The Man Who Saved 669 Children

The story of Nicholas Winton is one of the most profound tales of humanitarianism that you’ve probably never heard.

Nicholas Winton organised mass evacuations of children to help them avoid being sent to their deaths in Nazi concentration camps is having a world premiere in Prague, the Czech capital.

Nicholas Winton arranged eight trains to carry 669 children, most of them Jewish, from Czechoslovakia through Germany to Britain at the outbreak of World War II in 1939.

An article in the The Huffington Post says:

In December 1938, Winton gave up a vacation as a London-based stockbroker to travel to politically turbulent Prague, according to the Guardian. He was curious to see firsthand what was happening to refugees in what was then Czechoslovakia. Nazis had recently invaded the country, and Winton sensed the grave danger refugees there were facing.

He created advertisements for foster homes. He manipulated paperwork to sidestep government red tape that would have gotten in his way, CBS News reported. He even persuaded Germans to go along with his plan. Continuing his efforts from his home in London for the next nine months, Winton coordinated eight train evacuations of 669 children from Czechoslovakia to Britain, saving them from almost certain death.

Winton himself was so modest he didn’t even tell his wife what he had done. He felt he had done many things since then that were more meaningful to him.

For decades, Winton’s heroic efforts largely went unnoticed — until 1988, when a BBC program surprised him by planning an emotional reunion with several of the survivors he saved.

When the war started he joined the Red Cross as an ambulance driver and was evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk during the Allied retreat. He later returned to France as a Royal Air Force pilot.

After the war, he worked for various international organizations, among them the International Refugee Organization and the U.S. Marshall Plan, which helped fund the recovery of Western Europe from the ravages of the war.

In the 1950s, as a family man, he returned to the business world. But he never gave up on his good works. He helped establish Abbeyfield, a giant charity that runs hundreds of homes for the elderly throughout the UK.

Original Article

25 Fascinating facts About the Dead sea scrolls

1.The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in eleven caves along the northwest shore of the Dead Sea between the years 1947 and 1956. The area is 13 miles east of Jerusalem and is 1300 feet below sea level. The mostly fragmented texts, are numbered according to the cave that they came out of. They have been called the greatest manuscript discovery of modern times. 

2. Only Caves 1 and 11 have produced relatively intact manuscripts. Discovered in 1952, Cave 4 produced the largest find. About 15,000 fragments from more than 500 manuscripts were found. 

3. In all, scholars have identified the remains of about 825 to 870 separate scrolls. 

4. The Scrolls can be divided into two categories—biblical and non-biblical. Fragments of every book of the Hebrew canon (Old Testament) have been discovered except for the book of Esther. 

5. There are now identified among the scrolls, 19 copies of the Book of Isaiah, 25 copies of Deuteronomy and 30 copies of the Psalms . 

6. Prophecies by Ezekiel, Jeremiah and Daniel not found in the Bible are written in the Scrolls. 

7. The Isaiah Scroll, found relatively intact, is 1000 years older than any previously known copy of Isaiah. In fact, the scrolls are the oldest group of Old Testament manuscripts ever found. 

8. In the Scrolls are found never before seen psalms attributed to King David and Joshua.

9.There are nonbiblical writings along the order of commentaries on the OT, paraphrases that expand on the Law, rule books of the community, war conduct, thanksgiving psalms, hymnic compositions, benedictions, liturgical texts, and sapiential (wisdom) writings.

 

10. The Scrolls are for the most part, written in Hebrew, but there are many written in Aramaic. Aramaic was the common language of the Jews of Palestine for the last two centuries B.C. and of the first two centuries A.D. The discovery of the Scrolls has greatly enhanced our knowledge of these two languages. In addition, there are a few texts written in Greek.

 

11. The Scrolls appear to be the library of a Jewish sect. The library was hidden away in caves around the outbreak of the First Jewish Revolt (A.D. 66-70) as the Roman army advanced against the rebel Jews.

 

12. Near the caves are the ancient ruins of Qumran. They were excavated in the early 1950's and appear to be connected with the scrolls.

