"Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus" - Holy Era of History

Tokyo Views toward North

Holy Era of History

There is a little symmetry in history.

Before 60 years of the birth of Christ, Jerusalem was conquered and taken by Roman troops.  Almost after 60 years of the birth of Christ, Jerusalem was destroyed and taken by Roman troops.

Before 30 years of  the birth of Christ, Antony and Cleopatra died.  Almost 30 years after the nominal birth of Christ, Christ died.

11th century BC–930 BC — part of the Kingdom of Israel

930–586 BC — Kingdom of Judah

586–539 BC — Babylonian Empire

539–332 BC — Persian Empire

332 BC: Alexander the Great wins siege of Tyre; attacks Gaza, which fall.  Jerusalem and Judea fell under Greek control and Hellenic influence. After the Wars of the Diadochi following Alexander's death, Jerusalem and Judea fell under Ptolemaic control under Ptolemy I and continued minting Yehud coinage.

305–198 BC — Ptolemaics

198–141 BC — Seleucids

141–37 BC — The Hasmonean state in Israel established by the Maccabees, after 63 BCE under Roman supremacy

63 BC: Pompey captures Jerusalem, and establishes Roman annexation of Judea as a client kingdom. He also permanently abolishes Seleucid Syria. King Judah Aristobulus II removed from power, while his brother John Hyrcanus II becomes king under Roman suzerainty.

48 BC: Julius Caesar was engaged in a civil war with another Roman leader, Pompey. Pompey had been defeated in a battle and fled to Egypt. Caesar was pursuing him but Pompey was assassinated upon his arrival in Egypt before Caesar arrived in Egypt. Caesar was left with idle time. 

Cleopatra arranges to meet Caesar under intimate terms by having herself rolled up in a carpet that is delivered to Caesar's home quarters. When the carpet was unrolled a vivacious 21 year old Egyptian queen emerges. Caesar was about 52 at the time.

46 BC: Cleopatra gives birth to Caesar's child, a boy who is named Ptolemy Caesar and called Caesarion.

45 BC: Cleopatra joins Caesar in Rome. Her brother/husband Ptolemy XIV accompanies her. Cleopatra and Ptolemy XIV are housed in a villa belonging to Caesar on the outskirts of Rome. Caesar orders that a gold-plated statue of Cleopatra be placed in the temple of Venus Genetrix. Caesar's clan, the Julians, were supposedly descended from Venus.

44 BC: March 15, Caesar murdered by Brutus, Cassius, and their co-conspirators acting for the Republicans. Octavian returns from Greece.

40 BC Herod is appointed as king of Judaea by the Senate.
(40 BC–4 BC: Herod the Great, appointed King of the Jews by the Roman Senate.)

37 BC: Herod the Great captured Jerusalem, ending Hasmonean rule. Herod ruled the Province of Judea as a client-king of the Romans, rebuilt the Second Temple (see also Herod's Temple), upgraded the surrounding complex, and expanded the minting of coins to many denominations. 

Antony marries Cleopatra at Antioch.

30 BC: Death of Antony and Cleopatra in Alexandria.  Egypt is annexed as an imperial province of Rome.

27 BC: The Roman Senate votes Octavian the title of Augustus. Augustus eventually assumes all authority formerly held by the Roman senate becoming the first emperor. The Roman state is henceforth known as the Roman Empire, and the period from 27 BC to AD 305 as the Principate.

20 BC: Reconstruction on the Great Temple in Jerusalem is begun by King Herod Agrippa.

15 BC: Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, son-in-law of Emperor Augustus visits Jerusalem and offers a hecatomb in the temple.  

6 BC: John the Baptist is born in Ein Kerem to Zechariah and Elizabeth. 

6– 4 BC: Birth of Jesus of Nazareth 

5 BC: Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, 40 days after his birth in Bethlehem (Biblical sources only).

0 AD: Traditional Date of the Birth of Jesus.

6 AD: End of Herodian governorate in Jerusalem.
Province of Roman Judaea created by merging Judea proper, Samaria and Idumea.

14-37 AD: Tiberius, Roman Emperor

26-36 AD: Pontius Pilate prefect of Roman Judea during the Crucifixion of Jesus.
Pontius Pilate, Prefect (governor) of Iudaea, recalled to Rome by Syrian Legate Vitellius on complaints of excess violence (JA18.4.2).

28 or 29 AD: John the Baptist began his ministry in the "15th year of Tiberius" (Luke 3:1–2), saying: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matthew 3:1–2), a relative of Jesus (Luke 1:36), a Nazirite (Luke 1:15), baptized Jesus (Mark 1:4–11), later arrested and beheaded by Herod Antipas (Luke 3:19–20), it's possible that, according to Josephus' chronology, John was not killed until 36 (JA18.5.2)[4].

28-30 AD: Three year Ministry of Jesus, during which a number of key events took place in Jerusalem, including: (Biblical sources only).

30 AD: Key events in the martyrdom of Jesus which took place in Jerusalem (Biblical sources only).

30-64 AD: Peter served as the first pope.

30–70 AD: Schism within Judaism during the Second Temple era. A sect within Hellenised Jewish society starts Jewish Christianity, see also Rejection of Jesus.

44 AD: Death of Herod Agrippa I.

48-100 AD: Herod Agrippa II appointed King of the Jews by Claudius, seventh and last of the Herodians.

50 AD: Passover riot in Jerusalem, 20-30,000 killed.

60? AD: Paul in Rome: greeted by many "brothers."

64-68 AD:  After July 18 Great Fire of Rome, Nero blamed and persecuted the Christians (or Chrestians[13]), possibly the earliest mention of Christians, by that name, in Rome.

64/67(?)-76/79(?) AD: Pope Linus succeeds Peter as Episcopus Romanus (Bishop of Rome).

66–70 AD: The Great Jewish Revolt against Roman occupation ended with destruction of the Second Temple and the fall of Jerusalem. 1,100,000 people are killed by the Romans during the siege, and 97,000 captured and enslaved.

326: Emperor Constantine built Basilica over St. Peter’s tomb.

590 - 604: Pope Gregory established popes as de facto rules of central Italy.

1475: Pope Sixtus IV built Sistine Chapel, Sixtus Bridge over the Tiber River.

1521: Martin Luther excommunicated from Roman Catholic Church by Pope Leo X.

