Saturday, March 9, 2019

Apollo 11 and GTA




Today I saw the new documentary movie, Apollo 11, at our local IMAX theatre.  Just after launch minus 1 hour 31 minutes, they showed a clip lasting about half a second of some reporters covering the event.  Right in the center of the picture was Garner Ted Armstrong, his hair still black.  I had forgotten that he got himself accredited as a reporter at several of the launches, so he could promote his new booklet, Who Will Rule Space.  Back then, I wondered why I was listening him on the radio, a week or two after the fact, say pretty much the same stuff that I had heard Walter Cronkite say a fraction of a second after the fact.  It seems that in the 1960s, GTA wanted to be a respected reporter, similar to the 1970s when he wanted to be a respected country music singer.


From a source North of the borderlines

Friday, March 8, 2019

The One and Only True Church and International Women's Day



Friday was International Women's Day.  This, of course, had to set off the doubly-cursed and self-appointed false prophet of the improperly named "continuing" Church of God.  In his eyes everything has to have a pagan connotation or some hidden meaning so that he has something to whine about.  His latest flatulence is that the day is a SOCIALIST tool to brainwash women.
March 8 was suggested by the 1910 International Socialist Woman’s Conference to become an “International Woman’s Day.” After women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia in 1917, March 8 became a national holiday there. The day was then predominantly celebrated by the socialist movement and communist countries until it was adopted in 1975 by the United Nations. …
In 1914 International Women’s Day was held on March 8, possibly because that day was a Sunday, and now it is always held on March 8 in all countries. The 1914 observance of the Day in Germany was dedicated to women’s right to vote, which German women did not win until 1918.
In London there was a march from Bow to Trafalgar Square in support of women’s suffrage on March 8, 1914. Sylvia Pankhurst was arrested in front of Charing Cross station on her way to speak in Trafalgar Square.
On March 8, 1917, on the Gregorian calendar, in the capital of the Russian Empire, Petrograd, women textile workers began a demonstration, covering the whole city. This marked the beginning of the Russian Revolution. …
The day is an official holiday in Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Zambia.
In some countries, such as Cameroon, Croatia, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Chile, the day is not a public holiday, but is widely observed nonetheless. (Wikipedia, accessed 03/08/18)
#BalanceforBetter is the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, which is observed each year on March 8. The 2019 initiative is aimed at gender equality, a greater awareness of discrimination and a celebration of women’s achievements, according to the International Women’s Day website. That includes reducing the global pay gap between men and women and making sure all are equal – and balanced – in activist movements, boardrooms and beyond. 
International Women's Day 2019 theme is #BalanceforBetter: Here's what you need to know
He then makes this statement, almost begrudgingly:
As far as women go, they do have rights, and should not be mistreated.
He then proceeds to quote ancient scriptural texts of Herbert Armstrong on how women should know their place in the family and the church.


To be truly happy, a real woman should bear in mind the purpose of which she was created – and set herself definite GOALS to fulfill in the accomplishment of that purpose. 
First of all, she should remember that she was called to help and supplement her husband. She should learn to be responsive to him and to his direction of the home, entertainment and way of life. 
She should realize that her husband’s success is her success also – and fully SHARE and delight in the triumphs and achievements of her husband, knowing that htey are partly her own. Also, she should equally share in his sorrow and disappointments – trying always to give the right kind of balanced and positive sympathy and encouragement so that he will rebound to other successes in the future.
Then, for the woman who reads and understands the Bible, another goal presents itself. That is the goal of preparing to help RULE and reconstruct this entire society in the World Tomorrow (Rev. 2:26; 5:10). Some Christian women wonder how they are being prepare for this. If they, themselves, are not leading and directing businesses, families and public activities today, how are they learning and preparing for tomorrow’s world?
The ANSWER is that a woman, with the physiological and psychological nature given her by God has magnificent opportunities – too often untapped – for preparing toward this goal. She needs to set herself to be a really successful wife, mother and contributor today. (True Womanhood: A Lost Cause?) 



 

Oh Noes!!!!! Don't You Just Hate When This Happens!



It has been a sad day in Israel, as no ripe barley was found.  Thanks to that misfortune, another month has been added to the calendar!  Don't you just hate it when that happens!