 

13. The Dead Sea Scrolls were most likely written by the Essenes during the period from about 200 B.C. to 68 C.E./A.D. The Essenes are mentioned by Josephus and in a few other sources, but not in the New testament. The Essenes were a strict Torah observant, Messianic, apocalyptic, baptist, wilderness, new covenant Jewish sect. They were led by a priest they called the "Teacher of Righteousness," who was opposed and possibly killed by the establishment priesthood in Jerusalem.

 

14. The enemies of the Qumran community were called the "Sons of Darkness"; they called themselves the "Sons of Light," "the poor," and members of "the Way." They thought of themselves as "the holy ones," who lived in "the house of holiness," because "the Holy Spirit" dwelt with them.

 

15. The last words of Joseph, Judah, Levi, Naphtali, and Amram (the father of Moses) are written down in the Scrolls.
 

16. One of the most curious scrolls is the Copper Scroll. Discovered in Cave 3, this scroll records a list of 64 underground hiding places throughout the land of Israel. The deposits are to contain certain amounts of gold, silver, aromatics, and manuscripts. These are believed to be treasures from the Temple at Jerusalem, that were hidden away for safekeeping.

 

17. The Temple Scroll, found in Cave 11, is the longest scroll. Its present total length is 26.7 feet (8.148 meters). The overall length of the scroll must have been over 28 feet (8.75m).

 

18. The scrolls contain previously unknown stories about biblical figures such as Enoch, Abraham, and Noah. The story of Abraham includes an explanation why God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son Isaac.

 

19. The scrolls are most commonly made of animal skins, but also papyrus and one of copper. They are written with a carbon-based ink, from right to left, using no punctuation except for an occasional paragraph indentation. In fact, in some cases, there are not even spaces between the words.

 

20. The Scrolls have revolutionized textual criticism of the Old Testament. Interestingly, now with manuscripts predating the medieval period, we find these texts in substantial agreement with the Masoretic text as well as widely variant forms.
 

21. Some of the Dead Sea Scrolls actually appeared for sale on June 1, 1954 in the Wall Street Journal. The advertisement read — "The Four Dead Sea Scrolls: Biblical manuscripts dating back to at least 200 BC are for sale. This would be an ideal gift to an educational or religious institution by an individual or group. Box F206."

 

22. Although the Qumran community existed during the time of the ministry of Jesus, none of the Scrolls refer to Him, nor do they mention any of His follower's described in the New Testament.

 

23. The major intact texts, from Caves 1 & 11, were published by the late fifties and are now housed in the Shrine of the Book museum in Jerusalem.

 

24. Since the late fifties, about 40% of the Scrolls, mostly fragments from Cave 4, remained unpublished and were unaccessible. It wasn't until 1991, 44 years after the discovery of the first Scroll, after the pressure for publication mounted, that general access was made available to photographs of the Scrolls. In November of 1991 the photos were published by the Biblical Archaeological Society in a nonofficial edition; a computer reconstruction, based on a concordance, was announced; the Huntington Library pledged to open their microfilm files of all the scroll photographs.

 

25. The Dead Sea Scrolls enhance our knowledge of both Judaism and Christianity. They represent a non-rabbinic form of Judaism and provide a wealth of comparative material for New Testament scholars, including many important parallels to the Jesus movement. They show Christianity to be rooted in Judaism and have been called the evolutionary link between the two. 

 

Original Article

10 Famous Christian Missionaries

There are many famous Christian missionaries throughout history. While we may not agree with every one of them from a doctrinal standpoint, they are an inspiration and example to those of us who are serving the Lord as missionaries today. Here is a list of 10 famous missionaries and what they are known for. I hope you are inspired to pick up a book and study each of these men and women and see what they contributed to the cause of Christ.

William Carey (1761-1834)

William Carey is known as the father of modern missions. Carey was an English missionary to India who was a skilled linguist, writer and printer. He translated portions of the Bible in many languages.

Carey grew up in the Church of England but was saved while an apprentice to a shoemaker. He eventually joined the Baptist church and went to India as a Baptist missionary. As a self motivated learner he taught himself Latin, Hebrew and Greek.

