BPR Mailing List Digest: 07/05-11/98

Philologos
BPR Mailing List Digest
July 5-11, 1998

Digest Home | 1998

To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: Ezekiel Study
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 06 Jul 1998 07:57:50 -0500

---------------------------------------------------------------
Bible Prophecy Research and Study List
Study Subject: Letter to Ephesus Rev 2:1-7
---------------------------------------------------------------

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Hi guys!

Just wanted you to know that Moza and I are starting our studies in
Ezekiel today. If you come across anything interesting in your own
studies, please pass them on to us.

Have a good day...

--- BPR

BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: Iranians panic over Earthquake prediction
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 06 Jul 1998 14:42:19 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

7/6/98 -- 2:10 PM EDT

Earthquake prediction spreads panic in Iranian capital

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Thousands of Iranians have left town. Others are
stocking up on cash and food. And those with neither money nor means
are
simply praying to God.

A prediction by a man in Slovakia that a powerful earthquake will
devastate Tehran this weekend or soon after has spread panic in the
capital city of 10 million.

For days, newspapers have printed statements by seismologists and
officials saying the earthquake prediction is a hoax. And one of the
nation's top earthquake experts was appearing on TV Monday night to
calm
residents.

But callers to a local radio station from villages around Tehran
complained Monday that they had been deluged by city folk looking for
a
safe place to spend the weekend.

"They're even coming here asking if we have any tents to rent out,"
one
caller said. "What's happening in Tehran?"

Fear, panic and official scrambling - that's what.

The Slovak Embassy in Tehran received a letter from a man named
Lubomir
Minarovjech, who predicted that an earthquake of magnitude 5 or more
would jolt the capital this month, probably on July 10 or 13.

Trying to be helpful, the embassy faxed the letter to the Foreign
Ministry in Tehran, which sent it to the president, who passed it on
to
seismologists at Tehran University. Somehow, the letter leaked out.

"Scientifically, the time and place of an earthquake cannot be
predicted. This letter is a lie and a hoax," said Dr. Bahram Akasheh,
one of Iran's top seismologists.

Akasheh said he would go on television Monday to try to restore calm.

"Iranians are generally pretty well-informed about a lot of things.
But
they know nothing about earthquakes, and that's why this rumor has
spread like wildfire," he said.

It also probably does not help that Iran is prone to devastating
earthquakes.

In 1990, a town in northern Iran was destroyed when two quakes struck,
killing 50,000 people and leaving 10 times as many homeless.

Last year, more than 5,000 people were killed in earthquakes, and this
year dozens have died in smaller quakes. A minor earthquake jolted
Tehran in November, but caused no casualties or damage.

So, hoax or not, the prediction is the talk of the town.

"I think this is just a rumor or a hoax, but I can't ignore it and
relax," said Fariba Ahmadzadeh, a secretary in Tehran who was planning
to go to the city of Mashhad over the weekend with her family. "I
don't
want to have to live in panic, to have nightmares and be restless."

But who is Minarovjech, and why does he think Tehran is in trouble?

Mohammad Reza Gheitanchi, head of Tehran University's seismology
department, asked the Slovak Embassy about the mysterious Slovak.

"They told me he is 74, has no university education, and is not
affiliated with any institution or scientific center," the Iran daily
quoted Gheitanchi as saying.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: Ezekiel 1:4
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 09:51:30 +0000

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Storm, Cloud, and Fire
Three symbols of Jehovah's Glory

(Ezek 1:4 KJV) "And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of
the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a
brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of
amber, out of the midst of the fire."

---------

Storm (Heb. 'ruach')

(Ezek 1:4 KJV) "And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of
the north..."

[Note: There are at least three different Hebrew words in the OT that
have been translated as "whirlwind" in the KJV. They include:

'caar'[5591] - "stormy, tempest"
'cuwphah'[5492] - "Red Sea, tempest"
'saar'[8175] - verb, "to hurl as a storm"

And yet, Ezekiel didn't use any of those. He used the word
"ruach."

For a brief study on the word "ruach" see:

The Four Winds of Heaven
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/List_Studies/dan-1-9.htm ]

"The term 'Holy Spirit' in the Old Testament is found only in Psalm
51:11; Isaiah 63:10-11. References to the spirit of God, however, are
abundant. In one sense the Spirit of God is depicted as a mighty wind,
Hebrew using the same word ruach for wind, breath, and spirit...Of the
eighty-seven times that the Spirit is described as wind, thirty-seven
describe the wind as the agent of God, mostly baneful, and ever strong
and intense. This property of the Spirit clearly reflects the power of
God. An additional quality of the Spirit is that of mysteriousness.
Psalm 104:3 demonstrates that the Spirit as wind is able to transport
God on its wings to the outer limits of the earth. No one can tell
where He has been or where He is going. Power and mystery state the
nature of God...Ezekiel and Isaiah express the idea of the Spirit more
than any other Old Testament source."

"So closely is the wind connected with God's will that it is called
His breath which He blew on the sea to cover the chariots of Pharaoh
(Ex. 15:10), or by which He froze rivers (Job 37:10) and withered
grass (Isa. 40:7)."

(Holman Bible Dictionary)

"...out of the north..."

(Psa 75:6-7 KJV) "For promotion cometh neither from the east,
nor from the west, nor from the south. {7} But God is the judge: he
putteth down one, and setteth up another."

Promotion then comes from the north -- "the immediate place of
God's throne, to which Satan aspires."

(Isa 14:12-14 KJV) "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son
of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst
weaken the nations! {13} For thou hast said in thine heart, I will
ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I
will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the
north: {14} I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be
like the most High."

(Job 26:7 KJV) "He stretcheth out the north over the empty
place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing."

(The Companion Bible)

For further comments on this topic see our file:
Heaven at http://philologos.org/bpr/files/h-002-01.htm

-------------

Cloud

(Ezek 1:4 KJV) "...a great cloud..."

The rainbow cloud of Noah (Gen. 9:13).
The little cloud of Elijah (1 Ki. 18:44).

The glory cloud of God:

It led Israel across the wilderness (Ex. 13:21, 22; Num. 9:17-22).
It protected Israel at the Red Sea (Ex. 14:19, 20, 24).
It appeared when Israel murmured in the Zin wilderness (Ex. 16:10).
It appeared when God spoke to Moses on Mt. Sinai (Ex. 19:9, 16; 24:15,16,18;34:5).
It filled the tabernacle during Moses' dedication (Ex. 40:34-38).
It stood above the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies (Lev. 16:2).
It appeared when God appointed the seventy (Num. 11:25).
It appeared when Miriam spoke against Moses' wife (Num. 12:5).
It appeared as Moses spied for Israel (Num. 14:14).
It appeared during Korah's rebellion (Num. 16:42).
It filled the Temple during Solomon's dedication (1 Ki.8:10, 11; 2 Chron. 5:13, 14), It was seen by Ezekiel (Ezek. 1:28;
8:11; 10:3, 4).
It appeared to the shepherds at Christ's birth (Lk. 2:8, 9).
It was present at Christ's baptism (Mt. 3:16).
It was present at Christ's transfiguration (Mt. 17:5).
It was present at Christ's death (Mt. 27:45).
It was present at Christ's ascension (Acts 1:9).
It will appear at the rapture (1 Thess. 4:17).
It will appear during the tribulation at the funeral of God's two witnesses (Rev. 11:12).
It will appear during the Second Coming (Dan. 7:13; Mt. 24:30, 26:64; Rev. 1:7; 14:14).