1626: St. Peter’s Cathedral consecrated.

1823: St. Peter's Basilica destroyed by fire.

1825: St. Peter's Basilica reconstructed in time for Holy Year.

http://www.unrv.com/empire/roman-timeline-1st-century.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_century_BC
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Jerusalem
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/alexander/a/Alexander_3.htm
http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/cleopatra.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Jewish_history
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Christianity
http://www.datesandevents.org/people-timelines/36-timeline-of-jesus.htm
http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/vatican/vatimeln.htm

Note that those who saw Cleopatra acting as Queen of Egypt could not most probably see Christ Jesus preaching around Galilee and Jerusalem.  They belong to different eras apparently.

This sequence can be also applied to the present era around 2000.  About 60 years before 2000, WWII ended with Hiroshima/Nagasaki atomic bomb attacks.

Caesar was killed 44 years before 0 AD and Cleopatra and Antony died 30 years before the change of the history.  But JFK was assassinated 37 years and RFK and MLK were killed 32 two years before 2000.  

Accordingly, we had better get prepared for 2030 and 2060, since something terrible might occur.






*** *** *** ***


Mat 10:2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;
Mat 10:3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;
Mat 10:4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
Mat 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:
Mat 10:6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

"Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife" - Corruption of China

Around Ikebukuro Streets, Tokyo

Corruption of China

The Chinese Government announced that the Gini coefficient of China in 2012 was 0.474.

The standard value of this coefficient in an ordinary advanced country under democracy is about 0.35.  Japan's Gini coefficient was 0.336 in fiscal 2010.

It is said that the society featured by a Gini coefficient of 0.4 or more is at risk of unrest or lack of stability.

Truly in these 20 years, 20,000 high-ranking officials of China have fled to foreign countries, transferring assets of about $100 billion to overseas.  It is $12 million per official.

In this decade, 1.2 million public office workers of China sent their children to foreign countries as the first step of transferring their assets to overseas.

Indeed Hillary Clinton said in a recent speech at Harvard University that 90% of families of Chinese elite bureaucrats and 80% of Chinese wealthy people have already filed or intend to file immigration claims to foreign countries.

In fact Chinese law enforcement authorities arrested more than 140,000 officials for bribery, graft or other crimes in fiscal 2011.

You should not envy China.



*** *** *** ***


Mar 10:2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.
Mar 10:3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?

"the LORD appointed other seventy" - Global Homelessness

Part of Tokyo Metropolitan Area 

Global Homelessness

Let's check states of homelessness in the world.

First the US:

Despite a housing crisis, a great recession, rising income inequality, and elevated poverty, there is some good news among the most vulnerable segment of American society. America’s homeless population – an estimated 633,000 people – has declined in the last decade. 

This seems incredible – perhaps literally, so. The National Alliance to End Homelessness, a leader in homelessness service and research, estimates a 17% decrease in total homelessness from 2005 to 2012. As a refresher: this covers a period when unemployment doubled (2007-2010) and foreclosure proceedings quadrupled (2005-2009).
... 

The decline of homelessness over the past eight years is nothing short of a blue-moon public policy triumph. Why don’t you know about it? 

Could it be because we’d prefer not to hear about it? For the fortunate, one’s daily interaction with the homeless is practiced ignorance. Part of any city-dweller’s habit is to swiftly pass those on the street, averting one’s eyes, or perhaps floating a statement about not having any change on you. In a Gallup poll from early August, just 2 percent of respondents said that the category of “Poverty/Hunger/Homelessness” constituted “the most important problem facing this country today.” 

Unlike the jobs report, there is no famous, metronomic update on the state of homelessness in America. The “Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress” of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development is a front-page rarity. Since its first iteration in 2007, the report that collects information on homelessness nationwide, has been mentioned in one article of the archives of both the New York Times and Washington Post, combined. Coverage of homeless issues—found extensively in the “street papers” produced in many cities like Chicago’s Streetwise—is just not a topic that catches attention for wider audiences. 

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/08/the-astonishing-decline-of-homelessness-in-america/279050/

Then England:

Statutory Homelessness:
April to June Quarter 2013
England  

Household acceptances  

• 13,460 applicants were accepted as owed a main homelessness duty between 1 April and 30 June 2013, 5 per cent higher than during the same quarter of 2012.  

• On a seasonally-adjusted basis, there were 13,550 acceptances, an increase of 1 per cent from 13,380 in the previous quarter.  

Households in temporary accommodation  

• 56,210 households were in temporary accommodation on 30 June 2013, 9 per cent higher than at the same date in 2012.  

• On a seasonally-adjusted basis, 56,060 households were in temporary accommodation on 30 June, a 1 per cent increase from 55,250 in the previous quarter 

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/236899/PROTECT_-_Statutory_Homelessness_2nd_Quarter__Apr_-_Jun__2013_England.pdf

France:

Homelessness reaching crisis levels in France 

For more than 130,000 French citizens, the roads are where they live and sleep.

For decades, the homeless in France were single men, living beyond the borders of society.
But that has now been changed as a result of a four-year long economic crisis.

The housing shortages have led to demonstrations in Paris.
Under French law, tenants cannot be thrown out onto the streets between November and March when winter sweeps through the country.
But come April and they are back on the streets: a problem that’s becoming bigger with each passing year.  

Meanwhile, in the posh districts of French cities, tens of thousands of apartments have been lying vacant for almost an entire year.  

It is in the rich neighborhoods like this one where the French government says it wants to take over empty apartments and then give them to the homeless to solve the housing crisis. But charities say, it is easier said than done.  

http://www.presstv.com/detail/2013/06/25/310832/homelessness-reaching-crisis-levels-in-france/

Germany:

Up to 4,000 homeless in Berlin 

According to estimates, there are up to 4,000 homeless people in Berlin. Some can be easily spotted. But with many others, there's no way of telling they live on the streets, because they don't fulfill the stereotype of a shabby hobo. Most citizens or tourists don't even notice, or they don't pay attention to them. 

