A Critique of Fred Coulter’s Passover (c)
Fred R. Coulter
Christian Biblical Church of God
Post Office Box 1442
Hollister California 95024-1442
The Christian Passover What Does It Mean? When Should It Be Observed—the 14th or 15th?
The Critique continues:
Chapter 5
Exodus 16 begins with an account of the journeying of the children of Israel from Elim to the Wilderness of Sin, where they murmured for want of bread, Exodus 16:1, when the Lord told Moses that he would rain bread from heaven for them.
The issue in this chapter is mainly about God providing food for the children of Israel while they were travelling to the Promised Land. The test was the sixth day, where they were to gather twice the amount of manna needed for that day and the following Sabbath where no food would be provided.
The topic on the manna and problems raised in Exodus 16 are never about how to define what evening (erev or ben ha arbayim) is, as Fred Coulter alleges, but about those Israelites who gathered too much food, except on the preparation day, who found their collection bred with worms or rotted.
To repeat this focus, this chapter (Exodus 15) isn’t about how to define what erev or ben ha arbayim mean, but about preparing for a double portion for the Sabbath; and those that went out on the Sabbath couldn’t find any. The subject matter was about preparation and keeping the Sabbath, a concept that God had to teach them by way of practical example.
God promised in Exodus 16:11 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, 12 “I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak unto them, saying, ‘At evening (ben ha arbayim) ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”
What is the true meaning of the Hebrew phrase ben ha arbayim? The traditional Jewish interpretation defines it as the time from shortly after noon until sunset. Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan has accordingly translated ben ha arbayim as “afternoon” in the Passover command in Exodus 12:6. He has done the same thing in Exodus 16:12: “I have heard the complaints of the Israelites. Speak to them and say, In the afternoon [Hebrew ben ha arbayim], you will eat meat and in the morning, you will have your fill of bread….That evening [Hebrew ba erev], a flock of quail came and covered the camp” (Ex. 16:12-13, The Living Torah). (Pg 40)
Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, an American Orthodox Rabbi, was correct in the above definition. “Ben ha arbayim” is defined as the time “after noon until sunset.”
These Orthodox Jews had survived the Jerusalem AD 70 inferno simply because they rightly bore the Oracles of God that God had committed unto them (Roman 3-14). But the Sadducees, along with their perverted teachings would be deemed unworthy of any value, perished in that judgement!
The evening in Exodus 16:12 is ben ha arbayim but to Fred Coulter, he redefines it as a very short period of time, “between sundown and dark, a period of about an hour or so.” Words in the Scriptures shouldn’t be redefined, but Fred Coulter, revived by a Sadduciac conviction, seems able to pull a rabbit out of his hat.
And Fred wrote in Chapter 5, pages 40 and 46:
We do not need to rely on the traditions of rabbis and on scholars who follow them. There is a valid, Biblically based, chronologically sound, conclusive way to determine the true meaning of ben ha arbayim. God has preserved this knowledge for us in Exodus 16. By examining the context and chronological order of the events that are recorded in Exodus 16, we will be able to determine the exact point in time at which ben ha arbayim begins. (Pg 40)
Now it was AT SUNSET [Hebrew ba erev] a horde-of-quail came up and covered the camp…” (Ex. 16:13) (Pg 46)
The Scripture isn’t a dictionary, but Fred advocates erev is a transition of 3 to 5 minutes of one day to the next, perhaps half in the new day and the other half in the previous day (Pg 36-39).
The truth is, at “evening” (ben ha arbayim) ye shall eat flesh. At ben ha arbayim, the flesh arrived during the first evening, or during the time “after noon” but before nightfall. This is done during the day where there is light, from Noon to sunset. The bread arrived during the next morning where there is also light.
The Hebrew phrase ben ha arbayim has been used 11 times in the Bible but it has never been used for the beginning of a Sabbath, weekly or annual, or a beginning of a day in which case erev (which would be the second erev) is used. “Between the two evenings” is an idiom meaning “between the beginnings of the two evenings,” or the “between the eves of two evenings.”
The first evening is right “after noon . . .til nightfall.” The second evening begins at nightfall till midnight. This second erev is one that begins a day, a Sabbath.
The problem is how could the Israelites eat the quails within the hour and a half after it had just arrived after dark? And here is Fred’s definition: “Between the time that the sun is below the horizon, no longer visible, and total darkness.” Yes, all the gathering, killing, cleaning and cooking within such a time constraint after dark?
The answer lies in the first part of Exodus 16:5 “And it came to pass . . .” [וְהָיָה֙] indicates a lapse of time had passed. How long the time had passed, it wasn’t given. It could be a day, it could be a few days, or it could even be a gap of 430 years apart as expressed in Exodus 12:41. And this phase had been used numerous times in chapter 16 alone (verses 5, 10, 13, 22, 27), which means, there are numerous lapses of time for this chapter.
Elsewhere “And it came to pass . . .” occurs 396 times in the KJV. But when the “and” is excluded [i.e. “it came to pass . . .”] this phrase exploded to 2,204 times.
In short, in most contexts, this phrase “and it came to pass” means “and when the appropriate time came,” or “and when the time came,” or “and it shall be.”
Do not be mistaken, the Bible isn’t a dictionary, neither does it have an appendix which might elaborate on what a word means. Sometimes a verse could hint what a word means, but more often than not, it assumes the readers already know its meaning.
Most of these Hebrew words and meanings were already known orally when Moses wrote them down, and later some of these knowledge and commentaries were written down into what is known as the Talmud. To say that erev is a transition of 3 to 5 minutes from one day to the next is not only misguided, but foolish. Pure foolishness!
