04-10-16
The Holocaust Discoveries
With more than 42,000 ghettos, 30,000 slave labor camps, 980 concentration camps, and 1,000 POW camps, almost everyone had to know what was happening.
Page 1
The latest revelation [2013] about the Holocaust stuns even the scholars who thought they already knew everything about the horrific details of Germany's program of genocide against the Jewish people.
It's taken more than 70 years to finally know the full facts. And what is almost beyond belief is that what really happened goes far beyond what anyone could ever have imagined.
For the longest time we have spoken of the tragedy of 6 million Jews. It was a number that represented the closest approximation we could come to the victims of Hitler's plan for a Final Solution. Those who sought to diminish the tragedy claimed 6 million was a gross exaggeration. Others went further and denied the historicity of the Holocaust itself, absurdly claiming the Jews fabricated their extermination to gain sympathy for the Zionist cause.
But now we know the truth.
The reality was much worse than whatever we imagined.
The unspeakable crime of the 20th century, more than the triumph of evil, was the sin of the "innocent" bystander.
It wasn't just the huge killing centers whose very names - Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, Buchenwald, Dachau, Majdanek, Belzec, Ravensbruck, Sobibar, Treblinka - bring to mind the ghastly images by now so familiar to us. It wasn't just the Warsaw ghetto. It wasn't just the famous sites we've all by now heard of that deservedly live on in everlasting infamy.
Researchers at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum have just released documentation that astounds even the most informed scholars steeped in the previously known statistics of German atrocities. Here is some of what has now been conclusively discovered:
There were more than 42,500 Nazi ghettos and camps throughout Europe from 1933 to 1945.
There were 30,000 slave labor camps; 1,150 Jewish ghettos; 980 concentration camps; 1000 prisoner of war camps; 500 brothels filled with sex slaves; and thousands of other camps used for euthanizing the elderly and infirm, performing forced abortions, "Germanizing" prisoners or transporting victims to killing centers.
Boelcke-Kaserne bodies
Rows of bodies at the Boelcke-Kaserne in the town of Nordhausen, Germany. The barracks was a subcamp of the Mittelbau-Dora Nazi concentration camp.
http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/tags.php?Itemid=11031&page=2 The best estimate using current information available is 15 to 20 million people who died or were imprisoned in sites controlled by the Germans throughout the European continent.
Simply put, in the words of Hartmut Berghoff, Director of the German Historical Institute in Washington, "The numbers are so much higher than what we originally thought; we knew before how horrible life in the camps and ghettos was, but the actual numbers are unbelievable."
And what makes this revelation so important is that it forces us to acknowledge a crucial truth about the Holocaust that many people have tried to ignore or to minimize - a truth that has profound contemporary significance: The unspeakable crime of the 20th century, more than the triumph of evil, was the sin of the "innocent" bystander.
For years our efforts to understand the Holocaust focused on the perpetrators. We looked for explanations for the madness of Mengele, the obsessive hatred of Hitler, the impassive cruelty of Eichmann. We sought answers to how it was possible for the criminal elements, the sadists and the mentally unbalanced to achieve the kind of power that made the mass killings feasible.
That was because we had no idea of the real extent of the horror. With more than 42,000 ghettos and concentration camps scattered throughout the length and breadth of a supposedly civilized continent, there's no longer any way to avoid the obvious conclusion. The cultured, the educated, the enlightened, the liberal, the refined, the sophisticated, the urbane - all of them share in the shame of a world that lost its moral compass and willingly acceded to the victory of evil.
"We had no idea what was happening" needs to be clearly identified as "the great lie" of the years of Nazi power. The harsh truth is that almost everyone had to know. The numbers negate the possibility for collective ignorance. And still the killings did not stop, the torture did not cease, the concentration camps were not closed, the crematoria continued their barbaric task.
The "decent" people were somehow able to rationalize their silence.
Just last year Mary Fulbrook, a distinguished scholar of German history, in A Small Town Near Auschwitz, wrote a richly and painfully detailed examination of those Germans who, after the war, successfully cast themselves in the role of innocent bystanders.
"These people have almost entirely escaped the familiar net of 'perpetrators, victims and bystanders'; yet they were functionally crucial to the eventual possibility of implementing policies of mass murder. They may not have intended or wanted to contribute to this outcome; but, without their attitudes, mentalities, and actions, it would have been virtually impossible for murder on this scale to have taken place in the way that it did. The concepts of perpetrator and bystander need to be amended, expanded, rendered more complex, as our attention and focus shifts to those involved in upholding an ultimately murderous system."
