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Syene, EGYPT

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April 27, 2012

For more photos see: Aswan, EGYPT

Syene is the southern most border of biblical Egypt. Noted at the first cataract  of the Nile.  The full extent of the land is described as being from the tower, a translation of the proper noun Migdol (Pelussium on the mediterranean) to Syene, the border of Ethiopia Ezek 29:10; 30:6 Syene is identified with modern Aswan, or the ancient Abu, an arabic term describing both Elephants and ivory trade that is now remembered in the Elephantine island to the immediate west of the modern city. This was a staging point for the ivory trade that was extended north from Africa. Aswan is a gradual morph of the ancient Egyptian name of Sun through the Coptic Sown or Seon

Syene was noted for its famous granites, used for the production of fine obelisks seen in unfinished obelisks to the north of the city, and within the quarries in the western deserts. This obelisk is of particular interest as it was constructed by Seti I the father of Rameses II, and the origins of the Ramesite dynasty that would stamp its authority throughout the middle east. His son Rameses II was most likely the Pharaoh from whom Moses was brought up, and fled into the land of Midiam from. The most famous obelisks in Heliopolis were constructed from this granite and are now seen in Cleopatra’s needle in London, the hippodrome in Istanbul the plazae in Roma and in New York.

The extent of the destruction of the land of Egypt under Nebuchadnezzar was to extend throughout these limits, and is a prefigure of the destruction of Egypt under the hand of a cruel lord Isa 19:4 the Gogian hosts headed by Russia who will invade Egypt with similar effect. Dan 11:43

googlemap: http://g.co/maps/swvj6

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Mesopotamia in Melbourne, Vic, Australia

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April 27, 2012

For all those readers living in Australia, there is an exciting opportunity to view a collection of 170 items from the British Museum Mesopotamian collection.

Have a look at this link:

http://museumvictoria.com.au/melbournemuseum/whatson/coming-soon/the-wonders-of-ancient-mesopotamia/

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Givat Ha-Tachmoshet – Ammunition Hill, Jerusalem, ISRAEL

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March 25, 2012

Ammunition Hill

For more photos see: Ammunition Hill, ISRAEL

What is the significance of Ammunition Hill?

Strategically located in the northern suburbs of Jerusalem is the elevated position known since the British occupation as Ammunition Hill or Givat Ha-Tachmoshet. Because of its strategic elevated location, the capture of Ammunition Hill was the key, the pivotal point that enabled the reunification of the city of Jerusalem in 1967.

Jerusalem has a special place in the purpose of God, being the city God has chosen to place His name and it is destined to be the future capital of the coming Kingdom of God. Jerusalem has an amazing history centred in the nation of Israel – Abraham offered up Isaac there pointing forward to the time when God would give His own Son that we might have everlasting life, the Kings of Judah reigned from here, the focal point of the nation. The fortunes of the nation changed, the centuries have seen many invaders, bloodshed, war, terrorism and hatred.

The prophet Daniel was told of Jerusalem’s down-treading for 2300 years in Daniel 8:13-14. From the rise of the horn of the goat, a symbol of Alexander the Great, to the re-unification of the city of Jerusalem into the hands of the Jews in 1967, when the sanctuary would be cleansed was to be this period of 2300 years (BC333–AD1967).

Jesus told his disciples, Lk 21:24,27,32 And they (Israel) shall fall by the end of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled… and then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory… This generation shall not pass away till all be fulfilled. We are living in exciting times that will see the return of the Lord Jesus Christ very soon.

But what of Ammunition Hill’s history leading up to Jerusalem’s reunification?

In the 1930’s the British built a police academy and on the adjacent hill, which is now known as Ammunition Hill, established an ammunition storage warehouse.

During the 1948 War of Independence, Mt Scopus (where the Hadassah hospital and university are located) was cut off from the rest of Jerusalem. The battle at Ammunition Hill was about breaking the blockage of the mined access road and sniper attacks, and also maintaining access to this vital medical service. You may have heard of the Hadassah Medical Convoy Massacre, a convoy of 79 Hadassah doctors and nurses, who were so tragically killed by the Arab forces here at this time.

The Jordanians captured this heavily fortified trenched strategic hill, which sat at a crossroads of defence, during this war of independence, and retained control of it, resulting in the city of Jerusalem being split into two.

