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Add You - Pat Robertson on Ariel Sharon's stroke: God's Punishment?
Most people think that a team is a group of people gathered together with a particular goal in common. In a way that is right but in many ways tat is very wrong. A group of individuals that are working together without a clear understanding of how they fit into the whole and how everyone else fits into the whole cannot possibly work in symphony and be a truly cohesive team. Now on the other end of the equation we have a group that has an intimate knowledge of how they contribute to the goal and how the other team members contribute to the final result. This group of people can be considered a team since they truly work together, not just work in close proximity.A team’s success depends on all of the parts worki
Joel spoke to a national crisis in his own day, perhaps the sixth century BCE. After the people suffered a severe drought, wave after wave of locusts consumed what little remained of the crops. The prophet blames this devastation on his sinful people and challenges them to do some radical repenting. "Tear your hearts, not your garments," he says, promising that when they do, God will restore what they have lost to the drought and the locusts.
What's more, He will grant them a spiritual renewal as well. Joel 2:28-32 predicts how the Lord will pour out His Spirit "on all flesh." Peter on the first Pentecost after Christ's resurrection, saw the events of the day as the fulfillme
Motorola has a reason to feel sour. In spite of the fact that they were the first ones to introduce slim phones in the mobile telephony market, Samsung has won the race by introducing the slimmest phone ever – Samsung D900. This slider phone is a proud member of the Samsung arsenal, which has off late produced some of the most scintillating and exciting phones in the market.D900 is a take off from the Samsung models D500 and D600, yet is sufficiently differentiated to explain its elevated position in the hierarchy of the phones. Looking like an ordinary bar phone when closed, Samsung D 900 has an excellent slider mechanism that makes the phone quite tall when opened.Continuing the legacy of excellence at Sam
According to televangelist Pat Robertson, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's near-fatal stroke might well be God's punishment for dividing up God's land. According to the book of Joel, Robertson says, God is jealous for His land. In reaction, officials in Israel have announced that they are refusing for Robertson to be involved in purchasing land to build a Christian tourist center in Galilee. Robertson has sent a letter of apology for his remark, but it is doubtful that he will be allowed back into the business deal.
Certainly God is able to punish whom He wills; He has definitely done so in the past, time and again. Look, for instance, at the case of Uzziah, whom God struck with leprosy because he unlawfully offered incense in the temple (2 Chronicles 26:16-21). New Testament examples include Ananias and his wife Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) and perhaps some of the Corinthian Christians (1 Corinthians 11:27-33).
Strokes strike the aged
It is hard to establish, however, that a massive stroke suffered by a 77-year-old is a special judgment from God. Many people that age suffer the ill effects of the increasing infirmities of the flesh; this includes the righteous as well as the wicked. According to a 1993-94 study, for example, each year 2.6 out of 1,000 white males in the age group of 55 to 64 suffer a stroke. Among 65-74-year-old white males, however, the number more than doubles to 6.7 per 1,000. For the age group of Mr. Sharon, 75-84, it nearly doubles again at 11.3 per 1,000 ("Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—2006 Update, Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, online edition 1/11/2006, p. 22). A few days after Mr. Sharon's stroke, on January 20, 2006, Canadian film star Tony Franciosa died of a stroke, also at age 77. We wonder what sin Mr. Franciosa was guilty of. In fact, Mr. Robertson himself, at age 65, should beware of suffering a stroke himself.
Fulfillment of prophecy?
Robertson's reasoning that God may have punished Sharon because of his willingness to give up some land to the Palestinians is flawed, both because of his use of the prophet Joel and also on more general grounds concerning the place of modern Israel in biblical prophecy.
The pertinent passages in Joel are in chapter 2, verse 18 and in chapter 3, verse 2:
The LORD will take pity on His people and be jealous for His land.I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.
Robertson has taken these verses out of context in a cavalier fashion that is sadly typical of much modern interpretation of biblical prophecy.
Context of Joel's prophecy
Joel spoke to a national crisis in his own day, perhaps the sixth century BCE. After the people suffered a severe drought, wave after wave of locusts consumed what little remained of the crops. The prophet blames this devastation on his sinful people and challenges them to do some radical repenting. "Tear your hearts, not your garments," he says, promising that when they do, God will restore what they have lost to the drought and the locusts.
