The Constellation Virgo - A Revelation 12 Posting

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.  -  Revelation 12:1

God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years." (Genesis 1:14). Ever since the beginning of time men have cataloged the heavens into signs, or constellations. The prophet Enok wrote of them and the Hebrews used them as a calendar and for forecasting prophetic events. The famed wise-men used them to predict the first coming of the Messiah and they also proclaim what will happen at his second coming. One in particular forecasts Messiah's second coming and it is Bethulah, or the virgin. The modern name is Virgo.


Throughout the years Virgo has differing positions in the sky and it's relationship to other constellations changes as well. In Revelation 12, the prophet John is given a great sign which involves Virgo. She is in conjunction with the Sun, the Moon, a garland of 12 stars, and the great dragon. This configuration actually occurred on September 12, 1999 over Jerusalem. It is shown in the picture above.


Virgo is laying on her back with her feet up and the moon is in her 'birth canal'. The moon is in its new phase and only a sliver is showing. This is the time of the beginning of the Feast of Trumpets. Remember that in the feast of trumpets, the moon represents the coming of Messiah. Above the virgin's head is Coma Berenices, which has 12 stars and the sun is just below the horizon, thus 'clothing' her with the sun. If it were not below the horizon, the constellation would not be visible because of its brightness. The constellation Draco, the dragon, is just above the woman's feet waiting to devour the child but it not shown in this picture because of size constrictions.


This configuration of constellations has never occurred before and will not occur ever again, unless you believe in the evolutionist's time scale in which case it will only occur every 26,000 years. Since I believe in Biblical creationism, I must ask what does it mean that it did occur September 12, 1999 ? 


In the Revelation 12 account, this event begins an intense time of trouble for Israel, the Jewish people, and for true believers in Jesus Christ. Because the Dragon, which is Satan, fails in his earlier attempt to destroy Jesus he will turn with great ferocity against Israel (all Jewish people) "and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." This means true Christians!


1999 to 2000 did mark a large increase in the number of Jews returning to Israel from around the world including a big increase from the United States. However, the Soviet Union had the largest increase of nearly 800,000 immigrating to Israel.


Two other events began in the late 1999 period; 1) world-wide increase in antisemitism and 2) the beginning of financial downturn in the western world, which is still going on. Either of these could spur an increase in Aliyah (the return).


Whatever the outcome of these signs in Revelation 12, I feel that something was set in motion in September of 1999 that will trigger the fulfillment of this prophesy. We all need to be in prayer for answers and preparation.

Antichrist 101

"Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour." - 1 John 2:18

The Apostle John is warning believers of his day and of ours that the spirit of antichrist is a reality and we had better be on the watch for it. He warned that they would identify themselves as true believers but, that in reality "they went out from us". When Jesus taught about the end of the age in Matthew 24, His main warning was "be not deceived". That is because it is so easy to "talk the talk but, not walk the walk"! In fact the mainline media of today focuses almost 100% on the "talk" of politicians and not their "walk".


A point in case is the Obama administration stand that killing babies (otherwise known as abortion) is more important than religious freedom. He demanded that Catholics and others of the Christian faith pay for insurance that allows all kinds of procedures that the Bible forbids. While this action is finally causing some Christians to actually take a stand, they may have lost the battle already. 

While everyone's attention is focused on this attack, the Obama administration has quietly ordered military Chaplains to obey Obama's edict, warning them not to read the Catholic Church's denomination wide letter in which they informed parishioners that the Church “cannot and will not comply with this unjust law.” The administration issued the following command even to Catholic Chaplains -

“The secretary of the Army said you have to line out some of the language, or else we’re going to charge the chaplains with sedition and treason for opposing the Obama administration."

Can you believe this? They are actually threatening chaplains with court-martial if they dare to preach against sin in their own church. President Obama may claim to be a Christian but his actions speak louder than his talk.

The Apostle Paul further describes the actions of an antichrist: 

"who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped," - 1 Thessalonians 2:4

President Obama has shown his true colors in this and in many other ways as well: 1) $100,000's given to rebuild mosques in Islamic countries, 2) $millions of dollars in recent aid to the Islamic Brotherhood of Egypt, 3) cancelling the National Day of Prayer (a Christian day of prayer) while honoring and participating in Ramadan ( a Muslim month of fasting and prayer), to show just a few.

President Obama has clearly declared himself but, the question is "Will Christians declare themselves" in the upcoming elections? The answer is "Yes!", whatever choice they make in the upcoming elections will show their declaration loud and clear, one way or the other.

George Washington Speaks Today

George Washington

First Inaugural Address
In the City of New York

Thursday, April 30, 1789

“it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, and may enable every instrument employed in its administration to execute with success the functions allotted to his charge. In tendering this homage to the Great Author of every public and private good, I assure myself that it expresses your sentiments not less than my own, nor those of my fellow-citizens at large less than either. No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency … since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained; and since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican model of government are justly considered, perhaps, as deeply, as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”

As our first President took the oath of office and gave his first inaugural address he thanked God for bringing this country into existence and acknowledged the covenant that America had with God Almighty. Then he and House of Representatives and the Senate walked several blocks to the Chapel of Saint John to further pray for God’s blessings on the new country. The United States of America began with a dedication to Almighty God.

