Growing to 634 meters (2100 feet) by its completion
CHAPTER I: Direct Investment into GCC
Direct investment into the member states to the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf has drastically increased since 2003, since GCC is comprised of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
http://www.meti.go.jp/report/tsuhaku2010/2010honbun/html/i1250000.html
This is a direct result from the War in Iraq. The symbol of this financial boom in the Persian Gulf is, of course, the bubble in Dubai.
While only about $2 billion was invested into the Persian-Gulf Arab states in 2001, about $62 billion flowed into those countries in 2008. It must cause a big change there, in addition to the Dubai bubble which has been in a bursting phase for some time.
Uprising in Qatar and so on might be another natural result.
Yet, here a true issue is Islam and money.
From the beginning Islam was established on wealth of Arab merchants living around Mecca that became a center of intermediate trade between Europe and Asia in the sixth to the seventh centuries. At the time, European access to the conventional trade route called the Silk Road was blocked due to the conflict between the East Roman Empire and a Persian empire. Accordingly, merchants had to take a detour going down along the Red Sea to reach the Indian Ocean and further to South and East Asia. So, Arabian merchants got rich around Mecca; then Islam emerged.
Now, with so much investment into the Persian-Gulf Arab states, something could happen in addition to the bubble in Dubai. Compared with the era of the 9/11 Terror in 2001, 30 times more money is now available in the Islamic GCC states. In deed, something could happen in addition to the bubble in Dubai; and it can be more social, political, religious, and spiritual.
Yet, with this wave of prevailing democracy in Islamic states in North Africa and the Persian Gulf regions, the threat of terror that has haunted the U.S. would be reduced. It is basically a good sign even for the U.S. It can be a challenge more to Iran.
Without existence of powerful Persians in the sixth and seventh centuries, Islam was impossible. Islam owes Persians. So, when the situation has come to move Iran, it can be totally a big change in the Middle East. However, this change is necessary for Islam to compete with European Christianity. If this situations eventually comes to change the balance between European Christians and Muslims, it is truly a historical event.
It would also influence the status of Muslims in the U.S.
CHAPTER II: The Codex Tchacos
In 1978, an old Christian document was discovered in Egypt. It was later called the Codex Tchacos. It specifically includes the Gospel of Judas which is believed to have been written between AD 220 and 340.
The Gospel of Judas is a Gnostic gospel that purportedly documents conversations between the Apostle Judas Iscariot and Jesus Christ. It is believed to have been written by Gnostic followers of Jesus, rather than by Judas himself, and probably dates from no earlier than the 2nd century since it contains late 2nd century theology. In 180 A.D. however, Irenaeus, an influential Catholic priest, wrote a document in which he railed against this gospel. Therefore, the book was already in circulation by then.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Judas#Origins
But, it was in 2002 that recovery of the half-decayed document was started for actual reading.
It was in 2006 that the recovery work was finished to read 85% of the document.
However, the Gospel of Judas has not yet given a decisive impact on Christians in the world, including the Pope, though the Gospel sheds new light on what Judas was.
First of all, betrayers are everywhere in the world today and in the past.
Second, a true saint of any religion is afflicted by betrayers without exception.
But, who can betray God?
What is the meaning of betraying God?
The conventional interpretation of the Bible might be very biased. Yet, it is a fact that even with such insufficient understanding, mankind has been able to survive for 2000 years. But, it might be time to correctly interpret the Bible in order to survive for another 2000 years.
And, if a Christian knows that somebody is Christ Jesus, today he or she will never betray Him. But, if he or she cannot see that He is Christ Jesus, he or she might still betray Him.
If you can see Christ Jesus in a very poor man, you will never betray the person. But, if you cannot see Christ Jesus in the very poor man, you might betray the person.
Anyway, we are requested to think about the document and its contents by history.
APPENDIX. I
APPENDIX II.
Gospel of Judas - Why Isn't It Accurate?
The Gospel of Judas is considered "Gnostic" in origin. Generally, Gnostics hold that salvation of the soul comes from a quasi-intuitive knowledge of the mysteries of the universe and of secret formulae indicative of that knowledge. The gospel according to Judas is simply a heretical forgery like the Gospel of Mary, Gospel of Thomas, and the Gospel of Philip.
We now have over 25,000 ancient texts and fragments confirming the legitimate biblical accounts. Maybe there’s a reason we’ve only found one copy of the Gospel of Judas laying in an ancient trash heap in the back of a solitary cave. Just as Judas betrayed Jesus Christ, this gospel has betrayed the truth of God.http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/gospel-of-judas.htm
APPENDIX III.
APPENDIX IV.
The unedited full-text of the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia
In all likelihood, Judas, being of the district of Judah, while the rest were all Galileans, was not impressed with the Messianic character claimed by Jesus, and therefore, merely to obtain immunity for himself, committed the cowardly act of betraying him to the soldiers and officers of the priests that came with swords and staves to seize him and his followers. He singled out Jesus by kissing him while greeting him as rabbi (John xviii. 1 et seq.); they then seized Jesus and brought him bound to Annas and Caiaphas the high priest (Matt. xxvi. 47 et seq., and par. pas.), while his disciples, including Peter, left their master to his destiny...
In the Arabic Apocryphon, "Evangelium Infantiæ Salvatoris," ch. xxxv., Judas is represented as having been possessed by Satan at the birth of Jesus; and when the infant Jesus was taken near him to afford him relief from an ailment, Jesus beat him instead. In the Middle Ages Judas was frequently made a subject of popular myths and represented as the type of wickedness.
http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/9033-judas-iscariot
*** *** *** ***
Mat 2:17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,
Mat 2:18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
Mat 2:19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
Mat 2:20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.