Carol of the Bells

 The history of this one is very interesting.  Originally written as an uplifting winter song in the Ukraine, it's quickly becoming an American favorite.
 

'Carol of the Bells' wasn't originally a Christmas song

Rice University anthropology student is studying the song's geneaology

Although "Carol of the Bells" has become a popular tune during the holidays, the original lyrics had nothing to do with Christmas. The song with a haunting four-note melody was originally a Ukranian folk song written as a "winter well-wishing song," said Anthony Potoczniak, a Rice University anthropology graduate student who is studying the song's history.

Written in 1916 by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovich and titled "Shchedryk," the song tells the tale of a swallow flying into a household to proclaim the plentiful year that the family will have. The song's title is derived from the Ukrainian word "shchedryj," which means "bountiful." 

"The swallow is a herald of spring coming," Potoczniak said, referring to its possible pre-Christian origins. The original lyrics describe the swallow calling out to the master of the home and telling him about all the wealth that he will possess -- healthy livestock, money and a beautiful wife.

For a Christmas concert, a choir director by the name of Oleksander Koshyts commissioned Leontovich to write a song based on Ukrainian folk melodies. Using the four notes and original folk lyrics of a well-wishing song he found in an anthology of Ukrainian folk melodies, Leontovich created a completely new work for choir – "Shchedryk." 

"Very few people realize that the composition 'Shchedryk' was composed and performed during a time when there was intense political struggle and social upheaval in Ukraine," Potoczniak said. The same choir director who commissioned the song formed the Ukrainian National Chorus, mandated by a fledgling Ukrainian government, in 1919 to promote Ukranian music in major cultural centers in the West. Touring across Europe and North and South America, the chorus performed over 1,000 concerts.  

Meanwhile, back in Ukraine, the original folk melody that Leontovich used to compose his work was one of many well-wishing tunes sung in many Ukrainian villages on Jan. 13 -- New Year's Eve on the Julian calendar -- usually by adolescent girls going house to house in celebration of the new year. As the girls sang the tune predicting good fortune, they were rewarded with baked goods or other treats.

The Ukrainian National Chorus did not limit its performances of "Shchedryk" to the Julian New Year, and the song became popular in other parts of the world as the choir introduced it to other nationalities, including the United States, where they first performed the song to a sold-out audience in Carnegie Hall Oct. 5, 1921. 

When American choir director and arranger Peter Wilhousky heard Leontovich's choral work, it reminded him of bells; so he wrote new lyrics to convey that imagery for his choir. He copyrighted the new lyrics in 1936 and also published the song, despite the fact that the work was published almost two decades earlier in Soviet Ukraine. In the late 1930s, several choirs that Wilhousky directed began performing his Anglicized arrangement during the Christmas holiday season. 

Now called "Carol of the Bells," the song has become associated with Christmas because of its new lyrics, which include references to silver bells, caroling and the line "merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas."


  

American recordings of the song in English began to surface in the 1940s by such notable groups as Fred Warring and his Pennsylvanians, the Roger Wagner Chorale and Phil Spitalny's "Hour of Charm All-Girl Orchestra."

Since then the song has become a popular Christmas tune, particularly among choirs for whom the soprano-alto-tenor-bass arrangement of the song seems custom-made. The song's opening lines, "Hark! How the bells, sweet silver bells," coupled with the "ding, dong, ding, dong" countermelody, have been recorded in a variety of formats and styles – from standard choir arrangements to improvisational jazz to sultry soul. Last year at least 35 recordings of the song were available, Potoczniak said. 

Despite the song's ubiquitous presence during the holidays in the West, "Shchedryk" remains less popular in its country of origin, where songs like it are still performed on the eve of the Julian New Year. 

In fact, when Potoczniak was directing a small group of amateur carolers in Ukraine, he was told that it was "out of place" for them to sing melodies like "Shchedryk" at Christmastime. He had moved there in 1992 to study ethnomusicology at the Lviv State Conservatory after earning a bachelor's degree in music composition at Rice's Shepherd School of Music in 1991. Potoczniak remembers that the first piece he had to learn for his choral conducting course at the conservatory was Leontovich's original "Shchedryk." At the time, he was unfamiliar with the song's origin; however, he immediately recognized the melody as "Carol of the Bells." 

Potoczniak recalls how he and singers were caroling door-to-door with a "Shchedryk"-like melody he collected in a Western Ukrainian village.  

"One family told us it was too early to sing that song," he said. Because of his Ukrainian heritage, Potoczniak was motivated to investigate how a simple folk song performed in a remote Ukrainian village became a "super holiday hit" in the United States, and he incorporated tracing the song's genealogy into his current graduate studies at Rice University.

Read more at - http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-12/ru-ot121304.php

Did The Scepter Pass From Judah Before Messiah Came?

A good question to ask in light of the prophecy recorded in Genesis 49:10.  This  is something I posted last year, but I thought it's well worth reviewing.

The Scepter of Judah
by Chuck Missler

One of the most familiar "Christmas Card" verses is found in Isaiah:
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the Throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.

Isaiah 9:6-7

As we mentioned earlier, David's throne didn't exist in Jesus' day. Jeconaiah was the last of David's line to sit on the throne. (Remember the blood curse on his line.1 This curse was "side-stepped" by the virgin birth. Mary was of the line of David, but through Nathan, not Solomon.2 The legal line descended through Solomon to Joseph, but not the blood curse.)

There is another remarkable prophecy-in Genesis-concerning the rulership of the tribe of Judah.

The Scepter of Judah
In Genesis 49, Jacob prophesied over each of the twelve tribes. Among these seemingly cryptic riddles, the best known one concerns the royal tribe of Judah:

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Genesis 49:10

The term "scepter" refers to their tribal identity and the right to apply and enforce Mosaic Laws and adjudicate capital offenses: jus gladii. It is significant that even during their 70-year Babylonian captivity (606-537 B.C.) the tribes retained their tribal identity.3 They retained their own logistics, judges, etc.4

The term "Shiloh" was understood by the early rabbis and Talmudic authorities as referring to the Messiah.5

The Scepter Departs
In 6-7 A.D., King Herod's son and successor, Herod Archelaus, was dethroned and banished to Vienna, a city in Gaul. Archelaus was the second son of Herod the Great.6 The older son, Herod Antipater, was murdered by Herod the Great, along with other family members. (It was quipped at the time that it was safer to be a dog in that household than a member of the family!) Archelaus' mother was a Samaritan (1/4 or less of Jewish blood) and was never accepted. After the death of Herod (4 B.C.?), Archelaus had been placed over Judea as "Entharch" by Caesar Augustus. Broadly rejected, he was removed in 6-7 A.D.