That small Chapel of dedication was and is yet located on the corner of Ground Zero. In fact at the time of the dedication the Chapel of Saint John had a field that extended from its cemetery. Many years later the Twin Towers of 9/11 were built on that very field. A Sycamore tree was planted also just in front of the cemetery and during the attack of 9/11 steel beams from the towers flew through the air cutting down that very Sycamore tree thus shielding the little stone chapel from destruction.

As our country sought to recover from that devastating attack no less than three of our nation’s leaders, the then leader of the Senate, Tom Daschle, the President and a Vice Presidential candidate made prideful and arrogant statements about how we would rebuild and overcome our enemies. The Biblical verse they chose to quote was Isaiah 9:10 –

"The bricks have fallen down, But we will rebuild with hewn stones; the sycamores are cut down, But we will replace them with cedars." – Isaiah 9:10

Little did they realize these very words were God’s pronouncement of judgment on a nation that had turned away from Him. Isaiah 9:9 says –

“The Lord sent a word against Jacob, and it has fallen on Israel. All the people will know--Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria--Who say in pride and arrogance of heart:”

But our country did not turn in repentance and humility to the LORD. Oh, for a few weeks people began attending churches again but, that was short lived and there was no national call to humility and repentance before God Almighty. Instead three years later a large Cedar tree was planted in the hole left by the Sycamore tree amidst a ceremony at which the Governor of New York made grand statements about rebuilding. The roots of the Sycamore tree had been made into a bronze sculpture and placed at the head of Wall Street as a memorial of our national resolve to grow stronger in spite of the attack.

The ‘movers and shakers’ that lead our country did not realize that Isaiah had warned that without repentance we would be visited again in seven years with more judgment. In exactly seven years from 9/11 in 2008 Wall Street was hit with the largest stock crash in our history. Isn’t it odd that they had placed the bronze roots of the Sycamore tree, the metal of Biblical judgment, at the corner of Wall Street?

Over 200 years ago George Washington spoke in his inaugural address the following warning –

“since we ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained”

There is no doubt that our country began on a covenant basis with Almighty God and there was no doubt in George Washington’s mind that our blessings would continue as long as we obeyed God’s eternal rules set down in Holy Scripture.

But we have rejected those ‘eternal rules’, thumbed our nose at God and shut Him out of our national life. As a result our ‘hedge of protection’ has been removed. What Washington and our first leaders knew as blessings on -

“Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency”  

is no longer available to us. We have only judgments to look forward to, whether they be political, natural, or financial in nature. The next seven year period will arrive in 2015 and there is only one way to forestall it – national repentance!

America’s Christians could greatly aid in the solution to this problem by obeying Second Chronicles 7, verse 14 –

"if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

This election cycle will be our greatest chance to effect this change if we will demand that our leaders humble themselves before Almighty God in public repentance for leaving Him in the first place. We cannot vote for those who willfully disobey God’s will by promoting such actions as abortion, homosexuality, etc. If we do not stand united against clear issues such as these mentioned and make it clear to Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike this election – then we will have lost America forever and we will have to one day stand before Almighty God and try to explain why we were for someone He was against.

Pastor Charles Cooley

What has America become?

Has America become the land of special interest and home of the double standard?

Lets see: if we lie to the Congress, it's a felony and if the Congress lies to us its just politics; if we dislike a black person, we're racist and if a black person dislikes whites, its their 1st Amendment right; the government spends millions to rehabilitate criminals and they doalmost nothing for the victims; in public schools you can teach thathomosexuality is OK, but you better not use the word God in the process; you can kill an unborn child, but it is wrong to execute a mass murderer; we don't burn books in America, we now rewrite them; we got rid ofcommunist and socialist threats by renaming them progressive; we are unable to close our border with Mexico, but have no problem protecting the 38th parallel in Korea; if you protest againstPresident Obama's policies you're a terrorist, but if you burned an American flag or George Bush in effigy it was your 1st Amendment right.

You can have pornography on TV or the internet, but you better not put a nativity scene in a public park during Christmas; we have eliminated all criminals in America, they are now called sick people; we can use a human fetus for medical research, but it is wrong to use an animal.

We take money from those who work hard for it and give it to those who don't want to work; we all support the Constitution, but only when it supports our political ideology; we still have freedom of speech, but only if we are being politically correct; parenting has been replaced with Ritalin and video games; the land of opportunity is now the land of hand outs; the similarity between Hurricane Katrina and the gulf oil spill is that neither president did anything to help.

And how do we handle a major crisis today? The government appoints a committee to determine who's at fault, then threatens them, passes a law, raises our taxes; tells us the problem is solved so they can get back to their reelection campaign.

