Posted on 01/03/2013 6:36:29 PM PST by BenLurkin
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s off-air comments that Russian Presidents are given a secret file about extraterrestrials living among us created much media interest. Most news reports claimed that Medvedev was simply joking. His apparent reference to the Men In Black movie as a source of information on a super secret agency that monitors extraterrestrials on Earth was commonly cited as key evidence that he was in fact joking. The reasoning is that no political leader would refer reporters to a comedy to clarify national policy. It has now emerged that Medvedev was not referring to the Men in Black comedy after all, but to a recent Russian television documentary titled “Men in Black” that reveals many details about an extensive cover up of extraterrestrial life visiting Earth.
However, a more accurate translation of what Medvedev actually said about the Men in Black phenomenon was: “You can receive more detailed information having watched the documentary film of the same name.” So Medvedev was referring to a Russian “documentary film” titled Men in Black, not the Hollywood blockbuster by the same name...
Russian Men In Black (MIB) documentary, a number of prominent UFO cases in Russia and the USA are discussed. The Roswell UFO crash is covered, along with a number of extraterrestrial abduction cases, and UFOs disabling nuclear weapons facilities. The documentary examines testimony that extraterrestrial bases have been established on Earth, and that some are in restricted US military areas with the full knowledge of the Pentagon. The documentary even goes on to seriously discuss President Eisenhower’s alleged meeting with extraterrestrials, where agreements were reached with some of the visitors giving them permission to take some of the Earth’s resources in exchange for advanced technology...
(Excerpt) Read more at exopolitics.org ...
Now I know you're kidding. Nothing is common in California.
Then I’ll keep it coming. Further news bulletins as events warrant, as they say.
What are we to make of the events of last night at St. Luke’s – Roosevelt Hospital? The hospital is being tight lipped, but the story is emerging. News outlets are reporting over 100 people have been discharged today, most of whom were not expected to live for much longer. Serious trauma victims, AIDS sufferers, cancer sufferers, at least two people who were being prepped for emergency surgery, all walking out today under their own power with no evidence there was ever anything wrong with them. The story is almost too fantastic to be real. An unidentified African-American male moved through the hospital wearing scrubs. He briefly placed his hands on the patients and quietly spoke, then walked quickly away. Vitals became normal, bleeding stopped, people who were under heavy sedation were clear headed and demanding attention – primarily food, clothing, and release from the hospital. By the time security knew what to look for and where to look, the man was gone.
At least one patient is grumbling that he heard the name, “Jesus Christ,” spoken by the man. The patient, an atheist, is rumored to be planning a lawsuit against the hospital for violation of his rights. The other patients appear to be just happy to be well and going home. Hospital staff are exhausted, elated, and confused. Exhausted because so much was demanded of them in a very short time, elated because they live to see patients healthy, and confused because none of them has ever experienced anything like this before.
The rest of us just have questions. Who was the intruder? Why did he come? Why is he hiding? How did he do what he did? Will he do more? And what does it mean for the hundreds still in NYC hospitals in critical or near-critical condition?
We have a lot of questions, but no answers.
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Thanks for the link; it is handy.
Don’t like those weather maps, thought. Living in south eastern Massachusetts, I’m going to get hit by that monster.
Sommers:
Let’s go live, now, to Mark Jacobs who has been following the unusual story of the healings that have been occurring at area hospitals. Mark?
(Cut to Mark Jacobs - live feed)
Jacobs:
Leslie, the mysterious intruder was spotted again at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn last night. Like before, he arrived quietly and moved quickly from patient to patient, creating a situation that quickly overwhelmed hospital staff. Like before he slipped away before he could be caught. But Long Island College Hospital was quicker to respond than St. Luke’s - Roosevelt. As a result, only about 40 people are checking out this morning after having been touched by the man who has become known as “The Healer.” Today, at a press conference, New York City Mayor Albert Fineman made this statement.
