What a lovely and spotless bride Jesus is creating! We often look around and see the mud and grime of the world and despair. For those of us who are older, we remember innocent days when children played outside unsupervised, roamed the streets with sticks and balls and bats, safe and happy. We remember when crime was lower and people were nicer. Today is it pretty ugly out there, and that of course is because of sin. But...the Bride of Jesus is shining, spotless, and beautiful! Do not forget that! Wearing garments white as snow, standing by the crystal sea, singing praises to Jesus! His acceptance of all the wrath of God on our behalf made possible our entrance into heaven. Our ugly and putrid sins were forgiven through His sacrificial act.
This is the long betrothal period, when the bride is separated from her groom. The bride are all those people past, present and future in the Age of Grace who have believed on the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and His resurrection. We are anxious, waiting. We are making preparations such as remaining faithful. We are looking forward to the wedding day when everything will be perfect and we will be ready! (Revelation 19:7)
All brides on her wedding day are beautiful. She is radiant, and glowing and smiling and happy. Her white garment is spotless and adorns and wraps her gracefully. All the believers are installed in New Jerusalem, the holy city, which takes on the characteristics of the bride herself, because we who are His bride are in it. (Revelation 21:2).
"I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God."
We are finally united with our Groom!
The world is ugly and putrid and dripping with evil and poison and sin. But that is not us, thanks to Jesus our Christ. We are not of the world. Believers are spotless and beautiful in Christ's eyes. "...Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." (Ephesians 25b-27)
Stand up, you believers, and make ready for the Groom. You are so pure and lovely in His eyes. We who eagerly await Him are also eagerly awaited BY Him!
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Saturday, February 18, 2012
NUKEMAP: Nuking your house online
I don't know why Alex Wellerstein created NUKEMAP, but he did.
Nuking my house online
BY ROBERT KRULWICH
"Wellerstein works at the American Institute of Physics in College Park, Maryland. After hours, he is a mad bomber — but a careful, data-driven, history-minded mad bomber. His newest creation, which I found on his blog, is called NUKEMAP. It allows you to choose a city, any city (I chose the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where I live), an atomic or hydrogen bomb of any size (whatever kiloton level you like, or you can pick from a list of historically specific bombs). On the screen, you'll find a Google map of your chosen neighborhood with your bomb, represented by a little bomb-shaped icon, ticking at its center. You can then take your cursor, move the bomb to the exact location you want (when you move it, it casts a dangerous looking x on the "ground" below). When you reach your designated ground zero (I chose my apartment building), you are ready for the next step. You hit "detonate." The explosion creates a series of concentric circles, color-coded to show the zone where everything is incinerated, the space where most things get emulsified or crushed, the space where radiation is lethal, the space where people are poisoned by radiation, the space where they are badly burned — concentric circles of destruction. The effects are chilling and fascinating. When I tried out some of the more powerful bombs, I was stunned by their destructive power. I had no idea."
I tried it. I plugged in the data for nuking Damascus, just to see how far the damage would go... You can try it here. It is very easy.
Click on the map to enlarge--
Sadly, it seems to me that all this will soon be a real event and not just an online novelty...
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Nuking my house online
BY ROBERT KRULWICH
"Wellerstein works at the American Institute of Physics in College Park, Maryland. After hours, he is a mad bomber — but a careful, data-driven, history-minded mad bomber. His newest creation, which I found on his blog, is called NUKEMAP. It allows you to choose a city, any city (I chose the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where I live), an atomic or hydrogen bomb of any size (whatever kiloton level you like, or you can pick from a list of historically specific bombs). On the screen, you'll find a Google map of your chosen neighborhood with your bomb, represented by a little bomb-shaped icon, ticking at its center. You can then take your cursor, move the bomb to the exact location you want (when you move it, it casts a dangerous looking x on the "ground" below). When you reach your designated ground zero (I chose my apartment building), you are ready for the next step. You hit "detonate." The explosion creates a series of concentric circles, color-coded to show the zone where everything is incinerated, the space where most things get emulsified or crushed, the space where radiation is lethal, the space where people are poisoned by radiation, the space where they are badly burned — concentric circles of destruction. The effects are chilling and fascinating. When I tried out some of the more powerful bombs, I was stunned by their destructive power. I had no idea."
I tried it. I plugged in the data for nuking Damascus, just to see how far the damage would go... You can try it here. It is very easy.
Click on the map to enlarge--
Sadly, it seems to me that all this will soon be a real event and not just an online novelty...
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Friday, February 17, 2012
The real headline: "Dead birds plummet from sky over I-95; latest harbinger of doom?" Plus, Europe's intense cold
And it was in The Washington Post yesterday. The opening line of the news article states,
"In case you needed more evidence of an impending apocalypse: Hundreds of dead birds dropped from the sky over I-95 during the Wednesday evening commute, according to WJLA."