He was replaced by a Roman procurator named Caponius. The legal power of the Sanhedrin was immediately restricted and the adjudication of capital cases was lost. This was normal Roman policy.7 This transfer of power is mentioned in the Talmud8 and by Josephus:

After the death of the procurator Festus, when Albinus was about to succeed him, the high priest Ananius considered it a favorable opportunity to assemble the Sanhedrin. He therefore caused James, the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, and several others, to appear before this hastily assembled council, and pronounced upon them the sentence of death by stoning. All the wise men and strict observers of the law who were at Jerusalem expressed their disapprobation of this act... Some even went to Albinus himself, who had departed to Alexandria, to bring this breach of the law under his observation, and to inform him that Aranius had acted illegally in assembling the Sanhedrin without the Roman authority.9

This remarkable passage not only mentions Jesus and His brother James as historical figures, it also underscores that the authority of the Sanhedrin had already been passed to the Romans.

Panic Reaction
When the members of the Sanhedrin found themselves deprived of their right over life and death, they covered their heads with ashes and their bodies with sackcloth, and bemoaned, "Woe unto us for the scepter has departed from Judah and the Messiah has not come!"10 They actually thought that the Torah, the Word of God, had failed! They should have known better.

The scepter had, indeed, been removed from Judah, but Shiloh had come. While the Jews wept in the streets of Jerusalem, a young son of a carpenter was growing up in Nazareth. He would present Himself as the Meshiach Nagid, Messiah the King, on the very day which had been predicted by the Angel Gabriel to Daniel five centuries earlier.11

(In fact, every detail of His life had been foretold centuries earlier.)

The Babe of Bethlehem
There is another passage that will catch our attention this Christmas season. As we recall the prophecy in Micah that prescribes that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem:

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
Micah 5:2
This verse not only identifies the significance of Bethlehem, it also points to His eventual ruler-ship, and it also mentions His preexistence.

It is the remarkable Book of Ruth which connects the line of David with Bethlehem. As we recall this love story between Boaz (in the role of the kinsman-redeemer) and Ruth, who becomes his Gentile bride, it is interesting to consider the possibility that their fields may have been the very ones in which the shepherds were visited by angels that famous evening.12

His Political Destiny
At this moment, Jesus is sitting on His Father's Throne. The question is, will He ever sit on David's throne? Will the promise that Gabriel announced to Mary also be fulfilled? Of course. And much of what He is about to do is also predicted with the same accuracy.

As we enter the new year, we each will struggle to remember to write 2000 when we date our checks. The entire world measures its calendar from that singular, incomparable event.

The world will soon be in for a series of surprises! The world wishes it could go on without the reactionary Christians; God will soon give them what they want.

And it may come sooner than any of us realize. So as we reflect on the prospects of the coming year, let us all remember that, fundamentally, we are neither Republicans nor Democrats: we are monarchists! We look for our Coming King !

Merry Christmas and Happy New Millennium!

* * *

Sources:







1.Jeremiah 22:30; See also Footprints of the Messiah briefing package, Koinonia House, 1994.
2.Lk 3:31; 2 Sam 5:14; 1 Chr 14:4.
3.Josh MacDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict, pp. 108-168.
4.Ezekiel 1:5,8.
5.Targum Onkelos, Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, and Targum Yerusahlmi, The Messiah: An Aramaic Interpretation; The Messianic Exegesis of the Targum, Samson H. Levy, Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati, 1974.
6.Josephus, Antiquities, 17:13.
7.This transfer of power was recorded by Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Bk 2, Ch. 8 Also, The Jerusalem Talmud, Sanhedrin, folio 24.
8.The Jerusalem Talmud, Sanhedrin, folio 24.
9.Josephus, Antiquities, 20:9.
10.Babylonian Talmud, Chapter 4, folio 37; also, Augustin Lemann, Jesus before the Sanhedrin, 1886, translated by Julius Magath, NL#0239683, Library of Congress #15-24973.
11.Daniel 9:24-27. See also Daniel's Seventy Weeks, Koinonia House, 1993.
12.Luke 2:8-20.

The Star That Led the Wise Men

In Matthew chapter 2 we read the story of the star that appeared and led the magi/wise men to Israel, looking for the Messiah. This star appears again later in the passage leading the wise men until the star comes and settles directly over the young Son of God.

  Mat 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
Mat 2:3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Mat 2:4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
Mat 2:5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
Mat 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
Mat 2:7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
Mat 2:8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
Mat 2:9
When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
Mat 2:10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.



Now it may be said that every imaginable astronomical object has been proposed for this star. Supernovas, exploding planets, comets, etc. All of the scientifically based articles miss the point. The point is that this star appeared in the sky, like other stars, but then moved and went before the wise men, until it had led them directly to the young Messiah.

Taken directly from Matthew 2:9 we read, "when they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was." This appeared, guided, disappeared, re-appeared, and then went before guiding the wise men to the exact spot of Messiah. This star was an angel. Angels are called stars in other passages in scripture.   Rev. 9:1 clearly describes an angel who will fall to the earth holding the keys to the "abyss", the bottomless pit. 

In the Old Testament, the word used for star is "kokab", and describes something rolling, as in a blazing fire. Ps. 104:4 states, Who (being God) maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire." 

So the star that led the wise men was an angel.  That begs the larger question.  Are stars angels?  I hope to write that idea out in the next few days.  Many blessings.
 

Strong 6.8 magnitude earthquake strikes off Vanuatu

 

Posted by The Extinction Protocol

December 22, 2012 – VANUATU – A strong 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of the South Pacific island of Vanuatu on Saturday, December 22, the US Geological Survey said. But no immediate tsunami warning was issued. The quake struck at a depth of more than 200 kilometers at around 9:30am (2230 GMT Friday) some 130 kilometers north of Santo, USGS said. “It’s quite deep … so there’s no tsunami,” said David Jepsen, a seismologist with Geoscience Australia which measured the quake at 6.6 magnitude. I think it’s well away from (the capital) Port Vila… but it’s closer to some of the islands further to the northwest, but they would have had some moderate shaking really,” he told AFP. The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a destructive tsunami was not generated, based on the earthquake and historical tsunami data. Vanuatu lies on the so-called “Pacific Ring of Fire,” a zone of frequent seismic activity caused by friction between shifting tectonic plates. It has been rocked by several large quakes in recent years, averaging about three magnitude 7.0 or above incidents every year without any major damage. – Rappler

The Coventry Carol

I do like history, as the truth is always more fascinating and amazing than fiction.  The Coventry Carol is a centuries old Christmas carol written to commemorate the death of the babes slaughtered by Herod in his hunt for the Messiah.  It's also quite beautiful.

