I formally met an Ethiopian for the first time at UMM as part of my cultural experience at Morris-Minnesota. This being a college campus community, there are many opportunities to meet people from around the world. The Ethiopian I met was a student from Minneapolis, MN. She shared how her ethnic-people live predominately in sections of Minneapolis-downtown. I had an opportunity to drive her to her house one weekend, which I learned more about her ethnic background. She insisted that I try some Ethiopian food sometime, which would be a culturally diversed experience.
I found out that Ethiopians are the 7th largest ethnic group according to City Scope 2002 Report, 16,000 in population in the Twin Cities! Growing-up next door in St. Paul, I don't remember meeting or interacting with any of them. I'm guessing they just immigrated recently-after coming to UMM and living in this college campus community from 1995 till now (11/20/99).
When I think of Ethiopia from what I know at this point in my life as a Christian, I would think of "The Tabernacle", a video of this biblically historic lost artifact. Why? I saw a documentary on how the lost tabernacle is rumored to be stored in the nation of Ethiopia, where some Jews still reside there.
Another-sadly to say, would be the "starvation" stories I hear all the time at the "dinner-table" of the starving children there.
To bring a light to this, I went to an African-American Christian conference called Impact, which I had the opportunity in 2002. There was a speaker that shared how God did a miracle to his now Christian dad (made h im able to read-only Bible related books). Now he's a pastor back in his home country after studying in America after some trials too.
Bible
*see Bible
"... 20 "The LORD has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. 21 I have provided a place there for the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made with our fathers when he brought them out of Egypt."..."But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! 28 Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day...."-1 Kings 8
Ethiopian Orthodox church has Ark of Covenant PART 1.
"Must see this documentary video if you want to know how the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo church has the Ark of Covenant and Ten Commandments. The Digging for the truth shows the search for the Arc of the Covenant and how history links the findings to Ethiopia"
Wikipedia
" (ארון הברית in Hebrew: aron habrit) is described in the Bible as a sacred container, wherein rested the Tablets of stone containing the Ten Commandments as well as other sacred Israelite pieces. According to the Biblical account, the Ark was built at the command of God, in accord with Moses' prophetic vision on Mount Sinai (Exodus 25:9-10). God communicated with Moses "from between the two cherubim" on the Ark's cover (Ex. 25:22). The Ark and its sanctuary were "the beauty of Israel" (Lamentations 2:1). Rashi and some Midrashim suggest that there were two arks - a temporary one made by Moses, and a later one made by Bezalel (Hertz 1936)"
*see Judaism
Jewish Virtual Library
" But early in the history of the Jewish people, there was one exception to this rule, one man-made object that was considered intrinsically holy. The Ark of the Covenant, constructed during the Israelites' wanderings in the desert and used until the destruction of the First Temple, was the most important symbol of the Jewish faith, and served as the only physical manifestation of God on earth. The legends associated with this object, and the harsh penalties ascribed for anyone who misuses it, confirm the Ark's centrality to the Jewish faith of that period; the fact that Jews and non-Jews alike continue to study and imitate it confirms its centrality even today."
Ron Wyatt, archaeologist
"... What does Daniel 9:24 mean, when it says, "To anoint the Most Holy."? The rest of the verse refers to events that occurred at the cross. Did this also, then occur at Jesus' crucifixion? The Hebrew word for Most Holy is, "qodesh haq-qodeshim". It is used several times in the Old Testament and always refers to the Most Holy place, or furniture in the Most Holy place ie. the Ark of the Covenant. This then must be a prophecy that Christ, on the cross, will anoint the Ark of the Covenant, with His blood."
Ark of the Covenant in Ethiopia?
Posted by David Pescovitz, November 26, 2007 8:31 AM | permalink
""We've had the guardian tradition from the beginning," the high priest told us. "He prays constantly by the ark, day and night, burning incense before it and paying tribute to God. Only he can see it; all others are forbidden to lay eyes on it or even go close to it." Over the centuries, a few Western travelers have claimed to have seen it; their descriptions are of tablets like those described in the Book of Exodus. But the Ethiopians say that is inconceivable-�the visitors must have been shown fakes."
Links to Ark of the Convenant Sites on the Web
Movie:
Indiana Jones Trailer
" The original Theatrical Trailer for Raiders of the Lost Ark"
-People
"Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;"-Jeremiah 38
Related Resources:
Armiya 38
"3Thus says Allah, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it. 4Then the princes said to the king, Let this man, we pray you, be put to death; because he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words to them: for this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm. 5Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand; for the king cannot do anything against you. 6Then they took Armiya, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchijah the king's son, that was in the court of the guard: and they let down Armiya with cords. In the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Armiya sank in the mire. 7Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, a eunuch, who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Armiya in the dungeon (the king then sitting in the gate of Binyamin,) 8Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spoke to the king, saying, 9My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Armiya the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is likely to die in the place where he is, because of the famine; for there is no more bread in the city."
*see Religion:Islam, which Amirya (Arabic) is Jeremiah (Hebrew)
Acts - Pt 06 of 22
Acts 8 Philip and the Ethiopian
"
26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian[d]eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it." ..
*see GoodnewsEverybody.com Church Services, Body of Believers, Family of Christ, Fellowship, etc...
Gospel Resources
Issues
Language
Jesus raised a former muslim woman from the dead
"Watch this AWESOME video.
