Just as criminals are, by nature, a superstitious and cowardly lot so are politicians, by nature, a reactionary and moronic lot. This is true worldwide but no more so than in the Philippines. Let's take a look at some idiotic responses from those in authority.
Recently, a senior citizen was hit and killed by a dump truck as he attempted to cross the street. The driver says he did not see the old man. The response from those in authority?
Always be very careful when crossing the road and always use the designated pedestrian lane.
This was the reminder of Jonathan Tumulak, chief of the City of Talisay Traffic Operations Development Authority (CT-TODA), to pedestrians to prevent a repeat of the accident that happened early on Saturday morning, September 18, wherein a senior citizen was run over by a passing dump truck.
Exuperio Catubay, 67, was believed to have just come from buying medicines when he tried to cross the street and was hit and run over by the dump truck.
(If you stop in the middle of the road, make sure that you are seen by the drivers [of approaching vehicles] and always make a gesture to signal them that you are about to cross the road to prevent accidents.)
Tumulak is also asking motorists to always practice road courtesy and to be mindful of the allowed speed limit.
He said that the national highway in Talisay City, especially at the vicinity of Barangay Tabunok is always a busy area.
People would often cross the street to go to the nearby market or do some errands, he said.
And since the area is often crowded, passing motorists should always travel at a reduced speed.
Jonathan Tumulak, chief of the City of Talisay Traffic Operations Development Authority (CT-TODA) knows that the area the old man was hit is very busy and that people often cross the street. And his solution is for motorists to slow down and for pedestrians to "make a gesture to signal" that they are about to cross the street!
What the heck is a pedestrian lane? Is that like a bike lane which is in the street!? Is Talisay City really forcing people to walk in the street? How about the city build proper sidewalks, crosswalks, and install any necessary traffic lights? How about some real world solutions from the chief of traffic operations instead of idiotic advice like "make a gesture to signal" that you are about to cross the street so motorists see you? What a buffoon.
Traffic is bad throughout the Philippines. Anyone paying attention knows why. Bad drivers, no traffic lights, bad roads, and pedestrians and other obstacles in the street are just a few of the problems. This of course leads to accidents. However, In Cebu City road accidents are "an endless phenomena."
Road accidents have become a part of the lifestyle of city residents, said Director Victor Caindec of the Land Transportation Office in Central Visayas (LTO-7).
Caindec said the roads in Cebu City were somewhat a mess.
“Why it happens it can be argued in so many ways. If you look at mobility it is simple to analyze, you have big trucks alongside motorcycles, alongside bicycles, alongside pedestrians moving along a certain speed,” said Caindec.
The phenomenon of road accidents are caused by the underlying fact that mobility in Cebu City is a challenging aspect of urban development, something that the government has yet to crack.
While the city continues to struggle with improving the road network, Cuenco can only encourage the drivers to be vigilant on the road and be more careful.
(Our system now is very subject to abuse. I agree that there should have been planning now in our road system so we will know where particular vehicles are prohibited.)
Road accidents are not a phenomenon.
a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose cause or explanation is in question.
While practically everything is a phenomenon we aren't talking philosophical phenomenology here. The situation is practical. We know why accidents happen and the authorities have even offered up solutions. But Director Victor Caindec of the Land Transportation Office in Central Visayas (LTO-7) calls road accidents "part of the lifestyle of city residents." Reminds me of when Sadiq Khan, the Muslim Mayor of London, called Islamic terrorism "part and parcel" of living in a big city.
Another cop played with his toy like a gun and ended up killing his friend. How did PNP Chief Eleazar respond?
Philippine National Police chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said Sunday he has ordered the regular conduct of gun safety training after a policeman accidentally shot dead his friend in Manila.
The incident is the latest in a series of shootings by policemen. Last year, a policeman shot point blank a woman and her son after an altercation in Paniqui town, Tarlac. In June this year, a policeman shot dead an old woman in Quezon City.
(I've given a directive to review, check, and ensure the regular conduct of gun safety training for our policemen so they can again be careful in carrying firearms.)
A cop shoots his friend dead and PNP Chief Eleazar says he wants to "ensure the regular conduct of gun safety training for our policemen so they can again be careful in carrying firearms." The implication here is that this is not already happening. If PNP officers are not undergoing regular firearm safety training that is a huge problem. It seems doubtful that is the case. But then again there is that drug war movie, On the President's Orders, where the cops are shown to have not very good firearm skills.