That was one reason for Berlin-based Sally Ollech and Katharina Kühn to initiate the project "Querstadtein." Just like in cities like Copenhagen or London, Berlin now offers city tours focusing on the homeless. The idea is to help overcome prejudices and reservations. 

http://www.dw.de/berlin-through-the-eyes-of-the-homeless/a-17014920 

Germany
An estimated 254,000 people are homeless in Germany
Approximately 25% are women
Approximately 11% are children and young people
Source: European Federation of National organisations working with the Homeless (FIANCE)
http://www.homelessworldcup.org/content/homelessness-statistics

And Others:

Australia
100,000 people sleep on the streets of Australia everyday
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2003.
An estimated 105,000 people are homeless in Australia.
Approximately 44% of homeless people in Australia are female
Approximately 12% of homeless people in Australia are children under the age of 12 

Source: http://www.homelessnessaustralia.org.au, 2009

Brazil
In Brazil, there is a deficit of 6.6 Million housing units, equalling 20 million homeless people, who live in favelas, shared clandestine rooms, hovels or under bridges and viaducts, or are squatters, in some of the country's largest cities
Source: Brazil 2000 census
An estimated 2,500 people are homeless in Rio de Janiero
An estimated 10,000 people sleep rough in Sao Paulo
Half of the population of Sao Paulo live in informal shelter 

Source: Brazil’s Economic Research Institute Foundation, 2003

Japan
An estimated 25,296 people are homeless in Japan
An estimated 5,000 people are homeless in Tokyo             

Source: www.street-papers.org/case-studies-asia, 2006

Greece
Homelessness in Greece has risen from 17,000 in 2009 to 20,000 in 2010
An estimated 9,000 people are homeless in Athens 

Source: European Observatory on Homelessness            

Hong Kong
52.7% of homeless people are aged 49 or over in Hong Kong
18% of homeless people have not received a formal education in Hong Kong. 

Source: Project on Helping Street Sleepers - Paper of LegCo Welfare Panel (2004) 

http://www.homelessworldcup.org/content/homelessness-statistics







*** *** *** ***


Luk 10:1 After these things the LORD appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.

"yet he hath opened mine eyes" - Were Hiroshima/Nagasaki Attacks Necessary

Tokyo Views toward East 

Were Hiroshima/Nagasaki Attacks Necessary

The most significant incident in the 20th century is, as widely admitted, the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the US Air Force.

But people in the world still misunderstand the backgrounds of this incident.

First, it is true that the Empire of Japan were prepared for the battle to the finish on Japan's mainland in the summer of 1945.  For this purpose, the Imperial Army and Navy still kept 5,000 military planes for expected kamikaze missions.  Most of those planes were not allowed to fly and engage in air battles against B29s and other American military planes attacking Japanese cities.  Japanese generals rather accepted US air raids without using Japanese fighter planes to encounter them in the air over the Japanese Archipelago.  Some limited number of fighter planes and anti-aircraft artillery were measures the Imperial military took to defend Japanese citizens from American air raids (which was why the B29 carrying atomic bomb could easily penetrate in the Japanese sky).

What is more, Japanese war leaders desperately prepared three million soldiers and armed civilians for the decisive battle, though they were not so well equipped with sufficient weapons.  But if the US Government had promised that the Emperor of Japan would be allowed to keep his status and the imperial system as a political framework of Japan would be secured, the Imperial military of Japan would have soon stopped act of war.  If so, as often said, tens of thousands of lives of US soldiers would be saved and secured mainly from crazy kamikaze attacks.
  　　
Nonetheless the US Government led by President Truman decided not to make such a promise but use atomic (or nuclear) bombs on Japanese cities.  And the reason for this strategic decision was not only related to military conditions on this last stage of WWII but also involving concerns about international politics after WWII, namely conflicts between western democracy and the Soviet Union-based communism.  

Anyway, an atomic bomb attack carried out on August 6 and August 9, respectively.

In another aspect of the war, the Potsdam Declaration had been prepared and issued by leaders of the US, the UK and China on July 26, 1945.  This Declaration requested the Empire of Japan to surrender unconditionally.

Leader of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin was also present at the Potsdam Conference held near Berlin though the USSR did not yet declare war against the Empire of Japan at the time.  Before this Conference, Harry Truman of the US President wanted the USSR to renounce the Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact and start attacks on the Imperial Army of Japan in Manchuria, Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands to accelerate the end of the war without more sacrifices on the American side.  So, Truman rather behaved humbly before Stalin.

But, of course, Truman did not like to see expansion of influences of Russian communists into the Far East.  So, when the vice-president-turned US President Truman heard a flash report from Los Alamos, New Mexico, that a nuclear bomb test, the first for mankind, succeeded, he was glad that the US alone could put an end to the war against the Empire of Japan without help from the Soviet Union.  Now Truman did not have to behave humbly before communist Stalin.  Truman actually suggested to Stalin that the US had obtained a new type of destructive bombs.  Stalin did not look like being impressed.  But he urged his generals to launch attacks on Imperial Japanese troops stationed in Manchuria though Stalin first said to Truman that Soviet troops would start firing on August 15.  

Stalin must have thought that the US would not need help from the communist country USSR to make Japanese military forces surrender now that the US had atomic bombs.  Then the USSR could not get Manchuria or other territories now occupied by the Empire of Japan.  Accordingly in order to acquire any reward for entry into the war, the USSR began to advance its troops over the border of Manchukuo on August 9 when Nagasaki was attacked by another nuclear bomb.

The general judgment by American experts on Japan in this period of time, namely the early summer of 1945, was that the Empire of Japan, except fanatical generals and officers, now wanted to end the war.  Japanese leaders must have known that they had no chance to stop the offensive by the US military.  Japanese troops retreated from the Philippine; they were completely defeated in Iwojima Island; and Okinawa, part of essential regions of the Empire, was finally conquered by US troops despite sever air raids on US ships and troops by kamikaze planes of the Imperial military.

However, American experts knew that the Empire of Japan could not unconditionally surrender.  They had to preserve the Imperial system, the core of the nation Japan.  Conversely, if the US promised that it would allow the empire of Japan to continue his reign over his people, Truman could make the Imperial Government in Tokyo rather quickly surrender without military help from the USSR.  But Truman did not take such advice but requested Tokyo to surrender unconditionally through the Potsdam Declaration before Hirsohima/Nagaski attacks.

