To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Arutz-7 News items (12/19/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 19 Dec 1999 13:23:36 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

COURTS TO RULE IN TEMPLE MOUNT ISSUES

Chai V'Kayam leader Yehuda Etzion continues in his two-track
struggle to identify the Temple Mount artifacts dumped by the
Moslem Waqf in the Kidron Valley, and to hold the Antiquities
Authority responsible for continued Waqf violations on the Mount.
"The Authority was to have delivered its response [as to why it has
not taken responsibility for the Waqf dumpings] to the Supreme
Court today, and must also deal with a similar petition in the
District Court," Etzion told Arutz-7 today. "So far, the Antiquities
Authority has been giving us evasive answers, to say the least.
They even sent inspectors last week to the Kidron Valley, while we
were examining the remnant of the dumps, and ordered us to stop,
on the grounds that we were robbing the country's antiquities! It's
OK for the Waqf - under the watchful eye of the police - to dispose
of hundreds of trucks' worth of ancient artifacts, but when we come
to check what's in the dirt, we are labeled robbers! If it wasn't
tragic, I would laugh - but today, on the tenth of Tevet, marking the
beginning of the siege on Jerusalem and the beginning of Temple's
destruction, it is very hard to laugh."

Etzion then reviewed last week's dumping saga: "They disposed of
the first truckloads of Temple Mount materials in the Jerusalem city
dump, which were mixed in with all the trash of Jerusalem. These
loads are now lost to us, and can never be examined. Once we
caught on to what was happening, we successfully tracked down
the loads of four more trucks at another site, and we started sifting
through them. When the Arabs realized that Jews were checking
up on them, they stopped unloading it there; after a one-day break,
they coordinated two large dumpings, one in the Kidron Valley and
one in [the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of] Abu Dis."

Etzion added that he and his associates have been able to see
from afar that there is still another large pile remaining at the
Mount, and that "probably, on a night of their choosing - since
there is nobody who will say anything - they will dump it wherever
they wish." He said that he is insisting in his court petitions that
the Antiquities Authority and the city of Jerusalem supervise every
truck that leaves the Mount and determine where the load is
headed so that its contents may be examined. "This too has not
been done yet," Etzion lamented, "and the Waqf continues to
prepare for a giant mosque under the Temple Mount."

The Waqf continued to dump more piles of remains at the Kidron
Valley site today. No police protection or Antiquities Authority
supervision was evident at the site.

POPE TO VISIT

An official announcement has been made in Jerusalem to the effect
that Pope John Paul II will arrive in Israel on March 25, 2000, for a
five-day visit. A senior Vatican official has already said that Israeli
officials will not accompany the Pope in eastern Jerusalem.

THE FAST OF TEVET

Today is a traditional fast day, known in the Prophets as the Fast
of the Tenth [Month]. This day marks the beginning of the siege on
Jerusalem 2500 years ago by the Babylonians, leading to the
destruction of the first Temple. The sages subsequently
proclaimed this day a fast day on which Jews are instructed to
focus on self-improvement and the spiritual and other causes of the
Temple's destruction. Furthermore, shortly after the establishment
of the State of Israel, the Israeli Chief Rabbinate declared this day
to be the day of mourning and Kaddish recitation for all those who
perished in the Holocaust but whose day of death (yahrzeit) is
unknown. By choosing this day, the rabbis indicated that the
tragedy of the Holocaust must be seen within the context of the
catastrophes associated with the destruction of the Temple.

