The Faithful Watchman

Comet to Approach Earth for First Time since Neanderthals Lived

A comet that only orbits the sun once every 50,000 years is expected to be visible from Earth with the naked eye. The last time the comet visited, the Sahara desert was wet and fertile, Neanderthals and woolly mammoths still walked the Earth, and humans were—as far as we know—yet to reach North America.

C/2022 E3 (ZTF) was first spotted by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) on March 2, 2022, and is set to reach its closest point to the sun, or perihelion, on January 12, 2023. ZTF is an astronomical survey conducted by the Palomar Observatory in California.

Comets are “cosmic snowballs” made up of frozen gases, dust and rock that orbit the sun. As they approach our star, these fragile constructs are blasted with increasing amounts of radiation, a process that can produce two vast tails of gas and dust.

Biblical Siloam Pool next to Temple Mount to be fully excavated

“The other events of Hezekiah’s reign, and all his exploits, and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought the water into the city, are recorded in the Annals of the Kings of Yehuda KINGS 20: 20 (THE ISRAEL BIBLE)

The ancient pool of Siloam, first mentioned in the biblical book of Kings II, will be fully excavated and opened to the public, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Tuesday.

The structure is located just outside the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City to the southeast.

“The Pool of Siloam in the City of David National Park in Jerusalem is a site of historic, national and international significance,” said Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion. “After many years of anticipation, we will soon merit being able to uncover this important site and make it accessible to the millions of visitors visiting Jerusalem each year.”

During the Second Temple period, millions of pilgrims coming from outside of Jerusalem probably used the pool as a ritual bath (mikveh) before ascending to the Temple Mount, through what archaeologists have dubbed as the “Pilgrimage Road,” the city’s main street that led directly to the sanctuary.

By that point, the pool – which was the city’s main water source – had been renovated and expanded to reach its largest size, approximately 5 dunams (1¼ acres).

Pope Francis Pushes Back Against Laws Criminalizing Homosexuality

Pope Francis recently spoke out against laws that criminalize homosexuality, calling them “unjust” and asserting that God loves all his children regardless of their sexual orientation.

“Being homosexual isn’t a crime,” Francis told the Associated Press in an interview on Tuesday at the Vatican.

The pope admitted that Catholic bishops in some parts of the world support the criminalization of homosexuality but insisted that those bishops must recognize the worth of every human being.

“These bishops have to have a process of conversion,” Francis said, adding that they should utilize “tenderness, please, as God has for each one of us.”

According to The Human Dignity Trust, consensual same-sex sexual activity is illegal in 67 countries or jurisdictions around the world. In 11 of those countries, the death penalty can and sometimes is imposed. Experts note that discrimination against LGBT people, including harassment and violence, still occurs even when the laws are not enforced.

The United Nations has often called for the end of such laws since they violate one’s privacy and freedom and breach a country’s duty to protect the human rights of all, regardless of a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation, under international law.

Read more at: www.christianheadlines.com

Written records of biblical King David discovered by researchers

The Mesha Stele, also called the Moabite Stone, is a basalt stone slab that has provided historians and linguists with the largest source of the Moabite language to date. Researchers have only now been able to verify with a considerable degree of certainty that the stele contains explicit references to King David.

The stele was discovered in fragments in 1868 roughly 15 miles east of the Dead Sea and currently resides in the Louvre museum in Paris. While it was damaged in 1869, a paper-mache impression of the inscription was captured before the damage occurred.

The slab is etched with a lengthy account of King Mesha of Moab going to war with Israel. The events described correspond, albeit imprecisely, with a similar account in 2 Kings chapter 3.

Russia may use nukes if it thinks Ukraine will win – ex-US general

The fear that Russia may end up deploying nuclear weapons as the war continues is something that has raised concerns with decision-makers and analysts throughout the world.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine may come to a terrifying end in 2023, with Russian President Vladimir Putin likely to turn to nuclear weapons rather than have his armies be completely routed on the battlefield, retired US Army Brig.-Gen. Kevin Ryan said in a Tuesday interview with Insider.

This possibility could occur, Ryan, who also was the former US military attache to Russia, told Insider, with the goal of not only taking out Ukrainian troops but also forcing Kyiv into surrendering to avoid a nuclear holocaust scenario. Moscow could make this move if one of two things happened:

1. Ukraine’s forces are about to utterly defeat the Russian military in the field

2. Ukraine’s forces are about to finally retake the Crimean Peninsula that Moscow annexed in 2014

Catholic Hospital Must Perform Gender Transition Surgeries, May Not Claim Religious Exemption, Judge Rules

St. Joseph Medical Center in Baltimore violated Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (the anti-discrimination provision of Obamacare) by refusing to perform a gender transition surgery in 2020, ruled a federal judge in the District Court of Maryland on Friday.

