Daily Archives: April 18, 2020

10 Deadliest Pandemics In History Were Much Worse Than Coronavirus So Far — The Federalist

COVID-19 has us all thinking about public health, but looking back, there have been many pandemics before, and we persist in spite of them.

As of April 15, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has reported 605,390 cases of COVID-19 in the United States. These have occurred across all 50 states and have resulted in 24,582 deaths. We are all feeling the effects of the pandemic. Schools are closed, businesses have shut their doors, and nobody knows what’s coming next.

While COVID-19 is one of the largest pandemics of the 21st century, you might be wondering how it stacks up to the terrible pandemics of the past. Let’s look at the 10 worst pandemics in human history.

10. The Great Plague of Milan: Italy (1629-1631)

Death Toll: 1 million

The Great Plague of Milan was a series of outbreaks of the bubonic plague (featured later in this list) that happened between 1629 and 1631. While numerous plague outbreaks occurred in Europe during the 17th century, this was one of the worst. The disease is thought to have been brought into the city of Mantua by French and German soldiers in the Thirty Years’ War, and it spread from there.

While the plague ravaged the country, some towns were spared. Ferrara in northern Italy did not experience a single death from the plague because it implemented strict border controls, sanitation laws, and personal hygiene practices. It even built state-funded plague hospitals outside the city’s walls to prevent larger outbreaks from single cases (although the disease was thought to be caused by corrupted air rather than a bacterium).

This is a rare example of effective disease control in history and is eerily reminiscent of what the world is going through with COVID-19. The Great Plague of Milan was so deadly, it is thought to be a major contributor to the decline in power of the Republic of Venice, which had risen to prominence during the Renaissance.

9. Hong Kong Flu: China (1968-1970)

Death Toll: 1-4 million

Influenza A pandemics have occurred multiple times throughout history when new, deadly strains of the influenza A virus evolved. The adaptability of the flu is why flu shots change each year.

The Hong Kong flu (H3N2) originated in China and was the second-worst flu pandemic of the 20th century, behind the famous 1918 Spanish flu featured later on this list. While this pandemic was much less deadly than the one in 1918, the virus was especially infectious, contributing to its spread around the world. Within two weeks, the virus had moved throughout southeast Asia, and within two months it had made its way across the ocean into the Americas, later spreading to Europe, Africa, and Australia.

Although we are no longer in the midst of a flu pandemic, H3N2 has stuck around as one strain of seasonal flu we see every year.

8. Cholera: India/Indonesia (1817-Present)

Death Toll: 95,000/year (more than 1 million historical total)

The cholera pandemic consists of a series of smaller pandemics that have been occurring on and off since 1817. We are now within the seventh cholera pandemic. Six of the seven major cholera pandemics have originated in India. However, the current pandemic originated in Indonesia. Trade and military routes over the years have contributed to spreading this disease throughout the world.

Although cholera today does not majorly affect developed nations due to their access to clean water, the disease thrives in developing areas that lack reliable water sources and solid sanitation systems.

Cholera is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The virus causes severe diarrhea and is spread through raw sewage, which creates a vicious cycle of infection in areas experiencing an outbreak.

7. Antonine Plague: Rome (165-180)

Death Toll: 5 million

This ancient pandemic swept through the Roman Empire in the late second century. While it’s not certain which disease caused this pandemic, it’s thought to be measles, smallpox, or a combination of both.

At that time, the Roman Empire spread far beyond Italy into the Mediterranean region, as well as parts of Africa and Asia. Active trade and military movements contributed to the disease’s quick spread.

The plague was so deadly that today it is thought to contribute to the eventual fall of the Roman Empire, making this plague one of the major events of Western history.

6. Third Plague: China (1885 – 1950s)

Death Toll: 12 million

The Third Plague refers to the most recent pandemic outbreak of bubonic plague, which began in 1885 in the Chinese province of Yunnan. This pandemic lasted many years. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were cases on all six inhabited continents, although its most devastating effects were in China and India.

Interestingly, this pandemic led to much quality scientific research about this and the previous plagues. Because this outbreak occurred in the modern era (at least relative to the original Black Death), scientists had access to better research tools and methods. For example, studying this plague led to the discovery of the bacteria responsible for historical plagues, Yersinia pestis.

5. HIV/AIDS: Sub-Saharan Africa (1981-Present)

Death Toll: 25-35 million

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) first emerged in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the late 1970s. The accepted hypothesis is that the virus jumped from chimps to humans through bush hunting in central Africa.

The virus causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a disease in which the immune system gives out, causing people to die not from HIV itself, but from a variety of secondary infections such as pneumonia.

Unlike many of the pandemics on this list, HIV is not transmitted from casual contact. HIV can spread through blood, sexual transmission, and from mother to child through birth or breastfeeding. In the United States, the virus ravaged the gay community and IV drug users.

Historically, the prevalence of the virus among disenfranchised groups contributed to the explosion of the pandemic because it was not as quickly addressed as other pandemics, including modern ones such as COVID-19. Today, HIV can be well managed in developed nations so it doesn’t progress to AIDS, but AIDS is still incredibly deadly in developing nations without access to adequate health care and preventative measures.

4. Plague of Justinian: Eastern Roman Empire (541-750)

Death Toll: 30-50 million

The Plague of Justinian is the first known outbreak of the plague that would later become the famous Black Death, as well as the Third Plague in the late 19th century. The bacterium, Yersinia pestis, is thought to have originated in Africa and then migrated to Europe through fleas on rats.

By the year 541, the plague was killing up to 10,000 people a day. There were so many victims that citizens of Constantinople could not keep up with burying them, so bodies were crammed into buildings or simply left in the open.

While the bulk of the deaths occurred between 541 and 542, this pandemic was stubborn, and did not fade entirely until 750. Until then, there were periodic outbreaks throughout the Mediterranean world.

3. Spanish Flu: Unknown (1918-1920)

Death Toll: 40-50 million

A number of deadly flu outbreaks have occurred over the years, but the 1918 Spanish flu is among the worst in history. Despite the common name of the pandemic, scientists are not entirely sure where the virus originated, though they do know it was caused by an H1N1 virus (similar to swine flu) that originated in birds.

It is estimated that 500 million people, or one-third of the global population at the time, were infected with the virus. Like all flus, this virus was easily transmitted from person to person, causing it to spread rapidly throughout the world. Another deadly characteristic of this flu was that it had high mortality in a variety of age groups, not just the very young and old we expect to have weaker immune systems.

While scientists have synthesized the 1918 flu virus in the lab, they are still not certain exactly why this particular flu was so deadly. It remains one of the great medical mysteries of all time.

2. New World Smallpox: Americas (1520 – 1600s)

Death Toll: 56 million

The Columbian Exchange, or the exchange of animals and plants between Europe and the Americas as a result of the voyages of Christopher Columbus, led to one of the great world pandemics of all time. Because native populations of South America had none of the immunities to Eurasian diseases that Europeans had developed over the centuries, they were highly susceptible to these diseases upon first contact.

Among the worst of these diseases was smallpox, caused by the variola virus. The disease swept through South and Central America, as well as the Caribbean, killing millions.

Smallpox remained a problematic disease for centuries, with the last natural outbreak occurring in the United States in 1949. However, nowadays people do not get smallpox. Smallpox remains the only disease that has been successfully eradicated worldwide as a result of intense international vaccination and isolation efforts between the 1960s and 1980s.

1. The Black Death: Europe and Asia (1347-1351)

Death Toll: 200 million

By far the deadliest pandemic of all time, the Black Death radically shaped the course of human history, plunging Europe into the Dark Ages. The bacterium that caused the plague, Yersinia pestis, is thought to have originated in Asia more than 2,000 years ago and eventually moved into Europe through trade ships.

The bacteria moved quickly through rats and fleas feeding on the rats. When infected rats died, leaving the fleas hungry, fleas switched to feeding on human blood, spreading the plague they had picked up from the rodents. Trade ships moving these rats around only perpetuated the spread throughout Europe and Asia.

In addition to its high death toll, what made the Black Death so remarkable was the speed with which it occurred. For example, at the start of the pandemic, 60 percent of Florence’s population died within a few months.

Today, bubonic plague is much rarer. However, well after the Black Death, the plague continued to cause periodic pandemics throughout Europe and Asia, including the Great Plague of Milan.

Final Thoughts

COVID-19 has us all thinking about public health, but looking back, there have been many pandemics before, and we persist in spite of them. While the devastation is real, eventually humans manage to press on. It’s easy to forget that after the Dark Ages following the Black Death, Europe entered its Renaissance, one of the great periods of creativity and ingenuity in human history.

For now, we are social distancing, isolating, and worrying about ourselves, our families, and communities. But it certainly won’t last forever. History tells us we don’t get to choose what happens to us or what period of history we are born in. All we can do is prepare and persist.

Dan Carpenter is a proponent of preparedness, homesteads, and modern self sufficiency. He is the founder and principal of Homestead Launch and SCP Survival. Contact him at Dan@HomesteadLaunch.com.

via 10 Deadliest Pandemics In History Were Much Worse Than Coronavirus So Far — The Federalist

Coronavirus: WHO Director Has a Long History of Cover-Ups | Gatestone Institute

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“WHO officials have complained privately that Ethiopian officials are not telling the truth about these outbreaks. Testing for Vibrio cholerae bacteria, which cause cholera, is simple and takes less than two days…. United Nations officials said more aid could have been delivered to Ethiopia had the truth been told.” — The New York Times, May 13, 2017.
Tedros dismissed the accusations against him by playing the race card. He said that criticism of him stemmed from a “typical colonial mind-set aimed at… discrediting a candidate from a developing country.” — The New York Times, May 13, 2017.
“By yielding to the Khartoum’s regime’s threat, you are complicit in the failure to respond to a disease that currently threatens many hundreds of thousands of Sudanese civilians — and is currently active in twelve Sudanese states.” — Open letter to Tedros from a group of American physicians accusing him of failing to investigate outbreaks of cholera in Sudan, September 11, 2017.
A day after U.S. President Donald Trump accused the WHO of being “very China-centric,” and threatened to cut funding to WHO, Tedros responded: “Please quarantine politicizing COVID. We will have many body bags in front of us if we don’t behave.” Tedros also said that criticism of his handling of the coronavirus pandemic was motivated by racism.

Source: Coronavirus: WHO Director Has a Long History of Cover-Ups

Coronavirus vaccine researchers using tissue of aborted babies | WND

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Amid a global race to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus, pro-life advocates are warning of the use of the cells of aborted babies by researchers.