 

The Gospel According to Matthew, Chapter 2, verses 16 - 18

"Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all the region who were two years old or under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

"A voice was heard in Ramah,
wailing and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be consoled,
because they were no more."

The Fair Child Lullaby(“ ffayr chylde, lullay ”)

In The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors, this gentle lullaby was sung by the women of Bethlehem to their babies, urging them to "Be still, be still, my little child," just before the unwilling soldiers of King Herod came to slaughter their infants in Herod's attempt to eliminate a competitor, the newborn King of the Jews. In the liturgical calendar, those children are commemorated on December 28, the Feast of the Holy Innocents.

The beloved “Coventry Carol” has one of the most unusual of histories. It was a song from the 16th-century Pageant of the Shearmen and Taylors, one of only two plays to have survived from the cycle of late medieval mystery plays of which Coventry played a part (the other was the Weavers' Pageant). The Pageant has roots to perhaps the 14^th century, to morality plays that tradesmen mounted far the entertainment of their monarchs and town officials, making this one of the oldest of carols.

The Pageant covered the Nativity story from the Annunciation to the Massacre of the Innocents.

The original copy of the play was always kept in the possession of the town council for safe keeping. When a copy was needed, the copyist went to the town council, but was charged a hefty fee for the privilege. The town council copy of the Coventry plays has been lost.

The oldest copy of the play that we have knowledge of was the one that was re-edited by Robert Croo, then the mayor Master Palmer, on March 14, 1534. That manuscript was destroyed in the fire at the Birmingham Free Reference Library in 1879. Fortunately, however, the Coventry antiquarian Thomas Sharp had preserved copies in two volumes. The first was the printing in 1817 of only 12 copies “for the purpose of bringing it more immediately to the knowledge of his antiquarian friends.”¹ The second edition was the publication by Merridew and Son of Sharp's Dissertation of 1825; the full title was Dissertation on the Pageants or Dramatic Mysteries Anciently Performed at Coventry, by the Trading Companies of that City.

Sandy Hook massacre: Evidence of official foreknowledge?

More bizarre details emerging from the Sandy Hook shooting.  What happened to the other reported gunmen who were caught by police?  Was Adam's brother Ryan one of those caught in the woods?  He was according to police reports.  Then police said Adam had stolen Ryan's ID.  It's all like a bad dream...

Niall Bradley
Sott.net

© CBS
The moment it emerged that he was alive and was taken into police custody in Hoboken, New Jersey, many if not all of the statements previously made to the press by anonymous 'law enforcement officials' regarding Ryan Lanza and his connections could no longer have been known beforehand.

In the following passage of my previous article on the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, I made the following reference to Ryan Lanza being the named second suspect caught armed in the adjacent woods:

Perhaps most astonishingly, this suspect arrested in the woods was named in an Associated Press report as 24-year-old Ryan Lanza. The original report has long since vanished of course, but you can see it referenced here. This was despite the fact that Ryan had already been named as the deceased suspect inside the school, lying next to two handguns.

I have since found the original Associated Press report, which in fact states that it was "Ryan's younger brother", Adam Lanza, who was arrested in the woods. So let's take a closer look at this revealing report.

2:25 p.m. CST -- A FoxNews report said:

witnesses said a handcuffed man, dressed in camouflage was led out of a nearby woods by officers who reported to the shooting. The individual is Lanza's younger brother, according to the Associated Press.

That Fox News report has since been 'updated', but here is the full original text and screenshot of the Associated Press report which places both brothers at the scene, one dead (Ryan), and the other arrested (Adam):

AP source: Suspect is 24; younger brother held

Pete Yost, Associated Press
Friday, December 14, 2012

© SOTT.net

Washington (AP) - A law enforcement official says the suspect in the Connecticut school shootings is 24-year-old Ryan Lanza and that his younger brother is being held for questioning as a possible second shooter. The law enforcement official says the boys' mother, Nancy Lanza, works at the school as a teacher.

The official also said Ryan Lanza's girlfriend and another friend are missing in New Jersey.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the suspect is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because the source was not authorized to speak on the record about the developing criminal investigation.

Who exactly is this 'law enforcement official' that has access to the premier news agency in the country, and on behalf of which state agency does he/she work for?

How did they even know at this point that Ryan had a younger 20-year-old brother when there are no public records of Adam Lanza since 2009 and the two brothers had not seen each other since 2010, as claimed by Ryan? How could they have known on Friday morning that Ryan had a girlfriend and that she and another friend were missing in New Jersey? How did they even know that Ryan had any connection to New Jersey at all? The Lanzas' mother was dead at this point and their father only found out later through a reporter asking him about Adam, who had by then become the 'lone gunman' in the official narrative.

Surely the first point on the timeline at which anyone can even begin to discover these things about Ryan is the moment he piped up on Facebook and said "Hi, I'm alive, I didn't do it, and I live and work down here in New Jersey!" How could 'law enforcement officials' have pieced together details of his life but not known that he was actually still alive in the very location where they stated that his girlfriend had gone missing?

The only way they could have found out all this about Ryan Lanza was if they had 100% positively identified him as the 'dead gunman inside the building', then worked backwards from there by investigating who his next of kin were, then questioning family members, then discovering where he lived and worked, that he had a girlfriend and that she and a friend were missing, etc.

Such things take time to investigate, especially as they would involve cross-checking with police and other officials in New Jersey. And even before that, somebody there would first have had to receive local reports of two missing people before any connection could be made to the shooting in Connecticut.

Even if we granted these 'law enforcement officials' superfast detective powers, they would not have been able to travel back in time to rewrite the script regarding how they knew what they knew about the Lanza brothers, particularly Ryan. Because from the moment the official line was forced to deviate towards saying that Ryan Lanza was no longer the 'dead shooter inside the building', it became impossible for these 'law enforcement officials' who "weren't authorised to speak" (but heck, were telling lots of people lots of things that morning anyway, and whose credentials enabled them to speak through the Associated Press and other media outlets) to have retrospectively discovered all these connections of Ryan.

