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Once there was a tiny tree living in a big forest. It thought it would grow to be the biggest tree if it cut down all the other trees.  

He cut and cut and cut and cut.  It took him years, but he finally cut down all the trees in the forest.  He stood alone.  

But still he did not grow tall.  In fact, he was withering, slowly drying out.  His leaves started to fall, and his branches started to hollow out.  

Without his brother and sister trees to help block out the sun's rays, it became quite hot.  

Without his brother and sister trees’roots to hold on to the topsoil, the soil eroded.

Without the forest to house animals and plants, the land became barren.  

The tiny tree was dying from thirst, and its roots no longer had a foothold in the ground; soon it simply dried up and fell over from the slightest wind.  

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The fable teaches that an individual, organization, state, or country cannot become stronger, taller, or bigger by cutting down others.  The result would be self-annihilation or destruction.  

We are part of humanity, a whole environmental ecosystem, and part of the global economy.  

Cutting down the biggest fruit tree will not make you a fruit tree capable of bearing fruit.  

Shrinking the global economy, where there is less innovation, will not make the country cutting down fruit trees and other trees that are customers richer.  

In fact, fewer customers and less innovation mean becoming poorer.  And depending on the level of destruction, the economy would likely spiral into depression, and stagnation becomes imminent and inevitable.

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Control freaks are sticks in the mud.   

Being stuck in a deep rut is what power and control aggressors represent: playing on a tiny square of a tiny square on a tangent-intercept chessboard, never riding the waves of life, forever standing with sticks in the mud, stuck in ruts, forcing and coercing others into their same dull and perfect constructs of the world and how it should be, like them.

How can I, a mere mortal, say this?  

Do those trying to control and hold total power over people ever consider someone else's point of view or think about any consequence other than their own desire?  

Or consider the state of the world as what is best for humanity, rather than their idea of a perfect world - a flawless, unchangeable utopia with them in absolute power and control, stuck in the mire of a foundation of unmovable rut sinking in mud?  

Or consider the state of their own souls, with no room left to grow, forever force-feeding themselves and others their grandiose delusions for the sake of controlled perfection - unchanging, unbending, and immovable, despite the ever-changing world?  

Or consider where the Holy Spirit might be guiding them, instead of blocking the Spirit with sheer willpower?  

And how to receive the Spirit or, for that matter, love, if their only desire is for power and control?  

Sad that power-hungry, control-obsessed super-rutters will never learn how to live within Life and the world, nor how to receive the love and light of the Holy Spirit.

Super sight becomes negative sight with them, seeing only what is super desired, not what is truly there; worse than normal eyes that can see the situation as it is, rather than through super mirages of future grandiose delusions and nonsensical sightings.  

Because those super rutters are never really on any part of the chessboard, except the tangent intercept of a tiny square within a tiny square.  

P.S.

Hope you haven't put any bets on the super rutters.

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What is a prophecy?

A prophecy is a message or prediction believed to be inspired by a divine source or a prophet.*

How many prophecies are there about the coming of Jesus Christ?  

Scholars estimate that the Old Testament contains between 300 and 450 prophecies regarding the first coming of Jesus Christ.*

How do we know those prophecies were real?

Because they came true at least three times.  

Just as you know something is a prediction, not guesswork, if it passes the verification test three times.

"Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern.”*

Biblical scholars agree that Jesus fulfilled at least 300 distinct predictive prophecies during His earthly life, death, and resurrection.*

Therefore, we know they were prophecies from various prophets and were verified as true and fulfilled at least 300 times.

*Referenced from Google AI Jesus, prediction,  and prophecy searches.

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What Is The Truth?

 

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What is the truth?

If you ask Google AI what the truth is, it would say:

Truth means the quality or state of agreeing with verified fact or reality.

And if you are talking about being true to someone or an ideal, it means sincerity and fidelity, involving loyalty, honesty, or faithfulness.

How do you know if it is true?

You verify it.

When some truths are harder to verify, you rely on their track record, character, empirical evidence, and history.

Why?

Because “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9), meaning life is cyclical, with patterns repeating in the physical world and human history.