“I will not kill children to live,” said Roman Catholic Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, reported LifeSiteNews.

In a tweet, he expressed sadness over the fact that “even with Covid-19 we are still debating the use of aborted fetal tissue for medical research.”

The pro-life group Children of God for Life, which promotes ethical vaccines, found that several of the top COVID-19 vaccine projects are using aborted fetal cells, LifeSiteNews said.

Debi Vinnedge, the group’s executive director, said her heart sank when she discovered that Spike protein, which is part of a vaccine being developed by Moderna, was produced using aborted fetal cells.

Time magazine reports industrial powerhouses such as Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi and Glaxo SmithKline are working on a vaccine but may not have one ready until next year.

Meanwhile, Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida have joined with Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi and 30 other Senate Republicans to urge President Trump to maintain pro-life protections in new research, Florida Daily reported.

In a letter to the president, they thank him for his defense of the sanctity of life, including fetal tissue and cells.

“In particular, we thank you for last year’s decision to stop taxpayer funding in federal laboratories of the horrific practice of using aborted baby body parts for experiments,” they write.

But they note that some advocate the use of fetal tissue for COVID-19 vaccine research.

“The facts show that aborted fetal tissue from ongoing abortions has never been used in the production of a single vaccine, and most vaccines today use more efficient, modern cell lines and production techniques,” they argue.

“Notably, the few attempted transplants of aborted fetal tissue have made most patients worse, not better. Moreover, it is unknown whether mice with a human immune system and lungs made from aborted fetal tissue can even be used successfully to test treatments against the coronavirus,” they explained, calling those practices “unethical.”

“We urge you to stand strong in rejecting these appeals for taxpayer dollars to be used for the practice of using aborted babies in experiments. Your decision to stop funding for this research and to redirect funds toward ethical, successful alternatives should be maintained,” they said.

The newssite Vox complained the Trump policy “appears to be standing in the way of at least one scientist.”

Kim Hasenkrug of the National Institutes of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Montana wants to run tests in mice with “humanized” lungs that are modified with fetal tissue from abortions.

But under Trump, the HHS last summer issued a directive banning fetal tissue research for government employees.

The sale of unborn-baby body parts was spotlighted by a hidden-camera probe by the Center for Medical Progress that found abortionists negotiating with middlemen for higher pay for the parts.

Federal law prohibits profiting from the body parts.

LifeSiteNews reported a vaccine developer owned by Johnson & Johnson is using technology derived from an aborted baby’s retinal tissue.

Children of God for Life said that in most seasonal flu vaccines, the need to produce large quantities of vaccine has been a problem. Pharmaceutical companies used chicken eggs to cultivate their viruses. It takes several months and millions of eggs to produce the vaccines, so many companies have turned to other cell lines to speed up production.

Life Petitions has launched an online campaign urging President Trump to prevent the use of fetal tissue in COVID-19 vaccines.

It was collecting thousands of signatures per day.

The petition argues scientists in Japan for years have ethically produced reliable vaccines from animal cell lines.

Source: Coronavirus vaccine researchers using tissue of aborted babies

China’s is attempting to win political points from the coronavirus with ‘mask diplomacy’ — but it mostly isn’t working | Business Insider

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Djordje Kojadinovic/Reuters

China has been sending medical teams and protective equipment to countries battling the coronavirus, a strategy dubbed “mask diplomacy.”
While sending medical help is inherently benign, China seems to have another motive: to win points on the world stage.
Officials at home have been praising China’s “helping hand” abroad, and diplomats are reportedly asking foreign officials to praise China in public.
Though China’s efforts have borne fruit in a few places, many are still skeptical of Beijing’s motives and don’t see it as a trustworthy leader in the outbreak.
Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Over the past few weeks, China has been sending medics, masks, ventilators, and shipments of other precious protective equipment to countries in the midst of the global coronavirus outbreak.

While the care packages will surely help those who receive them — the US, Spain, Italy, France, and Britain have all reported more than 10,000 deaths — they are likely underpinned by hard-nosed calculation.

The shipments are part of a broad effort — dubbed “mask diplomacy” to win goodwill around the world, and help establish the in the role of global leadership it has long aspired to take on.

‘We will never stand aloof and shun our friends when they are in trouble’

China has sent teams of medical experts to at least ten countries so far, as well as exporting ventilators and protective equipment to many other countries and states battling the virus.

It’s sent medics to Italy, Iran, Serbia, and the Philippines, its foreign ministry said, as well as 1,140 ventilators to New York state in early April.

(Other countries, including Spain, the Netherlands, and Turkey, have purchased medical equipment from private Chinese companies, much of which turned out faulty. The embarrassment has since prompted China to crack down on medical exports.)

China’s efforts are more than simple humanitarianism

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters last week: “China is making such efforts to reciprocate the goodwill we received earlier during the pandemic, to act on international humanitarianism and to implement the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind.”

“We will never stand aloof and shun our friends when they are in trouble, and we will never pick and choose nor attach any strings when extending a helping hand.”

But what the government is doing behind closed doors is another story.

Xi Jinping Lintao Zhang/Pool/Getty Images

One revealing example is at the state-government level in Wisconsin.

According to the Wisconsin Examiner, a diplomat at China’s nearby Chicago consulate emailed the president of the Wisconsin Senate in February and March, asking that he praise China’s “transparency” and “unprecedented and rigorous measures” in the epidemic.

The diplomat had even sent a draft resolution, published here by The New York Times, seemingly for Wisconsin to use.

It was not successful: Roger Roth, the Wisconsin Senate president, in his own resolution called out “propaganda and falsehoods” in the Chinese draft.

The Chinese diplomat, named Wu Ting, did not respond to The Times or Examiner’s requests for comment.

Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, told Business Insider: “Over the last decade … I’ve watched Chinese diplomats and government officials become more sophisticated in how they try to sell their message to the world.

“I can’t think of another circumstance in which they have tried to hand a democratic country’s state legislature a draft resolution and expect that it would receive the response they had in mind.”

Angela Merkel and China's President Xi Jinping REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Germany’s Welt am Sonntag also reported this month that Chinese government representatives had contacted German officials asking for public praise, citing a confidential German foreign ministry document.

Beijing had asked them to praise its shipment of medical supplies to Europe, and “portray the People’s Republic as a reliable partner and prudent crisis manager.”

Beijing denied the German report, telling Agence France-Presse (AFP) in a statement: “Our goal is to better protect the lives and health of our own people … rather than obtaining others’ appreciation.” The German foreign ministry responded neither to Welt am Sonntag nor to AFP.

Elizabeth Economy, director of Asian studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, told The New York Times: “This is certainly not in the tradition of the best humanitarian relief efforts. It seems strange to expect signed declarations of thanks from other countries in the midst of the crisis.”

‘Mask diplomacy’

Observers say China is embarking on “mask diplomacy” because it prefers to be seen fighting the virus around to world to suffering criticism of its role as the country where the disease began.

“Chinese officials and their propaganda machinery are in high gear worldwide trying to paint the Chinese government as the solution to the problem, rather than one of the sources of it,” Richardson, of Human Rights Watch, said.

“It’s not a government that’s capable of tolerating or willing to tolerate accountability at home. And I’m sure the idea of international accountability is not a popular topic in Beijing,” she said, noting that China has for years refused to accept responsibility for human rights violations against the Uighurs in Xinjiang.

“What that machine knows how to do is make up a different story that says: ‘It’s not our fault.'”

“There a lot of things for which the Chinese government should be accountable, but it has really come to expect a certain kind of impunity,” Richardson continued.

“I think it’s partly why this moment is different … Under these grim circumstances, far more people worldwide can now see why, for example, the lack of free speech inside China can have consequences for people around the world.”

china coronavirus diplomacy serbia Djordje Kojadinovic/Reuters

Has China’s propaganda drive worked?

China’s “mask diplomacy” appears to have been successful in some countries. Examples include:

Serbia, where the president kissed the Chinese flag when medical equipment arrived, and where the government has introduced health policies advocated by China but used almost nowhere else in Europe. Billboards of President Xi Jinping’s face alongside the words “thanks, brother Xi” in Serbian and Chinese went up across Belgrade, the Serbian capital.
Hungary, where officials have repeatedly thanked China for supplying masks and played down help from the European Union, according to the Associated Press.
Cambodia, where officials are banning foreigners from entering the country, but allowing Chinese troops in for military exercises.

The three nations are longstanding Chinese allies and members of its massive Belt and Road Initiative.

Xi JinPing Wuhan Ju Peng/Xinhua via Getty

But most other Western countries aren’t on board.

Experts and medical professionals remain wary of China’s coronavirus data, and nobody has forgotten its missteps in the early stages of the outbreak. They include suppressing early warnings, and hiding information from its citizens and the rest of the world.

This week alone, the Associated Press reported that top Chinese officials had for six days sat on the knowledge that the coronavirus is transmitted human-to-human, and would turn into a pandemic, without telling citizens or the World Health Organization. Those six days of silence had cost thousands of lives.

People still haven’t forgotten Li Wenliang, the ophthalmologist who was censured by Wuhan authorities for sounding an early alarm on the outbreak and who in February died of COVID-19.

Since his death, thousands of people have left comments on his last post on Weibo, the microblogging site. The New York Times referred to it as China’s “digital Wailing Wall” — like Jerusalem’s Western Wall, where people leave slips of paper with their prayers.

china mourning mask DI YIN/Getty Images

“This would play very differently if, for example, authorities in Beijing had decided that there were going to focus exclusively on providing as much reliable PPE worldwide as they possibly could have,” Richardson said.

“I think if they had chosen just to do that, the response around the world might be quite different, but this incredibly aggressive insistence also on the Chinese government’s revisionist account of what happened really tips opinion in the other direction.”

“I think ramming [its own] narrative down has really produced the opposite of what Beijing intended,” she said.

“There’s that much more interest in China’s role, that many more questions about whether the Chinese government did the right thing at the right time.”

“Precisely the kind of attention they don’t want.”

Source: China’s is attempting to win political points from the coronavirus with ‘mask diplomacy’ — but it mostly isn’t working

Justification and Martin Luther | Place for Truth

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It was a hot, humid afternoon in July, 1505. A brilliant young law student was traveling near the German village of Stotternheim in what was then Electoral Saxony. Having recently earned his Masters degree, he had by all accounts, a promising and lucrative law career ahead of him. But as often happens on hot summer days, the sky darkened without warning. Green leaves stirred and shook in the trees as a rising wind began to agitate the branches. It started to rain. Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck so near the traveler that he was knocked to the ground. Fearing God’s wrath would rest upon him if he should perish, the terrified young man cried out, “Help me St. Anne! And I… I will become a monk!” And so the man who would later renounce the cult of the saints vowed to a saint. And just 15 days later in nearby Erfurt, Germany, the man who would later condemn monasticism entered an Augustinian monastery. The man’s name was Martin Luther. He was 21 years old.

