Kingdoms in Uncertainty : Mexico threatens to sue Google over name change of Gulf of Mexico on US maps, Our Banner!


Mexico will take Google to court if maps shown to US-based users continue to label the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America across the entire body of water, President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday, arguing that US President Donald Trump’s order to rename it only applies to the part of the continental shelf under US control.

World / Americas

By Michael Rios, Billy Stockwell and Karol Suarez, CNN

 2 minute read

Updated 1:23 PM EST, Mon February 17, 2025

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Valeria León explains why Mexico’s Sheinbaum threatens to sue Google

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Valeria León explains why Mexico’s Sheinbaum threatens to sue Google

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Mexico will take Google to court if maps shown to US-based users continue to label the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America across the entire body of water, President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday, arguing that US President Donald Trump’s order to rename it only applies to the part of the continental shelf under US control.

“Community Land Trust, Pope Lord of the World”

What Google is doing here is changing the name of the continental shelf of Mexico and Cuba, which has nothing to do with Trump’s decree, which applied only to the US continental shelf,” Sheinbaum told reporters. “We do not agree with this, and the Foreign Minister has sent a new letter addressing the issue.”

Trump’s decree “only changed the name within his own continental shelf,

Sheinbaum said the renaming is “incorrect,” adding that Trump’s decree “only changed the name within his own continental shelf, which extends 22 nautical miles from the US coast—not the entire Gulf.”

History will be repeated. False religion will be exalted. The first day of the week, a common working day,  possessing no sanctity whatever, will be set up as was the image of Babylon. All nations and tongues and peoples will be commanded to worship this spurious sabbath…. The decree enforcing the worship of this day is to go forth to all the world.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:976 (1897).
As America, the land of religious liberty, shall unite with the papacy in forcing the conscience and compelling men to honor the false sabbath, the people of every country on the globe will be led to follow her example.—Testimonies for the Church 6:18 (1900).
The Sabbath question is to be the issue in the great final conflict in which all the world will act a part.—Testimonies for the Church 6:352 (1900).
Foreign nations will follow the example of the United States. Though she leads out, yet the same crisis will come upon our people in all parts of the world.—Testimonies for the Church 6:395 (1900). LDE 134.5 – LDE 135.3

Mene Mene Tekel Urpasin

Google renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America for US-based users of Google Maps

Last week, Google renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America for US-based users of Google Maps, citing “a longstanding practice of applying name changes when they have been updated in official government sources.” People in Mexico continue to see the body of water listed as the Gulf of Mexico. All other countries see both names.

Beastly Roman Empire is Rising : These Have One Mind – Revelation 17

Sheinbaum first threatened to take Google to court last week, saying a civil suit could be on the table if the tech giant does not correct what she called an “inaccurate designation.”

CNN has reached out to Google for comment.

During Monday’s press conference, Sheinbaum read out a response from Google to a letter sent by Mexico to the company in January, contesting the tech giant’s decision to rename the area.

The substitution of the false for the true is the last act in the drama. When this substitution becomes universal God will reveal Himself. When the laws of men are exalted above the laws of God, when the powers of this earth try to force men to keep the first day of the week, know that the time has come for God to work.—The S.D.A. Bible Commentary 7:980 (1901).
The substitution of the laws of men for the law of God, the exaltation, by merely human authority, of Sunday in place of the Bible Sabbath, is the last act in  the drama. When this substitution becomes universal God will reveal Himself. He will arise in His majesty to shake terribly the earth.—Testimonies for the Church 7:141 (1902). LDE 135.4 – LDE 135.5

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“As we first announced two weeks ago, and consistent with our product policies, we’ve begun rolling out changes in Google Maps. We would like to confirm that people using Maps in Mexico will continue to see ‘Gulf of Mexico,’” the letter from Google reiterated.

Related article‘It’s absurd’: Mexicans mock and shrug off Trump’s order to rename Gulf of Mexico

“People in the US will see ‘Gulf of America’. Everyone else will see both names,” the letter added.

Sheinbaum said Mexico is now sending a new letter back to Google, which reads “any reference to the ‘Gulf of America’ initiative on your Google Maps platform must be strictly limited to the marine area under U.S. jurisdiction.”

My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:Proverbs 24 : 21

“Any extension beyond that zone exceeds the authority of any national government or private entity. Should that be the case, the Government of Mexico will take the appropriate legal actions as deemed necessary,” it added.

Sheinbaum noted that Mexico would wait for Google’s response before moving forward with legal action.

CNN’s Clare Duffy contributed reporting

Sea Beast Had Spoken: Families mark 500 days since loved ones’ abduction: ‘To give up on them is to give up on us’

Adventist Angels Watchman Radio Live International

‘Merchants Buy of Me’ :Two young Israelis arrested for planning terror attack against IDF soldiers


According to the indictment, one of the Israelis arrested, Ratib Omar, 18, began associating himself with the terror group Hamas after the war began by watching inciting content online and delving into extremist propaganda.

But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.Acts 28 : 22

He bought a green headband, a military uniform, Islamic inscriptions, and more to use in videos where he expressed his support for Hamas.

I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Revelation 3 : 18

By Noam Lehmann17 Feb 2025, 10:16 pm

Hostages' family members and protesters at Begin Gate in Tel Aviv marking 500 days of their loved ones' captivity in Gaza on February 17, 2025. (Danor Aharon/ protest movement)

Hostages’ family members and protesters at Begin Gate in Tel Aviv marking 500 days of their loved ones’ captivity in Gaza on February 17, 2025. (Danor Aharon/ protest movement)


About 2,000 people crowd into Hostages Square in Tel Aviv to mark 500 days since October 7, 2023.

And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.Mark 5 : 13



Another 1,000 or so spill out to Shaul HaMelech Street, where speeches are projected on large screens.

At 8 p.m., some of those in attendance break a 500-minute fast that the Hostages Families Forum had announced.

Varda Ben Baruch, grandmother of US-Israeli captive soldier Edan Alexandar, calls for the hostages’ release, recites a blessing and sips some water.

“I want to break the fast and break their fate,” she says.

Edan’s mother Yael speaks next.

“I am Yael Alexandar, and I haven’t breathed for 500 days,” she says. Subsequent speakers open their speeches the same way.

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She calls on the government to hammer out a deal that will bring all remaining hostages home at once, rather than the current deal’s protracted releases — another common theme in the night’s speeches.

To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
Isaiah 42 : 7



She ends with what will also emerge as a refrain: “To give up on them is to give up on us!”

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In English, she adds thanks US President Donald Trump and his Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.

President Trump, in the last two weeks, you brought back two American citizens, Sagui Dekel-Chen and Keith Siegel,” she says. “Today, I ask you to bring my son Edan home to our family.”

[7] Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. [8] Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. [9] Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God. [10] Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: [11] That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.
Isaiah 66 : 7-11

Danielle Aloni, who was held captive in Gaza until she was freed as part of a brie ceasefire agreement in November 2023, and whose brother-in-law, David Cunio, and his younger brother, Ariel, remain in captivity, says her family received a sign of life from David Cunio from one of the recently returned hostages. The crowd breaks out into applause.

Bring Living David Into Living Room : Jewish Prophecy of Drunken Alexander The Great!



Addressing Netanyahu, Aloni says: “As of a few days ago, David is alive. And it’s your responsibility to bring him home. David has no more time to wait.”