The key to understanding why Truman and other US leaders were definitely determined to drop atomic bombs on Japan lies in their view on the Soviet Union.  Those American politicians thought that after WWII the USSR would try to further spread communism in the world, thus getting into stark conflict with the US.  Further if Stalin thought that his troops finally put an end to the war the Empire of Japan had started with the Pearl Harbor Attack, he would take a more aggressive and arrogant stance against the US after WWII.  Therefore Truman had to use atomic bombs on Japan so as to show Stalin the superior military capability of the US.

That is why Truman did not follow advice from experts on Japan who claimed that Tokyo would soon surrender if Japanese politicians had been convinced that the Emperor could be intact and the imperial system would be secured as the framework of the nation Japan. Conversely, if Truman did not admit this special care about the Emperor, Japanese generals and soldiers would fight till the real end through battles on the mainland Japan.  Then, he could justify his use of atomic bombs, and Stalin should be surprised by power of this new type of bombs and Soviet-Union leaders would be afraid of America.  As a result the US could  stop expansion of communism in the world.

For this purpose, Truman did not include any conditions on preservation of the imperial system in the Potsdam Declaration, which Tokyo so wanted, but posed the Declaration demanding unconditional surrender from Tokyo.  It was intended to take this opportunity to use the atomic bombs not only for destroying persistent resistance by the Imperial troops but also for putting the power of nuclear bombs on a show for the USSR.    

So, why was it necessary to use atomic bombs while the Empire of Japan lost most of its war capability and the Soviet Union was about to join allied forces on the Pacific Theater of WWII?  The answer is that the Empire of Japan had still military power to kill tens of thousands of US soldiers on Japan's mainland and the communist Soviet Union must be suppressed militarily by capitalist/democratic America.

Finally, after the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the US Government did not take a clear stance in requesting unconditional surrender of the Imperial military of Japan.  Tokyo tried to confirm that the Emperor could be exempted from US retaliation after WWII, meaning that the imperial system could be left untouched despite the conditions specified in the Potsdam Declaration.  In response, the US Government simply said that the Emperor would be subject to the supreme commander of the allied forces, namely General MacArthur.

Accordingly, political leaders in Tokyo, including the Emperor himself, understood that the emperor would not be persecuted and the imperial regime would not be abolished by the US military forces expected to land on Japan.  So, the Emperor and the Imperial Government decided to surrender on August 14, 1945, Japan Time.  The Emperor himself announced to all the Japanese people through radio transmission that the imperial military must cease fire immediately at noon of August 15.  (It was the first experience of hearing the Emperor speaking for ordinary Japanese people.)  Consequently, August 15 is officially regraded today as the day when WWII ended for Japan.

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AC%AC%E4%BA%8C%E6%AC%A1%E4%B8%96%E7%95%8C%E5%A4%A7%E6%88%A6
The Pacific Theater of WWII



*** *** *** ***



Joh 9:28 Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples.
Joh 9:29 We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.
Joh 9:30 The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.
Joh 9:31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.

"Believe ye that I am able to do this?" - Napoleon and Christianity

Tokyo Streets

Napoleon and Christianity

Napoleon humbled himself after he was driven into exile in St. Helena Island of the Atlantic Ocean in 1815.

Napoleon expressed the following thoughts while he was exiled on the rock of St. Helena. There, the conqueror of civilized Europe had time to reflect on the measure of his accomplishments. He called Count Montholon to his side and asked him, "Can you tell me who Jesus Christ was?" The count declined to respond. Napoleon countered:

    Well then, I will tell you. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself have founded great empires; but upon what did these creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions will die for Him. . . . I think I understand something of human nature; and I tell you, all these were men, and I am a man; none else is like Him: Jesus Christ was more than a man. . . . I have inspired multitudes with such an enthusiastic devotion that they would have died for me . . . but to do this is was necessary that I should be visibly present with the electric influence of my looks, my words, of my voice. When I saw men and spoke to them, I lightened up the flame of self-devotion in their hearts. . . . Christ alone has succeeded in so raising the mind of man toward the unseen, that it becomes insensible to the barriers of time and space. Across a chasm of eighteen hundred years, Jesus Christ makes a demand which is beyond all others difficult to satisfy; He asks for that which a philosopher may often seek in vain at the hands of his friends, or a father of his children, or a bride of her spouse, or a man of his brother. He asks for the human heart; He will have it entirely to Himself. He demands it unconditionally; and forthwith His demand is granted. Wonderful! In defiance of time and space, the soul of man, with all its powers and faculties, becomes an annexation to the empire of Christ. All who sincerely believe in Him, experience that remarkable, supernatural love toward Him. This phenomenon is unaccountable; it is altogether beyond the scope of man's creative powers. Time, the great destroyer, is powerless to extinguish this sacred flame; time can neither exhaust its strength nor put a limit to its range. This is it, which strikes me most; I have often thought of it. This it is which proves to me quite convincingly the Divinity of Jesus Christ. 

As Ravi Zacharias writes, '...it is difficult to explain this away as mere eloquence...With unbelievable insight, Napoleon saw how Jesus Christ conquered. It was not by force, but by winning the heart.'

http://justjesus.typepad.com/blog/2009/11/napoleon-bonaparte-and-jesus-christ.html

Even when he died in 1821 he left  his last will and testament which made clear how much Napoleon came to respect Christ Jesus.  According to Napoleon's last testament:

"I could not delare loudly and boldly that I was a Christian.  I should have confessed that I was a Christian."

This testament is reportedly kept in a library of a university in Chicago.

Napoleon also expressed various interest views on life:

You can tolerate an ugly woman but bear an arrogant woman.  

A beauty is for the eye but a good wife is for the mind. 

In order to enjoy a married life man and wife has to always share burdens and sweat. 

A true hero is the one who advances over unhappiness of his life. 

If you learn in a right manner, you can change to a right direction.

However wars Napoleon set off and launched resulted in death of 600,000 to one million people.  So, he must have asked big pardon from Christ Jesus.

Nonetheless, Napoleon paved the way for destruction of absolute monarchy systems and oppressive rules in Europe while introducing democracy and liberalism.  He must have been a pawn of the God in His plan called the history.

http://yaplog.jp/tadaopottery/archive/358
St. Helena Island




*** *** *** ***


Mat 9:27 And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us.
Mat 9:28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
Mat 9:29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
Mat 9:30 And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.

"But Jesus took him by the hand" - The First Thing to be Taught

Around Prime Minister Office and National Diet Bldg. Street, Tokyo

The First Thing to be Taught

You cannot solve problems in the world as long as you misunderstand the situation.