The brief clip is from 3:23-6:40. The cops are told to fire one round and then holster. They fire 5 rounds instead!
Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia issued an order that all workers must wear personal air purifiers. She was quickly lambasted for this decree because of the expense it will add to the poor and because even the DOH issued a statement saying such devices are inutile and possibly dangerous. Her response to those critics?
Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia challenged critics of her recent mandate for workers in air-conditioned environments to wear personal air-purifiers to run as governor.
“I will just continue with what I believe is right for the province. If you have other ideas, run for governor,” said the governor in an interview after the Caravan of Provincial Government services in the town of Moalboal on Thursday, September 16, 2021.
“Maybe the people might choose you, and then at that time, if you are governor… then implement your own policies,” she added.
As an elected official who was “chosen by the millions of Cebuanos,” Garcia said she will take responsibility for her decisions.
“I am the one who has the mandate. You may have your ideas but you were not elected. You were not chosen by the people. This is my responsibility. Kamo nga mo insister sa inyong mga idea, maayo mo kay inyong responsibilidad inyo ra’ng kaugalingon tingali inyong pamilya. Ako, milyon ka milyon nga mga Cebuanos. So, I have the mandate, and I’ll take responsibility for my decisions,” the governor said.
Garcia explained that wearing personal air-purifiers will serve as an “added protection,” apart from wearing face mask, from the COVID-19.
“They should wear a mask, but as an added protection, basta aircon, kay kapila na bitaw na. You know, we’ve heard so much of this virus, it stays [in places where there’s no] proper ventilation, the air droplets that can stay for hours,” she said.
This dumb lady cannot even defend her actions. She gives no data showing that these devices are effective. That's because such data does not exist.
Of all the tactics to fight the insurgency I would never have thought that a Fahrenheit 451 type of censorship would have ever crossed the government's mind. But apparently it has as one university has purged all its materials related to the insurgency.
Books and documents on the peace negotiations between the government of the Philippines (GRP) and the communist National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) have been removed from the library of a state university in the north.
Evangeline Cabello, chief librarian of the Kalinga State University (KSU) Bulanao Campus in Tabuk City, told the Inquirer on Tuesday that she pulled out the books on the NDFP after a group of policemen and soldiers came and inspected the library on Sept. 1.
“They removed the NDFP pamphlets [from the shelves] and took these with them,” Cabello told Inquirer Northern Luzon in a phone interview.
She said she decided to remove the books to “protect [the students] from being recruited to join communist groups.”
The books are being kept by the university “somewhere else,” she said.
Among others, copies of the GRP-NDFP Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) have been removed, as well as:
• The Declaration of Understanding
• The NDFP Declaration and Program of Action for the Rights, Protection, and Welfare of Children
• The GRP-NDFP Peace Negotiations Major Arguments and Joint Statements for Sept. 1, 1980-June 2018
• The GRP-NDFP Peace Negotiations Major Written Agreements and Outstanding Issues
• NDF Adherence to International Humanitarian Law: Letters to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN Secretary General
• NDFP Adherence to International Humanitarian Law: On Prisoners of War
• Two articles on the People’s Struggles for Just Peace
• The NDFP Reciprocal Working Committee Perspectives on Social and Economic Reforms.
The regional task force to end local community armed conflict in the Cordillera has lauded the removal of the books and documents from the KSU library as part of its so-called “whole-of-nation” approach to the insurgency.
Cabello said she was of two minds about her action.
“I acted on my own … but with personal reservations because I think some of those books should not have been removed from the library,” she said.
The KSU president, Dr. Eduardo Bagtang, confirmed that pulling the books off the library’s shelves was Cabello’s sole decision.
He added, however, that he would review the chief librarian’s move.
For some reason the AFP and PNP decided to inspect the library of this university. They then removed NDFP pamphlets and took them with them. In response the librarian, with some reservations, decided to remove certain books to protect students from being recruited into the CPP. The RTF ELCAC lauded the removal of the documents calling it part of the whole-of-nation approach to end the insurgency. None of that makes sense.
Why was the PNP and AFP inspecting the contents of this university library? How exactly will removing materials related to the peace talks prevent students from being recruited into the CPP? Have they inspected or will they be inspecting other libraries for CPP materials? The whole thing stinks of absurdity and totalitarianism. I thought it was professors and certain groups who snookered students into joining the CPP. Now its reading that will make one a dyed-in-the-wool Red.
Adding further to the absurdity of the situation the government admits that the lack of face-to-face classes has actually deprived the CPP-NPA of the chance to entice students to join them.
