Thursday, 15 November, 2018

Helping His Disciples

Posted on Friday, 15 August, 2014Sunday, 20 August, 2017 by Zheluo Cai

John 14:29

“I have told you now …” It was right that the disciples should be warned about this frequently, for it was a secret far beyond all human grasp. He declares that he foretells what will happen, so that when it happens they may “believe.” It was a useful confirmation of their faith when they recalled Christ’s predictions and saw happening before their eyes what they had previously heard from his mouth. Yet it seems to be a sort of concession, as if Christ had said, “Because you are not yet able to comprehend such a deep mystery, I bear with you till the event has happened, which will be an interpreter to explain this teaching.” Although at the time he seemed to be speaking to the deaf, afterwards it became apparent that his words had not been scattered in vain or (so to speak) in the air, but that they were seed sown in the ground. Now as Christ here speaks about his Word and what will happen, so his death and resurrection and ascension to heaven combined with his teaching to produce faith in us.

Calvin, J. (1994). John (Jn 14:29). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

The Ainu, in the historical Japanese texts the Ezo, are an indigenous people of Japan (Hokkaido, and formerly northeastern Honshu) and Russia (Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, and formerly the Kamchatka Peninsula). On June 6, 2008, the Japanese Diet passed a bipartisan, non-binding resolution calling upon the government to recognize the Ainu people as indigenous to Japan, and urging an end to discrimination against the group. Recent research suggests that the historical Ainu culture originated in a merger of the Okhotsk culture with the Satsumon, one of the ancient archaeological cultures that are considered to have derived from the Jōmon-period cultures of the Japanese archipelago. The Ainu economy was based on farming, as well as on hunting, fishing and gathering.

The Cave Nebula in Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Sulfur.
Image Credit & Copyright: Chuck Ayoub. The featured skyscape is dominated by dusty Sh2-155, the Cave Nebula, a stellar nursery 10 light-years deep. About 2,400 light-years away, the scene lies along the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy, towards the royal northern constellation of Cepheus. Astronomical explorations of the region reveal that it has formed at the boundary of the massive Cepheus B molecular cloud and the hot, young stars of the Cepheus OB 3 association. The bright rim of ionized hydrogen gas is energized by radiation from the hot stars, dominated by the bright star just to the left of the cave entrance. Radiation driven ionization fronts are likely triggering collapsing cores and new star formation within.

The national flag of Nepal is the world's only non-quadrilateral national flag. The flag is a simplified combination of two single pennons, known as a double pennon. Its crimson red is the colour of the rhododendron, Nepal's national flower, while the blue border is the colour of peace. The inclusion of the celestial bodies indicates Nepal's permanence and the hope that Nepal will enjoy the same longevity as the Sun and the Moon. Additionally, the stylized moon represents the calm demeanour and purity of spirit of the Nepali people, while the stylised sun represents their fierce resolve. The current flag was adopted on 16 December 1962, along with the formation of a new constitutional government.

The Last Judgment is a fresco by the Italian Renaissance painter Michelangelo, covering the whole altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. It is a depiction of the Second Coming of Christ and the final and eternal judgment by God of all humanity. There are over 300 figures, with nearly all the males and angels originally shown as nudes; many were later partly covered up by painted draperies. The work took over four years, between 1536 and 1541. Michelangelo began working on it twenty-five years after he finished the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and was nearly 67 at its completion. It was commissioned by Pope Clement VII but was completed under Pope Paul III.

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