The 1948 War of Independence had re-established a homeland, a state for the people of Israel, a dream of the ages come true, but had also created a divided Jerusalem. The bible foretold these events, the prophet Joel (3:1), speaks of a time when God would restore Judah (the 1948 War of Independence achieved this) and also Jerusalem (the 1967 Six Day War).

After the war, armistice lines were drawn up on a 1:20,000 map with wax pens, stretching from Armon HaNatziv to the south of Jerusalem, to Ammunition Hill to the north. The Israelis used red and the Jordanians green lines and as these lines dried the ink expanded to cover an equivalent distance on the map of 200 metres. Quite a delicate problem to work out exactly where the borders were meant to be! Mount Scopus where the university and the Hadassah hospital are located remained in Jewish hands even though they were without doubt within the Jordanian boundaries and technically under the protection of the United Nations.

By visiting Ammunition Hill you can personally appreciate the intensity of the battle the Israeli soldiers fought for the reunification of the city of Jerusalem, in the 1967 Six Day War. The battle started on the night of 6 June and lasted just 4 hours – in these few hours 36 Israeli and 71 Jordanian soldiers died.

The 1967 Six Day War had expanded the borders of Jerusalem by 71km2, which included dozens of Palestinian villages where Israel have built 12 Jewish neighbourhoods.

The prophet Zechariah (12:3) foretells that at the time of the end, Jerusalem would be a burdensome stone to all people as a prelude to all nations coming up to it to battle (chapter 14), a battle outlined also in Joel 3 and called Armageddon in Rev 16:16.

Peace talks continue to try and resolve the Israeli-Palestinian question. East Jerusalem and the ever-persistent Jewish building programs to expand existing boundaries of the larger settlements and establish smaller compounds in Palestinian neighbourhoods are a stumbling block to its progress.

How will all this end?

The bible clearly shows the nations would partition the land Daniel 11:39; Joel 3:2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations and have parted (partitioned) my land.

Israel are God’s people, Israel is God’s land – God has a purpose with them:

Jeremiah 30:11 For I am with thee (the people of Israel) saith the LORD, to save thee: for though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.

Ezek 37:21-28 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

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Israel a Living Witness, ISRAEL

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March 21, 2012

Old City of Jerusalem - Home to God's people once more

For more photos see: Israel a Living Witness to God’s Purpose

Israel – A Living Witness to the Outworking of God’s Purpose in the Earth

Has God cast away Israel? Definitely not! Rom 11:1. They are His people, their continuance is assured, Jer 31:35-37.

Israel is a witness to the purpose of God in the earth, a witness to His righteousness Isa 43-44, in both the outworking of the blessings and the cursings of the law, Deut 27-28.

History shows the sad truth of these prophetic words of cursing, which have been fulfilled so accurately: They would have agricultural, domestic and public calamities while residing in the Land of their inheritance Deut 28:5-24, the ten tribes would be scattered into all the kingdoms of the earth Deut 28:25-35, the two tribes would be taken into Babylon with their king Deut 28:36, they would be restored from the Babylonian captivity, they would be subject to the Gentiles Deut 28:37-47, and then be subjected to the Roman conquest Deut 28:48-52, they would see the siege and destruction of their holy city and temple by the Romans Deut 28:53-57, and as an outcome be the wandering Jew in dispersion, Deut 28:64-68.

Israel is like the burning bush that Moses saw which burned but was not destroyed. God assures them When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee, Isa 43:2.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you (Israel) saith Yahweh, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future full of hope, Jer 30:11.

God has made promises to them that He will never break:  To Abraham their father God promised, that in him all families of the earth shall be blessed, Gen 12:3 – Paul calls this the gospel message, Gal 3:8.

God favours the nation of Israel because of His delight and promises He made with their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Deut 10:15. Israel are beloved for the fathers’ sake that the purpose of God according to election might stand, Rom 9.

So God has a wonderful future predicted for His people, although cast off for a time Isa 54:7, to give the Gentiles an opportunity to learn of the hope of the promises made to the fathers Rom 11:11-24, Israel would be returned to favour, Rom 11:25-32.

Today we are seeing the resurrection of the dry bones, Ezek 37, a symbol of the restoration of the whole house of Israel Ezek 37:11 as an amazing witness to God that they would again be placed in their own land Ezek 37:13-14 and ultimately established with an everlasting king, the Lord Jesus Christ (David, Heb. the beloved) v24-28, when God will make an everlasting covenant with them and they will really become God’s people again, Jer 31:31-34.

