Apologetics · Theology · Uncategorized

Upon this rock I will build my Church? Matthew 16:18 and 1 Peter 2:4-8.

Bob Snyder4 Comments

Jesus-is-the-rock

When Christ said in Matthew 16:13-20 ,

“ 13Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” 15He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18“I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” 20Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.”

He wasn’t talking about making Peter the first Pope, nor was He talking about the Roman Catholic’s claim to Apostolic succession.  He was saying, they may call you Peter the rock, but I’m the true rock, the chief cornerstone, or foundation stone, that I will build my Church on.  Then He tells all the Apostles, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” 20Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.”

If you don’t believe me, look what Peter had to say about it in 1 Peter 2.

4And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

6For this is contained in Scripture:
“BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone,
AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”

7This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,
“THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,
THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,”

8and,
“A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE”;
for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.

I think from this it pretty obvious what He meant.

Uncategorized

Go Watch Ray Comfort’s, “The Atheist Delusion” www.atheistmovie.com

Bob SnyderLeave a comment

Here is the trailer.  I will include the link and the full movie at the bottom of the page.

 

Here is the link to the movie page, www.atheistmovie.com

Here is the full movie if you can’t be bothered to go to the movie page,

NO OTHER GODS!!! REPENT OF YOUR HERESY!!!
God · heresy · mormonism · Repentance · Theology · Uncategorized

NO OTHER GODS!!! REPENT OF YOUR HERESY!!!

Bob SnyderLeave a comment
trinity-1

There Are No Other True Gods

There are no other true gods anywhere. There are none in other solar systems. There are none on any other planets. There is no true God except for the God of the Bible, and He is triune.

If you deny these truths, you are not Christian, but an idolator! You have made up a god to believe in, and you are in a very, very, very bad sin. Believing in the wrong god will not save you. It will damn you to Hell!

Please repent of your Mormon beliefs! I love my LDS friends, and desperately don’t want you to go to Hell. Some of you, who I maintain ties with, are exceedingly nice people. I’d love for you to become true brothers in Christ.

What Mormonism Teaches

Mormonism teaches that there are potentially an infinite number of gods, and currently there are countless ones ruling countless solar systems/planets. Mormonism teaches that the only eternal things are matter and intellect. It claims that its people worship only the god of this world/solar system.

The Bible says the god of this world is Satan. The Bible is clear that there is only one true God. He created everything. That includes all solar systems and worlds. Logic dictates that there would have to be one original originator—uncaused causation. If there were many gods, there would be no true god among them. God cannot share His power with other gods, nor can He be known as many gods. He is one God in trinity.

To Jehovah’s Witnesses and Assemblies of Yahweh

For the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Assemblies of Yahweh cult members, repent of your Aryanism! You and the Mormons share this in common. You believe that Christ is not the incarnate second person of the Trinity, the Son, but rather a created being, and brother to Satan.

You believe that both are the true children of a father god, and mother god, who copulated to produce them as spirit children. They are only two of millions upon millions. You believe in a lie. You must repent!

Read the Old Testament, keeping an eye out for the Christophanies. If you do that, you will see Christ from the beginning. Read John 1:1-14. How can you study the Bible and believe such lies about Christ our God, Saviour, Lord/Master κῦρος, Prophet, Priest, Prince, and King?

The Word of the Lord

“Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:
‘I am the first and I am the last,
And there is no God besides Me.
‘Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it;
Yes, let him recount it to Me in order,
From the time that I established the ancient nation.
And let them declare to them the things that are coming
And the events that are going to take place.
‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid;
Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it?
And you are My witnesses.
Is there any God besides Me,
Or is there any other Rock?
I know of none.'”

Joseph Smith’s “First Vision”

The Mormons believe in Joseph Smith’s lie called, “The First Vision.” In this supposed revelation from god, he claims that god the father and Jesus both appeared to him at the same time, and that they both appeared in flesh and bone.