He founded the Baptist Missionary Society and was instrumental in influencing many other missionaries to the foreign field; particularly to India.

Adoniram Judson (1788-1850)

Judson was a Baptist missionary who became the first North American Protestant missionary in Burma (Myanmar). Like other early missionaries, he was involved in translation work and church planting. He went to the field of India as a Congregationalist but, after much study of the Bible, became convinced that Baptist doctrine was more biblical. Because of anti-Western sentiment in India, he moved to Burma.

It took him 12 years to see his first 18 converts. By the time he died he had established 100 churches with over 8,000 members. The Baptist churches of Myanmar celebrate “Judson Day” each year to commemorate his arrival in the country.

David Livingstone (1813-1873)

David Livingstone was a medical missionary with the London Missionary Society. He was born in Scotland in 1813, but spent most of his life in Africa as an explorer and doctor. Coupled with his love for the Lord and desire to spread the Gospel, Livingstone used his understanding of nature and science to help him map much of southern Africa.

Livingstone never stayed long in any one place. He was driven to map the continent of Africa in preparation for the many missionaries who would come after him.

Livingstone is considered one of the greatest missionary heroes. God has used his life to open doors for the Gospel.

George Müller (1805-1898)

Müller is known as a prayer warrior who started orphanages and preached heavily about the need for missionaries around the world. In his lifetime his orphanage in England took care of more than 10,000 children. He was instrumental in promoting the idea of “faith missions.” This is where missionaries are not supported by a denomination but by individuals and churches. He believed in never asking anyone for support, but trusting God to lay it on the person’s heart to support the need.

Hudson Taylor (1832-1905)

Hudson Taylor spent more than 50 years in China as a missionary and is known for his respect for the Chinese culture. He was widely criticized in his home country of England at the time for dressing like a China man in his efforts to blend in while sharing the Gospel. This practice made him much more accepted by the people when he preached.

Hudson Taylor was trained as a physician. He worked as a doctor, evangelist and translator while in China. He continued his translation work when he returned to England for medical reasons.

He personally influenced hundreds of people to be missionaries in his lifetime. Many missionaries today attribute their introduction to the need for missions from reading biographies about Hudson Taylor.

Jonathan Goforth (1859-1936)

Though Jonathan Goforth and his wife went to China in 1888 as traditional missionaries, he soon found a need for short-term trips as an Evangelist. Instead of staying in one place and establishing a church and mission station, he traveled in various regions in China helping to encourage the believers and evangelize the lost.

Amy Carmichael (1867-1951)

Amy Carmichael was an Irish missionary who served in India for 56 years without ever returning to her homeland. Her primary work was with orphans in the southern region of India. She was influenced to consider a career in missions after hearing Hudson Taylor speak about the need for missionaries in China. She applied to be a missionary with the China Inland Mission (Taylor’s missionary group) but was eventually turned away because of her poor health. Many of her final 20 years of life was spent in bed due to illness and injury from a fall.

Nate Saint (1923-1956)

As a Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF) pilot, Nate Saint helped make contact with the Waodani (or Auca) Indians in Ecuador. Eventually he and his companions were killed in their efforts to evangelize the tribe. However, through the efforts of Nate’s sister and the wives of the other men who died that day, the Auca Indian tribe came to know the Lord.

The short lives of men like Nate Saint may seem like a waste during the time of the tragedy, but God has a plan and works all things out to His glory.

Jim Elliot (1927-1956)

From an early age Jim Elliot learned the Bible and used it to lead his daily life. He is most remembered for his dramatic death (along with Nate Saint and three other missionary men) at the hands of the Waodani (or Auca) Indians. While their deaths were tragic, the response by the wives of these men towards the ones who killed them opened up their hearts to the Gospel.

Eric Liddell (1902-1945)

Eric Liddell is probably best known for the 1980s film Chariots of Fire. The film mainly focused on his life as an Olympic runner, yet the story of Eric Liddell as a missionary is important. Liddell was born to missionary parents in North China. His parents were Scottish missionaries serving with the London Missionary Society. Though he was born in China, he spent his school years in Scotland.

