To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Biblical Astronomy - July 99
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 22 Aug 1999 23:50:41 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

The following is from the Biblical Astronomy
newsletter (online version). There are some
typos throughout, but the overall content is
very interesting. I don't agree with all of
Wadsworth's conclusions in some of his other
newsletters, but he does present some fascinating
material concerning astronomy from a Christian's
point of view.

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

Biblical Astronomy
July 1999
Editor - Robert Scott Wadsworth
http://www.atlbible.org/astronomy.htm

TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE ON AUGUST 11

There will be a total solar eclipse seen from central Europe on
August 11. This will be the last total solar eclipse for this
millennium and the last one for Europe for the next 75 years.
The eclipse will be visible from Jerusalem, though it will only
be seen as a partial eclipse from that location. At mid-eclipse,
observers in Jerusalem will se a crescent sun.

Chart 102 shows the positions of the Sun and Moon just prior to
the eclipse. The line running down between the Sun and Moon is
the constellation border line between the constellations Cancer
and Leo. Here, the Moon is in Cancer and the Sun is in Leo. The
moon will pass from Cancer to Leo during the eclipse. The Moon
will begin to move into Leo as it stars to eclipse the Sun. At
mid-eclipse, the moon will be entirely in Leo (Chart 103). The
following is an excerpt fro Earnest L. Martin's, The Star That
Astonished The World, p.13:

"The 'morning star' conjunction of Jupiter and Venus on August
12, 3 B.C. occurred when the planets were in the last degrees of
the zodiacal sign Cancer which was the concluding, sign for
interpreting the astrological year. Yet the 'evening star'
conjunction of the same planets, in their reunion ten months
later happened in the first degrees of Leo, the beginning sign
of the astrological year. The zero degree line for beginning
astrological calculations was between the signs of Cancer and Leo.

This means that the 'morning star' conjunction of Jupiter and
Venus in August 12 3 B.C. happened at the conclusion of the
astrological year, while the 'evening star' reunion some ten
months later occurred in the beginning of the new astrological
year. These two unions of Jupiter and Venus could well have been
interpreted as showing the close of one age in history, and the
beginning of another age in 2 B.C."

This is interesting in light of the moon passing from Cancer to
Leo during the above mentioned eclipse. If the Lord was born on
September 11, 3 B.C., and that year was the Biblical Year 4000;
then the year 4001 or the beginning of the 5th millennium would
have started on Rosh Hashanah in the year 2 B.C. The celestial
events of that time may have been marking the end of one
millennium and the beginning of another. If Rosh Hashanah 2 B.C.
was the beginning of the Biblical year 4001 and the Fifth
Millennium, then Rosh Hashanah in the year 1999 (sunset
September 11 to sunset September 12) will be the beginning of
the Biblical Year 6001 or the Seventh Millennium (remember,
there is no year 0 when adding between 1 B.C. and 1 A.D.). The
last sign to mark the possible transition between millenniums in
2 B.C. occurred over three months before Rosh Hashanah of that
year. If this eclipse is marking the transition between the 6th
and 7th millenniums, it is occurring about 41 days before Rosh
Hashanah this year.

This coming Rosh Hashanah will begin the year 2002 of our
Messiah. This is using Jewish inclusive reckoning.

Biblical Year 4000 - Year 1 of the Messiah
Biblical Year 4001 - Year 2 of the Messiah
Biblical Year 6001 - Year 2002 of Messiah
Biblical Year 6000 - Year 2001 of Messiah
Biblical Year 5999 - Year 2000 of Messiah
Biblical Year 5999 - Rosh Hashanah 1997-98
Biblical Year 6000 - Rosh Hashanah 1998-99
Biblical Year 6001 - Rosh Hashanah 1999-00

Another interesting fact is that when 2,000 prophetic years
(720,000 days) are added from the date that the Messiah was
crucified (April 28, 28 A.D.) it comes up to August 12, 1999, by
which the Hebrew day begins at sunset on August 11 or 3.5 hours
after the end of the eclipse. The eclipse begins a few minutes
after 12 noon (Jerusalem Standard Time) and ends at 2:56 p.m.
Sunset is at 6:26 p.m. Jerusalem Standard Time (not Daylight
Savings Time). Another factor to consider is that the sun will
be darkened from the "sixth hour to the ninth hour" (Matthew
27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:44-46).

Charts 104 and 105 show the positions of the Sun, Moon, Venus
and Mercury at 1:40 p.m. Jerusalem Standard Time on August 11,
1999. The Sun and Moon are located in the left claw of the crab
and the left foot of the lion. It is actually where the claw of
the crab and the foot of the lion join. Mercury is in Cancer and
Venus (the Bright and Morning Star) is in Leo (Judah) and very
near to conjunction with the star Regulus (the king star of
Judah). Venus will be seen in direct conjunction (same celestial
longitude) with Regulus a few hour after sunset on August 10
from Jerusalem.

The first crescent light of the new moon should be visible on
August 12 around sunset. This will begin the first day of the
Hebrew month Elul. This is also the beginning of the 40 day
season of repentance to the Day of Atonement. Considering all of
the factors surrounding the solar eclipse, it may not be a bad
idea to use this opportunity to seek and turn to the Lord during
this particular season, though we should be doing this on a
daily basis. This may be the last opportunity to do so.

CRUCIFIXION OF THE EARTH?

This is another event from an internet webpage that has caught
the attention of many. Since I get many inquiries on it, I
decided to address it in this newsletter. Supposedly, there is
to be an astrological grand cross formed over the earth on
August 11. The following is an excerpt from one of the websites
that promotes this hypothesis. I find this hypothesis
interesting, but have a somewhat different interpretation of it.
Not to say that I am 100 percent right.

"The August 11, 1999 eclipse will occur in the constellation
Leo or Lion while Mars, Saturn and Uranus will be positioned,
geocentrically, in Scorpio, Taurus, and Aquarius, that is,
Eagle, Ox and Man. At the moment of eclipse, Mars and Saturn,
[the two thieves] will be precisely opposing one another near
the zodiacal degrees anciently considered to be the Gates of
Heaven and Hell."

If a line were drawn through the celestial sphere between the
Sun/Moon and Uranus (not visible to the naked eye); and another
line drawn between Mars and Saturn at their positions on August
11, it would indeed form a cross, though it would be slightly
awkward. Though Mars and Saturn will be nearly opposed to one
another during the eclipse, they will be a little over one
degree from precisely opposing one another (a bit picky). The
positions of the above named constellations are given from 2,000
to 2,500 years ago. Because of the precessional movement of the
earth, these constellations are no longer in these positions.
Chart 106 shows the positions of the planets Mars, Uranus and
Saturn at the time of the eclipse on August 11. Mars is in Libra
(not Scorpius), Uranus is in Capricornus (not Aquarius), and
Saturn is in Aries (not Taurus).