(From Wilmington's Guide to the Bible)

"The allusions to clouds in Scripture, as well as their use in
symbolical language, can only be understood when we remember
the nature of the climate, where there is hardly a trace of cloud from
the beginning of May to the close of September. During this season
clouds so seldom appear and rains so seldom fall as to seem
phenomenal, as was the case with the harvest rain invoked by Samuel (1
Samuel 12:17-18) and the little cloud, not larger than a man's hand,
which Elijah declared to be a sure promise of rain (1 Kings 18:44)."

(The New Unger's Bible Dictionary)

In the Old Testament, clouds:

"Demonstrate the power of God as Creator. Particularly Job 36-38
witness to the sovereignty of the Creator, who directs and controls
the clouds. Their majestic, unfathomable flight reveals the limits of
human knowledge. This applies even to our time with our expanded
scientific and meteorological knowledge.

"Accompany God's revelation. God dwells in the dark clouds (1
Kings 8:12; Ps. 18:12). When He comes forth from His
unapproachable holy being for judgment or for salvation, rain,
lightning, and thunder break out from the clouds (Judg. 5:4; Ps.
68:33-35; 77:14-18; 97:2). When Yahweh appears as a Warrior, the
clouds are His battle chariots in which He travels (Ps. 68:34; 104:3;
Isa. 19:1) and from which He shoots down the lightning as arrows (Ps.
18:14; 77:17; Zech. 9:14). Dark clouds overshadow the judgment day of
Yahweh, which the prophets announced (Ezek. 30:3, 18; Joel 2:2; Zeph.
1:15).

"Conceal and reveal the secrets of God at the same time. In the
tent of revelation during the wilderness period (Ex. 40:34-38), in the
Jerusalem Temple (1 Kings 8:10-11), on Mount Sinai (Ex. 34:5), and in
His direction and protection by means of the clouds and the pillar of
fire, Israel experienced that God came to them (Ex. 33:7-11) but still
remained wholly other (Lev. 16:2, 13) even when he came as the Son of
Man (Dan. 7:13)."

(Holman's Bible Dictionary)

"The Hebrew so rendered means 'a covering,' because clouds
cover the sky. The word is used as a symbol of the Divine
presence, as indicating the splendour of that glory which it
conceals...A bright cloud is the symbolical seat of the Divine
presence (Ex. 29:42, 43; 1 Kings 8:10; 2 Chr. 5:14; Ezek. 43:4), and
was called the Shechinah."

(Easton's Bible Dictionary)

----------

Fire

(Ezek 1:4 KJV) "...and a fire infolding itself..."

Symbols for the Holy Spirit:

A dove
Water
Oil
A seal
Wind
Fire
An earnest

Fire when used in association with God indicates "presence,
approval, protection, purifying, gift, judgment."

Fires in the Bible:

The fire of God from heaven which destroyed Sodom (Gen. 19:24).
The fire Abraham built to sacrifice Isaac (Gen. 22:7).
The burning bush Fire from which Moses received his call (Ex. 3:2).
The fire of the seventh Egyptian plague (Ex. 9:24).
The guiding pillar fire that led Israel by night (Ex. 13:21).
The fire which appeared at the giving of the law (Ex. 19:8).
The fire ordered by Moses to destroy the golden calf (Ex. 39:20).
The fire God sent to consume Aaron's offerings (Lev. 9:24).
The strange fire of Nadab and Abihu (Lev. 10:1).
The judgment fire of God at Taberah to punish Israel (Num. 11:1).
The judgment fire of God which consumed Korah and 250 of his followers (Num. 16:35).
The fire ordered by Joshua to destroy Jericho (Josh. 6:24).
The fire ordered by Joshua to consume Achan (Josh. 7:15, 25).
The fire made by Samson to burn the cornfields of the Philistines (Jdg. 15:5).
The Mount Carmel fire, which consumed Elijah's offering (1 Ki. 18:38).
The fire that God was not in, as witnessed by Elijah in a cave (1 Ki. 19:12).
The fire which destroyed a hundred soldiers and protected Elijah (2 Ki. 1:7-11).
The fire used to transport Elijah home to glory (2 Ki. 2:11).
The fire and chariots which surrounded and protected Elisha (2 Ki. 6:17).
The fire of Manasseh in Hinnon, used to burn up his own children (2 Ki. 21:6).
The fire of Nebuchadnezzar which would not burn three Hebrew believers (Dan. 3:25).
The fire at which Simon Peter warmed his hands when he denied the Savior (Jn. 18:18).
The fire where Paul shook off a snake (Acts 28:5).
The fire at the judgment seat of Christ (1 Cor. 3:13).
The all-consuming judgment fire of God, to be used in destroying his enemies (2 Thess. 1:8; Heb. 12:29; Rev. 20:15).
The fire God will use in purifying this earth (2 Pet. 3:7).

--- BPR

BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: July 7 Hebrew Press Headlines
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 12:55:25 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

           The information below is translated and prepared by:
                      Israel Government Press Office
                         <gponews@netvision.net.il>
                                   July 7, 1998

Headlines from Today's Hebrew Press

     HA'ARETZ
     1. FRANCE INTENDING TO RECOGNIZE PALESTINIAN STATE WHEN DECLARED.

     HATZOFEH
     1. Arafat advisor issues warning to Israel: "Arab patience
     waning."
     "EXPLOSION LIABLE TO OCCUR AT ANY MOMENT." Demands
     that US Administration release initiative by weekend -- and
     announce success or failure.
     3. KAHALANI: SACRED MISSION OF PALESTINIANS -- TO STEAL COUNTRY.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: Ezekiel 1:4
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 15:55:38 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

[All definitions taken from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the
Bible, Holman Bible Publishers.

Signs Employed:

+ (addition) denotes a rendering in the AV of one or more Hebrew
words in connection with the one under consideration.

x (multiplication) denotes a rendering in the AV that results from an
idiom peculiar to the Hebrew.

() (parenthesis), in the renderings from the AV, denotes a word or syllable sometimes given in connection with
the principal word to which it is annexed.

[] (brackets), in the rendering from the AV, denotes the inclusion of an additional word in the Hebrew.]

======================

Ezekiel 1:4 (KJV)
And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great
cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and
out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of
the fire.