If this story seems strange or unlikely, you must understand Christian piety at end of the Middle Ages. The vast majority of professing believers at the beginning of the sixteenth century in Christian Europe understood that Almighty God has a holy hatred of sin; that He will condemn sinners who die in state of sin to an eternity of miserable punishment in hell. To be justified before Him required righteousness. The best way to get righteousness, it was believed, was to enter a monastery, where you could spend the rest of your life in works of prayer, fasting, and study; denying the lusts of flesh, and giving up all you possessed to the poor. So Luther entered the monastery to save his soul; to seek the righteousness that a holy God required in the best and most effective way he could; as a monk.

Source: Justification and Martin Luther

Chris Cuomo Fake Quarantine?

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While playing it up on his segments for CNN, Chris Cuomo is chronicling his time suffering through the coronavirus while quarantined in his basement. Now an accusation has emerge of Cuomo out and about with his family, allegedly verbally attacking a man on a bike.

Exposed: Lies, Corruption, & Pay To Keep The Public In A Fear-Induced Panic For Ultimate Control

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04-17-2020 • https://www.shtfplan.com, Mac Slavo

The ruling class and elitists of the planet are lying to our faces! Even by their own numbers, this COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t qualify for the massive response. Hospitals have now exposed that the government is paying them more to put patients on ventilators, whether they need it or not.

This has become a controlling scam-demic. Anyone with the smallest ability to read even mainstream media’s reports of the statistics should have known that the powers that shouldn’t be are trying their hardest to induce fear to take ultimate control over our lives. Several doctors have spoken up about how the government demanded they bump up the number of deaths by mislabeling death certificates, and more continue to speak out.

Dr. Scott Jensen was one of the first to speak out. In addition to saying the government is encouraging hospitals to record all deaths as COVID-19 deaths, he says they are also paying hospitals to overexaggerate the entire outbreak.

“Right now Medicare is determining that if you have a COVID-19 admission to the hospital you get $13,000. If that COVID-19 patient goes on a ventilator you get $39,000, three times as much. Nobody can tell me after 35 years in the world of medicine that sometimes those kinds of things impact on what we do.”

News Round-Up and Comment | Crosstalk America from VCY America

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Date: April 17, 2020
Host: Jim Schneider
MP3 | Order

Here’s a sample of stories that Jim presented from various news sources:

–The Brennan Center for Justice, heavily funded by George Soros, is advocating the use of drop-boxes to deposit ballots on voting day this November as part of a suggested overhaul of the U.S. voting system due to the coronavirus pandemic.

–Former Attorney General Eric Holder believes the coronavirus is an opportunity to make permanent changes to the American electoral system.

–Former First Lady Michelle Obama has announced she’s supporting a Democrat authored bill that would force states to expand vote-by-mail options amid the coronavirus pandemic.

–Hillsborough County, Florida, Sheriff Chad Chronister, who arrested the pastor of The River at Tampa Bay Church for holding a service that he had approved just 3 days earlier, recently released 164 criminal offenders, stating it was to protect detention deputies, their families, the remainder of the inmate population and ultimately the community in light of the coronavirus issue. Sadly, this decision led to the death of an innocent citizen who was murdered the day after a criminal was released.

–New York Governor Andrew Cuomo credits man, not God, fate or destiny, with bringing the number of coronavirus hospitalizations down.

–President Donald Trump announced a freeze in funding for the World Health Organization.

–There’s an increasing confidence that the COVID-19 outbreak likely originated in a Wuhan laboratory.

–As early as 2018, U.S. State Department officials warned about safety risk at the Wuhan Institute of Virology lab on scientists conducting risky tests with the bat coronavirus.

–China jacks up their Wuhan coronavirus death toll by 1,290.

–Last Friday, McHenry County, Illinois, Judge Michael Chmiel entered a temporary restraining order mandating that the health department disclose to police the names of those actively infected by COVID-19.

–Circuit Court Judge Bernard Shapiro has ruled that Dr. Theresa Greene cannot have custody of her 4 year old daughter as long as the mom, an emergency room doctor, continues to treat coronavirus patients.

–A Michigan Democratic state representative thanked President Trump for clearing the way for doctors to prescribe hydroxychloroquine, a treatment she said led to her recovery.

–Thousands of protesters converged on Michigan’s capital city to rally against the governor’s stay-at-home orders in the state.

–States are organizing protests in regard to coronavirus.

–Amid disaster declarations in all 50 states, in response to the coronavirus outbreak, some governors are planning to reopen business and public life.

–Kansas governor extends stay-at-home until midnight on May 3^rd.

–Ohio to reopen on May 1^st.

–Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers extends stay-at-home orders until May 26^th.

–California Governor Gavin Newsom believes his state will not be back to ‘normal’ until there is ‘herd immunity’ and a vaccine.

–California Governor Gavin Newsom announced plans to give cash payments to adult immigrants living illegally in the state.

Source: News Round-Up and Comment

New Study Shows US Coronavirus Infections “50- To 80-Fold Higher” Than Believed | ZeroHedge News

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One of the biggest problems confronting scientists and public health officials is the fact that we really don’t know how many people have contracted the virus, but have never shown symptoms.

These so-called “asymptomatic” cases have been a huge problem thwarting attempts at containment. And as governors start to roll out plans for reopening their states, people are wondering who is ready to go back to work first. Some have suggested that tests that can detect ‘antibodies’ for the virus – typically they develop in people who have recovered from the virus – should be used to determine who is “immune”, and then they should go back first.

The only snag is that there’s no evidence that the antibodies make somebody immune from this particular virus. Furthermore, some research has shown that antibodies in the blood of some recovered patients is nearly undetectable, suggesting that they might still be vulnerable to reinfection.

There’s also a theory that testing for antibodies could help show what percentage of the population was infected, but never symptomatic. To wit, a recent study carried out in California’s Santa Clara County found that random incidence of virus antibodies was significantly higher than researchers anticipated.

Here’s more from ABC News:

The first large-scale community test of 3,300 people in Santa Clara County found that 2.5 to 4.2% of those tested were positive for antibodies – a number suggesting a far higher past infection rate than the official count.

Based on the initial data, researchers estimate that the range of people who may have had the virus to be between 48,000 and 81,000 in the county of 2 million – as opposed to the approximately 1,000 in the county’s official tally at the time the samples were taken.

A critical question in the path towards the future is how many people actually have protective novel coronavirus antibodies and possible immunity? Two research teams in California – backed by armies of dedicated volunteers – set out to answer this very question and the first set of results are in.

“Our findings suggest that there is somewhere between 50- and 80-fold more infections in our county than what’s known by the number of cases than are reported by our department of public health,” Dr. Eran Bendavid, the associate professor of medicine at Stanford University who led the study, said in an interview with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer.

For those who can’t handle the basic math: That’s roughly 34 million Americans at the low end, roughly 10% of the population.

To be sure, this is just one study. And just as we need to take news of the University of Chicago remdesivir study with a grain of salt, so must we do with this.

The team running the study has confidence in the numbers, and while they might vary widely from community to community, they think the basic technique could be helpful in determining what percentage of the population has antibodies…

The initial data is the first to provide greater clarity about where a community is in the pandemic. But Bendavid cautions that the work was more illuminating about what’s happening on the community level than it was for any one individual.

“We have good confidence that we’re getting reliable information on the population. And that can be done because we know what proportion of the people who are positive we’re missing using this test,” said Bendavid.

The results suggests more research and analysis is needed to know how many people who tested positive for antibodies never knew they had the virus because they had no symptoms.

…even if that percentage will almost certainly be so small as to be negligible (even if it ends up showing in the mid-single digits, or slightly higher, which is many times the current penetration).

And on the upside, it would mean the virus’s mortality rate in the US is far low than its present level of roughly 5%.

Source: New Study Shows US Coronavirus Infections “50- To 80-Fold Higher” Than Believed

Tucker Carlson: China is waging coronavirus distraction campaign

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It’s clear how China sees the coronavirus pandemic: Not simply, or even primarily, as a public health disaster in which thousands are dying, but as part of a larger geopolitical struggle for control of the world.

Source: Tucker Carlson: China is waging coronavirus distraction campaign

18 Apr 2020 – Rapture Ready News

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U.S. coronavirus death toll passes 35,000, cases top 700,000 – Reuters tally
U.S. coronavirus deaths topped 35,400 on Friday, rising by more than 2,000 for the fourth day in a row, according to a Reuters tally, as some states announced timetables for lifting restrictions aimed at blunting the pandemic.

Physical Gold and Silver to Continue to Soar on Massive Demand and Money Printing Everywhere
This is what we are seeing thanks to the persistent scarcity of Gold and Silver

Arctic ozone depletion hit record low in March
….”This year’s low Arctic ozone happens about once per decade,” said Paul Newman, chief scientist for Earth Sciences at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “For the overall health of the ozone layer, this is concerning since Arctic ozone levels are typically high during March and April.”

Coronavirus is a dream come true for Bill Gates, who lives to vaccinate
In case you haven’t noticed, Microsoft co-founder and billionaire “philanthropist” Bill Gates is champing at the bit to implement his long-awaited mandatory vaccination agenda. And what better catalyst for making it happen than the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis?

Government tyranny is FAR more dangerous than covid-19… we must not slide into socialism or communism as we attempt to survive the coronavirus
..there’s another danger in our world that has mass murdered over a quarter of a billion people in the 20th century alone. That force of destruction and death is government tyranny.

Facebook “fact checker” EXPOSED as communist liar who worked at Wuhan biolab where coronavirus may have escaped
A “doctor” who was hired on by Facebook to “fact check” content about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) has been outed as a disinformation shill who used to work at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in communist China.

Oil Stored At Sea Hits A Record 160 Million Barrels, Doubling In Two Weeks
“This is an unprecedented time in the history of tankers.”

Microsoft Not Only Funds ID2020 But They Also Filed A Patent For A Device Connected To The Human Body For Buying And Selling Cryptocurrency
Bill Gates may have legally separated himself from Microsoft, but since both entities are engaged in exactly the same mission, a separation of purpose certainly has not taken place. While Bill Gates has been pounding the pavement, telling people that a global vaccine for everyone on earth will take place within 18 months, his old company Microsoft has created a device that interacts with the pulse, temperature and brain waves of the human body in order to engage in the buying and selling of cryptocurrency. Now let’s see, where else have I seen that talked about before?