The big mistake most of human beings have made is that they think that their lives are their own, so that they think that they can decide anything freely for their own interest.

However truth is that this universe is possessed by the God.  So, every life on the earth belongs to Him.  A life of any man is possessed by the God.

The main player of one's life is not a man himself but the God Himself.  Accordingly a man has to live in order to satisfy the God.  If everybody lives following this truth, any problems in this world can be solved.  You must put the highest priority on requests from the God.  And what the God requests of human beings can be easily understood by anybody.  For this purpose, the God gives mankind the ability to judge between right and wrong.

The God is the sole protagonist in your story of life.  You are obliged to follow the will, intention, and plans the God has on your life.  If society is filled with such citizens that want to fulfill this holy mission, there would be no problems at all.

But the God also gives every man freedom to pursue his or her own interest even neglecting the God.  A man is not created so that his life will be soon taken away the moment he decides to neglect the God so as to make a profit for himself.  Sometimes a bad selfish guy can live a long and wealthy life neglecting not only others but also the God.  Watching such bad examples, people come to forget teachings of the God.  They become slaves of sins and servants of the Devil.  But according to teachings of the God, such men fall in the hell after death.  Yet, what is worse, while knowing this teaching, most of people love to live a rich life or live a selfish life as if there could not be such a place as the hell.

The God is the central player in your life.  You must live according to His will.  This is the first thing everybody has to be taught in school.
  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_trumpets
The seven angels with seven trumpets, and the angel with a censer, from the Bamberg Apocalypse.




*** *** *** ***


Mar 9:26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
Mar 9:27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
Mar 9:28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
Mar 9:29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.

"of him shall the Son of man be ashamed" - Old Stories of Minorities

Toward Tokyo Railroad Station

Old Stories of Minorities

An old story of an African American man:

Once a hard-working African American was forced to work for a European American family in their farmland as a slave.

He worked honestly in the field.  But one day he saw two young boys of his master playing in a boat in a river near the mansion house of the family.  But  the river was not so calm on the day.  Besides water current suddenly changed around the boat.  The two boys could not control the boat now violently circling in the middle of the river.  The mother of the two white boys came out of the house, shouting at the slave, "Save my two boys!  I am not so young; I cannot have other children!  Rescue my two boys!"

So, the African American jumped in the river.  While almost being drowned, he swam to the boat and got in it.  He then rowed the boat to the shore with the two little boys in safety.

So, afterwards the father of the two children said to the slave, "I like you.  My wife likes you.  My boys like you.  So, you will be set free if you work hard for one more year in my field."

The slave worked for one more year very honestly.  Accordingly the master told him that he was free now.  The white man gave his ex-slave some clothes and other goods as humble gifts or salary.  Then the African American started to walk out of the farm land of his ex-mater with a stick on the shoulder at the end of which a bundle of the clothes and goods he received was tied.

Then the white man shouted at the free black man, "I like you; my wife likes you;
and my boys like you.  But remember that you are still a negro!   I like you; my wife likes you;
and my boys like you.  But remember that you are still a negro! "

So, the African American man decided to walk as far as possible, probably, to Canada.   He thought his future children and descendants should also continue to walk as far as possible.


An old story of a Judaist:

There once lived a poor Judaist living a humble life.

His neighbor was a rich pagan who one day met a prophet.  The prophet said to the greedy man, "Your fortune will be all someday your neighbor's."

So, the pagan man sold all his assets and treasure.  And with money he got he bought one big pearl.  The rich pagan hid the pearl in his hat to leave the town.  He traveled along a river, but a strong wind blew to carry his hat into the river.  Some fish came close to the hat in the water.

Days, months, or maybe years passed.  And the poor and humble Judaist bought a big fish from a fisherman who came to sell fish in the town.  When the Judaist cooked the fish, he found a big pearl inside it.  He sold it to be rich.  And the poor and humble Judaist could live in affluence.

The poor and humble Judaist was now no more poor and humble.  He became a rich Judaist, happily.




*** *** *** ***


Luk 9:26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.

"whereas I was blind, now I see" - Democratic Voters vs The Republican Rich

Before Office of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Tokyo

Democratic Voters vs The Republican Rich 

In the 2012 US Presidential Election non-Hispanic whites accounted for 72% of all the voters; blacks 13%, Hispanics 10%, and others 5%.

Among non-Hispanic whites, 39% voted for the Democratic candidate Obama; among blacks 93% for Obama; among Hispanics 71% for Obama; and among others about 68% for Obama.

Consequently the Democratic camp got  50% (0.72 x 0.39 + 0.13 x 0.93 + 0.1 x 0.71 + 0.05 x 0.68) of votes.

That is why Barack Obama won in the 2012 Election despite a fact that he could only secure 39% of non-Hispanic white voters while he could secure 43% in 2008.

It is estimated that the ratio of white voters decreases by 2% in every four years, while the ratio of the so-called minorities increases by 2% in every four years.  As a result the Democratic Party has its share of votes dropped by 0.85% while the Republican Party has 0.85% more votes in every four years.  So, the gap between them continues to grow by 1.8% in every Presidential Election.

In addition, between 2000 and 2013 the US employed population who were born in the US have decreased by 1.3 million from 114 million, while  the US employed population who were born outside the US have grown by 5.3 million from 17 million.

Put simply the job growth in the US from 2000 to 2013 was mostly contributed to by immigrants.  However, those immigrants are mostly engaged in low-paying jobs.  The employment rate of those who graduated from universities or postgraduate schools is 81.8% for those Americans born in the US and 77.4% for immigrants.

Therefore, the lower middle class and the lower class society of the US are going to be filled by Americans born outside the US or immigrants, but they are going to have a decisive influence on the American presidential election.

This social and political structure might offset the overwhelmingly dominant influence of European Americans on the economic sphere of the US.

We will probably not see a George Bush type of US Presidents from the Republican Party anymore.

Having said so, there is still a possibility that a very Christian president will come from the Republican Party since those supporting the Democratic Party include Americans who are apparently  stray from traditional codes of Christians.  Even Catholic Hispanics might change their political stance toward the Republic Party in near future.




*** *** *** ***


Joh 9:25 He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.

