Alan

We are very happy and thankful for the blessings in your life. We are also happy for the spirit that you have during the times of adversity. All of which is a fine testimony.

On May 26, 2017 I posted: Although a lot of time has passed, I am trying to get re-organized to finish putting the subjects discussed in, 'Scientific Facts in the Bible,' in PDF format. Alan

This is a lava rock on the coast of east Taiwan.

Hope you like the photo. The photo was taken on the East Coast of Taiwan. Photo by Alan - Not Copyrighted Edited by Linux - GIMP

Sometimes, like the three friends of Job, even his wife, other people miss-judge us in our service to the Lord and cause anguish of heart. Like Job, let us not, as they sometimes come across, 'curse God and die.' Take heart and, like David at Ziklag, encourage yourself, and your wife, in the Lord!

Hope the following selection of Hymns are a blessing to your heart. May the Lord bless all of you. Alan

Sigh!!!! I am not sure if I should mention that snails taste better with a little salt or not. It may be that some of the folks here like their snails with salt and some without salt. So, I will forbear and let all of you eat your snails anyway you like and not try and persuade you otherwise.

We always enjoy a good poem. Keep on posting!

Hello Lydia! Glad to have you here. Sorry to hear that your friends house burnt down the other day. The folks here are interested in Australia, their problems, the recent fires for example, and for the proclamation of the gospel in Australia. Recently a close pastor friend of mine, Pastor Shane Mallard, started on the deputation trail for Australia. Most folks here are familiar with brother David Cloud and highly respect him for his work as a missionary and in his publication, "O Timothy" magazine and fine books. I am sure that he wants to be a blessing to the folks at the church that he visited in Australia and help them in the correct biblical view of the pre-tribulation coming of Christ, the rapture, of the church. Most folks here are of the pre-tribulation rapture of the church position. After a careful study of the scriptures, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, it is my firm conviction that the pre-tribulation teaching is correct and that, as John explained briefly, why the post-trib rapture teaching is incorrect. What John Young wrote is entirely true and if you have specific questions why he said what he did he could explain in detail. I am sure that if you have a specific passage that you have a question about the timing (not the exact date but whether the rapture is before or after the 7-Year Tribulation Period), or another question concerning why some folks believe in the post-trib position, we would gladly like to discuss it.

Not I !!!!!

I am not sure why and it is a serious matter. But, I will give two thoughts. A year or two ago, I read a well thought out article on why Trump has not pared down the debt of the U. S. that may, or may not, have a bearing on the Virginia situation. I forgot where I read the article. Maybe it was on, "The New American." The New American has a lot of good, well-written, articles concerning globalism, conservatism, laws, the agenda of the left leaning liberals, etc... Here is the link to The New American. https://www.thenewamerican.com/ 1. Trump has a history of tackling one major item at a time. Trump knows that the debt is unrealistic and harmful to America. He also realized that in order to pare down the debt he would have to do some major, and I mean major, cutting of a lot, not just some, of the social programs in the U.S. At that time Trump stated that in his second term he would tackle the debt program. 2. Everything, or at least almost every thing, every decision, every cost-cutting item, every immigrant situation, the "wall," etc... has been bitterly fought against by both the Democrats and the liberal Republicans. And, almost every decision that Trump has made has been contested in the courts. At the time of the article that I read that until Trump has two more things in his favour he would not seriously cut down the debt. Here are the two items. 1. He had to have a majority in the Supreme Court and more conservatives in the lower courts. 2. He needed a majority in both the House and the Senate. In the article it was mentioned that in his second term he would be able to do more to help undo the mess our country is in.

Hallelujah! Thank you very much for the video on President Trump and Prayer. God has given us a president that is changing the TOTALITARIANISM laws by the LIBERAL LEFT, LIBERAL COURTS, ATHEISTS and WICKED POLITICIANS that have been trying to deprive the religious freedoms, in public places, guaranteed to the People of the United States of America by the Constitution of the United States of America. President Trump is trying to make America great again by getting rid of the Liberal, Socialistic, Muslim, Communist, agenda in America.