COVID-19 Is A Man-Made Virus: HIV-Discoverer Says “Could Only Have Been Created In A Lab”
“…it is up to the Chinese government to take responsibility…in order to insert an HIV sequence into this genome, molecular tools are needed, and that can only be done in a laboratory.”

US Running out of Frozen Pizzas Amid Ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic has seen its impact hit nearly every area imaginable across the world. Perhaps the largest industry to see its demand climb as high as ever are grocery stores. From mega-corporation supermarkets to local grocery shops, stores are struggling to keep many items in stock. First, it was the toilet paper craze that settled over in the early going of the outbreak. Then it was the cleaning supplies from sanitizing wipes to hand soap. A new hard-to-find item now happens to be frozen pizza. Stores across the states are finding it hard to keep the easy-to-cook products in stock.

Source: 18 Apr 2020

Why Did the NIH Fund Wuhan Labs? | American Thinker

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We helped fund this monster before it broke out of the lab? And we complain about China lying to us?

Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz has asked an obvious question, one that has not come up at the daily White House coronavirus press briefing — why is the Wuhan Virology Lab a grantee of the National Institutes if Health, whose National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) — headed by one Dr. Anthony Fauci — and a recipient of $3.7 million to study coronavirus in bats? Gaetz has gone beyond mere curiosity, writing a letter to HHS Secretary Azar demanding the grant be terminated:

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., called on Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar Tuesday to cease funding a research grant to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, telling “Tucker Carlson Tonight” the action could be accomplished “with the stroke of a pen.”

“I’m against funding Chinese research in our country, but I’m sure against funding it in China,” Gaetz said. “The NIH [National Institutes of Health] gives a $3.7 million grant to the Wuhan Institute of Virology [and] they then advertise that they need coronavirus researchers and following that, coronavirus erupts in Wuhan.”…

“What’s really troubling to me is either conspicuously or miraculously the Wuhan Institute of Virology is able to sequence the virus on January 2 but China doesn’t admit to the virus existing until January 9 and then the Wuhan Institute of Virology doesn’t release this important scientific information to the world until January 12,” Gaetz said.

“So at best, Americans are funding people who are lying to us and at worst, we’re funding people who we knew had problems handling pathogens, who then birthed a monster virus onto the world,” he added.

If you go to the Wuhan Institute of Virology website ad look under “Partnerships” you will see listed “the National Institutes of Health of the United States” along with the likes of the University of Alabama, the University of North Texas, Harvard University, EcoHealth Alliance, among others, and the National Wildlife Federation, presumably interested in any connection between the horseshoe bat and coronavirus.

Yet, after the virus outbreak, China would not let U.S. health authorities in to examine the labs and their safeguards, to interview staff and collect samples, both from the animals used in tests at the lab or tissue samples from earl victims. Tissue samples were destroyed, bodies hidden and cremated and false statements made about the possibility of human-to-human transmission passed on to the world through China’s sock puppet, the World (or is it Wuhan) Health Organization. To this day, serious access and scrutiny is barred.

How could the press not know about the NIH funding and be curious about it? Could the lack of notice and discussion concerning why we were funding the possible if not likely source of a global pandemic was because Dr. Fauci is somewhat of a media favorite for his ambivalence and cautiousness towards President Trump’s virus response initiartives. Fortunately, the Daily Mail has provided us some fascinating information:

The Chinese laboratory at the center of scrutiny over a potential coronavirus leak has been using U.S. government money to carry out research on bats from the caves which scientists believe are the original source of the deadly outbreak.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology undertook coronavirus experiments on mammals captured more than 1,000 miles away in Yunnan which were funded by a $3.7 million grant from the US government.

Sequencing of the COVID-19 genome has traced it back to bats found in Yunnan caves but it was first thought to have transferred to humans at an animal market in Wuhan.

The revelation that the Wuhan Institute was experimenting on bats from the area already known to be the source of COVID-19 – and doing so with American money – has sparked further fears that the lab, and not the market, is the original outbreak source …

According to documents obtained by The Mail on Sunday, scientists there experimented on bats as part of a project funded by the US National Institutes of Health, which continues to licence the Wuhan laboratory to receive American money for experiments….

As part of the NIH research at the institute, scientists grew a coronavirus in a lab and injected it into three-day-old piglets.

Say what? We helped fund this monster before it broke out of the lab? And we complain about China lying to us? We have been keeping the truth from ourselves. That NIH-funded research into piglets and coronavirus is worth a serious look:

Dr. Anthony Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) (a member of the NIH) actually funded a study on Bat Coronavirus, which was a project that included scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Chinese lab at the center of controversy over their bat research. That study confirmed in 2018 that humans have died from coronavirus.

Here’s an excerpt from the April 4, 2018 NIAID website entry entitled “New Coronavirus Emerges From Bats in China, Devastates Young Swine”: “A newly identified coronavirus that killed nearly 25,000 piglets in 2016-17 in China emerged from horseshoe bats near the origin of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), which emerged in 2002 in the same bat species. The new virus is named swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV). It does not appear to infect people, unlike SARS-CoV which infected more than 8,000 people and killed 774. No SARS-CoV cases have been identified since 2004. The study investigators identified SADS-CoV on four pig farms in China’s Guangdong Province. The work was a collaboration among scientists from EcoHealth Alliance, Duke-NUS Medical School, Wuhan Institute of Virology and other organizations, and was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. The research is published in the journal Nature. The researchers say the finding is an important reminder that identifying new viruses in animals and quickly determining their potential to infect people is a key way to reduce global health threats.”

Well, the road to pandemic hell was paved with seemingly good intentions, at least on our part. We were not only funding Chinese research on coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology but we knew the lab was a leaky, unsafe, ticking time bomb in 2018, according to leaked State Department cables:

Two years before the novel coronavirus pandemic upended the world, U.S. Embassy officials visited a Chinese research facility in the city of Wuhan several times and sent two official warnings back to Washington about inadequate safety at the lab, which was conducting risky studies on coronaviruses from bats….

In January 2018, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing took the unusual step of repeatedly sending U.S. science diplomats to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), which had in 2015 become China’s first laboratory to achieve the highest level of international bioresearch safety (known as BSL-4). WIV issued a news release in English about the last of these visits, which occurred on March 27, 2018. The U.S. delegation was led by Jamison Fouss, the consul general in Wuhan, and Rick Switzer, the embassy’s counselor of environment, science, technology and health. Last week, WIV erased that statement from its website, though it remains archived on the Internet.

What the U.S. officials learned during their visits concerned them so much that they dispatched two diplomatic cables categorized as Sensitive But Unclassified back to Washington. The cables warned about safety and management weaknesses at the WIV lab and proposed more attention and help. The first cable, which I obtained, also warns that the lab’s work on bat coronaviruses and their potential human transmission represented a risk of a new SARS-like pandemic.

“During interactions with scientists at the WIV laboratory, they noted the new lab has a serious shortage of appropriately trained technicians and investigators needed to safely operate this high-containment laboratory,” states the Jan. 19, 2018, cable, which was drafted by two officials from the embassy’s environment, science and health sections who met with the WIV scientists. …

The Chinese researchers at WIV were receiving assistance from the Galveston National Laboratory at the University of Texas Medical Branch and other U.S. organizations, but the Chinese requested additional help. The cables argued that the United States should give the Wuhan lab further support, mainly because its research on bat coronaviruses was important but also dangerous.

As it turns out, the NIH was funding dangerous research in Wuhan while the state Department was warning that a global pandemic could leak from the lab, something Chinese scientists said was likely in a South China University study paper. A pandemic study commission formed by the British government concluded that the lab leak could no longer be dismissed out of hand as just another tin-foil hat conspiracy theory. Neither should we.

Daniel John Sobieski is a former editorial writer for Investor’s Business Daily and freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Human Events, Reason Magazine, and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., called on Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar Tuesday to cease funding a research grant to the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China, telling “Tucker Carlson Tonight” the action could be accomplished “with the stroke of a pen.”

“I’m against funding Chinese research in our country, but I’m sure against funding it in China,” Gaetz said. “The NIH [National Institutes of Health] gives a $3.7 million grant to the Wuhan Institute of Virology [and] they then advertise that they need coronavirus researchers and following that, coronavirus erupts in Wuhan.”…

“What’s really troubling to me is either conspicuously or miraculously the Wuhan Institute of Virology is able to sequence the virus on January 2 but China doesn’t admit to the virus existing until January 9 and then the Wuhan Institute of Virology doesn’t release this important scientific information to the world until January 12,” Gaetz said.

“So at best, Americans are funding people who are lying to us and at worst, we’re funding people who we knew had problems handling pathogens, who then birthed a monster virus onto the world,” he added.

The Chinese laboratory at the center of scrutiny over a potential coronavirus leak has been using U.S. government money to carry out research on bats from the caves which scientists believe are the original source of the deadly outbreak.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology undertook coronavirus experiments on mammals captured more than 1,000 miles away in Yunnan which were funded by a $3.7 million grant from the US government.

Sequencing of the COVID-19 genome has traced it back to bats found in Yunnan caves but it was first thought to have transferred to humans at an animal market in Wuhan.

The revelation that the Wuhan Institute was experimenting on bats from the area already known to be the source of COVID-19 – and doing so with American money – has sparked further fears that the lab, and not the market, is the original outbreak source …

According to documents obtained by The Mail on Sunday, scientists there experimented on bats as part of a project funded by the US National Institutes of Health, which continues to licence the Wuhan laboratory to receive American money for experiments….

As part of the NIH research at the institute, scientists grew a coronavirus in a lab and injected it into three-day-old piglets.

Dr. Anthony Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) (a member of the NIH) actually funded a study on Bat Coronavirus, which was a project that included scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the Chinese lab at the center of controversy over their bat research. That study confirmed in 2018 that humans have died from coronavirus.

Here’s an excerpt from the April 4, 2018 NIAID website entry entitled “New Coronavirus Emerges From Bats in China, Devastates Young Swine”: “A newly identified coronavirus that killed nearly 25,000 piglets in 2016-17 in China emerged from horseshoe bats near the origin of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), which emerged in 2002 in the same bat species. The new virus is named swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV). It does not appear to infect people, unlike SARS-CoV which infected more than 8,000 people and killed 774. No SARS-CoV cases have been identified since 2004. The study investigators identified SADS-CoV on four pig farms in China’s Guangdong Province. The work was a collaboration among scientists from EcoHealth Alliance, Duke-NUS Medical School, Wuhan Institute of Virology and other organizations, and was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. The research is published in the journal Nature. The researchers say the finding is an important reminder that identifying new viruses in animals and quickly determining their potential to infect people is a key way to reduce global health threats.”

