Priestly Blessing

[Fenris]

Not convinced 1948 or the U.N. acknowledgement as such, is the fulfillment of specific prophecy. Not the "rebirth" of Israel.

I didn't say anything about any of that. I cited a specific line in Jeremiah. Let's look at it again.

“This is what the Lord says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without people or animals.” Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom..."


A desolate city, with neither people nor animals, has again been repopulated. And not just by anyone. By Jews, the very people whom God made this promise to. And I myself personally heard the voice of a bride and groom. Again, as God promised.

This is a unique event in human history.

Christians surprise me sometimes. So many of you have "spiritualized" God's word to the point of where you refuse to recognize an actual, literal fulfillment.

Precursor? Maybe. Gentile sponsorship and protection? Not likely.

In Isaiah, God refers to the gentile king Cyrus as "My anointed" because he gets the mission of allowing the Jewish exiles to return. Why was gentile sponsorship ok then but not now?

And that spiritual rebirth will involve the embracing of Jesus Christ.

Again, you've spiritualized prophecy to the point where you can't recognize literal fulfillment.

[Sojourner]

Aside from prophecy, there's another affirmation of the accuracy of the Bible. Modern medical science has discovered that on the eighth day of a baby's life, Vitamin K and prothrombin--both critical to blood clotting, reach 110 percent of their levels in the blood. This occurs on the eighth day only and never happens again.

I can find no information regarding such a specific claim. Vitamin K is important for clotting and generally, infant circumcisions will not be performed without a prior Vitamin K shot. This sounds like an apocryphal tale built around some truth.

Some time back, I verified the claim by reviewing several medical-oriented websites. Here are two of them that I had on hand:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Serekara-Christian/publication/321462229_Haematological_Basis_of_8th_Day_Male_Child_Circumcision_in_The_Holy_Bible/links/5a225c2eaca2727dd87b1216/Haematological-Basis-of-8th-Day-Male-Child-Circumcision-in-The-Holy-Bible.pdf

https://seattlebris.com/blog/circumcision-countdown-the-physiology-behind-why-eight-days-matters

[Sojourner]

Not convinced 1948 or the U.N. acknowledgement as such, is the fulfillment of specific prophecy. Not the "rebirth" of Israel.

Precursor? Maybe. Gentile sponsorship and protection? Not likely.

And that spiritual rebirth will involve the embracing of Jesus Christ.

Not being fulfilled today.

Not necessarily a "Church Age" prophecy.

Fenris beat me to it, but I was going to cite God's use of the Gentile Cyrus to serve His purpose--even referring to him by name in scripture. God used the fierce Nebuchadnezzar to take the land away from the Jews and bring captivity upon them. And when the allotted time had expired, it was a decree from a Gentile ruler that facilitated their return to rebuild and occupy their land. In the same way, Titus and his legions were used to conquer and enslave Israel, scattering a remnant among the nations. Since God often uses Gentile powers to serve His purpose, why is it unreasonable to see His hand in the UN charter that enabled the return in 1948? Though again, this is only the first phase of the rebirth.

And as I said, I believe the second phase of the rebirth will be the spiritual awakening that occurs the day  Jesus rescues the nation from certain destruction by a massive coalition of nations, and they all recognize Him as the long-awaited messiah. Fenris of course holds a different perspective, but I believe this is the day that Zechariah 14 refers to.

[teddyv]

Apologies to Fenris for this rabbit-trail.

Some time back, I verified the claim by reviewing several medical-oriented websites. Here are two of them that I had on hand:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Serekara-Christian/publication/321462229_Haematological_Basis_of_8th_Day_Male_Child_Circumcision_in_The_Holy_Bible/links/5a225c2eaca2727dd87b1216/Haematological-Basis-of-8th-Day-Male-Child-Circumcision-in-The-Holy-Bible.pdf

https://seattlebris.com/blog/circumcision-countdown-the-physiology-behind-why-eight-days-matters

I checked that first one, since it seems like a legitimate paper, although it is very short and does not really contain any novel research.
One statement in there is "The Vitamin K and Thrombocin (which is a blood clotter) are the highest in a baby on his eighth day of life" is not referenced to any actual study supporting this testable claim. The authors just appear to have assumed it as true.
The conclusion, "Conclusively, it is of medical importance that male circumcision be carried out on the eighth day after birth since the level of vitamin K is highest on this day and vitamin K plays a pivotal role in regulation and control of the important clotting actors in the coagulation pathway that helps in stopping bleeding." is also not supported by anything in that paper, nor in any third party reference. I would be pretty skeptical of this claim. It's also a relatively obscure journal from Nigeria with a large Christian and Muslim population that all carry out circumcision.

The other link is rather unhelpful as there are no references to any studies whatsoever and is from a site that specifically promotes circumcisions, so it's not like they are unbiased.

That said, it is possible that since most newborns are given a Vit K shot near birth, the Vit K surge may be related to that. Of course this is meaningless for the bulk of human history where no such thing was done.

[Sojourner]

There are numerous websites that affirm the claim, though it's possible most are relying on other sites as their source. (Not unusual for the internet). At any rate, God had a good reason for commanding that circumcision be performed specifically on the eighth day, and we don't know that it was NOT because of the levels of Vitamin K and prothrombin on that day.

[teddyv]

There are numerous websites that affirm the claim, though it's possible most are relying on other sites as their source. (Not unusual for the internet).

Of course.

At any rate, God had a good reason for commanding that circumcision be performed specifically on the eighth day, and we don't know that it was NOT because of the levels of Vitamin K and prothrombin on that day.

Sure, that's fine. I just don't think searching for rather tenuous links to justify Biblical events or practices are necessary. Circumcision was not uncommon amongst the Israelite contemporaries at the time, but seems to have been done when boys were much older, as a rite to adulthood.

[Zachary]

On the flip side, those who curse Abraham's descendants have been cursed. The Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Girgashites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites, Amalekites, and other ancient enemies were swept into the dustbin of history thousands of years ago while Israel continues to our day.

Also the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Seleucid Greeks, the Romans, and even into the modern era with Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

God still rules from heaven, has His protecting hand upon the descendants of Abraham, and His promise to bless those who bless Israel and curse them that curse Israel is as valid today as the day He voiced it.

Amen!

The Egyptians didn't fare very well in their interaction, either. I'd say that's too many to write off as happenstance.

Ezekiel 29:14
And I will bring again the captivity of Egypt, and will cause them to return into the land of Pathros, into the land of their habitation; and they shall be there a base kingdom.

This thing was also written about Israel themselves more than once.

[Athanasius]

No necro posting.