Ruthless members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) conduct recruitment within their families, luring even children as their membership continues to decrease.
The health crisis has suspended face-to-face classes since last year, thus depriving the CPP-NPA of the chance to entice students to leave schools and join them.
The insurgents have since turned to relatives and indigenous peoples communities, not sparing even minors, according to Maj. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., commander of the 4th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army.
“(What happens is they persuade their younger relatives, even children, to be NPA members. That’s what we learned recently from those who have surrendered to us),” Brawner bared during the “Tagged” virtual media briefing of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) on Monday.
But Brawner said the CPP-NPA has lost the trust and support of the masses.
“(They also do not have the support of the people anymore, even from their mass bases, so the only ones left supporting them are their relatives),” he said.
If communism is a family affair then so is the Abu Sayyaf.
A father and his son who are both Abu Sayyaf terrorists have surrendered to the military on Wednesday in Sulu and security officials were quick to say that the duo would be reintegrated into the society as part of the government’s peace efforts in the southern province.
The terrorists, Haliluddin Isniruddin, 65; and Bennajar Isniruddin, 39, also yielded a grenade launcher and a rifle following their surrender to the 2ndSpecial Forces Battalion headed by Lt. Col. Benito Ramos, Jr. in Talipao town.
Ramos also presented the terrorists to Maj. Gen. William Gonzales, commander of the 11th Infantry Division, who praised the soldiers for their feat. Gonzales welcomed the surrender of the two men and thanked all those who worked in convincing the duo to return to the fold of the law.
The military did not say when the duo joined the terrorist group or if they had killed soldiers and civilians in the past.
Gonzales lauded the efforts of the local governments for their unwavering support in ending violence and promoting peace and development in Sulu, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.
“We have this (Abu Sayyaf Returnee Reintegration) program with local government units that give a lot of opportunities for you to start anew. With our sustained efforts, the downfall of the ASG is inevitable. We will continue our concerted efforts to achieve our short and long-term goals.”
A father-son duo surrendered but the military won't say when they joined or if they had killed soldiers and civilians. But isn't that important? Why would the government want to enroll murderers in a program that will lavish them with all kinds of benefits?
One new benefit the government is offering to NPA surrenderees is COVID-19 vaccination.
A military official on Sunday has offered coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination to Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army - National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) rebels returning to the government fold, after swab tests on some captured and a slain NPA rebel yielded positive results.
Maj. Gen. Romeo S. Brawner Jr., commander of Army’s 4thInfantry Division, said three of the 10 CPP-NPA terrorists, including one minor, captured in the Sept. 8 clash in the San Fernando, Bukidnon were Covid positive.
Another NPA rebel who was killed in an encounter in Talakag, Bukidnon on Sept. 9 also turned out positive of Covid-19.
In the Valencia City clash on Sept. 10, three of the four captured rebels, including two minors, yielded positive results on the real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or swab tests.
“Many in the NPA ranks possibly have Covid-19 as evidenced by the positive test results of the captured and dead CNTs (communist New People’s Army terrorists). Nais ko pong ipaalam sa kanila na wala pong pinipili ang COVID-19, sundalo, kapulisan, mga kawani, simpleng mamamayan at maging mga myembro ng CPP-NPA-NDF ay tinatablan din ng nakakamatay na Covid-19 (Covid-19 infection chooses no one). We are willing to provide Covid-19 vaccines to the CTG [communist terrorist group] if they will decide to abandon the armed struggle and cooperate with us,” Brawner Jr. said.
Rebel-fatalities were immediately buried upon learning that some of them have tested positive on the Covid-19 test.
Brawner Jr. appealed to the CPP-NPA leadership to abandon the armed conflict adding that the country is currently confronting an unseen enemy that is even more serious, deadly, and exempts no one.
The vaccines are not even available to the general public yet and the government wants to jab enemies of the state? That really shows who the government cares for. They get free money, housing, jobs, and medicine.
How is COVID-19, which has an over 90% recovery rate, more serious and deadly than the CPP-NPA? It's not. That line is just more government propaganda to support the unsupportable lockdowns.
More than 100 members of a progressive group organized by the New People’s Army (NPA) have formally abandoned the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) through a ceremony in Naval, Biliran on Wednesday.
After their disaffiliation from the People Surge Alliance, residents from seven towns in the province joined the Biliran Integrated Peace and Development Workers Federation (BIPDWF) to help sustain peace efforts in the province.