Mary Fulbrook singled out for censure those who lived near Auschwitz. But that was before we learned that Auschwitz was replicated many thousands of times over throughout the continent in ways that could not have gone unnoticed by major parts of the populace. Millions of people were witnesses to small towns like Auschwitz in their own backyards.
And so Elie Wiesel of course was right. The insight that most powerfully needs to be grasped when we reflect upon the Holocaust's message must be that, "The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference."
That remains our greatest challenge today. If we dare to hope for the survival of civilization we had better pray that the pessimists are wrong when they claim that the only thing we learn from history is that mankind never learns from history.
by Rabbi Benjamin Blech via aish.com http://www.virtualjerusalem.com/tags.php?Itemid=11031&page=2
4 Ingredients Of A Home Run Sermon
By Rick Ezell on Apr 27, 2011
RickEzell.net
based on 6 ratings (rate this article) | 15,041 views
Can your preaching hit a home run week in and week out? Sunday comes every seven days whether your sermon is prepared or not.
Scripture: Mark 6:12 (Suggest Scripture)
Tags: Teaching, Preaching, Preparation, Religion (view more)
Can your preaching hit a home run week in and week out? Sunday comes every seven days whether your sermon is prepared or not. Can a preacher be at peak performance each Sunday (or weekend)? Don Sunukjian of Talbot Theological Seminary thinks so. He says, “Preaching will always be effective if it does four things: One, it must have a biblical substance. Two, people must track with the preacher. Three, it must be interesting. Four, it must be relevant. Do all four and you will have good preaching. None of the four depend on ‘whiz-bang stuff.’”
1. Does my sermon have a biblical basis? Bryan Chapel, President of Covenant Seminary and professor of preaching, states, “I remain convinced that an expository approach is the most fruitful as the mainstay of a pulpit ministry (and I rejoice in the recent spate of books re-endorsing this biblically committed approach), but always we can learn from other communication fields how people hear and how better to minister God’s Word to them.” Ron Allen, professor of preaching at Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, IN, affirms the resurgence of the expository model, “I am convinced that expository preaching continues to be the most reliable way for sermons to accomplish their fundamental aim. However, I also know that doctrinal messages, topical sermons, and various modes of experimental homilies can accomplish the purpose of preaching.” While there is not one right style of preaching, any more than there only one right style of Scripture, the emphasis on Scriptural authority is essential to hitting the sermon out of the park.
2. Are people tracking with me? The primacy of preaching must continue to be central in our churches, and the purpose of preaching must remain biblical in the truest sense of the word if it is to continue to make a difference in the world on this side of the apocalypse. Yet home-run sermons must come from the heart of the preacher delivered to the heart of the hearer. Preaching is still a face-to-face and a heart-to-heart encounter. The preacher, therefore, must be committed to integrity, authenticity, and transparency. People track with realness and authenticity. When the preacher speaks from biblical authority on real life issues from a broken and contrite heart, never will the preacher lack for an attentive audience.
3. Is the sermon interesting? The “whiz-bang stuff” that Sunukjian refers to is the use of technology. If anything has changed dramatically in preaching in the last 20 years, it has been the onslaught of PowerPoint, video clips from movies punctuating sermons, preprinted note-taking outlines, props, and anything to hold the listener’s attention. Sunukjian is not persuaded that people have short attention spans. “People will watch a movie for two hours and not get bored,” he asserts. Good preachers will hold the listener’s attention for 45 minutes. Sunukjian advises preachers to observe the preachers on television who are preaching to large audiences in their churches and even larger audiences through the television media, and none are using technology in their preaching.
4. Is the sermon relevant? Preaching has to be relevant, addressing the needs of the audience with an undisputed message and clarity. Granted, relevancy is not easy. It requires study, preparation, and concentration. But if people matter to God, and to us, then we will communicate with them so that the sermon touches them where they live. I have discovered that when I know my audience better than they know themselves and then address the issues and concerns of their lives, my message has a better chance of hitting home. My words, while not eloquent or grandiose, gain a hearing because I am speaking to the real life hurts, pains, and needs of the listening audience.