Judge Deborah Chasanow reasoned in Hammons v. UMMS that the Catholic hospital system discriminated against a transgender-identifying woman by cancelling a surgery to remove her uterus once they learned that it was for gender dysphoria. “Defendants necessarily and intentionally relied on sex in creating and enforcing a policy that prohibits treatment if a patient’s medical need for that treatment is an incongruence between the patient’s gender identity and sex assigned at birth,” said the Clinton-appointed judge.

The opinion comes months after two circuit courts — the 8th Circuit and 5th Circuit — had ruled that Obamacare’s Section 1557 did not require Catholic hospital systems to perform gender transition procedures. However, several unusual facts could distinguish this ruling from those contrary decisions. The left-leaning 4th Circuit would hear any appeal from the District Court of Maryland.

Nearly all House Democrats oppose resolution condemning attacks on churches, pro-life facilities

Nearly all U.S. House Democrats voted against a resolution condemning attacks against anti-abortion facilities and churches. The vote came after a report was published showing violence escalated against churches and pro-life groups last year ahead of and after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

The House passed the measure Wednesday mostly along party lines. Three Democrats voted for it: Reps. Vicente Gonzalez of south Texas, Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington.

The resolution “condemns recent attacks of vandalism, violence, and destruction against pro-life facilities, groups and churches” and “calls upon the Biden Administration to use all appropriate law enforcement authorities to uphold public safety and to protect the rights of pro-life facilities, groups, and churches.”

There have been at least 420 hostile acts committed against primarily churches in America over the past five years, according to the report published by the Family Research Council.

Young sacrifice belief in God on altar of Satanism

“With our rituals, there’s never any murder, there’s never any sacrifice, there’s never any blood rites to Satan. We don’t worship the devil. We don’t cast magic spells…”

In fact, as the Global Order of Satan UK – as well as other leaders and members of Satanic groups around the world insist – it would be difficult to spot a Satanist walking down the street.

Yet while the macabre occult rituals, virgin sacrifices, chalices of blood and belief in the actual Devil are a thing of the past, Satanism is luring increasing numbers of young people disillusioned with “outdated” and “dogmatic” traditional religions to join its fold by offering an “alternative” to “stuffy”, traditional faiths.

The Sunday Telegraph has spoken to leaders and members of Satanic groups around the world who claim that the opportunities Satanism offers people to engage in activism and campaign on issues such as gender and sexuality is part of the appeal for the younger members, particularly those who are increasingly less likely to declare themselves as Christian.

Chaplain Leopold, a 32-year-old London-based undertaker, co-runs the Global Order of Satan UK which he said has seen a 200 per cent increase in membership over the last five years.

Video shows security booting man with ‘Jesus Saves’ shirt from Mall of America

Mall of America security ordered a man to take off a “Jesus Saves” shirt, according to videos on social media.

A man wearing a “Jesus Saves” t-shirt was ordered by security to remove his shirt or leave the Mall of America last weekend, according to videos published on social media.

Some comments online have suggested that the man was eventually allowed to remain in the mall with his shirt on, but the Mall of America refused to provide any context or explanation when contacted by Alpha News.

The videos show a man talking with a group of three security guards near the mall’s rotunda. One of the videos was livestreamed to Facebook on Jan. 7.

“Jesus is the only way,” the back of the man’s shirt says, with the popular “coexist” symbol crossed out.

“Jesus is associated with religion and it’s offending people,” a security guard tells the man. “People have been offended.”

They then ask the man to either remove his shirt or leave the mall.

Why did NBC censor an NFL player holding up Christian jewelry?

Saturday night’s NFL playoff game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Los Angeles Chargers was one for the ages. The Jaguars completed one of the biggest comebacks in NFL history, overcoming a 27-0 deficit and winning the game on a last-second field goal by kicker Riley Patterson.

Before the kick, Patterson pulled out a cross he was wearing around his neck and kissed it. After his game-winning boot, while celebrating, Patterson held up the cross in what appeared to be his way of giving thanks to God. Yet, as soon as he did this, NBC purposely seemed to cut away from Patterson holding up the cross.

Based on the sequence of events and the many cameras that refused to show Patterson holding up his cross, this appeared to occur on purpose. It would be a logical conclusion to anyone who watched the kick live. The entire incident was trending on Twitter Saturday night, with many people noticing that NBC cut away from Patterson as soon as he held up his cross.

This was a stark contrast from when network cameras focused intensely on NFL players kneeling for the anthem a few years back. NBC had every opportunity to show Patterson, but each time they tried to cut to him after the kick, he was holding up his cross, and cameras almost immediately cut away before it appeared on television.

Read more at: www.washingtonexaminer.com