - belief in God, and in the truth of His revelation as well as obedience to Him (cf. Rom 1:5:16:26)
  • Hope - expectation of and desire of receiving; refraining from despair and capability of not giving up
  • Charity - selfless, unconditional, and voluntary loving-kindness such as helping one's neighbours.

They occur in the Bible at 1 Corinthians 13:13:

"And now abideth faith, hope, and love, even these three: but the chiefest of these is love".

More than one vice can be the opposite of each theological virtue:


Verses on Hope from the Bible:

Job 7:6

6 “My days fly faster than a weaver’s shuttle.
They end without hope.

 Job 14:7


7 “Even a tree has more hope!
If it is cut down, it will sprout again
and grow new branches.

Psalm 22:9


King James Version (KJV)

9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.

Psalm 31:24


New Living Translation (NLT)

24 So be strong and courageous,
all you who put your hope in the Lord!

Psalm 33:18


King James Version (KJV)

18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;

Psalm 38:15


King James Version (KJV)

15 For in thee, O Lord, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God

Psalm 39:7

King James Version (KJV)

7 And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.

Psalm 42:5,11; 43:5


King James Version (KJV)

5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.

 

Psalm 71:5


King James Version (KJV)

5 For thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth.

Psalm 71:14

King James Version (KJV)

14 But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.

Psalm 119:49

King James Version (KJV)

49 Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.

Psalm 119:81

King James Version (KJV)

81 My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.

Psalm 119:114

King James Version (KJV)

114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.

Psalm 119:116

King James Version (KJV)

116 Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope.

Psalm 130:5

King James Version (KJV)

5 I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.

Psalm 146:5

King James Version (KJV)

5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God:

Psalm 147:11

King James Version (KJV)

11 The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.

Proverbs 10:28

King James Version (KJV)

28 The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.

Proverbs 13:12

King James Version (KJV)

12 Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.

Proverbs 14:32

King James Version (KJV)

32 The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.

Proverbs 29:20

King James Version (KJV)

20 Seest thou a man that is hasty in his words? there is more hope of a fool than of him.

Ecclesiastes 9:4

King James Version (KJV)

4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

Jeremiah 14:8

King James Version (KJV)

8 O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?

Jeremiah 17:7

King James Version (KJV)

7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

Jeremiah 17:17

King James Version (KJV)

17 Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil.

Lamentations 3:18

King James Version (KJV)

18 And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord:

Lamentations 3:26

King James Version (KJV)

26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

Joel 3:16

King James Version (KJV)

16 The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

Zechariah 9:12

King James Version (KJV)

12 Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;

Acts 2:26

King James Version (KJV)

26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:

Acts 23:6

King James Version (KJV)

6 But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.

Acts 24:15

King James Version (KJV)

15 And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

Acts 26:6

King James Version (KJV)

6 And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God, unto our fathers:

Acts 27:20

King James Version (KJV)

20 And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.

Romans 4:18

King James Version (KJV)

18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

Romans 5:5

King James Version (KJV)

5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Romans 8:24-25

King James Version (KJV)

24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?

25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Romans 12:12

King James Version (KJV)

12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;

Romans 15:4

King James Version (KJV)

4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Romans 15:13

King James Version (KJV)

13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

1 Corinthians 9:10

King James Version (KJV)

10 Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.

1 Corinthians 15:19

King James Version (KJV)

19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

2 Corinthians 3:12

King James Version (KJV)

12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:

Ephesians 1:18

King James Version (KJV)

18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

Ephesians 2:12

King James Version (KJV)

12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

Colossians 1:5

King James Version (KJV)

5 For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;

Colossians 1:23

King James Version (KJV)

23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;

Colossians 1:27

King James Version (KJV)

27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

1 Thessalonians 4:13

King James Version (KJV)

13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

1 Timothy 1:1

King James Version (KJV)

1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;

Titus 1:2

King James Version (KJV)

2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

Titus 2:13

King James Version (KJV)

13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

Hebrews 3:6

King James Version (KJV)

6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

Hebrews 6:19

King James Version (KJV)

19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;

1 Peter 1:3

King James Version (KJV)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1 Peter 3:15

King James Version (KJV)

15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

1 John 3:3

King James Version (KJV)

3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

*Hatikva (Israel's National Anthem)

As long as in the heart, within,
A Jewish soul still yearns,
And onward, towards the ends of the east,
An eye still looks toward Zion;
Our hope is not yet lost,
The hope of two thousand years,
To be a free nation in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.
 

The Menorah

The Menorah
Ready for the Third Temple. 92 pounds of gold ($17 million) 6 1/2 Feet High

Dome of the Rock

Dome of the Rock
The abomination of desolation

THEY STEAL YOUR HEART

THEY STEAL YOUR HEART
AREN'T THEY BEAUTIFUL?

KATE & LINDSAY: HAITI ORPHANAGE

KATE & LINDSAY: HAITI ORPHANAGE
Please Help The Children