Many former members of the progressive group are from the towns of Culaba, Caibiran, Cabucgayan, Biliran, Naval, Almeria, and Kawayan.
“If we have been fighting the spread coronavirus, we have to stop also this ‘insurgency virus’ that has plagued the country in the past 53 years. There has been no armed encounter in Biliran, but the NPA used different tactics to deceive the people here,” Oliveros said.
The CPP-NPA is nothing like COVID-19. But the fight against both is rather similar. Both are marked by incompetence, idiocy, and corruption. God forbid the fight against COVID-19 should last for 53 years.
Timothy Jay Schwab of The God Culture has published a new book all about the Sabbath. On the cover he claims there are over 1,000 scripture references which furnish "Bible proof no theologian can dispute." Sadly, he does not provide a scripture index so one can quickly see which verses he has used and which he has ignored. The premise of Rest: The Case for Sabbath is that we must keep the 7th day sabbath and the rest of the Law of Moses. This premise is built upon a rotten foundation of faulty hermeneutics which leads to heretical theology and many wrong conclusions. In this review I want to examine that unsound foundation and show exactly where the cracks and rot are located.
As of this writing the book is only available for purchase at Amazon but soon it will be available for free at restcase.org. A review of the Foreward can be found here.
Timothy begins the book with an exposition of Hebrews 4 calling it a Sabbath sermon. It is apparent that he does not understand that the Jesus mentioned in Hebrews 4 is Joshua and not Jesus Christ. This is important because the author of Hebrews is comparing the two and the rest each one gives. Only Joshua, who led the children of Israel from the wilderness into the Promised Land to find rest from their wanderings, did not give them a true rest. There is "a rest that remaineth." Tim tells us that the “rest that remaineth” is observance of the seventh day Sabbath.
However, after his accession into heaven, Hebrews explains if you are not keeping the Biblical Sabbath, you are an example of unbelief. Ouch! That struck us like a ton of bricks. He proclaims those not entering the Sabbath rest are of no faith.
p. 15
Now, why would the "rest that remaineth" be the seventh day Sabbath when the Israelites were already keeping the Sabbath in the time of Joshua? How can the thing that remains be the same thing which is already occurring? That does not make any sense. Therefore it has to be a rest that is entirely different from the seventh day Sabbath. If Tim is right then we are continually entering into His rest once a week on Saturday. There is no eternal abiding rest from all our works to found in Jesus Christ. Later Tim will write that when Jesus called all who are weary to Him for rest that means resting once a week on the seventh day Sabbath.
“On the Sabbath, Messiah says come and rest in Me. He is specifically speaking of the Sabbath rest as He is Lord of the Sabbath and Hebrews 4 just told us so.”
p. 25
Wrong. Hebrews 4 is not about keeping the weekly Sabbath. It is about faith in Jesus Christ. It is by faith in Christ that we enter into His rest. If we are are unbelievers then we do not enter into that rest. And what is that rest? It is a rest from all our works.
Hebrews 4:3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
This is completely in line with Jesus' call to the weary and heavy laden in Matthew 11. He calls the people to Him to find rest for their souls. That is, rest from the works they exercise that their souls might be right with God and have eternal life.
Matthew 11:28Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
However, in Tim's interpretation of these verses Jesus is not calling people to Him but to keeping the weekly Sabbath. How much sense does it make for Jesus to be telling a Jewish crowd on the Sabbath that they need to keep the Sabbath? It doesn't make any sense nor does Timothy's interpretation fit with the words of Jesus which declare, "Come unto ME."
Let's talk about interpretation for a moment. In the introduction Tim says:
Certainly, we will interpret and you must prove all things for yourself but these are pretty straightforward references and they are not just abundant, the Sabbath is a theme of the New Testament even after Messiah ascended to Heaven and even in Revelation for those remnant believers according to the words of Jesus(Yahusha).
p.13
If the verses he cites are pretty straightforward then what need is there for him to interpret them? Because he is going to give them his own spin, one that is at odds with what the Church has taught for 2,000 years. In fact when he discusses Paul Tim will insert his own gloss into the text to make it say what he wants it to say.
In Romans 7-8, Paul provides a thorough examination in contrast between the Law of Sin and Death which he characterizes as an opposite Law essentially in place since Adam sinned when it entered. It is not Yahuah'a Law that he interprets as the Law of Moses equal to the Law of of Life in Yahusha the Messiah. Those are the same but what they are not is the Law of Sin and Death. When he rebukes the Law of Sin and Death he is clear it is the Law of the Flesh not Yahuah's Law of the Spirit. For clarity's sake we have included in brackets our interpretation of which Law in which Paul refers because otherwise this can be confusing.
p. 145-146
This makes the text extremely cluttered.