It was a concept that originated and pioneered from those who didn’t have any oral traditions — they were cut off from the mainstream although these misguided were also serious about studying the Scriptures. These misguided concepts originated first from the Samaritans, who then infiltrated the Jewish community and these were known as the Sadducees.
The Scriptures cannot be broken, and often in the Scriptures, it was written to conceal a mystery, but the honor of serious Biblical students is to search out a mystery (Proverbs 25:2). And that searching out could only come from their Oral traditions, which says “between the two evenings” is a period of time between the first phase of erev when the sun had passed noon at its zenith to the next phase of erev following sunset.
Chapter 16 of Exodus has a timeline of what happened during the seventh day, the Sabbath, and Fred Coulter alleged the time was the evening after sunset. He wrote:
The account in Exodus 16 explicitly tells us that God promised to provide meat for the people at sunset. In Verse 13, we read that God fulfilled His promise at that exact time: “And it came to pass AT SUNSET [Hebrew ba erev, the sunset ending that Sabbath], that the quails came up and covered the camp…” (Pg 46).
Note the start of verse 13 “And it came to pass . . .” as how long has passed wasn’t given — it could be a day, it could be several days. As stated above, it simply means “and when the time came.” Second, how often these waves of quails came wasn’t given, but one thing is certain — the story of the quails wasn’t used to teach the Israelites about keeping the Sabbath, only the story of manna did.
The Scriptural account makes it absolutely clear that the quail arrived at ba erev, or sunset. Then the quail covered the camp; that is, they were sent by God into the camp of Israel, not outside the camp. This event was another miracle of God. To fulfill His promise, God instantly created the quail and caused them to fall into the camp. Apparently, when the quail came, they literally fell out of the sky onto the camp grounds, and on the tents, which made gathering them a very easy task. (Pg 47).
Just a paragraph earlier, Fred Coulter noted:
When God promised to provide meat for the children of Israel, He said that they would be able to eat the meat “at dusk,” or ben ha arbayim.
That’s right: the Hebrew used is ben ha arbayim (Ex 16:12) which for this case is also the same time as erev (Ex 16:13). The only time the two phrases coincided is when erev is the first erev (see illustration above). That’s right, ben ha arbayim, normally a six-hour period, is also the first erev. Both terms mean, “after noon and until nightfall” not dusk.
Second the Scriptures give a different picture after the quails arrived. In verse 13, the Scriptures were silent when the next wave came. Again, it “and it came to pass” could be a day later, or it could be after several days. No details were given but other Scriptures commented that the gathering of the quails was so great that the catch could last not just a week or two, but a whole month’s supply, as testified in Number 11:18-20:
Numbers 11:18 ‘Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and ye shall eat flesh. For ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, “Who shall give us flesh to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. 19 Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days, nor twenty days, 20 but even a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and it be loathsome unto you, because ye have despised the Lord who is among you, and have wept before Him, saying, “Why came we forth out of Egypt?”’” — “a whole month” is repeated in verse 21.
30 And Moses got him into the camp, he and the elders of Israel. 31 And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day’s journey on this side, and as it were a day’s journey on the other side round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the earth. 32 And the people stood up all that day and all that night and all the next day, and they gathered the quails. He that gathered least gathered ten homers, and they spread them all abroad for themselves round about the camp.
Adam Clarke: The people stood up, etc. – While these immense flocks were flying at this short distance from the ground, fatigued with the strong wind and the distance they had come, they were easily taken by the people; and as various flocks continued to succeed each other for two days and a night, enough for a month’s provision might be collected in that time. If the quails had fallen about the tents, there was no need to have stood up two days and a night in gathering them; but if they were on the wing, as the text seems to suppose, it was necessary for them to use dispatch, and avail themselves of the passing of these birds whilst it continued.
The context of this quail, is that the Israelites already had been given manna and were therefore well supplied with food.
But they demanded meat in addition to the manna, and their insistence on having more than they needed displeased God. He was angry over their rebellion and grumbling and sent a severe plague among the people:
Numbers 11:33 And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague.
The plague was a disease carried by the quail as a lesson to His people. When God rises up His anger against grumbling and rebellion, it is so that the Israelits could learn to be content. Many Israelites died from the plague and they named the place Kibroth Hattaavah (“The Grave of Lust”). This was to remind them of what happened when in their greed they had grumbled against the Lord:
Numbers 11:34 And he called the name of that place Kibrothhattaavah [that is, The graves of lust], because there they buried the people who lusted.
The catch was an enormous catch and it lasted a month. The Scriptures are silent about any other catch of quails, unlike the manner which came every six days for forty years in the desert (Exodus 12:35). In fact, the story of the quail in Numbers 11 hints strongly that it is a one-off event. The chapter ended with a plague where “the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague,” (v 33). As no mention of the quail’s appearance were ever mentioned hereafter, it seems proper this is a one-off event.
This was God’s response to their grumblings:
Numbers 11:4 And the mixed multitude that was among them fell to lusting. And the children of Israel also wept again and said, “Who shall give us flesh to eat? 5 We remember the fish which we ate in Egypt freely, the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic; 6 but our soul is dried away. There is nothing at all besides this manna before our eyes.” 7 And the manna was as coriander seed, and the color thereof as the color of bdellium.
Excerpts from the Targum is more explicit in their grumblings and punishment:
And the strangers who had gathered together among them demanded with demand, and they turned and wept; and the sons of Israel said, Who will give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish which we had to eat in Mizraim freely, without (being restricted by prohibitory) precept, the cucumbers and melons, the leeks, onions, and potherbs. But now our life is dried up; there is not anything; we see only the manna, as the pauper who looks upon a morsel (bestowed) by the hands. Alas for the people whose food is bread from the heavens! And so murmured they, because the manna was like coriander‑seed, round, when it came down from the heavens, and when it had been sanctified its appearance was as the likeness of Bedilcha. And the wicked people looked about, and collected, and ground it in the mill. But he who would, bruised it in the mortar, or dressed it in the pot, or made cakes of it; and the taste of it was like the taste of cream covered with oil.