It is interesting that Mars is in Libra (The Sacred Alter),
Uranus in Capricornus (the goat of atonement slain fro the
redeemed), and Jupiter and Saturn in Aries (the Lamb wounded or
slain but coming back in victory) at the time of the eclipse,
and they form a cross (though slightly awkward).

Using Jewish inclusive reckoning which would use April 28, 28
as day one in the counting of days from the crucifixion of the
Messiah instead of adding 720,000 days to it, then August 11,
1999 would be the 720,000th day from the crucifixion, or
precisely 2,000 prophetic years, with the sun being darkened
from the 6th to the 9th hour and the formation of a cross
between the above mentioned planets and constellations through
the celestial sphere and planet Earth at the time when the sun
is darkened. This is actually pretty awesome. The combination of
the eclipse and the positions of the planets during the eclipse
is the biggest foreseeable astronomical sign for the year 1999.

-- edit --

See http://www.atlbible.org/astronomy.htm for the complete
July 1999 Newsletter.

Also read Wadworth's Aug 1999 newsletter which gives updated
material to his July 1999 newsletter.

--- BPR

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Aug 23, 1999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 08:36:53 +0000

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

8:00 PM Eastern

 HIST - DR. GUILLOTIN'S DEADLY DEVICE - A French
   physician proposes a beheading machine as a painless means of
   execution.(CC)(TVG)

 TLC - CRATER OF DEATH - Scientists discuss the giant
   asteroid that hit Earth millions of years
   ago.(CC)(TVG)

9:00

 PBS - CRUCIBLE OF EMPIRE: THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR -
   Dramatic events lead to a war; writings and speeches of the
   participants.(CC)(TVPG)

 A&E - INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS - "Test Tube Dads" -
   Children conceived by alternate methods seek their fathers'
   identity.(CC)

 DISC - THREE GORGES: THE BIGGEST DAM IN THE WORLD - The
   Chinese plan an enormous concrete dam to combat the Yangtze
   River.(CC)(TVG)

 TLC - WHEN DINOSAURS RULED - "Ground Zero" - Explorers seek
   the remains of a 250-million-year-old predator in South
   America.(CC)(TVG)

10:00

 TLC - WHEN DINOSAURS RULED - "The Real Jurassic Park" -
   Prehistoric Montana is the tropical paradise of the
   T-Rex.(CC)(TVG)

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Russia Today items (8/23/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 08:48:05 +0000

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

KOSOVO ALBANIANS JAM ROAD TO BLOCK RUSSIAN TROOPS
ORAHOVAC, Serbia -- Kosovo Albanians on Monday blocked a road with a
long column of cars, tractors and trucks in an effort to block Russian
peacekeeping troops entering their town.
http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=87112&text

LUZHKOV LASHES OUT AT KREMLIN `REGIME'
MOSCOW -- Moscow's powerful mayor Yuri Luzhkov lashed out at the
Kremlin in a television interview on Sunday, delivering his fiercest
criticism yet of what he called the "regime" of President Boris
Yeltsin. http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=87114&text

AZERBAIJANI-ARMENIAN TALKS ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH
GENTHOD, Switzerland -- Leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan Sunday began
new talks here Sunday on the disputed territory Nagorno-Karabakh, a
mainly Armenian-populated enclave inside Azerbaijan.
http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=87138&text

RUSSIA WRITES TO MOSLEM COUNTRIES ON DAGESTAN
MOSCOW -- Russia has sent letters to Islamic countries whose citizens
it believes are fighting alongside Chechen-backed rebels in the
Dagestan region, Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo said on Sunday.
http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=87125&text

RUSSIA, CHINA TO DISCUSS REGIONAL SECURITY WITH CENTRAL ASIAN STATES
ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- Russian President Boris Yeltsin and his Chinese
counterpart Jiang Zemin fly to Kyrgyzstan this week to discuss
regional security and economic issues at the third "Shanghai Five"
summit. http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=87122&text

RUSSIAN STALINISTS FORM ELECTION BLOC
MOSCOW -- Russian Stalinists on Sunday formed an election bloc with
the Soviet dictator's grandson as one of its leaders, Russian
television stations reported.
http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=87120&text

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Cyberspace Electronic Security Act
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 08:58:44 +0000

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

Cyberspace Electronic Security Act

Table of Contents

OMB Referral Memo
Draft Transmittal Letter
Draft Bill
     =A7 2713 - Secret Searches
DOJ Section by Section Analysis
     DOJ Analy

http://www.cdt.org/crypto/CESA/

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (8/21/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 09:01:15 +0000

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

Many Strong Quakes Reported This Week

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: 7am News

Sat Aug 21,1999 -- Perhaps it's just because the massive Turkey
earthquake has heightened public awareness but it would appear that
the level of earthquake activity around the world has significantly
increased in recent weeks. Just Friday 20th, two more potentially
damaging quakes have been reported... Idaho And Montana Shaken: A
magnitude 5.3 earthquake rumbled through Idaho and Montana early
Friday, shaking buildings in Ravalli County, Montana, but reportedly
caused neither harm nor damage. First reports say that the quake,
centered in Eastern Idaho, was felt in Butte and Helena, Montana and
Salmon, Idaho. The National Weather Service office in Missoula,
Montana said that "several observers" felt a weak earthquake" at about
7:45 a.m. MDT. Costa Rica, New Zealand, and Ecuador shaken: A strong
quake, measured by US scientists as magnitude 6.7 and lasting some 30
seconds was reported in Costa Rica early Friday morning. Although the
quake was described as strong, there were no reports of injury and
little damage appears to have been caused. A magnitude 5.7 quake
occurred about 70 miles North East of Rotorua, New Zealand Wednesday.
No damage or injury was reported. A magnitude 5.8 quake rattled
windows and threw a scare into thousands of people in Ecuador on
Tuesday. The Epicenter of the quake was located around 45 miles
south-southwest of Cuenca. Although earthquakes are not uncommon
around the pacific rim and in many other places, the number and
strength in recent days has provided plenty of fuel for the doomsayers
who predict that all manner of death and disaster will accompany the
new millennium.