"not dead, but sleepeth" - Crises of the 14th Century

Tokyo Subway Line

Crises of the 14th Century

For 60 years from 1310 or so, very cold weather prevailed in the Northern Hemisphere.

The era was also featured by earthquakes and floods, leading to reduction in agricultural products in many parts on the earth.  In addition, a plague started to widely spread, taking on one third of population in Europe at the time.  This disease, namely a pestilence is believed to have been generated in Myanmar or part of Central Asia.  It came to be widely carried by rats and mice through Europe as Christian churches were at the time eradicating cats since the animals were regarded as partners of witches.

This incident is now called the "Crisis of the 14th Century."

And one of the gravest consequences was that the view of Christians on Judaists changed drastically through this Crisis of the 14th Century.  Christians in Europe started to take different attitudes against Judaits than before, regarding the minority among Europeans as a big enemy of Christ.  They discovered a big enemy of their society in Judaists.  Christians or non-Judaists in Europe came to physically attack Judaists.  Even in Spain and Germany where Judaists had settled down in large numbers in preceding periods of the Middle Ages, Judaists were violently attacked and dispelled or pushed into ghettos.

Throughout Europe, the Jews were gradually confined in ghettos  as the Middle Ages progressed. The first compulsory ones were established in Spain and Portugal at the end of the fourteenth century. Jewish ghettos existed in Madrid, Barcelona, Venice, Naples, Rome, Florence, and Prague, and other European cities.

Jews continued to flee eastward from Germany, Austria, and Hungary to Poland. Also during the High Middle Ages, Jews were leaving the area along the north shores of the Black Sea and heading northwest, into Poland. Jewish life flourished in Poland. Polish rulers welcomed Jews during the 13th and 14th centuries, issuing charters of legal rights for Jews. During the hundred years of the 15th century, the Jewish Polish population exploded from about 15,000 to 150,000.

http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/PEOPLE/displace.htm

This persecution of Judaists were mostly guided by Catholic churches and the Vatican.  Judaists were being pushed into Poland and East Europe where they adopted a kind of new language Yiddish.  Between the 14th century and the early 20th century, East Europe had been the center of Judaist communities.  Before WWII, 10 million Judaists spoke Yiddish.  However due to Holocaust by Nazi Germany the number of Yiddish speakers decreased so much after WWII.

Reports of the number of current Yiddish speakers vary significantly. Ethnologue estimated in 2013 there were 1,505,030 speakers of Eastern Yiddish,[1] of which over one-third lived in the United States. In contrast, the Modern Language Association reports fewer than 200,000 in the United States.[17] Western Yiddish, which had "several tens of thousands of speakers" on the eve of the Holocaust, is reported by Ethnologue to have had an "ethnic population" of slightly below 50,000 in 2000.[18] Other estimates are also given, for example, of a worldwide Yiddish-speaking population of about two million in 1996 in a report by the Council of Europe. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yiddish_language

It was not only Europe that faced drastic situations in the 14th century.

1333 - The first samurai regime of Japan based in Kamakura falls.

1368 - The Yuan dynasty built by Mongolians in China falls.

1392 - The　Kingdom of Joseon is established in the Korean Peninsula.


Anyway, a change in weather, especially global cooling, can trigger a tragedy of any minor people or race, such as Judaists.  Otherwise, it might bring about demise of a regime.

Conversely global warming today might be a situation Judaists and Israelis can tolerate.



*** *** *** ***


Mat 9:23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,
Mat 9:24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.

"all things are possible to him" - Two Great Meteors for Dinosaurs

Tokyo Governmental Office Quarter & Anti-Nuclear Protester Tents

Two Great Meteors for Dinosaurs

Japanese scientists asserted that a big meteor with a diameter of 7.8 km (5 miles) hit an area presently called Quebec State of Canada about 215 million years ago.  Indeed there is a big crater in Canada with a diameter of 90 km which is estimated to have been created 215 million years ago.

It is comparable with the well-known meteor which struck a part of the earth presently called Yucatan Peninsula to put an end to the era of dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

The Japanese scientists led by T. Onoue, associate professor of Kumamoto University,  found a layer built 210 million years ago in strata under the ground in Gifu and Oita Prefectures, Japan, where higher concentration  of osmium, a type of metal mostly included in a meteor, was abundantly present.   So, they believe that this gigantic meteor with a weight of 50 million tons released a huge amount of energy on its collision with the ground.  Then most of living things on the earth were eradicated like the case of extinction of dinosaurs 150 million years later due to a 10-km wide meteor.  But this big eradication of animals dominant at the time paved the way for expansion of living spheres of then minor creatures dinosaurs.

Put simply, dinosaurs started to prosper with the crash of the 7.8-km wide meteor in present Canada 210 million years ago, and suddenly went extinct with the impact of the 10-km wide meteor in present Mexico 65 million years ago.  

What was brought up by something from the heaven should be in deed banished by something from the heaven, too.  And Americans live just between Canada and Mexico so impressively today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gondwana

65 million years ago
http://www.geocities.co.jp/NatureLand/5218/w-dai3.html



*** *** *** ***


Mar 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

"The Son of man must suffer many things" - Those Related to Syria

Anti-Nuclear Power Plant Demonstrators ' Tents in Gov. Office District, Tokyo 

Those Related to Syria

Cleopatra is believed to have been familiar with Syria before she met with Julius Caesar.

In 48 B.C. they removed Cleopatra from power and she was forced into exile in Syria along with her younger sister Arsinone IV. Cleopatra would not give up her throne easily and she began amassing an army on Egyptian border.  

Cleopatra devised a plan to meet Julius Caesar on her own terms seeking a political alliance and a return to the throne. She had herself wrapped inside a rolled rug which was smuggled into Alexandria and delivered to Caesar. When the rug was opened, Cleopatra rolled out and immediately charmed Caesar. Within that same evening, Cleopatra seduced Caesar, who was married, and became his lover, but more importantly linked herself with the Roman Empire.

http://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/cleop7.html

After Julius Caesar Cleopatra associated with Antony to fight the son-in-law of Julius Caesar, namely Octavius.