And Mosheh heard the people lamenting with their neighbours, who had gathered every man at the gate of his tent and the displeasure of the Lord was strongly moved, and in the eyes of Mosheh it was evil; and Mosheh said before the Lord, Why hast Thou done ill with Thy servant, or I have not found mercy before Thee, that Thou shouldst have laid the toil of this people upon me? Have I made or borne all these people as from the womb? are they my children, that Thou saidst to me in Mizraim, Bear the toil of them with thy strength, as the instructor of youth beareth, until they be carried into the land which Thou hast sworn unto their fathers?
Whence am I to find meat to give to all these people? for they are cry crying to me, saying Give us flesh that we may eat. I am not able to bear all these people, for it is too weighty for me. But if Thou do this with me, to leave all the labour of them upon me, let me now die with the death in which the just have repose, if I have found mercy before Thee, that I may not see mine evil. [JERUSALEM. That I may not see the evil of them who are Thy people.] Then spake the Lord unto Mosheh, Gather together in My name seventy righteous men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be elders of the people, and who were set over them in Mizraim, and bring them to the tabernacle to stand there with thee. And I will be revealed in the glory of My Shekinah, and will speak with thee there, and will amplify the spirit of prophecy that is upon thee, and bestow it upon them; and they shall sustain with thee the burden of the people, that thou mayest not bear it alone. And say thou to the people, Make ready against the morrow that you may eat flesh; because you have lamented before the Lord, saying, Who will give us flesh to eat? for it was better with us in Mizraim. The Lord therefore will give yon flesh that you may eat. You shall not eat it one day, nor two days, nor five, nor ten, nor twenty days; for a month of days, until the smell of it cometh forth from your nostrils, and it become a loathing to you; because you have been contemptuous against the Word of the Lord, whose glorious Shekinah dwelleth among you, and because you have wept before Him, saying, Why should we have come out from Mizraim?
And Mosheh proceeded to the camp, he and all the elders of Israel. And the wind of a tempest went forth, and came violently from before the Lord, so as to have swept the world away, but for the righteousness of Mosheh and Aharon: and it blew over the Great Sea, and made the quails fly from the Great Sea, and settle wherever there was place in the camp, as a day’s journey northward and southward, and at the height as of two cubits; they flew upon the face of the ground, and went upon their bellies, so that (the people) were not wearied while they collected them. And they who had been wanting in faith arose: and all that day, and all the night, and all the day that followed, they gathered the quails; even he who was lame and infirm gathered ten korin, and they spread them abroad round about the camps.
The wicked ate of the flesh, yet offered no thanksgiving to Him who had given it to them: but while the flesh was between their teeth, and not consumed, the anger of the Lord waxed strong against the evil people, and the Lord slew the people with a very great mortality. And he called the name of that place, The Graves of the Desirers of Flesh; for there they buried the people who had desired flesh. And from the Graves of the Desirers the people journeyed to Hatseroth, and they were in Hatseroth.
Exodus 16 is a chapter where the usage of erev and ben ha arbayim is used interchangeably with various events in between. But everything makes sense when erev is deemed as the daylight portion (or the first erev in the illustration) for the Israelites to capture, clean, roast and eat the quails. It would be extremely difficult to do all these four things (gathering, killing, cleaning and cooking) within the one-and-a-half hour period, especially most of the time would be in the dark, more so when they were travelling in the Sinai Desert, and an impossible task when it is winter, on an even shorter interval — “In the winter, ben ha arbayim is approximately 30-40 minutes” (Pg 50).
Exodus 16:8 And Moses said, “This shall be when the Lord shall give you in the evening (erev) flesh to eat and in the morning bread to the full, — the erev in this verse could either be a day or night portion of erev when the Lord gave them flesh to eat, but the next few verses indicate it is the first erev (afternoon till nightfall) when the quails’ arrival and eating occurred during the day or light portion of the evening.
11 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, 12 “I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak unto them, saying, ‘At evening (ben ha arbayim) ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God.’” 13 And it came to pass that at evening (ba-erev, the first evening, the daylight portion) the quails came up and covered the camp, and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.
The gathering of manna were to be done on the preparation day, Exodus 16:5 And it shall come to pass that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.” This same phase was used during the creation of man in Genesis 1:31 And God saw every thing that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening (erev) and the morning were the sixth day.
A full day is a 24-hour period. In Genesis 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. So the full evening (which makes up of two phases of erevs) is a 12-hour period.
On the sixth day, the preparation, the second phase of erev starts at around 6 pm Thursday for a 6-hour period until midnight. Then from midnight until noon is another 12-hour period which we call morning (boqer). The sixth day continues with another phase of erev, from noon to sunset, which is another 6-hour of daylight evening. Altogether they totaled a 24-hour day.
The truth is so easy to understand if we use the Orthodox Jewish definition of these technical words. These words in Hebrew are in the Jews’ native language, it’s their Sacred Text, it’s written within the Jewish culture.
The Orthodox Jews are the custodians of God’s oracles. Many critics have made a habit of stigmatizing them. The infidelity and obstinacy of the Jews could not invalidate the Oracles committed to these Jews. In fact, they were given the Oracles DESPITE their hypocrisies and frailties (Roman 3:1-4).
What if they don’t believe? Nar, let every man (including Fred Coulter, a misguided Pastor of over fifty years) be a liar and God be true, the Orthodox Jews would still be the custodians. Their claim to the Oracles rests not upon the precarious fidelity of men, but upon the infallible promise of God. This was God’s promise! Ben ha arbayim is the time “after noon and until nightfall.”