A Miracle that happened in Ethiopia.
Jesus is the RESURRECTION and the LIFE (John 11:25)
ORIGINAL VIDEO HERE:
www.cbn.com/700club/features/amazing/Fat uma_Shubisa052207.aspx
Fatuma Shubisa works hard to provide for her and her husband's nine children. She lives in the little village of Alelu in rural Ethiopia. She considers her simple life a gift from God, because it was God himself who raised her from the dead.
Fatuma tells The 700 Club, "For two months, I was very, very seriously sick."
One day Fatuma's mother came to care for her daughter. But her daughter passed away.
"She came and touched my face. I was cold. My eyes were open. She closed my eyes and straightened my legs," Fatuma says. "My mother cried when she found out that I was dead. Because of that, everybody came and started crying."
The pain Fatuma felt during her long sickness was finally over. Fatuma grew up Muslim but had converted to Christianity. She says after she died, she felt herself being drawn to heaven.
"I was very happy, and I was going with a very merry heart."
Along the way, Fatuma saw someone she recognized. It was her husband's brother, who had died two years earlier.
Fatuma recalls, "He came and took my hands, and he took me away. I felt like the earth was like an open ditch, but I had gone up very, very high. When I crossed and went away from the valley, I reached a place where everybody was dressed in gold. I looked at the earth as very dirty, but where I was was very free and clean."
Back at her home, more and more people were coming to mourn Fatuma's passing.
"My relatives had come, and they were non-Christians, Muslims, and they were crying very much," she explains. "But a few Christians were praying."
A missionary named Warsa Buta was walking nearby.
Warsa says, "After my salvation God told me, 'I will raise the dead through you.' With that word, I was praying earnestly from that day onward."
Fatuma adds, "When he was passing by the way, he heard that somebody had died. So he came and started praying. The non-Christians came, and they were asking, 'Why is this Pentecostal man praying over a dead body?'"
As Warsa prayed, Fatuma's vision of heaven continued.
"My mother-in-law was dead, and she was there in that place," Fatuma remembers, "She was begging them to send me back so that I can raise my children. Those people who were in gold said, 'She is quite young, so send her back. Send her back.'"
By now, Fatuma had been dead a full 12 hours, but Warsa kept praying.
Warsa says, "I had faith the Lord would work through me. I prayed as Peter prayed. 'Fatuma, be raised. I ask you in the name of the Lord. Come to life.' When I prayed that prayer -- 'Fatuma, rise in the name of Jesus' -- she sat up in the bed."
Fatuma says, "Then immediately I found myself in my body. I sat up in my bed and started asking, 'What is this? What's happening? What's going on?' Then everybody was surprised. Some were commenting, 'A Pentecostal man can call back a dead soul to a body? If this is real, then we all will become Christians.' And they were shouting.
"I was a Christian, and my husband was an evangelist. When I died, I died as a Christian. These people called Warsa, and they started commenting, 'Your God is a very powerful God. Now make us believe.'
"I came back, because it was the will of God for me to live with my children. But I would be very happy to go back there. Now I have seen when a Christian dies, he goes to a better place, and his body goes back to dust. For a non-believer that is a place of sadness, but when a Christian dies, he goes to a separate place where everything is good, where everything is very, very happy."
Missions
e3 & Free Wheel Chair Mission in Ethiopia
"A Presentation of a trip to Ethiopia to present wheelchairs and share the gospel of Christ. A partnership effort of e3 (Global Mission Fellowship) and Free Wheel Chair Mission."
*see physically challenged
Music
-Worship
Ethiopia Christian worship- "እግዜር፡አምላክ፡ሖነኝ"
"Ye Nazret (Adama) shebsheba mezemeran, Ethiopia. "እግዚአብሔር፡አምላክ፡ሖነኝ።"
Kebir le egzair yehune!
Bezih mezmur agelgelot yemeebarekunen ye nazret hagerlejoch egzaibehare degmo degagmo yebarek! Amaen halaeluya! "
Religion
Jesus (The Messiah) Son of Mary in Islam
Aṣḥama ibn Abjar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"..The very next day, Amr tried to play a trick, in order to sow dissension between al-Najashi and the Muslim refugees. Amr was greatly distressed, and promised Ja`far and other Muslims that he's going to cause a great schism between them and King Ashama. Amr arrived the next day at the court of Ashama, and demanded in his presence that the Muslims make known their creed about Jesus. This was a difficult situation because Jesus is not considered as the son of God in the Qur'an, and that was expected to greatly enrage a devout Christian like King Ashama. To this, he explained that Jesus is considered in Islam to be a messenger of God, the word of God, and the miraculously born son of the Virgin Mary. In reply to this statement, King Ashama made a line on the sand with his mace and said, "By God, Jesus is not more than what you have described him. By God, I will never give you up to anyone." He then declared that Muslims could live in Abyssinia for as long as they wished for. According to Muslim tradition, it is during this situation that King Ashama converted to Islam..
Some accounts state that Ashama read the Nikah at one of Muhammad's marriages.[4]
The Sahabī Abu Huraira narrates that Muhammad announced the death of al-Najashi (Ashama, cp. Negus, Negusa Nagast) on the same day that he died, and even before any news became known about it for anyone in the city...
Travel