Is healthcare a privilege or right?
For unborn, let’s fight with all might.
Equal rights are for all,
doesn’t matter how small,
they’re precious in God’s loving sight.
A 20 week old unborn child sucking the thumb.
Category: faith
The source of wisdom according to Job. Look up to the sky.
20 “From where then does wisdom come?
And where is the place of understanding?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of all living,
And concealed from the birds of the air.
22 Destruction and Death say,
‘We have heard a report about it with our ears.’
23 God understands its way,
And He knows its place.
24 For He looks to the ends of the earth,
And sees under the whole heavens,
25 To establish a weight for the wind,
And apportion the waters by measure.
26 When He made a law for the rain,
And a path for the thunderbolt,
27 Then He saw wisdom and declared it;
He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.
28 And to man He said,
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
And to depart from evil is understanding.’” Job 28:20-28 (NKJV)
These are the words God gave Job, originally written in old Aramaic, before Moses wrote the Torah. We do not know much about him, but this we know: Before the law was given, God revealed Himself in his creation and how the environment works. Job even knew and wrote about his redeemer: “I know that my redeemer liveth“, and his language and images are from nature in all its form.
This is where it hit me. Even in this, the oldest book of the Bible they grasped the source of all wisdom: Fear God and shun evil. Truth comes from God and is manifested in His creation, even in the way water vapor plays a role in keeping the earth not only watered, but in ecological balance and prevents the earth from overheating no matter how much damage we as humans do to it.
Let me explain. If there was no water the earth would be a dry planet with the average temperature much colder than today at the poles, but warmer near the equator. The night would be more than 100 degrees colder than the day and no life would be possible. With water the oceans act as a stabilizer, and at sea there is really not much difference between day and night temperatures. What does matter is if you are in the sun or in the shadow. In the winter you welcome the sun, but in the summer “All sun makes a desert” as the Arabic proverb says. Thanks to clouds there will never be a risk of the earth overheating, or even get warmer than it was 6000 years ago during the Holocene peak temperature between the ice ages.
People living in the country side can and do look up to the sky to see what the weather is going to be. When they see the cumulus clouds (the fair weather clouds) form they know it is going to be a pleasant morning. Those clouds reflect up to 300 W/m2 of the sunlight back into the sky, heat that would otherwise warm the air. This is a major reason the earth will not be overheated. Yes, water vapor is a greenhouse gas, and keeps the earth at an optimum temperature for plant growth and as long as there is enough humidity to produce clouds. The best example is the monsoon in India. Springs are unbearable hot. The air is dry and temperatures can reach 120 degrees F during daytime. Come summer the monsoon arrives, thunderstorms roll in and temperatures return back to the low 90’s, still uncomfortable because of the humidity, but the rains water the plains and produce a rich harvest.
People living in cities seldom make the connection that the clouds are the major temperature governor of the climate. In the tropics it works nearly perfectly, and as long there are clouds the amount of CO2 does not matter much, in fact a doubling of CO2 will heat up the earth much less than one degree.
Yes, people living in the country can see daily how the clouds work and keeps the earth from overheating. People living in the great cities are experiencing the urban heat island, it is getting warmer and warmer, and they are more likely to believe climate change leading to all kinds of catastrophes.
In short, next time you see a cloud forming in the sky, thank God for arranging everything so beautiful. If you see a thunderstorm, thank God, but get inside, if you are expecting a hurricane take precautions, if you are expecting a tornado take cover, but above all, in everything give thanks, for this is is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
If you are interested in a more technical explanation read https://lenbilen.com/2017/04/10/thanks-to-clouds-the-temperature-governor-is-alive-and-well-on-planet-earth/
V-E day 1945. A childhood memory from Sweden.
V – E day 1945. Ah, yes, I remember it well.
In 1944 my father bought a shortwave radio to listen to news from the the Finnish war. He sat up at night, at exactly kaksi, kymmenta kaksi (22:00) there was a ten minute condensation of the war news. Sweden had taken in more than 70,000 children from Finland to keep them from being ravished by the war. In addition we had some Estonian children and a few Jews in the school where my father taught. I was not yet four years old, but I was fascinated by the news, asking my father what it all meant. Then came the spring of 1945, and the family sat around the radio to listen to the noon news. They told that Denmark had been liberated the day before, and that the German army had surrendered. The day was May 5. So I asked my father what that all meant. My mother interrupted and smiled broadly “That means, we are going to have peace.” Being not quite four yet, I remember answering “But what are they going tell us on the news then?” Up till then, all I have heard on the news was war news. They assured me that from now on there was only going to be good news on the radio. We all hugged and sang a song, I don’t remember which one, but we often sang “Blott en dag” (Day by day). This has become our family song, and we have sung it as good night prayer for years with both our children and grand children.
| 1 | Day by day, and with each passing moment, Strength I find to meet my trials here; Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment, I’ve no cause for worry or for fear. He, whose heart is kind beyond all measure, Gives unto each day what He deems best, its appointed part of pain and pleasure, Mingling toil with peace and rest. |
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Every day the Lord Himself is near me, With a special mercy for each hour; All my cares He fain would bear and cheer me, He whose name is Counselor and Pow’r. The protection of His child and treasure Is a charge that on Himself He laid; “As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,” This the pledge to me He made. |
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Help me then, in every tribulation, So to trust Thy promises, O Lord, That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation, Offered me within Thy holy Word. Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting, E’er to take, as from a father’s hand, One by one, the days, the moments fleeting, Till I reach the promised land. |
The national day of prayer in Boalsburg. Power and prayer restored.