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. Romans 13 : 11

And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.Luke 18 : 38, And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. Revelation 11 : 11, And they journeyed: and the terror of God was upon the cities that were round about them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.Genesis 35 : 5 



Flee Alexander and David, The Sea headed by Harlot Witch of Endor 🌊 hath spoken! One Mind

Edan Alexander and David Cunio are both slated for release only in the deal’s next, second phase. The second phase would see Hamas release young men still in captivity after the the release in the current phase of 33 women, children, civilian men over 50 and those deemed “humanitarian cases.”

Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins.
Isaiah 23 : 4
Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:Isaiah 51 : 21, And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.John 8 : 32


Netanyahu’s right-wing flank has threatened to topple the government should it proceed to the second phase, which would require Israel to withdraw from Gaza (Desert 🏜️) . The premier has not committed to the second phase.

And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.
Acts 8 : 26



Yeela David, whose brother Evyatar David is slated for release only in the second phase, says it is “the last chance to save to save dozens of men left behind in the current phase of the deal.”

Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the LORD, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.Isaiah 49 : 18



“The young men who were left behind did not undergo any special training to handle this situation. They’re just like anyone else,” she says. “If the deal falls apart and there is no second phase, it will be a stain on our history books.”

[14] And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. [17] And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
1 Corinthians 15 : 14, 17

CHINA SERPENT CATASTROPHE: Doksuri flooding in Beijing leaves several Dead, Today in China Tomorrow in the USA

And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. Revelation:12:14 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. 1 Kings:19:4-5

The end is near and every city is to be turned upside down every way. There will be confusion in every city. Everything that can be shaken is to be shaken and we do not know what will come next. The judgments will be according to the wickedness of the people and the light of truth that they have had.—Manuscript Releases 1:248 (1902).
O that God’s people had a sense of the impending destruction of thousands of cities, now almost given to idolatry.—Evangelism, 29 (1903).
The time is near when large cities will be swept away, and all should be warned of these coming judgments.—Evangelism, 29 (1910). LDE 111.3 – LDE 111.5

Ellen G White

I am bidden to declare the message that cities full of transgression, and sinful in the extreme, will be destroyed by earthquakes, by fire, by flood.—Evangelism, 27 (April 27, 1906).
All the warnings of Christ regarding the events that will occur near the close of this earth’s history are now being fulfilled in our large cities. God is permitting these things to be brought to light that he who runs may read. The city of San Francisco is a sample of what the whole world is becoming. The wicked bribery, the misappropriation of means, the fraudulent transactions among men who have power to release the guilty and condemn the innocent—all this iniquity is filling other large cities of the earth and is making the world as it was in the days that were before the Flood.—Letter 230, 1907. LDE 115.2 – LDE 115.3

Ellen G White

20 hours ago

Meteorologists say another storm is on the way.

At least 20 people are dead and several missing as heavy rain brought on by the leftovers of typhoon Doksuri continues to inundate northern China. Meteorologists say another storm is on the way.

While appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal all their maladies, he will bring disease and disaster, until populous cities are reduced to ruin and desolation. Even now he is at work. In accidents and calamities by sea and by land, in great conflagrations, in fierce tornadoes and terrific hailstorms, in tempests, floods, cyclones, tidal waves, and earthquakes, in every place and in a thousand forms, Satan is exercising his power. He sweeps away the ripening harvest, and famine and distress follow. He imparts to the air a deadly taint, and thousands perish by the pestilence. These visitations are to become more and more frequent and disastrous. Destruction will be upon both man and beast. “The earth mourneth and fadeth away,” “the haughty people … do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.” Isaiah 24:4, 5.
And then the great deceiver will persuade men that those who serve God are causing these evils. The class that have provoked the displeasure of Heaven will charge all their troubles upon those whose obedience to God’s commandments is a perpetual reproof to transgressors. It will be declared that men are offending God by the violation of the Sunday sabbath; that this sin has brought calamities which will not cease until Sunday observance shall be strictly enforced; and that those who present the claims of the fourth commandment, thus destroying reverence for Sunday, are troublers of the people, preventing their restoration to divine favor and temporal prosperity. Thus the accusation urged of old against the servant of God will be repeated and upon grounds equally well established: “And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.” 1 Kings 18:17, 18. As the wrath of the people shall be excited by false charges, they will pursue a course toward God’s ambassadors very similar to that which apostate Israel pursued toward Elijah. GC 589.3 – GC 590.1

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White

A Chinese gate stands above floodwaters with hills in the background
The strongest storm to hit Beijing in years has caused massive flooding and damageImage: Ng Han Guan/AP Photo/picture alliance

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Torrential rain continued on Tuesday in Beijing, as storm Doksuri dumped the average rainfall for the entire month of July on the city within 40 hours. 

“killed on duty during rescue and relief.” 💉🌎🐍⚕️

At least 11 people have died in the Beijing area, with another 13 missing, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported on Tuesday. Two victims were workers “killed on duty during rescue and relief.” The number of missing was revised after 14 people were found safe. 

Satan works through the elements also to garner his harvest of unprepared souls. He has studied the secrets of the laboratories of nature, and he uses all his power to control the elements as far as God allows. When he was suffered to afflict Job, how quickly flocks and herds, servants, houses, children, were swept away, one trouble succeeding another as in a moment. It is God that shields His creatures and hedges them in from the power of the destroyer. But the Christian world have shown contempt for the law of Jehovah; and the Lord will do just what He has declared that He would—He will withdraw His blessings from the earth and remove His protecting care from those who are rebelling against His law and teaching and forcing others to do the same. Satan has control of all whom God does not especially guard. He will favor and prosper some in order to further his own designs, and he will bring trouble upon others and lead men to believe that it is God who is afflicting them. GC 589.2

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White

In neighboring Hebei province, nine people were killed and six were missing, CCTV reported. 

A hazy picture of a collapsed bridge
Floodwaters collapsed a bridge in the suburbs of BeijingImage: Ichiro Ohara/The Yomiuri Shimbun/AP/picture alliance

Authorities To Restore Conditions Back To Normal 💉🌎🐍

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for “every effort” to rescue people lost or trapped, and for authorities to restore conditions back to normal as soon as possible. 

In the neighboring Hebei province, precipitation from Saturday to Monday at one local weather station was more than what is usually measured in over six months, with rainfall amounting to 1,003 mm (39.4 inches).

Rivers and streams in the capital and surrounding region have swollen to dangerous levels. The rising water has forced authorities to use a flood control reservoir for the first time since it was built over two decades ago.

If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?
Jeremiah:12:5

Some 150,000 households in Beijing’s hard-hit western Mentougou district had no running water, a local newspaper reported on Tuesday. The city has dispatched 45 water tankers to offer emergency supplies.

“This morning it was crazy, the water overflowed the Mentougou river and the whole avenue was flooded,” Guo Zhenyu, a 49-year-old Mentougou resident, told the AFP news agency. Another Beijing resident, Qin Quan, told AFP, “I’m old but I’ve never seen flooding like this before in my life.”

Heavy rains kill at least 20 in northern China

01:21

Roads closed, trains stranded, residents evacuated 

Authorities in Beijing have sealed off over 100 mountain roads and evacuated 52,000 people from their homes in Beijing. Many train and subway stations are closed

The Chinese government deployed four military helicopters with 26 personnel on Tuesday to deliver supplies to stranded train passengers in Beijing, according to state media.