(Cut to taped footage from press conference)
Fineman:
We are all happy when severely ill people are able to leave one of our hospitals healthy. But the approach being used by this man is inappropriate. It creates a difficult situation for the staff, who is unprepared for so many patient calls in one night. It violates the rights of patients who are offended by the intruder’s Christian statements. Everyone in my administration would love to see every hospital in the five boroughs emptied of sick people, but we must ask that this intruder contact someone in authority to schedule his visits so hospitals can make the necessary preparations. We would also ask that this man respect those whose religious beliefs are different from his own.
We are not going to treat this man as a criminal in any way. Neither hospital wants to press charges for unauthorized entry. We just want him to do what he does in an orderly way. My office and the administrative offices of all New York City hospitals will be glad to make arrangements with him.
(Cut to Mark Jacobs - live feed)
Jacobs:
Leslie, the city appears to be sincere that it doesn’t want to make things difficult for The Healer. It just wants to ensure healings are done in a good way.
(Cut to split screen - live feed and studio)
Sommers:
Mark, is the Mayor’s office setting up any kind of a tip line or even encouraging people to call 3-1-1 with information?
Jacobs:
Not at this time. The Mayor’s office is resisting any resemblance between this situation and a criminal investigation or a manhunt. Instead of calling to report information on the intruder, anyone who may know who he is should encourage him to initiate a contact. Every hospital administrator, as well as the Mayor’s Office, says they are willing to work out procedures that will be acceptable both to area hospitals and The Healer.
Sommers:
Thanks, Mark. Keep us informed.
Jacobs:
We’ll be keeping an eye on things here, Leslie. Mark Jacobs, WNYC Live.
(Cut to studio)
Sommers:
When we return from the break, we’ll have Dr. Samuel Estive, Pastor of NYC Seeker Non-denominational Church with us to discuss the situation.
(Cut to commercial break. Return to studio interview lounge)
Sommers:
In our ongoing coverage of the man being called The Healer, we welcome Dr. Samuel Estive, Pastor of NYC Seeker Non-denominational Church to our studios. Pastor Estive is a regular contributor to WNYC News. Sam, thank you for making time to join us.
(Pan out to include Pastor Estive in guest chair)
Estive:
Always a pleasure, Leslie.
Sommers:
What can you tell us about these events, Sam? What is this man doing? How is he doing it?
Estive:
Leslie, I can’t tell you anything about the man. I don’t have any personal knowledge other than what you’ve been reporting and what I’ve been seeing and reading from other news outlets here in The City. There doesn’t seem to be anything underhanded about these events. Barring any new revelations, these appear to be supernatural healings going on.
Sommers:
Miraculous healings?
Estive:
Miracles are generally attributed to God. These could be from God, but we really don’t know yet. Jesus Himself warns us of people who will perform signs and wonders that won’t be from God. Of course, I don’t want to accuse this Healer of anything before I know him. I think the best posture for Christians right now is to wait, and be hopeful.
Sommers:
Is there any reason for you to believe these healings aren’t from God?
Estive:
Right now, Leslie, I’m just confused. The Bible shows us a God who is happy to broadcast what He is doing. Despite the popular phrase that “The Lord works in mysterious ways,” He generally accepts the credit for His outright miracles. On the other hand, if these healings were counterfeit, the intent (according to Jesus) would be to deceive. I would think a non-Godly healer would still claim the healings for God. This anonymity doesn’t fit any pattern I can think of.
In my experience as a Pastor, we’ve prayed for a small number of people who seemed to be miraculously healed. But we’ve prayed for a larger number of people who remain sick. This Healer seems to heal everyone, not just some, but without claiming any source for his power. It’s confusing, and I think it would be best to wait and see.
Sommers:
How will we know whether this is the real deal?
Estive:
Jesus said it would not be possible to deceive the elect. He didn’t say how we should decide. Obviously, we will start with whether this man claims to be healing on behalf of God. After that, we’ll have to see if he behaves in a Godly way, and what the results are. I’m sorry I can’t give you anything more definitive right now.
Sommers:
Not at all, Sam. We’re happy for what you can share. I’m sure we’ll be talking with you about this further as the story unfolds.
(Zoom on Sommers)
Now for a look at our 5-day forecast, here’s WNYC Meteorologist, Lance Chambers.