September 12, the meeting for Arab League council

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Arabic News

Sat Aug 21,1999 -- The Secretary General of the Arab league (AL) Esmat
Abdul Meguid said on Thursday in Cairo that meetings of the 112th
session of the foreign ministers will start on September 12 and will
last for two days. He added that this decision was taken in line with
consultations and contacts made between the Arab foreign ministers. In
statements he made on Thursday, the AL chief underlined the importance
that consultations of this session will be conducive to maintain
actual Arab solidarity in the service of the supreme Arab rights. The
AL chief added that the continued Israeli occupation of the Golan,
South Lebanon and the Palestinian territories are but the pivotal
cause of all Arabs. He stressed the commitment of the Arabs to the
strategy of a just and comprehensive peace which is based on Israel's
complete withdrawal from the Golan, South Lebanon and the Palestinian
territories in implementation of the UN resolutions 242, 338 and 425
and the land for peace formula.

Chinese economic delegation visits Egypt

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Arabic News

Sat Aug 21,1999 -- A Chinese economic delegation representing large
Chinese commercial and industrial companies was to arrive in Cairo
Friday. The delegation will discuss the increase of Chinese
investments in Cairo. The manager for China in the Egyptian Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, said the visit would last for five days, during
which the delegation would hold talks with Egyptian Minister of
Electricity Maher Abaza, Minister of Trade and Supply Ahmed Goweili
and a number of Egyptian businessmen and officials to increase and
upgrade the volume of Chinese investments in Egypt, either on the
governmental level or the businessmen level.

via: bible_prophecy-news@onelist.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Teacher fired for praying with students
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 09:05:37 +0000

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

Lawsuit: Teacher Fired For Praying With Students

          NEW YORK, NY (CHARISMA) -- A suit was filed in New York
          August 20 on behalf of a Hispanic schoolteacher fired for
          praying with her students following the death of a
          classmate. The action was taken by The Rutherford Institute,
          whose president, John W. Whitehead, said that Mildred
          Rosario had been treated worse than "violent teachers and
          pedophiles."

          Rosario was a teacher in the south Bronx in June last year
          when an emotionally distraught student questioned her about
          where a classmate was who had drowned in an accident.
          Recognizing her students' need for comfort, Rosario told
          them that the student was "in heaven," said the institute,
          an international, nonprofit civil liberties organization.

          Rosario's comments prompted "a flood of questions" about
          heaven and God, so Rosario gave students not interested in
          discussing spirituality the opportunity to work on other
          activities while she continued the discussion. She answered
          questions and then prayed "that God would protect them and
          their families."

          When a guardian of one of the students subsequently
          complained, the teacher was ordered out of her class,
          "interrogated" by school officials and later stripped of her
          job and license by the New York City Board of Education,
          which is named in the suit. The complaint had been motivated
          by animosity toward Rosario's Christian beliefs from Muslim
          school administrators and secular school board officials,
          said the institute.

          Rosario "received far less consideration from the New York
          school system than violent teachers and pedophiles have" in
          her "outrageous" treatment, Whitehead said. "The teachers at
          Columbine High School have not been reprimanded for
          comforting their students in the wake of tragedy."

          (c 1999, Charisma News Service)

http://www.mcjonline.com/news/news3351.htm

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Infobeat News items (8/23/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 09:15:44 +0000

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

*** Schroeder to occupy Berlin office

BERLIN (AP) - Stepping into the thick of history, Chancellor Gerhard
Schroeder becomes the first leader Monday to govern all of Germany
from Berlin since World War II. Schroeder's move into offices in the
heart of the city caps the government's return to the historic
capital, a decade after the fall of the Berlin Wall and 54 years after
the defeat of Nazi Germany left much of the metropolis in ruins. It
is, in Schroeder's words, the start of the "Berlin Republic" - a label
the chancellor has adopted for a new German generation less burdened
by the past. Parliament has already made the trek from Bonn. It will
start sessions in the refurbished 19th-century Reichstag building next
month. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560830045-9fb

*** Washington plans AIDS virus tracking

WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's capital plans to develop an
identification system for tracking the spread of the AIDS virus
without compromising patient confidentiality. "It's clear to me that
we have an epidemic," Mayor Anthony A. Williams said. AIDS is the
leading cause of death among district residents between ages 25 and
44. According to the city's Department of Health, the rate of new
human immunodeficiency virus infections per 100,000 population was 186
in the district - more than nine times the national average. The
"unique identifier" system allows a public health agency to develop a
database that includes racial, ethnic, gender and geographical
information on each patient. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560801573-85f

*** Experts: Boys fashioned for violence

BOSTON (AP) - Raising boys to be strong and silent is promoting the
outbreak of mass school shootings and a broader, smoldering climate of
despair among male teen-agers, experts suggest. "I think we have a
national crisis of boys in America," said William Pollack, a
psychologist at Harvard Medical School. He and other researchers
discussed violent boys Friday at the annual meeting of the American
Psychological Association. They were responding partly to public
concern over recent mass killings at schools. The psychologists said
American boys are still reared largely in keeping with the traditional
code of male toughness, which encourages boys to take action but
squelches expressions of feeling and gestures of physical affection by
and toward boys. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560805049-759

*** Biographer: Sagan smoked marijuana

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The late astronomer and author Carl Sagan was a
secret but avid marijuana smoker, crediting it with inspiring essays
and scientific insight, according to Sagan's biographer. Using the
pseudonym "Mr. X," Sagan wrote about his pot smoking in an essay
published in the 1971 book "Reconsidering Marijuana." The book's
editor, Lester Grinspoon, recently disclosed the secret to Sagan's
biographer, Keay Davidson. Davidson, a writer for the San Francisco
Examiner, revealed the marijuana use in an article published in the
newspaper's magazine Sunday. "Carl Sagan: A Life" is due out in
October. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560814058-a1f

*** Lutherans reject gay ministers

DENVER (AP) - The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America rejected a
bid to Saturday scuttle its policy barring actively homosexual clergy.
The denomination will continue to permit homosexual pastors who agree
to a celibate lifestyle. The bill was submitted to a national assembly
by the regional unit, or synod, covering northern California and
Nevada. Church members voted 820-159 to continue talking about the
issue. A report from five denominational agencies said the 5.2-million
member church should not shrink from "the sometimes discomforting
experience of looking anew at our inherited tradition." See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560814355-302

*** Naked ghosts scaring Iraqi drivers

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Ghost stories are pretty common around the old
Iraqi city of Haditha. Still, when the ghosts start dancing naked in
front of oncoming motorists, it creates quite a stir. The state-run
Alwan weekly said Saturday drivers passing through Horan Valley
outside the town of Haditha, 135 miles northeast of Baghdad, were
reporting that "ghosts appeared next to the bridge, naked and doing
some acrobatic moves." Tales of ghosts in the Horan Valley are common,
but these ghosts were "throwing themselves before cars, causing the
drivers to panic," the paper said. Alwan quoted motorist Shawki Sabar
as saying "they were almost human - although I could not concentrate
on their looks because I was so scared and it was dark." See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560814935-062

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Biometrics Breaks Into Prisons
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 09:18:38 +0000

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

http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/21362.html
-
Biometrics Breaks Into Prisons
by Vince Beiser

3:00 a.m. 21.Aug.99.PDT
Guards in Florida's Sarasota County Jail can tell which inmates should
be released just by the look in their eyes.