Israel again in their own land (as the fig tree Luke 21:29-31) is a sign firstly that the times of the Gentiles domination of the Holy Land is at an end Luke 21:24, and that the Jesus the Messiah is about to return to set up God’s Kingdom on this earth Luke 21:27-28. Israel then is a dynamic and certain sign both that God is active, and there is a future both satisfying and honourable about to dramatically change our daily routines. The very presence of Israel as a location and a nation is important not only to the Jew, but also to you and me.

 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:

 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more Jeremiah 31:31-34.

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Yad Vashem, ISRAEL

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March 21, 2012

Hall of Remembrance – Eternal Flame

For more photos visit: Israel – A Living Witness to God’s Purpose

It is not that six million Jews were murdered, but that there were six million murders and every one was the murder of a Jew…

Yad Vashem is an everlasting memorial to the Holocaust, to the six million Jews who suffered and died at the hands of the Nazi regime during the Second World War.

It is a incredibly sobering experience to walk through its halls and see testimonies to the terrible atrocities that were committed in attempting to annihilate an entire race. To walk outside past the replica of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (1943) monument, depicting at the front a group of insurgents with their leader Mordechai Anielewicz (see article Yad Mordechai) and behind a group of Jews marching to their death, then to enter into the darkened Hall of Remembrance, a place of deep contemplation where you stand silenced, the eternal flame burning, its light reflecting across the floor to the names of the concentration camps, names of horror and brutality, Auschwitz-Oswiecim, Therensienstadt-Terezin, Bergen Belsen, Treblinka, Dachau, the names go on…

To wander down the Avenue of the Righteous, an avenue of carob trees that, along with a plaque, each represent a righteous Gentile who risked their lives to help Jews – Oskar and Emilie Schindler, Corrie, Casper and Elisabeth Ten Boom, the dock strikers of Amsterdam and many more less know to most… to see the 21m high Pillar of Heroism resembling the chimneys of the crematories dedicated
To the martyrs
To the ghetto fighters
To the partisans
To those who rebelled in the camps
To the fighters of the underground
To the soldiers in the armies
To those who saved their brethren
To the courageous people who took part in the clandestine immigration
The heroes of valor and revolt
For everlasting life

Then you enter one of the most poignant – the dark underground cavern, a memorial to the one and a half million children who perished, their faces are seen, their names, age and country solemnly read whilst memorial candles reflect like stars across the darkened space that seems to fade into eternity.

The memorials go on, the sadness and despair is felt, but what is the message we can take from all this? One plaque we read there read Never say this is the final road for you, though leadened skies may cover over days of blue, that the hour we longed for is so near, our steps beat out the message – we are here!
WE ARE HERE – Israel is a living witness that God has a purpose with this earth and they will never ever be destroyed even though they have passed through the furnace – When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee, Isa 43:2.

The outcome of the Holocaust was that the Jews were caused to return back to their land.

Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Yahweh, that it shall no more be said, Yahweh liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, Yahweh liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the land whither He had driven them:  and I will bring them again into the land of their Fathers.  Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith Yahweh, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks Jeremiah 16:14-16.

Yad means hand, Va means memorial, and Shem name. So here is a memorial to the six million names of the Jews that Hitler tried to blot out. In the title Yad Vashem you have a hand and a name. It is taken from Isaiah 56:5, Even unto them (the Gentiles) will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters:  I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off.  It is literally a name for a hidden period. Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer:…for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people, Isa 56:7.  (Christ quotes this in Matt 21:13, Mark 11:17, Luke 19:46.)

Visiting Yad Vashem is an amazing experience that remains eternally with you – you will be moved by the heartbreaking story of the suffering it portrays, but always remember God is with His people and has a purpose with them. See article Israel – A Living Witness.

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Yad Mordechai, ISRAEL

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March 21, 2012

Yad Mordechai Battlefield

For more photos see:  Yad Mordechai

Kibbutz Yad Mordechai was established in 1943 and named after Mordechai Anielewicz, the leader of the Warsaw ghetto uprising. The first settlers of the kibbutz were from Poland who settled there before the Second World War. At the southern end of the kibbutz is the site of the battle that took place between the members of the kibbutz and the Egyptian army in 1948. With the declaration of the state of Israel on 15 May 1948, the Egyptian army started to march northward toward Israel, planning to reach Tel Aviv within a few days. From the border all the area along the coastal road to the outskirts of Tel Aviv was populated by Arab towns and villages, with only four young kibbutzim among them. Of these kibbutzim only Yad Mordechai lay directly on the road.