And I looked, and, behold, a WHIRLWIND

   7307 ruwach; from 7306; wind; by resemblance breath, i.e. a
   sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively life, anger,
   unsubstantiality; by extension a region of the sky; by resemblance
   spirit, but only of a rational being (including its expression and
   functions):--air, anger, blast, breath, x cool, courage, mind, x
   quarter, x side, spirit ([-ual), tempest, x vain, ([whirl-]) wind
   (-y).

   7306 ruwach; a primitive root; properly to blow, i.e. breathe; only
   (literally) to smell or by implication perceive (figuratively to
   anticipate, enjoy):--accept, smell, z touch, make of quick
   understanding

----------

5591 ca'ar; or ce'arah; from 5590; a hurricane:--storm (-y),
tempest, whirlwind.

   5590 ca'ar; a primitive root; to rush upon; by implication to toss
   (transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively): --be
   (toss with) tempest (-uous), be sore troubled, come out as a (drive
   with the, scatter with a) whirlwind.

came out of the NORTH,

  6828 tsaphown; or tsaphon; from 6845; properly hidden, i.e.
  dark; used only of the north as a quarter (gloomy and unknown):
  --north (-ern, side, -ward, wind).

  6845 tsaphan; a primitive root; to hide (by covering over); by
  implication to hoard or reserve; figuratively to deny; speculatively
  (favorably) to protect, (unfavorably) to lurk:--esteem, hide (-den
  one, self), lay up, lurk (be set) privily, (keep) secret (-ly,
  place).

a great CLOUD

6051 'anan; from 6049; a cloud (as covering the sky), i.e. the
nimbus or thunder-cloud:--cloud (-y).

  6049 'anan [the accent marks are different]; a primitive root;
  to cover; used only as denominatively from 6051, to cloud over;
  figuratively to act covertly, i.e. practise magic:--x bring,
  enchanger, Meonemin, observe (-r of) times, soothsayer, sorcerer.

  Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary:
  nimbus: 1a: a luminous vapor, cloud, or atmosphere about a god
  or goddess when on earth b: a cloud or atmosphere (as of romance)
  about a person or thing, 2: an indication (as a circle) of radiant
  light or glory about the head of a drawn or sculptured divinity,
  saint, or sovereign, 3a: a rain cloud that is of uniform grayness
  and extends over the entire sky, b: a cloud from which rain is
  falling.

thundercloud: a cloud charged with electricity and producing
lightning and thunder.

and a fire INFOLDING itself,

  3947 laqach; a primitive root; to take (in the widest variety of
  applications):--accept, bring, buy, carry away, drawn, fetch, get,
  infold, x many, mingle, place, receive (-ing), reserve, seize, send
  for, take (away, -ing, up), use, win.

and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the
COLOUR

  5869 'ayin; probably a primitive word; an eye (literally or
  figuratively); by analogy a fountain (as the eye of the landscape):
  --affliction, outward appearance, + before, + think best, colour,
  conceit, + be content, countenance, + displease, eye ([-brow], [-d],
  -sight), face, + favour, fountain, furrow [from the margin], x him,
  + humble, knowledge, look, (+ well), x me, open (-ly), + (not)
  please, presence, + regard, resemblance, sight, x thee, x them, +
  think, x us, well, x you (-rselves).

of AMBER, out of the midst of the fire.

2830 chashmal; of uncertain derivation; probably bronze or
polished spectrum metal:--amber.

===================

NIV
I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north--an immense
cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The
center of the fire looked like glowing metal.

RSV
As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great
cloud, with brightness round about it, and fire flashing forth
continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming bronze.

Darby
And I looked, and behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, a great
cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and
out of the midst thereof as the look of glowing brass, out of the
midst of the fire.

Young's Literal Translation
And I look, and lo, a tempestuous wind is coming from the north, a
great cloud, and fire catching itself, and brightness to it round
about, and out of its midst as the colour of copper, out of the midst
of the fire.

NASB
As I looked, behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great
cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around
it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the
fire.

New American Bible
As I looked, a stormwind came from the North, a huge cloud with
flashing fire [enveloped in brightness], from the midst of which [the
midst of the fire] something gleamed like electrum.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: Ezekiel 1:4
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 15:55:38 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

[All definitions taken from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the
Bible, Holman Bible Publishers.

Signs Employed:

+ (addition) denotes a rendering in the AV of one or more Hebrew
words in connection with the one under consideration.

x (multiplication) denotes a rendering in the AV that results from an
idiom peculiar to the Hebrew.

() (parenthesis), in the renderings from the AV, denotes a word or syllable sometimes given in connection with
the principal word to which it is annexed.

[] (brackets), in the rendering from the AV, denotes the inclusion of an additional word in the Hebrew.]

======================

And I looked, and, behold, a WHIRLWIND

----------

5591 ca'ar; or ce'arah; from 5590; a hurricane:--storm (-y),
tempest, whirlwind.

came out of the NORTH,

  6828 tsaphown; or tsaphon; from 6845; properly hidden, i.e.
  dark; used only of the north as a quarter (gloomy and unknown):
  --north (-ern, side, -ward, wind).

a great CLOUD

6051 'anan; from 6049; a cloud (as covering the sky), i.e. the
nimbus or thunder-cloud:--cloud (-y).

thundercloud: a cloud charged with electricity and producing
lightning and thunder.

and a fire INFOLDING itself,

and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the
COLOUR

of AMBER, out of the midst of the fire.

2830 chashmal; of uncertain derivation; probably bronze or
polished spectrum metal:--amber.

===================

NIV
I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north--an immense
cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The
center of the fire looked like glowing metal.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: UN upgrades PLO status
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 19:06:29 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

12:39 PM ET 07/07/98
General Assembly upgrades PLO's U.N. status

            By Anthony Goodman
            UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Brushing aside objections by
            the United States and Israel, the General Assembly voted
overwhelmingly Tuesday to upgrade the status of the Palestinian
U.N. observer delegation, giving it rights closer to those of a
member state.

The vote on the resolution was 124 to four, with 10
abstentions.

Voting against were the United States, Israel, and the
Pacific island nations of the Marshall Islands and Micronesia.

Bulgaria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Honduras,
Liberia, Malawi, Paraguay, Poland, Romania, Rwanda and Zambia
abstained.

Ambassador Bill Richardson of the United States called it
``the wrong resolution at the wrong time'' and said it would add to
the difficulties facing the peace process between Israel and the
Palestinians.

Israel's ambassador Dore Gold said it was an attempt to
affect the outcome of permanent status negotiation, due to be
completed next May, ``by abusing the U.N. system.''

But he said there was ``no effective change of the status of
the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) in the U.N. The PLO
remains an observer organization in the U.N. system,'' he said.

The Palestinian U.N. observer, Nasser al-Kidwa, said the
vote ``makes us feel proud, strengthens our convictions of the justice
of our cause and increases our confidence that right could still be
achieved in our contemporary world.''