Since last year, the jail has used a high-tech system that scans
people's retinas to determine their identity. The system, made by
Iriscan Inc., has already caught two cons trying to escape by posing
as other prisoners up for release; it has also proved that three
people brought in on warrants who insisted the cops had the wrong guy
really were the wanted men.

The Sarasota lockup is just one of a fast-growing number of
correctional facilities that are beefing up security using biometrics.

Biometric technologies use body parts or behaviors, from voice prints
to hand geometry, to identify individuals. In use for over a decade at
top-security government institutions, biometrics are spilling rapidly
into other markets, driven by falling prices and growing public
acceptance.

Thousands of locations, from day care centers to health clubs to sperm
banks, already monitor people's fingerprints, retinas, or other
personal parts to make sure they are who they claim to be. Total
industry sales have surged from US$16 million in 1996 to an estimated
$60 million this year, according to industry analyst Erik Bowman.

This swelling industry is finding a natural market in America's
booming jails and prisons. The number of people behind bars has almost
quadrupled since 1980 to nearly 2 million, and continues to rise. All
of those inmates, as well as the guards who watch them and the loved
ones who visit them, have to be monitored to ensure that only the
right ones go in -- and out.

Biometrics, more convenient to use and much harder to fool than
systems based on identity cards or photos, seem tailor-made for a
market that is based on controlling people's movements.

"Prisons are potentially a huge market for us," said Bill Spence, vice
president of Identix, which manufacturers a digital fingerprint
scanning system. "It could be worth hundreds of millions, no
question."

In the last two years, Identix's scanners have been adopted by several
California Youth Authority lockups, and are scheduled to be brought
online in 16 California state prisons, mainly to regulate employee
access. According to Spence, the company is also currently negotiating
with the federal Bureau of Prisons about installing its technology at
its facilities nationwide.

Some federal prisons already use biometric hand-readers made by
Recognition Systems, Inc. A scattering of county jails from Florida to
Utah rely on retina scanners sold by Eyedentify, Inc. -- devices
familiar to anyone who has seen True Lies or any of several other
movies that have featured them.

Iriscan's first prison system was only installed in 1996, in
Pennsylvania's Lancaster County, but national sales manager Ross
Fidler expects exponential growth. "By the end of this year we'll have
between seven and 10 systems in correctional facilities, and I'd like
to bring that to 100 by next year," he said. "There are over 70
federal prisons, 900 state prisons and 3,000 county jails in this
country. We plan on hitting that market hard."

Joseph Fontana, a corrections captain at the Sarasota jail, seems
amply satisfied with his $6,000 Iriscan system. "It's fast, it's easy
and it's more foolproof than fingerprints," said Fontana. "It would be
great if other facilities had it so that we could share data."

That kind of talk, however, chills civil libertarians. Big Brother,
they warn, would love to get his hands on your eye prints.

"If you have the perfect identifier, it facilitates the sharing of
information across databases," said David Banisar, legal counsel for
the Electronic Privacy Information Center. Employers, for instance,
might someday be able to scan your retina to see if you had ever been
arrested -- or just visited someone in prison.

"Fingerprints started out strictly as a criminal thing, then they
moved into welfare, and now they're used in banks and all kinds of
places," cautioned Banisar. "Technology used for law enforcement
purposes has a way of suddenly becoming used for all kinds of things."

via: isml@onelist.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Misc. News (8/23/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 09:23:13 +0000

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

Y2K EXPECTATIONS OF IT PROFESSIONALS August 22, 1999

ComputerWorld Online reported last Thursday: =F4First, the bad
news: Three-quarters of U.S. companies have already experienced
year 2000-related failures. The good news is that only 2 percent of
those companies have actually suffered business disruptions because of
the glitches. These statistics are from an ongoing survey of
information technology executives at 161 companies and government
agencies. Looking ahead, these results could be a positive harbinger
of what might occur early next year, as most companies were able to
either fix the problems quickly or enact work-around. 'The key is what
will the volume [of problems] be and can they be fixed quickly,' says
Jim Woodward, senior vice president of Cap Gemini America, which has
been conducting the survey with Rubin Systems since 1997. Among the
Y2K failures that have occurred, 92 percent involved financial
miscalculations or losses, 84 percent caused processing disruptions,
38 percent led to customer service problems and 34 percent were
supply-chain or logistics breakdowns. Few of the failures have been
visible because they haven't caused significant business disruptions,
and companies 'don't have a lot of reasons to make them public,'
Woodward says. Still, the survey results highlight other concerns.
Only 48 percent of the organizations polled expect to have all their
mission-critical systems prepared, and 16 percent expect less than
half of their most important systems to be ready..."

CHINA TO HAVE ONLINE DOSSIER OF EVERY ADULT BY 2003 August
21, 1999

The South China Morning Post reported: =F4Police will have online
access to personal details of every adult within three years,
Xinhua reported yesterday. A national computerized database
is being set up which will include identification certificate
numbers and photographs of everyone above
16, allowing officers across the mainland to 'share information
over the Internet', the news agency said. As a prelude, police
stations in 133 cities will have their computer systems connected
through the Internet by the end of the year..."

CHINA HELPS IRANIAN MISSILE PROGRAM August 21, 1999

The Washington Times reported: "China recently signed an $11
million deal to improve Iran's anti-ship missiles, an agreement
that again raises questions about Beijing's 1998 promise not
to supply Tehran with cruise missiles or technology, The Washington
Times has learned. The contract was revealed in intelligence reports
sent to senior Clinton administration policy-makers last month.
Pentagon officials familiar with the report said the deal will involve
transfers of technology to upgrade Iran's FL-10 anti-ship cruise
missile. The short-range FL-10s are being modified by the Chinese to
be fired from Iranian attack helicopters and fast patrol boats that
could threaten U.S. or allied warships, or oil tankers in the Persian
Gulf, the officials said..."