Today is national day of prayer. All over the country, and in places overseas people, in small groups, usually around a flagpole, but here in Boalsburg at the Military Museum, gather to pray.
Normally we are joined by our Congressman, Glenn Thompson, but he was otherwise occupied by trying to pass a new and better healthcare bill, so he sent his assurances some members of Congress met today early to pray, as they did daily when the nation was founded.
On Monday, at 6:35 P.M. a squall line came by our quaint little village. The down-burst did, as so often happens in historical villages with old trees, take down a few trees, which luckily did not do much harm to the buildings. The trees had been for the most part been well pruned, except a few maple trees that had just done this year’s growth and were at their most vulnerable, so a few secondary power lines went down. The major problem was four poles in a row along the major road snapped, even though no falling trees were involved. How can that happen? These were wooden poles, showing their age, badly overloaded with one high voltage line on top, one intermediate voltage in the middle, telephone and cable lines galore below, placed too far apart so the power lines resonated and swayed harder and harder until the lines snapped. We lost power for one day, most lost power for two days, and power is not yet restored to all customers.
This is when it hit me during the morning hour of prayer for the nation:
We are like the four power poles, overloaded, showing signs of age, getting brittle and lacking maintenance and stabilizing supports. When a down-burst comes, we too can snap if we are not anchored properly with multiple supports.
Our nation’s power grid is vulnerable not only from an EMP (ElectroMagnetic Pulse from either the sun or a nuclear blast) but also from hurricanes, tornadoes, down-bursts, terror attacks, overloading and lack of maintenance.
Likewise, spiritually we are like the overloaded power grid. We are vulnerable to attack from all sides, and without proper maintenance of daily prayer we too are in danger of losing power.
The nemesis of ISIS, the boar, a Limerick.
As ISIS wage war of Jihad
What’s worse than be killed by Assad?
To be killed by a boar,
path to heaven no more.
Their courage was but a façade.
For a Radical Islamist, the goal is to get to heaven.
The normal five pillars of Islam are not enough, they never know if they have been sincere enough to get to heaven. But there are ways to improve the odds.
First, spread the reach of Islam by emigration and converting the countries to Islam and enact Sharia Law.
Better yet, join ISIS and die a martyr’s death fighting Jihad.
In the meantime you can exercise Sharia law in the conquered territories, decapitate or crucify Christians, lop one hand and one foot off common thieves, rape women infidels, in short, do what led to the early successes after 632 A.D, keeping the surrounding tribes in fear till they surrender.
There are a few pitfalls, If they get killed by a woman soldier they will not go to heaven. The Kurds have set up battalions of female soldiers, and ISIS turn and run when they meet a female platoon.
The ISIS are cowards, they flee
when women as soldiers they see.
For they go right to hell
if they die, that’s the spell.
CIC Sarah Palin to be?
The only thing worse is to come in contact with a pig. Then you are unclean and there is no longer any possibility to enter heaven, instead you do go directly to hell, This happened a couple of days ago:
Three Islamic State terrorists have reportedly been killed by a stampeding herd of wild boars during a failed attempt to set up an ambush in Northern Iraq.
According to Iraqi News, the trio of militants were killed on Sunday night after an altercation with the wild beasts in southern Kirkuk. Quoting local sources, The Times reports that the boars also injured a further five militants in the bitterly contested area.
When was the crucifixion of Jesus? Wednesday, Friday, Thursday? And what year?
Do we know the exact date, or even year when Jesus was crucified? In 2016 the Western churches celebrated Easter Sunday, March 27, while the Eastern Churches celebrated Easter Sunday, May 1. In addition, most denomination commemorate Christ’s crucifixion on Friday, but some commemorate it on Wednesday. How did it get this way, so that it can be up to five weeks difference? In 2017 both the Eastern and Western branch of Christendom celebrate Easter at the same time, April 16.
This is nothing new. Until the time the temple was destroyed the Jews kept good count on when Passover occurred, but after the Jews were dispersed it was not always done in the same month, so no one could be really sure. In addition some celebrated Easter on Sunday after Passover, while others celebrated Easter three days after Passover. So the First Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325) declared that Easter was always to be held on a Sunday, the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox.
In the fourth century, Hillel II established a fixed calendar based on mathematical and astronomical calculations. This calendar, still in use, standardized the length of months and the addition of months over the course of a 19 year cycle, so that the lunar calendar realigns with the solar years. Adar I is added in the 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th and 19th years of the cycle. The last cycle began in Jewish year 5758 (the year that began October 2, 1997). If you are musically inclined, you may find it helpful to remember this pattern of leap years by reference to the major scale: for each whole step there are two regular years and a leap year; for each half-step there is one regular year and a leap year. This is easier to understand when you examine the keyboard illustration below and see how it relates to the leap years above.