He also said he hoped that reliance on the resolution `will
not last for a long time, as we hope that the United Nations
will accept Palestine as a member state in the near future,
maybe, God willing, during the 53rd session of the General
Assembly,'' which runs from September 1998 to September 1999.

The overwhelming majority in favor of the upgrading
resolution, sponsored by more than 20 mainly Arab and Islamic
countries, partly reflected frustration over the stalled Middle
East peace process, blamed by many on Israel.

The resolution, which also enhances the status of the
Palestinian delegation at U.N.-sponsored conferences, was the result
of extensive negotiations between the Palestinian delegation and its
supporters and the European Union.

The Palestinian delegation will now be able to co-sponsor
resolutions on Palestinian and Middle East issues; take part in the
Assembly's general debate -- the highlight of annual Assembly
sessions; speak on non-Middle East issues immediately after the last
inscribed member state; exercise a right of reply; raise points of
order at meetings on Palestinian and Middle East issues; and be seated
in the Assembly hall after observer states -- Switzerland and the Holy
See -- and before other observers.

But it will still not have the right to vote or to submit
candidates for office.

The PLO first obtained U.N. observer status in 1974. This
was enhanced in 1988 when the General Assembly decided that the PLO's
designation at the United Nations should be ``Palestine,'' after the
Palestine National Council proclaimed statehood.

The new privileges accorded the Palestinian delegation are
somewhat less than it originally sought last December when it aimed
for similar rights and privileges to those conferred on member states,
except for the right of voting and candidacy.

            The December resolution was not pressed to a vote after
the Assembly ruled there should first be a vote on a European Union
amendment to postpone any upgrading pending a review of the
status of the Palestinian delegation.

            Speaking before Tuesday's vote, American U.N. envoy
Richardson said he did not doubt most members were sincere
supporters of the Middle East peace process, were frustrated
that there had been a prolonged impasse and wanted to encourage
the parties to make progress on the basis of agreements already
achieved.

``The fact remains, however, that by taking this action,
the General Assembly will have made it more difficult to accomplish
this objective. Focusing on symbols likely to divide, rather
than on steps to promote cooperation, will lead us nowhere,'' he
said.

If the resolution passed, it would ``undermine our efforts
to get the peace process back on track and hurt everyone's interests,
including those it is most intended to help.''

Richardson added that, ``by overturning decades of
practice and precedent'' governing the participation of non-members and
observers, others who did not now enjoy full U.N. member status
might well press their own claims for enhanced status.

^REUTERS

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: Seer spurs quake scare
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 19:12:52 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

*** Seer spurs quake scare

Hamid Panahi, a Tehran shopkeeper, already has his bags packed. After
all, if an unknown Slovak seer is to be believed - and many it seems
find him credible - an earthquake of 7.5 on the Richter scale is
heading for Tehran this weekend. "I don't want to take any chances. I
sent my wife and son to the north of the country and I will join them
on Thursday," a frightened Panahi said Monday. Rumors that a Slovak
seer has predicted a massive earthquake in Tehran, capital of
quake-prone Iran, has sent fear waves through the sprawling city of 10
million. Some find it humorous, others deadly serious, and many are
just quietly finding reasons to be out of town. (Reuters)

http: www.infobeat.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: Sermon at Al Aqsa Mosque
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 19:21:43 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

            Sermon at Al Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem, July 3, 1998
   I seek refuge with ALLAH from the Satan.
   In the Name of ALLAH the Merciful and the Compassionate.
   "Now has come unto you a Messenger from amongst yourselves: it
grieves him that ye should perish: ardently anxious is he over you: to
the Believers is he most kind and merciful.* But if they turn away,
say: "Allah sufficeth me; there is no god but He: on Him is my trust,
- He the Lord of the Throne (of Glory) Supreme!" Al-Tawba (9-128,129).
   O People,
   Alqasem bin Mukhaimara (a Muslim scholar from hundreds of years
   ago)
said: "The time (life) you are living depends on the rulers who are
ruling you. If your ruler is good your life will be good. If your
ruler is bad your entire life will be bad".
   Why is it that ALLAH has legislated that the ruler of the Muslim
Ummah should be from within? Why is it that there should be a
Khalifah,

and why is it that Muslims should work to reestablish such a position?
   Today's concepts and values have been changed such that our rulers
have become thieves, appointed only to steal their ummah's (people)
wealth and resources. They have become oppressors.
   Allah has ruled that the Khalifah should work to take care of the
affairs of the Muslim Ummah, both internal and external affairs, and
to rule by the Quran and Sunnah (Islam alone) in all matters. He is
also required to defend the Muslim Ummah against all kinds of dangers,
and to declare Jihad in order to fight the enemies of Islam. He is
also required to be just and to feed the poor.
   Alas, your rulers today (in the 20th century) across the Muslim
world are the opposite of all that I have mentioned. They are
installed (in their offices) to steal our resources. Turning our
countries into their own farms so they can do whatever they like, such
as controlling all major businesses, public transportation, oil
companies, national airlines. What else have they done?
   They have built bars, national and international entertainment
hotels and holiday resorts. They have given up the land of Palestine
to the Jews.
   Why are they in office? To be cunning against their Ummah. They are
in office to apply Kufr regimes upon the Muslim Ummah, and jail all
sincere people indeed anyone that works against them.
   Ahmad narrated that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said
"Whoever was appointed in a position (as governor, ruler...etc) and
does not have a house, he should get one. If he does not have a wife
then he should get married, if he does not have an animal to ride (to
commute) he should get one, if he does not have a servant he should
get one. But whatever he takes beyond that he will be a "Ghall"
(thief).
   So look, O Muslims, to these rulers in the Muslim Ummah, a lot of
you have chanted for them and have greeted them. Look how much they
have stolen from the Ummah. Look how much they have accumulated beyond
what was mentioned in the hadeeth. Some of these rulers maintain
accounts in Israeli banks totalling millions of dollers, some these
rulers maintain bank accounts in European countries literally
amounting to billions of dollers, some of them are being classified as
the richest people in the world. Who made these rulers even bargain to
sell Palestine, and consider Abu Dees (village south of Jerusalem) the
capital of Palestine?
   The ruler is appointed to apply Islam and to declare Jihad in order
to carry Islam and liberate all occupied Muslim land.
   As Alqasem bin Mukhaimara said our lives would be worse because of
the rulers, these rulers need to be changed and these rulers need to
be removed. They act as rulers in our lands and as servants and slaves
for the Imperialist Infidels. We have to act, in order to reestablish
the true ruler for us Muslims, to fulfill the obligation from Allah
and in order to preserve our glory.
   May Allah help the people who work to reestablish the Khilafah.
   Ameen.