Two years before the novel coronavirus pandemic upended the world, U.S. Embassy officials visited a Chinese research facility in the city of Wuhan several times and sent two official warnings back to Washington about inadequate safety at the lab, which was conducting risky studies on coronaviruses from bats….

In January 2018, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing took the unusual step of repeatedly sending U.S. science diplomats to the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), which had in 2015 become China’s first laboratory to achieve the highest level of international bioresearch safety (known as BSL-4). WIV issued a news release in English about the last of these visits, which occurred on March 27, 2018. The U.S. delegation was led by Jamison Fouss, the consul general in Wuhan, and Rick Switzer, the embassy’s counselor of environment, science, technology and health. Last week, WIV erased that statement from its website, though it remains archived on the Internet.

What the U.S. officials learned during their visits concerned them so much that they dispatched two diplomatic cables categorized as Sensitive But Unclassified back to Washington. The cables warned about safety and management weaknesses at the WIV lab and proposed more attention and help. The first cable, which I obtained, also warns that the lab’s work on bat coronaviruses and their potential human transmission represented a risk of a new SARS-like pandemic.

“During interactions with scientists at the WIV laboratory, they noted the new lab has a serious shortage of appropriately trained technicians and investigators needed to safely operate this high-containment laboratory,” states the Jan. 19, 2018, cable, which was drafted by two officials from the embassy’s environment, science and health sections who met with the WIV scientists. …

The Chinese researchers at WIV were receiving assistance from the Galveston National Laboratory at the University of Texas Medical Branch and other U.S. organizations, but the Chinese requested additional help. The cables argued that the United States should give the Wuhan lab further support, mainly because its research on bat coronaviruses was important but also dangerous.

Source: Why Did the NIH Fund Wuhan Labs?

Q Praises Shocking Out of Shadows Documentary and Millions Watch it | American Thinker

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On April 10, an underground documentary with no publicity landed on YouTube and amassed one million views in 24 hours. Despite YouTube’s efforts to hide it, Out of Shadows continues to attract more than a million viewers a day, lifting the mask “on how the mainstream media and Hollywood manipulate and control the masses by spreading propaganda throughout their content.”

“Why do you believe what you believe?” asks Mike Smith, a former star stuntman for Hollywood action films, who produced and self-funded the film. Mike tells the story of how he began delving into the messages of the high-budget films he worked on, after an injury sidelined him. To his shock, he discovered that “we have all been lied to and brainwashed by a hidden enemy with a sinister agenda.”

Mike’s investigation revealed a host of CIA programs he sees as designed to control the public’s beliefs and deflect attention from massive governmental crimes. With the help of Kevin Shipp, a CIA whistleblower, and fellow star stuntman Brad Martin, Mike leads viewers through a labyrinth of horrifying CIA programs that wage psyops (psychological operations) against the American people.

These programs date back to World War II, when the CIA’s precursor injected fake stories into a compliant press. Operation Mockingbird continues today, according to Shipp. Its task of controlling what the public thinks is now easier, thanks to the media’s consolidation into six mega-corporations. After the war, the CIA’s Operation Paperclip brought top Nazi scientists to the United States. The story of Nazi missile scientists working for NASA is well-known. However, the public is unaware of the Nazi doctors who were paid by the CIA to conduct medical experiments on humans in the United States. These experiments led to Project MK-Ultra, a systematic method of torturing people (especially children) with the stated goal of “controlling an individual to the point where he will do our bidding against his will – and even against such fundamental laws of nature as self-preservation.”

Within hours of Out of Shadows appearing on YouTube, Q posted high praise of it, calling it “best documentary of the year.” Q’s post undoubtedly contributed to the huge surge of people watching, sharing, and commenting on the film. The millions of people who follow Q resonate with the film’s theme. They understand the necessity of breaking through fake narratives imposed by a criminal elite, in order to find the truth. (Note: If you are new to Q, please read my articles “An Introduction to Q” and “Q: The Silent War Continues.”)

A leading Q analyst appears in the film to tell the devastating personal consequences of her investigations into these matters. Liz Crokin was a longtime respected journalist until she began probing into the Podesta emails. She suffered professional ostracism, harassment and stalking, and speaks to us from an undisclosed location.

Liz shares her insights into the Podesta emails, which she says contain weirdly coded communications between John Podesta, former Chief of Staff to President Clinton and chairman of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, and other powerful people. Examples: “The realtor found a handkerchief (I think it has a map that seems pizza-related. Is it yours?) and “I think Obama spent $65,000 of the tax-payers money flying in pizza/dogs from Chicago for a private party at the White House not long ago, assume we are using the same channels?”

Online sleuths discovered that these strange wordings matched code language used by pedophiles. They also noticed that leading businesses, non-profits, and entertainment programs used designs that the FBI states are pedophile code symbols. The media managed to successfully divert attention from these important topics, and to mock and humiliate anyone who attempted to learn more about the elite’s involvement with children.a

Out of Shadows shines much-needed light on the darkness that permeates pop culture, targeting young people and desensitizing them to grotesque violence. Why does Katy Perry make music videos like Bon Appetit (almost 900 million views), which “celebrates” cannibalism? Why does teen favorite Billie Eilish make videos like “All The Good Girls Go To Hell,” promoting demonic abuse and destruction? Why doesn’t the media promote stories that uplift and unify us?

In the past, the media could dispel the public’s curiosity about uncomfortable topics by labeling them “conspiracy theories.” In fact, as the film explains, the term “conspiracy theory” was employed by the CIA to ward off investigations that dug too deeply into President Kennedy’s assassination.

However, times are changing, and these bully tactics may no longer work. The life-or-death issues posed by the corona virus have lent new urgency to the public’s complex task of figuring out whom we can trust. The instant success of Out of Shadows indicates that the public is ready to learn the elite’s darkest secrets.

Another sign of the public’s growing disillusionment with the media is the surprise success of Hoaxed, Mike Cernovich’s documentary about fake news, whose theme is “Everything they told you is a lie.” Amazon recently deleted Hoaxed with no explanation, and even removed it from the devices of people who had purchased it. Yet, Hoaxed surged into the best-seller lists, and is now the second best-selling documentary of all time.

And, in a hopeful development, the public just won a massive revolt against Microsoft, after it debuted an ad featuring Marina Abramovic, an “artist” specializing in Satanic rituals. Out of Shadows examines Abramovic, who appears in the Podesta emails hosting “spirit cooking” dinners, and who routinely presides over cannibal-themed gatherings for Hollywood celebrities. The blowback against Abramovic’s ad was so disastrous that Microsoft deleted it the next day.

Out of Shadows ends with the thought-provoking maxim, “The truth is learned, never told.” If we’re going to get through this difficult time, we’ll need to penetrate the lies and unveil the truth. As Q recently urged us, “Think for yourself. Trust yourself.”

To see Out of Shadows for free, go to outofshadows.org
To read Q’s archived posts, go to qmap.pub qanon.pub

Source: Q Praises Shocking Out of Shadows Documentary and Millions Watch it

April 18, 2020 Morning Verse Of The Day

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17 It may be worthwhile to refer again to the structural analysis of vv. 16 and 17 (Sentences 4–9). Verse 16a and d (sentences 4 and 7) are parallel: those who feared the Lord spoke to one another (Sentence 4), and those who feared the Lord kept his name in mind (Sentence 7). The key expression in both phrases is “those who feared the Lord.” We have a similar parallel construction between v. 16b and c (sentences 5 and 6) and v. 17 (sentences 8 and 9): God takes heed of them (sentences 5 and 6), and God will spare them as his treasured possession (sentences 8 and 9). Both of these sections are again internally parallel: God takes heed and he listens (sentences 5 and 6), and they will be his treasured possession and he will spare them (sentences 8 and 9).

The identity of the pious ones and their future experiences will be fully revealed on the day that God will make. Indeed, they will be mine. The copulative in v. 17 is either explicative, “namely,” or emphatic, “indeed.” The subject is “those who feared the Lord” (v. 16). The significance of this statement is explained by the Hebrew word s^eg̱ullâ, “treasured possession.” There is no need to regard this word, because of its peculiar position at the end of the sentence, as a later addition to the text (so J. M. P. Smith, et al.). The reading is supported by the ancient versions, and it would be unthinkable that a glossator should have disregarded the rules of syntax by adding the word in its present position.

To be the Lord’s is to be his treasured possession. In its profane usage s^eg̱ullâ means “property” (Lat. peculium, “that which is accumulated by thrift”). In Eccl. 2:8 it is used of the treasures which Qohelet has amassed in the course of time (cf. 1 K. 10; 2 Chr. 1:14–17; 9:1–28). In 1 Chr. 29:3 it denotes the “personal treasures” of David. In the religious sense the word is used to denote the special position of Israel in its relationship to God as his elect people (Deut. 7:6; 14:2; Ps. 135:4). The parallelism of election and possession in connection With Israel is significantly expressed in Ps. 135:4: “For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own, Israel to be his treasured possession.”

This elevation of Israel to be God’s s^eg̱ullâ is an essential aspect of the Sinaitic covenant (Exod. 19:5, 6), with its later renewal in the territory of Moab, where the Lord declared, “that you [Israel] are his people, his treasured possession as he promised.… He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised” (Deut. 26:18, 19, NIV). The word s^eg̱ullâ sometimes occurs in the phrase ʿam s^eg̱ullâ, “peculiar people” (Deut. 7:6; 14:2; 26:18), as a parallel expression to ʿam qāḏôš, “holy people” (Deut. 7:6; 14:2; 26:19), or gôy qāḏôš, “holy nation” (Exod. 19:6). The rendering of the LXX, peripoíēsin, “to save something,” “that which remains,” “profit,” and then “(acquired) possession,” forms the basis of the NT’s usage of the term (cf. Eph. 1:14; 2 Thess. 2:14; Tit. 2:14; 1 Pet. 2:9). The term s^eg̱ullâ, usually applied to Israel as people (Exod. 19:5, 6), is here used to denote the pious remnant in an eschatological context. The? represent the true Israel (Rom. 9:6–9), “a remnant, chosen by grace” (Rom. 11:5).

