Claim We Can Believe In

Have you tried out claims that promise a change for the better and then found that they fall short of their ballyhooed benefits? Have you tried, say, using tooth whitening strips and gels and find that your teeth didn’t whiten as advertised? Did you lose the weight promised through a much-hyped weight reduction program? Has the COVID vaccine proven to be “safe and effective” and a protection against COVID as claimed by the CDC, Anthony Fauci and the media?  

Have you given in to high-pressure sales such as the latter? Did you act without sufficient information as to the risks and benefits? According to the FDA, when drugs are advertised A product claim ad names a drug, says what condition it treats, and talks about both its benefits and its risks. An ad must present the benefits and risks of a prescription drug in a balanced fashion. Balance depends on both the information in the ad itself and how the information is presented. In this ad, the benefits and risks are presented to give a balanced impression of the drug. Did you see any of the required FDA ad information for the COVID vaccine crusade?

Have you voted for the ostentatious claims of political campaigns? A few recent examples include “Change We Can Believe In”, “Hope and Change”, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for”, “This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal”, and “We can Build Back Better”.

If you are into audacious claims and a Claim We Can Believe In, then here’s one:

“I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and last, the beginning and the end.” -Jesus, The Revelation of John 22:13

Before this claim is made by the risen-from-the-dead Jesus and before any of the seven “I am” claims stated in John’s gospel account, Jesus revealed empirical proof to eyewitnesses and taste-witnesses that would substantiate his incredible claim.

The revelation came about during a wedding feast. Without much ado (Jesus didn’t blow smoke about himself like so many have done to draw attention to themselves.), Jesus revealed himself to be the first and last of any sequence. The account is recorded in John’s gospel chapter 2:

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’s mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the wedding.

The wine ran out.

Jesus’s mother came over to him.

“They haven’t got any wine!” she said.

“Oh, Mother!” replied Jesus. “What’s that got to do with you and me? My time hasn’t come yet.”

His mother spoke to the servants. “Do whatever he tells you”, she said.

Six stone water-jars were standing there, ready for use in the Jewish purification rites. Each held about twenty or thirty gallons.

“Fill the jars with water,” said Jesus to the servants. And they filled them, right up to the brim.

“Now draw some water out,” he said, “and take it to the chief steward.” They did so.

When the chief steward tasted the water that turned into wine (he didn’t know where it had come from, but the servants who had drawing the water knew), he called the bridegroom.

“What everybody normally does,” he said, “is to serve the good wine first, and then the worse stuff when people have had plenty to drink. But you’ve kept the good wine till now!”

This event, in Cana of Galilee, was the first of Jesus’s signs. He displayed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.

-The gospel according to John (the Elder) 2: 1-11

Water into wine. The first and last of a sequence and the transubstantiation of one substance into another. The sequence bypassed grapes, sunlight, soil, a winepress, and fermentation. We logically expect the process to explain things. How could science explain this? H₂O changed from a simple formula into a complex mixture of chemical compounds in an instant.

John records empirical proof substantiating Jesus’s first-last claim – the wine-tasting done by the chief steward. We learn from the steward that the wine Jesus produced wasn’t the “worse stuff”. It wasn’t sour grape water. It was, in fact, “good wine”. The chief steward had no idea the “good wine” was sourced from the First and Last Vineyard.

“Ask any winemaker and they’ll tell you that winemaking is a complex business. . . the chemical profile of the grapes can also vary depending on how much sunlight and water they are exposed to, how quickly they ripen, their ripeness when picked, and on conditions such as the climate and the soil.”

Scripture gives insight to Christ’s threefold claim Alpha and Omega, first and last, beginning and the end. Psalm 91:1 is an example of the parallelism used in the claim.

You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
    who abide in the shadow of the Almighty

The coupling of words deepens and expands the meaning of the words. “Abide” has a deeper sense of belonging than “live”. “Shadow” has a greater sense of comfort than “shelter” and “Almighty” has a greater sense of omnipotence than “Most High”.

Jesus claims to be A to Zed and more. Jesus claims to be the first and last of any sequence and not just what is a readily known sequence. Jesus claims to before the beginning as the beginning and after the end as the end. He claims to be the arché and telos. Jesus claims to be the source of a sequence and the goal of a sequence. The most extraordinary deed ever recorded substantiates his claim.