Rick Ezell (website: RickEzell.net)
View all articles by Rick Ezell
Rick Ezell is the pastor at First Baptist Church in Greer, South Carolina. Rick is a consultant, conference leader, communicator, and coach. He is the author of six books, including Strengthening the Pastor's Soul.
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Talk about it...
Alexander Shaw avatar
Alexander Shaw
commented on May 12, 2011
What a release and relief it was some 40 or so years ago not to have 'to preach sermons'. Teach the Word of God, rather than preach 'sermons'. Much of the material can be found at EzineArticles.com and liveasif.org or Studylight under "Word from Scotland". Feed the sheep and lambs with nourishing food!
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David Hallum avatar
David Hallum
commented on May 12, 2011
Preaching is communication. This has not changed since the days that Jesus walked the earth and will not change in the days until His return. We are required as faithful stewards of the Word of God to PREACH, not show movies, not tell stories, not illustrate our carefully manicured points, PREACH!!
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Sterling Franklin avatar
Sterling Franklin
commented on May 17, 2011
What if all our sermons are forced walks because we're hit by the pitch?
What is the New Jerusalem?
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New Jerusalem
Question: "What is the New Jerusalem?"
Answer: The New Jerusalem, which is also called the Tabernacle of God, the Holy City, the City of God, the Celestial City, the City Foursquare, and Heavenly Jerusalem, is literally heaven on earth. It is referred to in the Bible in several places (Galatians 4:26; Hebrews 11:10; 12:22–24; and 13:14), but it is most fully described in Revelation 21.
In Revelation 21, the recorded history of man is at its end. All of the ages have come and gone. Christ has gathered His church in the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:15–17). The Tribulation has passed (Revelation 6—18). The battle of Armageddon has been fought and won by our Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 19:17–21). Satan has been chained for the 1,000-year reign of Christ on earth (Revelation 20:1–3). A new, glorious temple has been established in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 40—48). The final rebellion against God has been quashed, and Satan has received his just punishment, an eternity in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:7–10.) The Great White Throne Judgment has taken place, and mankind has been judged (Revelation 20:11–15).
In Revelation 21:1 God does a complete make-over of heaven and earth (Isaiah 65:17; 2 Peter 3:12–13). The new heaven and new earth are what some call the “eternal state” and will be “where righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13). After the re-creation, God reveals the New Jerusalem. John sees a glimpse of it in his vision: “The Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (Revelation 21:2). This is the city that Abraham looked for in faith (Hebrews 11:10). It is the place where God will dwell with His people forever (Revelation 21:3). Inhabitants of this celestial city will have all tears wiped away (Revelation 21:4).
The New Jerusalem will be fantastically huge. John records that the city is nearly 1,400 miles long, and it is as wide and as high as it is long—a perfect cube (Revelation 21:15–17). The city will also be dazzling in every way. It is lighted by the glory of God (verse 23). Its twelve foundations, bearing the names of the twelve apostles, are “decorated with every kind of precious stone” (verse 19). It has twelve gates, each a single pearl, bearing the names of the twelve tribes of Israel (verses 12 and 21). The street will be made of pure gold (verse 21).
The New Jerusalem will be a place of unimagined blessing. The curse of the old earth will be gone (Revelation 22:3). In the city are the tree of life “for the healing of the nations” and the river of life (verses 1–2). It is the place that Paul spoke of: “In the coming ages [God] might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7). The New Jerusalem is the ultimate fulfillment of all God’s promises. The New Jerusalem is God’s goodness made fully manifest.
Who are the residents of the New Jerusalem? The Father and the Lamb are there (Revelation 21:22). Angels are at the gates (verse 12). But the city will be filled with God’s redeemed children. The New Jerusalem is the righteous counter to the evil Babylon (Revelation 17), destroyed by God’s judgment (Revelation 18). The wicked had their city, and God has His. To which city do you belong? Babylon the Great or the New Jerusalem? If you believe that Jesus, the Son of God, died and rose again and have asked God to save you by His grace, then you are a citizen of the New Jerusalem. “God raised [you] up with Christ and seated [you] with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6). You have “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” (1 Peter 1:4). If you have not yet trusted Christ as your Savior, then we urge you to receive Him. The invitation is extended: “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life” (Revelation 22:17).
Recommended Resource: Heaven by Randy Alcorn
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