What's more, He will grant them a spiritual renewal as well. Joel 2:28-32 predicts how the Lord will pour out His Spirit "on all flesh." Peter on the first Pentecost after Christ's resurrection, saw the events of the day as the fulfillmen
You know one of the greatest things that a mobile auto detailing business can do is to hook up with a large property management company, which leases out office buildings and office complexes. Why you ask? Well, simple really you see if they allow you on the property and they have a copy of your insurance and an understanding or even a written contract then indeed you get the exclusive on the property for auto detailing services.This means that all those customers are now a captured audience, just for your company and it also means that you will probably get to work on all their properties, who knows how many that might be? On-site Mobile Detailing strategies for Office Complexes should include specialty office par
Strokes strike the aged
It is hard to establish, however, that a massive stroke suffered by a 77-year-old is a special judgment from God. Many people that age suffer the ill effects of the increasing infirmities of the flesh; this includes the righteous as well as the wicked. According to a 1993-94 study, for example, each year 2.6 out of 1,000 white males in the age group of 55 to 64 suffer a stroke. Among 65-74-year-old white males, however, the number more than doubles to 6.7 per 1,000. For the age group of Mr. Sharon, 75-84, it nearly doubles again at 11.3 per 1,000 ("Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—2006 Update, Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, online edition 1/11/2006, p. 22). A few days after Mr. Sharon's stroke, on January 20, 2006, Canadian film star Tony Franciosa died of a stroke, also at age 77. We wonder what sin Mr. Franciosa was guilty of. In fact, Mr. Robertson himself, at age 65, should beware of suffering a stroke himself.
Fulfillment of prophecy?
Robertson's reasoning that God may have punished Sharon because of his willingness to give up some land to the Palestinians is flawed, both because of his use of the prophet Joel and also on more general grounds concerning the place of modern Israel in biblical prophecy.
The pertinent passages in Joel are in chapter 2, verse 18 and in chapter 3, verse 2:
The LORD will take pity on His people and be jealous for His land.I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.
Robertson has taken these verses out of context in a cavalier fashion that is sadly typical of much modern interpretation of biblical prophecy.
Context of Joel's prophecy
Joel spoke to a national crisis in his own day, perhaps the sixth century BCE. After the people suffered a severe drought, wave after wave of locusts consumed what little remained of the crops. The prophet blames this devastation on his sinful people and challenges them to do some radical repenting. "Tear your hearts, not your garments," he says, promising that when they do, God will restore what they have lost to the drought and the locusts.
What's more, He will grant them a spiritual renewal as well. Joel 2:28-32 predicts how the Lord will pour out His Spirit "on all flesh." Peter on the first Pentecost after Christ's resurrection, saw the events of the day as the fulfillme
What advantages are presented by a home business?When asked why I wanted to start a home business, the first answer I could come up with was that I needed more freedom. I felt my job had control over me and constricted the time I needed to spend with my friends and family. Working from home allows you to have more time to do things like watch your kids grow, travel the world, truly enjoy the holidays, and entertain your wildest dreams and fantasies… whatever they may be.You can’t fire me Becoming my own boss was definitely motivation to start a home business. I grew tired of working for an employer who knew less than me but got paid ten fold my salary. Being my own boss, I have an opport
Fulfillment of prophecy?
Robertson's reasoning that God may have punished Sharon because of his willingness to give up some land to the Palestinians is flawed, both because of his use of the prophet Joel and also on more general grounds concerning the place of modern Israel in biblical prophecy.
The pertinent passages in Joel are in chapter 2, verse 18 and in chapter 3, verse 2:
The LORD will take pity on His people and be jealous for His land.I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.
Robertson has taken these verses out of context in a cavalier fashion that is sadly typical of much modern interpretation of biblical prophecy.
Context of Joel's prophecy
Joel spoke to a national crisis in his own day, perhaps the sixth century BCE. After the people suffered a severe drought, wave after wave of locusts consumed what little remained of the crops. The prophet blames this devastation on his sinful people and challenges them to do some radical repenting. "Tear your hearts, not your garments," he says, promising that when they do, God will restore what they have lost to the drought and the locusts.