Fred wrote further, “The account of these events shows that the 15th day of the second month was, in fact, a weekly Sabbath” (Pg 41). This is another sweeping statement; where could he prove that?
Chapter 5 proves nothing about the above quote. His 15-paged “analysis” goes round and round addressing issues that are imaginary, displaying more of his loose and wishful thinking than any solid exegesis. This reminds me again of what Norman Edwards wrote, as quoted earlier: “. . . and every time he ran into a scriptural obstacle, he wove an elaborate web to get around it—hence the large size of his book, The Christian Passover. Readers frequently accept his arguments, not because they are simply and clearly true, but because proving or disproving his vast amount of writing is an exhausting task that few have the time to complete” (Edwards, Norman: Servants’ News. May/June 2002).
Below is another example of his floating analysis throughout which could only bring his own demise. Fred wrote:
And since God Himself said that they would eat flesh during the time known as ben ha arbayim— ”between the two evenings,” or “between the setting-times”—we know without a doubt that ben ha arbayim IS THE TIME PERIOD THAT IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWS SUNSET. (Pg 47).
The chronological events that are recorded in Exodus 16 clearly define ben ha arbayim— “between the two evenings,” or “between the setting times”— as the time period that immediately FOLLOWS sunset, or ba erev. (Pg 48).
Wow! A touch from Simon Magus. For his magic to work two lamb would be needed to be killed for the Passover during the Exodus; one, within the first 3-5 minutes at sunset for Deuteronomy 16:6 (ba erev; reaffirms in Joshua 5:10) and the other within the next hour or so to satisfy Exodus 12:6 (ben ha arbayim; reaffirms in Leviticus 23:5 and Numbers 9:5).
But only one lamb were selected on the tenth of the first month (Exodus 12:3-5) for Passover. For these Israelites to suddenly sacrifice two lambs, one during erev and the other during ben ha arbayim they would need to perform miracles.
Nar, all Bull Shits! Let’s be reminded of Fred’s own diatribe when he wrote of himself earlier in Chapter One:
“In order to justify doctrinal beliefs that are not taught in the Bible, many writers and preachers have twisted and distorted the Scriptures to fit their own private interpretations. Whole churches have been subverted by arguments and disputes over words which have not been profitable but have been damaging to faith!” (Pg 13).
And further down on the same page:
False doctrines and misinterpretations are continually being spread because ministers and teachers use the Word of God deceitfully. How diabolical it is to take the Word of God, which is the truth, and misapply it to create a lie! (Pg 13).
Such are false prophets, deceptive workers. It’s Fred Coulter who has
“twisted and distorted the Scriptures to fit their own private interpretations.”
“taken the Word of God, which is the truth, and misapply it to create a lie!”
~~~~~
![Article Headline] | 2020-02-14 | BioWorld](https://www.bioworld.com/ext/resources/Stock-images/Therapeutic-topics/Infectious/Coronavirus-Covid-19-DNA.png?1589400106)
Over the weekend, former President Jimmy Carter relayed to the public a conversation he’d recently had with President Trump, during which Trump repeatedly worried that “China is getting ahead of us,” and would pass the US as world’s strongest economy as soon as 2030.
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Well, Beijing-Moscow is already on. Berlin-Beijing is a work in progress. The missing link is Berlin-Moscow.
The US government’s goal is to get the grouping of four countries and others in the region to work together as a bulwark against “a potential challenge from China” and “to create a critical mass around the shared values and interests of those parties in a manner that attracts more countries in the Indo-Pacific and even from around the world … ultimately to align in a more structured manner”, said Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun.
The Chinese Navy is not the only threat facing US vessels in the South China Sea.
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According to Erickson, “China’s trying to have it two ways here.” Given that the US Navy’s rules of engagement are likely to be different when dealing with a fishing vessel rather than a warship Beijing “is trying to use these maritime militia forces to put it in a position that frustrates us in our ability to respond.”
American exceptionalism is the theory that the history of the United States is inherently different from that of other nations. In this view, American exceptionalism stems from its emergence from the American Revolution, thereby becoming what the political scientist Seymour Martin Lipset called “the first new nation” and developing a uniquely a new ideology, “Americanism”, based on liberty, equality before the law, individual responsibility, republicanism, representative democracy, and laissez-faire economics. This ideology itself is often referred to as “American exceptionalism.”
Police link anti-islam activity to late night outbreak of violence
The riots erupted after a group of far-right activists gathered to burn Islam’s holy book in an industrial area on the city’s south side.
The rally outside the parliament building in Oslo was organized by a group called Stop Islamisation of Norway, or SIAN. Some of their past rallies have ended with clashes between group members and their political opponents. The police had a heavy presence at the scene in advance of Saturday’s event.
Rudd, who led Australia from 2007-2010 and again for three months in 2013, said on Thursday that a build-up of Chinese and US forces in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait raised the possibility of a “conflict through miscalculation and escalation” ahead of the November 3 vote.
Former commander Scott Swift of the US Pacific Fleet finally acknowledged that the US military had lost the best time to control the South China Sea. He believes that China has deployed a large number of Hongqi 9 air defense missiles, H-6K bombers, and electronic jamming systems on islands and reefs. The defense can be said to be solid. “If US fighter jets rush into the South China Sea, they are likely to encounter their ‘Waterloo.’”
Its mastery over science and technology is one of the reasons why in a few decades China has become the factory of the world manufacturing a whole range of affordable, quality goods for people everywhere. China’s success in penetrating markets has made the nation indispensable to the global economy. Even in the entertainment industry, a video-sharing platform like Tiktok has become a sensation among the young prompting US authorities to impose curbs upon it .
The Californians with nowhere to go as wildfires rage. . .