Local media reported chaotic scenes of high-speed trains stranded for as long as 30 hours without access to food or drinking water.

A flooded riverbank with hills in the background
Search and rescue operations in Beijing were ongoing TuesdayImage: Andy Wong/AP/picture alliance

Another typhoon approaches China 

Beijing’s local government said the rainfall over the last four days was more than what was recorded during a severe storm in 2012 that killed 79 people. 

According to state media, thunderstorms and rainfall are forecast in Beijing and neighboring Tianjin and Hebei through Tuesday.

Cracked muddy pavement
The flooding destroyed roadways in BeijingImage: Andy Wong/AP/picture alliance

Meanwhile, China is preparing for another typhoon named Khanun, which is expected to make landfall later in the week on China’s east coast after crossing over southern Japan. Khanun is set to be China’s sixth tropical storm so far this year. 

Doksuri, formerly a super Typhoon, is one of the strongest storms to hit modern day China. It made landfall on Friday in Fujian province, where it destroyed some 18,000 houses and forced 562,000 people to evacuate. 

Before that, the deadly storm caused devastation in the Philippines and Taiwan.

Typhoon Doksuri brings floods to northern China

02:01

mk/wmr (AP, dpa, AFP, Reuters)

Fraternity Cities Use Spikes to Keep Birds Away from Common Home. Birds Are Using Them in Nests, “It’s not something that is restricted to cities. It’s everywhere.”

“Using the material meant to scare birds off, using that to actually make more birds—I think it’s the perfect revenge,”

But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Genesis:50:20

ANIMALS

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Europe in need of leaders who go ahead: “Better Future must be built with foreigners” Repel Alien Birds?

Researchers across Europe have found bizarre nests bristling with the sharp metal stakes cities use to repel birds

And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: The three baskets are three days: Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee. Genesis:40:18-19
Large magpie’s nest made of anti-bird spikes in Antwerp, Belgium. Credit: Auke-Florian Hiemstra/Naturalis

Naturalist Auke-Florian Hiemstra has seen a lot of bird nests, but none were quite like the one he spotted in a photograph from a patient in a Belgian hospital. This nest, high in a sugar maple in the hospital’s courtyard, was massive—and looked like metal.

“It just was this very big ball of metallic, nasty bird spikes,” Hiemstra says. On closer inspection, he realized a Eurasian Magpie (Pica pica) had built the two-foot-wide nest with materials that included some 1,500 spikes of the type cities often use to fend off feathered loiterers. Hiemstra ventured out onto the hospital’s roof only to find that the roof’s edge facing the courtyard was lined by a bare strip of glue, just like the kind often used to attach these spikes. And, perhaps strangest of all, the bird seemed to have arranged the spikes to form a defensive roof over the nest, much like the kind magpies often build out of thorny branches that they travel long distances to collect.

For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
Ecclesiastes:9:12

“It sounds like a joke,” says Hiemstra, a Ph.D. candidate in evolutionary ecology at Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands. “I think it’s so funny that now they’ve started to use these anti-bird spikes in the same way that we intended them to be used.”

Hiemstra is a co-author of a new study published online July 11 in Deinsea, in which the researchers describe the Belgian nest and several similar spiky structures found across Europe: two magpie nests from Scotland and the Netherlands, and one Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) nest, also from the Netherlands. The scientists also mention a spike-embellished Carrion Crow nest reported in a 2009 paper and several reports from social media of birds interacting with rooftop anti-bird spikes—and even building nests directly over them.Anti-bird spikes used in bird nests. Credit: Auke-Florian Hiemstra/Naturalis

Interestingly, the crows whose nests the researchers studied seemed to use the spikes not as defenses but as structural support, with the sharp ends pointed harmlessly inward. Crows and most magpies belong to a group scientists call corvids, which are known for being particularly clever.

“Corvids, as a family, are among the most intelligent of all animals—certainly of birds, but really across all organisms as we understand them,” says Kaeli Swift, an avian ecologist at the University of Washington who specializes in corvids. Swift wasn’t involved in the new research, but she says she isn’t surprised to see crows and magpies experimenting with unconventional nesting techniques.

anti-bird spikes

Birds around the world use human materials in their nests in various ways, says Juan Diego Ibáñez Álamo, an urban ecologist at the University of Granada in Spain, who wasn’t involved in the new research. The use of anti-bird spikes is just an unusually ironic example of the behavior, Hiemstra says.

“It’s not something that is restricted to cities. It’s everywhere.”

In a review published earlier this month, Ibáñez Álamo and his colleagues found that while the most common human material found in birds’ nests is plastic, these structures also incorporate things such as glass, cloth and even cigarette butts. And anthropogenic materials are found even in nests in areas people might consider pristine. “It’s not really related to more polluted areas,” Ibáñez Álamo says. “It’s not something that is restricted to cities. It’s everywhere.”

Because the nests featured in the paper are scattered across Europe, Hiemstra thinks many birds are independently exploring the reuse of anti-bird spikes—and he says he hopes that with the phenomenon now documented, curious observers will report other examples of nests that incorporate these spikes to help scientists better understand the behavior.

helping or hurting

Hiemstra would also like to determine whether the unconventional nest material is helping or hurting these birds. Swift imagines experiments testing whether magpie predators are able to evade the seemingly defensive spikes, as well as observational studies comparing the nesting success rates of spike users with more traditional builders of the same species, that could be done to find out.

successful breeding

“We don’t know what happened in the nests—if there was successful breeding, if there was breeding at all,” says Zuzanna Jagiełło, a biologist at the University of Warsaw in Poland who worked with Ibáñez Álamo on the review of birds’ use of anthropogenic materials but wasn’t involved in the recent spike research.

They hatch cockatrice' eggs, and weave the spider's web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Isaiah:59:5-6

For now Hiemstra says he’s taking hope from what he sees as an example of nature fighting back. “Using the material meant to scare birds off, using that to actually make more birds—I think it’s the perfect revenge,” he says.

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Meghan Bartels is a science journalist and news reporter for Scientific American who is based in New York City.

Did That Message Come From Earth or Space? Now SETI Researchers can be Sure Pope’s Challenge-Writings launched into space Detect Aliens

The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him. Job:20:27, For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.Revelation:18:5

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Illustration of a radio telescope listening for signals from an alien civilization. Credit: Zayna Sheikh, Breakthrough Listen

POSTED ON BY BRIAN KOBERLEIN

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Detecting Aliens: So how can astronomers distinguish between the distant artificial signal and the local ones?

In radio astronomy, there are lots of natural radio signals to observe. The glow of hydrogen gas, the swirl of electrons along a magnetic field, or the pop-pop-pop of pulsars. These signals usually have a very natural character to them, so astronomers can distinguish them from the artificial chirps and chatters of terrestrial sources. But when you’re looking for the signals of alien civilizations, things can get more tricky. They should have an artificial character similar to the radio signals of humans. So how can astronomers distinguish between the distant artificial signal and the local ones?

Citizen of Earth or Heaven? : It’s not an easy challenge, The Papacy

It’s not an easy challenge. Even natural signals can be confused with artificial ones. For example, back in 2007, astronomers began detecting bright radio pulses known as fast radio bursts (FRBs). These millisecond-long bursts are likely caused by magnetars, though there is still much we don’t understand about them. After they were discovered, astronomers at Parkes Observatory combed through their old data and found radio chirps similar to FRBs known as perytons. For a while, astronomers wondered if these were similar phenomena, but they soon figured out that perytons were caused when hungry astronomers opened a microwave oven while it was still running so that the oven released a short radio chirp before stopping. By the way, it’s perfectly safe to do that as long as you aren’t at a radio observatory.