Dionysius Exiguus (Dennis the Little) was called by the Pope St. John I to determine the next few dates for Easter. He did more than that. He became the inventor of Anno Domini. His Easter table was constructed in the year 525 for the years 532–626 A.D. ( Anno Domini, or The Year of our Lord)
Jesus Age of Service
Numbers 4:3,23,30,35,43,47 (NIV) Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work in the Tent of Meeting.
1 Chronicles 23:3 (NIV) The Levites thirty years old or more were counted, and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand.
Luke 3:23 (NIV) Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph,
Jesus started his public ministry A.D. 30, at the age of 30.
Count the Passovers
Passover 1: Jn 2:13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Passover 2: Jn 5:1 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews.
Passover 3: Mt 15: 1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2″Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
We are now at A.D.33
So far so good. Joseph Caiaphas (18–36), who had married the daughter of Annas (John 18:13) Pontius Pilate (Latin: Pontius Pilatus, Greek: Πόντιος Πιλάτος) governed from A.D. 26 until 36.
The case for crucifixion on Friday
The next day was the Sabbath
The third day
Leviticus 7:17 (NIV) Any meat of the sacrifice left over till the third day must be burned up.
Luke 9:22 (NIV) And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.“
1 Corinthians 15:4 (NIV) that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
‘After three days’
Matthew 27:63 (NIV) “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.‘
Mark 8:31 (NIV) He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.
John 2:19 (NIV) Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
No Corruption
Psalm 16:10 (KJV) For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Psalm 49:9 (KJV) That he should still live for ever, and not see corruption.
The next day was the Sabbath
Jesus rose on the third day, Sunday
Good Friday, Long Friday, Holy Friday is an official holiday in all ‘Christian’ countries
It was observed early in the church
Year 33 is the only one with Passover on Friday
Fri 01-Apr-0033 Erev Pesach
Sat 02-Apr-0033 Pesach I
Sun 03-Apr-0033 Pesach II
Mon 04-Apr-0033 Pesach III (CH”M)
Tue 05-Apr-0033 Pesach IV (CH”M)
Wed 06-Apr-0033 Pesach V (CH”M)
Thu 07-Apr-0033 Pesach VI (CH”M)
Fri 08-Apr-0033 Pesach VII
Sat 09-Apr-0033 Pesach VIII
Sun 17-Apr-0033 Rosh Chodesh Iyyar
Mon 18-Apr-0033 Rosh Chodesh Iyyar
Which Year was it?
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.
Tiberius: AD12 granted supreme power by Augustus, AD14/08/19 accession, becomes Tiberius Caesar Augustus
Count the Passovers
Passover 1: Jn 2:13 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Passover 2: Jn 5:1 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews.
Passover 3: Mt 15: 1Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, 2″Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
That gets us to A.D. 30
Wed 03-Apr-0030 Ta’anit Bechorot
Wed 03-Apr-0030 Erev Pesach
Thu 04-Apr-0030 Pesach I
Fri 05-Apr-0030 Pesach II
Sat 06-Apr-0030 Pesach III (CH”M)
Sun 07-Apr-0030 Pesach IV (CH”M)
Mon 08-Apr-0030 Pesach V (CH”M)
Tue 09-Apr-0030 Pesach VI (CH”M)
Wed 10-Apr-0030 Pesach VII
Thu 11-Apr-0030 Pesach VIII
Fri 19-Apr-0030 Rosh Chodesh Iyyar
Sat 20-Apr-0030 Rosh Chodesh Iyyar
The case for Wednesday Crucifixion
Mt 12: 38 – 40 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.”
He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Mk 16:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. (NIV)
Thursday is the feast of unleavened bread, where Passover was celebrated, Friday is a normal day, and Saturday is a normal Sabbath
Mt 28:1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
The words, translated After the Sabbath are “opse de sabbaton” ‘οψε δε σαββατων’ translates literally “latter of the Sabbaths,” implying there were two Sabbaths.
At dawn, the tomb was empty.
According to the universal Hebrew Calendar for A.D. 30 Erev Pesach ( the 14:th of Nisan) was a Wednesday.
This is the official day of Crucifixion for many eastern Christians.
They also celebrate the Resurrection after sunset on Easter Eve.
This satisfies the sign of Jonah.
Problems with Wednesday Crucifixion
Luke 24:21 (NIV) but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.
The prophecy in Lk 18:33 ‘On the third day he will rise again.’ would be in error.
More problems
Gen 1:5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
Jonah was three days and three nights, in that order, in the fish.
The time counter in Jn 12:1 “Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.” would make Jesus do the triumphant entry on a Sabbath, which is improbable. It is more than a Sabbath day’s journey from Bethany to Jerusalem.
There are too many events to fit in 2 days until the Passover if the triumphant entry is on a Sunday.