Rest: The Case for Sabbath p. 146
Romans 7:7-10 KJV
What shall we say then? Is the law sin [Sin & Death]? God forbid. [No, Law is Life the counter Law is Sin and Death] Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: [Law of Life] for I had not known lust [Sin & Death], except the law [Law of Life] had said, Thou shalt not covet [Law of Moses = Law of Life]. But sin [Sin & Death], taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law [Law of Life] sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once [Law of Life]: but when the commandment came, sin revived [Sin & Death], and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life [Law of Life], I found to be unto death [Sin & Death].
After giving his own convoluted interpretation of Paul, he calls it a ping pong match, Tim writes:
Paul is misrepresented in saying the Law of Moses is somehow the Law of Sin and Death. However, that is not what he explains. There are two laws at work and they are opposites. He rebukes and in a later letter says we have been redeemed from the curse of the Law of Sin and Death. We have but we keep the Law of Life that is the opposite. If you are not, you are not reading Paul. Realize that if Paul just said he is at war with the Law of Moses, he would be saying he is killing, stealing, etc. That is an insane interpretation yet essentially what many church doctrines hold.
If your denomination is claiming the Law of Life or Moses is the one that is Sin and Death they have no foundation in Scripture.
p. 148-149
I hate to break it to Tim but that is exactly what Paul does in 2 Corinthians 3. He calls the Law of Moses the ministry of condemnation and death.
6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:
8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?
9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
Paul also compares the Law of Moses to Hagar and calls it bondage.
Galatians 4:22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
Note that Paul does not denigrate the law. He calls it glorious just as in Romans 7:12 he calls it holy, just, and good. But he also says it is the ministry of death and that it has been done away with. And that redemption from the curse of the law of which Tim writes in the above paragraph? It's a redemption from the curse of the Law of Moses.
Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
The curse of the law of Moses is the punishment we must undergo for not keeping the law perfectly. And Tim acknowledges that we do not keep the law perfectly!
Many will ask, "How do I know I am saved then?" The Bible tells us we know that He abides with us if we keep His Commandments. Yes, we sinned we repent and ask forgiveness.No one has ever kept the Law perfectly except Messiah.
p. 400
This advice undermines Timothy's entire case for keeping the law. Repentance? Even Esau repented. Repentance won't save a man, not without Jesus Christ being its focus and center. What saves a man is Jesus Christ. Never forget that what saved the thief on the cross was his confession and faith in Jesus Christ and not anything else. Through faith we are united to Jesus and His righteousness becomes ours. Whether it's a created and imputed righteousness as the Protestants teach or theosis as the Orthodox teach, it is the righteousness of Christ and our participation in and union with Him that saves us.
In having everyone keep the law Timothy Jay Schwab, and every other Adventist, Hebrew Roots. or Judaizing Messianic group, would leave us all in bondage and under a curse, the very curse from which Jesus Christ came to redeem us. He especially would have the entire nation of the Philippines under a curse because his mission is to restore the law in full in this nation. Does Tim not know that in Deuteronomy 28 God lists only 11 blessings for keeping the law and 50 curses for breaking it?
As I noted above while Paul does call the law the ministry of condemnation and death he also calls it glorious and holy, just, and good. That is not a contradiction. The law is good not because it gives life but because in the preaching of the law a sense of sin is awakened in us causing us to realize that we stand condemned before God. The law then fulfills its task as being a schoolmaster to lead us to Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:24-25) who is Life and who lives within us and gives us true rest, the rest that Joshua could not give to the children of Israel. Paul writes that we are the temple of God and that God makes his abode with us.
1 Corinthian's 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
Here are two verses which not only contradict Tim's blasphemous denial of the Holy Spirit's divinity but also wreck his false teaching about the Holy of Holies. Tim teaches that the Holy of Holies on earth where God physically dwells is the Garden of Eden which is buried beneath the Sulu Sea just off the coast of the Philippines near Tubbatha Reef.
"And he knew that the Garden of Eden is the Holy of Holies and the dwelling of Yahuah" and where's that? In Shem's tents. So, what!? Now we find that in the Philippines. Watch Solomon's Gold series and no it is not above ground but enclosed as the Hebrew word gan means enclosed garden not just garden.