And let it be remembered, it is the boast of Rome that she never changes. The principles of Gregory VII and Innocent III are still the principles of the Roman Catholic Church. And had she but the power, she would put them in practice with as much vigor now as in past centuries. Protestants little know what they are doing when they propose to accept the aid of Rome in the work of Sunday exaltation. While they are bent upon the accomplishment of their purpose, Rome is aiming to re-establish her power, to recover her lost supremacy. Let the principle once be established in the United States that the church may employ or control the power of the state; that religious observances may be enforced by secular laws; in short, that the authority of church and state is to dominate the conscience, and the triumph of Rome in this country is assured.
God’s word has given warning of the impending danger; let this be unheeded, and the Protestant world will learn what the purposes of Rome really are, only when it is too late to escape the snare. She is silently growing into power. Her doctrines are exerting their influence in legislative halls, in the churches, and in the hearts of men. She is piling up her lofty and massive structures in the secret recesses of which her former persecutions will be repeated. Stealthily and unsuspectedly she is strengthening her forces to further her own ends when the time shall come for her to strike. All that she desires is vantage ground, and this is already being given her. We shall soon see and shall feel what the purpose of the Roman element is. Whoever shall believe and obey the word of God will thereby incur reproach and persecution. GC 581.1 – GC 581.2

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White

But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, O king: who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him. Judges:3:19

The SETI project specifically looks for unusual signals with an artificial character, and they find lots of them. Everything from cars starting to Starlink satellites can create a strong artificial signal.  Usually, the way to distinguish between a local source and a distant one is to move the telescope “off-target” a bit, then back to the source. If you’ve ever seen the movie Contact, this is what the astronomers do to confirm the alien signal is coming from Vega. The problem with this method is that it takes time, meaning it can’t be used for short-lived signals. But now a team has developed another method.

For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. Jeremiah:5:26

Remove All Ads on Universe TodayJoin our Patreon for as little as $3!Get the ad-free experience for lifeThe Wow! signal represented as “6EQUJ5”. Credit: Big Ear Radio Observatory/NAAPO

Distinguish stars from planets by Fishing 🎣 with Pope Francis: WE ARE ALL CATHOLICS NOW

The technique is similar to the way we can distinguish stars from planets with the naked eye. Light passing through our atmosphere is refracted slightly by the turbulent motion of air, causing stars to twinkle. Since planets are much closer than stars, they aren’t a single pinprick of light, so they don’t twinkle. For distant radio sources, their light passes through interstellar gas which causes them to flicker in brightness, which astronomers call scintillation. Local radio sources don’t scintillate.

So the team developed a software package that looks at the scintillation of artificial radio sources. If a radio source flickers on a timescale of less than a minute, then it is likely not terrestrial.

There are some limitations to this approach. For one, a radio source needs to be at least 10,000 light years away to exhibit scintillation, so alien signals from nearby stars wouldn’t pass this test. For another, there are a few human radio sources that can mimic scintillation. But even though the method isn’t perfect, it is a great way to filter out the bulk of Earth-based intelligent signals, which will let astronomers focus on those that just might be a message from an alien civilization.

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Reference: Brzycki, Bryan, Andrew Siemion, and Imke de Pater. “On Detecting Interstellar Scintillation in Narrowband Radio SETI.” American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts. Vol. 55. No. 2. 2023.

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Al Detectors Often Confuse ‘Non-Native’ English ‘Students’ for Bots, Gender Ideology, ‘It will confuse children’ Sabbath Saturday or Sunday? Aliens

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 1 John:3:1

They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel? Judges:5:8

Until the year 1899 the United States has stood before the world as the champion of small standing armies, and squadrons of war-ships sufficient only for the patrol of the coast. While clinging to this doctrine, the United States has become one of the greatest of the world-powers, without possessing a fleet worth speaking of, and without calling upon her few soldiers to step beyond the boundaries of her own continent. Small armies and navies have been made possible for this country on account of that magnificent clause in the political creed of all parties, known as the Monroe Doctrine.

This was announced by the president of the country full seventy-five years ago, and the essence of it is: “We owe it, therefore, to candor and to the amicable relations existing between the United States and those powers, to declare that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety.” And immediately after this there was enunciated the solemn declaration: “With the existing colonies or dependencies of any European power we have not interfered, and shall not interfere.” PRUS 167.6

The advent of the United States in the Orient will not tend to amity, but rather to animosity. This was cleverly stated by Lord Salisbury, when at the last lord mayor’s banquet, he said the “appearance of the United States as a factor in Asiatic affairs is likely to conduce to the interests of Great Britain, but might not conduce to the interests of peace.” It can not possibly conduce to the interests of peace, for the very reason that in entering the Orient this nation has deserted her policy of peace, and has adopted in principle, at least, the bellicose spirit; she has now departed from that doctrine of the “father of his country,” which, if it never brought to her military glory, most certainly has been the cause of her material greatness. The words in the “Farewell Address” are a pearl of great price. They may be familiar, but they can not too often be recalled:—

“Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence (I conjure you to believe me, fellow citizens) the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government….

“The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is, in extending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop.

“Europe has a set of primary interests which to us have none or a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves by artificial ties in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations or collisions of her friendships or enmities.

“Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a very different course. If we remain one people, under an efficient government, the period is not far off when we may defy material injury from external annoyance; when we may take suck an attitude as will cause the neutrality we may at any time resolve upon to be scrupulously respected; when belligerent nations, under the impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, will not lightly hazard the giving us provocation; when we may choose peace or war, as our interests, guided by justice, shall counsel.
“Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation? Why quit our own to stand upon foreign ground? Why, by interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor, or caprice?

“It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world.” PRUS 170.1 – PRUS 171.2

The days are fast approaching when there will be great perplexity and confusion. Satan, clothed in angel robes, will deceive, if possible, the very elect. There will be gods many and lords many. Every wind of doctrine will be blowing. Those who have rendered supreme homage to “science falsely so called” will not be the leaders then. Those who have trusted to intellect, genius, or talent will not then stand at the head of rank and file.

They did not keep pace with the light. Those who have proved themselves unfaithful will not then be entrusted with the flock. In the last solemn work few great men will be engaged. They are self-sufficient, independent of God, and He cannot use them. The Lord has faithful servants, who in the shaking, testing time will be disclosed to view.

There are precious ones now hidden who have not bowed the knee to Baal. They have not had the light which has been shining in a concentrated blaze upon you. But it may be under a rough and uninviting exterior the pure brightness of a genuine Christian character will be revealed. In the day time we look toward heaven but do not see the stars. They are there, fixed in the firmament, but the eye cannot distinguish them. In the night we behold their genuine luster.

The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The mark of the beast will be urged upon us. Those who have step by step yielded to worldly demands and conformed to worldly customs will not find it a hard matter to yield to the powers that be, rather than subject themselves to derision, insult, threatened imprisonment, and death.