PAKISTAN CLAIMS NEUTRON BOMB CAPABILITY August 21, 1999

The Nando Times reported: =F4Pakistan has enough expertise and
the material to make a neutron bomb, the state-run news agency
reported Wednesday. The Associated Press of Pakistan quoted
scientist N.M. Butt as saying the country had the ability to
=E6build a nuclear weapon of any type or size,
including neutron bomb.=C6 Butt is director-general of Pakistan's
Institute of Nuclear Sciences and Technology, a key institution
doing nuclear research. The Pakistani scientist's remarks came
the day after an Indian nuclear scientist claimed India can
make a neutron bomb. Neutron bombs produce a
smaller blast than conventional nuclear weapons but have more
intense radiation, enabling them to limit structural damage
while killing large numbers of people... India says it needs
a minimum nuclear deterrent to arm itself against possible
attacks by its neighbors, Pakistan to the west and
China to the north...=F6

Egytian articles condones attack on Jewish Center in LA

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Dateline Israel

Sun Aug 22,1999 -- A Jewish group called on the Egyptian and
U.S. governments to condemn an article in an
Egyptian newspaper that applauded the recent attack at a Los
Angeles Jewish center in which five Jews were
injured. The Simon Wiesenthal Center made the call last Friday
in reaction to the article in the Ahbar El-yum
newspaper that asked for God's help in supporting Buford O'Neal
Furrow's goal to "annihilate the Jewish race in
the U.S."

via: "Pre-trib only" <rapture77@bigfoot.com>

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Israel not sufficiently ready for possible earthquake
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 12:31:35 +0000

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

ISRAEL NOT SUFFICIENTLY READY
The Knesset Audit Committee held a session today on Israel's readiness
for a possible earthquake. The discussion was called in light of the
catastrophic quake suffered by Turkey last week. Arutz-7's Yehoshua
Mor-Yosef summed up the meeting by saying that on paper, Israel is
ready, but in practice the building codes are not sufficiently
enforced or implemented. The last major earthquake in Israel was in
1927, and experts say that as more time passes, the greater is the
likelihood that a major quake will occur here. Avi Shapira, head of
Israel's Seismographic Institute, told the Knesset committee today
that a future quake could reach 7.5 on the Richter scale -
approximately the same as the quake in Turkey. The most likely spots
for an earthquake to hit Israel would be from the Kinneret area to
Kiryat Shmonah, the Jordan Valley, and in the Carmel (Haifa) region.
"The committee is expected to make a decision today - not to establish
another committee to look into the matter, as might have been
expected, but rather to appoint a specific body to deal practically
with the problems," reported Mor-Yosef.

Arutz Sheva News Service
     <http://www.a7.org>
Monday, August 23, 1999 / Elul 11, 5759

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Britain may face invasion of giant grasshoppers
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 07:47:55 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Britain may face invasion of giant grasshoppers

LONDON, Aug 22 - Swarms of giant grasshoppers could invade
Britain from continental Europe and devour crops and gardens
across the country, a scientist said on Sunday.

The "superhoppers", up to 12 cm (nearly five inches) long and
eight times as hungry as most British grasshoppers, are usually
found in Spain and France but could spread thanks to global
warming, entomologist Peter McEwen said in a statement.

"The recent hot weather in the UK will only serve to encourage
the invasion," said McEwen, research director of Insect
Investigations, owned by Cardiff University's School of
Biosciences.

The spread of the insecticide-resistant bug could be aided by
increased cross-border travel between Britain and the continent
by car, rail and air, he said.

The grasshoppers have not caused widespread damage elsewhere in
Europe, but McEwen told Reuters that the impact of insects
outside their natural habitat was unpredictable.

http://www.yahoo.co.uk/headlines/19990822/news/0935356347-
0000058199.html

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - What's New at BPR?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 10:53:51 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Bible Prophecy Research
Additions and updates made since Aug 9, 1999
Number 30
August 23, 1999
=========================

Hi everyone...

Here's the lastest from Philologos and BPR:

> Added: Messiah in "The Legends of the Jews"
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Misc_Studies/ms-038.htm

"The following are all the passages (heavily edited in most cases)
dealing with the word 'Messiah' (as per the index) which are in 'The
Legends of the Jews' by Louis Ginzberg. This is just for comparison
and does not in any way admit to the veracity of certain passages. It
is interesting in light of the fact that someone could take these
expectations and use them to their advantage to counterfeit the pure
office of the true Messiah."
 
----------

> Added: How Long is a Generation?
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Misc_Studies/ms-035.htm

"The great chronologist, Thiele, says that from Abraham to Christ, we
have a total of 2,160 years. Divide forty - two generations into
that, and the length of a generation becomes 51.4. Add that to May
14, 1948, and one comes out at Rosh Hashanah, September 1999."

That statement prompted a couple of responses (and calculations) from
some list members.

-----------

> Added: Chronology of the Book of Revelation?
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Misc_Studies/ms-036.htm

"Every Sabbath the Jews read certain portions of the scriptures.
These portions are divided into two groups: a reading from the
Pentateuch (first 5 books) and the haftorah (prophetic). The schedule
is either a one year or three year cycle. I have taken the book of
Revelation and looked for parallels in the Pentateuch and have shown
at what time each of these sections are read in a synagogue using
either the one year or three year cycle. It is said that the readings
put the Bible in chronological order (and this makes sense seeing the
first 5 books are read without interruption). The prophetic portions
are usually connected to the Pentateuch portion and, therefore, each
week has a "theme." I have just taken this basic premise and
extrapolated."

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

> Added: Y2K/Jabbok River Experience
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Misc_Studies/ms-037.htm

He arose that night, and took his two wives, two handmaids, and his
eleven children, and crossed the Yavok river ... Ya'akov was left
alone, and there he wrestled ... (Bereishis 32:22-24)

"It is interesting to note, a rabbi pointed (half-seriously), that
the letters 'Y2K,' which stand for the 'Year 2000,' when translated
into Hebrew spell the work 'Yavok': y = yud; 2 = bais; k = kuf"

Commentary from Rabbi Pinchas Winston, http://www.torah.org

=========

Misc Site Info

1. Added the following link(s) on our "research tools" page:

Middle East Peace Process
http://israeliculture.about.com/msub46.htm

USIA Washington Files: Diplomatic and Security Issues
http://www.usia.gov/products/washfile/intrel.shtml

2. The search function for Philologos' entire site had been
broken for a couple of weeks (perhaps longer). It should be
working now. I always appreciate reports of broken links, etc.,
so please feel free to let me know if there's a problem somewhere.

=========

BOOK RECOMMENDATION

The Feasts of the Lord
by Kevin Howard, Marvin J. Rosenthal
Hardcover - 224 pages (June 1997)
Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 0785275185
Dimensions (in inches): 0.74 x 9.35 x 6.35

From Back Cover: "Israel's feasts are infinitely more important
than just a series of cultural observances. These feasts are
appointed by the Lord, and they are owned by the Lord. He calls
them 'my feasts.' Together they form God's prophetic calendar,
outlining the work of history's most important person--Jesus,
the Messiah. As such, few themes are more timely or rewarding
for God's people today.