The Bible says otherwise:

“21 Jesus *said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.
22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
23 But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.
24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’
25 The woman *said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when He comes, He will declare all things to us.’
26 Jesus *said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’”
— John 4:21-26 (LSB)

On the LDS site, they hide this now problematic information, and only show people the 1838 account of it, but at last count there were over 27 different accounts of the first vision. Joseph Smith wasn’t even consistent within himself.

Nonetheless, if you look at their Doctrines and Covenants, the same information is laid out, and has not been scrubbed yet.

Doctrine and Covenants 130:22 (Recorded in 1843)

“The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.”

Why Mormonism Is Not Christian

This are just a few of the reasons Mormonism is a cult, and not Christian. There are so many glaring, and obvious, deceptions, it is amazing to me that people call them Christian.

The only way this can happen is that people are so egregiously biblically ignorant, and have absolutely no relationship with God as their Savior, Father, & King, they easily believe lies, and are themselves deceived.

Bible Reviews · Bibles · Uncategorized

A Review of the Trinitarian Bible Society’s Family Bible.

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DSCN5857

Trinitarian Bible Society (T.B.S.) was kind enough to send me a copy of their Family Bible in KJV translation for review.  As usual it was packed very well, and arrived in perfect shape.
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This  Bible comes in a clamshell type retail box.  It should be retained for storage.
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T.B.S. as usual has been great to deal with.  They always package their Bibles well, and are nice to correspond with.  I gotta hand it to them, they have been pretty consistent.

The Family Bible is a Cambridge layout of their large print text Bible.  L.E.G.O. SpA (LEGATORIA EDITORIALE GIOVANNI OLIVOTTO) of Vicenza Italy printed and bound this Bible.  They did a fine job.  I have seen a few Bibles from them.  They seem uniformly consistent in quality.

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The cover is black calfskin leather.  It has a pronounced grain and is comparable to the calfsplit leather covers on Cambridge Bibles.

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It is durable and provides a good sturdy exterior to hold on to. This is a case bound Bible with a liner that matches the black color of the cover.

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The spine is decorated with the words, “Holy Bible” and the TBS logo in gold colored hot stamping.

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The page edges are art gilt.  This means there is a red color under the gold color.  When the Bible is closed the page edges present a gold appearance.  When the pages are shifted, like when it is opened the red color is visible.

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There is one, black ribbon marker.  I like to see at least two ribbon markers.

The spine is sewn to ensure durability and flexibility. A sewn spine should be a prerequisite for a Bible binding. There are decorative head and tail bands in the Cambridge red and gold.

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This is a double column, verse format, black letter edition, with self-pronouncing text.  The paper is opaque and strong.  A 10 pt. font is utilized.  It is bold and well inked.  The text stands out well and contrasts with the paper nicely.

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This Bible is called a Family Bible because of the records pages in the front.  Back in the old days before all of the government interference in our lives, people used to keep their records in their Bibles.  Since then, the practice has fallen out of popularity.  People have been more than willing to accept the government forms and records.  I have a feeling this might change in the near future.  As the government becomes more intrusive.  The records pages are from Cambridge, and are printed on a sturdy card paper.

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To sum things up, I was pretty impressed with how sturdy this Bible feels.  I was also impressed with the good looks of this Bible for the price.  It is just under $100.00 dollars and is worth the money.  Not only does it give you a great place to record your family history, it also would make a terrific wedding gift.  If you are in the market for a family Bible or if you need a large print text Bible this would fit the bill nicely.  Give T.B.S. a try if you haven’t already.  They have been one of the best organizations I’ve dealt with.  Keep up the good work T.B.S.

 

You can purchase yours on their site www.TBSBibles.org

Make sure to check out all of the pictures I took of this Bible on my Flickr page.

ISBN: 9781862280311

9U/BK (Black)

Uncategorized

Today on Steven Crowder…

Bob SnyderLeave a comment

I was curious when I saw the tweet in my feed. It said, “Equality? => Feminist NYC Pharmacy Charges Men More With ‘Man Tax'”  I was surprised because they are charging men 7% more than women as a, “man tax.”  Can this even be legal?  Men probably aren’t even complaining to anyone.  Most of them are just voting with their dollars by going to another pharmacy.