The contest is between the commandments of God and the commandments of men. In this time the gold will be separated from the dross in the church. True godliness will be clearly distinguished from the appearance and tinsel of it. Many a star that we have admired for its brilliancy will then go out in darkness. Chaff like a cloud will be borne away on the wind, even from places where we see only floors of rich wheat. All who assume the ornaments of the sanctuary, but are not clothed with Christ’s righteousness, will appear in the shame of their own nakedness. 5T 80.1 – 5T 81.1

For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.
Ecclesiastes:9:12

And I find more bitter than death the woman, whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her.
Ecclesiastes:7:26

For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
Jeremiah:5:26-31

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Predestinated Stars From The Dawn of The Universe Found Hidden in The Heart of Our Own Galaxy

Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

Ephesians:1:5

SPACE08 July 2023

ByMICHELLE STARR

The galactic center as seen through the infrared eye of the Spitzer Space Telescope. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/S. Stolovy)

Rome Sweeping Encyclical on the environment Laudato Si’

Ancient stars born during the Cosmic Dawn have been identified in the center of the Milky Way.

The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength. Judges:5:21

This Pharaohic Giant Twisting Serpent “Skeleton” Emerging From The Sea Is France’s Most Unique Sculpture



http://adventistangelswatchmanradio.com/2023/06/27/this-pharaohic-giant-twisting-serpent-skeleton-emerging-from-the-sea-is-frances-most-unique-sculpture/



I have been shown that evil angels in the form of believers will work in our ranks to bring in a strong spirit of unbelief. Let not even this discourage you; but bring a true heart to the help of the Lord against the powers of satanic agencies. RH May 6, 1909, Art. A, par. 15

“The Magi and Prince of Peace”: Supermassive Black Hole Mysteriously Comes Alive, Starts Feeding

“The Magi and Prince of Peace”: Supermassive Black Hole Mysteriously Comes Alive, Starts Feeding

The heaven shall reveal his iniquity; and the earth shall rise up against him.
Job:20:27

And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
2 Thessalonians:2:6-8

The wise men had seen a mysterious light in the heavens upon that night when the glory of God flooded the hills of Bethlehem. As the light faded, a luminous star appeared, and lingered in the sky. It was not a fixed star nor a planet, and the phenomenon excited the keenest interest. That star was a distant company of shining angels, but of this the wise men were ignorant. Yet they were impressed that the star was of special import to them. They consulted priests and philosophers, and searched the scrolls of the ancient records. The prophecy of Balaam had declared, “There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel.” Numbers 24:17. Could this strange star have been sent as a harbinger of the Promised One? The magi had welcomed the light of heaven-sent truth; now it was shed upon them in brighter rays. Through dreams they were instructed to go in search of the newborn Prince. DA 60.1

Satan is using all his science in playing the game of life for human souls. His angels are mingling with men and instructing them in the mysteries of evil. These fallen angels will draw away disciples after them, will talk with men, and will set forth principles that are as false as can be, leading souls into paths of deception. These angels are to be found all over the world, presenting the wonderful things that will soon appear in a more decided light. God calls upon His people to gain an understanding of the mystery of godliness. Jesus Christ is our dependence, and the Lord calls upon His people to beware of following a course that would rob them of their usefulness. MR760 17.2

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Those who have had privileges and opportunities and light upon light will find themselves brought into comparison with those whose religious advantages have been limited, but who have made diligent, persevering effort to lay hold on eternal life. Over such the Lord rejoices with singing. The whole heathen world will rise up in judgment against those whom heaven has favored the most, but who have placed themselves on Satan’s side, and worked in his lines to bring their soul-destroying narcotics to foreign lands, to pollute and destroy the heathen nations with their defiling and health-destroying drugs. For the sake of a revenue, a professedly Christian nation have forced their traffic upon the heathen nations at the point of the sword, and thus compelled them to accept their merchandise, which would, in using, degrade the people below the level of the brute creation. “Shall I not judge for these things,” saith God. Jeremiah 5:9. 12LtMs, Ms 49, 1897, par. 25

As part of a survey to uncover some of the oldest known stars in the Universe, scientists conducted a comprehensive search for these ancient, but elusive, stars, and found that the measures they spin around the galactic center are relatively sedate, in spite of the chaos around them.

Their findings, led by astronomer Anke Arentsen of the University of Cambridge in the UK, have been presented at the UK’s annual National Astronomy Meeting.

We can tell how old a star is based on how much metal is in it. When the first stars in the Universe formed, they had to make themselves out of the elemental material available at the time – mostly hydrogen and helium. But the nuclear furnaces burning in their cores started fusing the atoms of hydrogen into heavier things, from helium all the way up to iron.

Then, when they exploded in messy supernovae, they seeded these heavier elements throughout space, along with even heavier elements forged in energetic split-second supernova processes. Subsequent stars therefore started their lives with a greater proportion of heavier material. The younger a star is, the more metal it’s likely to have.

The Crab Nebula, the expanding remnant of a supernova observed in the year 1,054 CE. (NASA, ESA and Allison Loll/Jeff Hester/Arizona State University, Davide De Martin/ESA/Hubble)

Conversely, the older a star is, the less metal it’s likely to have. We’ve found a fair few of these “pristine” stars floating around the Milky Way, but mostly in the outskirts, and the galactic halo. Astronomers think that the oldest of the old stars should be hanging out in the galactic center, but because the region is predominantly rich in metal, and there’s a lot of dust blocking our view, they tend to be harder to find.

Anke and her colleagues embarked on a project called the Pristine Inner Galaxy Survey (PIGS) to try and find them. By analyzing the spectrum of light emanating from a certain star, astronomers can find wavelengths amplified or dampened by the presence of certain elements. They looked for an elemental signature consistent with stars that are very low in metals, and identified around 8,000 candidates.

Follow-up observations confirmed the chemical compositions of metal-poor stars, resulting in a sample of around 1,300 ancient stars in the galactic center. Because they found so many, the researchers were then able to conduct population studies.

They used data from the Gaia observatory, which is an ongoing project to map the three-dimensional positions and motions of the stars in the Milky Way. With this, the researchers were able to determine the galactic orbits of their old stars.

Illustration of the orbits of the ancient stars in the heart of the Milky Way. (ESA/Gaia; Amanda J. Smith and Anke Arentsen/Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge)

Arentsen and her colleagues found that orbits of the ancient stars around the galactic center are relatively slow.

In addition, the older stars have more chaotic orbits, but they still have an average orbit around the galactic center.

Finally, the orbits of the stars are mostly contained entirely within the galactic center. Even those stars on elliptical orbits tend to stay mostly within the central region of the Milky Way.

“It is exciting to think that we are seeing stars that formed in the earliest phases of the Milky Way, previously largely out of reach. These stars likely formed less than a billion years after the Big Bang, so are relics from the early Universe,” Arentsen says.

“The available data for these ancient objects is growing rapidly. I’m excited to see what we will learn about these first stars to populate our Galaxy in the next few years!”

You can follow the team’s discoveries about these ancient stars on preprint server arXiv.

Mysterious Knocking: Countdown to World Youths Day Marching in Search of a better world

Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down: Amos:9:2

The Saviour’s prophecy concerning the visitation of judgments upon Jerusalem is to have another fulfillment, of which that terrible desolation was but a faint shadow. In the fate of the chosen city we may behold the doom of a world that has rejected God’s mercy and trampled upon His law. Dark are the records of human misery that earth has witnessed during its long centuries of crime. The heart sickens, and the mind grows faint in contemplation. Terrible have been the results of rejecting the authority of Heaven. But a scene yet darker is presented in the revelations of the future.