Happy Anniversary! See any wildlife? Three Bears? Did ya see Smoky the Bear? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smokey_Bear How about Yogi Bear? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smokey_Bear

A word of encouragement. At our last church we started, in Taiwan, in the Chinese language, with just me and my wife, and no piano player, with me as the song leader. We sang traditional Baptist hymns every Sunday. Most of the folks who came, one by one, did not know any of the songs and a lot of them learned new words every service. A lot of the Bible words, and expressions, were new to them as well as the tune they were sung in. So, every month or so we sang some of the same songs until the folks started to learn them and the meanings. After awhile, a long while, Rebecca came and helped with the piano playing and the songs got more better. After a while one of the young adults felt led to take piano lessons. The church paid for the piano lessons and then another young person (very young), also took lessons. Eventually, the young people took over the piano playing and, at the same time, the folks took over the whole service. All in all, the church, Victory Baptist Church, has three young people who play on a rotating schedule (that they set up themselves and not me). In the photo below the song leader is one of our converts and the piano player is also one of our converts. Here is my word of encouragement and my suggestion. Keep on singing the same hymns out of the traditional song book. Yes, most do not know the words nor the meaning of the words. Yes, you do not have a piano player. So, you just sing the best you can and if you have grace to bear the members mistakes they will bear your mistakes. By the way, my mistakes in the song services, and my preaching, were the mistakes I made was not only in my lack of singing ability but also in the language. So, I had to endure smiles of folks holding down a laugh at my language mistakes besides my lack of singing ability. Eventually, God, will move your converts, or folks moving from one church to your church, to play the piano. God bless.

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Brother D.Bovee In you reply to Pastor Markle, and his excellent work in the Greek language and the Greek verb semaino, Collier's Dictionary meaning, and with his understanding of Revelation 1:1, I would like to quote a verse that you used in order to justify your judgmental attitude towards us (fundamentalists). Here is the link to the thread: You quoted Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5). In order for us to obey this verse on to not to lean on our own understanding, and not to presume anything, but act on knowledge, we, would like for you to answer, truthfully, the following questions so we, can not make any mistakes in presumption but to rely on understanding based on correct knowledge. 1. Since you reject the literal interpretation of the prophecies of the book of Revelation. Are you a-millennial in your interpretation of the book of Revelation? 2. Can you give us some examples of fundamental authors that have written a commentary, or study, on the book of Revelation that you disagree with? 3. Do you consider yourself a preterist? 4. Can you give us a scripture verse, from the book of Revelation, that informs us when you believe the Lord Jesus comes for the church saints? 5. Can you give us some examples of authors that have written a commentary, or study, on the book of Revelation that you agree, or partially agree, with? 6. Will there be a restoration of the Jews to the physical land of Israel in the future? 7. In you profile page you did not list what denomination you are. Can you tell us what denomination you are? 8. In your profile page you said that you are not IFB. What religious background are you? 9. Normally in forums, Online Baptist included, it is considered common courtesy to give an introduction. You did not perform this common courtesy. Would you give us an introduction? In the introduction can you give us a salvation testimony? D.Bovee, please give us concise answers. Ambiguous answers, evading the question answers, and answers that ask questions are rarely believed and do not give us proper knowledge nor understanding. Please remember, you are the one who accused us of not seeking understanding. We are seeking understanding from you in order to follow your admonition. Alan

Thank you Jim. I appreciate your thoughts. It was a blessing in my heart already in preparing the devotion. In this particular passage, as Joseph thought about the toils and afflictions that he went through, he naturally believed that it was God who brought about the fruit in his life. Joseph, as was Christ, among the other fruits of the Spirit previous mentioned, had inward peace, longsuffering, and temperance in their lives. Now, God, through prosperity, and then through adversity, is going to mightily use Joseph in the lives of not only the nation of Egypt, but in the lives of his own household. The fruits of Joseph, as the fruits of Christ, will be far-reaching in every aspect of the word.