7 Mar:  The New Moon was not seen this evening at Jerusalem, therefore the first day of the 13th biblical month will begin at sunset on Friday. 
No Aviv barley was found near Jerusalem or anywhere else in Israel.  Therefore an intercalary thirteenth month will be added at the next visible new moon [tomorrow evening], and the first month of the new year will begin in April. 
Lest you think this silliness cannot get any worse, read the following legalistic nonsense:

7 Mar: Except for a report by Brian Convery of isolated patches of barley mixed with a high concentration of oats south of S’derot by Gaza [which are not Aviv anyway since this is barley plants mixed with standing oats, and is also not acceptable due to their location so far from Jerusalem]; NO Aviv was found anywhere near Jerusalem at this time.    
The difference between Brian and the Karaites is that the Karaites [the ancient scribes] standard, is that the barley harvest must be Aviv by the end of the 12th month; while Brian’s standard is that he can forecast the harvest to be Aviv by the Wave Sheaf day.   
I cannot accept the position that the Aviv can be forecast without any error two weeks before the fact, because it relies on human judgment rather than an actual observation.  What if it is forecast with the best of intentions and information, and there is an unexpected weather issue and the barley is not Aviv by Wave Sheaf day?   
This explains the 12th month or offering day issue between them; but still does not meet the command for all persons to be present at Jerusalem for Passover and the Feast, which necessitates the cutting of the sheaf immediately outside the temple.  Which  was accepted practice during the temple period and accepted by Christ as the standard.  
What is the command?  To keep the Passover and Feast at Jerusalem!What does the Wave Sheaf mean?  It is symbolic of the resurrection of Christ!   
Where was Christ resurrected from?  A tomb immediately outside the walls of Jerusalem!  
Where was the Sheaf cut, throughout the temple period?  Just outside the walls of Jerusalem! 
To cut it anywhere else is to break God’s command,  and obscures the true meaning!  See more below.   
Of course the temple no longer exists and we will not offer sacrifices until Christ comes and builds a new temple, but we should certainly use the temple site as the basis for establishing the new year. 
Because of this fact an intercalary thirteenth month will begin at the next visible new moon [tonight or tomorrow evening], and the first month of the new year will begin in April. This is way too early, placing Trumpets in August,  Brian made the same error  of mistaking a few isolated advanced patches as establishing Aviv in 2016.  
This year his pics showed a little barley mixed with standing oats which is a dead giveaway that the barley is NOT Aviv since the oats will always fall over a week before the barley becomes Aviv.   
Devorah Gordon: no Aviv found anywhere in Israel.  
We carried out our Aviv Search on March 6, 2019 and concentrated our search in the regions in Israel where the barley first ripens, namely the Jordan Valley and the Northern Negev. The barley in the Jordan Valley was extremely immature, either still in the boot or in the flowering or cotton stages. When we first started our search in the in the Northern Negev we were finding that there too the fields were in the flowering and cotton stages. However as we progressed more South, we found fields that contained a significant amount of barley in the worm and soft dough stages.  
We even found some patches of aviv barley. However, these aviv patches were clearly micro environments and by far not representative of the state of the barley in the fields they were found in. One of the places we found patches of aviv barley was growing on a slightly raised mound, which for whatever reason seems to have caused the barley to develop quicker [James, this is because of better drainage drying the plant and forcing maturation]. The other place we found patches of Aviv barley was on the West side of a Tel, which due to its position and direction was receiving a lot of direct sunlight.  
I want to reiterate that the little Aviv we found, were patches found in micro environments and by far not representative of the state of the barley in the fields they were found in, nor will it significantly affect the harvest yield if these patches are not harvested before their heads break.  
It was the unanimous consensus of the team that they personally will NOT be beginning the new year with the upcoming new moon.
6 Mar:   Brian Convery seems satisfied with a little barley in the Gaza area and has decided to terminate his search.   
Report from Jerusalem:  The barley at the Temple Mount (just north of the Eastern Gate) is either just coming out of the boot (Zadoks stage 5) or in flowering stage (Zadoks 6). The hulls where the kernels form are still empty. Aviv is Zadok Scale 8 and harvestable barley is Zadok Scale 9.Becca Biderman reports that the barley is not ready anywhere north of S’derot and around Jerusalem the oats were still vibrant green and the barley was mostly in bloom, basically, it was in the same condition as itwas in the north region. There are storks, swallows, doves, figs,leafing grapes, lambs and kids, etc. but the barley is not ready.  
Brian Hoeck reports some fields in the south with patches of Aviv, and others intend to visit those fields tomorrow.  
Unless this changes tomorrow, the barley at Jerusalem is NOT Aviv for a new year and the next new moon will begin an intercalary thirteenth month, and  Passover will be in April. Final Report tomorrow.   
This is the kind of legalistic bullshit that James Malm wants to enforce upon the world.