The promise to those who feared the Lord to be or become his treasured possession will be fulfilled on the day that I will make. The Hebrew relative ʾ^ašer is not taken as an accusative of time (Vulg., Calvin, et al.), but as an accusative of the object (LXX, Luther, et al.), in the sense of “the day that I will create.” This “day” is the “time” of the Lord’s unexpected appearance (3:1, 5), when he will purge his people (3:2–5), consume the wicked (3:19), and bless the righteous (3:20, 21 [Eng. 4:2, 3]).

I will spare them, just as a man spares his son who serves him. The fact that the pious will be the s^eg̱ullâ of the Lord entails that he will spare them. The Hebrew verb ḥāmal means “have compassion on,” with the extended meaning “spare.” Amid the tribulations of the day of judgment God will bestow his compassion on the pious by delivering, sparing them from the ordeal (cf. Jer. 50:14; Ezek. 8:18; Joel 2:18; etc.). The comparison with the behavior of a father toward a diligent and faithful son refers to 1:6 and stresses the significance of the relationship between God and those who truly belong to him. In addition it serves as an answer to the arrogant supposition that it is futile to serve the Lord (v. 14). The truly righteous ones will be revealed on the day of God’s judgment as those who are justified by the Lord himself. This is especially apparent from v. 18.^[1]

Yahweh’s Special Possession (3:17)

17 Yahweh speaks concerning an impending day of action (layyôm ʾăšer ʾănî ʿōśê, “the day when I act”), when a distinction will be made between those who serve God and those who do not. The Yahweh-fearers identified here with the third masculine plural form of the verb (hāyû), will be a valued possession (səgullā) to Yahweh. The noun səgullā refers to the nation, the covenant community (Exod 19:5; Deut 7:6; 14:2; 26:18), the people chosen by God. The election of Israel may constitute its status as a valued possession (Deut 7:6; 14:2; Ps 135:4); in Exod 19:5 the status is contingent on obedience. Likewise, in Deut 26:18–19, God chose the people to be a valued possession, and they agreed to the terms of the relationship—to be a holy people (ʿam qādôš). In Mal 3:17, səgullā does not refer to the entire nation but to those within the nation, however few or many, who fear God—the very stance lacking in the priests. The priests’ lack of reverence and honor led to the accusation and contributed to the curse on the land. Consequently, while the entire nation may have been deemed God’s possession, in the postexilic community that label is used in a restrictive sense of the Yahweh-fearers. Being a member of the covenant community does not guarantee blessing. The narrowed distinction is apparent in this designation of Yahweh’s planned action. Whether or not this qualifies the status of the community before Yahweh at the present, the temporal indicator does qualify its status at a specific time—that is, the day (hayyôm) when Yahweh acts (cf. Mal 3:19, 21). The temporal indicator may also govern the other promised action: God’s future compassion.

The recipients of God’s compassion will be the covenant people—in particular, those who fear God—I will have compassion on them. Clearly, in this instance the corporate view of the community is secondary. The distinctions between the wicked and the righteous regulate how Yahweh will deal with the community. God will have compassion on (ḥāmal) only the Yahweh-fearers. The verb ḥāmal usually means “to have compassion” and “to spare,” especially in the context of war (cf. 1 Sam 15:3, 15). It may be used in negative formulations to mean not having compassion or sparing people (e.g., Ezek 8:18; Zech 11:5–6), or positively, of having compassion (Joel 2:18). By specifying the recipients of the compassion with the preposition (ʿălêhem) “on them,” the declaration excludes others—that is, those who do not fear Yahweh.

The declaration elaborates and further narrows the group of recipients by means of a comparison with the action of a father toward his son: as a man has compassion on his son. This speaks to the typical nature of the relationship (Mal 1:6); a “man” (ʾîš) would have compassion on “his son” (bənô).

As a father has compassion [riḥam] for his children, so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him [ʿal-yərēʾāyw]. (Ps 103:13 NRSV)

But a further qualification signifies that only under certain conditions is compassion normative. Compassion is for the one who serves him. The clause the one who serves (ʿābad) him alludes to Mal 3:14 regarding the possibility of reward for serving God (contrast 2:8). One would expect a servant to serve but a son to love and honor (Mal 1:6). In making this distinction, Mal 3:17 reveals that the promised actions do not apply to all but only to those who serve Yahweh. Not all are the valued possession, and not all will be spared. The idea that the wicked escape is thus addressed even here—they will not be spared if they do not fear and serve God (cf. Mal 3:15). The decisive element in the father’s compassion toward his son would be service. Arguably, the father would not have compassion on a son who does not serve him. By comparison, Yahweh would be compassionate toward the Yahweh-fearers—namely, those who serve Yahweh.^[2]

The Lord Promises A Special Privilege (v. 17)

The Lord will not only remember these people but also treat them as his own special treasure on that glorious day when he makes up his jewels. The thought is that God’s people are jewels who are scattered and mired in the mud of this world. But at the end, he will find them all, put them into his treasure chest and will look upon them with pride and satisfaction. They will be his crown jewels. God’s people may not appear to be much now, but they will be known to be much then (see Dan. 12:3).^[3]

Ver. 17.—They shall be mine, etc. This is better rendered, in accordance with the Septuagint and Vulgate. “They shall be to me, saith the Lord of hosts, in the day which I am preparing, a peculiar treasure.” This day of the Lord is the day of judgment, which God is always preparing by his visitation of nations and individuals. Then shall the righteous be to God a peculiar treasure (segullah), that which he prizes as his special possession (see Exod. 19:5, whence the expression is derived; and comp. Deut. 7:6; 14:2; 26:18; Ps. 135:4). I will spare them; i.e. when I punish sinners. They are spared on two grounds, because they are his sons, and because they serve him like obedient children (Ps. 103:13). Septuagint, αἱρετιῶ αὐτούς, “I will choose them.”

Ver. 18.—Then shall ye return, and discern; or, ye shall again discern. They had already had many opportunities, both in the history of the nation and the life of individuals, of observing the different treatment of the godly and of sinners; but in the day of the Lord they should have a more plain and convincing proof of God’s moral government (comp. Exod. 11:7; Wisd. 5:1–5); “So that men shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous; verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth” (Ps. 58:11).^[4]

17. The high privilege God will bestow is to make these believers his own possession; mine is emphatic in the Hebrew, and my special possession further endorses the point. These words, quoted from the covenant inauguration (Exod. 19:5) and later referred to in that connection (Deut. 7:6; 14:2; 26:18; Ps. 135:4), draw attention to the original election of Israel. The purpose which God had in first choosing a people is shown in the last of the prophets to be about to be fulfilled. The father-son simile emphasizes God’s compassion for his less than worthy servants (cf. 1:6).^[5]

17. Malachi has abbreviated the covenant relationship formula (I will be their God, and they will be my people) found in the prophetic books (e.g. Jer. 31:33; Ezek. 36:28; Zech. 8:8). The expression is God’s assurance that his covenant promises to Israel remain intact and will be fully realized in some future time.

God will spare the righteous (neb, niv, njb, nlt, nrsv; but NJPS, ‘be tender’; nab ‘have compassion’) because they are his treasured possession.¹² The phrase treasured possession is also a covenant term that describes the privileged status of Israel as the people of God, his ‘prized possession’ (njb), so to speak. The righteous will not just escape God’s wrath in the coming day of judgment; they will be delivered or preserved as beloved children. Compassion and showing mercy are among YHWH’s defining attributes in his autobiographical declaration to Moses (Exod. 34:6–7). Malachi echoes Joel 2:18, which relates the restoration of Israel’s fortunes in the Day of YHWH as a result of his compassionate reorientation to his people. The righteous are compared to the son or daughter who serves his or her parents, in the sense of responding as an obedient child (cev, nlt).^[6]

17. He shows by the issue itself why a book of remembrance was written—that God in due time would again undertake to defend and cherish his Church. Though then for a time many troubles were to be sustained by the godly, yet the Prophet shews that they did not in vain serve God; for facts would at length prove that their obedience has not been overlooked. But the two things which he mentions ought to be noticed; for a book of remembrance is first written before God, and then God executes what is written in the book. When therefore we seem to serve God in vain, let us know that the obedience we render to him will come to an account, and that he is a just Judge, though he may not immediately stretch forth his hand to us.

In the first place then the Prophet testifies that God knows what is done by every one; and in the second place he adds that he will in his own time perform what he has decreed. So also in judgments, he preserves the same order in knowing and in executing. For when he said to Abraham that the cry of Sodom came up to heaven, (Gen. 18:20,) how great and how supine was the security of the city. How wantonly and how savagely they despised every authority to the very last moment! But God had long before ascended his tribunal, and had taken an account of their wickedness. So also in the case of the godly, though he seems to overlook their obedience, yet he has not his eyes closed, or his ears closed, for there is a book of memorial written before him.

Hence he says, They shall be in the day I make. The verb is put by itself, but we may easily learn from the context that it refers to the restoration of the Church. In the day then in which I shall make, that is, complete what I have already said; for he had before promised to restore the Church. As then he speaks of a known thing, he says shortly, In the day I shall make, or complete my work, they shall be to me a peculiar treasure. This phrase confirms what I have already stated—that God has his season and opportunity, in order that there may be no presumption in us to prescribe to him the time when he is to do this or that. In the day then when he shall gather his Church, it will then appear that we are his peculiar treasure.

Thus the Prophet in these words exhorts us to patience, lest it should be grievous to us to groan under our burden, and not to find God’s help according to our wishes, and lest also it should be grievous to us to bear troubles in common with the whole Church. Were one or two of us subject to the cross, and doomed to sorrow and grief in this world, our condition might seem hard; but since the godly, from the first to the last, are made to be our associates in bearing the cross of Christ, and to be conformed to his example, there is no reason for any one of us to shun his lot; for we are not better than the holy patriarchs, apostles, and so many of the faithful whom God has exercised with the cross. Since then the common restoration of the Church is here set before us, let us know that a reason is here given for constancy and fortitude; for it would be disgraceful for us to faint, when we have so many leaders in this warfare, who by their examples stretch forth as it were their hands to us; for as Abraham, David, and other Patriarchs and Prophets, as well as Apostles, have suffered so many and so grievous troubles, ought not this fact to raise up our spirits? and if at any time our feet and our legs tremble, ought it not to be sufficient to strengthen us, that so many excellent chiefs and leaders invite us to persevere by their example? We then see that this has not been laid down for nothing, when I shall make, or complete my work.