“The unprecedented kind of thing here is that it’s the same state within 48 hours of each other,” Schott previously said.
Yet the NPR article noted (emphasis added):
…concerns center on insider trading activity at Moderna after the company last month announced positive results in Phase 1 trials of its coronavirus vaccine. The news pushed up the company’s stock price 30% to an all-time high of $87. In the days following the announcement, Moderna’s CEO, other executives and funds controlled by the chairman of its board sold about $90 million worth of company shares.
The article further explained (emphasis added):
According to Stanley Erck, CEO of Novavax, the company was selected to be part of the government’s Operation Warp Speed program because of its prior experience with two related coronavirus vaccines (SARS and MERS), as well as other infectious diseases such as Ebola.
The Trump administration withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal – the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – two years ago, after accusing Iran of violating the agreement.
The procedure, never before used, comes after the US suffered a humiliating defeat at the Security Council last week when it failed to muster support for a resolution to extend a conventional arms embargo on Iran.
A Security Council resolution ratifying the accord, which was negotiated by former president Barack Obama, says participating states can unilaterally reimpose sanctions if Iran has failed to significantly comply with the agreement.
A Chinese spokesperson said it has “no legal ground” and would not be considered as starting a snapback process. “It is nothing but a political show staged by the United States,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
By Dilip Hiro, a TomDispatch regular, and author of After Empire: The Birth of a Multipolar World. 
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In September 2016, ByteDance launched a short-video app in China called Douyin that gained 100 million users within a year. It would soon enter a few Asian markets as TikTok. In November 2017, for $1 billion, ByteDance would purchase Musical.ly, a Shanghai-based Chinese social network app for video creation, messaging, and live broadcasting, and set up an office in California.
As China’s high-tech industry surged, Huawei’s fortunes rose. In 2010, it hired IBM and Accenture PLC to design the means of managing networks for telecom providers. In 2011, the company hired the Boston Consulting Group to advise it on foreign acquisitions and investments.
Photos and videos circulating online – which show debris falling from the sky and flaming wreckage on the ground – indicate that at least one of the craft was an American MQ-9 Reaper drone (each costs $16M), used for both surveillance and armed missions.
Controlling advanced chip manufacturing in the 21st century may well prove to be like controlling the oil supply in the 20th. The country that controls this manufacturing can throttle the military and economic power of others. The United States recently did this to China by limiting Huawei’s ability to outsource its in-house chip designs for manufacture by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), a Taiwanese chip foundry. China may respond and escalate via one of its many agile strategic options short of war, perhaps succeeding in coercing the foundry to stop making chips for American companies. If negotiations fail, China might take drastic measures, turning the tables on the United States. On the more modest end of the spectrum, China might start some type of trade war with Taiwan to ensure access, following the playbook Beijing used to coerce Korea over Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) or Australia over its recent decision to lead a call for investigating the origins of the novel coronavirus. On the more extreme end, these Taiwanese chip foundries might be subject to an aggressive campaign of sabotage. And even though observers of the region might downplay the risk, it is not impossible that this could be used as a part of a casus belli for China’s long-held desire to reunify by force. Such is the importance of chips in this era.
Either way, Washington should be worried. If the United States were to be deprived of access to these foundries, the U.S. defense and consumer electronics industries would be set back for at least five years. Moreover, because China is investing in its own chip foundries, it could become the world leader in technology for the next decade or more. That’s why it was encouraging to see Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate propose $25 billion to help America’s semiconductor industry. But this should only be the start.
This month, the Commerce Department required overseas semiconductor firms that use American technology and equipment to apply for a license before selling to Huawei. The order was targeted at TSMC, which is Huawei’s main supplier of advanced chips; without these, Huawei will be at a competitive disadvantage against Apple or Samsung in the smartphone industry, and against Cisco and others in the market for network equipment. (Some analysts have pointed out the order has potential loopholes.) Next up, it’s likely Washington will prohibit sales to China of the equipment used to make chips, which comes from companies like Applied Materials, KLA Corporation, and Lam.
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“It’s time,” Pompeo said, “It’s time for free nations to act.” Pompeo’s malicious speech caps upon a series of other remarks that highlighted American current foreign policy: two addresses from Vice President Mike Pence, in October 2018 and a year later, one from Pompeo last October; and three speeches in June to August from National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Attorney General William Barr.
But the propaganda war continues as Pompeo warned all US’s allies that if other nations didn’t push back against Communist China then it would “change” the free world. “The old paradigm of blind engagement with China had failed,” he said. America and its allies need to set a new course: “if we want to have a free 21st century, we must induce China to change in more creative and assertive ways, because Beijing’s actions threaten our people and our prosperity.” As the division is perceived only as between freedom and tyranny, Pompeo’s underlying fear that China will strike back is well ingrained into his psych for he concluded with this warning: “The free world must triumph over this new tyranny,” he warned. “If the free world doesn’t change Communist China, Communist China will surely change us.”
“I was the CIA director. We lied, we cheated, we stole,” former CIA director and now Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on April 15, 2019 at a forum at Texas A&M University, TX. “It was like – we had entire training courses. It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment.”
And Mike Pompeo works for Donald Trump:
Trump did not seem to know, for example, that Britain was a nuclear power, and asked if Finland was a part of Russia, John Bolton wrote: “I don’t think he’s fit for office,” the former National Security Advisor continued. “I don’t think he has the competence to carry out the job.”
“He’s a clown,” Mary Trump recalled what her aunt Maryanne said of Donald Trump during one of their lunches when Donald announced he would run for President. “This will never happen.”
Mary added about his uncle’s life of “cheating and lies” by tracing an episode to his young age: “Trump even paid someone to take the SAT tests for him to help him get into the University of Pennsylvania for its famous Wharton School of Business,” where he has claimed that he graduated with the “highest grades possible.”