For Yahuah physically dwells in his Holy of Holies on earth. Oh, who would want to know where the Garden of Eden is? Well, because that's where his Holy of Holies is, duh!
That is so ridiculous and wrong. WE are the Holy of Holies on earth because it is IN US, that is believers, that God dwells. God's dwelling place on earth is NOT beneath the floor of the Sulu Sea but IN US and in His Church which is both the Body of Christ and the Kingdom of God on earth. The Bible doctrine of salvation which is union with Christ and participation in his divinity so that we become like Him is much more wonderful than the law keeping, Judaizing dreck Tim has to offer and which he even says one can lose.
Yes, Scripture has always defied the modern doctrine of "once saved always saved." One can certainly lose their salvation.
p. 20
Compare that vomit with the "exceeding great and precious promises" given to us in Scripture.
2 Peter 1:4Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Jesus Christ fulfills the entire law for us. What does that mean? According to Tim it means He kept it as an example for us to follow after.
“He just said the Law remains and I will not abolish it but fulfill it or keep it as an example for you.
p. 113-114.
Is that what fulfill really means as it was used by Jesus? To "keep as an example?" On pages 29-31 of the introduction Timothy attempts to ferret out exactly what the word fulfill means. But instead of looking to the original Greek he uses the English dictionary!!
Let us take a look at this English word fulfill. What does it mean? Here is what Merriam-Webster 's Dictionary defines...
p.29
This is as dumb as when he used a baby name dictionary to interpret the ancient word Fara in The Book Of Jubilees! Coming from a man who insists on uncovering the deeper meaning of the English by examining the original languages this blatant neglect of what the Greek means is astonishing. Why would Tim not go the Greek? Why would he, in attempting to decipher the deeper meaning of a passage, not take a look at the original language as he does in his other book The Search for King Solomon's Treasure? Because the Greek contradicts his interpretation.
The Greek says fulfill, or pleroo, means "to complete."
πληρόωplēróō, play-ro'-o; from G4134; to make replete, i.e. (literally) to cram (a net), level up (a hollow), or (figuratively) to furnish (or imbue, diffuse, influence), satisfy, execute (an office), finish (a period or task), verify (or coincide with a prediction), etc.:—accomplish, after, (be) complete, end, expire, fill (up), fulfil, (be, make) full (come), fully preach, perfect, supply.
Christ completed the law. He finished the law and brought to an end by executing it fully. All the shadows of the law were perfected and brought to reality in and by Him. He is the Passover lamb sacrificed for us, He is God tabernacling in human flesh, He is the firstfruits from the dead, His blood is sprinkled on the mercy seat in Heaven making atonement for us, He sent the Holy Spirit on Pentecost just as He gave Moses the law on that same day, and on it goes as all the sacrifices and all the feasts and all the holy days are brought to their completion and fulfillment in Him. The book of Hebrews is very explicit that Christ completed the law by becoming incarnate and shedding his own blood for us.
Hebrews goes on further to say that Christ is a priest after the order of Melchizedek and not of Levi. That is to say Christ is not a Levitical priest who ministers after the law of Moses. This is important because it means that the law has been changed.
Hebrews 7:12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.
Somehow Timothy missed that verse completely. In his exposition of the of the book of Hebrews from chapter 4 to the end he does not even mention that verse. In fact, Tim says:
“He does not say that He changes His laws.”
p. 19
Which is absolutely not true and which contradicts Hebrews 7:12. And he dares to call those who oppose him illiterate!? Timothy Jay Schwab is not illiterate. He is a smart guy and he purposely overlooked Hebrews 7:12, 2 Cor 3:6-11, Gal 4:22-25, as well as many other passages which space does not permit me to mention. He knows those passages contradict him. If he were sincere he would dive head first into the fray and explain away those verses in a manner that would support his premise. But he does not do this because he is a disingenuous fraud who rails against those who quote Paul in fragments even as he does the very same thing.
Let's sum up. Timothy teaches that we must keep the seventh day Sabbath and the rest of the law of Moses because Jesus Christ did not come to do away with the law. The law of Moses is in fact the law of the Spirit and Life. Of course, the Law is a whole and it all stands or falls together which means if the Law of Moses is valid today that includes sacrifices because they are perpetual statues. See Num 19:1-10 for instance. You can’t have one part of the law done away with and the other part remaining. The Bible never says such a thing. The Bible does tell us that the law is a schoolmaster to lead us to Christ and that Christ is the end of the law to everyone that believes. It never says Christ is the end of only a part of the law. But this is what Timothy Jay Schwab teaches when he says we must keep the whole law including circumcision but sacrifices are excluded. It would appear the prohibition on shaving is also excluded as Timothy Jay Schwab has a smooth face.