The case for crucifixion on Friday
The next day was the Sabbath
Jesus rose on the third day, Sunday
Good Friday, Long Friday, Holy Friday is an official holiday in all Christian countries.
It was observed early in the church.
Problem with Friday Crucifixion.
Mt 12: 38 – 40 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.”
He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
There are only two nights between Friday and Sunday morning.
The case for crucifixion on Thursday.
So, what day of the week was Passover A.D. 30 really?
We need to find the exact hour of the new moon that preceded Erev Nisan on A.D. 30. Times calculated here are in Jerusalem Time, which is Universal Time + 2hr 21 min. We will get astronomical new moon time (Jerusalem time).
Enter Hebrew Calendar
In the fourth century after the Temple’s destruction, when oppression and persecution threatened the continued existence of the Court, the patriarch Hillel II took an extraordinary step to preserve the unity of the Jewish people. To prevent the Jews scattered worldwide from celebrating their New Moons and holidays at different times, he made public the closely guarded secrets of Calendric calculation which had been used in the past only to check the observations and testimonies of witnesses and to determine the beginnings of the Spring system.
In accordance with this system, Hillel II formally sanctified all months in advance, and intercalated all future leap years until such time as a new, recognized High Court would again be established in Israel.
This is the permanent calendar according to which the New Moons and festivals are calculated and celebrated today by Jews all over the world.
Time is astronomical new moon (Jerusalem) time. If it falls after 12 o’clock noon a day is added to account for minimum time until a crescent can be observed.
The Hebrew calendar
The last 19 year cycle began in Jewish year 5777 (the year that began October 2, 2016).
Seven leap months are added in this 19 year cycle.
Leap months are inserted to make Passover occur early spring
Time of day of the new moon
The mew moon before Nisan 2006 was
March 29 at 12:36 p.m. which makes
1 Nisan (Rosh Chodesh Nisan)
Thursday March 30 (remember the new moon was after 12 noon )
Rosh Chodesh Nisan
A.D. 30 is 721728 days earlier, or 103104 weeks
A Lunar month calculation
Lunar calculations
Lunar Month linear formula = 29.530595200803 – M * 1.05048488E-11 mean solar days where M is the number of days since Gregorian day 1/1/1.
Doing the calculation yields the new moon for 1 Nisan A.D. 30 to be 21h 43 m Jerusalem Time, a Wednesday. Since this is past sunset, 1 Nisan is Thursday making 14:th Nisan a Wednesday.
Solar eclipse calculation
Mar 29 2006, 12h 33min Jerusalem time.
This makes 1 Nisan March 30 2006.
Nov 24 29 A.D. 11 h 37 m central total eclipse (Thursday)
Dec 24 29 A.D. 2h 16 m New moon (Saturday)
Jan 22 30 A.D. 16h 56 m New moon ( Sunday)
Feb 21 30 A.D. 7h 35 m New moon ( Tuesday)
Mar 22 30 A.D 22h 14 m New moon (Wednesday)
Apr 21 30 A.D. 12h 54 m New moon (Friday)
May 21 30 A.D. 3h 33 m Central annular ( Sunday)
The difference between these two calculations is 31 minutes, and that is mostly due to the fact that the lunar orbit duration varies, as does the solar day.
This would make Mar 22 A.D. 30 1 Nisan a Thursday according to Hillel II’s calendar rules, verified by solar eclipse calculations.
Back to the Hebrew Calendar
In the early times of Jewish history the beginning of each month was determined by direct observation of the New Moon. After witnesses testified that they had seen the new crescent and their testimony was thoroughly examined and confirmed by calculation, the beginning of the new month was sanctified and announced by the High Court (Sanhedrin) in Jerusalem. The Jewish communities were notified of the beginning of the new month (Rosh Chodesh) by the kindling of night fires atop mountains and, in later times, by messenger.
A special committee of the Sanhedrin, with its president as its chairman, had the mandate to regulate and balance the solar with the lunar years. This Calendar Council calculated the beginnings of the seasons on the basis of astronomical figures handed down from generation to generation. Whenever, after two or three years, the annual excess of 11 days had accumulated to approximately 30 days, a thirteenth month (Adar II) was inserted before Nissan in order to ensure that Nissan and Passover would occur in Spring.
This method of observation and intercalation was in use throughout the period of the Second Temple (349 B.C. – 69 A.D.) and about three centuries after its destruction, as long as there was an independent High Court.
Which brings us to Ramadan 2006
Sep 22 2006 11h 22m UT was a central annular solar eclipse.
Sunni Muslims observe local astronomical time for the new moon, so in the US and UK Ramadan started 23 Sep.
Many Muslims disagree when Ramadan should start, this is primarily because some mosques start Ramadan when their affiliate mosque in Saudi Arabia start Ramadan and others start it when the mosques in their home country starts Ramadan. The difference is because the sighting of the crescent moon is not possible at the same time in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world. Some Muslims say they will start fasting on the 23rd Sept, other will start on the morning of the 24th Sept. Wherever you are, just assume the start date will be the date your local Islamic community representative says it will start.