The only logical conclusion I can draw at this stage is that somebody or some group with high-level media access had FOREKNOWLEDGE of the crime, foreknowledge that is revealed by their 'anonymously' leaking to the press things which they could not otherwise have known, foreknowledge that exposes their hand in originally planning to use both Lanza brothers as patsies.

Read more at - http://www.sott.net/article/254925-Sandy-Hook-massacre-Evidence-of-official-foreknowledge

It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

Edmund Hamilton Sears, a Unitarian Minister wrote a poem “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” in 1849 to be used in a Christmas play. “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” is an American poem based on the Gospel of Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth where the angels announce to the shepherds that there will be ‘peace on earth, good will toward men.’ It has become a most popular Christmas carol.

A friend of Sears, W. P. Lunt --a Quincy, MA, minister, requested that he write “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” to be sung in a Sunday School Christmas play. The Christmas carol is now very popular among many denominations and is used extensively in Christmas pageants in America.

 

 

Apparently, the text was used with several different melodies before it was officially set to specific music in today’s Christmas carol form. Composer, Richard S. Willis adapted the words of “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” to his musical work “Carol.”

Read more at - http://gospelpiano.com/articles/it-came-upon-a-midnight-clear-24.htm

The Coming of the Termnators

It's quite hard to digest that we are discussing these things as a reality, but there are already forms of autonomous robots, although they technically have human directors.  There are occasions when something goes wrong.  As in this case.  The ghost in the machine?

CCTV of China school knife attack

Amazing video of the knife attack in China which happened the same day as the Sandy Hook shooting.

Pacaya volcano erupts in Guatemala, spews ash and gas

Posted by The Extinction Protocol

December 20, 2012 – GUATEMALA CITY – Pacaya Volcano, located 47 kilometers south of the capital, has had increased activity in recent days with ash and gas being released into the air, said the Institute of Volcanology (Insivumeh). On Wednesday, the institute issued a preventive alert and recommended the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (Conrad) to keep monitoring the 2,500-meter-tall volcano, located between the departments of Guatemala City and Escuintla. “The activity yesterday [Tuesday] was a manifestation of reactivation, so people should be aware of developments in coming days,” Insivumeh experts said. Conrad also released a statement on its website that recommends people “to keep informed and be aware of official information provided by authorities.” The last eruption of Pacaya occurred in May 2010 when a powerful explosion sent ashes to three departments, including the capital, and forced the closing of La Aurora International Airport for five days. One person was killed, thousands were injured and $500 million in losses were reported. –Tico Times

Volcanic activity continues: The Tungurahua volcano in central Ecuador keeps spewing gas, ash and red-hot rock, forcing hundreds to evacuate from their homes. The country’s Geophysical Institute says incandescent rock shot from the crater of the 16,479-foot (5,023-meter) high mountain fell about half a mile (a kilometer) down its flanks. Explosions early Wednesday rattled windows 9 miles (14 kilometers) away, while rain-borne ash has been falling to the southwest of the crater. Regional emergency director Lourdes Mayorga says that about 100 families are staying in shelters away from the danger zone, though they return during the day to work their fields. She says there will be forced evacuations if the volcanic activity intensifies. Tungurahua has been active for the past 13 years. An outburst in 2006 left four dead and two missing. -AP

 

 

A Strange Way To Save The World

This is written and performed by the Christian artists, "4Him".  Good stuff.

Steve Quayle on Media Lies, Civil War in America, and Government Lists for those Who Ask Too Many Questions

Good stuff here from Steve Quayle on Coast to Coast.

Away In A Manger

This beloved Christmas carol has much mystery surrounding it. However, it still remains one of the most loved Christmas songs around the world. It is sung in churches, synagogues and on TV and radio during the holiday season. It has even been said the German mothers sing it as a lullaby to their little ones year round.

The mystery surrounding 'Away in the Manger' seems to be the fact that no one really knows who wrote it. In addition, it is unclear who the first person to sing it publicly was. We do know it was first published in 1885, with the first two verses of the soon to become popular carol. It was first seen in Martin Luther's Evangelical Lutheran Sunday School Collection, Little Children's book for Schools and families. Many have said that Martin Luther wrote the song but this has been proven untrue. The third stanza of the song "be near me Lord Jesus" was said to be written by Charles H. Gabriel in his book Gabriel's Vineyard songs. William J. Kirkpatrick composed the music to Away in a Manger in 1895.

While the song was originally published in Philadelphia, it is a great favorite across the world even topping the charts in Britain. The song is mostly sung in two different melodies. One is Mueller and mostly in the US. However, in the United Kingdom it is sung to the melody Cradle Song.

'Away In A Manger' is the story of the birth of the baby Jesus, while some have a problem with the odd, and sometimes thought misleading lyrics it has still made its way into the hearts of children and adults all around the world.

Even though we are not positive who wrote or even who first sung 'Away in a Manger' it has been recorded by many notable artists. Mahalia Jackson and the Annie Moses band have recorded popular religious versions of the song. Many popular country superstars including Martina McBride, Emmy Lou Harris, Reba McIntyre, and Dolly Parton also have their own renditions. The song was also recorded by country and gospel star Randy Travis.

As well as the countless choral version versions this famous carol has also seen many versions recorded in the pop sphere by the likes of Andy Williams, John Denver, Nat King Cole, Johnny Cash, The Everly Brothers, The Very Most, Susan Boyle and Julie Andrews.

'Away in the Manger, may have humble and mysterious beginnings but that has not stopped it from being one of the favourite Christmas songs of all time.

Read more at - http://www.christmas-songs.net/christmas-carols/away-in-a-manger.aspx

Was Jesus Really Born In A Cave?

 The story of Jesus birth as told in Luke, whether some choose to think the manger was in a barn or a cave, leaves little doubt that Jesus was a testimony against the power brokers of His time, and all times.  His family wasn't rich, not in wealth at least.  His birth wasn't talked about far and wide, except for some shepherds who got the story from some angels. (Luke 2:8) He didn't grow up well known, except for wowing temple scholars with His knowledge. (Luke 2:46-48)  He grew up as the son of a carpenter. (Matt. 13:55)  Even in His ministry, He had no place to lay His head. (Matt. 8:20)  So the idea Messiah, the Savior of "whosoever will" (John 3:16) was born in a cave should encourage us all.  God loves and cares about the poorest of the poor, the weakest of the weak, the lowest of the low.  The kings and rulers of this world will pass away, but our Savior will endure forever.  As will those who love Him. (John 14:2-3)

The Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem Where was the Birth Place of the Lord Jesus? by Cooper P Abrams III *All rights reserved. The Nativity scene we see so often is of Jesus being born in a stable that sheltered animals has always bothered me. I grew up in a small town in rural eastern North Carolina and I have seen a lot of stables. Even the best kept ones are dirty smelly places because they house animals. I have never been able to understand how that such an unclean place where donkeys and other animals resided was where Mary gave birth to the Lord Jesus Christ. Several years ago, a pastor friend of mine sent me an article that gave biblical evidence that Jesus was not born in a animal stable behind a inn where donkeys and other animals were kept, but in a more appropriate place. The following is the result of my research.