After school, and his time as an Olympic athlete, he returned to China as a missionary in 1925. He worked as a school teacher as well as a minister. By 1941 British nationals were encouraged to leave China by the British government because of the coming Japanese invasion. Liddell’s wife and children returned to Canada which is where she was from. Eric remained to work in a hospital with his brother. In 1943 he was put in a prison camp by the Japanese and continued to teach children and preach the Bible.

Mr. Liddell died of a brain tumor in the Weihsien Internment Camp on February 21, 1945. He died of an inoperable brain tumor. I recently had the privilege of meeting a lady who was a young girl in the same camp with Eric Liddell. She said that as children (she was with him from the time she was 9 to 11 years old), they knew nothing of his fame as an athlete. The children only knew that he was a kind gentle man and one of their favorite teachers.

Jim Elliot is often quoted as saying, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

Original Article

Twins in the Bible

1. Jacob and Esau – Jacob and Esau, sons of Isaac and Rebecca, are the first twins mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 25:19-28). The story of Jacob is told in Genesis 25:19-37:36 and 42:1-50:3. The story of Esau is found in Genesis 25:19-28:9, 32:1 -33:20, and 35:27-36:43. From Jacob the twelve tribes of Israel descended. Esau became the father of the Edomites (Genesis 36:19,43; Obadiah 1:6; Malachi 1:2-3).

2. Perez and Zerah – Judah’s daughter-in-law, Tamar, was widowed and did not want to be childless. Wrapping her face in a veil and disguising herself as a prostitute, she intercepts Judah on the road and he sleeps with her. The result of their union was Perez and Zerah (Genesis 38:12-30). From Perez would come the family of David (Ruth 4:18-22).

3. Ephraim and Manasseh –The Bible does not directly state that the two sons of Joseph and Asenath were twins, but there is good reason to believe they were. First, Genesis mentions they were both born “before the year of famine came” (Genesis 41:50). Second, two conceptions are not mentioned in the text. Third, if they are twins they fit nicely into the pattern seen in the lives of Isaac and Judah: both their younger twins inherited the birthright, just as the younger Ephraim was blessed first by Jacob (Genesis 48:19). Jacob promised that both Ephraim and Manasseh would become patriarchs of a multitude, which began a traditional blessing said in Israel: “God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh” (Genesis 48:20).

4. Thomas and his unnamed sibling – Thomas was one of the twelves apostles (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13). His name means “twin.” His surname was Didymus (John 11:16; 20:24; 21:2), meaning “double,” or “twofold.” Thomas is perhaps best known as “Doubting Thomas” because of the resurrection story in John 20:24-29, but other stories in the Gospel of John reveal Thomas to be a man of great devotion of to Christ (John 11:16; 14:5).

5. Were Cain and Abel Twins? – Some Bible scholars believe Cain and Abel were twins. Genesis 4:1-2a states, “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” And again, she bore his brother Abel.” The word “again” is the Hebrew term yacaph can also mean “add” or “increase,” giving the impression that Abel was born directly after Cain. This is a possibility, but because the text moves very quickly through time (in the very next statement Cain and Abel have grown up and engaging in their respective occupations), one can’t be dogmatic about it. There is no early Jewish or Christian tradition supporting this claim.

Source

17 Important Women in the Bible

1. Mother Mary: She was Mother of Jesus Christ and hence she was a Mother of God. Because of her virtue, humbleness, obedience and purity she was the only woman above all women chosen by God to become the mother of Jesus and she is the only woman spoken in both Old Testament and New Testament which makes her special.

2. Abigail: She is the woman of integrity, beautiful and wise woman who was married to Nabal, a harsh and evil man. This wise woman became wife to David after Nabal's drunkenness led to his own death. When David proposed marriage, "she quickly went with five damsels" to become his wife.