For this reason, because human history is cyclical, we need to know the truth to face it and prevent the worst parts of history from repeating. Because this time, with doomsday weapons to herald the apocalypse, we wouldn't have to worry about history repeating itself.

So let's start with simple truths.

The timeless battle between good and evil; the ongoing struggle between constructive, moral forces and destructive, harmful ones. Or the battle to overcome fear with love and ignorance with truth and knowledge.

Each time we fail to overcome fear, succumb to blame and hate, or act out of ignorance, the worst parts of history repeat.

For example, ignorance of how the global economy works can destroy it, bringing the world back to a great depression and stagnation.

Let's look at the global market, simplified as a pie chart divided into five slices. Each slice represents a different region.

Suppose only regions C and E are productive and growing at +3 each. Regions B and D are flat at zero. Region A is in major conflict, depleting resources, with a negative economy at -2. The total for all five regions sums to four.

For some unfathomable reason, the aggressors in Region A, already in a downward spiral from overspending on ongoing conflicts, decide to borrow tactics from The Art of War and sabotage Regions C and E.

Imagine the aggressors succeed wildly in chaos, sabotage, and subversion, reducing Regions C and E from four to two each, shrinking the global market from four to two.

How could shrinking the global economy make Region A a superpower, especially if it's in recession?

It wouldn’t. Market pressures would lead to less global purchasing power, causing Regions B and D to go negative, while Region A's economy would fall deeper into recession.  

The global market would then enter a recession and, if unchecked, fall into depression.  

The truth is, throughout history, aggressors were never great administrators, preferring conquests. But robbing Peter to pay Paul, pillaging and plundering, is not a sustainable economic strategy, because once robbed blind, that's it; there is no replenishment of resources.  

And as the Nazis found out in WWII, it led to total economic system collapse and, in the end, starved millions of people.

Yet, we are seemingly willing to repeat this catastrophic and horrific part of our history over again, with these tragic results.

And for what?  

Imagined conquests in unsustainable economies?

Your soul? Your children's?

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In the words of John Paul Jones, “I have not yet begun to fight!” 

This sentiment is often reflected among the ones who follow the command of the Holy Spirit.

Currently, there are individuals who, by fixating on a small segment of a larger context—akin to focusing on a single square on a chessboard—have engaged in conflicts with others and themselves, resulting in widespread devastation and likely depleting their energy and resources in ways that irreparably harm their own spirits.

The challenge with those endowed with a  negative and limited vision is that, worse than being blind, those individuals perceive only what they desire, rather than what is real.  

It would be utterly incomprehensible to them that the true battle has yet to commence.

Evaluating strengths, weaknesses, and devising strategy does not constitute combat, nor do minor skirmishes constitute war.

Furthermore, in terms of the Art of War, what might Sun Tzu say about the probability of victory if a soldier understands less than thirty percent of oneself and one’s opponent?

To what extent does one comprehend the physical world, emotional states, and spiritual dimensions?

It is understood that human beings consist of a body, mind, heart, and soul—each interacting with the physical and metaphysical worlds surrounding us. 

How well does one truly understand this entire system if one’s focus remains solely on the physical aspect?

This concept can be compared to the ancient parable of "the blind men and the elephant," illustrating how individual, limited experiences shape our incomplete understanding of a larger truth. 

In this narrative, a group of blind individuals encounters an elephant for the first time. Unable to see the animal, they rely on their sense of touch to infer its nature.

Each touches a different part of the elephant, leading to different conclusions. The men argue, each convinced that their experience reflects the absolute truth, dismissing the perspectives of others. 

For example, if the man holding the tail perceives it as a thin and flexible rope, he would be mistaken, despite his certainty.

Knowing only the tail with full confidence does not provide a comprehensive understanding. 

If the conflict centers solely on the tail, the rest of the elephant remains yet uninvolved in the confrontation.

One can also consider historical instances, such as Imperial Japan exhausted its military production and at the brink of resource exhaustion, the United States was yet to reach its full potential.

Therefore, how can those holding the tail of the elephant believe with absolute certainty of winning the war, when the rest of the elephant has yet begun to fight?  

And how can those defending against the aggressors believe with absolute certainty that they might lose, when the rest of the elephant, the wise and the world, has yet begun to fight?

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