The records of the past,—the long procession of tumults, conflicts, and revolutions, the “battle of the warrior … with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood” (Isaiah 9:5),—what are these, in contrast with the terrors of that day when the restraining Spirit of God shall be wholly withdrawn from the wicked, no longer to hold in check the outburst of human passion and satanic wrath! The world will then behold, as never before, the results of Satan’s rule.


But in that day, as in the time of Jerusalem’s destruction, God’s people will be delivered, everyone that shall be found written among the living. Isaiah 4:3. Christ has declared that He will come the second time to gather His faithful ones to Himself: “Then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matthew 24:30, 31.

Then shall they that obey not the gospel be consumed with the spirit of His mouth and be destroyed with the brightness of His coming. 2 Thessalonians 2:8. Like Israel of old the wicked destroy themselves; they fall by their iniquity.

By a life of sin, they have placed themselves so out of harmony with God, their natures have become so debased with evil, that the manifestation of His glory is to them a consuming fire.
Let men beware lest they neglect the lesson conveyed to them in the words of Christ. As He warned His disciples of Jerusalem’s destruction, giving them a sign of the approaching ruin, that they might make their escape; so He has warned the world of the day of final destruction and has given them tokens of its approach, that all who will may flee from the wrath to come.

Jesus declares: “There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations.” Luke 21:25; Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24-26; Revelation 6:12-17. Those who behold these harbingers of His coming are to “know that it is near, even at the doors.” Matthew 24:33. “Watch ye therefore,” are His words of admonition. Mark 13:35. They that heed the warning shall not be left in darkness, that that day should overtake them unawares. But to them that will not watch, “the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” 1 Thessalonians 5:2-5.


The world is no more ready to credit the message for this time than were the Jews to receive the Saviour’s warning concerning Jerusalem. Come when it may, the day of God will come unawares to the ungodly. When life is going on in its unvarying round; when men are absorbed in pleasure, in business, in traffic, in money-making; when religious leaders are magnifying the world’s progress and enlightenment, and the people are lulled in a false security—then, as the midnight thief steals within the unguarded dwelling, so shall sudden destruction come upon the careless and ungodly, “and they shall not escape.” Verse 3. GC 36.2 – GC 38.1

This Pharaohic Giant Twisting Serpent “Skeleton” Emerging From The Sea Is France’s Most Unique Sculpture

He sometimes used creatures from Chinese mythology to inspire people (as with this eye-catching serpent). It is claimed the message of the Sea Serpent is environmental, speaking to the mistreatment of the oceans.

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BYAARON SPRAY

PUBLISHED JUN 18, 2023

One of the most striking and thought-provoking sculptures in France is the massive Serpent of the Ocean emerging from the sea.

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Serpent of the Ocean in France

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The Serpent of the Ocean (or Serpent d’ocean in French) is one of the most remarkable works of art in Europe and is little known. The large aluminum structure depicts a skeleton of a long twisting sea serpent.

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The Serpent of the Ocean has been built in the intertidal zone and is one of the great hidden gems of France. France is a great time to discover many excellent works of art – take the time to explore the Louvre Museum in Paris and see the Mona Lisa and other masterpieces. Not far up the coast from the Serpent of the Ocean is the remarkable Neolithic site of the Stones of Carnac.

It had been Rome’s policy, under a profession of reverence for the Bible, to keep it locked up in an unknown tongue and hidden away from the people. Under her rule the witnesses prophesied “clothed in sackcloth.” But another power—the beast from the bottomless pit—was to arise to make open, avowed war upon the word of God.
“The great city” in whose streets the witnesses are slain, and where their dead bodies lie, is “spiritually” Egypt. Of all nations presented in Bible history, Egypt most boldly denied the existence of the living God and resisted His commands. No monarch ever ventured upon more open and highhanded rebellion against the authority of Heaven than did the king of Egypt. When the message was brought him by Moses, in the name of the Lord, Pharaoh proudly answered: “Who is Jehovah, that I should hearken unto His voice to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, and moreover I will not let Israel go.” Exodus 5:2, A.R.V. This is atheism, and the nation represented by Egypt would give voice to a similar denial of the claims of the living God and would manifest a like spirit of unbelief and defiance. “The great city” is also compared, “spiritually,” to Sodom. The corruption of Sodom in breaking the law of God was especially manifested in licentiousness. And this sin was also to be a pre-eminent characteristic of the nation that should fulfill the specifications of this scripture.
According to the words of the prophet, then, a little before the year 1798 some power of satanic origin and character would rise to make war upon the Bible. And in the land where the testimony of God’s two witnesses should thus be silenced, there would be manifest the atheism of the Pharaoh and the licentiousness of Sodom.
This prophecy has received a most exact and striking fulfillment in the history of France. During the Revolution, in 1793, “the world for the first time heard an assembly of men, born and educated in civilization, and assuming the right to govern one of the finest of the European nations, uplift their united voice to deny the most solemn truth which man’s soul receives, and renounce unanimously the belief and worship of a Deity.”—Sir Walter Scott, Life of Napoleon, vol. 1, ch. 17. “France is the only nation in the world concerning which the authentic record survives, that as a nation she lifted her hand in open rebellion against the Author of the universe. Plenty of blasphemers, plenty of infidels, there have been, and still continue to be, in England, Germany, Spain, and elsewhere; but France stands apart in the world’s history as the single state which, by the decree of her Legislative Assembly, pronounced that there was no God, and of which the entire population of the capital, and a vast majority elsewhere, women as well as men, danced and sang with joy in accepting the announcement.”— Blackwood’s Magazine, November, 1870.
France presented also the characteristics which especially distinguished Sodom. GC 269.1 – GC 270.1

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White

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Serpent of the Ocean art installation in France

Why The Serpent Of The Ocean Is One Of The Great Works Of Art

The Serpent of the Ocean is located on the coast at Saint-Brevin-les-Pins in Loire-Atlantique on the west coast of France. The area was part of the historic Duchy of Brittany. Brittany is a historical region that was very different from the rest of France. It has a Celtic heritage and has its own Breton language (related to Welsh and Irish). The reason why the island of Great Britain is called “Great” is to distinguish it from “Lesser Brittany” in France (they are both called “Bretagne” in French).

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Go across the English Canal and head down the coast of France to Loire-Atlantique and see what is perhaps the most eye-catching art installation along the French Atlantic coast.

  • Location: Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, Loire-Atlantique, France
  • Artist: Huang Yong Ping
  • Built: 2012
  • Size: 130 meters or 430 feet

The Serpent of the Ocean has been constructed out of aluminum and stretches for 130 meters or 430 feet. It is a monumental work of art well worth seeing for anyone exploring the Brittany region of France. It was built around 20 years ago in 2012 by the artist Huang Yong Ping.

While sea monsters (like the Kraken) are not real, a glimpse at the Serpent of the Ocean is enough to set one’s mind wild. It is an imaginary giant sea serpent emerging from the Loire estuary where it joins the Atlantic Ocean. The art installation is both simple and yet powerful.

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Serpent of the Ocean art installation in France from above

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The Serpent Of The Ocean Changes With The Tides & Weather

As the Serpent of the Ocean has been built in the intertidal zone, it offers a different experience at different tidal stages. So plan to revisit the sculpture more than once during the day.