"'The Feasts of the Lord' covers all aspects of the biblical
feasts--historical background, biblical observance, modern
observance, and prophetic significance. Yet, this book is not
just another reference book on the feasts. It is written from
the Hebrew Christian viewpoint, helping you to see the feasts
through Jewish eyes.

"The words of the Savior, His messianic claims, and Bible
prophecy will all take on a rich, new relevance for you against
the exciting backdrop of 'The Feasts of the Lord.'"

Inside Front Cover: "Written with Christian and Jewish
audiences in mind, 'The Feasts of the Lord' takes the reader
through all of the holy days of Israel. These ancient
celebrations come alive as they are enhanced with over one
hundred and fify full-color charts, photographs and paintings.
As the history of the Judean holy days is revealed, the Jewish
customs that serve as the most foundational facts of
Christianity are brought to light. As Rosenthal and Howard
strive to create a fresh understanding, these traditions are
weighed in the light of God's Word to reveal the Messiah.

"Step back to the days of Israel's Temple and then forward to
the modern Jewish home to join a family as they celebrate these
feasts. Experience the alluring aroma of baking matza, hear the
nervous sounds of the bleating temple lambs, and feel the warmth
of the Judean sun. With each step of the journey, the brilliant
rays of the coming Messianic Kingdom and Israel's Messiah will
become more radiant."

Philologos Review: "The Feasts of the Lord" was an absolute
joy to read. The feasts took on a special meaning for me from
the moment I opened the book and looked into the eyes of a pet
lamb staring back at me. The book is beautiful as each page is
enhanced with illustrations, photographs and drawings. I was
pleasantly delighted to see a full color photograph of the
Passover Table with a description of each item explaining its
Biblical or traditional importance. I'm sure that most aspects
and much of the symbolism involved in the various feasts are
familiar to many of us, but as I read about each feast again,
there was always something new that I learned or some special
symbolism brought to light that I hadn't considered before.
Although Rosenthal is listed as co-author, I would say that 90
per cent of the book has been written by Kevin Howard, who
does an excellent job. I enjoyed his writing very much.

While researching some portions of the book, I came across the
chapter featuring the Passover (chapter 4) online -- one of my
favorite chapters, by the way. This chapter,
http://www.roshpinah.org/passover, by Kevin Howard first
appeared in the Zion's Fire magazine in the March-April 1996
issue.

You may view the Table of Contents of this book online at
http://philologos.org/bookstore/Listings/howard.kevin.1.htm

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

Thanks guys! Have a good couple of weeks.

--------
Suggestions or comments? Please send them to
owner-bpr@philologs.org

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Gaza 'safe passage' deal struck
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 18:24:14 +0000

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

*** Gaza 'safe passage' deal struck

JERUSALEM (AP) - Negotiators struck a deal Monday to fulfill a
long-delayed aspect of the Palestinian-Israeli peace accords,
agreeing to give Palestinians more freedom of movement between the
Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Establishing a method for movement
between the overpopulated Gaza Strip and the southern West Bank, the
"safe passage" agreement brings Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat a
step closer to consolidating the parameters of his longed-for
Palestinian state. The passage is to open on Oct. 1. Initiating the
safe passage is a mark of Prime Minister Ehud Barak's determination to
revive the peace process. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560837597-cf3 ***
Also: Arafat, opposition group hold talks, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560834505-85c ***
And: Israel, Palestinians hold talks, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560834413-bc2

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Aug 24, 1999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 08:47:31 +0000

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

8:00 PM Eastern

 [This is one of the programs referenced in the file "The Prince of
 the Power of the Air Plays a Mean HAARP"]

 DISC - SHOOT NOT TO KILL: NON-LETHAL WEAPONS - Some weapons
   prevent crime and maintain peace without
   killing.(CC)(TVPG)

9:00

 PBS - NOVA - "Curse of T. Rex" - The FBI protects
   tyrannosaurus bones; paleontologists compete with commercial
   fossil hunters.(CC)(TVG)

 CNN - LARRY KING LIVE - The Rev. Benny
   Hinn.(CC)

10:00

 PBS - WILD ISLANDS - "Arks of Life" - Indonesia;
   Australasia; Alfred Russel Wallace.(CC)(TVG)

 DISC - THE FBI FILES - "World Trade Center Bombing" -
   Islamic terrorists are convicted in the 1993 World Trade
   Center bombing.(CC)(TVPG)

 HIST - JET ENGINES - Development of jet-powered
   aircraft.(CC)(TVG)

--- BPR

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Edupage items (8/23/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 08:59:26 +0000

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

21 IDEAS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY: THE MIND IS IMMORTAL

Business Week magazine in a recent issue discusses 21 ideas that
may be key to understanding the next century. One idea is the
simulation of an individual's brain activity, making it possible
for future generations to converse with a virtual equivalent of
the person years after his or her death. By the 2030s, technology may
be developed to simulate a nervous system's electrical activity,
allowing thoughts and feelings to be preserved. Initial versions of
the hardware for this "Soul Catcher" have already been developed. A
person's life could be recorded using tiny video cameras housed in
eyeglass frames. These cameras could be linked to IBM's newest hard
disk, which is the size of a quarter and stores 300 MB, or one month
worth of data. IBM is also developing software to index video content
automatically, allowing users to easily access a specific moment in
their lives. By 2099, a "Soul Emancipator" will be able to access the
hard data and reconstruct a person's thoughts and feelings, allowing
future generations to receive realistic answers to questions posed to
a person that has been dead for years. (Business Week 08/30/99)

MICROSOFT'S MASSIVE Y2K CAMPAIGN

Microsoft on Tuesday announced that it is contacting 80 million
customers through e-mail and postal mail to encourage them to
prepare their PCs for the year 2000. The company launched a
campaign to e-mail 20 million customers on July 21, and will
continue throughout August, Microsoft director of Y2K readiness
Don Jones told a House panel in Seattle. In addition, 60 million
customers will be contacted through direct mail. "This could be the
largest mass mailing outside of tax forms," Jones said. The message
informs customers that some Microsoft products may require Y2K
software updates, and guides users to Microsoft's Y2K Web site. Jones
told the committee that PC users should be able to install Y2K
software in about an hour. Among the products that will need software
updates are the original English-language Windows 98 and some copies
of Windows 95 and Site Server. (Wired News 08/19/99)

via: EDUPAGE@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Roman coffins make a ghostly mark
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 09:13:50 +0000

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

  Roman coffins make a ghostly mark

  BY DALYA ALBERGE
  ARTS CORRESPONDENT

  A UNIQUE insight into Roman life has been unearthed
  with the discovery in London of two remarkable wooden
  coffins. In one, the ribs and backbone of a man who died
  between the 2nd and 3rd century AD have left their
  ghostly mark, rather like the Turin Shroud.