Israeli & Global News
http: www.cmep.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: "Between the troubles"
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 8 Jul 1998 15:59:35 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

This weekend marks the beginning of 3 weeks of mourning that the
Jews commemorate because of all the calamities that befell the
nation between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av (Tisha B'Av).
Seeing how things are going with the Oslo Accords, this year might
just reinforce this mourning period for Israel. (July 12 - Aug 2,
1998)

This three week period is called Bein Hametzarim "between the
troubles" and it is customary to refrain from the following:

--do not wear new clothes
--do not listen to music
--do not bathe for pleasure
--do not shave
--do not cut hair
--no weddings
--no drinking of wine
--no eating meat
--no long journeys undertaken

There are other restrictions (and some of these prohibitions are
void on Shabbat) but I just wanted to give a few so we could
get a taste of what is entailed in keeping this mourning period.

The three weeks begin with the Fast of Tammuz 17. This day is
a fast day to remember five tragedies that befell the Jews:

1. Moses broke the first set of tablets of the law.
2. The daily offering in the first Temple was discontinued for
lack of sheep.

   [Daniel 11:31
   "...and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall
   take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination
   that maketh desolate."
   Daniel 12:11,12
   "And from the time that the
   daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that
   maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and
   ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand
   three hundred and five and thirty days."]

3. Right before the destruction of the second Temple, the walls
of Jerusalem were breached.
4. A wicked Roman ruler named Apostumus burned the Torah.
5. An idol was erected in the Holy Temple.

  [Matthew 24:15
  "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation
  spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place,'
  (whoso readeth, let him understand):]

At the end of the three weeks is Tisha B'Av, the 9th of Av. On this
day five tragedies also occurred:

1. The spies returned and gave an evil report which discouraged the
   Jewish people and ended with them wandering in the desert.
2. The first Temple was destroyed.
3. The second Temple was destroyed.
4. The city of Betar was captured. Tens of thousands were killed.
   Apparently the Romans had been fighting against Betar for
   3+ years before it fell. The Talmud (Ta'anit 68:4) says:
   "Eighty thousand war companies entered the city of Betar
   and the Romans were killing men, women and children until their
   blood was oozing out from the doors, windows and the pipes. The
   horse would drown in the blood to its nose and the blood would
   cause stones of 40 se'ah to roll away and would proceed 40 miles to
   the sea...There is a tradition that the Gentiles fertilized their
   fields with the blood of Israel for seven years, not using any
   other fertilizer."

   [Revelation 14:20
   "And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out
   of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a
   thousand and six hundred furlongs."

   Ezekiel 39:9-12
   "And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and
   shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shield and the
   bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the
   spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: So that
   they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out
   of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they
   shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed
   them, saith the Lord GOD. And it shall come to pass in that day,
   that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the
   valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop
   the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all
   his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog. And
   seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that
   they may cleanse the land."]

5. The Romans ploughed over the site of the Temple.

Other things that have happend on this date:

1. First Crusade declared, 1095.
2. King Edward I expels all Jews from England, 1290.
3. Explusion of the Jews from Spain, 1492.
4. Pope Paul IV moves all the Jews into the ghetto, 1555.
5. Start of WWI.

Jeremiah 1:1-2:3, 2:4-3:4 and Isaiah 1:1-27 are read on the Shabbat
before Tisha B'Av. This Shabbat is called "Shabbat Chazon"-- "Shabbat
of Vision."

--- BPR

BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: Re: "Between the troubles"
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 15:16:02 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

> >This three week period is called Bein Hametzarim "between
> >the troubles" and it is customary to refrain from the following:
>
> Moza, do you know when this mourning period first came into existance
> and what prompted the first observance?

The Betar reference dates to about 135 AD, so I'd say sometime after
that, but I don't have anything that states exactly when. I will keep
my eyes peeled for that info.

Moza

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: Philologos Online Bookstore
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 09 Jul 1998 10:19:47 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Hi guys!

We just added an online bookstore in association with amazon.com to
our site. We had received a few questions on where to find the books
that we mention in our studies, so it was decided to perhaps start a
listing so that others can find the books easier. We have just a few
books listed right now, but we'll be adding others each week. If you
have a favorite book or one that you think we may like, we would love
for you to drop us a line and tell us about it.

You can find the bookstore at: http://philologos.org/bookstore

Have a good day folks...

--- BPR

BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: 7/10/98 Y2K TV Program
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 15:20:19 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

One Hour Y2K Specials

               This summer, The 700 Club will present two
               one-hour CBN News specials dedicated to
               the Y2K crisis.

               July 10, 1998
               The first special will feature computer consultant
               Peter de Jager, one of the leading experts on Y2K, and
               Bruce Webster of the prominent Washington-based Y2K
               Group. The program will include practical steps on
               preparing for the crisis. Check our broadcast schedule
               to find out the channel and time that this special will
               be showing in your area.

               August 7, 1998
               On August 7, we will present a special 700 Club that
               deals with Y2K and the role of the church. Check our
               broadcast schedule to find out the channel and time
               that this special will be showing in your area.

               To prepare for these special presentations, read
               through the information we've made available in the CBN
               News Y2K Resource Center. Be sure to mark these dates
               on your calendar!

http: www.cbn.org

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: "Between the troubles"
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 09 Jul 1998 10:28:20 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

>This three week period is called Bein Hametzarim "between
>the troubles" and it is customary to refrain from the following:

Moza, do you know when this mourning period first came into existance
and what prompted the first observance?

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: Jewish Priesthood Roots Affirmed
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 09 Jul 1998 12:57:37 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Jewish Priesthood Roots Affirmed

By Malcolm Ritter
AP Science Writer
Wednesday, July 8, 1998; 2:06 p.m. EDT

NEW YORK (AP) -- Scientists have found fresh genetic evidence that
Jews who consider themselves part of the priestly class known as
Cohanim really are part of an unbroken line extending back thousands
of years.

The Cohanim are said to be descended from Moses' brother, Aaron.
Originally they had primary responsibility for offering sacrifices
and serving as arbiters and mentors.

Today, in Orthodox and some other Jewish congregations, Cohanim are
still accorded special duties and privileges. They are given the
honor of reading first from the Torah during a service and presiding
over a traditional ceremony for some first-born boys.

Cohanim aren't allowed to marry widows, divorcees or converts.
Because of the Jewish belief that the Temple in Jerusalem will be
rebuilt and that Cohanim will serve again as priests there, they try
to remain spiritually pure. So they stay away from dead bodies, not
attending funerals except for those of immediate family, for example.

Many Cohanim have surnames such as Cohen, Kahn, Kane or similar
variations. But not all men with such surnames are Cohanim.

Last year, scientists who studied the Y chromosome in modern-day
Cohanim reported evidence that the designation truly has been passed
from father to son. The Y chromosome is inherited that way, making it
useful for such studies.

More evidence appears in a new study, reported by Israeli and British
scientists in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature. They looked for
variations in the Y chromosome from 306 Jewish men, including 106
self-identified Cohanim, from Israel, Canada and England.

Most Cohanim had the same version of the Y chromosome or close
variants that differ because of random mutations. That shows there
has been ``reasonable adherence to the policy of father-son
inheritance,'' said researcher David B. Goldstein of Oxford
University.