John wants the readers of his gospel account to know that this most extraordinary deed of Jesus is archetypal of what Jesus will do and is sourced in who he is.

This event, in Cana of Galilee, was the arché of Jesus’s signs.

Colossians 1:15-17

Now Christ is the visible expression of the invisible God. He existed before creation began, for it was through him that everything was made, whether spiritual or material, seen or unseen. Through him, and for him, also, were created power and dominion, ownership and authority. In fact, every single thing was created through, and for him. He is both the first principle and the upholding principle of the whole scheme of creation. 

The first and last sequence, the beginning and end, the sustaining principle and destiny of all things is a person. The arché and telos of every level of reality is a person. Living water and new wine is a person.

NB: John opened this account with “On the third day . . .”, a reference to another extraordinary sequence completed in Christ – the resurrection.

More than a Claim to Believe In was confirmed at the Cana wedding. I see the love of Christ demonstrated. Without calling attention to himself, Jesus acted to bless the wedding and keep the bride and groom as the focus of the celebration. He acted behind the scenes to uphold the whole scheme of creation.

*****

‘Atheism too lives by an indemonstrable faith; whether it is faith in human nature (Feuerbach), or faith in the future socialist society (Marx) or faith in rational science (Freud). The question then can be asked of any form of atheism whether it is not itself an understandable projection of man (Feuerbach), a consolation serving vested interests (Marx) or an infantile illusion (Freud).’  Hans Kung, Why I am still a Christian (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1987), 229-30.

*****

Informed Dissent:

Dr. Birx Praises Herself While Revealing Ignorance, Treachery, and Deceit ⋆ Brownstone Institute

Send in the HHS clowns – by Robert W Malone MD, MS (substack.com)

“An accomplished litigator, Kennedy seeks to persuade jurors who purchased his book that the “real” Anthony Fauci is a “serial liar,” a “corrupt,” “vindictive,” and “disingenuous” “fraud,” who ingratiated himself to a “servile” press as well as all seven presidents who took his public health advice. According to Kennedy, Anthony Fauci remains the undisputed “ringmaster” presiding over a “Ministry of Fear” whose “tentacles” now reach into almost every powerful organization in the world.” 

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Takes on Fauci in ‘Most Important Book’ of our Times – UncoverDC

“The World Health Organization (WHO) has been pushing forward with preparations for an agreement to create a global health governance. Although it has been referred to as a “pandemic treaty,” it’s been openly discussed that the agreement should cover much more. . .

Nowhere has this been described as an agreement that would only be in effect in case of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), but it would instead set up standing surveillance methods in attempts to prevent another pandemic.”

Read this article – WHO Update | Stand for Health Freedom – and see the steps you can take to ward off WHO intrusion into our lives.

Fully vaccinated account for 91% of COVID deaths in one country (wnd.com)

W.H.O. declares Monkey Pox a ‘global health emergency’… – CITIZEN FREE PRESS

Monkeypox:

Don’t dare call them groomers…. 98% of cases are among gay or bisexual men and 95% of cases are suspected to have been transmitted during sex. Now children are infected.

CDC Reports First Two Cases of Monkeypox in Children, Both ‘Adjacent’ to the Gay Community (thegatewaypundit.com)

Monkeypox or Moneypox? – by Robert W Malone MD, MS (substack.com)

Marxism:

Carrying Water For The Revolution – by Sam Faddis (substack.com)

Courage Update:

Pastor Artur Pawlowski at Rebel News

Ezra Levant 🍁🚛 on Twitter: “🚨BIGGEST ALBERTA NEWS STORY OF 2022. The Alberta Court of Appeal just destroyed Jason Kenney’s two-year persecution of Pastor Artur Pawlowski. They ruled that the injunction against him, his arrest, his jail time, the censorship order and fines against him were illegal.” / Twitter

“A scared world needs a fearless church.” – AW Tozer

Jan 6^th political prisoners:

Prosecutors didn’t want this Jan 6 footage to come out. Now it was 1.5 million views. Why is that? pic.twitter.com/n0MQICC0HL

— No Cap Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) September 23, 2021

Climate Change in the Dock:

Don’t mess with the man from MIT… – CITIZEN FREE PRESS