As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel’s message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly the same light; and when the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy, popular side. Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren. When Sabbathkeepers are brought before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates are the most efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them. GC 608.2

. I have been shown that evil angels in the form of believers will work in our ranks to bring in a strong spirit of unbelief. Let not even this discourage you; but bring a true heart to the help of the Lord against the powers of satanic agencies. RH May 6, 1909, Art. A, par. 15

The monumental image is therefore submerged at high tide and exposed at low tide

The beast with two horns “causeth commands all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” Revelation 13:16, 17. The third angel’s warning is: “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.” “The beast” mentioned in this message, whose worship is enforced by the two-horned beast, is the first, or leopardlike beast of Revelation 13—the papacy. The “image to the beast” represents that form of apostate Protestantism which will be developed when the Protestant churches shall seek the aid of the civil power for the enforcement of their dogmas. GC 445.2

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White

At low tide, the water comes up to the tail of the sea serpent. At high tide, the water reaches the head. The monumental structure is therefore submerged at high tide and exposed at low tide. Go at low tide, and it is possible to walk around the sea serpent. Go at low tide, and only the head and the top of the vertebrae are visible. It is an attraction that appears dramatically different depending on the tides, the weather, and the roughness of the sea.

It is not without reason that the claim has been put forth in Protestant countries that Catholicism differs less widely from Protestantism than in former times. There has been a change; but the change is not in the papacy. Catholicism indeed resembles much of the Protestantism that now exists, because Protestantism has so greatly degenerated since the days of the Reformers.
As the Protestant churches have been seeking the favor of the world, false charity has blinded their eyes. They do not see but that it is right to believe good of all evil, and as the inevitable result they will finally believe evil of all good. Instead of standing in defense of the faith once delivered to the saints, they are now, as it were, apologizing to Rome for their uncharitable opinion of her, begging pardon for their bigotry. GC 571.3 – GC 571.4

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White

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While the structure is sturdy, the skeleton terminates with a thin, whip-like tail. It cuts and moves gracefully with the movement of the water, making it appear as if the tail is propelling the serpent toward the shore. The Serpent of the Ocean’s skeleton was also built to mirror the curves of the nearby Saint-Nazaire bridge.

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;Ephesians:4:14, The ancient and honourable, he is the head; and the prophet that teacheth lies, he is the tail. Isaiah:9:15, And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. Revelation:12:4 

Photo by Les Argonautes on Unsplash 

Serpent of the Ocean on the coast in France from above

The Serpent of the Ocean is one of the free attractions in France and very much should be on any French road trip bucket list. While France can be an expensive country to visit, it is also home to a number of free and unique attractions as well.

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Who Built The Serpent Of The Ocean & Its Significance

China The Model of Catholic Common Good Social Teachings: The message of the Sea Serpent is environmental call to rest

Huang Yong Ping was a famous Chinese artist who moved to France in 1989 (he died in 2019 at the age of 65). He was born in 1954 in Xiamen, China. He was famous for being one of the most provocative and controversial artists of the Chinese art scene during the 1980s. Many of his works of art are very large and can’t be moved or auctioned.

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He sometimes used creatures from Chinese mythology to inspire people (as with this eye-catching serpent). It is claimed the message of the Sea Serpent is environmental, speaking to the mistreatment of the oceans.

It is an inspiring experience to see this menacingly undead snake accumulating algae over the years. Later in 2016, Huang Yong Ping built another even larger serpent skeleton as part of the Monumenta series for the Grand Palais in Paris. That massive serpent measured some 240 meters or 790 feet.

As we near the close of time, there will be greater and still greater external parade of heathen power; heathen deities will manifest their signal power and will exhibit themselves before the cities of the world, and this delineation has already begun to be fulfilled. By a variety of images the Lord Jesus represented to John the wicked character and seductive influence of those who have been distinguished for their persecution of God’s people. All need wisdom carefully to search out the mystery of iniquity that figures so largely in the winding up of this earth’s history. God’s presentation of the detestable works of the inhabitants of the ruling powers of the world who bind themselves into secret societies and confederacies, not honoring the law of God, should enable the people who have the light of truth to keep clear of all these evils. More and more will all false religionists of the world manifest their evil doings; for there are but two parties, those who keep the commandments of God and those who war against God’s holy law.
One of the marked characteristics of these false religious powers is that while they profess to have the character and features of a lamb, while they profess to be allied to heaven, they reveal by their actions that they have the heart of a dragon, that they are instigated by and united with satanic power, the same power that created war in heaven when Satan sought the supremacy and was expelled from heaven. 18LtMs, Ms 139, 1903, par. 14 – 18LtMs, Ms 139, 1903, par. 15

Ellen G White

Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash

The Louvre Museum in Paris, France

There are plenty of excellent but unusual art installations around the world. Another thought-provoking place to visit is Buddha Park in the Southeast Asian nation of Laos. In the Indian state of Gujarat, travelers can see the largest statue in the world, which was only completed in 2018.

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Israeli AI is turning Palestine into a dystopian reality: Israel futurist predicts Al will soon ‘write a new Bible’, ‘Dead Speaks’

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Emad Moussa

Emad Moussa

22 June, 2023

Artificial intelligence has become the latest frontier of Israel’s security apparatus, taking the occupation virtual. New draconian technologies will intensify the oppression and apartheid that Palestinians face, writes Emad Moussa.

New experiment facial recognition technology is the latest addition to Israel’s extensive surveillance state. [Getty]

Protestants have tampered with and patronized popery; they have made compromises and concessions which papists themselves are surprised to see and fail to understand. Men are closing their eyes to the real character of Romanism and the dangers to be apprehended from her supremacy. The people need to be aroused to resist the advances of this most dangerous foe to civil and religious liberty. GC 566.1

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White

In his short story, Songs of the Birds, Palestinian author Saleem Haddad tells us the story of Aya, a Palestinian girl from the future who lives in the shadow of her deceased brother, Ziyad, who committed suicide the year prior.

Aya sees Ziyad in her dreams every day and tells him that Palestine was liberated and justice was fulfilled. But, as the story escalates towards a terrifying revelation, Ziyad tells Aya that her perception of a liberated Palestine is nothing but a computer-generated simulation and that her memories are Israel-designed algorithms.