9. Youku – Youtube of China and a Top social media platform
Bilibili (Chinese name: 哔哩哔哩), is the leading cultural community for young people in China. This platform was created on 26th June 2009 and is called “B station” for short, by its fans. Many popular online words have originated from B Station.
The US President’s Thursday executive order is so far vague but “any transaction” with the platform from US companies will be prohibited. The order, which also bans such transactions with social media app 
So worried Chinese people living, studying, or doing business in the US can turn to the highly secretive app in place of 
In an appearance on The Dean Obeidallah Show on SiriusXM, the president’s niece said that he was liable for American deaths caused by his actions.
Mary Lea Trump, 55, is Donald Trump’s only niece. Her father, Fred Trump Jr., who died in 1981, was his older brother. Her recent book “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man” caused quite a stir in the U.S., broke sales records and remains in the top nonfiction spot on the New York Times bestseller list.
DER SPIEGEL: Your father, Fred Jr., was supposed to inherit the family’s real estate business. Instead, your grandfather anointed Donald as his heir and set in motion a series of events that has led us to where we are today. What was your grandfather like?
DER SPIEGEL: Is that how the myth of Trump took hold?
DER SPIEGEL: Not even his brother?
DER SPIEGEL: You have a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. What’s your professional assessment of your uncle?
Trump: I had wanted to speak up before the 2016 elections, but it wouldn’t have mattered. Nobody would have listened to me. He was getting away with everything. Nobody has ever been willing to speak out about this. Certainly nobody close to him and the family.
DER SPIEGEL: Once the idea of a book tour becomes possible again, would you travel to Germany, the land of your ancestors?
US technology supremacy as represented by Silicon Valley, renowned for its world class high-tech companies and thousands of growing start-ups, has seen signs of being shaken by rising Chinese tech firms, as the Valley has obviously slowed its pace of innovation.
by Tyler Durden
A report in the latest issue of Modern Ships praises the Chinese multiple launch rocket system called the Type PCL191 as the most cutting-edge piece of weaponry capable of firing both rockets and ballistic missiles. The modular launcher appears to be based on the AR3 system intended for the export market.
Now, the problem is if you tie your fortunes to a country like the United States, which is very powerful though it is actually in steep decline, then where do you go geopolitically? You’re tying yourself to a declining part of the world. You’re cutting yourself off from very important new innovations, development, technological progress, and so on, which is exactly what’s happening now.
I think Britain’s interpretation of “one country, two systems” was “one system is the Chinese system, the other is the British system.” So, ever since the handover in 1997, Britain has never really respected China’s sovereignty and Beijing’s relationship with Hong Kong. It’s always been criticizing it. The classic example of this is Chris Patten, the former governor who was a leading conservative politician.
I think the most important answer is the 155 years of British colonial rule. That has had a profound effect on the Hong Kong population. Hong Kong’s population doesn’t think like the mainland Chinese. Although British never introduced any semblance of democracy in Hong Kong, they are attached to their relatively successful economy, an increasingly robust free media, rights to demonstrate, etc. I think this shaped the way the Hong Kong Chinese think.
Jacques: I think that it will remain a battleground for the foreseeable future. I think the extent to which it is a battleground will depend crucially on how well China handles the situation from now on. If it carries through very successful and popular reforms in the city and wins hearts and minds, then it become less a battleground. Because basically, the Western position depends on an echo chamber.
But how long is it over for? And that is what the Chinese have got to think about. How long will these phases last? At what point will the situation begin to change again? Will a different president in the US make a difference? What happens when Britain begins the expense of taking out Huawei stuff and putting in some new stuff? Is that going to be successful?
He feels that black people need to be split from the rest of the US.
The boundless riches from the Temple treasury were used to strike coins with the legend JUDAEA CAPTA (“Judaea defeated”). Any Roman would be reminded of their victory. The Jews were forced to pay an additional tax (fiscus Judaicus).
An Eulogy of its Death — Hellenized Themselves with the Governing Authorities (the Greek and then Roman). Following the Samaritans, they Interpreted Passover on the Misguided Early Fourteenth of Nisan and Pentecost Counted from the Weekly Sabbath. Rejection of the Oral Law and Ridiculed the Idea of Resurrection or Life after Death.
6 But when Herod’s birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, 7 whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, 58 and cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man whose name was Saul.
The Jews (Scribes and Pharisees) came, therefore, in a body to James (in Jerusalem), and said: “We entreat thee, restrain the people: for they have gone astray in their opinions about Jesus, as if he were the Christ.”
According to Christian tradition, Peter was crucified in Rome under Emperor Nero. Catholic traditionally counted him as the first bishop of Rome—or pope—and also by Eastern Christian tradition as the first patriarch of Antioch. But other Christians attest that the first pope of Rome was another Simon—Simon Magus. Eusebius of Caesarea relates that when Peter confronts Simon Magus at Judea (mentioned in Acts 8), Simon Magus flees to Rome, where the Romans began to regard him as a god.
A legend later developed that his martyrdom occurred at the Aquae Salviae, on the Via Laurentina. According to this legend, after Paul was decapitated, his severed head rebounded three times, giving rise to a source of water each time that it touched the ground, which is how the place earned the name “San Paolo alle Tre Fontane” (“St Paul at the Three Fountains”).
He is sometimes identified with Jude, the brother of Jesus, but is clearly distinguished from Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus prior to his crucifixion. Catholic writer Michal Hunt suggests that Judas Thaddaeus became known as Jude after early translators of the New Testament from Greek into English sought to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot and subsequently abbreviated his forename. Most versions of the New Testament in languages other than English and French refer to Judas and Jude by the same name.