Hi LJ,
Sorry can’t do anything about the weather in your area...the routing is arranged a year in advance.
Of course, if you’d like to fill out this form...
We’re getting a blasting from Siberia at the moment, with compliments from ‘Putin.
For Immediate Release
The Congregation at Central Park recognizes the individual known as The Healer as a long-time member of our congregation. Mtembo Nnkoba, a permanent resident of the United States, is a Nigerian immigrant who has been attending our Church for more than 10 years.
Mr. Nnkoba has been surprised at the unhappiness his actions have caused. When he saw the reaction, he immediately contacted our Pastoral staff to discuss what he should do. Mr. Nnkoba states that he received instructions from God, in a vision, to heal as many people as he could. The vision frightened him a great deal. Unsure of what might happen, Mr. Nnkoba tested his gift at St. Luke’s - Presbyterian Hospital without announcing what he was doing. Once he found the gift was real, he healed as many as he could before realizing the problem his presence was causing. His visit to Long Island College Hospital was a further test to see if the healings would continue. He never intended to create difficulties for hospital staff nor to offend anyone. He sincerely apologizes for any difficulty he may have caused.
Our Pastoral staff has determined that visiting hospitals is not the best approach for Mr. Nnkoba to carry out his healings. The Congregation at Central park Church has obtained a permit to assemble on the Great Lawn in Central Park beginning tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. We will continue these meetings as long as we are able to obtain permits, and as long as God continues to use Mr. Nnkoba to heal. Patients will be seen in the order they arrive. We will not charge, nor will we receive offerings while holding these gatherings. In accordance with Mr. Nnkoba’s wishes, we will not preach and we will not proselytize as these activities are not included in the instruction he was given in his vision.
Mr. Nnkoba will not be conducting any interviews. He emphasizes that this is not about him as a person, but about God’s desire to heal.
For further information and updates, please visit the Web site we’ve established for this purpose at healernyc.org.
Richard Smith, Sr. Pastor
H. Vernon Matthews, Associate Pastor
Which brings up a curiosity question from one who is neither Irish nor Catholic... Since St. Pattie's Day falls in Lent, at least this year, how is the 'traditional' corned beast reconciled with the Lenten fast?
I mean, Corned Beef I understand. Corned Haddock (e.g.) just doesn't seem to evoke the same, um, hunger... ;-)
“Greater works,” man. But don’t Google the phrase unless you wish to experience a virtual waterboarding at the hands of a cabal of sad-sack cessationists, which pernicious teaching I — having mentioned — shall now obliterate.
This bit of I Cor. 13 is often given in support of the idea:
“8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.”
— I Cor. 13:8-10 NIV
The cessationist claim is that, “Tongues and prophecy have ceased because ‘the perfect’ has come,” and there is built on to this a whole stream of conjecture meant to lead us all to agree that ‘the perfect’ simply must be the completed canon of scripture. Well, if that is the correct understanding of what “the perfect” is, then it is certain that tongues and prophecy have ceased.
Well, and good, but for this:
Paul compares two contrasting periods of time: a “now,” and a “then,” and in Paul’s “now,” there are tongues, and prophecy; although only in part, because — as he also explains — in that “now” people only know in part. Paul also writes of a “then”; a time period that he claims will begin with the coming of “the perfect,” and he says that in the “then” the things he previously mentioned will pass away. Paul used a Greek word that literally means “useless” to convey that these things are going away because they won’t be of any use, anymore.
Paul goes on to sound the death knell of cessation by giving the world a simple test by which anyone may readily discern whether or not the present hour is part of Paul’s “now” or part of Paul’s “then”:
“12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”
— I Cor. 13:12 NIV
In Paul’s “now” we see dimly, we know in part, we prophesy in part, etc. In Paul’s “then” we shall know fully EVEN AS WE ARE FULLY KNOWN. Since there exists only One by whom any man may be fully known the meaning is clearly this: “Then I will know fully, just as God fully knows me.”
If, as any sane man must admit, you do not know fully, just as God fully knows you, then I welcome you to Paul’s “now” wherein tongues, prophesy, and the like have not yet become useless things, and so have not yet passed away.
This isn’t the end, is it?