On the morning of 18 May the Egyptian forces approached Yad Mordechai. The kibbutz had been busy during the winter fortifying themselves against an enemy attack. At that time they only had ten tankers. On the eve of the battle they managed to evacuate the children, leaving a manpower consisting of 130 members, men and women and 20 members of the Palmach. They had approximately 55 lead weapons and a middle sized bombing machine gun – that was all their heavy equipment. They also barricaded the road by cutting down eucalyptus trees across it. The attacking Egyptian force was an infantry brigade of approximately 2,500 soldiers, with cannons, tanks and armed trucks with mounted cannons and two airplanes.

In the early morning of 19 May the kibbutz came under an aerial attack and in a few hours the kibbutz was in flames. It was decided not fire at the armoured cars, but to save their ammunition for the infantry which were ascending to the final battleground on the hill at the south end of the kibbutz. Until evening the Egyptians tried in vain to capture the hill – most of the Egyptian soldiers were killed or wounded near the boundary fence. At night the kibbutzniks climbed the hill and pillaged the Egyptian weapons which was a great boost to their modest arms supply. During the next four days, the attacks continued, but again in vain. By this time the kibbutz dead numbered fifteen, with twenty wounded.

On 23 May the fifth day of the battle, the Egyptians employed new tactics. They pushed forward in tanks and armed cars followed by infantry. Finally they succeeded in entering the kibbutz, capturing guard post number one after killing all its members. The counter-attack suffered heavy damage and could advance no further. After much bitter fighting, the post was re-taken and the Egyptians forced out of the kibbutz. But the kibbutz manpower and arms had seriously diminished, with casualties of 23 dead, 35 wounded and left with neither ammunition or grenades. They called for aid, but none was available, so the wounded were evacuated and they decided to retreat.

Retreating was no less dangerous than fighting as they had to pass close to the Egyptian lines, under very heavy fire. By dawn most had reached Li-On, loosing only a man and a woman who were carrying a wounded Palmach member. Thus the six days of Yad Mordechai drew to an end with this complete withdrawal, but six days that prevented the Egyptians advancing to Tel Aviv. The Egyptians lost some 300 soldiers here and their spirit was greatly weakened. These six days were enough for the young state to prepare barricades and defence lines, to collect arms and to restrain the strength of the invader in the north.

The Egyptians stayed in Yad Mordechai for approximately five and a half months and destroyed everything. On 5 November 1948 Yad Mordechai was liberated, and on the same day the kibbutzniks returned and started to re-build our kibbutz. Until the Six Day War of 1967 Yad Mordechai was an important defence post on the border of the Gaza strip. After the great victory of the Israel army in that war, Yad Mordechai ceased to be a border settlement.

Today visitors to the kibbutz may view a reconstruction of the actual battlefield complete with authentic trenches and weapons, (see photo album – Yad Mordechai) along with an excellent museum on the history of the kibbutz, this infamous battle & the history of the weapons deployed by the Israelis in those early years.

Against great odds as these, the nation of Israel was established, it is a remarkable miracle of our times. In Joel 3:1-2 we read For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah (1948 War of Independence) and Jerusalem (1967 Six Day War), I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

The time of the end when all nations will come down to Jerusalem for the battle of Armageddon (a heap of sheaves in a valley for judgment), described in Joel 3 as the valley of Jehoshaphat (judgement), as the valley of decision where the harvest is ripe, will first see the restoration of Judah and then the city of Jerusalem back in the hands of the Jews. An awful time of warfare will take place but the end result is the Kingdom of God re-established upon this earth:

The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more…But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation Joel 3:16-17, 20.

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Reformation Wall, Geneva, SWITZERLAND

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March 14, 2012

Reformation Wall

For more photos see: Reformation Wall

Reformation Wall, Monument International de la Réformation – Mur de la Réformation

Built into one of the old walls of Geneva, overlooking Le Parc des Bastions on the site of the university of Geneva founded by John Calvin, the Reformation Wall standing 5m high and 100m long, depicts main individuals, scenes and documents of the Protestant Reformation, in statues and bas-reliefs.