Tradition, not the Bible, says that Jesus' birth place was in cave over which the Basilica of the Nativity was built in Bethlehem. Roman Emperor Constantine, built a Basilica1 over this cave in the 4th Century at the request of his mother, Helena.

 

It was destroyed and the present basilica was built by Emperor Justinian in 530 AD. Origen of Alexandria (185 - 254 AD) wrote that it was generally accepted that Jesus was born in a cave at Bethlehem which could be visited in his day. 2 Clearly the city of Jesus' birth was Bethlehem as Micah 5:2 prophesied and as the Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John confirm. (See Matthew 2:1,5-6,8,16; Luke 2:4,15; John 7:42) "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." (Micah 5:2)
 

Luke proclaims the birth place as Bethlehem, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." 1 Samuel 17:15, confirms Bethlehem as the City of David, "But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at Bethlehem." But where in Bethlehem was Jesus born? The fact is that the New Testament does not mention the exact place in Bethlehem of where Jesus was born nor does the Bible record that Jesus was born in stable attended by donkeys, chickens, and cows as many nativity scenes present? All the New Testament says is that there was no room in the inn and that Jesus was lain in a manger in Bethlehem.
 

The New Testament does not mention a stable or that Jesus was born in the back of an inn. The actually place of Jesus' birth was not certainly not a accident, but was a sign given 700 years earlier which predicted where He would be born. The popular conception that the word "manger" refers to a trough where animals were fed may be accurate.  However, it could mean simply a stall. The Greek word which is translated in our English Bibles "manger" is Yatnh phat-ne (pronounced fat'-nay). The definition of the word is of a "stall" where animals are kept and in Luke 13:15 is translated as such.
 

In the Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) the word means a stall or a crib (See Proverbs 14:4). The question is what kind of "stall" or manger is the New Testament referring to and what kind of animal was fed or housed there. Although the New Testament does not tell us where in Bethlehem Jesus was born, the Old Testament does. Micah 4:8 states, "And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem." Thus the Old Testament clearly states that the Messiah would be born at the "tower of the flock" (Hebrew: Migdal Edar). The phrase "tower of the flock" is the Hebrew phrase "Migdal Edar" [mig-dawl ay-der] and means a "watch tower of the flock".


 In ancient times this was a military tower erected to view into the valley on the edge of Bethlehem to protect the city. Several of these military towers are recorded in the Old Testament (See Judges 8:71, 9:46, 9:51; 2 Kings 9:17, 18:8; Nehemiah 3:1) The tower at Bethlehem is first mentioned in Genesis 35:21, "And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar" ("tower of Edar" - Migdal Edar). After Jacob left Bethel he came to Edar (the tower) and there Rachel began hard labor and as she delivered Benjamin she died and was buried there in Ephratah which is Bethlehem" (Gen. 35:19). After burying Rachel, Jacob moved his flocks beyond the tower of Edar. This would pinpoint the location as being near to what is present day Bethlehem. Clearly, this establishes that Migdal Edar, "the tower of the flock" was in Bethlehem in Bible times.





Rachel's Tomb Before it was annexed by Israel (before 1995) Rachel's Tomb today (since 1995)

The oldest tradition, based upon Genesis 35:16-20; 48:7, points to a place one mile north of present day Bethlehem and 4 miles from Jerusalem. We do not know what were the bounds of ancient Bethlehem when Christ was born there, but we know the area called Bethlehem was larger than it is today. The references to present day Migdal Edar are in reference to present day Bethlehem and not the Bethlehem of biblical times which was certainly was greater. Genesis 35:19 and 48:7 both state that Rachel was buried at "Ephrath, which is Bethlehem." "And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem." (Genesis 35:19) "And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem." (Genesis 48:7)   It must be noted that Ephrath or Ephrathah was the ancient name for the area that later was called Bethlehem. According to Genesis 35:19, after Jacob buried Rachel he "moved his flocks beyond the tower of Edar" or "Migdal Edar." The location of Rachel's tomb today is outside, on the outskirts of present day Bethlehem, but clearly it was not when Jacob, buried his wife there. Clearly the area which is called Bethlehem in biblical times covered a greater area than does present day Bethlehem and the Tower of the Flock was in that city.

This watch tower from ancient times was used by the shepherds for protection from their enemies and wild beasts. It was also the place ewes were safely brought to give birth to the lambs. In this sheltered building/cave the priests would bring in the ewes which were about to lamb for protection. According to Edersheim in The Life And Times Of Jesus The Messiah, in Book 2, Chapter 6, states, "This Migdal Edar was not the watchtower for the ordinary flocks that pastured on the barren sheep ground beyond Bethlehem, but it lay close to the town, on the road to Jerusalem.

A passage from the Mishnah (Shekelim 7:4) 3 leads to the conclusion that the flocks which pastured there were destined for Temple sacrifices..."4 In addition, Migdal Edar is also mentioned by the Jewish Targums and is translated "The Anointed One of the flock of Israel". 5 Thus, Targum Yonatan, cited by Rabbi Munk, paraphrases Genesis 35:23 and Micah 4:8, "He spread his tent beyond Migdal Edar, the place where King Messiah will reveal Himself at the end of days."


