

As an atheist, I was aware Prophecy doesn't work. Nobody sees the future, just like nobody talks to the dead. But I'm reminded of Stephen Fry's QI anecdote on injustice regarding the execution of George Spencer in Connecticut in (April 8th) 1642. Spencer was an ugly man with piggy ears and one eye and a sour disposition. He seemed openly contemptuous of God, echoing modern attitudes. One day a piglet was stillborn that looked like him, with one eye. The puritan community took it as a sign he had committed bestiality. He was charged and tortured into confessing. Told he would receive mercy if he confessed, he confessed. But realising that he might be condemned to death, he retracted his confession. The community decided that his confession and the dead piglet were sufficient to meet the two witnesses protocol for a death sentence and the sow was put to the sword and George was hanged.
And the Connecticut community in their diligence in serving God, respected the biblical law. They were acting through prophecy and the word. But we know that George had not fathered that piglet. And we know he was convicted on an injustice. And such injustice is something that is repugnant to God.
The NZ pastor admitted that prophecy (forth telling) was not perfectly applied by people and he took great care to bind it through three streams. It needed to be based on the word of God. It needed to be for the community, rather than the individual. It needed to be based in love (not romantic love, but love as God for the family of believers). Clearly the Connecticut community had failed that with George Spencer. But even so, there is no perfection with this tool.
When it comes to fore telling and forth telling the Bible provides examples how words are spoken to enact the miracles. The Lord speaking the world into existence. Abraham literally speaking his promise of a child into being with his name and with Sarah's name. The Apostles speaking Jesus's name for their miracles. Words and prophecy are related. Words have power. Jesus' life was foretold. His resurrection was real.
My fellowship friends illustrated the issue for me several years back. A young woman was the centre of a number of prophecy statements for an interested young man. I was dismissive of prophecy, but felt uncomfortable because I had hopes for the woman too. If I pray for something, I want it to be true. So, I tried to change the atmosphere and was sidelined and left the group. I approached the woman and told her how I felt and what was happening. She told me we were alone and 'could talk like adults now.'
Years have passed. I have longed to talk with her and share time together, but she has not been interested. I've been told she isn't interested. And my question of God is what does He want? I'm old and not fit, and I believe if God wanted me to have the life I can see, I'd need to be fitter. There is no forth telling prophecy for me. But it illustrates what forth telling is for. Because Gods kingdom is not of Earth, yet through forth telling, we can see our way home.
https://rumble.com/vaj151-about-prophecy.html
Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring
Snowin' and blowin' up bushels of fun
Now the jingle hop has begun
Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bells chime in jingle bell time
Dancin' and prancin' in Jingle Bell Square
In the frosty air
What a bright time, it's the right time
To rock the night away
Jingle bell time is a swell time
To go glidin' in a one-horse sleigh
Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet
Jingle around the clock
Mix and a-mingle in the jinglin' feet
That's the jingle bell rock
Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock
Jingle bell chime in jingle bell time
Dancin' and prancin' in Jingle Bell Square
In the frosty air
What a bright time, it's the right time
To rock the night away
Jingle bell time is a swell time
To go glidin' in a one-horse sleigh
Giddy-up jingle horse, pick up your feet
Jingle around the clock
Mix and a-mingle in the jinglin' feet
That's the jingle bell
That's the jingle bell
That's the jingle...
David Daniel Ball calls himself the Conservative Voice.
I'm a teacher with three decades experience teaching math to high school kids.I also work with first graders and kids in between first grade and high school. I know the legends of why Hypatia's dad is remembered through his contribution to Math theory. And I know the legend of why followers of Godel had thought he had disproved God's existence.
I'm not a preacher, but I am a Christian who has written over 28 books all of which include some reference to my faith. Twelve blog books on world history and current affairs, detailing world events , births and marriages on each day of the year, organised by month. Twelve books on the background to and history of Bible Quotes. One Bible quote per day for a year. An intro to a science fiction series I'm planning, post apocalyptic cyber punk. An autobiography with short story collections.
I'm known in Australia for my failure as a whistleblower over the negligence death of a school boy. ...
The Ballad of David Ball
[Verse 1]
In New York City, '67, a child was born so bold,
David Ball, with dreams afire, where Sesame Street was told.
His father shaped young minds at Columbia's hall so grand,
Till the '70s called them homeward to Sydney's distant land.
[Chorus]
Oh, sing of David Ball, with a heart both strong and true,
From classroom tales to whistle’s call, his spirit breaking through.
With pen in hand and faith so deep, he writes through joy and pain,
A voice for justice, loud and clear, in every sweet refrain.
[Verse 2]
Self-taught he read by Sydney's shore, with numbers as his guide,
A math teacher in the tough schools, where hope and youth ...
This is edited to correct obvious mistakes
David Daniel Ball (born January 10, 1967, in New York City) is an Australian writer, conservative blogger, political activist, and former high school mathematics teacher. As the younger brother of cognitive scientist John Samuel Ball, David has carved a distinct path in education, advocacy, and self-publishing, often focusing on social justice, child protection, history, and Christian devotionals. His life story intertwines family intellectual heritage with personal campaigns against institutional failures in child welfare.
David was born in Manhattan during his father Samuel Ball's (1933–2009) tenure as an educational psychologist at Teachers College, Columbia University. Samuel, an Australian academic, contributed to early evaluations of Sesame Street through his work at the Educational Testing Service (ETS), assessing the show's impact on children's learning from 1963 onward. The family, including elder brother John (born 1963 in Iowa), relocated to ...
I invite you with: "Right now, let's respond by seeking Him first. If you're carrying worries, lay them down at His feet. Raise your hands, pray silently, or come forward for prayer as we declare His kingdom priority in our lives." This encourages active faith application, tying back to Matthew 6:33's promise.
https://storiesthatheal.blogspot.com/2016/09/bible-quote-sep-28th-matthew-633.html
Verse 1
In the whisper of the wind, You call my name
Beyond the worries of this world, Your kingdom reigns
Like lilies in the field, clothed in Your grace
I lift my eyes to You, in this sacred place
Chorus
Seek first Your kingdom, oh Lord
And Your righteousness, forevermore
All these things will be added, in Your perfect time
Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word from Your throne
We seek You first, we seek You first
Verse 2
From ancient words You spoke, in the mountaintop light
You taught us not to fear, in the dead of night
Your promise echoes through the ages, ...