The centre of the monument features four 5m statues of:

  • Theodore Beza, the successor to John Calvin (1519-1605)
  • John Calvin, the leader of the Reformation movement and spiritual father to Geneva (1509-1564)
  • William Farel, the first to preach the Reformation in Geneva (1489-1565)
  • John Knox, friend of John Calvin and founder of the Scottish Presbyterians (1513-1572)

To the left of these central statues are three 3m statues of:

  • Gaspard de Coligny, leader of the French Huguenots (1519-1572)
  • William the Silent, more well known as William I of Orange, father of the Netherlands and saviour of Calvinism in the low countries (1533-1584)
  • Frederick William Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia creator of the Brandenburg Tolerance Edict.

The three 3m statues to the right of the centre are:

  • Roger Williams, English Puritan and Pilgrim Father (1603-1684)
  • Oliver Cromwell, English military and political leader favouring religious tolerance to all Protestants and anti-Royalist (1599-1658)
  • Stephen Bocskay, Hungarian Calvinist nobleman (1557-1606)

Engraven along the wall is the motto of the Reformation and Geneva, Post Tenebras Lux, After Darkness Light. The Christogram forming the abbreviation of Jesus Christ ΙΗΣ, is on the pedestal of the centre statues.

Along the wall are also reliefs depicting:

  • An inscription commemorating Geneva’s official acceptance of the Reformation, 21 May 1536.
  • Frederick William Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia creator of the Brandenburg Tolerance Edict giving equal rights to Lutherans and Calvinists and the Potsdam Edict giving safety of passage to Brandenburg-Prussia to Huguenots after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1620-1688).
  • William 1 of Orange, or the silent became the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that commenced the Eighty Years War (1568–1648). The formal declaration of independence of the northern Low Countries from the Spanish king was signed on 26 July 1581.
  • King Henry IV (of Navarre) signing the Edict of Nantes (1598), which ended the Wars of Religion in France.
  • Preaching of the Reformation to the people of Geneva in the presence of envoys from Bern. Above is an inscription of the Lord’s Prayer in French.
  • John Knox preaching against Queen Mary Stuart from his pulpit in St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh. Above is an inscription of the Lord’s Prayer in English.
  • Roger Williams and the Pilgrim Fathers praying on the Mayflower as it sails to America. Above is an inscription of the Mayflower Compact (1620).
  • The British Parliament presenting the Bill of Rights, an act declaring the rights and liberties of the subjects, also the settling the succession of the crown, to William and Mary, Prince and Princess of Orange in 1689.
  • Bocskay bringing the signed treaty of Vienna to the Diet of Kassa. Sadly Bocskay died (probably of poisoning) just a few days after this event.

Martin Luther (German reformer) and Ulrich Zwingli (Swiss reformer) have significantly less prominent memorials at the sides of the wall, (Calvin had disagreed with them on some points).

All these great men featured in the Reformation Wall were separated in the providence of God to execute a work as the two witnesses of Revelation 11, irrespective to their moral relation to the gospel. They have been a hostile opponent to the beast power – the Catholic system. They have witnessed in the many religious wars – wars for liberty against the rule of Popes, emperors, kings, priests, bearing witness for civil and religious liberty, devouring their enemies with fire and the sword and have been a light before God to enlighten nations. Yet there is a third party that is distinct from them, distinct from both the earth and the woman classes of the two witnesses – it is the remnant of her seed – the one body of Christ holding the one faith, the one hope, the one Lord, the one spirit, the one baptism and the one God and Father.

What of mainstream Protestantism today? Are they still witnessing against the Catholic system? We think not. It is of utmost importance what you believe and the manner in which that belief influences you life; we only have one life opportunity to work out our destiny. Where does your destiny lie? May you find the answer in the God’s word the Bible.

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Michel Servet, Geneva, SWITZERLAND & Annemasse, FRANCE

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March 13, 2012

Michel Servet (Miguel Serveto) 29 Sep 1511 - 27 Oct 1553

For more photos see: Michel Servet

Are you so convinced of your beliefs in life that you would die for them? – Michel Servet was one such person who was so convinced of his beliefs that he was prepared to lay down his life for them…

Belief does determine our outlook and it affects how we live our lives. If we have had bad experiences in life our beliefs can be badly damaged, but if our beliefs are directed from the word of God – the Bible, our beliefs can be a powerful driving force in our lives. So the apostle Paul wrote in Rom 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith (or their belief).