By the words peculiar treasure, God intimates that the lot of the godly will be different from that of the world; as though he had said, “Ye are now so mixed together, that they who serve me seem not to be peculiar any more than strangers; but they shall then be my peculiar treasure.” This is to be taken, as I have already mentioned, for the outward appearance; for we know that we have been chosen by God, before the foundation of the world, for this end—that we might be to him a peculiar treasure. But when we are afflicted in common with the wicked, or when we seem to be even rejected, and the ungodly, on the other hand, seem to have God propitious to them, then nothing seems less true than this promise. I therefore said that this ought to be referred to the outward appearance—that the faithful are God’s peculiar treasure, that they are valued by him, and that he shows to them peculiar love, as to his own inheritance.

And this mode of speaking occurs in many parts of scripture; for God is often said to repudiate his people; the word separation, or divorce, is often mentioned; he is said to have destroyed his inheritance. Grievous is the trial, when God cherishes as it were in his bosom the ungodly, and we at the same time are exposed to every kind of misery; but we see what happened to the ancient Church: let us then arm ourselves for this contest, and be satisfied with the inward testimony of the Spirit, though outward things do not prosper.

He adds, And I will spare them as a man spares, &c. He states here a promise which ought especially to be observed: it contains two clauses; the first is, that the Jews who remained alive would render obedience to God, by which they would prove themselves to be children indeed, and not in name only: and the second is, that God would forgive them, that is, that he would exercise pardon in receiving their services, which could not otherwise please him. And there is no doubt but that the Spirit of regeneration is included in the words, the son who serves him; not that the faithful addressed here were wholly destitute of the fear of God; but God promises an increase of grace, as though he had said, “I will gather to myself the people who faithfully and sincerely worship me.” Though then he speaks not here of the beginning of a religious and holy life, it is yet the same as though he had said, that the faithful would be under his government, that they might devote themselves to his service.

The second promise refers to another grace,—that God in his mercy would approve of the obedience of the godly, though in itself unworthy to come to his presence. How necessary this indulgence is to us, they who are really and truly acquainted with the fear of God, fully know. The sophists daringly prattle about merits, and fill themselves and others with empty pride; but they who understand that no man can stand before God’s tribunal, do not dream of any merits, nor do they believe that they can bring anything before God, by which they can conciliate his favour. Hence their only refuge is what the Prophet here teaches us, that God spares them.

And it must be observed, that the Prophet does not speak simply of the remission of sins: our salvation, we know, consists of two things—that God rules us by his Spirit, and forms us anew in his own image through the whole course of our life,—and also that he buries our sins. But the Prophet refers here to the remission of sins, of which we have need as to our good works; for it is certain, that even when we devote ourselves with all possible effort and zeal to God’s service there is yet something always wanting. Hence it is that no work, however right and perfect before men, deserves this distinction and honour before God. It is therefore necessary, even when we strive our utmost to serve God, to confess that without his forgiveness whatever we bring deserves rejection rather than his favour. Hence the Prophet says, that when God is reconciled to us, there is no reason to fear that he will reject us, because we are not perfect; for though our works be sprinkled with many spots, they will yet be acceptable to him, and though we labour under many defects, we shall yet be approved by him. How so? Because he will spare us: for a father is indulgent to his children, and though he may see a blemish in the body of his son, he will not yet cast him out of his house; nay, though he may have a son lame, or squint-eyed, or singular for any other defect, he will yet pity him, and will not cease to love him: so also is the case with respect to God, who, when he adopts us as his children, will forgive our sins. And as a father is pleased with every small attention when he sees his son submissive, and does not require from him what he requires from a servant; so God acts; he repudiates not our obedience, however defective it may be.

We hence see the design and meaning of the Prophet,—that he promises pardon from God to the faithful, after having been reconciled to him, because they serve God as children willingly,—and that God also, though their works are unworthy of his favour, will yet count them as acceptable, even through pardon, and not on the ground of merit or worthiness.^[7]

^[1] Verhoef, P. A. (1987). The Books of Haggai and Malachi (pp. 321–323). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

^[2] Jacobs, M. R. (2017). The Books of Haggai and Malachi. (E. J. Young, R. K. Harrison, & R. L. Hubbard Jr., Eds.) (pp. 315–317). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

^[3] Ellsworth, R. (2007). Opening up Malachi (p. 81). Leominster: Day One Publications.

^[4] Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Ed.). (1909). Malachi (p. 42). London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.

^[5] Baldwin, J. G. (1972). Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 28, p. 273). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

^[6] Hill, A. E. (2012). Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi: An Introduction and Commentary. (D. G. Firth, Ed.) (Vol. 28, pp. 355–356). Nottingham, England: Inter-Varsity Press.

^[7] Calvin, J., & Owen, J. (2010). Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets (Vol. 5, pp. 605–609). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

The Importance of Obedience — Christian Research Network

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“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king” (vv. 22–23). – 1 Samuel 15:10–35

Human beings are naturally religious, and part of that religious impulse involves following religious rituals. In most of the world’s religions, central importance is placed on the proper following of ritual while less attention is devoted to right belief…..

Orthopraxy—rightly following regulations and rituals—tends to take precedence over orthodoxy—right beliefs and theology. Biblical Christianity stands out as the exception. Various regulations and rituals have been important in church history, but Christian theology tends to focus more on getting our beliefs right than on enforcing adherence to a set of religious rituals.

Yet, God’s people have sometimes elevated external conformity over heart-motivated belief and obedience. King Saul committed that error when he disobeyed God’s command to annihilate the Amalekites and their livestock (1 Sam. 15:1–9). He preserved the Amalekite king, Agag, and several of the best Amalekite animals. And when Samuel came to confront Saul for his disobedience, Saul explained that he spared the animals so as to make the best sacrifice to the Lord (vv. 10–16). Saul was so focused on the external letter of the law—giving the best animal for sacrifices—that he violated the Lord’s explicit will for dealing with the Amalekites. For this blatant disobedience, God rejected him as Israel’s king, pledging to give the throne to another (vv. 17–31). View article →

via The Importance of Obedience — Christian Research Network

3 Things about Jesus’ Reign You Need to Know—Whether You’re a Christian or Not — BLOG – Beautiful Christian Life

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Jerome was one of the teaching fathers of the early church. He was born in Stridon (in or near modern day Croatia) around AD 347. He went to Rome to study Latin, rhetoric, and philosophy and willingly followed his peers into alcohol-fueled orgies and the worst kinds of sexual deviancy. At age twenty-six, disgusted with himself, he repented and turned to Christ.

Jerome lived out the rest of his life in simple poverty. He devoted himself to teaching the Scriptures and translating them into Latin. His classic translation is called the Vulgate, because it was in the vulgar (meaning common) language of the people. Jerome was therefore an ancient Wycliffe, longing for people to be able to read God’s Word in their birth language, the language of their heart. Jerome founded a monastery in Bethlehem in 386 and died there in 420.

This is what Jerome said about Isaiah: “Isaiah should be called an evangelist rather than a prophet because he describes all the mysteries of Christ and the church so clearly that you would think he is composing a history of what has already happened rather than prophesying about what is to come.” When we read Isaiah, we see how spot-on Jerome’s analysis is, for even though Isaiah wrote some seven centuries before Christ, he describes his person and work with astonishing detail and clarity.

It is no wonder that the book of Isaiah has often been called “The Fifth Gospel.” And perhaps nowhere is Jesus seen more clearly in Isaiah than in chapter 9:1-7, Isaiah’s beautiful description of the coming Christ. Isaiah 9:1-6a shows us the power of Jesus, that “the government will be upon his shoulders.” Isaiah 9:6b shows us the character of Jesus, that he would be a “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:7 shows us the nature of Jesus’ kingdom:

Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

Here the “Fifth Evangelist” teaches us that

Jesus’ reign is infinite.
Jesus’ reign is righteous.
Jesus’ reign is established in God’s promise.

Jesus’ reign is infinite.

Russia is so vast a country that it spreads across twelve time zones. At certain times of the year, the sun rises in Moscow at almost the same time it sets in Magadan, in the far east near Alaska. Yet the borders of Russia—Putin’s ambitions notwithstanding—are limited. Similarly, in 1829 the author Christopher North referred to the empire of King George IV as “His Majesty’s dominions, on which the sun never sets.” Yet the vast British Empire, easily the largest empire the world had ever seen, disintegrated into almost nothing in the decades after World War II.

Isaiah saw that Jesus’ kingdom has no limits in space or time. “Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign…from that time on and forever.”

For believers this is wonderful: there is no time or place where his rule will not determine all things. For unbelievers this is terrifying: there is no time or place where they will be able to escape his rule and will. This strengthens the faith of believers and calls unbelievers to bow to his rule and to take their place as obedient and much loved subjects in his kingdom. Thus, Jesus calls every person to himself with these words: “The time has come, the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15).

Jesus’ reign is righteous.

Little children are very sensitive to injustice. If you don’t believe me, just give Miss Two-Year-Old three pieces of chocolate and Miss Three-Year-Old sister one piece of chocolate. Or see Mr. Four-Year Old’s outrage when he is mistakenly punished for the precious vase that his older brother broke. A sense of justice, of right and wrong and fairness, is built deep into our moral DNA. The requirements of God’s law are written on the hearts of every human being (Rom. 2:15).

We long for every wrong to be punished with exactly the punishment it deserves. We long for every good deed to be rewarded with exactly the reward it deserves. Isaiah saw that Jesus’ rule would be perfectly fair, and that it would bring about exactly this kind of perfect justice: “He will reign, establishing and upholding his kingdom with justice and righteousness” (Isa. 9:7 NIV).

This sounds logically irrefutable, for are not justice and righteousness one and the same thing? In fact, the word translated justice more often refers to judgment. Jesus will bring about judgment, and perfect justice will thereby be administered.

We may not like to associate Jesus with judgment, for John said that “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17). And it is wonderfully true that “Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2).

But this time of favor and salvation will come to an end. It will come to an end for each of us with our own deaths. It will come to an end for all humanity at the return of Christ. For when he returns, he will no longer be holding out his hand of mercy. He will no longer be calling people to repentance. He will no longer be tenderly urging us to find forgiveness, mercy, and life with him. That time will have passed. (He is extraordinarily patient, but justice means that his patience must come to an end.) Then he will take his seat on God’s great white judgment throne.

Books will be opened with the record of every person’s thought, word, and deed. And Jesus will perfectly reward what ought to be rewarded, and will perfectly condemn what ought to be condemned (Rev. 20:11-14). And then perfect justice, the longing of every human heart, will be accomplished.

How vital on this day that we be found “in Christ” by faith. That God will look towards us and see instead his Son—all our sins already punished in him, and all his good works ready to be rewarded in us.

King Jesus will ensure that sin, idolatry, dishonor, hatred, cruelty, lust, unfaithfulness, greed, lies, and discontent—everything that poisons and spoils life on earth—will be utterly annihilated, and he will rule on into eternity with perfect justice.

