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son” it can have two meanings. It can mean what almost all Christians understand. Which is that Jesus was the only “son” begotten, and therefore sexually created by God, whom they identify as the Father. The Greek text for John 3:16 supports this concept as shown at the following link to the Bible Hub: https://biblehub.com/text/john/3-16.htm.
However, it can also mean that among the “sons” of God, the creation of Jesus was different. All of the rest of the “sons” (other than Adam) were born of two parents.
Indeed Jesus’ existence in this world was brought about in a special manner. This happened when Gabriel revealed him into Mary’s body, thus manifesting God’s Word in her womb. This awesome miracle of the virgin birth of Jesus provides a proof that only God runs everything. Of course only He can run everything, and He does it all the time. Otherwise our universe and all its inhabitants would simply disappear:
[35:41] GOD is the One who holds the heavens and the earth, lest they vanish. If anyone else is to hold them, they will most certainly vanish. He is Clement, Forgiving.
Praise be to God, Lord of the universe!
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December 21, marks the winter solstice, the first day of winter in the northern hemisphere.
What does solstice mean? The term ‘solstice’ is derived from two Latin words “sol” which means sun, and “sistere”, meaning standstill.
The Sun seems to stand still in the winter sky, marking the shortest day and longest night of the year. At the winter solstice, the Sun’s path has reached its southernmost position. The next day, the path will advance northward. However, a few days before and after the winter solstice, the change is so slight that the Sun’s path seems to stay the same, or stand still. The Sun is directly overhead at “high-noon” on Winter Solstice at the latitude called the Tropic of Capricorn.
When exactly does it occur? The solstice usually takes place on December 21. The time that the solstice occurs and the day itself can shift because the solar year doesn’t exactly match our calendar year.
If you want to be super-precise in your observations, the exact time of the 2019 winter solstice will be Sunday, December 22, 2019 at 04:19 UTC; in Tucson it will occur Saturday, December 21, 2019 at 9:19 pm MST.
How can we know this?
[6:96] At the crack of dawn, He causes the morning to emerge. He made the night still, and He rendered the sun and the moon to serve as calculation devices. Such is the design of the Almighty, the Omniscient.
What causes the winter solstice to even happen? Because the Earth is tilted on its rotational axis, we experience seasons here on Earth. As the Earth moves around the sun, each hemisphere experiences winter when it is tilted away from the sun and summer when it is tilted toward the sun.
Wait. Why is the Earth tilted? Because God made it that way. Scientists are not entirely sure how this occurred, but they think that billions of years ago, as the solar system was taking shape, the Earth was subjected to violent collisions that caused the axis to tilt. This allows life as we know it to exist on Earth.
The equinoxes, both spring and fall, mark when the sun’s rays are directly over the equator, where we have equal length of day and night.
The summer solstice is when the sun’s rays are farthest north over the Tropic of Cancer, giving us our longest day and summer in the Northern Hemisphere. There are all kinds of pagan rituals associated with the winter solstice. Many people refer to this time as Yule which also refers to Christmastime. People say Yule prayers, set up Yule altars with candles, perform Yule rituals to welcome back the sun, Yule log ceremonies in the fireplace or outdoor firepit, and all kinds of other rituals. These rituals have been going on for millennia.
Remember what the Hoopoe told Solomon regarding Sheba and her people.
[27:24] “I found her and her people prostrating before the sun, instead of GOD. The devil has adorned their works in their eyes, and has repulsed them from the path; consequently, they are not guided.” [27:25] They should have been prostrating before GOD, the One who manifests all the mysteries in the heavens and the earth, and the One who knows everything you conceal and everything you declare. [27:43] She had been diverted by worshiping idols instead of GOD; she belonged to disbelieving people.
Look what it took for Sheba to submit. Her mansion was brought to another place before she got there, and she recognized the miracle (27:38-44). God surely blessed her and guided her and her people.
Studying the passage of time was important to many ancient cultures. For the people of Stonehenge sunlight must have been crucial—it allowed them to see, it kept them warm, it helped their crops to grow. Winter might have been a time of fear as days grew shorter and colder. People must have longed for the return of light and warmth. It is believed that this yearly cycle is what inspired Neolithic people to construct Stonehenge, a monument aligned to the movements of the sun. The stones were shaped and set up to frame at least two important events in the annual solar cycle – the midwinter sunset at the winter solstice and the midsummer sunrise at the summer solstice.
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