Most Shiite mosques started Ramadan Sep. 24, since they depend on actual Crescent sightings.
Final correction for 1 Nisan
Since new moons were based on actual sightings in the year A.D.30 we must add one day to accommodate for the actual sighting of the crescent new moon in the evening sky.
This would make 1 Nisan a Friday and Erev Pesach, the 14:th of Nisan a Thursday.
8 Nisan A.D. 30 (Friday)
Jn 12:1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
9 Nisan (Friday night – Saturday)
Jn 12:2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.
10 Nisan ( Sunday)
The Pascal lamb is selected
Ex 12:1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household….”
The donkey
Lk 19:28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30″Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.’ “
Zech 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your King comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
The triumphal entry
Jn 12: 12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the King of Israel!” 14Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written,
15″Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.”
11 Nisan (Monday)
Mk 11:12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.
15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, 16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written:
” ‘My house will be called
a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.'”
12 Nisan (Tuesday)
Mk 11: 27They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. 28″By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?” 29Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men? Tell me!”
31They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 32But if we say, ‘From men’….” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)
33So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.“
Jesus teaches in the temple
Jesus anointed at Bethany.
13 Nisan (Wednesday)
Mt 26:14 Then one of the Twelve—the one called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests 15and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. 16From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over.
Lk 22: 7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.” 9″Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.
10He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, 11and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 12He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there.”
13They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
14 Nisan (Wednesday night)
Lev 23: 4 ” ‘These are the LORD’s appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times: 5 The LORD’s Passover begins at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. 6 On the fifteenth day of that month the LORD’s Feast of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. 7 On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. 8 For seven days present an offering made to the LORD by fire. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work.’ “
The importance of the word Twilight (beyn ha-arbayim)
Literally BETWEEN THE TWO EVENINGS
“……In Jewish orthodoxy the time of the slaughter, between the two evenings, is specified as in the afternoon, before sunset; especially, the time approaching sunset. The Mishnah implies that any time after noon was valid for the slaying (Pesahim 5:3).
SAMARITANS, KARAITES, and SADDUCEES specify the time as AFTER SUNSET AND BEFORE DARKNESS. The latter probably designates the more archaic practice.”
The Jewish Publication Society of America in their old translation of the Hebrew from the Masoretic text, translates beyn ha-arbayim (between the two evenings) consistently(every place it is used) as “DUSK.” In their new TANAKH translation they render this phrase in EX.12:6 and 16:12 as “AT TWILIGHT.”
(from a page of the Mishnah)
Wednesday night
The Passover where Jesus institutes the new covenant memorial service
Gethsemane
Jesus betrayal and arrest
14 Nisan (Thursday)
Jesus before Caiaphas (the Sanhedrin)
Peter denies Jesus (thrice)
Judas hangs himself
Jesus before Pilate
Jesus before Herod
Back to Pilate and the people
The Crucifixion
The ceremonial Pascal lamb sacrificed in the Temple
The Death of Jesus
The temple veil rent in two from top to bottom
The Burial of Jesus
Mt 27:57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.
Lk 23: 50 Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, 51who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. 52Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. 53Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. 54It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
Jn 19: 31Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath.
15 Nisan (Thursday night – Friday) A “special Sabbath”.
Traditional Passover Seder is celebrated by the Jews following tradition (notice the change of day)
Mt 27: 62The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate.
63″Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.‘
64So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”
65″Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.”
66So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.
17 Nisan (Saturday)
Normal Sabbath
18 Nisan (Sunday)
Mt 28:1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
The words, translated After the Sabbath are “opse de sabbaton” ‘οψε δε σαββατων’ translates literally “latter of the Sabbaths.” This implies there was more than one Sabbath.
At dawn, the tomb was empty.
Conclusion
With this view, all prophesies and signs are fulfilled, (Jesus came to fulfill scripture)
The confusion inserted by the Pharisees is taken care of.
The astronomical evidence is satisfied.
And, In God’s providence Jesus could eat the passover at its proper day and also be our passover lamb the next day as the symbolic lamb was simultaneously sacrificed in the temple.
An updated version of the parable of the good Samaritan.
“After having lost his job when the company he worked for closed down the factory and moved its production to China, an American worker was going down I95 from New York State to North Carolina, but in Baltimore he was attacked by illegal aliens. They took his car, stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A Democrat happened to be driving down the same road, and when he saw the man, he speeded up for he was on the way to the airport to jet away to an exotic island to attend yet another Climate Conference. So too, a Republican, when he came to the place and saw him, drove by, realizing he was already late for his tee-off time. But an Alaskan, Sarah Palin, as she traveled, came where the man was; and when she saw him, she took pity on him. She went to him and bandaged his wounds, using what she had in the first aid kit in the glove compartment. Then she put the man in her pick-up truck, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day she took out her check-book and gave an endorsed check to the innkeeper, Donald Trump. ‘Look after the American worker,’ she said, ‘and when I return, after my Alaskan moose hunt, I will give you some of the moose-meat.’ Looking at the check, Donald Trump said: “Thank you, you have alerted me to the plight of the American worker. I will take it from here and Make America Great Again. No need to reimburse me, but keep me informed of other Americans in need”.