Accordingly, on September 2, 31 BC, a great battle was fought in Greece:

The Battle of Actium was the decisive confrontation of the Final War of the Roman Republic, a naval engagement between Octavian and the combined forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra on 2 September 31 BC, on the Ionian Sea near the city of Actium, in the Roman province of Epirus vetus in Greece. Octavian's fleet was commanded by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, while Antony's fleet was supported by the ships of Queen Cleopatra of Ptolemaic Egypt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Actium

http://thehistoryofrome.typepad.com/the_history_of_rome/2009/04/51.html


Flavius Josephus, a Judaist who survived the Jewish-Roman War mysteriously, wrote about some about this battle at the early part of his great book The Jewish War.  And after the Battle or after Mark Antony and Cleopatra were both dead, Syria was put under regal power of King Herod.

The Works of Flavius JosephusWar of the JewsBook 1Chapter 20
Chapter 20 

3. When Caesar had spoken such obliging things to the king, and had put the diadem again about his head, he proclaimed what he had bestowed on him by a decree, in which he enlarged in the commendation of the man after a magnificent manner. Whereupon Herod obliged him to be kind to him by the presents he gave him, and he desired him to forgive Alexander, one of Antony's friends, who was become a supplicant to him. But Caesar's anger against him prevailed, and he complained of the many and very great offenses the man whom he petitioned for had been guilty of; and by that means he rejected his petition. After this Caesar went for Egypt through Syria, when Herod received him with royal and rich entertainments; and then did he first of all ride along with Caesar, as he was reviewing his army about Ptolemais, and feasted him with all his friends, and then distributed among the rest of the army what was necessary to feast them withal. He also made a plentiful provision of water for them, when they were to march as far as Pelusium, through a dry country, which he did also in like manner at their return thence; nor were there any necessaries wanting to that army. It was therefore the opinion, both of Caesar and of his soldiers, that Herod's kingdom was too small for those generous presents he made them; for which reason, when Caesar was come into Egypt, and Cleopatra and Antony were dead, he did not only bestow other marks of honor upon him, but made an addition to his kingdom, by giving him not only the country which had been taken from him by Cleopatra, but besides that, Gadara, and Hippos, and Samaria; and moreover, of the maritime cities, Gaza and Anthedon, and Joppa, and Strato's Tower. He also made him a present of four hundred Galls [Galatians] as a guard for his body, which they had been to Cleopatra before. Nor did any thing so strongly induce Caesar to make these presents as the generosity of him that received them. 

4. Moreover, after the first games at Actium, he added to his kingdom both the region called Trachonitis, and what lay in its neighborhood, Batanea, and the country of Auranitis; and that on the following occasion: Zenodorus, who had hired the house of Lysanias, had all along sent robbers out of Trachonitis among the Damascenes; who thereupon had recourse to Varro, the president of Syria, and desired of him that he would represent the calamity they were in to Caesar. When Caesar was acquainted with it, he sent back orders that this nest of robbers should be destroyed. Varro therefore made an expedition against them, and cleared the land of those men, and took it away from Zenodorus. Caesar did also afterward bestow it on Herod, that it might not again become a receptacle for those robbers that had come against Damascus. He also made him a procurator of all Syria, and this on the tenth year afterward, when he came again into that province; and this was so established, that the other procurators could not do any thing in the administration without his advice: but when Zenodorus was dead, Caesar bestowed on him all that land which lay between Trachonitis and Galilee. Yet, what was still of more consequence to Herod, he was beloved by Caesar next after Agrippa, and by Agrippa next after Caesar; whence he arrived at a very great degree of felicity. Yet did the greatness of his soul exceed it, and the main part of his magnanimity was extended to the promotion of piety.

http://www.biblestudytools.com/history/flavius-josephus/war-of-the-jews/book-1/chapter-20.html

When King Herod died in 4 BC, any of his sons could not succeed his father as king. Judea became subject to direct rule of the Roman Empire. And then finally Christ Jess was born under this condition. 

When a stupid man became the last king of Israelites, the fate of Judaists was determined by the God so severely.  

If Israelites had joined Cleopatra and Antony to defeat Octavianus (Caesar Octavianus Augustus) and the Roman Empire and Herod had not been so foolish, the history must have been different.  

If the Mediterranean Sea regions had been governed by Cleopatra and Antony and their descendants from Egypt while suppressing Romans, Alexandria must have been another Vatican, provided that Christ Jesus had been born in Judea.  

Recent armed conflicts or a civil war in Syria has reminded me of the Battle of Actium when Cleopatra and Octavianus traveled through Syria to be under rule by King Herod.

So, if Israel today should interfere with the Syrian civil strife, Israelis today would probably have to face a sever situation like that which occurred 2000 years ago.       

*** *** *** *** 


Luk 9:22 Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.
Luk 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Luk 9:24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

"which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk" - Kishi and Churchill

A Humble Zoo, Japan

Kishi and Churchill

Nobuskuke Kishi (1896-1987) was a grandfather of the incumbent Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe.

Kishi was Prime Minister of Japan between 1957 and 1960.  Kishi had been an elite bureaucrat of the Empire of Japan before WWII and had served the Empire as a state minister in the notorious Tojo Cabinet during WWII.  Accordingly he was indicted for war crimes when the US military led by General MacArthur occupied Japan after the summer of 1945.  Kishi was housed in a prison in Tokyo from 1945 to 1948.

But after he was released, Kishi recovered his status rapidly to be elected as a parliament member in a national election in 1953.  Due to his political backgrounds rooted in the Chosyu Region full of heroes of the Meiji Restoration of the imperial authorities in 1868  and his newly established tie with the US Government and especially with CIA, Nobuskuke Kishi became Prime Minister of Japan in 1957.  His Cabinet was strongly focused on extension of the Japan-US Security Treaty which was realized in 1960 despite strong and violent protests from liberal Japanese.

Even after voluntarily stepping down from the premiership, Kishi kept some degree of influences on the Japanese politics, since his younger brother Eisaku Sato (1901-1975) assumed office of the premiership in 1964.

When Winston Churchill died in 1969, then former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi was sent to England as representative of the Japanese Government in the funeral held for WWII hero Churchill.   But while Churchill was still alive in his residence near Hyde Park, Kishi visited Churchill.

Kishi found a bronze horse on a table in Churchill's house.  Churchill explained that his parents had bought it in Japan when they visited the Empire of Japan after the Japanese-Russo War.  Old man Churchill said to Kishi, "This bronze horse was not a work of art.  But it was designed and produced very elaborately.  A craftsman finished it in impressive detail.  It is a big surprise that an ordinary artisan exercised  his best workmanship in an exquisite manner for such a common stationary article to be sold at a commercial price.  It tells what Japanese are."

