Q. What did God mean when he said "Babylon will never be inhabited"

     Isaiah 13:20 
     She will never be inhabited,Nor will she be a place to reside in throughout all generations.No Arab will pitch his tent there,And no shepherds will rest their flocks there.
Jeremiah 15:30" Because of the indignation of Jehovah she will not be inhabited;She will become utterly desolate.Anyone passing by Babylon will stare in horrorAnd whistle because of all her plagues."

     People like to claim that since Suddam Hussein and The U.S. army built places of residence there than this prophecy is now false. Well Regarding suddam huessein it's interesting to know that 

"it is estimated that Saddam himself only visited the palace once or twice before being arrested following the U.S. invasion. It is thought that he probably never even spent the night."

Now regarding the U.S. setting up a base there, surely this would seem like it woold contradict scripture, which is a reasonable assumption. But fortunatly for God's people, he left us a non-contradictory way of explaining this.

First lets look at a similar prophecy regarding the Land of Edom.

Isaiah 43:10"By night or by day it will not be extinguished; Its smoke will keep ascending forever. From generation to generation she will remain devastated; No one will pass through her forever and ever"

Jeremiah 49:20 Therefore hear, O men, the decision* that Jehovah has made against E′dom and what he has thought out against the inhabitants of Te′man: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away. He will make their dwelling place desolate because of them.

Malachi 1:3"and E′sau[Another name for Edom] I hated; and I made his mountains desolate and left his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.”"

And now we get to ice the Cake, What is said in the verse following #3 ?
Malachi 1:4"“Though E′dom says, ‘We have been shattered, but we will return and rebuild the ruins,’ 

this is what Jehovah of armies says, ‘They will build, but I will tear down, and they will be called “the territory of wickedness” and “the people whom Jehovah has forever condemned.”"

So even though God already said no one will inhabit the land, he is still acknowledging that Edom will be attempted to be rebuilt and re-visited. It's clear When God said no one will inhabit the land, He's clearly talking about long-term productivity. Those who attempt to overthrow his prophecy will have there efforts crushed.

Now the reason why I brought up the prophecy regarding Edom, is to connect what the meaning of God making a place desolate is. Now regarding the U.S. Military,  it's clear that they had no goal of making it a place to live. It was only a temporary base. But I find it interesting how God used them to fullfill his plans! What do I mean by this? Well alot of effort has been place in order to restore the Ancient Babylon. But what role did The U.S. have in fulfilling God's plan? The Following is a quote from Wikipedia

""caused substantial damage to the Ishtar Gate, one of the most famous monuments from antiquity [...] US military vehicles crushed 2,600-year-old brick pavements, archaeological fragments were scattered across the site, more than 12 trenches were driven into ancient deposits and military earth-moving projects contaminated the site for future generations of scientists [...] Add to all that the damage caused to nine of the moulded brick figures of dragons in the Ishtar Gate by soldiers trying to remove the bricks from the wall."

"The head of the Iraqi State Board for Heritage and Antiquities, Donny George, said that "[the] mess will take decades to sort out"

So God really will make sure Babylon remains plagued. Given the non-contradictory biblical proof showing how God made Babylon desolate, i'm sure there will still be those who wont accept it because they don't want to use God's definition. Which is understandable because they simply don't know how to accept(or they just don't want to).

1Corinthians 2:11-15 

....... So, too, no one has come to know the things of God except the spirit of God. 12  Now we received.......the spirit that is from God, so that we might know the things that have been kindly given us by God. 13  These things we also speak, not with words taught by human wisdom, but with those taught by the spirit, as we explain spiritual matters with spiritual words.

14  But a physical man does not accept the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot get to know them, because they are examined spiritually. 15  However, the spiritual man examines all things, but he himself is not examined by any man. 

Does Revelation 19:20,21 Prove conscious torture?

Revelation19:20"And the wild beast was caught, and along with it the false prophet.... misled those who received the mark of the wild beast and those who worship its image. While still alive, they both were hurled into the fiery lake that burns with sulfur. 21 But the rest were killed off with the long sword that proceeded out of the mouth of the one seated on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh."

To keep thing shortish, This does not mean they are alive in the lake of fire. It means they were already alive and then they experienced the lake of fire.They were alive on their path to the lake of fire, but once the destination is complete, they then experience destruction. So the last King(s) to wage war with Jesus at Armageddon will have their kingdoms and power snatched away from them. There is a similar word structure of "thrown alive into X" that you will find in  Numbers 16:30 <--Click the link to view it.

If everlasting fire = destruction, why weren't they eaten along with the worshippers of the beast?

This is simple to answer, those not destroyed had there carcasses eaten by the birds. So it can only mean the wild beast and prophet were destroyed so badly that they were reduced to ashes.