“Which of these four do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
To be fair, I got the idea from the website sarahpalin.com, which quoted the former Archbishop of Canterbury.
Via The Daily Mail:
The former Archbishop of Canterbury has described Donald Trump as a ‘Good Samaritan’ for the American people.
Lord Carey said the US President had offered the country ‘a voice’ and said he had ‘deep sympathies’ with the forces that propelled him to victory last year.
The Good Samaritan is a Parable in which a man is beaten by robbers and then ignored by a priest and a Levite until being helped by a Samaritan.
Lord Carey said Mr Trump, just like the Samaritan, was offering Americans more than just words.
He said: ‘Help is not merely kind words. It is the promise of ongoing support.’
On Data gathering, life. hacking by CIA and Wikileaks.
A tweet can contain up to 140 characters, a limit that is now relaxed, but if each character takes up 8 bits of information (one byte), the it can be said, a tweet is 140 bytes.
The Authorized version of the King James Bible contains 3,116,480 characters, or about 22,260 tweets. Some people have tweeted that much!
But all the information in the KJV pales compared to the information in every cell of the human body. The numbers will get large, so let us learn about large numbers
One kilobyte is 1000 bytes, Megabyte is 1000 Kb or 1000,000 bytes, Gigabyte is 1000 Mb or 1,000,000,000 bytes, Terabyte is 1000 Gigabytes or 1,000,000,000,000 bytes, Petabyte is 1000 Terabytes or 1,000,000,000,000,000 bytes, Exabyte is 1000 Terabytes or 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes, Zettabyte is 1000 Exabytes or 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes, Yottabyte is 1000 Zettabytes or 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes.
Back to how much data is in our body. We have about 3,2 billion DNA genome pairs in every cell in our body. there are 4 types, so each pair can be packed into 2 bits, which means every cell in our body contains 800 Megabytes of data, the information equivalent of 250 King James Bibles. Giving there are about 37 trillion cells in our body plus about one quadrillion bacteria in our gut the total amount of information in our body is about 30 Exabytes, most of it duplicated, but yet. In addition, all plants and animals contain DNA, so the total information in the world is staggering, far exceeding the term Yottabyte.
If you are an atheist or true believer in evolution that all this came about by chance plus time plus nothing, especially no sign of intelligent design, the math doesn’t add up.
In 2001 the New York City twin towers were destroyed through a terror attack, and the U.S. response was to collect data to capture terrorists before they could attack. The NSA started to monitor all electronic communication through a program called Prism, starting in earnest in 2007, see fig:
This is in part taking place in a large data center in Utah, housing, it is rumored up to one Yottabyte of collected data. 
What type of data do they collect? Check this figure:
The question is this: How much of this is linked to terror?
Then, today I found out via Wikileaks that NSA is not alone is spying on us.
CIA malware targets iPhone, Android, smart TVs
CIA malware and hacking tools are built by EDG (Engineering Development Group), a software development group within CCI (Center for Cyber Intelligence), a department belonging to the CIA’s DDI (Directorate for Digital Innovation). The DDI is one of the five major directorates of the CIA (see this organizational chart of the CIA for more details).
The EDG is responsible for the development, testing and operational support of all backdoors, exploits, malicious payloads, trojans, viruses and any other kind of malware used by the CIA in its covert operations world-wide.
The increasing sophistication of surveillance techniques has drawn comparisons with George Orwell’s 1984, but “Weeping Angel”, developed by the CIA’s Embedded Devices Branch (EDB), which infests smart TVs, transforming them into covert microphones, is surely its most emblematic realization.
The attack against Samsung smart TVs was developed in cooperation with the United Kingdom’s MI5/BTSS. After infestation, Weeping Angel places the target TV in a ‘Fake-Off’ mode, so that the owner falsely believes the TV is off when it is on. In ‘Fake-Off’ mode the TV operates as a bug, recording conversations in the room and sending them over the Internet to a covert CIA server.
As of October 2014 the CIA was also looking at infecting the vehicle control systems used by modern cars and trucks. The purpose of such control is not specified, but it would permit the CIA to engage in nearly undetectable assassinations.
The CIA’s Mobile Devices Branch (MDB) developed numerous attacks to remotely hack and control popular smart phones. Infected phones can be instructed to send the CIA the user’s geolocation, audio and text communications as well as covertly activate the phone’s camera and microphone.
Despite iPhone’s minority share (14.5%) of the global smart phone market in 2016, a specialized unit in the CIA’s Mobile Development Branch produces malware to infest, control and exfiltrate data from iPhones and other Apple products running iOS, such as iPads. CIA’s arsenal includes numerous local and remote “zero days” developed by CIA or obtained from GCHQ, NSA, FBI or purchased from cyber arms contractors such as Baitshop. The disproportionate focus on iOS may be explained by the popularity of the iPhone among social, political, diplomatic and business elites.
