Predicting When Jesus is Coming

Mankind has tried to predict Jesus' return since He ascended into Heaven some 2,000 years ago. Prognosticators, in all their knowedge, signs, and indications have managed to miss it consistantly. They should have listened to Jesus because He said:

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.(Matt 24:36).

Score
Jesus 1
Prognosticators 0

When I was a child I remember the Jehova Witnesses predicted the coming of Jesus. They missed it just like they did in the early part of the 20th century. Edgar C. Whisenhunt reportedly made a quarter million dollars from his best-selling book, "88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988". It didn't happen. There have been many, many attempts to predict the coming of Jesus and all of them were wrong.

C.S. Lewis makes it very clear. Here's a passage from "The Worlds Last Night: An Other Essays:

"Clearly, no one wishes to say anything that will [awaken] mass hysteria. We must never speak...about 'the Day' [of the Second Coming] without emphasizing again and again the utter impossibility of prediction. We must try to show them that that impossibility is an essential part of the doctrine. If you do not believe Our Lord's words, why do you believe in His return at all? And if you do believe them must you not put away from you, utterly and forever, any hope of dating that return?

His teaching on the subject quite clearly consisted of three propositions: (1) That He will certainly return; (2) That we cannot possibly find out when; (3) And that therefore we must always be ready for Him."

Many like to argue whether Jesus is going to return before the tribulation, in the middle of the tribulation, or the end of the tribulation. I used to get caught up in the argument in a big way. Now I don't worry about it. Jesus clearly says that nobody knows. I'm going to trust Him and be ready. You should, too.

Did You Know?

Here are some interesting facts that everybody wants to know. OK, maybe just me.

Who Invented Styrofoam?
German drugstore operator Eduard Simon discovered polystyrene in 1839, isolating the substance from the natural product resin.

In 1922, German, organic chemist Hermann Staudinger published his theories on polymers, stating that natural rubbers were made up of long repetitive chains of monomers that gave rubber its elasticity. He also wrote that the materials manufactured by the thermal processing of styrene were similar to rubber. In 1953, Staudinger won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry.

Styrofoam was invented in 1954 by Ray McIntire of Dow Chemical Co. He combined styrene with isobutylene, a volatile liquid, under pressure. The result was foam polystyrene, 30 times lighter than regular polystyrene.

Styrofoam® is a trademarked name, the real name of the product is foamed polystyrene.
Source: The Detroit News

One Down, Two to Go
The U.S. State Department had placed a $25 million bounty on Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s head – the same reward offered for information leading to the apprehension of al Qaeda kingpin Osama bin Laden and his chief lieutenant Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Source: The FBI

Kids and Meth
How extensive a problem is methamphetamine abuse in the United States?

In 2004, 6.2 percent of high school seniors reported that they had used methamphetamine at some point in their lifetimes.
Source: The National Institute of Drug Abuse

Don't Call Me!

The 'Do Not Call Registry' is a great benefit to mankind. The only regret is that it wasn't implemented immediately after Don Ameche invented the telephone. The moment it opened for business we were among the first to register our phone numbers. The reason was clear and simple. We didn't want to be bothered.

Believe it or not the telephones in our household were never intended as a convenience for telemarketers.

Much to our chagrin a new telemarketing is group abusing our right to privacy. They start calling in the morning and don't stop until late at night harassing us with automatically dialed recorded messages and occasionally with real people. These people infringing upon our privacy are POLITICIANS.

Yes indeed, those extraordinary Snake Oil salesmen and saleswomen (notice the offensive term salesperson was not used) whose message hasn't changed for centuries are infringing on our privacy. Personally, It bothers me tremendously that these arrogant politicians would think for one moment that anyone really wants to hear their biased message and let alone over a telephone. Most of them don't have the decency show their numbers on Caller ID so we can know whom we're ignoring.

Those calls are probably coming from India.

I'm aware that they've made a loop hole for 'not for profit' groups and themselves. But wouldn't be to their advantage if they would simply show respect and call only those who don't appear on the Do Not Call Registry?

I've personally called a few politicians in advance to let them know that we don't want to receive any calls from them. We'll be hard pressed to trust anyone with our vote who won't respect our privacy.

That's how I see it.

http://www.ftc.gov/donotcall/

Conflict in the Middle East

I recently read a great article by Dennis Prager. He succinctly made the problems in the Middle East very easy to understand. His explanation of the conflict is contained in a nutshell:

"The Arab and other Muslim enemies of Israel (for the easily confused, this does not mean every Arab or every Muslim) want Israel destroyed. That is why there is a Middle East conflict. Everything else is commentary.

The Middle East conflict is difficult to solve, but it is among the simplest conflicts in history to understand."

You should take the time to read his article in the Jewish World Review.

http://jewishworldreview.com/0706/prager071806.php3

Here are some of the facts he mentioned for the conflict in the Middle East

• Iran, Palestine, Hizbollah, Hamas, and Muslim supporters all over the world want the Jewish state annihilated.

• 1947- 48 The Arab states tried to destroy the tiny Jewish state formed by the United Nations partition plan.

• 1967 June 5 – 10 Egypt, Syria, and Jordan tried to destroy Israel in what became known as the Six-Day War.
  

• 1967 September 1 Arab countries convened in Khartoum, Sudan, and announced their famous Three no’s to Israel: "No peace, No recognition, No negotiations."

• 1973 Egypt invaded the Israeli-held Sinai Peninsula

• 1977 November Anwar Sadat visited Israel and addressed its parliament in Jerusalem.

• 1978 Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty in return for which Israel gave all of the oil-rich Sinai Peninsula back to Egypt.

• 1981 Sadat was assassinated by Egyptian Muslims, a killing welcomed by most Arabs, including the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization). Why welcomed? Because Sadat had done the unforgivable — recognized Israel and made peace with it.

• 2000 July 11-14 Israel's Camp David offer of a Palestinian state for Palestinian peace was rejected because most Palestinians and their Arab and Muslim supporters don't want a second state. They want Israel destroyed. They admit it. Only those who wish Israel's demise and the willfully naive do not.

The extremist New York Times foreign affairs columnist, Thomas Friedman, wrote two weeks ago:

"The Palestinians could have a state on the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem tomorrow, if they and the Arab League clearly recognized Israel, normalized relations, and renounced violence. Anyone who says otherwise doesn't know Israel today."

If a harsh critic of Israel like Friedman can get it so can anybody else.

According to Prager, If you ask almost anyone living in the Middle East why there is a Middle East War, in English, they will assume you are either an academic, a Western news reporter, a diplomat, or a "peace activist." They will assume you are gullible and will tell you that it's because of "Israeli occupation" or "the Zionist lobby."

But they know it isn't. And it never was.

Where to Hide

Q: Where's the safest place for Osama bin Laden to hide?
1. Afganistan
2. Pakistan
3. New York Times Building

A: 3