  The indentations were made by the weight of the skeleton
  on the base. Only in a Saxon coffin has anything remotely
  similar been found, and its indentations are not as
  pronounced.

  The coffins, preserved by being covered in dense clay and
  silt, were discovered by archaeologists from the Museum
  of London excavating a site in Farringdon Street near the
  City.

  These were burials for individuals near the bottom end of
  the social scale, said Hedley Swain, head of the museum's
  department of early London history. The museum said that
  it has long been known that the Romans used wooden
  coffins from stains in the soil or mineralised remains of
  wood adhering to nails, but to unearth such coffins intact
  was extraordinary.

  Archaeologists were excavating the site of Atlantic House,
  Holborn Viaduct, which is being developed into an office
  and retail complex. The area was one of many burial sites
  outside the main city and 20 skeletons, including two
  children, and evidence of 29 cremations have been
  discovered.

  Taryn Nixon, managing director of the museum's
  archaeological services, said: "This is the Turin Shroud in
  another guise. We can build up a wonderful picture of
  Roman life through Roman death." The coffins might have
  held a shopkeeper, a merchant or a soldier.

  The complete skeletons have now been removed for
  study. The coffins contained the remains of ceramic
  flagons and the finds will be displayed later this year.

  The announcement came just as the Heritage Lottery
  Fund donated L1.1 million to the museum's archive and
  research centre.

http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/99/08/19/timnwsnws02034.html?999

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Churches hand out religious book covers
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 09:17:37 +0000

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

Churches hand out religious book covers

By Michael Ko
Tribune Staff Writer

Saying they are hoping to overcome the "current moral
wasteland" and reduce the chance of another Columbine, four
Chicago-area Baptist churches on Sunday used a new method to
push religious teachings into schools.

And in handing out 8,000 glossy textbook covers with the 10
Commandments boldly printed on them, the churches deliberately
plunged themselves into the hazy tangles that surround religious
expression in the public schools.

Ashburn Baptist Church in Orland Park and its smaller sister
church on the South Side, along with Chicago's Armitage Baptist
Church in Humboldt Park and Salem Baptist Church in Roseland,
after services gave the book covers to thousands of children
about to start school. The students attend myriad public and
private schools around the city and suburbs.

The book covers, which highlighted back-to-school rallies at
each of the churches, are intended to challenge students to
stand up for what they believe in and then help spur religious
discussion in the schools.

"The 10 Commandments need to be in the schools and we have to
get them in there," said Mike Sheperd, a member of Ashburn
Baptist Church in Orland Park. "Any way we can."

School administrators, including Chicago schools CEO Paul
Vallas, and civil rights advocates, on Sunday said they had no
problem with the book covers because they represent individual
displays of religion on the part of the students. They said
controversy would only arise if school districts themselves
became involved in the effort.

In Orland Park Sunday, the book covers were snatched up quickly
in rubber-banded sets of six by students of all ages, from
elementary school to college.

The six different cover designs are mostly a patriotic mix of
flags and eagles and endless skies, with the commandments
printed in bold lettering. Starting off with "Thou shalt have no
other gods before me," each of the 10 Commandments as found in
Exodus is listed on the left half of the book covers.

Ashburn officials said the book covers are a call to arms, a
way for a "moral absolute" to enter into the battle for the
attention of students, who are saturated with a multitude of
images in school, on television and especially amid their image-
important social life.

"Our kids are inundated with so many ideas and philosophies,"
said Sam Lyons, Ashburn's director of Christian ministries. "And
we've now seen the results of moving away from God. The events
at Columbine High School are just the culmination."

Andrew Gallagher, a senior at Lockport Township High School,
said as a teenager, "with everything that's going on in high
school, it's hard to stick with what you're supposed to believe
in. It's hard to know what you believe sometimes."

The idea for the book covers comes at a time when the
longstanding separation of church and state has made religious
expression a sensitive subject for educators.

http://chicagotribune.com/news/metro/article/0,2669,CTT-12044025,F F.html

via: End_Times_News@onelist.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Guardians of the throne
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 13:53:01 +0000

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

And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and
in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four
beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a
lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a
face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.--Rev
4:6,7

The Assyrian kings had stone sculptures guarding their throne rooms.
These guardian figures were known as lamassu. King Sargon II
(721-705 BC) had a lamassu composed of the head of a human with the
ears and body of a bull and the wings of a bird. These attributes
were chosen to represent the most desirable aspects of each. Carved
on the back and front are 2 inscriptions in which the king boasts of
his accomplishments. (Archaeology Odyssey Magazine, Sept/Oct
1999)

Another king, Ashurnasirpal II, had both human-headed winged lions
and bulls.
(http://www.metmuseum.org/htmlfile/gallery/second/near1.html)

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Pishon River/Snake
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 14:06:46 +0000

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

"News has come that through the use of a form of infrared satellite
technology, the lost Pishon River has now been revealed. Long buried
by the desert sands, its ancient course could be traced by the
satellite in the riverbed Farouk El-Baz, which runs from Hijaz in
western Arabia to Kuwait. It was this river, along with the
well-known Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, that helped to define the
location of the Gaden of Eden in the Bible (Gen 2:11).

 [Gen 2:10-14
  And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence
  it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is
  Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where
  there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium
  and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the
  same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name
  of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the
  east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.]

"And, speaking of the Garden of Eden...the report of a fossilized
snake with well-developed hind legs found in a modern stone quarry.*
This first-ever discovery of such a legged snake gives new relevance
to the story of a similiar serpent described in the temptation
account in the book of Genesis (Gen 3:1-15)."

  [Gen 3:1,13,14
  Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which
  the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God
  said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?...And the LORD
  God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the
  woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the LORD
  God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art
  cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon
  thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of
  thy life:]

*"Snakes didn't always slither," US News & World Report, April 28,
1997, p.14.

Excerpt from:
The Stones Cry Out
Randall Price, 1997

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Update: Ape-man
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 16:35:31 +0000

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

I came across some more info that might shed some light on where
Darwin got his ape-man theory:

The mythology of Tibet also speaks of strange ancestors. Overlooking
the Yarlung Valley is Monkey Cave where supposedly a reclusive monkey
mated with a female ogre of the cliffs. He did it to help the ogress
so that she wouldn't be doomed to having ogre children who would
trouble the world. They had "six monkey children who eventually
proliferated into the whole population of Tibet." The monkey children
were eventually turned into farmers after Tibet's divine protector
reached into a mountain and withdrew the seeds of five different
grains and scattered them over the children.