Yes, I know he has stubble in this photo but that does not change the point which is keeping the law means you don't shave and Tim shaves
Leviticus 19:27 Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
This is the flimsy foundation on which the rest of the book is built. It is rotten to the core. Tim does not understand the nature of Christ's mission to fulfill the law. He does not understand the rest spoken of in Hebrews 4. He does not understand the priesthood of Christ and what it means that Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek. By adding his own gloss he twists Paul to say things he does not. He claims that keeping the law does not save us but, contrary to his protestations, that is exactly where his faithless, graceless system leads. The man is on record saying, “we aren't to just have faith in Yahusha. That’s not enough. That’s not it. No, no, no, no. We are to keep His commandments" and "The Law is what redeems us."
Everything after chapter 7 is built on the rotten theological foundation laid out above which makes it not even worth reviewing here though I shall do so in another article. Tim starts off with a wrong premise which leads him to wrong conclusions. His arguments are, for the most part, straw men (who says Paul hates the law or that Jesus Christ broke the Sabbath or that the Apostles did not keep the Sabbath?) or they exhibit a total misunderstanding of history. From the way he cites the Early Church Fathers it is very clear he is not familiar with what they teach and has not read their writings. As he admits just before he cites them:
Much of the remainder of this history was compiled by the Seventh-Day Adventists largely. They have done well in their record keeping.
p. 221
Not only does Tim rely on the SDA to do his research but he also cribs several citations concerning the Fathers from an article on the website Detecting Design, run by an SDA minister named Sean Pitman, which he fails to attribute properly by not including the URL in the footnotes.
p. 426
This is not the work of a real researcher. A real researcher would not rely on a group that has an obvious bias and parrot their talking points but instead he would actually read the Fathers and attempt to understand why celebrating the Sabbath fell out of practice. He would learn Church history from the sources and would not quote-mine secondary sources to prove a point. But Tim is not a real researcher and so he is content with not going deeper. Instead of striving for understanding he is satisfied with calling the Church, again and again, the Synagogue of Satan which means to take him and his book seriously one has to believe Jesus lied when He said He would build his Church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. There is only one entity in the history of the world that can trace its roots back to the Apostles and it's not the Seventh-Day Adventists, the Hebrew Roots movement, or The God Culture.
Timothy Jay Schwab is not even honest enough to admit that the Early Church celebrated BOTH the Sabbath and the Lord's Day. He probably does not even know this is the case because he is reliant on the research of Seventh Day Adventists among others. Here is a citation from a student of John the Apostle which, to no one's big surprise, is not to be found in Tim's book. From the longer version of the Letter of Ignatius to the Magnesians:
But let every one of you keep the Sabbath after a spiritual manner, rejoicing in meditation on the law, not in relaxation of the body, admiring the workmanship of God, and not eating things prepared the day before, nor using lukewarm drinks, and walking within a prescribed space, nor finding delight in dancing and plaudits which have no sense in them. And after the observance of the Sabbath, let every friend of Christ keep the Lord's Day as a festival, the resurrection-day, the queen and chief of all the days [of the week].
The SDA call this letter a fraud but fraud or not it is a witness to an early tradition just as the Didache, which apparently Tim is unaware is included in the Ethiopian Canon which he lauds when he attempts to find support for the canonicity of Jubilees, is also such a witness. What a difference between Ignatius' instructions to keep the Sabbath in a spiritual manner and Timothy's instructions to keep the sabbath after a sensual and carnal manner. As much as Tim would like to identify with the Sabbath keeping Early Church before it allegedly departed from the faith he still falls short!
Recipe for Rest, Instructions for Keeping the Sabbath, p. 248-249
The rest of Rest: The Case for Sabbath deals with how to keep the Sabbath and the exact time of the Sabbath. Tim teaches that the Bible has a strictly solar, 364 day calendar which is impossible.
The Bible calendar is 30-day months plus and added intercalary day at the end of each quarter for 364 days.
p. 300
That is actually a description of the Enoch Calendar, not the Bible calendar. There are 365 1/4 days in a year. It just goes to show that The Book of Jubilees, The Book of Enoch, and the Qumran Community are not reliable witnesses to Biblical truth. Rest: The Case for Sabbath touches on many subjects and there is a lot of revelation here about the author’s methods and beliefs. I will expound on them in a future article but for now I will end this review with two such instances.