Belief can give us a whole new outlook on life, Rom 5:1-5 Therefore being justified (accounted right) by faith (our belief), we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith (belief) into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Whether we like it or not, our beliefs will have consequences. A belief in the word of God gives us peace of mind, a hope for the future, ability to look past the present difficulties, an understanding that events in our lives work together for good (Rom 8:28) and that the hard times we go through change us for the better, develop patience, experience, hope and appreciation of the love of God.

Michel Servet was so convinced of his beliefs that he died for them, and is known for the celebrated controversy John Calvin had with him regarding the trinity. Calvin was not a man to cross. Like Zwingli, Luther and many other religious leaders of that time, he was bitterly cruel and was particularly known for resentment against anyone who differed from him. Calvin testified against Michel Servet resulting in him being burnt at the stake at Champel Hill, Geneva on 27 October 1553, with his books attached to his body by a chain for his beliefs contrary to the trinity (For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 1 Tim 2:5), contrary to the immortality of the soul (God who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see; to whom be honour and power everlasting, Amen, 1 Tim 6:16), contrary to infant baptism (He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved, he that believeth not shall be condemned, Mark 16:16) and contrary to Church authority (But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed, Gal 1:8. Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world, 1 John 4:1)

We know that sincere believers of that time were almost naïve in believing that men like Luther, Calvin and Zwingli would be honest and consistent enough to follow and abide by the scriptures, (The Protestors p 98 Alan Eyre).

In previous articles we have written about the two witnesses of Revelation 11, who stood up against the Catholic system – one was political (the earth), the other religious (the woman). There is a third group who is distinct from these two, which are termed the remnant of her seed, Rev 12:17. Why are they distinct? They, like the Bereans of old, received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so, Acts 17:11. They are the one body of Christ having the one faith, the one hope, the one Lord, the one spirit, the one baptism and the one God and Father.

We do not know that Michel Servet held the true faith, but his stand against the dominant, self-interested religious leaders (both Catholic & Protestant) was an important one in the struggle for truth in the face of gross religious error.

We have choices to make in life which form our beliefs in how we will live our lives – we can either choose to be God centred or self centred / self-justifying. Our beliefs determine our responses and eventually determine our destiny.

But without faith (belief) it is impossible to please him: (God) for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him, Heb 11:6.

Statue of Michel Servet – Annemasse
Because of religious opposition in 1908, this monument was finally placed in Annemasse, France, a town located 8km east of Geneva.

The arrest of Servet in Geneva, where he did neither publish nor dogmatise, hence he was not subject to its laws, has to be considered as a barbaric act and an insult to the Right of Nations Voltaire
…I beg you, shorten please these deliberations. It is clear that Calvin for his pleasure wishes to make me rot in this prison. The lice eat me alive. My clothes are torn and I have nothing for a change, nor shirt, only a worn out vest Servet, 1553

Erected for the first time in 1908, given to the Germans in 1942, this statue was reinstalled by public subscription and dedicated again on the 4th of September, 1960

To Michel Servet, Apostle of freedom of thought, born in Villanueva de Aragón, on the 29th September 1511, burnt in effigy by the Catholic Inquisition the 17.VI.1553 and burnt alive in Geneva on 27.X.1553 by Calvin’s Inquisition

Monument to Michel Servet – Geneva
This monument was erected on Champel Hill in Geneva to expiate the mistakes of Calvin and his contemporaries on the 350th anniversary of the death of Michel Servet.

On 27 October 1553, Michel Servet de Villeneuve d’Aragon died on the stake

Respectful and grateful sons of Calvin, our great reformer, but condemning the error of his century and firmly subscribing to the liberty of conscience according to the authentic principles of the Reformation and the Gospel, have erected this expiatory monument 27 of October, 1903

Subsequently, in 2011 a statue of Michel Servet was finally placed next to the monument at this site (a copy of the statue erected in Annemasse in 1908).

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Jeanne d’Arc, Rouen, FRANCE

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March 5, 2012

Jeanne d’Arc

For more photos see: Jeanne d’Arc, Chinon, Reims, Rouen, FRANCE

Jeanne d’Arc was burnt at the stake in the Vieux-Marché Rouen, on 30 May 1431 aged only 19 years.