Though this next section states that fireworks were identified as the cause of the January 2011 cause of bird die-off, well, it wasn't.
"The deceased starlings scrambled traffic in the northbound travel lanes in Laurel and startled commuters, some of them no doubt familiar with similar events in Arkansas in early 2011 — and again this January — in which thousands of otherwise healthy birds dropped from the sky. But don’t get excited, Doomsday theorists: Loud noises (possibly fireworks) were identified as the culprit in the January 2011 dropping, and bad weather can also send frenzied birds into stationary objects. Maryland Department of Natural Resources biologist Peter Bedel said the I-95 birds probably just flew into a truck."
The WJLA link has video. In that article they stated, "Hundreds of birds just dropped from the sky and landed onto I-95 Wednesday, bringing afternoon rush hour traffic to a crawl".
The birds fell from the sky, they didn't fall from truck-height, nor did they fly into anyone's windshield, which they would have if they had been knocked senseless by flying into a truck. They also fell over a wide area, and there were many more birds than would have flown into a truck. Sigh.
In other strange news, Romania and Europe in general is freezing. It is not a "cold snap." It is a human and industrial tragedy of unimaginable proportions. This is from Scripps News printed in a Cleveland Ohio news outlet three days ago.
"Europe freezes: Death toll rises to 550; 140,000 people trapped by snow
"This is no mere cold snap. There is tragedy unfolding in Europe daily since January, thanks to extreme cold and snow. Heavy snow and record cold continue to slam countries from the UK to Italy, Bulgaria and Russia. Even Northern Africa is shoveling snow. Across Europe, snow drifts reaching above the rooftops have kept tens of thousands of villagers prisoners in their own homes. They are desperate in Montenegro, where the heaviest snow in 63 years has sealed off hundreds of villages, literally trapping thousands of residents in their homes. The snow and cold there has shut down railroads and roads and even closed the main airport. Montenegro's capital of Podgorica was brought to a standstill by snow 20 inches deep, a 50-year record, closing the city's airport and halting rail services to Serbia because of an avalanche. Officials said this is the most amount of snow they've seen here since 1949."
Records smashed. Drifts higher than houses. Desperation.
"In Turkey, more than 2,000 roads are blocked by heavy snows. Authorities said an estimated 30,000 villagers were still cut off in Romania, and more than 110,000 in the Balkan countries, including 60,000 in Montenegro, nearly 10 percent of the population. Meteorologists in Belgium said the country had recorded its longest cold snap in 70 years, with temperatures in Brussels' suburbs remaining below zero for 13 consecutive days. In neighboring Kosovo, an avalanche killed people in a southern mountain village and left nine others trapped in several houses under 30 feet of snow. Eight more people were reported to have died in Romania, taking the toll for the country to 65, three in Serbia, one in the Czech Republic and one in Austria. Many of the dead across Europe are homeless. Others are elderly, who have shut off their heat to help combat rising electric bills."
What would the US media be printing if 2000 roads were blocked?? If 110,000 people were cut off from civilization?
"One of Europe's busiest waterways is shut down. The Danube River runs through Germany, Austria, Hungary and Romania, among other countries. It is completely frozen. Boat traffic has been unable to move for several weeks now. The part of the Danube that flows through Bulgaria froze over for the first time in 27 years. The Sea of Azov, a large offshoot of the Black Sea, separates Russia from the Ukraine. It, too, is frozen over thanks to frequent temperatures below zero. More than 100 shipping vessels are trapped in the icy waters, unable to move."
An enormous amount of ship traffic flows over the Danube and other rivers in Europe. When ships don't come in, goods don't arrive. When goods don't arrive, food supply stops. Regular life suspends.
"Hundreds of barns in Italy have collapsed due to the heavy weight of snow. Thousands of farm animals have perished as a result. Serbia is cutting power in desperate bid to prevent a collapse of national electricity grid. In Turkey, survivors of last year's major earthquakes must walk several blocks in the blinding snow and cold to reach toilet facilities."
When farm animals perish, beef prices go up. Pork prices. Milk prices. Supplies get short. Food insecurity increases.
The scientists are trying to come up with reasons why this happened in Europe. They have scientific models and fancy language:
"Keeping Europe frozen is a climate pattern called a "Russian Winter." In this pattern, a strong Siberian anticyclone hovers over northern Russia and triggers intense cold and snow, according to a NASA statement. That cold has lingered long enough to freeze stretches of the Danube, the second longest river in Europe."
Yawn. When the angel pours out his bowl and the people on earth are seared with intense heat, (Revelation 16:8-9) the scientists will likely come up with yet another computer model and another explanation using fancy language as to why it is't cold but heat happening. However, the current situation is all too real and all too heartbreaking:
"The Danube's freezing is just one of many severe winter events in the continent this year. Heavy snowfall has blocked roads and stranded towns in central Italy. A train in Montenegro was stranded on the tracks for three days due to heavy snow. Even Venice's famous canals froze, a rare feat. At least four Balkan nations suspended shipping on the Danube today (Feb. 14) because of heavy ice on the river, according to news reports."