Arutz Sheva News Service
 <www.ArutzSheva.org>
Sunday, December 19, 1999 / Tevet 10, 5760

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Tzemach News items (12/19/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 19 Dec 1999 13:32:05 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

HOW GOOD IS ASSAD'S WORD? Daniel Pipes, the Director of
the Middle East Forum and the author of three books about Syria,
discussed Syrian President Hafez Assad's trustworthiness in a
recent article in COMMENTARY magazine entitled, "The Word of
Hafez al- Assad," Pipes, through painstaking presentation,
demonstrates that if anything, Assad can be relied upon not to
keep his word. While US President Clinton, former Israeli PM
Shimon Peres, Barak and THE NEW YORK TIMES hail Assad as
a "man of his word," history reveals otherwise. Syrian troops were
first stationed in Lebanon in 1976. As part of the 1976 Riyadh-Cairo
accords, Damascus agreed to withdraw its troops. In 1982 Syria
signed the Fez declaration committing itself to negotiating with
Lebanon for the withdrawal of Syrian troops. In 1989 Syria once
again committed to a major redeployment. As Pipes says: "None
of these promises was [sic] kept. To this day, some 30,000
uniformed Syrian soldiers remain in Lebanon." In 1987 and 1992,
Damascus signed security protocols with Turkey to shut
installations on Syrian soil used by the Kurdish terrorist group, the
PKK, which is fighting the government of Turkey. Pipes cites a
report that the Turkish prime minister's office concluded 18
agreements with Assad on the issue, "each one of them
subsequently broken by the Syrian side." And there is more, much
more, including Pipes' accounts of how Assad simply ignored
promises he made to then Secretary of State Warren Christopher
which Israel had relied upon in making certain concessions.
Indeed, in one instance, even then Prime Minster Rabin was moved
to observe, "If the Syrians do not keep to what they agreed to with
the Americans, who will guarantee that they will stick to the
assurances they make to Israel?"

MEETING WITH PA/PLO CANCELED:

Barak has said he will not be meeting PA/PLO leader Yasser
Arafat on Sunday for talks on the peace negotiations. Tayeb Abdel-
Rahim, a senior aide to Arafat, had said earlier on Saturday that
the meeting would take place in Jericho. "The summit meeting
planned for tomorrow has been postponed," Barak said Saturday
on Israeli TV. He refused to explain why, saying "the meeting has
been postponed, period".

Meanwhile, calls intensified Thursday for action to prevent the
resumption of talks between Israel and Syria eclipsing the faltering
Palestinian track. The talks stalled after the PA/PLO balked at a
plan submitted by Israel to withdraw from 5% of Judea and Samaria
(Yesha) as required by the agreements. The PA/PLO wants a say
in the location of the Israel withdrawals; however, the agreements
clearly stipulate that Israel is the sole arbitrator of such
withdrawals. "I now believe that it will be easier to reach a deal on
the [Syrian] problem than on the other, and we will have to be
vigilant to make sure the Palestinian problem is not sacrificed in
the deal," French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said in Paris.
The European Union's Middle East envoy Miguel Angel Moratinos
delivered a similar message during a visit to Cairo on Wednesday.
Ross is expected in the region on 15 January to help kick-start the
process with the PA/PLO.

Tzemach News Service
Week Ending: 18 December 1999 / 9 Tevet 5760
http://www.tzemach.org/fyi

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Holy roller coasters!
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 19 Dec 1999 13:52:10 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

Holy roller coasters!
Brazil opens $70m religious theme park

by Harold Olmos
Associated Press Writer

APARECIDA DO NORTE, Brazil--A town that was built on miracles
now is expecting another--a tourism bonanza.

Brazilian and Italian entrepreneurs just inaugurated the country's
first religious theme park, a $70 million venture linked to the shrine
of Brazil's patron saint, Nossa Senhora Aparecida, Portuguese for
Our Revealed Lady.

The Aparecida Magic, Cultural, Religious and Recreational Park is
aimed at the pilgrims who flock each weekend to this town on the
Paraiba River, 250 miles (400 kms) west of Rio de Janeiro. From
thrill rides to a computer-controlled moving Nativity, the park
promises something for everyone.

"This town lives on weekends and dies the rest of the week," says
Antoine Michel Tuma, owner of the Hollywood Palace hotel. "Now
there is something that will hold pilgrims also during weekdays."

The pilgrims have been coming since 1717, when three fishermen
reportedly found a statue of a black Virgin Mary in their nets.
Luckless to that point, they pulled in so many fish with their next
cast that the nets nearly broke.