I think the end will be abundantly clear. I’ve written the whole thing, I’m just editing the snippets before I post them, and doing some of that dad-gummed work my employer expects me to do in-between.
Drats.... That 'work' stuff always interferes ...
Absolutely. Not only that (and I do always look for confirmation from Scripture when I think something is from God) but I have seen too many healings that can only be called miraculous to think they have stopped. And not the kind where the “healer” kicks the “healed” in the gut.
And at the Asuza Street Revival I understand a man who knew no Hebrew spoke in perfect Hebrew, as attested by the Hebrew speaker who heard him preach.
When reality and theology clash, check theology. God is the God of both, so they should always be in concert.
Sommers:
With reaction to today’s announcement from Pastor Smith at The Congregation in Central Park Church, we turn to Mark Jacobs who is live at Central Park.
(Cut to Mark Jacobs - live broadcast)
Jacobs:
Leslie, the press conference where Pastor Smith announced tomorrow’s gathering was brief. During the questions, Pastor Smith admitted that his congregation did believe in both visions and miraculous healings, but had never seen or heard of anything like this, short of Jesus feeding the 5,000 as recorded in the Gospels. They’re really sort-of feeling their way at the moment. As Pastor Smith said, this is not something covered in Church Management courses at Seminary.
Word is just starting to trickle out. Most of the people we’ve talked to here in Central Park were unaware of the announcement. But we were able to capture a few reactions on camera.
(Cut to reaction tape)
Robertson:
(Caption: Jake Robertson - Brooklyn) Faith healing is one of the oldest scams. It’s just a way for the Church to make money.
Jacobs (off camera):
The Church has stated it won’t be accepting payment or donations.
Robertson:
That’s what they say, but we’ll see what happens. The proof will be in the pudding. Nobody will really be healed, and the Church will make a ton of money.
Jacobs:
You don’t believe Mr. Nnkoba can heal people?
Robertson:
If he could really heal people, he would have taken the mayor up on his offer to set up less disruptive visits to the hospitals. They set up this thing in Central Park so they could scam people.
Jacobs:
All the information we have to date is that people in the hospitals were really healed.
Robertson:
We’ll see. The truth will come out soon enough.
Chimarev:
(Caption: Constantine Chimarev - Manhattan) I don’t really know what to think about it. Maybe it’s real, maybe it’s not. Who knows?
Jacobs:
Will you be coming out tomorrow to see?
Chimarev:
No. I’m not sick. My family is not sick. We’ll stay away from the crowd. We will watch you on TV to see what happens.
Jacobs:
Thank you for that.
Gutierrez:
(Caption: Maria Gutierrez - Manhattan) I think it’s fantastic. We will be here tomorrow morning. I hope we can be first in line.
Jacobs:
Are you sick?
Gutierrez:
No, it’s my mother. She was sent home last week for hospice care. The hospital can not do anything more for her cancer. We are just trying to make her comfortable until she dies.
Jacobs:
Will it be safe to move her? It will be chilly out here tomorrow morning.
Gutierrez:
It can’t make her much worse. We have been trying everything. We won’t be shy to try this. And if it works, it will be wonderful. If it doesn’t work, we will be no worse off than today.
Jacobs:
We wish you the best. I hope it works out for you.
(Cut to Mark Jacobs - Live feed)
Jacobs:
Leslie, these responses run the gamut from skepticism to uncertainty to support, which is what we’d expect from the people of New York.
(Cut to split screen)
Sommers:
Mark, have any preparations begun?
Jacobs:
Only low-key preparations at this point, Leslie. Police have put up barricades to mark the area the Church will be using, but there are no signs indicating what the area will be used for.
Sommers:
What does the layout look like?
Jacobs:
As marked off, it’s just a large area. The entrance will be here near the 5th Avenue entrance to the park. Inside there’s no indication of any kind of crowd control or where Mr Nnkoba will be standing. I guess we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see how the Church is going to manage it.
Sommers:
Thank you, Mark.
Jacobs:
Mark Jacobs, WNYC Live.
