Wednesday, August 26, 2015
“Saul's has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.
1 Samuel 18New International Version (NIV)Saul’s Growing Fear of David
18 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
5 Whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops, and Saul’s officers as well.
6 When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. 7 As they danced, they sang:
“Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands.”
8 Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” 9 And from that time on Saul kept a closeeye on David.
10 The next day an evil[a] spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand 11 and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.
12 Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had departed from Saul. 13 So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. 14 In everything he did he had great success, because the Lord was with him. 15 When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their campaigns.
17 Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage; only serve me bravely and fight the battles of the Lord.” For Saul said to himself, “I will not raise a hand against him. Let the Philistines do that!”
18 But David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my family or my clan in Israel, that I should become the king’s son-in-law?” 19 So[b] when the time came for Merab, Saul’s daughter, to be given to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.
20 Now Saul’s daughter Michal was in love with David, and when they told Saul about it, he was pleased. 21 “I will give her to him,” he thought, “so that she may be a snare to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law.”
22 Then Saul ordered his attendants: “Speak to David privately and say, ‘Look, the king likes you, and his attendants all love you; now become his son-in-law.’”
23 They repeated these words to David. But David said, “Do you think it is a small matter to become the king’s son-in-law? I’m only a poor man and little known.”
24 When Saul’s servants told him what David had said, 25 Saul replied, “Say to David, ‘The king wants no other price for the bride than a hundred Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.’” Saul’s plan was to have David fall by the hands of the Philistines.
26 When the attendants told David these things, he was pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. So before the allotted time elapsed, 27 David took his men with him and went out and killed two hundred Philistines and brought back their foreskins. They counted out the full number to the king so that David might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.
28 When Saul realized that the Lord was with David and that his daughter Michalloved David, 29 Saul became still more afraid of him, and he remained his enemy the rest of his days.
30 The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often as they did, David met with more success than the rest of Saul’s officers, and his name became well known.
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Monday, August 24, 2015
Common End Times Prophecies
| As Muslims, Christians and Jews hold ancient Jewish scripture as sacred, all three religions share many common signs and prophecies for the coming End of Days. | ||
| Common Prophecy #1- The end of time as we know it (see more) | ||
| The first and most obvious End Times Prophecy implied in all End Times Philosophy is that time as we know it will end. | ||
| Common Prophecy #2- A period of great global tribulation (see more) | ||
| The second most common End Times Prophecy is that prior to the arrival of a Messiah, there will be a period of great global tribulation which includes (but is not limited to): floods, earthquakes, disease, meteorite showers, famine and war. | ||
| Common Prophecy #3- A Messiah will come (see more) | ||
| The third most common End Times Prophecy is that after the great global tribulation a Messiah or Christ will come. In Islam, there are two- the first being the Imam Mahdi and then the Prophet Jesus returns. | ||
| Common Prophecy #4- Great knowledge will come (see more) | ||
| The fourth most common End Times Prophecy is that an age of great spiritual wisdom and truth of things will come in conjunction with the other prophecies. This is often implied in Islam as part of awakening to the truth of Allah and the Last Judgment. | ||
| Common Prophecy #5- The coming of a one-world religious system(see more) | ||
| Following the coming of the age of spiritual wisdom, a common End Times Prophecy is the coming of a one-world religious system. While this is more explicit in Jewish and Christian End Times writing, it is more implied in Islam and the unity of all people under Allah at the Last Judgment. | ||
| Common Prophecy #6- The coming of a unified political system (see more) | ||
| Similar to the common End Times prophecy of the coming of a one-world religious system is the prophecy that the End Times we will see the establishment a one-world political system. This is a common prophecy between ancient Judaism and Christianity, but clearly implied in Islam upon the Qiyâmah- "Day of Resurrection" as a new era. | ||
| Common Prophecy #7- The Kingdom of God will be established on Earth (see more) | ||
| A very important and common End Times Prophecy is that upon the appearance of the Messiah, the Kingdom of God will be established on Earth and continue to exist forever more. This is a major prophecy repeated by many of the most important prophets of Islam, but is not typically included in modern End Days prophecy. | ||
| Common Prophecy #8- Jerusalem will be renewed and a central international city (see more) | ||
| An important and common End Times Prophecy is that upon the End Times and the coming of the Kingdom of God, Jerusalem will be renewed and rebuilt as a central international city. This is a major prophecy repeated by many of the most important prophets of Islam, but is not typically included in modern End Days prophecy. | ||
| Common Prophecy #9- All of the dead will rise again (see more) | ||
| The belief that at the End of Days the dead will rise again is considered so important, it is part of the declaration of faith that most Muslims, Christians and Jews perform at various times of their life and attendance to worship. | ||
| Common Prophecy #10- Death and evil will be conquered (see more) | ||
| The last key and common prophecy of End Times is the belief that at the end of Days and the coming of all other signs, the concepts of death (damnation) and evil will be conquered. | ||
| Islamic End Time Prophecies | ||
| The most fundamental Islamic End Times Prophecies have already been outlined as common End Times Prophecies shared by Islam, Christianity and Judaism. However, Islam differs from Judaism and Christianity in terms of substantial additional prophecies and whether some prophecies have or have not yet been fulfilled. | ||
| The first big difference is the emphasis in the Holy Qur'an to the actual day of Judgment and the process. Islam is unique in describing that each and every person has a spiritual book which records their actions throughout their adult lives for which they will be held accountable. | ||
| The second big difference in modern Islamic movements is the rise of the Annihalation philosophy ("every person will die") and the subsequent detailed descriptions of future Heaven (Jannah) and Hell (Jahannam). While this philosophy is never stated in the Qur'an and contradicts many of the basic prophecies within the Holy Qur'an concerning the end times, it has become an extremely popular and mainstream belief for most muslims. | ||
| The following are the most commonly accepted Islamic End Times Prophecies (in addition to Common Shared Prophecies): | ||
Islamic Prophecy #1- The anti-Christ (see more)
| ||
| The first and most distinctive difference between Jewish and Islamic End Times philosophy is the Islamic and Christian notion of the anti-Christ or"ad-Dajjal". In popular Islamic belief, the anti-Christ is considered the adversary of the Messiah Imam Mahdi and the Prophet Jesus. | ||
| Islamic Prophecy #2-The Day of Judgment (see more) | ||
| While Judaism appears to share the notion of a Day accounting for ones actions with Islam, in truth the Prophecy of Judgment Day in Islamic and Christian belief is when each and every person (alive or dead) is Judged without being allowed to plead for ones case and then either allowed to Heaven or condemned to an eternity of torment and misery. | ||
| Islamic Prophecy #3- Complete annihalation of Earth -Heaven and Hell(see more) | ||
| While the Holy Qur'an never actually states the Earth will be completely destroyedupon the Qiyâmah (Day of the Resurrection), it is now a commonly held belief of many muslims thanks to prophecies created by extremist Islamic scholars claiming the Earth will be completely destroyed and every human being will die-that people will then go to heaven or hell for eternity. |
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