What are we to make of all of this information from the writings of the rabbis? First, we know that Migdal Edar was the watchtower that guarded the Temple flocks that were being raised to serve as sacrificial animals in the Temple. These were not just any flock and herd. The shepherds who kept them were men who were specifically trained for this royal task. They were educated in what an animal, that was to be sacrificed, had to be and it was their job to make sure that none of the animals were hurt, damaged, or blemished."6 These lambs were apparently wrapped in "swaddling cloths" to protect them from injury and also used to wrap the Lord Jesus. Thus, with the establishment of Temple worship in Jerusalem, the fields outside of Bethlehem became the place where a special group of shepherds raised the lambs that were sacrificed in the Temple. Being themselves under special Rabbinical care, they would strictly maintain a ceremonially clean stable for a birthing place. The Tower of the Flock was used for birthing ewes, and the surrounding fields were where these shepherds grazed their flocks. These shepherds customarily kept their flocks outdoors twenty-four hours a day every day of the year, but brought the ewes in to deliver their lambs where they could be carefully cared for. It was to this place that Joseph took Mary. It was in this special place at "Migdal Edar" that Christ was born! How do we know? The Micah 4:8 tells us so!7           

Prophetically, "Migdal Edar" is the exact place in Bethlehem for Christ to be born. Micah was God's prophet who was warning Israel of the coming captivity. He used the authenticating prophecy of the Assyrian captivity of the Northern Kingdom (soon to occur when he foretold it) to serve as a reminder to Israel of God's promised Kingdom. God wanted them to know that even though they would be taken from their land because of their disobedience that He would restore them in time. Micah 4:7 establishes the context of the passage and clearly is a Messianic prophecy of the coming of the Millennial Kingdom when Jesus Christ will reign over Jerusalem forever. ". . .LORD shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever." In other words God was assuring Israel that He would fulfill His promises to them of the Kingdom. In Micah 4:8 the word is rendered "tower of the flock" (marg., "Edar"), and is used as a designation of Bethlehem, which figuratively represents the royal line of David as sprung from Bethlehem.8

  In this setting, Micah (Micah 4:8) uses the prophecy of the Babylonian captivity of the Southern Kingdom as a pledge to guarantee (authenticating prophecy) of the birth of Christ at "Migdal Edar" at Bethlehem which is exactly where it took place! Micah prophesied that as surely as Assyrians would soon carry away Israel in the North, so the Messiah would come and establish His kingdom, the "first dominion, the kingdom shall come to Jerusalem." The verse states that as surely as Babylon would carry away the Judah, in the South, into captivity, so the Messiah would arrive at the Tower of the Flock. This prophecy was one other evidence that later proved the Jesus was the Messiah, but one that Israel ignored in rejecting Him as their Messiah.


Who were the shepherds who first received the news of the birth of the Messiah?
 
Luke 2:8-18 records that there were shepherds in the fields keeping watch over their sheep by night. Who then were these shepherds? Without question these were shepherds who resided near Bethlehem They were none other but the shepherds from "Migdal Edar" who were well aware that the Targum hinted and many of the rabbis taught that Messiah might well be announced from "Migdal Edar" at Bethlehem.

 The angels only told the shepherds that they would find the Babe wrapped in "swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." There was no need for the angels to give these shepherds directions to the birth place because they already knew. These were the men who raised sacrificial lambs that were sacrificed in the Temple. When the angelic announcement came, they knew exactly where to go, as Luke 2 indicates, for the sign of a manger could only mean their manger at the tower of the flock! You cannot explain the meaning or direction of the sign they were given or their response unless you have the right manger and the right shepherds!9


Typically, "Migdal Edar", (the tower of the flock) at Bethlehem is the perfect place for Christ to be born. He was born in the very birthplace where tens of thousands of lambs, which had been sacrificed to prefigure Him. God promised it, pictured it, and performed it at "Migdal Edar". It all fits together, for that's the place the place where sacrificial lambs were born! Jesus was not born behind an inn, in a smelly stable where the donkeys of travelers and other animals were kept.

He was born in Bethlehem, at the birthing place of the sacrificial lambs that were offered in the Temple in Jerusalem which Micah 4:8 calls the "tower of the flock." John the Baptist in John 1:29 proclaimed of Jesus, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." Jesus is presented in the Bible as being "in type" as a sacrificial lamb. It was not by chance but by choice that Christ identified His death with the time of the observance of the Passover. Peter spoke of our redemption as wrought by the "precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot"( 1 Pet. 1:19); and Paul told us that "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us" ( 1 Cor. 5:7). Even the first fulfilled type by which Christ is to be revealed in Heaven is as the Lamb (Rev. 5:6-13)10 .




Concluding remarks Is the cave under the Basilica of the Nativity the birth place of Jesus?
Edersheim says that Migdal Edar was close to the town, on the road to Jerusalem11. A modern topographical map shows the traditional place of the Shepherd's Field as being about 300 meters from the Basilica of the Nativity on the edge of Bethlehem.12 The site has a long history as the place of the birth of Christ going back to Origen of Alexander in the 2nd Century who said that Jesus was born in a cave located in Bethlehem.13

It is entirely possible that this cave or grotto was used to keep sheep and that this is where the tower of the flock was located, but it has not been proved. Other's have purported the location of the "tower of the flock" in another location in the vicinity which has not been thoroughly excavated. The tower of the flock being a tower built of stones does not exist today and archaeology has not found its ruins. However, based on biblical record, Micah 4:8, and other evidences we must conclude that it was not the stable of an inn were donkeys and other animals were kept was not a tower. God's word tells us that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, of Judah in the city of David at a place called the "tower of the flock," It is not important that we can go today to the exact spot where He was born. And even if we could, would that help us spiritually? I have been to Israel and seen Jerusalem, and a many of biblical places, but what I saw has little semblance to what it looked like in Jesus' day. For a time I tried to imagine what it looked like during Bible times, but it proved to be a futile effort.

As a student of the Bible I also realized that God is not through with this area and this very place the Lord Jesus will return and set up His earthly Kingdom, which He promised to the Jews. It is going to greatly changed again in the future. What really got my spirits lifted and my mind souring was the realization that as a child of God, born again by Holy Spirit, saved by God's free gift of grace, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, I too one day will return to Israel and will abide in His Millennial Kingdom and serve the Lord throughout all eternity. His coming, His life, death, burial and resurrection has assured me of that truth. The significance of His birth is that in God's time Jesus came exactly as God promised and that as sure as His past promises have been kept, so will His promises for the future. By the way, that was the promise in Micah 4:8. I rejoice and thank God for His sure promises. Galatians 4:4-5

"But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."


---

End Notes:

1 Basilica. An oblong building ending in a semicircular apse used in ancient Rome especially for a court of justice and place of public assembly. Later the name was used to describe an early Christian church building consisting of nave and aisles with clerestory and a large high transept from which an apse projects and given ceremonial privileges by the Roman Catholic church.

2 Origen of Alexandra, "Against Celsus" in Volume 1, Chapter 51. "In regards to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, if anyone, after studying Micah's prophecy and the history recorded in the sacred writings by the disciples of Jesus. If needing to have additional sources of evidence, Let him be aware that the Scriptures are confirmed and the Gospel involving his birth, for there can be seen the cave located in Bethlehem where He was born and the manger where He was wrapped in swaddling-clothes. And this site is talked about with great interest in all the surrounding countries. Even among the enemies our faith it is being said that in this cave Jesus was born, the One who is worshiped and revered by the Christians."


