为什么今天的法国陷入危机?是继续瓜分过去的蛋糕,还是努力创造未来更大的蛋糕?
Why Is France in Crisis Today? Dividing the Wealth of the Past—or Creating Greater Prosperity for the Future?
一个国家真正的希望,不在于如何重新分配已有的财富,而在于如何鼓励创新、创业与勤奋,创造新的财富和机会。
A nation’s future depends not merely on how it redistributes existing wealth, but on how it encourages innovation, entrepreneurship, and hard work to create new prosperity and opportunity.
The Israelites had just escaped slavery in Egypt when Pharaoh’s army came after them. With the Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptian soldiers behind them, they were terrified and didn’t know what to do. They felt trapped, but God had not abandoned them.
Moses told the people not to be afraid and to trust the Lord. God instructed him to stretch his staff over the sea. When Moses obeyed, God sent a strong east wind that pushed the waters apart, opening a path through the sea. The Israelites walked across on dry ground, with water standing like walls on both sides.
When the Egyptians followed them, God brought the waters back and the Israelites escaped safely. What had seemed like an impossible situation became a powerful moment of deliverance.
Sometimes we face situations where we can’t see a way forward. The Israelites must have wondered how they would ever escape but God made a way for them. When life feels overwhelming, remember how faithfully He helped His people through the Red Sea
In a 1912, Alfred Owen Crozier created this cartoon warning about the dangers of the Federal Reserve one year before it was created. Chillingly accurate.
In a 1912, Alfred Owen Crozier created this cartoon warning about the dangers of the Federal Reserve one year before it was created. Chillingly accurate.
圣殿骑士团第二十三任(也是最后一任)大团长雅克·德·莫莱(Jacques de Molay)于1314年3月18日在巴黎被处以火刑。法国国王腓力四世(Philip IV)当时背负着圣殿骑士团的巨额债务,意欲攫取其庞大的财富与权力。1307年10月13日,腓力下令在法国全境同时逮捕德·莫莱及数百名圣殿骑士。德·莫莱起初在胁迫下认罪,但随后翻供,坚称自己及骑士团清白无辜……
1307年10月13日黎明,当塞纳河上的寒雾渐渐散去,巴黎街头响起了士兵沉重的脚步声。就在前一天深夜,法国国王腓力四世已如毒蛇般出击。他的密使带着密封的指令散布到王国各地,这些指令被要求必须在日出时方可开启。当指令在黎明时分宣读时,一道命令从巴黎传至普罗旺斯:逮捕所有圣殿骑士。
……
近两个世纪以来,所罗门圣殿骑士团一直是基督教世界的铁拳。他们成立于1119年,初衷是保护前往耶路撒冷的朝圣者;他们既是修士又是战士——既恪守贫穷、贞洁与服从的誓言,又因其铁一般的纪律和久经沙场的战技而令人敬畏。在一个君主更迭频繁、王权常受质疑的时代,圣殿骑士团却屹立不倒;从阿卡(Acre)到塞浦路斯,每一座十字军要塞的城墙上都飘扬着他们那绘有红十字的旗帜。
他们建立了最早的国际银行体系,既保管着王公贵族的黄金,也为宗教战争提供资金。他们的城堡既是坚固的石砌堡垒,也是信用的坚实后盾。
然而,到了14世纪初,圣地已然失守,圣殿骑士团也因其巨大的成功而招致灾祸。他们拥有的巨额财富与独立地位——无需向任何国王负责,仅听命于教皇——引发了各国君主的嫉妒。而在所有嫉妒者中,尤以法国国王腓力四世为甚;他被称为“美男子腓力”(Philip the Fair),其俊美的容颜下却掩藏着一颗冷酷如冰的心。他与英格兰及佛兰德斯连年征战,导致国库空虚。长期担任王室银行家的圣殿骑士团,如今成了他巨额债务的债主。
腓力将“欺诈”作为满足其贪欲的武器。在唯命是从的忏悔神父纪尧姆·德·诺加雷(Guillaume de Nogaret)协助下,他编织了一张充满指控的罗网:他散布流言,称圣殿骑士团是异端。他声称他们崇拜偶像、亵渎十字架,并与魔鬼勾结。这些虽是弥天大谎,但在那个深受宗教裁判所恐惧笼罩的时代,却足以致命。教皇克莱门特五世——其当选本就仰仗腓力的势力——在胁迫下选择了屈服。1307年10月12日夜,腓力下达了命令,从而终结了这个世上最强大的骑士团的命运。
黎明时分,圣殿骑士团大团长雅克·德·莫莱(Jacques de Molay)与众多同僚在巴黎圣殿骑士团总部被从睡梦中强行带走,当时他们既无防备也未携带武器。在酷刑之下,有人被迫招认了审讯者要求的一切,也有人至死保持沉默。整整七年间,腓力对他们穷追猛打,令其饱受牢狱之灾与审判折磨,不仅没收了他们的财产,更试图抹去他们的名号。最终,圣殿骑士团被解散,其资产被王室及宿敌医院骑士团瓜分。
然而,腓力始终无法击垮德·莫莱的意志。
1314年3月,这位年迈的骑士被押往巴黎圣母院前的火刑柱。当烈焰腾空而起时,德·莫莱的声音盖过了木柴燃烧的噼啪声,响彻四周:
“上帝明察谁是谁非,谁犯下了罪孽。那些妄加罪名于我们的人,必将遭受天谴。在这一年结束之前,教皇克莱门特与国王腓力都将为此在上帝的宝座前接受审判。”
A statue of Christopher Columbus stands on the White House grounds, outside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
The original stood in Baltimore until July 4, 2020, when it was torn down and thrown into the Inner Harbor. It was rebuilt in marble and raised again here in America’s 250th year.
Happy Columbus Day 🇺🇸
In this present digital age, the course of history, the realities of our world, and the emergence of AI have already made the approaching end times prophesied in the Book of Revelation increasingly tangible, objective, and unmistakably real.
The last days, like the days of Noah, are now unfolding before our very eyes. The return of our Lord Jesus Christ is closer than ever before in human history.
God’s will shall never fail!
God’s redemption and preservation shall never fail!
God’s eternal promises shall never fail!
As Satan, through AI and the ever-expanding flood of fiat money behind it, seeks to deceive, plunder, and devastate humanity on an unprecedented scale and at an accelerating pace—including even the self-righteous among God’s chosen people, whose human reason and emotions remain inherently limited—
Our one true and living God, in this very digital age, has already begun to continue His unfailing work of election, preservation, and the fulfillment of His promises through Bitcoin.
May God enable His beloved children, who walk humbly with Him, to understand, recognize, receive, and put into practice the genuine, tangible justice and mercy embodied in Bitcoin, which He has bestowed upon us.
May we, grounded in the theology and practical teachings of the Reformed Christian tradition, continue the work of Reformation in this present age—returning ever more faithfully to God’s truth, and together planning, building, and establishing a God-honoring covenant community and its righteous order.
May we continue to be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, and faithfully carry forward God’s calling from generation to generation, until our Lord Jesus Christ returns. ❤🙏