“Today, a regular person can go to resources like Blue Letter Bible and become a sort of Hebrew expert legitimately.”
p. 33
One can only surmise that this is how Timothy became familiar with Hebrew. It would certainly explain why in his other materials he shows a complete lack of mastery of the subject, telling us that there are Hebrew place-names in the Philippines because some Taglog and Hebrew words sound familiar. An “internet expert” is no expert.
“Many assume Adam was evil and there is no evidence he ever sinned after he was tricked in the Garden. He made the conscious decision to willfully sin no doubt. However, Adam only ate the fruit after he saw the love of his life do so. He knew she would fall and no longer be with him if so. His eating the fruit is the greatest love story.”
p. 79
The heresy and blasphemy here should be rather obvious so I won’t comment on it. Suffice to say the fall of Adam was a tragedy for all mankind and not “the greatest love story.” Timothy Jay Schwab has no idea of the sinfulness of sin or the depth of the fall to write any of that nonsense about Adam never sinning after he left the Garden.
Two anti-narcotics operatives of the Philippine National Police (PNP) were killed in a daring assassination perpetrated by motorcycle-riding men in Cabanatuan City on Friday night, Sept. 10.
Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), has ordered a thorough investigation on the killing and assured the relatives of the two slain cops of justice.
He identified the fatalities as 43-year old Police Staff Sgt. Allan Capinpin and 39-year old Police Staff Sgt. Aries Dichoso. Both were assigned to the Drug Enforcement Unit of the Cabanatuan City Police.
The two cops were reportedly engaged in a conversation inside the house of Capinpin in Barangay Magsaysay at around 10 p.m. on Friday when the gunmen arrived and repeatedly shot them. They died on the spot.
Two anti-drug cops assassinated inside one of their homes.
Police reports on Saturday said a policeman and his two companions were arrested in a buy-bust operation in Gerona town in Tarlac province Friday night (September 10).
In a statement sent to local media, Police Regional Office 3 director Brigadier General Valeriano De Leon identified the arrested policeman as Police Corporal Geymar Orquero, a resident of Sto. Domingo village in Tarlac City, who is assigned at the Tarlac City police station.
A cop and two of his cohorts were nabbed for drugs.
Authorities have confiscated PHP272,000 worth of suspected shabu from a former policeman considered as a high-value individual (HVI) in an operation in Barangay Duera in this town.
In an interview Thursday, Pangasinan Police Provincial Office (PPPO) information officer Maj. Arturo Melchor Jr. identified the suspect as Jasper Joy Mabulay, 30, former police personnel assigned in the National Capital Region.
“A search warrant was implemented in the residence of the suspect in Barangay Duera early morning on Thursday when authorities discovered 26 sachets of suspected shabu and a black pouch containing two more sachets of suspected shabu and other drug paraphernalia,” he said.
Melchor said the suspect was considered an HVI given the amount of suspected shabu weighing about 30 grams seized from his custody.
A former policeman who was a high value target was busted for drugs.
The construction of the controversial New Centennial Water Source Kaliwa Dam Project (NCWS KDP) was continued even without permits from the appropriate government offices, according to the 2020 audit report of the Commission on Audit (COA).
The Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) is the government agency in charge of the Kaliwa Dam project, which is part of the New Centennial Water Source program that promises to deliver 600 million liters of water per day to Metro Manila.
According to COA, this may lead to the cancellation of the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for the project (DENR).
The ECC only allows the MWSS to present measures that will mitigate the impact of the project on community health, welfare, and the environment.
The MWSS “may only proceed with the project implementation only after it has secured “necessary permits from other pertinent Government agencies,” the COA report said.
The contractor of the $283.2 project is the China Energy Engineering Corp. (CEEC), which has reportedly started the construction of the dam in spite of complaints from indigenous people who will be displaced.
According to COA, the MWSS and its contractor must first comply with the requirements of the National Integrated Protected Areas Systems Act and have a certification issued by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples. It must also identify disposal sites of excavated materials, among others.
“The ECC is a conditional certificate, where MWSS needs to comply [with] 21 conditions and 4 restrictions that are subject to the approval/evaluation of DENR,” the COA report said.
If the requirements are not met, the COA warned that the ECC could be canceled, which would affect the effectivity of the loan agreement with China Eximbank and the contract with the contractor CEEC.
The Chinese contractor building the Kaliwa Dam did not secure the proper permits but proceeded with the project anyway.