Man still thinks he has control over these things. An article today with this headline is an example of this misconception- "Europe's winter deaths reveal 'drastic policy failure'''
It's natural to wonder if this will happen to us in North America, as this PhysOrg headline asks
"Europe hammered by winter, is North America next?"
"For the first half of this year's winter, the big news was warm temperatures and lack of snow. Ski resorts were covered in bare dirt, while January temperatures in southern California topped July highs. Then, out of the blue, Europe got clobbered: Over the past two weeks, temperatures in Eastern Europe have nose-dived to -22 degrees Fahrenheit. Blizzards and the bone-chilling cold have resulted in the deaths of over 550 people so far, with rooftop-high snow drifts trapping tens of thousands of villagers in their homes and cutting off access to entire towns. It has even snowed as far south as North Africa."
The article goes on to quote a NASA scientists saying that it was because Mother Nature did an about face...
I wish that people would do an about face, and repent. That is what repent means. "To repent means to turn, to have a change of mind. In the New Testament repentance means to turn from sin. All men everywhere are commanded by God to repent of their sins (Acts 17:30). God's longsuffering leads us to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9) as does his kindness (Rom. 2:4). Repentance is properly understood to mean a change of mind, a change of the intention from wanting to sin to not wanting to sin, that results in a change in action. It involves the decision to make a change of behavior and/or attitude about something. Biblically, repentance means to turn from sin with a heartfelt desire to change and not do it again. Of course, desiring to never sin again and actually not sinning again aren't always the same thing. We Christians often fail in our war with our sin (Rom. 7:19). We may have remorse over it and honestly desire to not commit sin again, but sometimes because of our fallen nature and our profound weakness, we often fail to completely carry out our repentance. Nevertheless, by the grace of God we are able to turn to him yet again and receive the cleansing that is guaranteed through Christ."
More on repentance here at Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry.
Heed these words from Psalm 147:15-17--
He sends forth His command to the earth;
His word runs very swiftly.
He gives snow like wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes.
He casts forth His ice as fragments;
Who can stand before His cold?
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"In case you needed more evidence of an impending apocalypse: Hundreds of dead birds dropped from the sky over I-95 during the Wednesday evening commute, according to WJLA."
Though this next section states that fireworks were identified as the cause of the January 2011 cause of bird die-off, well, it wasn't.
"The deceased starlings scrambled traffic in the northbound travel lanes in Laurel and startled commuters, some of them no doubt familiar with similar events in Arkansas in early 2011 — and again this January — in which thousands of otherwise healthy birds dropped from the sky. But don’t get excited, Doomsday theorists: Loud noises (possibly fireworks) were identified as the culprit in the January 2011 dropping, and bad weather can also send frenzied birds into stationary objects. Maryland Department of Natural Resources biologist Peter Bedel said the I-95 birds probably just flew into a truck."
The WJLA link has video. In that article they stated, "Hundreds of birds just dropped from the sky and landed onto I-95 Wednesday, bringing afternoon rush hour traffic to a crawl".
The birds fell from the sky, they didn't fall from truck-height, nor did they fly into anyone's windshield, which they would have if they had been knocked senseless by flying into a truck. They also fell over a wide area, and there were many more birds than would have flown into a truck. Sigh.
In other strange news, Romania and Europe in general is freezing. It is not a "cold snap." It is a human and industrial tragedy of unimaginable proportions. This is from Scripps News printed in a Cleveland Ohio news outlet three days ago.
"Europe freezes: Death toll rises to 550; 140,000 people trapped by snow
"This is no mere cold snap. There is tragedy unfolding in Europe daily since January, thanks to extreme cold and snow. Heavy snow and record cold continue to slam countries from the UK to Italy, Bulgaria and Russia. Even Northern Africa is shoveling snow. Across Europe, snow drifts reaching above the rooftops have kept tens of thousands of villagers prisoners in their own homes. They are desperate in Montenegro, where the heaviest snow in 63 years has sealed off hundreds of villages, literally trapping thousands of residents in their homes. The snow and cold there has shut down railroads and roads and even closed the main airport. Montenegro's capital of Podgorica was brought to a standstill by snow 20 inches deep, a 50-year record, closing the city's airport and halting rail services to Serbia because of an avalanche. Officials said this is the most amount of snow they've seen here since 1949."
Records smashed. Drifts higher than houses. Desperation.