A similar unit targets Google’s Android which is used to run the majority of the world’s smart phones (~85%) including Samsung, HTC and Sony. 1.15 billion Android powered phones were sold last year. “Year Zero” shows that as of 2016 the CIA had 24 “weaponized” Android “zero days” which it has developed itself and obtained from GCHQ, NSA and cyber arms contractors.
These techniques permit the CIA to bypass the encryption of WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Wiebo, Confide and Cloackman by hacking the “smart” phones that they run on and collecting audio and message traffic before encryption is applied.
CIA malware targets Windows, OSx, Linux, routers
The CIA also runs a very substantial effort to infect and control Microsoft Windows users with its malware. This includes multiple local and remote weaponized “zero days”, air gap jumping viruses such as “Hammer Drill” which infects software distributed on CD/DVDs, infectors for removable media such as USBs, systems to hide data in images or in covert disk areas ( “Brutal Kangaroo”) and to keep its malware infestations going.
Many of these infection efforts are pulled together by the CIA’s Automated Implant Branch (AIB), which has developed several attack systems for automated infestation and control of CIA malware, such as “Assassin” and “Medusa”.
Attacks against Internet infrastructure and webservers are developed by the CIA’s Network Devices Branch (NDB).
The CIA has developed automated multi-platform malware attack and control systems covering Windows, Mac OS X, Solaris, Linux and more, such as EDB’s “HIVE” and the related “Cutthroat” and “Swindle” tools, which are described in the examples section below.
CIA ‘hoarded’ vulnerabilities (“zero days”)
In the wake of Edward Snowden’s leaks about the NSA, the U.S. technology industry secured a commitment from the Obama administration that the executive would disclose on an ongoing basis — rather than hoard — serious vulnerabilities, exploits, bugs or “zero days” to Apple, Google, Microsoft, and other US-based manufacturers.
Serious vulnerabilities not disclosed to the manufacturers places huge swathes of the population and critical infrastructure at risk to foreign intelligence or cyber criminals who independently discover or hear rumors of the vulnerability. If the CIA can discover such vulnerabilities so can others.
The U.S. government’s commitment to the Vulnerabilities Equities Process came after significant lobbying by US technology companies, who risk losing their share of the global market over real and perceived hidden vulnerabilities. The government stated that it would disclose all pervasive vulnerabilities discovered after 2010 on an ongoing basis.
“Year Zero” documents show that the CIA breached the Obama administration’s commitments. Many of the vulnerabilities used in the CIA’s cyber arsenal are pervasive and some may already have been found by rival intelligence agencies or cyber criminals.
As an example, specific CIA malware revealed in “Year Zero” is able to penetrate, infest and control both the Android phone and iPhone software that runs or has run presidential Twitter accounts. The CIA attacks this software by using undisclosed security vulnerabilities (“zero days”) possessed by the CIA but if the CIA can hack these phones then so can everyone else who has obtained or discovered the vulnerability. As long as the CIA keeps these vulnerabilities concealed from Apple and Google (who make the phones) they will not be fixed, and the phones will remain hackable.
The same vulnerabilities exist for the population at large, including the U.S. Cabinet, Congress, top CEOs, system administrators, security officers and engineers. By hiding these security flaws from manufacturers like Apple and Google the CIA ensures that it can hack everyone at the expense of leaving everyone hackable.
‘Cyberwar’ programs are a serious proliferation risk
Cyber ‘weapons’ are not possible to keep under effective control.
While nuclear proliferation has been restrained by the enormous costs and visible infrastructure involved in assembling enough fissile material to produce a critical nuclear mass, cyber ‘weapons’, once developed, are very hard to retain.
Cyber ‘weapons’ are in fact just computer programs which can be pirated like any other. Since they are entirely comprised of information they can be copied quickly with no marginal cost.
Securing such ‘weapons’ is particularly difficult since the same people who develop and use them have the skills to exfiltrate copies without leaving traces — sometimes by using the very same ‘weapons’ against the organizations that contain them. There are substantial price incentives for government hackers and consultants to obtain copies since there is a global “vulnerability market” that will pay hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars for copies of such ‘weapons’. Similarly, contractors and companies who obtain such ‘weapons’ sometimes use them for their own purposes, obtaining advantage over their competitors in selling ‘hacking’ services.
Over the last three years the United States intelligence sector, which consists of government agencies such as the CIA and NSA and their contractors, such as Booz Allan Hamilton, has been subject to unprecedented series of data exfiltrations by its own workers.
A number of intelligence community members not yet publicly named have been arrested or subject to federal criminal investigations in separate incidents.
Most visibly, on February 8, 2017 a U.S. federal grand jury indicted Harold T. Martin III with 20 counts of mishandling classified information. The Department of Justice alleged that it seized some 50,000 gigabytes of information from Harold T. Martin III that he had obtained from classified programs at NSA and CIA, including the source code for numerous hacking tools.
Once a single cyber ‘weapon’ is ‘loose’ it can spread around the world in seconds, to be used by peer states, cyber mafia and teenage hackers alike.