3. Deborah: She was a wife of Lappidoth and was a prophetess and the only female judge of Israel.

4. Priscilla: was a wife of Aquila and she was a Worker in Christ and gifted by God in the ministry of the word and Risked her Lives for the Gospel. Her involvement with Paul must have helped her get rooted in the word.

5. Anna: was an elderly widow by the time Jesus was presented at the temple. She was called a prophet and became the first person to publicly proclaim that Jesus would be the redemption.

6. Bathsheba: is one of the maligned women of the Bible linked with adultery and murder, was part of our Lord's heritage.

7. Delilah: who uses her feminine qualities to deceive and destroy a man and was responsible for Samson's downfall.

8. Hagar: is a Sarah's slave-girl .When Sarah found herself unable to have children, she arranged to make Hagar the concubine of Abraham, to start a family through her as a result she shared the same promise of Ishmael's descendants.

9. Hannah: She Was Provoked By Elkanah's 2nd Wife, Peninnah, Because She Was Not Able To Bear Children And Peninnah Had Sons And Daughters. She prayed fervently that God would give her a child and went to the house of the Lord. The priest there "marked her mouth" and thought she was drunk but in time she gives birth to Samuel the Prophet. They are of the tribe of Ephraim, and only the Levites were allowed to be priests.

10. Jezebel: daughter of Ethbaal, the king of the Sidonians, and the wife of King Ahab of Israel is the most notorious evil woman in the Bible. She was an evil woman who killed many prophets of God while feeding and caring for the prophets of two gods called Baal and Asherah. In the end, she was eaten by dogs as Elijah had prophesied.

11. Leah: was the wife of Jacob, the firstborn daughter Laban and the sister of Rachel. Leah is the mother of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun - the progenitors of 6 of Israel's 12 Tribes .She is also the mother of Israel's only recorded daughter, Dinah . When Leah died, she was buried in the family tomb in Hebron, known today as the Tomb of The Patriarchs.

12. Rebekah : she is a Wife of Isaac -Sarah's son, and mother of Esau and Jacob. Through her son Jacob, who God renamed Israel, she is an ancestor of all of The Tribes of Israel, including Judah therefore also an ancestor of Jesus Christ.

13. Ruth: Her first mother-in-law is Naomi, but her second is Rahab who marries into the tribe of Judah, and bears a son named Boaz. Naomi planned that Boaz should marry Ruth. She was favored by God, and she became an ancestress of King David and of Jesus through an illustrious marriage. The story of Ruth beautifully illustrates the conversion of a non-Israelite into the fold of Israel, giving up her former god and former life to unite with the household of faith in the service of the God of Israel.

14. Sarah: Her original name was Sarai. The Lord renamed her Sarah after she had married Abraham. When Abraham and Sarah remained childless into their old age, Sarah took it upon herself to have children through a surrogate, her Egyptian handmaid Hagar. So Sarah was 90 and Abraham 100 when Isaac, the son of their own flesh was born. Hence she is a Mother of Isaac.

15. Sapphira: was the wife of Ananias. They were both members of the early Christian congregation at Jerusalem. Their deception and cunning brought about their deaths. Two of the members of this group were Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, who also had sold a field. But the profits from this sale were kept in part by the couple, and only a part was laid at the apostles' feet by Ananias. This hypocritical show fooled no one, especially not Peter who was filled with the power of the Spirit. Peter knew instantly that Ananias was lying not to him, but to God and exposed his hypocrisy then and there. Ananias fell down and died .When Sapphira showed up, she too lied to Peter and to God, saying that they had donated the entire proceeds of the sale of the land to the church. When her lie had been exposed, she fell down and died at Peter's feet. God was making a statement with Ananias and Sapphira that hypocrisy has no place in the church. God hates sin and will punish it, and that He is concerned for the purity of His church.

16. Martha: she is a sister of Mary and Lazarus who lived in Bethany. She is the one who met Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus. When Jesus and his disciples visited Martha's house, she treated Jesus with good hospitability.

17. Miriam: she is the prophetess and older sister of Moses and Aaron. Miriam was with Moses throughout the nine plagues. Miriam died and was buried at Kadesh before the Israelites entered The Promised Land

Original Article