2 Peter 2:6 "And by reducing the cities of Sod′om and Go·mor′rah to ashes, he condemned them,setting a pattern for ungodly people of things to come"

For more answer regarding The Lake of fire ect. Click here

"I and the Father are One"

John 10:30
"I and the Father are one.”'
John 10:38"....... so that you may come to know and may continue knowing that the Father is in union with me and I am in union with the Father.”"

Here Jesus isn't saying he is part of a Trinity. He's simply saying he is in harmony with  his fathers actions and commandments. Even us humans can be one with Jehovah and Jesus.

John 17:11"........Holy Father, watch over them on account of your own name, which you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one."
John 17:21"so that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in union with me and I am in union with you, that they also may be in union with us, so that the world may believe that you sent me."

John 14:9"....Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father........

Everyone has heard of the phrase "he's a chip off the old block" and the Idiom "He's a spitting image of his father", but no one would say the Father and son are apart of a Twinity. It only means

Proof The Book of Daniel was written before the prophecy fulfillments.

Authenticity. Some critics question the authenticity of Daniel, assuming the position taken by a third-century heathen philosopher and enemy of Christianity, Porphyry, who contended that the book of Daniel was forged by a Palestinian Jew of the time ofAntiochus Epiphanes. This forger, he theorized, took past events and made them appear to be prophecies. The genuineness of the book of Daniel was not seriously questioned, however, from that day until the early part of the 18th century.

Historical. Several manuscripts of parts of the book of Daniel were found in the Dead Sea caves. The earliest manuscript dates from the first half of the first century B.C.E.; the book of Daniel was an accepted part of the Scriptures in that time and was so well known to the Jews that many copies had already been made of it. That it was recognized as a canonical book of that time is supported by the writer of the Apocryphal, but historical, book of First Maccabees (2:59, 60), who made reference to Daniel’s deliverance from the den of lions, and that of the three Hebrews from the fiery furnace.

We have also the testimony of the Jewish historian Josephus, who states that the prophecies of Daniel were shown to Alexander the Great when he entered Jerusalem. This occurred in about 332 B.C.E., more than 150 years before the Maccabean period. Josephus says of the event: “When the book of Daniel was shown to him, in which he had declared that one of the Greeks would destroy the empire of the Persians, he believed himself to be the one indicated.” (Jewish Antiquities, XI, 337 [viii, 5]) History also recounts that Alexander bestowed great favors on the Jews, and this is believed to have been because of what Daniel said about him in prophecy.

Language. Daniel 1:1–2:4a and 8:1–12:13 are written in Hebrew, while Daniel 2:4b–7:28is written in Aramaic. Regarding the vocabulary used in the Aramaic portion of Daniel, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Vol. 1, p. 860) says: “When the Aramaic vocabulary of Daniel is examined, nine-tenths of it can be attested immediately from West Semitic inscriptions, or papyri from the 5th cent. B.C. or earlier. The remaining words have been found in sources such as Nabatean or Palmyrene Aramaic, which are later than the 5th cent. B.C. While it is at least theoretically possible that this small balance of vocabulary suddenly originated after the 5th cent. B.C., it is equally possible to argue from a fifth-century B.C. written form to an earlier oral one. By far the most probable explanation, however, is that the missing tenth represents nothing more serious than a gap in our current knowledge of the linguistic situation, which we may confidently expect to be filled in process of time.”—Edited by G. Bromiley, 1979.

There are some so-called Persian words in Daniel, but in view of the frequent dealings that the Jews had with Babylonians, Medes, Persians, and others, this is not unusual. Furthermore, most of the foreign names used by Daniel are names of officials, articles of clothing, legal terms, and such, for which the Hebrew or Aramaic of the time apparently had no equally suitable terms. Daniel was writing for his people who were for the most part in Babylonia, and many were scattered in other places at this time. Therefore, he wrote in language that would be understandable to them.

Read the full article here: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200001118?q=book+of+Daniel&p=par

Topic: Fullfilled prophecies

#1 Destruction and Desolation of Babylon
#2 What did God mean by "I will make Babylo Desolate?"
#3 Medo Persians to be conquered by the Greek and the four Kingdoms following it.
#4 Proof the Book of Daniel was written before the prophecies

Medo-Persians to be conqured by Greece prophesied in the bible.

Two horned Ram: Medo-Persia ; Male Goat: Greece [Daniel 8:20-22]
Daniel 8:5-7
"As I kept watching, look! there was a male goat coming from the west crossing the surface of the whole earth without touching the ground. And the goat had a conspicuous horn between its eyes. 6 It was coming toward the ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing before the watercourse; it was running toward it in a powerful rage.