3 Mishnah. The Mishnah was the first recording of the oral law of the Jews or its Rabbinic Judaism. The word means "repetition" which means it was memorized material. It is the major source of rabbinic teachings of Judaism. Next to the Scriptures the Mishnah is the basic textbook of Jewish life and thought, and is traditionally considered to be an integral part of the Torah revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai.


4 Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, From the manger in Bethlehem to the baptism in Jordan, The nativity of Jesus the Messiah, Book 2, Chapter VI, Hindrickson Publishers:1993, p131.  


5 Targum. The Targum is an Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible (Tanak) which was written during Israel's seventy year captivity in Babylon. Aramaic is one of the Semitic languages, an important group of languages known almost from the beginning of human history and including also Arabic, Hebrew, Ethiopic, and Akkadian (ancient Babylonian and Assyrian).  


6 Rabbi Mike L. Short, Migdal Edar,http://www.mayimhayim.org/Rabbi%20Mike/Migdal%20Eder.htm


7 James E. Smith, Where was the Birth Place of the Lord Jesus, Baptist Bulletin December 1979.  


8 M.A. Easton, Easton's Illustrated Bible Dictionary,Third Edition, published by Thomas Nelson, 1897.  


9 Edersheim, p131.


10 Smith.  


11. Edersheim, 131.


12 Bethlehem City - Palestine, Sacred Destinations http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/bethlehem-map  


13 Origen.

 

Russian warships sail for Syria, large anti-submarine ship for waters near Iran

DEBKAfile Special Report

Russian warships set out Tuesday, Dec. 18, for two Middle East flashpoint destinations: Naval sources in Moscow reported that two assault ships, a tanker and an escort vessel were detached from the Baltic Fleet and are sailing for the Syrian port of Tartus – possibly to evacuate Russian citizens. A second naval group led by Russia’s largest anti-submarine vessel, the Severomorsk, is on its way to the Gulfs of Aden and Oman close to the Persian Gulf and Iran.

The ships destined for Syria are the Russian fleet’s two largest amphibious assault vessels, the Kaliningrad and the Alexander Shabalin, which is a cruiser converted to a guided missile frigate renamed Yaroslav the Wise, the SB-921 rescue and tug ship, and the Lena military tanker.
Russian military sources say this flotilla will relieve the Black Sea Fleet’s task force vessels deployed off the Syrian coast since November.

The Severomorsk heading for waters near the Persian Gulf is escorted by ships which Russian sources have not named as well as a military tanker and a supply and rescue ship.

debkafile’s military and Moscow sources report that, while the Russians are undoubtedly concerned with the fate of the 20,000 Russian nationals remaining in war-torn Syria, the type of warships dispatched to Tartus do not fit the description of evacuation craft. They look more like a major Russian naval buildup opposite the Syrian coast.

For one thing, they are larger and more formidable than the Black Sea fleet ships they are relieving: the medium, amphibious assault ships, the Novocherkassk and Saratov, each of which carries 250 marines. The new arrivals each carry 520 marines and 25 amphibious tanks.

For another, if it becomes necessary to evacuate large numbers of Russian refugees in a hurry, they are likely to be lifted out by air rather than by sea. Large transports are already on hand, touching down almost daily at Damascus and Aleppo airports with a continuous supply of weapons, ammunition and spare parts for replenishing the army loyal to Bashar Assad.

The Russian aircraft are practically the only foreign flights visiting the two beleaguered Syrian airports. While keeping Assad’s army in essential supplies, Moscow is also maintaining a constant presence there against the contingency of having to fly large numbers of Russian civilians out of the country.

debkafile’s sources add that, while some Western quarters depict Russia’s military steps as actuated by the expectation of Assad’s imminent fall, Middle East military and Western intelligence sources see them rather as preparation for the international commotion and fallout arising from the introduction of chemical warfare to the Syrian conflict by the Syrian army or the insurgents.

Both Washington and Moscow calculate that Assad may be in a race against certain rebel units, which are making a dash to lay hands on some of Syria’s biggest chemical and biological weapons stores.

One high-placed Western military source told debkafile Tuesday: “We can no longer be certain which side will use chemical weapons first - the Syrian army or the rebels – or even against whom: targets inside Syria or across its borders.”
According to this source, the countries abutting on Syria are deep in discreet though comprehensive military preparations in anticipation of three potential perils:

1. A chemical weapons attack on Turkey, Jordan or Israel and US military facilities present in those countries;

2. The outbreak of chemical warfare between the Syrian army and rebels - both armed with poisonsous substances;

3. Either of those contingencies if close would trigger rapid military action - both by combined Western-Arab forces and Israel - to get hold of Syria’s chemical or biological weapons of mass destruction and put them out of reach of Assad’s army and rebel units alike.

Researchers show how infant formula causes cellular death in five minutes

Natasha Longo
PreventDisease.com

Many mothers experience disappointment when breastfeeding challenges arise and there's a good reason for it--they possess liquid gold and they know it. When there are obstacles which prevent their newborn from receiving optimal ratios of fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and immune boosters in their breast milk, who can blame a new mom for being upset their baby will receive second best in an infant formula.

These formulas are not only second best but are becoming outright toxic to infants. According to a new study by University of California, San Diego bioengineers, free fatty acids created during the digestion of infant formula cause cellular death and severe intestinal conditions.

Breast milk is the perfect food for baby, with numerous advantages over baby formula, especially in the first four months or so. Infant formula has no DHA, cholesterol, lipase, lactoferrin, lysozyme, lactose, vital oligosaccharides, living cells and almost no immunoglobins. All of these components are essential to a newborn's health yet absent in infant formula.

Babies fed a dairy-based formula grow up to have higher blood pressure than babies who are breast-fed, British researchers reported.

Babies fed enriched bottle milk are also more likely to be obese by the age of five.

Human milk oligosaccharides, or HMO, produce short-chain fatty acids that feed a beneficial microbial population in the infant gut. Not only that, the bacterial composition adjusts as the baby grows older and its needs change.

Earlier studies have shown that breast milk lowers the incidence of diarrhea, influenza and respiratory infections during infancy, while protecting against the later development of allergies, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and other illnesses. As scientists have learned more about the role intestinal flora plays in health, they have gained appreciation for how an infant's early diet can affect this beneficial microbial universe.

