Pedro Melendez

As I looked over the first calendar I got for the new year 2018 (as commonly recognized), one thing struck me as never before.  It was the discovery that there are two full moons occurring this first month of the year!  The first was last January 2, and the second will be on January 31.  Oddly, February this year thus has no full moon!

Not only is January a month with two full moons this year.  March will also feature two full moons — on the 2nd and the 31st as well!

Some things happen on a more or less regular basis in this life, and we hardly notice them.  Until they hit us, as my recent discovery hit me, between the eyes!

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One of the most controversial topics being discussed in the news, social media and halls of government these days concerns “climate change.”  A good number of scientists who claim to have honestly and objectively looked at the challenge of “climate change” declare that this recent and ever-worsening global phenomenon is real!  They are sounding an alarm and warning that unless humankind pulls together to remedy the situation, we and our environment will have had it!

On the other side of the fence are politicians, businessmen and even some religious figures who flatly deny that there is such a thing as “climate change.”  Some of them may admit that, yes, there is that challenge, but the “solution” offered by “environmentalists” would cause businesses to go bankrupt and many people to lose their jobs, thereby exacerbating the already runaway problem of poverty worldwide.

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She is called “Blessed…among women,” “highly favored,” having “found favor with God.”  By some mysterious and supernatural process, through the power of the Holy Spirit, she conceived and brought forth the “Son of the Highest,” the “Son of God” — Jesus Christ, the Founder and Lord of Christianity.  [See:  The True Christ.]

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Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God.  He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son.  2 John 9

The apostle John’s second letter, though brief, speaks volumes about the Christian walk and how we are to keep ourselves from the many deceivers who do not teach the true doctrine of Christ.

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Peloubet’s Bible Dictionary admits that “There is something surprising and mysterious in the first appearance of Melchizedek, and in the subsequent reference to him.”

Genesis 14:18-20 relates about Melchizedek, “king of Salem” and “priest of God Most High.”  He came to meet with Abram (later renamed Abraham) after Abram’s victorious campaign against the captors of his nephew Lot and his household.  [See:  The Children of Abraham.]

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This question is only meaningful to those who believe that this our planet earth — not heaven — is the reward of those “saved” in Christ.  For most people who profess faith in Jesus, “Earth is not thy goal,” as a religious song asserts.

To settle this question from God’s word, the Bible, please see this link:  http://www.herbert-armstrong.org , click ENTER HERE, select “Books & Booklets” and scroll down to the booklet titled “What Is the Reward of the Saved?” [Also, see:  What Happens to Man After Death?]

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Many who profess faith in Christ believe in His first and second coming to this our planet earth.  They would refer to the  “first” coming  as God’s miraculously becoming a human fetus in the womb of the virgin Mary.  This is theologically called “the incarnation.”  The well-told story is found in Luke 1-2 and in parallel accounts in Matthew 1-2 and John 1.  Many people around the world celebrate December 25 as the supposed date of the birth of Jesus Christ.  In fact, Christmas is also often called Jesus’ “Advent,” which is another word for “coming.”  (As we’d say, “With the advent of the computer, manual typewriters have now become junk to most people, or at best museum pieces.”)  [See:  True Worship and Feast of John the Baptist.]

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Grabbing the world’s attention nowadays, as I write, is the just over two-month-old “martial law” declared in May 2017, throughout the southern Philippine island of Mindanao, by President Rodrigo “Digong” Roa-Duterte.  Martial law was imposed by Duterte because of “rebellion” and threat to national security and integrity by the ISIS [Islamic State]-inspired “Maute” group, comprised mainly by ethnic Maranao Muslims and led by one with the family name “Maute.”  The 90% Islamic City of Marawi, in the Mindanao Province of Lanao del Sur, was the target of the “Maute” group for establishing a province of the Islamic “caliphate,” much like what happened in Syria and Iraq.  [See:  The Children of Abraham.]

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On the 24th of June each year many people in the Philippines celebrate what the Roman Catholic Church has designated as the Feast of Saint John the Baptist.  The same feast is also celebrated in most other countries where there are Roman Catholics.

In many cities, towns and barrios in the Philippines people would traditionally douse water on their neighbors and passersby on this day.  This is supposedly to commemorate the birth of the prophet John, who went about baptizing in all of Judea during the time of Jesus Christ (the first century A.D.).

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