The ministration of holy angels, as presented in the Scriptures, is a truth most comforting and precious to every follower of Christ. But the Bible teaching upon this point has been obscured and perverted by the errors of popular theology. The doctrine of natural immortality, first borrowed from the pagan philosophy, and in the darkness of the great apostasy incorporated into the Christian faith, has supplanted the truth, so plainly taught in Scripture, that “the dead know not anything.” Multitudes have come to believe that it is spirits of the dead who are the “ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.” And this notwithstanding the testimony of Scripture to the existence of heavenly angels, and their connection with the history of man, before the death of a human being.
The doctrine of man’s consciousness in death, especially the belief that spirits of the dead return to minister to the living, has prepared the way for modern spiritualism. If the dead are admitted to the presence of God and holy angels, and privileged with knowledge far exceeding what they before possessed, why should they not return to the earth to enlighten and instruct the living? If, as taught by popular theologians, spirits of the dead are hovering about their friends on earth, why should they not be permitted to communicate with them, to warn them against evil, or to comfort them in sorrow? How can those who believe in man’s consciousness in death reject what comes to them as divine light communicated by glorified spirits? Here is a channel regarded as sacred, through which Satan works for the accomplishment of his purposes. The fallen angels who do his bidding appear as messengers from the spirit world. While professing to bring the living into communication with the dead, the prince of evil exercises his bewitching influence upon their minds.
He has power to bring before men the appearance of their departed friends. The counterfeit is perfect; the familiar look, the words, the tone, are reproduced with marvelous distinctness. Many are comforted with the assurance that their loved ones are enjoying the bliss of heaven, and without suspicion of danger, they give ear “to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.”
When they have been led to believe that the dead actually return to communicate with them, Satan causes those to appear who went into the grave unprepared. They claim to be happy in heaven and even to occupy exalted positions there, and thus the error is widely taught that no difference is made between the righteous and the wicked. The pretended visitants from the world of spirits sometimes utter cautions and warnings which prove to be correct. Then, as confidence is gained, they present doctrines that directly undermine faith in the Scriptures. With an appearance of deep interest in the well-being of their friends on earth, they insinuate the most dangerous errors. The fact that they state some truths, and are able at times to foretell future events, gives to their statements an appearance of reliability; and their false teachings are accepted by the multitudes as readily, and believed as implicitly, as if they were the most sacred truths of the Bible. The law of God is set aside, the Spirit of grace despised, the blood of the covenant counted an unholy thing. The spirits deny the deity of Christ and place even the Creator on a level with themselves. Thus under a new disguise the great rebel still carries on his warfare against God, begun in heaven and for nearly six thousand years continued upon the earth. GC 551.1 – GC 552.2

The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan by Ellen G White

Haddad visualises a future where Israel uses artificial intelligence (AI) to extend its control of Palestinians beyond the physical reality, well into their subconsciousness. What is most disturbing about the story is not its radical dystopianism, but how close it is to today’s reality.

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Israel increasingly perceives AI as the new paradigmatic extension of its security mindset. It has already – over the past two decades – restructured much of its economy around cyber security and other cyber defence technologies.

And today, it is one of the world’s powerhouses for manufacturing and developing military drones. Most of the hi-tech innovations emerged from the heart of the army institution, particularly the Army Intelligence Unit 8200, or were externally contracted to tech companies to serve the needs of the army and intelligence apparatuses.

In May this year, Israel’s deputy army chief Eyal Zamir said Israel was poised to parlay its technological knowledge to become an “AI superpower,” focusing mainly on autonomous warfare and streamlined combat decision-making.

Zamir was hardly predicting. Already during the 2021 onslaught on Gaza, Israel used AI to thwart rocket attacks by Hamas [and other Palestinian resistance groups]. Allegedly, the system was able to identify leaders of Hamas rocket units from a large pool of known fighters and eliminate them.

Described as the first artificial intelligence war, the Israeli army allegedly gathered and analysed data from human intelligence and 3D geographical models, enhanced by satellite imagery, to determine the suitability of weapons and deploy so-called precision attacks inside the crowded Strip.

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The claims of AI-powered precision strikes, nonetheless, neither explain the high death toll among Gaza’s civilians nor the targeting of mostly civilian infrastructures, such as residential towers and media centres. They also do not take into account that Palestinian groups managed to outmanoeuvre the AI-driven Iron Dome and deliver painful blows to the Israeli state.

That said, the operationalisation of Israel’s AI may not be the critical question at this point. What is more critical is that it projects a certain pattern for future warfare in general.

In the Ukraine conflict, for instance, Russia has been using AI-powered drones against Ukrainian troops. The Ukrainian military, meanwhile, has resorted to AI to assist with intelligence gathering and air defence. Ukraine has also used AI-based imaging and facial recognition software to identify dead Russian troops through their social media profiles.

Little Human Involvement

A few companies in the developed world have crossed a threshold by developing autonomous aircrafts with the capabilities to fly, detect, monitor, and attack enemy targets without or with little human involvement. One of these is Boeing’s First Loyal Wingman Aircraft.

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In all these scenarios, human intervention is variably reduced, decision-making de-emotionalised and reactivity desensitised. That poses serious questions about accountability, particularly when autonomous weapons malfunction or have to independently choose whom to target and when.

We have seen the potential of such ‘detachment’ after Israel ‘disengaged’ from Gaza in 2005. The occupation changed from boots on the ground to remote-controlled aggression.

Israel nowadays controls and monitors Gaza without having to be physically there, making it much easier to reduce the Strip’s 2.3 million people into a set of algorithms on the Ministry of Defence’s computer screens.

With that comes so-called ‘digital dehumanisation’, increased separation between actions and accountability, between crime and guilt. The 16 relentless military operations against the Strip since 2006 attest to this pattern.

Yet, what sets Israel apart from the crowd is its employment of AI to enhance an already tight matrix of control over Palestinians.

Since 1948, Palestinians have been subjected to multiple layers of surveillance by the Israeli state. The system has been likened to the Panopticon, a mechanism of psychological, physical, and social control suggested by English philosopher Jeremy Bentham 200 years ago.

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Others see an uncanny similarity between Israel’s grip on Palestinians and the Orwellian notion of draconian control depicted in the novel 1984.

In the digital age, the occupation authorities have extensively used hi-tech to track Palestinian movements and activities, even their private lives, virtually or physically. This is partly facilitated by Israel’s full control over the information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure in the Palestinian territories and, inevitably, its restrictions on Palestinian access to advanced technology.

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And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. Revelation:17:18

Thousands of CCTV cameras have been installed in Jerusalem and the West Bank, some of which are connected to servers that can analyse data. In Gaza, the Israeli army has been using surveillance balloons and a fleet of drones to sweep the narrow strip around the clock from one end to the other.

At the centre of this AI-powered intrusion is an experimental facial recognition system, which Amnesty International categorised as part of ‘automated apartheid’ and Haaretz described it as ‘biometric apartheid.’

Palestinians passing through checkpoints, especially in Hebron, are scanned and their faces are added to a vast database without their consent. When a Palestinian is detained at a checkpoint, their so-called ‘biomarker’ is added to the database.

Meanwhile, the soldiers at the checkpoints are instructed to take photos and details of at least 50 Palestinians each shift, and then add the info to the database. Soldiers who fail to meet the quota are ordered to remain on duty until they do.

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Israeli AI-powered surveillance and combat management have emerged within a context where prejudice and oppression are the norm. Therefore, the algorithmic infrastructure and data that feeds into it are all biased and only serve to heighten and legitimise the prejudiced reality.

Because the system is already building on an environment of extreme oppression, ethical and moral concerns in the virtual realm may be seen as simply an extension of the status quo. The intensification of the dystopia may not be as readily visible. 

Israel’s cruel new measures, in this case, would be implemented undetected and eventually normalised. This is what is particularly draconian about automating apartheid in Palestine.

Dr Emad Moussa is a Palestinian-British researcher and writer specialising in the political psychology of intergroup and conflict dynamics, focusing on MENA with a special interest in Israel/Palestine. He has a background in human rights and journalism, and is currently a frequent contributor to multiple academic and media outlets, in addition to being a consultant for a US-based think tank.

Follow him on Twitter: @emadmoussa

Have questions or comments? Email us at: editorial-english@newarab.com

Opinions expressed in this article remain those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The New Arab, its editorial board or staff.

Emad Moussa

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