That was the first of many miracles attributed to the Virgin. As the
tales of portents spread, the village grew into a town of 34,000.

The black statue today is housed in a monumental basilica,
second in size only to St. Peter's in Rome, and Aparecida has
become the second most-visited shrine in the world after the
Guadalupe Shrine in Mexico.

"By the end of the year, the number of visitors may reach eight
million," says the basilica's administrator, Rev. Darci Jose Nicioli.
"That's one million more than in 1998, which already was a record.
And in 2000 we may welcome 10 million. I doubt any other
sanctuary can bring in so many."

Now, Aparecida is offering something extra. When worshippers
finish praying, they can jump on a small diesel-powered train that
whisks them to the park.

...

A giant cross-shaped mall of 700 shops offers all kinds of religious
objects, from bibles to Spanish and Italian porcelain figurines...

Backed by the Park Inn group of Italy and Brazil's Banco do Brasil
pension fund, the park seems a sure winner in a country where 80
percent of the 165 million people are declared Catholics.

"The Church is not part of it whatsoever."

...

"We are going after visitors," says marketing director Arnaldo
Rebello. "Trained teams go to schools and factories to explain
what the park is about, and offer discounts for visiting groups so
that when they come to the shinre, they also have the park in
mind."

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Dec 20, 1999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 19 Dec 1999 19:36:45 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

8:00 PM Eastern

 HIST - THE END OF THE WORLD - Researchers investigate the
          role of miracles, visions and prophecies throughout
          history.(CC)(TVG)

9:00

 HIST - THE TWELVE APOSTLES: HISTORY'S GREAT
          REVOLUTIONARIES - Twelve ordinary men, united by Jesus
          of Nazareth, revolutionize the world.(CC)(TVG)

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Rev 16:17 -- "...poured out his vial into the air..."
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 19 Dec 1999 20:08:01 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

(Rev 16:17 KJV) "And the seventh angel poured out his vial
into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of
heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done."

Fred Kenison in his book "The Apocalypse of Revelation" (p.
218) makes an interesting observation on the above:

"Why did the angel pour out his vial into the air? The
Dictionary of New Testament Theology (p. 449) says, 'According
to classical concepts the aer, air, filled the space between the
earth and the moon. The Greeks distinguished qualitatively
between the aer as the lower, impure air (vapor), and the upper,
pure air, the ether. Since aer was the less pure element, it
was the home of the spirits...also at times regarded the air as
the home of demons.'"

Paul is perhaps alluding to this Greek concept when he says in
Ephesians 2:2--

"Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this
world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the
spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience."

This idea of air being the home of demons or spirits brings
to mind the UFO phenomenon. The connection between UFOs and
demons or evil spirits has long been recognized. For example,
the "typical alien abductee" is usually interested in Eastern
religions, New Age agendas, and/or paranormal activities of all
kinds. They have been involved in Ouija boards, astrology,
channeling, witchcraft, astral projections, past life
regressions, etc. [Missler, p. 110].

-------

Another interesting point to ponder in regards to Rev 16:17 is
this entry from the Catholic Encyclopedia:

"One characteristic of Jewish demonology was the amazing
multitude of the demons. According to all accounts every man has
thousands of them at his side. The air is full of them, and,
since they were the causes of various diseases, it was well that
men should keep some guard on their mouths lest, swallowing a
demon, they might be afflicted with some deadly disease. This
may recall the common tendency to personify epidemic diseases
and speak of "the cholera fiend", "the influenza fiend", etc.
And it may be remarked that the old superstition of these Jewish
demonologists presents a curiously close analogy to the theory
of modern medical science. For we now know that the air is full
of microbes and germs of disease, and that by inhaling any of
these living organisms we receive the disease into our systems."

-------

References

Catholic Encyclopedia, http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04713a.htm

Kenison, Fred. The Apocalypse of Revelation, Purkaitheion
Press, 1996.

Missler, Chuck. Alien Encounters, Koinonia House, 1997.

--------

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