By studying how long it would take for the variants to develop,
researchers concluded the inheritance of Cohanim status has gone on
longer than 700 years and maybe as long as 3,000 years or so, as
tradition maintains.

The sample also contained 81 self-identified Levites, a designation
that began with the Levi tribe after the Exodus and is also supposed
to pass from father to son.

The study could not confirm that. The Levites showed too much variety
in their Y chromosome variants. That could mean that non-Levite Jews
took up the designation in the past, or that the original Levites had
a lot of variety in their Y chromosomes, Goldstein said.

Rabbi Raphael B. Butler, executive vice president of the Orthodox
Union, an umbrella organization of Orthodox congregations, said he
doubted the study would affect the designations of Cohan or Levite
today. But it's "enlightening" that the results agree with the Jewish
tradition, he said.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: 7/10/98 TV Program
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 08:43:23 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

8:30 PM Eastern

PBS - WALL $TREET WEEK WITH LOUIS RUKEYSER - "Wall
$treet Week With Louis Rukeyser in London" - Europe's drive
for unity; in London.(CC)

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: "Between the Troubles" Part 2
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 08:44:58 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

U.S. reportedly gives Netanyahu ultimatum on withdrawal

JERUSALEM (July 9, 1998 11:51 p.m. EDT ) -- The United States has told Israel it is through negotiating the terms of a West Bank troop withdrawal and wants an answer on its proposal within two weeks, Israel television has reported.

The unattributed report said Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that she would go public with a report on deadlocked peace talks if Israel and the Palestinians fail to make headway in the next two weeks.

Netanyahu's spokesman Shai Bazak called the TV report "inaccurate" but declined further comment. Netanyahu's senior adviser, David Bar-Illan said he knew nothing of any heated telephone call between Albright and Netanyahu.

The United States has said repeatedly that it would reassess its role as mediator in the talks, which have been stalled for 16 months, if it saw that no progress was being made.

The United States has been pressuring Israel to accept its proposal to restart the peace process, including an Israeli troop withdrawal from 13 percent of the West Bank.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat accepted the proposal in January and said he would not renegotiate the terms. Arafat dispatched two senior Palestinian negotiators to Washington Thursday, apparently at the request of Albright.

Israel radio said Thursday that Washington has agreed to slight cosmetic changes in the original initiative.

Netanyahu, who has been haggling with the United States over the plan, originally rejected the 13 percent withdrawal as dangerous to Israel's security.

Israel reportedly is ready to hand over 10 percent but wants to retain control over zoning and planning in the remaining 3 percent.

Israel also demands that the Palestinian Authority hand over suspects in the killings of Israelis and that the Palestine National Council, rather than the smaller PLO Executive Committee, annul sections of the PLO Covenant calling for Israel's destruction.

The Palestinians have accused Netanyahu of playing for time in hopes of eventually wriggling out of his commitment to hand over more land.

"The peace process is not only in a state of deadlock. We feel that it has been destroyed by Netanyahu," Palestinian Cabinet Minister Hanan Ashrawi said.

In other developments Thursday, the army demolished five Palestinian structures in the West Bank built without Israeli-issued permits.

Palestinians complain that Israel uses house demolitions as a political tool and refuses to issue building permits in areas of the West Bank it wants to keep under its control.

In the divided West Bank city of Hebron, Israeli troops imposed a curfew on parts of the city after shots were fired at a car driven by Jewish settlers. No one was hurt.

Palestinian radio said three Palestinian had been taken for questioning.

By DINA KRAFT, Associated Press Writer

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: Afghans told to get rid of TVs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 08:59:07 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

From Morrock News Service
http://morrock.com

Jul 9, 1998 - AFGHANS TOLD -- GET RID OF TVS: Afghanistan's Taliban
government, which controls 85 percent of the country, has given the
population two weeks to get rid of all TVs, VCRs, videos and
satellite dishes, all of which it calls ``the cause of corruption in
this society.'' When the deadline has passed, armed religious police
will conduct spot searches of residences and violators will face
as-yet-unspecified punishment. . . . The government also bans women
from working and girls from going to school, forbids most music
except religious, and requires first-floor windows to be painted
black to ensure no glimpses from the street of women inside.

--- BPR

BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: Worldwide email service launched
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 15:30:53 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

Subject: ESA Press Release - "First European payload for worldwide
e-mail service launched" Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 19:14:20 +0200 From:
ESA News/Document Server <esanews@esrin.esa.it>

------------------------------------------------------------
First European payload for worldwide e-mail service launched
------------------------------------------------------------

ESA's LLMS (Little LEO Messaging System) payload was launched with the
Russian Earth observation satellite "Resours-N4" today 10 July at
08:30 hrs CEST, from the Baikonour launch site in Kazakhstan on board
a Zenit launcher.

This new telecommunications payload will provide a low-cost, worldwide
electronic mail (e-mail) commercial service dubbed IRIS, for
Intercontinental Retrieval of Information via Satellite.

The host satellite, on an inclined polar orbit at 850 km altitude,
will "view" any point on the Earth's surface at least twice a day and
will collect and distribute e-mail (like a postman with conventional
mail). Remote subscribers will need a relatively inexpensive dedicated
small satellite modem (half the size of a portable PC). Automatic data
collection will also be possible.

The hub station, located in Spitsbergen (at 78( N), will load and
retrieve messages from the satellite once per orbit and interface with
public data networks to connect users via a service centre in
Brussels, Belgium.

The target customers for that service are people travelling in remote
areas or at sea without access to terrestrial communications who need
to exchange a few messages a day at low cost. Large organisations with
staff in remote areas of the world are a typical example.

For ESA this is a small project of a new kind in which special efforts
have been made to reduce development costs and duration and to
capitalize on several years of spread spectrum technology development.
The contractual aspects are also innovative, with delivery in orbit
and a commitment by the prime contractor to offer a commercial
service.

Under an ESA ceiling-price turnkey-contract, the prime contractor SAIT
Systems of Brussels, Belgium, undertook not only to develop, but also
to launch and commercially operate LLMS/IRIS for an initial period of
3 years.This concept is in line with the evolution of ESA's
procurement approach, asking industry to fully assume the
programmatic, technical and financial responsibility for close-to
market missions.

Development of this advanced communication payload under the
leadership of SAIT systems, was carried out by European companies of
Belgium (SAIT Devlonics, Alcatel Bell), Germany (OHB), Spain (SEMA),
and the UK (Warberry Communications). IMEC vzw, Barco-Silex and
Verhaert D&D, also of Belgium, were involved at the level of the LLMS
modem, while subcontracts with NPP WNIIEM of Moscow, Russia and with
the Norwegian Space Center covered respectively the payload
accommodation with launch and the hub station installation in
Spitsbergen.