She lived in tumultuous times; the hundred years’ war with the English had been in progress since 1337 (it ended 22 years after Jeanne’s death in 1453, the same year that Constantinople fell). It had been a humiliating time of defeat for the French, but through the inspiration of Jeanne their fortunes turned, leading the French to several important victories and the coronation of Charles VII. Jeanne d’Arc had such impact on French morale and strategy that the Burgundians abandoned their alliance with England and by the 1450s the English had been driven out of Normandy and the rest of France.

Jeanne was subjected to a highly politically motivated trial, but was finally condemned and martyred by the church system on pseudo-religious grounds.

Although her trial was politically motivated, it was the Church system that martyred her. The Bible styles the Catholic system as Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth, Rev 17:5; who is drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus (in this case Jeanne d’Arc was Catholic herself!) Rev 17:6; 18:24, and is identified with that great city (Rome) which reigneth over the Kings of the earth, Rev 17:18. The true believers are warned that this system will come to an end and are exhorted to come out of it, be separate from it, and be not partakers of its sins, Rev 18:2,4,16-21. Besides all the costly merchandise that this system has amassed for itself, it also traded with the souls of men, Rev 18:13, which has been evident in its cruel history of persecution and bloodshed. Ironically Jeanne d’Arc, who was burnt by the church in 1431, was subsequently beatified in 1909 and canonised in 1920! Many French churches now contain monuments & shrines to the memory of the once heretic, but now “saint”.

Britain has long had a foot in Europe – but this is not God’s destiny for her. Britain has long been a Protestant power, having stood against the Catholic system for centuries. Britain (or Tarshish) will be opposed to the United European power and is not included in the Gogian host of Ezekiel 38 which includes Russia, Germany, France, Iran, Ethiopia, Libya and Armenia – Britain is part of the antagonist, who says to Gog Art thou come to take a spoil? Ezek 38:13.

So what separates Britain from the European alliance?

  • Their attitude to Israel
  • Their rejection of Catholicism
  • Their Language
  • The Scriptures
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La Rochelle, FRANCE

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March 3, 2012

Entrance to La Rochelle Harbour

For more photos see: La Rochelle, FRANCE

A writer once penned – there is no nation existing which, first and last, has produced such a number of faithful witnesses against Papal corruptions and tyrannies as France. No people have so long a list of martyrs and confessors to show as the Huguenots of that country; and there is no royal family which has shed, in the support of Popery, half the blood which the Capets have shed. Who deluged the earth with the blood of the Waldenses and Albigenses that inhabited the southern parts of France and bore testimony against the corruptions and usurpations of Rome?…

La Rochelle, a maritime port on the mid-Atlantic coast of France, once the Huguenot capital and their last stronghold, fell to the control of Cardinal Richelieu’s forces in 1628.

What were some of the events leading up to this time?

The massacre of St Bartholomew’s day had occurred 56 years earlier in 1572, a significant date ending the 1260 years of witnessing (312-1572 AD). See article Eglise St-Germain-l’Auxerrois, Paris, FRANCE

The Wars of Religion or Huguenot Wars (1562–98) had culminated in the issuing of the Edict of Nantes (1598) by Henri IV King of France (himself a Huguenot). This edict granted freedom of religious worship throughout France and established Protestantism in 200 towns with special rights and privileges.

The lull in the storm of religious persecution was not to last, Henri IV was assassinated in 1610 and conflict immediately arose between the Huguenots and Papists. The result was the Huguenots were conquered, their political power broken, their strongholds lost, the last being La Rochelle (1628). Tens of thousands left the French shores from the port of La Rochelle to start a new life in the “New World” in the Americas.

Louis XIV (1685) broke the religious hold Protestants had on France by issuing the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes which destroyed any religious privileges that the previous Edict of Nantes (1598) had put into place – thus the light of the witnesses was extinguished and they lay “silenced, dead in the streets” of France for 105 years (1685-1790). And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified, Rev 11:7-8.

France is destined to remain Catholic, its destiny is outlined in the bible to be part of the toes of Daniel’s fourth beast and the Gogian host of Ezekiel 38. What is the end picture?

Dan 2:44-45 And in the days of these kings (of the toes of the image = United Europe) shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

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