Skywatchers, Shamans & Kings
E.C. Krupp

Please see the Ape-man file at BPR for more info:
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Misc_Studies/ms-033.htm

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Four Horsemen/Cardinal Directions/Colors
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 21:46:53 +0000

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

Today I was reading "Skywatchers, Shamans & Kings" by E.C. Krupp and
he speaks of four 'Guardian Kings' in the Lamaist tradition ("Lamaism
is really Buddhism with a Tibetan twist"). They are guardians of the
four cardinal directions. They each hold something different in their
hands and each have a different colored face:

1. Dhritarashra's face is white/Guardian King of the East/plucks a
    lute.
2. Virupaksha's face is red/Guardian King of the West/holds a
    serpent and a stupa (Buddhist shrine).
3. Virudhaka's face is blue/Guardian King of the South/brandishes a
    sword.
4. Vaishravana's face is yellow/Guardian King of the North/lifts the
    banner of victory and has a pet mongoose who can vomit jewels.

There are other instances where the cardinal directions are
associated with certain colors. The Taoists have the Mo li brothers
aka Diamond Kings:

1. Mo liqing/eldest brother/western king/white face/has a magic lance
    named Blue Cloud, sometimes shown with a sword. "The words on the
    lance say 'earth, water, fire, wind.' It prevails with the power
    of the elemental forces of nature. When Mo liqing swings it in
    battle, it inspires a black wind to blow. This wind carries
    thousands of deadly spears, and a gold fire of flaming snakes
    follows it. Blinding smoke emerges from the ground and traps the
    enemy army. His spear and serpent storms are thought to symbolize
    his control of whirlwinds and waterspouts."
2. Mo lihong/southern king/red face/has a magic parasol known as the
    Umbrella of Chaos. "It dazzles with jewels, semiprecious stones,
    and mother-of-pearl, and the inscription on it reads, 'shut and
    open heaven and earth.' Any slight movement of the umbrella
    makes the earth tremor. If Mo lihong lifts it overhead, it hides
    the sun and the moon. The umbrella seems to have the concession
    for eclipses, for it cloaks the universe with a cosmic darkness."
3. Mo lihai/eastern king/blue-green face/plucks his four-string lute
    and "tunes the winds to his will. One chord blows up a storm. All
    of his enemies stop to listen, and their camps ignite and burn."
4. Mo lishou/northern king/ black face/has a "couple of whips and an
    extraordinary creature, which he keeps in a leopard-skin bag. The
    animal looks like a white rat. Its name means 'the sable that can
    turn into a speckled fox,' and when Mo lishou sets it loose, it
    becomes a white elephant with wings and eats whoever comes its
    way."

I also found this same theme of color-coordinated directions in
American Indian culture (various places on the net):

                Apache Navajo Cherokee
East black white red
South blue blue white
West yellow yellow black
North white black blue

This concept of having different colors representing different
directions seems to be pretty universal so I tried applying the same
thing to the four horsemen in Revelation chapter 6. Here's what I
came up with.

In Numbers 2 there is a breakdown of how the tribes of Israel were to
camp around the tabernacle in the wilderness. On the east side was
the main camp of Judah (4th son of Jacob); west side Ephraim
(Joseph=11th son); north Dan (5th son); south Reuben (1st son). I, at
first, thought the stones in the breastplate of the high priest that
went along with each one of these sons would correspond to the colors
of the horsemen (white, red, black, pale) but it didn't work. There
is absolutely no concensus on exactly what each of the stones are so
we don't know what colors they are. I could've played around with
them and made them fit but it seemed to be too much noodling around.

I then checked out the 12 foundations in the New Jerusalem in
Revelation 21:19-20 and the definitions seemed to fit perfectly with
the first reference work I checked (Online Bible Greek lexicon). Here
it is with a lot less noodling but I've gotta confess I stopped
looking after the first try.

Revelation 21:19-20
And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all
manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper;...the
fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx;...the eleventh, a jacinth...

1st=Reuben=south=jasper=Greek iaspis=Pliny speaks of a white jasper
although there are many colors for jaspers.

4th=Judah=east=emerald=Greek smaragdos=transparent gem noted for its
light green color

5th=Dan=north=sardonyx=Greek sardonux=red

11th=Ephraim/Joseph=west=jacinth= Greek huakinthos=precious stone of
a dark blue merging on black color

Now to add this information to the beginning of Revelation 6 (with
Jerusalem as the central point):

white=south
Rev 6:1,2 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I
heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts
saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he
that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he
went forth conquering, and to conquer.

red=north
Rev 6:3,4 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second
beast say, Come and see. And there went out another horse that was
red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from
the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given
unto him a great sword.

black=west
Rev 6:5,6 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third
beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he
that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a
voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a
penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt
not the oil and the wine.

green=east
Rev 6:7,8 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice
of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a
pale [Greek chloros=green; yellowish pale] horse: and his name that
sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given
unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and
with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Infobeat News items (8/24/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 21:54:08 +0000

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

*** Yeltsin meets China, Asia leaders

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) - A re-energized President Boris Yeltsin
arrived in Kyrgyzstan Tuesday for a summit with the leaders of four
Asian nations, hoping to further strengthen Russia's ties to China.
The one-day summit in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek is aimed at
increasing stability along China's 4,340-mile border with Russia and
three Central Asian nations. It will be the fourth such meeting since
April 1996, when the five leaders first met in Shanghai, China to
agree on a series of confidence-building measures along the
once-volatile border. The Sino-Soviet border was a scene of tension
between the two communist giants in the late 1950s. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560851582-bee

*** Norway won't turn over American

OSLO, Norway (AP) - A Norwegian court has refused to extradite a
suspected drug smuggler to the United States, saying he might suffer
inhumane conditions in an American jail. The suspect, Henry
Hendriksen, is a 49-year-old American. In 1997, he was found in
Stavanger, a port in western Norway, and arrested on charges of
smuggling about 50 tons of hashish into the United States. The charges
were filed in Vermont. Hendriksen fought extradition in a series of
court cases that reached the Norwegian Supreme Court late last year.
See http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560851851-9e4

*** Syphilis traced to net chat room

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Health officials are trying to warn participants
in an Internet chat room that at least seven gay men who met through
the on-line site have been diagnosed with syphilis. Since most people
who use America Online's SFM4M chat room are disguised by fake
"screen" identities, the San Francisco Department of Health has no
names or phone numbers to figure out who might have been exposed to
the sexually transmitted disease. Officials do know that as many as 47
men may have dated after meeting in SFM4M, which stands for San
Francisco Men For Men, said Jeffrey Klausner, director of the health
department's sexually transmitted diseases division. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560851380-71b