For further information, please contact : ESA Public Relations
Division Tel: +33(0)1.53.69.7155 Fax: +33(0)1.53.69.7690

SEDSNEWS@postal.tamu.edu

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: Israel Army Report Predicts War in 1999
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 19:03:50 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

Draft Israel army report predicts war in 1999

JERUSALEM (July 10, 1998 5:21 p.m. EDT ) - Israel's military believes a deadlock in Middle East peacemaking has increased the likelihood of war in 1999, Israeli security sources said on Friday.

The sources confirmed a report in the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper that a key national security appraisal being drafted by army intelligence raises the chances of armed conflict with the Palestinians and perhaps Syria in 1999.

The army's 1998 working estimate was that the likelihood of Middle East hostilities was slim.

Much of the appraisal is pegged to a target date of May 1999, when Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has said he will declare an independent Palestinian state if talks with Israel on the final status of the West Bank and Gaza are not completed.
The deadline, set under interim peace accords, is looming over protracted negotiations on a U.S. proposal to revive Israeli-Palestinian talks from 16 months of stalemate.

Israel has said any unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood would trigger a unilateral Israeli response, suggesting that Israel might annex parts of the West Bank and Gaza still under its control.

The draft report estimates that violence would not erupt immediately upon declaration of Palestinian statehood but rather Arafat would first work to isolate Israel diplomatically before giving the "green light" to hostilities, Yedioth Ahronoth said.

The report said the Palestinians would likely mobilize violent street protests through popular arms of Arafat's Fatah movement. The Palestinian Authority could simultaneously activate its 36,000 armed police against Israeli forces.

The draft estimate says the authority has prepared special counter-terrorist units, many European-trained, as well as Arafat's Force 17 special forces for missions such as conquering Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza.

The newspaper said the draft report envisages a third channel of Palestinian hostilities outside of Arafat's control in Hamas, the militant Islamic group which has stood behind suicide attacks inside Israel.

Asked about the revised intelligence appraisal, Cabinet Secretary Danny Naveh, a senior aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Israel radio: "I haven't heard any estimate like this in any government forum in which I sit."

The draft intelligence report says Israel's arch-foe Syria has not closed the door to a possible resumption of peace talks with Israel but was continuing to intensively upgrade its military capabilities.

The newspaper said the Syrian army had prepared several scenarios for hostilities with Israel, including a possible surprise attack on the Israeli-held Golan Heights in a bid to restart political talks on the fate of the strategic plateau.

The draft report focuses on the threat of improved Syrian ballistic and anti-tank missile capabilities, security sources said.

Israel's previous government broke off sporadic peace talks with Syria in early 1996. Negotiations over the heights, taken by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, have not resumed under Netanyahu.

By Daniel Sternoff, Reuters News Service

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: Ezekiel 1:5
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 22:52:48 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

All definitions taken from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the
Bible, Holman Bible Publishers.

Signs Employed:
+ (addition) denotes a rendering in the AV of one or more Hebrew words
+ in connection with the one under consideration.
x (multiplication) denotes a rendering in the AV that results from an
idiom peculiar to the Hebrew. () (parenthesis), in the renderings from
the AV, denotes a word or syllable sometimes given in connection with
the principal word to which it is annexed. [] (brackets), in the
rendering from the AV, denotes the inclusion of an additional word in
the Hebrew.

Ezekiel 1:5
"Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living
creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a
man."

Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of FOUR

702 'arba'; masculine 'arba'ah; from 7251; four;--four.

     7251 raba'; a primitive root [rather identical with 7250 through
     the idea of sprawling "at all fours" (or possibly the reverse is
     the order, of derivation); compare 702]; properly to be four
     (sided); used only as denominative of 7253; to be quadrate:--
     (four-) square (-d).

7250 raba'; a primitive root: to squat or lie out flat, i.e.
(specifically) in copulation:--let gender, lie down.

7253 reba'; from 7251; a fourth (part or side):--fourth part,
side, square.

LIVING

     2416 chay; from 2421; alive; hence raw (flesh); fresh (plant,
     water, year), strong; also (as noun, especially in the feminine
     singular and masculine plural) life (or living thing), whether
     literally or figuratively:-- + age, alive, appetite, (wild)
     beast, company, congregation, life (-time), live (-ly), living
     (creature, thing), maintenance, + merry, multitude, + (be) old,
     quick, raw, running, springing, troop.

     2421 chayah; a primitive root [compare 2331, 2421]; to live,
     whether literally or figuratively; causatively to revive:--keep
     (leave, make) alive, x certainly, give (promise) life, (let,
     suffer to) live, nourish up, preserve (alive), quicken, recover,
     repair, restore (to life), revive, (x God) save (alive, life,
     lives), x surely, be whole.

2331 chavah; a primitive root; [compare 2324, 2421]; properly, to
live; by implication (intensive) to declare or show:--show

CREATURES.

2416 same as LIVING above

And this was THEIR

     846 [Greek] autos; from the particle au [perhaps akin to the base
     of 109 through the idea of a baffling wind] (backward); the
     reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comp. 1438) of the
     third person, and (with the proper person pronoun) of the other
     persons:--her, it (-self), one, the other, (mine) own, said,
     ([self-], the) same, ([him-, my- thy-]) self, [your-] selves,
     she, that, their (-s), them ([-selves]), there [-at, -by, -in,
     -into, -of, -on, -with], they, (these) things, this (man), those,
     together, very, which.

appearance; THEY

     1992 hem; or hemmah; masculine plural from 1931; they (only used
     when emphatic):--it, like, x (how, so) many (soever, more as)
     they (be), (the) same, x so, x such, their, them, these, they,
     those, which, who, whom, withal, ye.

     1931 hiy'; a primitive word, the third person pronoun singular,
     he (she or it); only expressed when emphatic or without a verb;
     also (intensively) self, or (especially with the article) the
     same; sometimes (as demonstrated) this or that; occasionally
     (instead of copula) as or are:--he, as for her, him (-self), it,
     the same, she (herself), such, that (... it), these, they, this,
     those, which (is), who.

had the likeness of a MAN.

     120 'adam; from 119; ruddy, i.e. a human being (an individual or
     the species, mankind, etc.):-- x another, + hypocrite, + common
     sort, x low, man (mean, of low degree), person.

119 'adam; to show blood (in the face), i.e. flush or turn
rosy:--be (dyed, made) red (ruddy).

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: 10 large earthquakes and Russia asks for Billions
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 10 Jul 1998 21:39:54 -0500

From: <owner-bpr@philologos.org>

I was about to send in a message listing the recent large
quakes in the last 24 hours when Koenig's Watch arrived in my
mail. So I thought I would pass it along.

The quake near the Dodecanese Islands, I believe is on the
coast of Western Turkey near the ancient city of Ephesus
(now called Izmir).

Another intersting note: The first part of the month, there
were five or six volcanoes that decided to wake up as well.

-------------

From Koenig's Watch

Editors Note:
10 large earthquakes in the last 30 hours and Russia asks for billions.

***********
These earthquakes can be found in our Weather section at http://watch.org
Under Earthquakes and then "National Earthquake Information Service (NEIS)"
of the U. S. Geological Survey.