The report by San Diego bioengineers was based on in vitro tests comparing the digestion of fresh human breast milk and nine different infant formulas. It was online in the journal Pediatric Research. Scientists have long known that premature infants fed formula are more likely to develop necrotizing enterocolitis (cellular death of intestinal tissue) than those fed breast milk. The condition is the leading cause of death from gastrointestinal diseases in premature infants, but the underlying mechanism has not been understood. Alexander Penn, a research scientist working in the Microcirculation Laboratory of bioengineering Professor Geert Schmid-Schonbein from the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, believes they have come closer to an answer.

Penn and others had previously determined that the partially digested food in a mature, adult intestine is capable of killing cells, due to the presence of free fatty acids which have a "detergent" capacity that damages cell membranes. The intestines of healthy adults and older children have a mature mucosal barrier that may prevent damage due to free fatty acids. However, the intestine is leakier at birth, particularly for preterm infants, which could be why they are more susceptible to cellular death of intestinal tissue.

Therefore, the researchers wanted to know what happens to breast milk as compared to infant formula when they are exposed to digestive enzymes. They "digested," in vitro, infant formulas marketed for full term and preterm infants as well as fresh human breast milk using pancreatic enzymes or fluid from an intestine. They then tested the formula and milk for levels of free fatty acids. They also tested whether these fatty acids killed off three types of cells involved in necrotizing enterocolitis: epithelial cells that line the intestine, endothelial cells that line blood vessels, and neutrophils, a type of white blood cell that is a kind of "first responder" to inflammation caused by trauma in the body.

Overwhelmingly, the digestion of formula led to cellular death, or cytotoxicity -- in less than 5 minutes in some cases -- while breast milk did not. For example, digestion of formula caused death in 47 percent to 99 percent of neutrophils while only 6 percent of them died as a result of milk digestion. The study found that breast milk appears to have a built-in mechanism to prevent cytotoxicity. The research team believes most food, like formula, releases high levels of free fatty acids during digestion, but that breast milk is digested in a slower, more controlled, process.

Read more at - http://preventdisease.com/news/12/121912_Researchers-Show-How-Infant-Formula-Causes-Cellular-Death-In-Five-Minutes.shtml

More Evidence Magnetic Pole Shift Is Accelerating

'I am the devil': Former classmate reveals school gunman had 'online devil worshiping page' as childhood barber recounts how he never spoke and just stared at floors

What a shocker. The gunman worshipped the devil. Now who would have imagined that? Of course the best thing to do was give him SSRI's. Even though they have been connected to literally hundreds of killings in just twenty years.

• Medical examiner enlists help of geneticist to see if there is a biological reason behind massacre
• Newtown resident raises possibility that Adam Lanza, 20, was angry and may have snapped over mother's possible plans to commit him
• Nancy Lanza, 52, was shot to death in her own bed by her son before the Sandy Hook killings
• Lanza killed 20 children and six adults in the school before killing himself as police closed in

By Meghan Keneally and Rachel Quigley

The Sandy Hook gunman worshiped the devil and had an online page dedicated to Satan, a former classmate revealed, as his childhood barber recalls Adam Lanza never spoke and would stare at the floor every time he had his hair cut.

Lanza's worshiping page had the word 'Devil' written in red, Gothic-style letters against a black background, Trevor L. Todd told The National Enquirer, something which he said was 'weird' and 'gave him the chills'.
The FBI are trying to piece together his smashed up hard drive to see if his online footprint will reveal any motive for the killing, but they strongly believe he made use of devil-worshiping and suicide sites and boasted of his murder plans on message forums.

Adam Lanza's childhood barber Bob Skuba revealed today that Nancy Lanza stopped bringing her son in for haircuts a few years ago so he thought he had moved away from the area.

Time was running out: Nancy Lanza was searching for other places to have her son Adam educated and traveled all over the world to find something suitable

He told CNN that Adam would never speak or even look at him any time he came in for a cut, which was every six weeks for years.

'It’s just weird that I actually touched him. I'd tried to joke with him,' Skuba said. 'He wouldn’t even look at me. He would just be looking down at the tiles the whole time.
'I wish I would have killed him then. Or he should have killed himself a long time ago. He would have saved us all the trouble.

'I should have slit and stabbed him by accident. It would have been a lot better for those people.'

Cutting Adam Lanza’s hair 'was a very long half an hour. It was a very uncomfortable situation', stylist Diane Harty said.
She said that she never heard his voice even once and that Nancy, a divorcee, also hardly spoke - only to tell Adam what to do as he would not listen to anyone else.

Weird: A former classmate of Adam Lanza while they were at Newtown High School said he had online page worshiping the devil

 

It also emerged today that the chief medical examiner in the massacre is enlisting the help of a geneticist to see if they can find a biological motive behind why the 'troubled genius' shot dead 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday.
Dr H. Wayne Carver says he wants to know if there is any identifiable disease associated with the behavior of the shooter, especially as Asperger's syndrome - which Adam is thought to have suffered from - is not associated with violent behavior.

'I’m exploring with the department of genetics what might be possible, if anything is possible,' Dr Carver said. 'Is there any identifiable disease associated with this behavior?'

He is also awaiting toxicology results.
Lanza's mental state is vital as to why he may have committed one of the worst mass shootings in American history.

Another working theory is that he was angry that his mother was planning to commit him to a psychiatric facility because he was becoming too difficult for her to handle alone.

Given his decision to kill his mother Nancy while she lay sleeping in her bed at their Connecticut home and then drive to his former elementary school to purposefully kill innocent children, there had to be a strong connection in his mind between his anger and the school.

Nancy, 52, was thought to volunteer at Sandy Hook Elementary School, and so the theory extends to the fact that Adam felt he loved those children more than she loved him, since she was planning to send him away.

It is thought that Nancy wanted to downsize and find a place for Adam to go to college as she was tired of home schooling the troubled 20-year-old

Struggling: Various family friends have said that she warned that you could never turn your back on Adam while he was in your care, explaining why it may have been taking a toll on her prompting for her to look for options

A friend told the New York Post that Nancy was overwhelmed.
'It was really hard for her as a single mother. It’s hard enough raising an autistic child, just me and my wife. I couldn’t imagine doing it alone,' said Rich Collins, 54, a Lanza family friend who has an autistic son, Jeffrey, 17.
'I think it’s important to get the part of the story out — that an unmarried woman was trying to raise an autistic child on her own. I think she needed more support.'

Read more at - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ushome/index.html