Eusebius of Caesarea’s Ecclesiastical History (5:10) states that after the Ascension, Bartholomew went on a missionary tour to India, where he left behind a copy of the Gospel of Matthew. Other traditions record him as serving as a missionary in Ethiopia, Mesopotamia, Parthia, and Lycaonia. Popular traditions and legends say that Bartholomew preached the Gospel in India, then went to Greater Armenia.
And even Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, considered a loyalist, was said to have written a note describing the President as “full of shit.”
“He doesn’t operate pursuant to philosophy, or grand strategy or policy,” Bolton reflected on his 17 months in the White House. “He’s often described as transactional, but what it means is that every day is a new adventure. Decisions get made on an ad-hoc and episodic basis.”
Samson lived a life far from what the people expected, and far from God. Regardless, he was able to defeat the Philistines, by the power of God. But in his victory, it was also his own death. That led to a sad end of Samson’s life, a sacrifice of himself to redeem a cause. He was martyred to defeat the Philistines, at the cost of his own life.
1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees recount numerous martyrdoms suffered by Jews resisting Hellenization and idolatry, being executed for such crimes as observing the Sabbath, circumcising their children or refusing to eat unclean food sacrificed to foreign gods.
A number of Maccabees died as martyrs. Judah Maccabee, the leader of the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid Greeks was killed in the Battle of Elasa (BC 160) and together with his men, they died as martyrs. Jonathan Maccabee was captured by a Seleucid king and executed. Eleazar Maccabee was killed in the Battle of Beth Zechariah (BC 162). Simon Maccabee was assassinated in BC 135.
With the slowly advancing Roman army cutting supply lines, the rebels engaged in long-term defense. The defense system of Judean towns and villages was based mainly on hideout caves, which were created in large numbers in almost every population center. Many houses utilized underground hideouts, where Judean rebels hoped to withstand Roman superiority by the narrowness of the passages and even ambushes from underground. The cave systems were often interconnected and used not only as hideouts for the rebels but also for storage and refuge for their families. Hideout systems were employed in the Judean hills, the Judean desert, northern Negev, and to some degree also in Galilee, Samaria and Jordan Valley. As of July 2015 some 350 hideout systems have been mapped within the ruins of 140 Jewish villages.
The final battle of the war took place in Bethar, Bar-Kokhba’s headquarters, which housed both the Sanhedrin and the home of the Nasi. Bethar was a vital military stronghold because of its strategic location on a mountain ridge overlooking both the Valley of Sorek and the important Jerusalem-Bet Guvrin Road. Thousands of Jewish refugees fled to Bethar during the war. In AD 135, Hadrian’s army besieged Bethar and on the 9th of Av, the Jewish fast day commemorating the destruction of the first and second Holy Temples, the walls of Bethar fell. After a fierce battle, every Jew in Bethar was killed. Six days passed before the Romans allowed the Jews to bury their dead.
The Talmud reports that, in the mid first century, he was particularly active in opposing the Sadducees’ interpretations of Jewish law, and produced counter-arguments to the Sadducees’ objection to the Pharisees. So dedicated was he to opposing the Sadducee view of Jewish law, that he prevented the Jewish high priest, who was a Sadducee, from following the Sadducee interpretation of the Red Heifer ritual.
Although it may be concluded that Johanan spent the last years of his life and died at a place near Yavne, he was buried at Tiberias, where eleven centuries later, the Maimonides was buried nearby. In his role as leader of the Jewish Council, he was succeeded by Gamliel II.
Gamaliel’s greatest achievement was ending the opposition between the schools of Hillel and Shammai, which had survived even the destruction of the Temple. According to tradition, a voice from heaven was heard in Yavne, declaring that although the views of both schools were justifiable in principle (as “words of the living God”), in practice the views of Hillel’s school are authoritative:
In the Second Temple period, the Great Sanhedrin met in the Temple in Jerusalem, in a building called the Hall of Hewn Stones. The Great Sanhedrin convened every day except festivals and the sabbath day (Shabbat).
The first three sects being the Pharisees, the Sadducees (allied closely with the Boethusiasns), and the Essenes. Zealots were an military offshoot of Pharisees (mainly of the Shammai branch) and believed “that God is to be their only Ruler and Lord.” Judah of Gaulanitis or Judas of Galilee was regarded as the founder of the Zealots. He was joined by one of the leaders of the Pharisees, Rabbi Zadok, a disciple of Shammai, and among its members, Simon the Zealot was selected by Jesus in the Gospel (of Luke 6:15) and in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:13) as one of the apostles.
Adhering to the rigid Shammaite form of Pharisaism, Zealots observed a rigid practise in not handling or looking at a coin bearing an image, believing that one should neither carry nor look at nor fashion any image; nor would they enter a city at the gate of which statues were erected, since they considered it unlawful to walk under an image. From this practise they would receive the name of ‘Zealots’ or ‘Sicarii,’ often, fanning local strifes into wars of rebellion. They called no one Lord except God, even lived a life to kill or be killed, and later they gloried in their martyrdom rather than to live under the dominion of idolatrous Rome.
At an opportune time in AD 66 Menahem, the son of Judas the Galilean, seized the fortress Masada in Galilee with the aid of a ruse, killed the Roman garrison, and then drove the Romans out of other fortresses; and finally his kinsman and successor as master of Masada. As the oppression of the Roman procurators increased, so also the passion and violence of the Zealots grew in intensity, affecting all the discontented, while one pseudo-Messiah after another appeared arousing the hope of the people for deliverance from the Roman yoke.
Ridzwan Abdul Rahman
It is interesting to note that the writer intends to arrive at the correct biblical position in this matter by seeking the relevant Scriptures, but the evidence is that this stated intent is only lip service. After all, UCG position has always been centered on what had been practiced historically.