"In Turkey, more than 2,000 roads are blocked by heavy snows. Authorities said an estimated 30,000 villagers were still cut off in Romania, and more than 110,000 in the Balkan countries, including 60,000 in Montenegro, nearly 10 percent of the population. Meteorologists in Belgium said the country had recorded its longest cold snap in 70 years, with temperatures in Brussels' suburbs remaining below zero for 13 consecutive days. In neighboring Kosovo, an avalanche killed people in a southern mountain village and left nine others trapped in several houses under 30 feet of snow. Eight more people were reported to have died in Romania, taking the toll for the country to 65, three in Serbia, one in the Czech Republic and one in Austria. Many of the dead across Europe are homeless. Others are elderly, who have shut off their heat to help combat rising electric bills."
What would the US media be printing if 2000 roads were blocked?? If 110,000 people were cut off from civilization?
"One of Europe's busiest waterways is shut down. The Danube River runs through Germany, Austria, Hungary and Romania, among other countries. It is completely frozen. Boat traffic has been unable to move for several weeks now. The part of the Danube that flows through Bulgaria froze over for the first time in 27 years. The Sea of Azov, a large offshoot of the Black Sea, separates Russia from the Ukraine. It, too, is frozen over thanks to frequent temperatures below zero. More than 100 shipping vessels are trapped in the icy waters, unable to move."
An enormous amount of ship traffic flows over the Danube and other rivers in Europe. When ships don't come in, goods don't arrive. When goods don't arrive, food supply stops. Regular life suspends.
"Hundreds of barns in Italy have collapsed due to the heavy weight of snow. Thousands of farm animals have perished as a result. Serbia is cutting power in desperate bid to prevent a collapse of national electricity grid. In Turkey, survivors of last year's major earthquakes must walk several blocks in the blinding snow and cold to reach toilet facilities."
When farm animals perish, beef prices go up. Pork prices. Milk prices. Supplies get short. Food insecurity increases.
The scientists are trying to come up with reasons why this happened in Europe. They have scientific models and fancy language:
"Keeping Europe frozen is a climate pattern called a "Russian Winter." In this pattern, a strong Siberian anticyclone hovers over northern Russia and triggers intense cold and snow, according to a NASA statement. That cold has lingered long enough to freeze stretches of the Danube, the second longest river in Europe."
Yawn. When the angel pours out his bowl and the people on earth are seared with intense heat, (Revelation 16:8-9) the scientists will likely come up with yet another computer model and another explanation using fancy language as to why it is't cold but heat happening. However, the current situation is all too real and all too heartbreaking:
"The Danube's freezing is just one of many severe winter events in the continent this year. Heavy snowfall has blocked roads and stranded towns in central Italy. A train in Montenegro was stranded on the tracks for three days due to heavy snow. Even Venice's famous canals froze, a rare feat. At least four Balkan nations suspended shipping on the Danube today (Feb. 14) because of heavy ice on the river, according to news reports."
Man still thinks he has control over these things. An article today with this headline is an example of this misconception- "Europe's winter deaths reveal 'drastic policy failure'''
It's natural to wonder if this will happen to us in North America, as this PhysOrg headline asks
"Europe hammered by winter, is North America next?"
"For the first half of this year's winter, the big news was warm temperatures and lack of snow. Ski resorts were covered in bare dirt, while January temperatures in southern California topped July highs. Then, out of the blue, Europe got clobbered: Over the past two weeks, temperatures in Eastern Europe have nose-dived to -22 degrees Fahrenheit. Blizzards and the bone-chilling cold have resulted in the deaths of over 550 people so far, with rooftop-high snow drifts trapping tens of thousands of villagers in their homes and cutting off access to entire towns. It has even snowed as far south as North Africa."
The article goes on to quote a NASA scientists saying that it was because Mother Nature did an about face...
I wish that people would do an about face, and repent. That is what repent means. "To repent means to turn, to have a change of mind. In the New Testament repentance means to turn from sin. All men everywhere are commanded by God to repent of their sins (Acts 17:30). God's longsuffering leads us to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9) as does his kindness (Rom. 2:4). Repentance is properly understood to mean a change of mind, a change of the intention from wanting to sin to not wanting to sin, that results in a change in action. It involves the decision to make a change of behavior and/or attitude about something. Biblically, repentance means to turn from sin with a heartfelt desire to change and not do it again. Of course, desiring to never sin again and actually not sinning again aren't always the same thing. We Christians often fail in our war with our sin (Rom. 7:19). We may have remorse over it and honestly desire to not commit sin again, but sometimes because of our fallen nature and our profound weakness, we often fail to completely carry out our repentance. Nevertheless, by the grace of God we are able to turn to him yet again and receive the cleansing that is guaranteed through Christ."
More on repentance here at Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry.
Heed these words from Psalm 147:15-17--
He sends forth His command to the earth;
His word runs very swiftly.
He gives snow like wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes.
He casts forth His ice as fragments;
Who can stand before His cold?
Tweet