These earthquakes all occured in the last 30 hours.

Size of quake and location:
* 6.2Ms B ARMENIA-AZERBAIJAN-IRAN BORD
* 6.3Mb B KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
* 5.5Ms B NORTH OF ASCENSION ISLAND
* 5.1Mb B DODECANESE ISLANDS
* 5.7Mb A SOUTHERN ALASKA
* 5.0Mb B NORTH OF ASCENSION ISLAND
* 4.2Mb B ALASKA PENINSULA
* 4.4Mb B CHILE-ARGENTINA BORDER REGION
* 4.8Mb A NORTHERN PERU
* 4.1Ml SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

******

We have stories on the following in the News Briefs area at http://watch.org

Friday, July 10, 1998
5.3 Maginitude EARTHQUAKE Shakes
Western Turkey

Friday, July 10, 1998
Azores 5.8 Magnitude EARTHQUAKE Kills 9 &
Leaves 100,000 Homeless

Friday, July 10, 1998
Strong EARTHQUAKE Shakes Southern Alaska
--6.4 Magnitude

********

Yeltsin Makes Appeal to IMF for billions money:

MOSCOW (AP) -- President Boris Yeltsin appealed
directly to the head of the International Monetary
Fund today, pledging to put Russia's fiscal house
in order if the fund comes through with a financial
bailout. "The president of Russia emphasized his
firm intention to use all his strength to
implement" economic reforms, the Kremlin said.
Russia is seeking $10 billion to $15 billion in
loans from the agency. Yeltsin also spoke to a
series of Western leaders today, including
President Clinton, beseeching them for support to
help Russia out of its crisis.

--- BPR

BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: New Asteroid Class?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 10:28:14 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

NEW ASTEROID CLASS?

Astronomers in Hawaii may have discovered a new class of asteroid --
one that orbits the Sun completely within the orbit of the Earth.
David Tholen and Robert Whiteley (University of Hawaii) announced
their finding on July 1st. Tholen estimates that the object,
designated 1998 DK<36>, is only about 40 meters in diameter --
probably about the size of the object that burst over Siberia just
more than 90 years ago. However, because the object set soon after
dark -- and because of some equipment problems -- DK36 was only imaged
on two nights in February using the a 2.24-meter telescope atop Mauna
Kea. Unfortunately, because there are only four observations -- two
sets of minutes-apart positions on consecutive days -- and they were
taken more than five months ago, a good orbit cannot be obtained to
guide observers for following it up. Furthermore, it is unlikely the
object will be recovered unless some "lucky shot" captures it in the
future. Its supposed intra-Earth orbit is also somewhat nebulous.
According to Gareth Williams of the International Astronomical Union's
Minor Planet Center, an Earth-crossing orbit could still fit the data.
He notes that it is clear that the object's farthest distance from the
Sun is small, but no more than 1.1 astronomical units. Regardless, it
does raise the uncomfortable fact that killer asteroids -- like the
antagonists of summer blockbuster movies -- may actually be coming
from where astronomers would have a hard time finding them.

Sky & Telescope News Bulletin - July 10, 1998
http: www.skypub.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: The Law of the LORD is perfect
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 20:12:40 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

"The Law of the LORD is perfect."

We take the high ground of making everything else submit to it.
Instead of making the Bible agree with science, science must agree
with the Bible. If it does not, it is only because it is "science
falsely so-called," and not real science. Scientia is the Latin word
for Knowledge. Whereas very much of what goes by the name of "science"
to-day is not science at all. It is only hypothesis! Read man's books
on this so-called science, and you will get tired of the never- ending
repetition of such words as "hypothesis," "conjecture," "supposition,"
etc., etc. This is the reason that such theories, which are falsely
dignified by the name of science, are constantly changing. We talk of
the "Science of Geology," or of "Medical Science"; but read books on
geology or medicine, for example, written fifty years ago, and you
will find that they are now quite "out of date." But truth cannot
change. Truth will never be "out of date." What we know can never
alter! This of itself proves that the word science is wrongly used
when it is applied only to hypotheses, which are merely invented to
explain certain phenomena.

It is not for such theories that we are going to give up facts. It is
not for conjectures that we are going to abandon truth. Man must offer
us something better than his own thoughts if he wants us to give up
the thoughts of God. In the Bible we have got something certain and
something perfect. Every fact and truth which is discovered only helps
to prove its truth and to exhibit its perfection. No monument that has
ever been dug up--no manuscript that has ever been discovered, has
ever been other than an evidence of Bible truth! We are not afraid of
any phenomena which may be observed in the rocks, or of any monuments
or tablets which may be dug up from beneath them. These are not, and
never have been, contrary to the Word of God. It is only man's
interpretation of them which is against that Word, because it is only
his thoughts which oppose it.

"The Law of the LORD is perfect."

Man, and all his thoughts are imperfect; so imperfect that he has
failed even to take proper care of God's perfect Word.

Like a beautiful stained glass window which has suffered from
accident, or fire, or siege, and which man has endeavoured to
"restore." We can see how exquisite are its colours and patterns; how
perfect it once was. Here and there is a tiny piece wanting, or
misplaced. But it does not hinder us from discerning the perfection of
the original geometrical figure, or from admiring the delicacy of the
features of the figure portrayed. The window is indeed marred. And one
man has done much to repair the injury caused by the negligence of
another. We can see the defect of the repairs; but we can see also
that the design was originally perfect, and we praise and admire the
wisdom of the designer.

So it is with the Word of God. Nothing can hide the perfection
displayed in its design. Man has been false to his trust. He has not
preserved it with the faithfulness which should ever characterise a
steward. But because man has been unfaithful, we are not going to
question the faithfulness of God! Because man has not properly cared
for this precious gift of God, we are not going to question the
perfection of that gift!

But this is what man has done and is doing;--he is charging upon God
the result of his own sin, neglect, and folly!

God has given man this "bread of life," and he is analysing it instead
of eating it! God has given man His Word, and he is criticising it
instead of believing it! This is the "wisdom" of man "up to date."
This is the highest flight of his wisdom--"higher criticism"! Truly
"the world by wisdom knew not God" (1 Cor 1:21). It never did and
never will. Human wisdom ever leads from God. It is so with nineteenth
century wisdom! It may seem very clever, very daring, very wise, for
man to criticise the Word of God, but it is still true, as it is
written (1 Cor 3:19),

"THE WISDOM OF THIS WORLD IS FOOLISHNESS WITH GOD."

Then away with man's wisdom! we do not want it. What we want is God's
truth, and if man's science does not agree with God's Book, then so
much the worse for his science.

We will come to God's Word as those who are foolish in the eyes of the
world, because we desire to be made wise unto salvation (2 Tim 3:15);
and because we remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, "Ye
do err, not knowing the Scriptures" (Matt 22:29).

E. W. Bullinger (1837-1913)

Philologos | Bible Prophecy Research | Online Books | Reference Guide

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