What has happened to the land of the free and home of the brave?

- Ken Huber
Tawas City

(note:  all links added for articles related to topics within Mr. Huber's article.

When Truth Falls

Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter. - Isaiah 59:14

I recently watched a montage of protesters against Governor Walker in Wisconsin; rudely disrupting a ceremony honoring Special Olympics participants, disrupting congressional sessions, yelling Nazi slogans and giving Nazi solutes, yelling profanity, handing out false doctor's sick slips to defraud the taxpayers, all the while demanding their rights at the expense of others rights. It matters little whether you voted for or against Governor Walker, are these the attitudes you want taught to your children?


Then I read about our nation's leader, President Obama, issuing a Presidential Order which essentially tells ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to NOT enforce the law concerning arrest and deporting illegal aliens and at the same time using DOJ (Department of Justice) to litigate in several states against legally enacted Voter ID laws. The obvious intent of these actions is to allow illegals to vote for him and other like-minded Democrats in the upcoming elections.


Add to this the so-called Fast and Furious program that allowed the illegal sale of weapons to criminal drug cartel people in Mexico; all designed to give the administration an excuse to curtail American gun ownership. Although the details are well documented, the President and his administration still refuse to cooperate with Congressional investigations committees.


In the midst of these events, and many more, I wonder where the so-called main-stream media is? Even more, I wonder where the Church is. If one looks at the sermons being wrote and delivered in the late 1700's and early 1800's you will find almost all of them had some political overtones to them. That is because churches in those days thought of themselves as the nation's conscience, and they were! Is the church today no longer the moral authority so that it can hold up a higher standard to aspire to? Or is it so filled with the same corruption as the world that it has lost its moral authority?


When righteousness becomes a "stand-off" concept, the inevitable casualty will be justice. When truth "falls in the street", equality will become a forgotten concept and our "rights" will no longer be inalienable (from God) but, will belong to those who yell the loudest, behave the rudest, or steal the most power for themselves.

Hope and Change

PRESIDENCY

SOME WILL APPRECIATE THIS AND SOME WILL NOT.

HOWEVER, ALL OF IT IS TRUE.

After two years of Obama ...

Here's your change!

	January 2009	TODAY	% chg	Source
Avg.. Retail price/gallon gas in U.S.	$1.83	$3.44	84%	1
Crude oil, European Brent (barrel)	$43..48	$99..02	127.7%	2
Crude oil, West TX Inter. (barrel)	$38..74	$91..38	135.9%	2
Gold: London (per troy oz.)	$853.25	$1,369.50	60.5%	2
Corn, No.2 yellow, Central IL	$3.56	$6.33	78.1%	2
Soybeans, No. 1 yellow, IL	$9.66	$13..75	42.3%	2
Sugar, cane, raw, world, lb.Fob	$13..37	$35..39	164.7%	2
Unemployment rate, non-farm, overall	7.6%	9.4%	23.7%	3
Unemployment rate, blacks	12.6%	15.8%	25.4%	3
Number of unemployed	11,616,000	14,485,000	24.7%	3
Number of fed. Employees	2,779,000	2,840,000	2.2%	3
Real median household income	$50,112	$49,777	-0.7%	4
Number of food stamp recipients	31,983,716	43,200,878	35.1%	5
Number of unemployment benefit recipients	7,526,598	9,193,838	22.2%	6
Number of long-term unemployed	2,600,000	6,400,000	146.2%	3
Poverty rate, individuals	13.2%	14.3%	8.3%	4
People in poverty in U.S.	39,800,000	43,600,000	9.5%	4
U.S.. Rank in Economic Freedom World Rankings	5	9	n/a	10
Present Situation Index	29.9	23.5	-21.4%	11
Failed banks	140	164	17.1%	12
U.S.. Dollar versus Japanese yen exchange rate	89.76	82.03	-8.6%	2
U.S.. Money supply, M1, in billions	1,575.1	1,865.7	18.4%	13
U.S.. Money supply, M2, in billions	8,310.9	8,852.3	6.5%	13
National debt, in trillions	$10..627	$14..052	32.2%	14

Just take this last item: In the last two years we have accumulated national debt at a rate more than 27 times as fast as during the rest of our entire nation's history.
Over 27 times as fast. Metaphorically speaking, if you are driving in the right lane doing 65 MPH and a car rockets past you in the left lane.
27 times faster, it would be doing 7,555 MPH!

Sources:
(1) U.S. Energy Information Administration; (2) Wall Street Journal; (3) Bureau of Labor Statistics; (4) Census Bureau; (5) USDA; (6) U.S. Dept. Of Labor;
(7) FHFA; (8) Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller; (9) RealtyTrac; (10) Heritage Foundation and WSJ; (11) The Conference Board; (12) FDIC;
(13) Federal Reserve; (14) U.S. Treasury

As you read this, think how important your vote this year will be to every part of your life.