Jesus’ reign is established in God’s promise.

Speaking of childhood injustice, cannot we all recall a time when a significant adult in our life failed to keep their promise? It bothered us deeply. And now we are adults, and we break our promises to those in our care. Why? Sometimes, because of our weakness and limited resources, we can’t keep our promises. Sometimes, because we are lazy and wicked, we don’t want to keep our promises, even when we have the means to keep them. Sometimes we forget our promises because even if they are important to others, they may not be so important to us.

Jesus’ kingdom is established in God’s promise. Remember when David determined to build a temple, a “house” for the Lord? How did the Lord respond? “You will not build a house for me, I will build a ‘house’ for you!” (see 2 Sam. 7:1-17). Not a corruptible earthly palace, but a dynasty that will never end. A dynasty that will never end because it will culminate with a king whose rule is infinite and eternal:

“When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.” (2 Sam. 7:12-16)

Jesus is, of course, the “Son of David” (Matt. 1:1; 21:9; etc.), the fulfilment of this great promise. He is King because God has promised to make him King. And God, unlike us, never lacks the means or will to consummate his promises. In fact, Isaiah says “The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.” “LORD Almighty” translates Yahweh Tsebāōt (or Jehovah Sabaoth), which means LORD of Hosts: the LORD who commands all the mighty angelic hosts of heaven.

This title emphasizes the sheer might and power of the Lord. The word translated zeal refers to passion, ardor, intense desire, and even jealousy. Isaiah thus makes a very powerful statement: The infinitely mighty LORD passionately desires that his Son will rule over all creation for all time.

Who can prevent this from being accomplished? Who would want to prevent this from being accomplished? For as we look out across our broken world and society, we need God’s just and universal King to come and establish his rule. And as we look at the storm and turmoil within our very own hearts, we need above everything else God’s just and universal King to come and establish his rule: to annihilate our sin and its appalling effects, and to leave nothing but perfect obedience and love.

Thank God for Isaiah and his “Fifth Gospel.” God is passionately determined that Jesus will rule heaven and earth forever, and our hearts burst with peace and joy in this sure hope.

Campbell Markham is a Presbyterian pastor in Hobart, Tasmania. He blogs at Campbell Markham: Thoughts and Letters.

via 3 Things about Jesus’ Reign You Need to Know—Whether You’re a Christian or Not — BLOG – Beautiful Christian Life

Saturday Selections – April 18, 2020 — Reformed Perspective

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Are you tolerant? (4 minutes)

This is as funny as it is informative!

Environmentalism has killed its millions

Earth Day, April 22, is upon us once again, and while it may have a different feel this year we can be sure all things environmental are still going to be celebrated by the secular media. However, there as an important aspect of environmentalism that is not praiseworthy: placing the interests of plants and animals either alongside or above those of people. This is a difference that distinguishes environmentalism from biblical stewardship, where we are entrusted with the responsibility of caring for creation (Gen. 1:28) but are also the pinnacle of it (Gen. 1:26-27, Ps. 8:3-9). This article highlights the enormous damage done when that is forgotten.

How long does it take to read each book in the Old Testament? (infographic)

Would we dive into our Bibles more eagerly if we understood just how little time it takes to dig deep? Click for the full chart.

Babylon Bee encourages us to hold our medical opinions with humility…

The Christian satire site, in their own unique way, made their point with the headline: “Facebook to award everyone printable medical degree.”

FREE MAGAZINE: Ezra Institute’s Jubilee

Looking for a good deep read? The articles in Jubilee, a conservative Reformed publication, often require some investment but diligent readers will be rewarded. And while the print subscription is $25 a year, past digital issues can be enjoyed for free. As always, readers should practice discernment.

Is opposing same-sex marriage like opposing interracial marriage? (4 minutes)

You’re in a conversation about marriage, and someone says, “The Church opposing same-sex marriage is like how the Church used to oppose interracial marriage” How would you respond?

via Saturday Selections – April 18, 2020 — Reformed Perspective

One with God — Daily Devotionals by Thoughts about God

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“… that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one — I in them and you in me — so that they may be brought to complete unity.” John 17:21-23

How would you define intimacy?

The Canadian Oxford Dictionary defines intimacy as “close familiarity or friendship.” Intimacy involves many expressions and depths. The deepest level of relational intimacy, as ordained by God, is found within marriage and involves a lifelong experience of becoming one with your spouse and life partner. Interestingly, throughout Scripture, reflecting and reiterating his marriage intimacy model, God desires the same depth of intimacy with those he loves by becoming one with his creation.

In John 17, Jesus, through prayer, tells his beloved disciples that the Father still desires, ordains, and pursues relational intimacy with his people. The “complete unity” Jesus asks for communicates more than an agreement or harmony. It is oneness — the same relational intimacy Jesus experiences with the Father. It’s the same oneness people experience within the marriage relationship. Paul, reasserting the Father’s intimacy model, reminds us that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and “whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:17).

Is it possible for us to experience oneness with the Lord?

As Christ followers, we experience relational intimacy or oneness through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Through obediently cultivating a relational intimacy with the Spirit by faith, we experience the essence of God.

As our ever-accessible companion, confidant, and counsellor, God graciously continually romances his beloved. Through the Holy Spirit he is nurturing, sanctifying, and preparing us as his future bride for complete unity — to become one with him forever.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for desiring relational intimacy with me. Fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may experience oneness in you. Empower me to daily cultivate our relationship by faith. May your Spirit sanctify me daily and prepare me to reflect your beloved and in the fullness of time, to experience complete oneness as your worthy bride. Amen.

By Allan Mitchell
Used by Permission

We are filled with the Holy Spirit by faith alone. However, true prayer is one way of expressing your faith. The following is a suggested prayer:

“Dear Father, I need You. I acknowledge that I have be

en directing my own life and that, as a result, I have sinned against You. I thank You that You have forgiven my sins through Christ’s death on the cross for me. I now invite Christ to again take His place on the throne of my life. Fill me with the Holy Spirit as You commanded me to be filled, and as You promised in Your Word that You would do if I asked in faith. I now thank You for directing my life and for filling me with the Holy Spirit.”

For a better understanding visit: https://thoughts-about-god.com/biblestudies_/spiritfilledlife

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via One with God — Daily Devotionals by Thoughts about God

Be Blessed, Beloved Child — Daily Devotionals by Thoughts about God

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Receive God’s Word in John 17:23 NLT.

“I in them and you in me… Then the world will know…and will understand that you love them as much as you love me.”

At His baptism and transfiguration, God affirmed His love and pleasure in His Son. He said to Jesus, “You are the Son I love. I am well pleased with you” (Mathew 3:17; 17:5). Because you are in Him, the Father loves you with the same love (John 17:23,26). You are God’s beloved; that is the most intimate truth about you. It has to be true, because Jesus said it. Be blessed to live from the blessing of belovedness, not trying to attain it.

You are precious to your Father. He celebrates your existence. You were infinitely loved before you were wounded. That’s the truth of your life. There is no burden on you to prove you are worthy of being loved, of being heard, of being respected, honored, and given dignity. Your life is an unceasing “yes” to the truth that you are beloved because of God’s great love. In Him you are accepted and valued.

It is your spirit connection with your Father that matters. People do not give you legitimacy. True legitimacy comes from the One who chose you with everlasting love. Your Father says, “I called you by name from the very beginning. You belong to me. I know you as my own, and you know Me as your own true Father. I carved you in the palms of My Son. I hide you in My embrace. You have My infinite tenderness.”

Say “Yes” to your belovedness, your significance, your worth, and your belonging. His “Yes” is engraved on your heart. Rise up to discover how to fulfill your deepest essence of who you are, beloved in God your Father and kept in His Son.

Be blessed in the name of the Beloved Son.
Matthew 3:17 NKJV

By Sylvia Gunter
Used by Permission

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via Be Blessed, Beloved Child — Daily Devotionals by Thoughts about God

April 18 – The God of all grace will do it — Reformed Perspective

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“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” – 1 Peter 5:10

Scripture reading: 1 Peter 5:6-11

We saw this week how Peter learned humility and the blessing of grace. Now about 30 years later, Peter is writing to encourage believers to rely on God’s grace in times of suffering. Do you put your hope in the Lord? Do you hear Him calling you to trust Him?

That is the only way we can make it through this life in service to God. We don’t have it in ourselves to persevere in faith until death. But in the Lord we have what we need. Think about what it means that God is the God of all grace.

This fact is easy to forget. We are quick to think that God will not help us in our troubles. We might believe the lies of Satan and start to think we are better off looking for help or comfort in ourselves, in possessions, in other people, or in other things. But there is no grace in other things.

God, however, is a fountain; there is more and more grace so we can say, even in our suffering, “our cup overflows”. Keep turning to the Lord. Do not wonder if God will have the grace to forgive you when you stumble for the umpteenth time. Do not wonder if God is able to uphold you when your world is turned upside down or when you feel so utterly disappointed and hopeless. There is grace. Turn to the Lord and find His grace. It is always sufficient.

Suggestions for prayer

Thank the Lord for His faithfulness in holding onto us. Ask God to forgive our grumbling and doubt of His goodness, and pray for patience and trust in all circumstances.

Rev. Simon Lievaart is a pastor for Bethel United Reformed Church of Smithers BC. He and his wife Jodi have four children. This daily devotional is available in a print edition you can buy at Nearer to God Devotional.

via April 18 – The God of all grace will do it — Reformed Perspective

10. The Great Plague of Milan: Italy (1629-1631)

9. Hong Kong Flu: China (1968-1970)

8. Cholera: India/Indonesia (1817-Present)

7. Antonine Plague: Rome (165-180)

6. Third Plague: China (1885 – 1950s)

5. HIV/AIDS: Sub-Saharan Africa (1981-Present)

4. Plague of Justinian: Eastern Roman Empire (541-750)

3. Spanish Flu: Unknown (1918-1920)

2. New World Smallpox: Americas (1520 – 1600s)

1. The Black Death: Europe and Asia (1347-1351)

Final Thoughts

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‘We will never stand aloof and shun our friends when they are in trouble’

China’s efforts are more than simple humanitarianism

‘Mask diplomacy’

Has China’s propaganda drive worked?

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Yahweh’s Special Possession (3:17)

The Lord Promises A Special Privilege (v. 17)

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Photo by Laura Lefurgey-Smith on Unsplash

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Jesus’ reign is infinite.

Jesus’ reign is righteous.

Jesus’ reign is established in God’s promise.

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