7 I saw it closing in on the ram, and it was filled with bitterness toward it. It struck down the ram and broke its two horns, and the ram was powerless to stand up to it. It threw the ram to the ground and trampled it down, and there was no one to rescue it from its power."

Daniel 8:20-22"

The two-horned ram that you saw stands for the kings of Me′di·a and Persia.+ 21 The hairy male goat stands for the king of Greece;+and the great horn that was between its eyes stands for the first king.+ 22 As for the horn that was broken, so that four stood up instead of it,+ there are four kingdoms from his nation that will stand up, but not with his power."

Who were the four kingdoms?

-Ptolemaic Kingdom

-Selucid Empire

-Kingdom of Pergamon

-Macedon


Proof the Book of Daniel was written before the prophecies

The Prokaryote. Product of unguided evolution, Or work of a Genius?

Cytolasm-Provides support to the internal structures by acting as a medium for inter-cellular transportation while maintaining the consistency and shape of a cell. Important life-sustainging chemicals exist here.

Flagella-Tail like motor used for locomotion(movement). Similar to fins on a Dolphin

Nucleoid- has no membrane surrounding it like a eukayote does . Genetic instruction/coding is located here.

Ribosome- Organelle neccesary for protein synthesis
Plasmid- Independant dna used for gene cloning and anti-bacterial protein production
Capsule- Additional outer covering protects cell when engulfed by other organisms, assists in retaining moisture, and helps adhere to surfaces and nutrients
Plasma/Cell membrane- Surrounds the cytoplasm and regulates what enters and exits the cell
Pili- Hair-like structures on th cell surface that attach toother cells and surfaces
                        
                          Video on Flagella

                          
                        Video on Plasmid

Video on Plasma/Cell Membrane

Topic: Trinity or no Trinity?

Trinity or No Trinity?
#1 Bible Notes
#2 John 12:39-43 "Isaiah saw His Glory.... They loved men's glory more than God's
#3 Hebrew 1:10-12 "The heavens are the works of your hands"
#4 Rev. 5:12,13; Isaiah 42:8 "Glory and the might Forever","I give my glory to no one else"
#5 Who is Michael the Archangel?
#6 Phillipians 2:5,6 "Existing inf God's Form"
#7 Jehovah Only the God of Jesus the Man?
#8 Colossians 1:16; John 1:3,10 "All things were made through him"
#9 John 20:28 "My Lord and My God"
#10 John 10:30,38 "I and the Father are one"
#11 Ehyeh asher Ehyeh and Ego simi ; Exodus 3:14, John 8:58

If Jesus isn't God, Does that make him a False god?

Jesus isn't a False god for the same reason angels aren't False gods.
John 17:3"This means everlasting life, their coming to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ."
John 17:4" I have glorified you on the earth, having finished the work you have given me to do."
Hebrews 1:7"Also, he says about the angels: “He makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.”"
Hebrews 1:14" Are they not all spirits for holy service, sent out to minister for those who are going to inherit salvation?"

He also isn't for the same reason Moses wasn't.
Exodus 4:16" He will speak for you to the people, and he will be your spokesman, and you will serve as God to him."
Exodus 7:1" The LORD then said to Moses: “See, I have made you like God to Phar′aoh"
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How is Jesus the Firstborn/Beginning of Creation?

Revelation 3:14 “To the angel of the congregation in La·o·di·ce′a write: These are the things that the Amen says, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation by God:

Some would say that this means Jesus is literally the first creation of God. Others would say that this means that Jesus has pre-eminence over creation. Which interpretation is backed up more by the bible?

There is no mention of anyone else as being the firstborn of creation. So we have 1 score for that interpretation. Also its interesting to know that....

1 Corinthians 15:28"But when all things will have been subjected to him, then the Son himself will also subject himself to the One who subjected all things to him, that God may be all things to everyone."
1 Corinthians 11:3 "But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and God is the head of Christ."

By the interpretation of firstborn in this case meaning pre-dominance, then that would mean that since God has authority over Jesus, Jehovah is the firstborn of all creation and not Jesus. Also, there is no mention of Jehovah being firstborn. Although it can be said Jesus has been temporarily placed as head of God's Kingdom, So you can only assume that Jesus' firstborn-ness is only temporary.

But we have to kept in context the rest of the scriptures such as.

Ephesians 1:3
"Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,..........."
Ephesians 1:17
"that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,......"
Colossians 1:3 
'"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,"
Revelation 1:6
"and he made us to be a kingdom, priests to his God and Father—yes, to him be the glory and the might forever. Amen."
1 Peter 1:3"
Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ..."

Revelations 3:12" The one who conquers—I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will by no means go out from it anymore, and I will write upon him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem that descends out of heaven from my God, and my own new name.

The only logical creation we can come to is that Jesus is the first created thing.