What's more, He will grant them a spiritual renewal as well. Joel 2:28-32 predicts how the Lord will pour out His Spirit "on all flesh." Peter on the first Pentecost after Christ's resurrection, saw the events of the day as the fulfillme
The talk in the marketplace these days is how VOIP is going to revolutionise the telecommunications market. According to doomsdayers Telstra, Telco Blue and AAPT are going to be a thing of the past and VOIP will reign supreme.Fact or fiction?In recent times, VOIP has been the subject on many peoples’ lips. “The next big thing”! “A new way to make calls” are some of the ways VOIP has been described.But how many people actually know what VOIP is and how they can use it?VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol or for the layman it means talking over the Internet. This technology uses the Internet network to carry the telephone call. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Also it is remarkably cheaper th
The pertinent passages in Joel are in chapter 2, verse 18 and in chapter 3, verse 2:
The LORD will take pity on His people and be jealous for His land.I will gather all nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment against them concerning my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my people among the nations and divided up my land.
Robertson has taken these verses out of context in a cavalier fashion that is sadly typical of much modern interpretation of biblical prophecy.
Context of Joel's prophecy
Joel spoke to a national crisis in his own day, perhaps the sixth century BCE. After the people suffered a severe drought, wave after wave of locusts consumed what little remained of the crops. The prophet blames this devastation on his sinful people and challenges them to do some radical repenting. "Tear your hearts, not your garments," he says, promising that when they do, God will restore what they have lost to the drought and the locusts.
What's more, He will grant them a spiritual renewal as well. Joel 2:28-32 predicts how the Lord will pour out His Spirit "on all flesh." Peter on the first Pentecost after Christ's resurrection, saw the events of the day as the fulfillme
The only reason your company exists is to solve problems for customers. If you do not do this well the customers go away and your company ceases to exist. I have often marveled at how huge corporations place minimum wage employees in their customer service department and then wonder why their sales have gone down. Customer service in not a department of your company. It is what your company does to keep and earn trust in the marketplace.Last week, I visited my local supermarket to pick up some groceries, and they made a ridiculous customer service mistake. I am a very courteous customer. However, when someone wastes my time I am very quick to take my business elsewhere.I recognize that supermar
Joel spoke to a national crisis in his own day, perhaps the sixth century BCE. After the people suffered a severe drought, wave after wave of locusts consumed what little remained of the crops. The prophet blames this devastation on his sinful people and challenges them to do some radical repenting. "Tear your hearts, not your garments," he says, promising that when they do, God will restore what they have lost to the drought and the locusts.
What's more, He will grant them a spiritual renewal as well. Joel 2:28-32 predicts how the Lord will pour out His Spirit "on all flesh." Peter on the first Pentecost after Christ's resurrection, saw the events of the day as the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy.
Now if 30 CE (or thereabouts) was the fulfillment of Joel 2:28-32, when was Joel 2:17 fulfilled? The answer must be—just after the people of Joel's day repented. At least the evidence indicates that it would have been fulfilled after the people repented and before the first post-resurrection Pentecost. This must be the time-frame for the Joel 2:17 fulfillment, if there is any fulfillment at all.
Conditional nature of biblical prophecy
I say, "if at all," because biblical prophecy has a strong conditional element in it. This is clearly explained in Jeremiah 18:1-10. The conditions need not be explicitly stated to be implicit in the prophecy, as demonstrated by the prophecy of Jonah against Nineveh. The original recipients of prophecies understood their conditional nature, as demonstrated in 2 Samuel 12:14-23 and Jonah 3:3-10; 4:1-2.
When Joel promises a restoration of what the drought and the locusts have consumed, when he reveals God's jealousy for His land and His defense of the land against those who would divide it, that is all conditioned on the repentance of his people. If you look up "land" in a concordance you will find that God has sometimes defended his people so that they possess or retain the land, while at other times, He Himself drives them off of it (e.g., Deut. 1:8; 2 Chron. 7:19-20).
The context indicates that even Joel 3:2 anticipates a fulfillment in ancient rather than modern times, for ancient peoples are mentioned, including Tyre and Sidon, Philistia, and the Sabeans (3:4, 8), and ancient weapons are formed by reshaping farm implements (3:10).
Deflected from another message
To play this fast and loose with biblical prophecy is wrong. To do so before a worldwide audience is presumptuous, self-serving, and foolish. Mr. Robertson should be enough of a Bible student to know better than to do such a thing.
What's worse: for Robertson to speculate about the stroke being a possible punishment from God deflects everyone's attention from another message God has, both for Mr. Sharon, and for the rest of us as well. His message is: You are mortal! "Death is headed for you at 100 miles per hour. Are you prepared?"
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