Genesis 41: 47-53, “Fruit in the Life of Joseph” “And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same. And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number. And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, which Asenath the daughter of Potipherah the priest of On bare unto him. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction. And the seven years of plenteousness, that was in the land of Egypt, were ended.” Genesis 41:47-53 As God warned Pharaoh, in Genesis 41:1-8, in two frightening dreams, which the magicians and wise men could not correctly interpret, that a severe famine was coming, and how Joseph correctly interpreted the two dreams, the two dreams of Pharaoh start to happen. For seven years the earth brought plenty of food exactly how Joseph correctly interpreted the two dreams. As we read the Bible we must remember that every word, of every prophecy, will come to pass, whether or not the wise men of this world correctly understand it, and that the man of God, who correctly interprets the scripture, will be rewarded in the end. For seven years, exactly as Joseph had prophesied, the land of Egypt brought forth the fruit of the ground in so much abundance that Joseph stopped numbering the quantity that he had stored up. God is one who causes the land to bear fruit as He so decrees it. Like the ant, Joseph stored up food, as God led him, during the time of plenty, in preparation for the time of want. “The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer.” Proverbs 30:25. Could it be that during the time of his confinement that Joseph studied, by observation, nature, and learned how to lead men? Joseph, a Jew, due to the envy of his brethren, was rejected, temporarily, by his own people, had a Gentile bride, and bore fruit. The Lord Jesus, a Jew, due to the envy of His brethren, was rejected, temporarily, by His own people, has a Gentile bride, and bears fruit. John 1:10-12, “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” Romans 11:11, “I say then, Have they [the Jews] stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them [the Jews] to jealousy.” Ephesians 5:23-25, “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.” God is using the life of Joseph, a type of Christ, to give us, Gentiles in the church, because of His love and promises towards the Jews, a clear picture of what He is going to do with His chosen people in the last days. Like Joseph, the Lord Jesus, loves His brethren and, like Joseph, will reconcile Himself to them in the last days The first son, Manasseh, means that God caused Joseph to forget his toil and His father's house. I think this meaning can help us. The Lord Jesus can help us in our troubles. The second son, Ephraim, means that God caused him to be fruitful. I think that this meaning can help us also. The Lord Jesus can help us be fruitful in our toils of life. It is obvious that Joseph believed that God caused the hardship and the blessings. We need to remember that. In this life God will give us hardship and blessings. Job 1:21, “And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return hither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” In Josephs era, and in our era, this world is full of temptations of the flesh, heartache, anxiety, distress, and times of unjust actions from others. We need to reminded of the words of Paul the apostle in order to encourage us in our time of toils, hardships, anxieties, and distress. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 With a wife, Asenath the daughter of Potipherah, God is starting the family of Joseph and eventually the tribe of Ephraim, and Manasseh. Proverbs 20:7 “The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.” The integrity of Joseph, as with the integrity of Job, has wonderful fruit. God is starting to abundantly bless Joseph for his life of integrity and his close walk with God. Throughout the story of the life of Joseph we can see the results of the fruit of the Spirit. Joseph is an example for every believer who will decide to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. Galatians 5:22-23 & 25, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law… If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” At this juncture we need to consider the part of the prophecy of Zechariah in Zechariah 10:5-10. Zechariah 10:6, “ And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them to place them; for I will have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them.” And, Zechariah 10:10, “I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them.” This prophecy is literal, is very clear in interpretation, cannot be applied, or given, to the church, and has not been fulfilled yet in any sense of the word. Among many passages in the Old Testament prophets, the Lord Jesus prophesied that one day the house of Joseph would be gathered a second time out of Egypt, and bring them back to the land of Israel, “And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matthew 24:31 Exactly as Joseph prophesied that after seven years of plenty there would be a famine of seven years comes to past. I am reminded of the words of King Solomon when he said, “In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also hath set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him.” Ecclesiastes 7:14 God brings prosperity, and adversity, in everyone’s life for a particular reason. When adversity comes our way, and surely it shall, then at that time we need to consider what God is trying to tell us and to let us know that, in the end, all of this life apart from God, and His perfect will, is what we should do. And, in conclusion, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” Ecclesiastes 12:13

A lot of the churches that I travel to, as a missionary, use the daily devotional, "Call To Glory." Here is the link: https://www.ctgpublication.com/ I personally like, "Call to Glory," and would recommend it.