So, Kishi invited Churchill to Japan so that the great political and cultural figure of England would paint Mt. Fuji.   However, Churchill said that he could just walk only with aid of someone then.  It was impossible for Churchill to follow the passage to the Far East his parents had taken almost 65 years ago.

It is not widely known how his grandfather Nobusuke Kishi told Shinzo Abe about Churchill, when current Prime Minister Abe was very young.    　  






*** *** *** ***


Rev 9:20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:

"and that he was born blind"

Tokyo Suburb Railways






*** *** *** ***


Joh 9:17 They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.
Joh 9:18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight.
Joh 9:19 And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see?
Joh 9:20 His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind:
Joh 9:21 But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.
Joh 9:22 These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.

"he received sight forthwith" - Bad Commercialism

Tokyo

Bad Commercialism

Men pay money to satisfy their desires.

This is the root of commercialism.

Businesses provide goods and services consumers not only need but also want as means to satisfy their desires.  For businesses to prosper they boost demands of consumers and induce and strengthen their material desires.

Businesses do not mind if their goods and services help and save consumers or eventually harm them, so long as they can make a profit.  In commercialism, making money is the most important thing and helping and saving people is a secondary matter.

Men can be rich by getting engaged in commercialism.  So, rich men have to accept this philosophy of commercialism: there is no good or bad in business, since money is the absolute norm.

But men following commercialism are not neither good nor bad.  They are bad simply as they deny the absolute value of love and justice.

So, the US society changed so much after WWII with advancement of commercialism.  Commercialism do not need especially racial segregation as businesses want more customers.  They want more African American clients.  They want African Americans to earn money enough to allow them to buy more goods and services.  So, after WWII, most aspects of racism were ended in the US society.  It was not simple victory of minorities but great victory of commercialism.

Maybe commercialism has preceded capitalism.  Even in the era of Christ Jesus and His Disciples, people sometimes betrayed others for money.  Money never asked its owner how he earned it.  It is commercialism.

http://www.economist.com/node/21557732




*** *** *** ***


Act 9:17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
Act 9:18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.

"new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break" - Shooting in US Society

The Greatest Mountain Fuji of Japan, 100 km from the Tokyo Suburbs

Shooting in US Society

The US has been destroying Christian moral codes in these years.

In the name of freedom and individualism, anything except money is losing its own inherent value deeply rooted in humanity and the human history.

Accordingly, American rich men have come to be indifferent to killings among poor Americans.

Sept. 16, 2013 - A 34-year-old man opens fire at the U.S. Navy Yard in Washington, not far from the U.S. Capitol and the White House, in an incident in which 13 people, including the gunman, are killed.
(http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/412400/)

December 14, 2012 - A heavily armed gunman kills at least 20 children and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, and a body is found elsewhere in the town. The gunman is also dead.

December 11, 2012 - A gunman opens fire inside an Oregon shopping mall, killing two people and wounding one. He then kills himself.
(http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/14/us-usa-shooting-connecticut-crimes-factb-idUSBRE8BD1AW20121214)

August 24, 2012 - Two people are killed and eight wounded in a shooting outside the landmark Empire State Building in New York City at the height of the tourist season.

August 5, 2012 - A gunman kills six people during Sunday services at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, before he is shot dead by a police officer.

July 20, 2012 - A masked gunman kills 12 people and wounds 58 others when he opens fire on moviegoers at a showing of the recent Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, a suburb of Denver, Colorado.

April 2, 2012 - A gunman, identified by police as Korean-American One Goh, kills seven people and wounds three others in a shooting rampage at a Christian college in Oakland.

January 8, 2011 - Then-U.S. congresswomen Gabrielle Giffords is target of an assassination attempt in Tuscon, Arizona in which six people are killed and 13, including Giffords, wounded.

April 16, 2007 - Virginia Tech, a university in Blacksburg, Virginia, becomes site of the deadliest rampage in U.S. history when a gunman kills 32 people and himself.

November 21, 2004 - A 35-year-old Hmong immigrant and naturalized U.S. citizen allegedly shoots eight people, killing six, while deer hunting east of Birchwood in northern Wisconsin.

October 2002 - John Muhammad and Lee Malvo kill 10 people in a string of sniper-style shootings that terrorize the Washington, D.C. area.

July 1999 - A gunman kills nine people at two brokerages in Atlanta, after apparently killing his wife and two children. He commits suicide five hours later.

April 1999 - Two heavily armed teenagers go on a rampage at Columbine High School in Littleton, Denver, shooting 13 students and staff before taking their own lives.
(http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/timeline-of-other-major-shooting-incidents-in-the-united-states-261540)

If they had been rich, those shooters would not have taken action with guns and rifles.  But a poor man believing in a value system that the most valuable thing in this world is money and thus those who have little money are nothing might come to hate living in this world where he has no possibility of becoming rich.  But he would not like to leave this world alone.  He would want to take some others to the hell with him as a kind of revenge.  So, he would shoot and kill others before he commits a suicide or he is killed by the police without remorse.

The more Americans love money, the more killings by gunmen would occur.

The philosophy they must believe in is that money is an enemy of the God and thus a big enemy of Americans; a gun and a rifle are an enemy of the God and thus a big enemy of Americans.

But money vs. money and guns vs. guns cannot be a solution.  The solution is the word of the God vs. money and the word of the God vs. guns and rifles.

Proverbs 30:14 There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.    

Luke 22:52 Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?

So, poverty and love of possession are two main causes of killings by guns and rifles.  In order to eradicate the crime of killing others with firearms, you must address poverty issues and worldly desires.

It is the true war for the US: the War on Poverty and Desires.
  




*** *** *** ***


Mat 9:17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.

"And he asked the scribes"

Mt. Fuji, Today after Typhoon Passing North of Tokyo 







*** *** *** ***


Mar 9:16 And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them?
Mar 9:17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
Mar 9:18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
Mar 9:19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
Mar 9:20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
Mar 9:21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
Mar 9:22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
Mar 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
Mar 9:24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
Mar 9:25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
Mar 9:26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
Mar 9:27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
Mar 9:28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
Mar 9:29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.