(Cut to studio - guest stage)
Sommers:
We’re back with Dr. Samuel Estive, Pastor of NYC Seeker Church. Welcome back, Pastor.
Estive:
Thank you, Leslie.
Sommers:
Well, Sam, what do you think?
Estive:
Leslie, right now I don’t know what to think. Rick Smith is a friend of mine. He’s a good man and Pastor. We both believe in the possibility of miracle healing, but I would agree that there isn’t any precedent for what is happening here. I’m not sure I would have made the same choice, but I sympathize with what he’s trying to do.
Sommers:
What do you think we’ll see tomorrow?
Estive:
I think we’ll see some small crowds at first. After that, it depends on whether this Mr. Nnkoba is the real deal. If people are truly healed, I think there will be some serious crowd control problems.
Sommers:
You doubt Mr. Nnkoba has a gift of healing?
Estive:
It’s hard to doubt the results at the hospitals. Seeing is supposed to be believing. But I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this. I’ve known my share of scam faith healers, and seen very few real healings. I really want to believe God has decided to act in this way, and that Mr. Nnkoba is merely being faithful to his calling. But it’s tough to ignore all the times I’ve personally prayed for healing only to have a good friend or a member of my congregation die. I’m going to be cautiously optimistic, but I really need to wait and see.
Sommers:
What advice would you give to a sick person about coming out tomorrow.
Estive:
Until I know more I would counsel caution. Don’t forego a doctor’s visit. Don’t walk away from surgery or urgent care. Don’t add risk by coming to Central Park before going to a doctor. But if it won’t hurt, if the doctors won’t do anything for you, or if you’re waiting for the next step in a medical process, come on out. There’s nothing to fear, and there may be a great deal to gain. I certainly hope and pray that the mother with terminal cancer is helped, and I admire her daughter’s determination to try anything. Maybe this will be her answer to prayer.
Sommers:
Thank you, Sam, for taking time to talk with us today. I’m sure we’ll call you again when we see what actually happens tomorrow.
Estive:
My pleasure, Leslie. I’ll look forward to it.
Joining you in Thanksgiving to our Wonderful Lord!
Sommers:
We go now to Central Park where Mark Jacobs is standing by at the site where the man known as The Healer will meet the public for the first time in just a few minutes. Mark?
(Cut to Mark Jacobs - live feed)
Jacobs:
Leslie, it looks like everyone has underestimated the sick or injured who would be willing to trust Mr. Nnkoba, the man known as The Healer, with their health. As you can see behind me, police are working hard to contain the crowds spilling out into public spaces from the barricaded section reserved by The Congregation at Central Park Church.
Sometime during the night people began pushing past the barricades into the Church’s area. At around 6:00 this morning staff from the Church came in and attempted to impose some kind of order inside the barricade. They’ve created a snaking line and appealed to everyone inside to respect the line and be patient. It looks like Mr. Nnkoba will be standing in the northwest corner of the area. There’s a space along the western edge to allow Mr. Nnkoba to get in, and people from the front of the line to exit.
About 10 minutes ago volunteers from the Church came and took places to help protect that space and keep the line orderly. And I can see Pastor Smith coming now with several people, including an African-American man who may be Mr. Nnkoba. Pastor Smith, can you answer a few questions for us?
Smith:
Mark, you and your team have been doing a wonderful job covering this, but right now I need to focus on getting this process started and ministering to these people. Setting everything up has been real chore. We haven’t had a chance to think about dealing with the press. I’ll try to keep you and the other members of the media informed, but for now I’m going to ask you to be patient.
Jacobs:
Well, that was probably the most polite brush-off I’ve ever received. As you can see, Leslie, nobody who was with Pastor Smith stopped when he did. Mr. Nnkoba is nearly at the front of the area. Church staff had to physically block the hopefuls to allow him to get to his place. We’re going to try to get a shot of him as he’s doing what he does.
From this angle, Leslie, the person who appears to be first in line is a woman in a wheelchair. Mr. Nnkoba’s hands are on her head and he is saying something. Now she’s standing up. I don’t know what her need was, but she looks extremely excited. She’s trying to hug Mr. Nnkoba but the members of the Church are trying to move her out, I guess so he can help the next person in line. I know you need to go to a break. We’ll try to get her on camera to share with you when you return. Mark Jacobs, WNYC Live.