Evil Beasts The “evil beasts,” and “children of wickedness, is a direct reference to the false shepherds, or religious leaders, and the national leaders in the nation of Israel. False shepherds, in either the economy of the nation of Israel or in the churches in the Church Age, are like “evil beasts.” The Lord Jesus referred to the lost religious leaders in Israel as serpents and Herod, the leader in Israel, as a “fox.” Serpents and foxes are ‘brute beasts’ who destroy and not help. In Daniel 7 the great four kings of the earth are compared to beasts. In 2 Peter 2:12 the apostle Peter refers to the false prophets and teachers in the churches as, “natural brute beasts.” 2 Peter 2:12, “But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption.” “… out of the land ...” is a direct reference to the land of Israel. David as Prince Also, the “prince,” it is a direct reference to the “prince’ in Ezekiel 44:1-3 and 46:1-18. The prince is to offer burnt offerings, peace offerings, meat offerings, voluntary burnt offerings, and the prince will inherit land (Ezekiel 46:16), and have sons: “Moreover the prince shall not take of the people’s inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession; but he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession: that my people be not scattered every man from his possession.” Ezekiel 46:18 The Lord Jesus has never had to offer an sin offering nor will He ever have physical sons according to the nature of man. It is a scriptural impossibility for the “prince” to be the Lord Jesus in any manner; whether prophetically, literally, symbolically, allegorically, or any other sense of the word. And, up the time of the apostles, David, the prince of Israel, was not resurrected. Acts 2:29, “Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.” Unmistakable Literal Prophecies of the Restoration of Israel “And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit ...” As with other prophecies of the Old Testament, the physical blessings of the natural fruits of the trees of the field, the abundance of rain in the land of Israel, will cause an abundance of food productivity in Israel. Isaiah 35:1-10 “… and they shall be safe in their land ...” Since the days that Ezekiel penned these words, until this very day, this prophecy has not been fulfilled. Even from the days when the Israel became a nation in May 1948, the Jews in Israel have not dwelled safely in the land. “… in their land ...” is clearly a reference to the physical land of Israel. There is absolutely no way “… in their land ...” can be construed in any other manner. Again, this is another reference (verse 13 & 25 and now verse 27), to the Jews being safe ‘in their land.’ The prophet Zechariah prophesied, “And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.” Zechariah 14:11. The only time the nation of Israel, will be inhabited safely is during the reign of Christ as revealed in Revelation 20:4-6. “…and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen ...” To this day, the Jews are despised among men, a shame among men, and a physical prey to the Muslim world and a verbal prey to those who despise the Jew. Psalm 124 In this Psalm King David expresses his thanks to God for His protection from the ungodly who ‘prey’ upon the Jews, with their ‘teeth.’ The haters of Israel, in their wrath, or anger, or envy, use their ‘teeth,’ the words of their mouth, because they despise the Jews, to scorn, ridicule, malign, the nation of Israel with their tongues.“If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, now may Israel say; If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us: Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us: Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul: Then the proud waters had gone over our soul. Blessed be the LORD, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 124:1-8 “… neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid. And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.” The “beasts of the land” is a reference not only to the animals of the land, Isaiah 11:6-9, but, in the context of Ezekiel 34:1-12 and 2 Samuel 7:10, the beasts of the land is a figure of speech concerning the wicked rulers, enemy nations, and false shepherds, who act like beasts of the wilderness. Hosea 1:10-11 The Promise of a Future ‘Great Day’ Hosea 1:10-11, “Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God. Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.” The ‘great day’ for the nation of Israel will be fulfilled during the 1,000 Year Reign of Christ. At that time, the nation of Israel will be completely free of the haters of Israel, and their fiery tongues, and will not suffer shame any more. “… in the land ...” is another clear reference to the physical, literal, land of Israel. The prophecy by Ezekiel is crystal clear that all of these promises of the reign of David as King, Prince, and the shepherd of Israel will take place ‘in the land.’ The “plant of renown” is a figure of speech in a reference to the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. William Kelly stated, “It is absurd on every point of view to interpret these prophecies of the church or of the gospel. Then the very beasts will have their nature changed, and the earth yield its increase: for it will be the day for which creation waits, groaning still and travailing in pain, but then it is to be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. It is the day when Messiah is raised up for them, not now rejected and despised as once, a plant of renown, and Israel shall no more either pine with hunger in the land or be a reproach of the Gentiles. Jehovah will be with them, their God, and they His people. Has He spoken, and will He not make all good? Is aught too hard, too good, for the Lord?”1 “Thus shall they know that I am the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the LORD God. And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the LORD God.” This prophecy is unfulfilled to this day. Once the remnant of the Jews return to the Lord, and trust in Christ as their Messiah and Saviour, this prophecy will be fulfilled as revealed by Paul the Apostle in Romans 11:26-27, “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.” God, through the prophet Ezekiel, Hosea, and Jeremiah, is crystal clear that all of these prophecies will be fulfilled after they are gathered “in the land,” and “upon the mountains of Israel.” At that time, the fulfillment of the unconditional covenant given to David in 2 Samuel 7:12-7 will be fulfilled. Therefore, all of the prophecies of Ezekiel 34:23-31 are literal and can not be construed as ‘allegorical,’ or ‘spiritual,’ or fulfilled in heaven with Christ on His throne in heaven. All of the prophecies have not been fulfilled up to our day, were not given to the church but await a literal future fulfillment. This prophecy of Ezekiel in Ezekiel 34: 23-31 has not been fulfilled in any sense of the word and can only be fulfilled, in every sense of the word, during the reign of Christ as written in Revelation 20:4-6 1Kelly, William, Notes on Ezekiel, (London: G. Morrish), n.d., page 167.