This is where we are today. On Saturday, President Trump found out that he had been spied upon in Trump Tower during the election. The Wikileaks revelation lends credibility to this accusation. And of course, CIA can make it appear that the hacking came from, say Russia and then put in some false software, framing the victim.
Yet, all this spyware, hacking and data gathering is simple compared to the wonder of life.
Death Valley rains lead to super bloom! A Limerick.
The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
the splendor of our God. (Isaiah 35:1-2)
It rained cats and dogs in Death Valley.
Find passable roads, Rand McNally!
See the desert in bloom;
not the feeling of doom,
a wish that is right up my alley!
In 1953 Walt Disney came out with a ground breaking movie. The name of it was “The living Desert” and showed time lapse photography of wild flowers bursting out from what looked like bare rock. My father took me as a little lad to see it in a movie theater in small town Sweden, and I was blown away. Ever since then I have wanted to see Death Valley in full bloom. Now it has happened. Death Valley is in full bloom. But, as with all blessings it comes with a price. Reading the park bulletin I see the following alerts:
Scotty’s Castle CLOSED until 2018 due to flood damage. Alert 1 , Severity ,closure ,,Scotty’s Castle CLOSED until 2019 due to flood damage. Flooding in Grapevine Canyon from a severe thunderstorm has destroyed the road to Scotty’s Castle, damaged infrastructure and some out-buildings in the Castle complex. more
Closed Roads: Alert 1 , Severity ,closure ,,Closed Roads Titus Canyon, Emigrant Canyon, West Side, and Scotty’s Castle (also known as North Highway) Roads are closed due to snow and mud. Artists Drive is also closed. Please visit our Alerts & Conditions page by selecting “more.” more
Weather conditions for 2/18 : Rain so far today in Death Valley, 0.66 inches, and more is expected.
For now I am reduced to admire the pictures some other people have taken:
Byssan lull, boil the kettle full, a song in Swedish and English.
As a little lad, my grandfather put me on his knees and sang this little lullaby. He was a skipper, having been both “on the Heat” and fishing on the banks of Iceland, so he sang it with emotions, slowly rocking as if we were sailing.
Update (8/5/2019): I have been singing it for my grandchildren, and somehow the text changed to “boil the kettle full” rather than boil the kettle so full. It sings better that way.
Update (9/15/2020) this was my grandfather’s schooner.
This is how I remember it.
Byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
där kommer tre vandringsmän på vägen,
byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
där kommer tre vandringsmän på vägen.
Den ene, ack så halt,
den andre, o, så blind,
den tredje säger alls ingenting.
Byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
på himmelen vandra tre stjärnor,
byssan lull, koka kittelen full.
på himmelen vandra tre stjärnor,
Den ene är så vit,
den andra är så röd,
den tredje är månen den gula.
Byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
där blåser tre vindar på haven,
byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
där blåser tre vindar på haven.
På Stora Skagerack,
på lilla Kattegatt
och långt upp i Bottniska viken.
Byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
där segla tre skepp uppå vågen,
byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
där segla tre skepp uppå vågen.
Den första är en bark,
den andra är en brigg,
den tredje har så trasiga segel.
Byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
sjökistan har trenne figurer,
byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
sjökistan har trenne figurer.
Den första är vår tro,
den andra är vårt hopp,
den tredje är kärleken den röda.
Byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
de tre äro heliga ena
byssan lull, koka kittelen full,
de tre äro heliga ena.
Den förste är Gud Far,
den andre är Hans Son,
den tredje är den Helige Ande.
And now for the English translation:
Byssan lull, boil the kettle full,
three wanderers are coming down the alley.
Byssan lull, boil the kettle full,
three wanderers are coming down the alley.
The first one, oh so limp,
the second, oh, so blind,
the third one is mute, saying nothing.
Byssan lull, boil the kettle full,
in heaven three stars are a-wand’ring,
Byssan lull, boil the kettle full,
in heaven three stars are a-wand’ring,
The first one is so white,
the second is so red,
the third is the moon, bright and yellow.
Byssan lull, boil the kettle full,
three winds blowing over the oceans.
Byssan lull, boil the kettle full,
three winds blowing over the oceans.
On greater Skagerak,
on little Kattegat,
and far up in the Bothnian Bay.
Byssan lull, boil the kettle full,
three ships sailing over the ocean.
Byssan lull, boil the kettle full,
three ships sailing over the ocean.
The first one is a barque,
the second is a brigg,
the sails of the third are so tattered.
Byssan lull, boil the kettle full,
the Seaman’s chest has triple engravings.
Byssan lull, boil the kettle full,
the Seaman’s chest has triple engravings.
The cross is for our faith,
the anchor for our hope,
the heart is for charity the crimson.
Byssan lull, boil the kettle full,
these three are in one that are holy.
Byssan lull, boil the kettle full,
these three are in one and are holy.
The first is Father God,
the second is His Son,
the third is the Holy Spirit.
And here is the music score, as per Evert Taube.
Len Bilén's blog, a blog about faith, politics and the environment. 