Look at the official UCG logo and it tells a story. The church has the mistaken notion that the center of this Universe is the British Isles instead of Jerusalem, whereas God’s main interest is centered in Jerusalem. Here are the evidence:
The Targum known in Hebrew: תרגום, plural: the targumim play an important role in translating many of our modern editions. The range of its origin was from 530 BC to 500 AD. When the Israelites returned from their exile in Babylon in the 6th century BC, most of them could no longer speak Hebrew; they spoke Aramaic. Nevertheless, the Scriptures have always been read in Hebrew even if no one in the greater community could speak it.
The Movement is in “a process of constant evolution” and it “rejects any fixed, permanent set of beliefs, laws or practices.” They stated that the old mechanisms of religious interpretation were obsolete. Geiger sought a more coherent ideological framework to justify innovations in the liturgy and religious practice. Reform Judaism initially developed as lay Jews simply lost interest in the strict observances required of Orthodoxy, with many seeking shorter services, more frequent sermons, and organ music, modeled after Protestant churches.
In another way of saying: When the Exiles returned to Jerusalem, the Law was read by Ezra, verse by verse, and each verse was followed by a recitation by the Levites of the Aramaic version.
The status and influence of the Targums became assured after the Second Temple was destroyed in AD 70, when synagogues replaced the Temple as houses of worship. For it was in the synagogue that the practice of reading from the Old Testament became widely observed, along with the custom of providing these readings with a translation into Aramaic. When Scripture was read aloud in the synagogue, it was translated aloud by a meturgeman, or professional interpreter (hence the name Targum), for the benefit of the congregation. The translator tried to reproduce the original text as closely as possible, but since his object was to give an intelligible rendering of the biblical text, the Targums eventually took on the character of paraphrase and commentary, leaving literal translation behind. To prevent misconceptions, a meturgeman expanded and explained what was obscure, adjusted the incidents of the past to the ideas of later times, emphasized the moral lessons to be learned from the biblical narratives, and adapted the rules and regulations of the Scriptures to the conditions and requirements of the current age. The method by which the text was thus utilized as a vehicle for conveying homiletic discourses, traditional sayings, legends, and allegories is abundantly illustrated by the later Targums, as opposed to the more literal translations of the earlier Targums.
Leviticus 23:9 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying,
Again, your testimony runs contrary to the Targum in Leviticus 23:11-13
Why do we count? We learn several lessons by counting. The foremost is that the count demonstrates our thrill for the impending occasion of receiving our spiritual blessings, celebrated on Shavuot. When the Israelites were in Egypt some 3400 years ago, they had assimilated many of the pagan ways of the Egyptians. A countdown is when we all have obstacles removed between our uncleanliness and our spiritual goal. When the days pass, our spiritual goal is becoming more achievable. We simply countdown the days to indicate how much time is left. Every year in a renewed sense we count the days to show our excitement at receiving our spiritual blessing and look deep within ourselves and work on all of our negative attributes as we receive the Word of God and deeper understanding. Then each year we count up again, because the daily Omer count is a time of spiritual refinement, another spiritual rebirth that needs constant renewals. We are not counting down the days that pass. Rather, we are counting toward the end, climbing one step higher in our spiritual growth each day.
“In Israel the Urim and Thummim were entrusted by YHVH to Moses, and through him to the high priest as the representative of YHVH and as the mediator between God and the nation to whose decisions, through the Urim and Thummim, even kings bowed” (Urim and Thummim).
Manner of Waving the Omer.
Second, many of Christ’s sayings that have in the past been difficult to understand were presented and analyzed in the light of their Hebrew origins. The authors explain that lack of knowledge of Hebrew literary forms, especially the structure of poetry, and literal translations of Hebrew idioms caused formidable problems for translators, resulting in text that makes little sense to English (or even in Greek) readers. So, according to the authors, Hebrew, is the language that needs to be understood to correctly interpret the teachings of Christ in the synoptic gospels. This approach could yield exciting results, providing clear interpretations of sayings of Christ that are puzzling or confusing, thus making the gospels much more readable.
Starting with Ezra, the new communities found an answer. After hearing Ezra read a few verses of the Torah scroll in Hebrew, either he or other Levites translated it to Aramaic, hence it set the stage for the Aramaic version of the Bible, called a Targum, which simply means translation. Hence the Targum is an entrenched translation of the Hebrew Bible that was written or compiled in Judea from the Second Temple period until the early Middle Ages (late first millennium).
Again in Chapter 6 of his book, the Christian Passover:
How to Count Pentecost
In the Scriptures there are a total of nine times where it is used to designate Pentecost. Here they are:
20And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the Eternal, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the Eternal for the priest. So Christ was the wave sheaf first offer but here you have 2 that are offered as a wave offering together with Him in that sense. So I think that the symbolism here probably is saying that this is a 2 part thing. You had the old testament and the old covenant and yet there were some back then who qualified for the kingdom of God even though Christ had not yet died. But remember His sacrifice is retroactive back to Adam and forward for all of mankind and thats why the wave sheaf cycles through all 7 of the days of unleavened bread. Because His sacrifice can go back and pick up those who lived and died before He ever came to the earth. It is an all inclusive sacrifice. So you have the 2 lambs representing those from the past and those in the future. Old testament and new testament. And indeed Hebrews 11 does tell us a great number of names of those who will be in the first resurrection from the old testament. Makes it very clear.
Matthew 28:9 And as they (Mary Magdalene and other women) went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “All hail.” And they came, and held Him by the feet, and worshiped Him. — That means, they had all touched Him. But Jesus’ face didn’t shine like Moses! What happened? Moses needed a veil to cover his face when he returned to face his people (Exodus 34:35).
Joel
A Prophecy of Esau and Jacob 