(Cut to studio)
Sommers:
Thanks, Mark. It looks like it’s going to be a very interesting day. We’ll go back to Mark after these messages.
(Cut to break and top-of-the-hour news theme)
That’s not a very good place to leave things for the day. I’ll get in one more before I go home.
Sommers:
Thanks, Lance. It looks like it will be good weather to stand in Central Park, which is just what Mark Jacobs is doing as he updates us on The Healer. Mark?
(Cut to Mark Jacobs - Live feed)
Jacobs:
Leslie, that first person in the line was 42-year-old Marcie Cunningham. Ms. Cunningham declined to appear on camera, but she told me that she had been paralyzed from the waist down in an automobile accident four years earlier. What we captured just before the top of the hour is nothing short of amazing in light of this revelation.
(Cut to tape of Cunningham getting out of her chair and attempting to hug Nnkoba with Jacobs voice-over)
Jacobs:
Mr. Nnkoba wasn’t with Ms. Cunningham for long. He touched her head and said some words. Ms. Cunningham stood up out of her chair as if nothing had ever been wrong, let out an excited yell, and hugged Mr. Nnkoba. The staff ushered her out quickly.
(Cut to Mark Jacobs - Live feed)
Jacobs:
She told us that the staff asked her to move quickly so Mr. Nnkoba could address more people in a shorter time. We asked her if she could tell us what he said. She told us from memory that she thought he said, “It is The Father’s good pleasure to make you whole, in the name of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit.” He didn’t ask her what was wrong or what she needed. He simply put his hands on her head, made that statement, and she felt control return to her legs.
The other thing Ms. Cunningham told us was that her doctor and her family warned her that her muscles would be seriously atrophied from four years of disuse. As you could see from our clip of her healing, her legs were as strong as ever. In fact, she danced a little jig before she left. She told us she was going to call everyone she knew.
(Cut to split screen - Studio and Jacobs)
Sommers:
What’s been happening since, Mark?
Jacobs:
Mr. Nnkoba has been simply working through the crowd. In the 12 minutes we were off the air for the break and weather report, he touched 12 people. One had the red and white cane of a visually impaired man. While we were talking with Ms. Cunningham he went by shouting about all the things he could see. Everyone who has come from The Healer has been shouting excitedly about what has happened to them. I’ve been unable to keep up with it all.
Sommers:
Is there any indication of anyone coming away disappointed?
Jacobs:
None. Mr. Nnkoba hasn’t had to take extra time with anyone and everyone has come out shouting with excitement, just like this man. (Cut to man walking past the barricade talking excitedly on his cell)
Man:
No, it’s gone. I can just tell you, it’s gone. I’ve been fighting this cancer for seven years. I know what it feels like. I know it’s gone. Even the sickness I felt from my last chemo session is gone. You can run your tests if you want, but you won’t find anything.
(Cut to Jacobs)
Jacobs:
For all the internal issues like cancer, we would have to wait for a doctor’s report before we knew with certainty whether the patient’s been healed. But that man sounded sure.
By the way, Leslie, we’ve spotted Maria Gutierrez, the woman we spoke with yesterday afternoon. She’s in line with a woman we assume is her mother. Based on how quickly Mr. Nnkoba has been moving, she should be through within a half an hour. We’ll try to get them on camera for you.
(Cut to studio)
Sommers:
Thanks, Mark. We appreciate all you’re doing out there. We’ll be checking back throughout the day and we’ll be looking forward to that update on Ms. Gutierrez.
Now for an update on our daily commute, we go to our own Janet Combs. Janet.
Combs:
It’s hard to think about traffic with all that going on, Leslie. It’s pretty exciting to see those people so happy. I wonder if he could cure my cold.
Sommers:
It’s beginning to look like he can cure anything, but would you want to take up time for a cold while people with terminal cancer are in line?
Combs:
From the size of that line, I’d probably get over it myself before I got to the front. (Laughs) OK, let’s take a look at the subways. MTA tells us …
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