God · gospel · government · politics · prophecy · Repentance · sharing the gospel · Sovereign choice · Uncategorized

Something from Habakkuk to Remember.

Bob Snyder1 Comment

habakkuk

Here is Habakkuk’s cry to God,

“Habakkuk 1:1-4 NASB The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw. (2) How long, O LORD, will I call for help, And You will not hear? I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save. (3) Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises. (4) Therefore the law is ignored And justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out perverted.”

Notice, his cry to God could be our cry today in the midst of a godless, secular, America.  Now look at God’s reply,

“Habakkuk 1:5-11 NASB “Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days– You would not believe if you were told. (6) “For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs. (7) “They are dreaded and feared; Their justice and authority originate with themselves. (8) “Their horses are swifter than leopards And keener than wolves in the evening. Their horsemen come galloping, Their horsemen come from afar; They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour. (9) “All of them come for violence. Their horde of faces moves forward. They collect captives like sand. (10) “They mock at kings And rulers are a laughing matter to them. They laugh at every fortress And heap up rubble to capture it. (11) “Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on. But they will be held guilty, They whose strength is their god.”

Do you see what God was doing there?  He was giving the prophet Habakkuk His word that He is using the pagan Chaldeans for His purposes.  He was raising them up to use as judgment against His people.  Israel had rebelled and neglected God’s word as revealed through the prophets.  Make sure to read the last part of verse 11, “But they will be held guilty, They whose strength is their god.”  The Chaldeans were going to be held accountable by God in His justice.

Habakkuk’s reply to God,

“Habakkuk 1:12-17 NASB Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct. (13) Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they? (14) Why have You made men like the fish of the sea, Like creeping things without a ruler over them? (15) The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook, Drag them away with their net, And gather them together in their fishing net. Therefore they rejoice and are glad. (16) Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net And burn incense to their fishing net; Because through these things their catch is large, And their food is plentiful. (17) Will they therefore empty their net And continually slay nations without sparing?”

At first it seems that Habakkuk understands why God is going to punish Israel, but then he goes on pleading with God.  His questions seem to call for God to not allow this to happen.  Sometimes we can be like that.  We live in a great land.  Many of us are like the Chaldeans.  We put our faith in the strength of our military, or our wealth.  We trust a nationalistic ideology called America.  We offer our sacrifices to it.  We neglect God and His word.  We rebel against Him.  We kill our young and call it a woman’s right to choose.  We make legal all types of perverse abominations and call it progress, and liberty.  Just because we legislate it and make it legal does not make it moral.  Just because a secular majority deems something to be good doesn’t make it so.

As Christians we have an external moral authority Who is immutable.  He never changes and is eternal.  His decrees of good and evil stand for ever, no matter what human government makes legal.  The political candidates we have to choose from, the debased minds that many of our fellow Americans have, the perversions that are abounding, are all punishments from God.  We are under judgement.  We need to be outside of our Churches, evangelizing so that people might be saved and come in.  We need to repent of our personal sins.  We need to repent of the attractional model of Church.  We need to stop begging goats to come in to our Churches.  We need to go out to them and preach the gospel of Jesus, which is repentance from sin and faith in Christ’s work on the cross.

When people are miraculously changed by God they will become sheep.  They  will come to Church without the need of the gimmicks of silly centers.  They will hunger for the preaching of God’s word, fellowship with brothers and sisters, praising God with hymns, prayer, and the glory of God will be their aim.  Don’t be bashful, now is not the time.  Be bold for Christ and His gospel to go forth!  Are you saddened by the damage and hurt you see being done by sin in the lives of your friends and neighbors?  Do you think that you love them?  If you do, then you must give to them the only cure for their brokenness.  You must give them the only thing that will heal them and make them whole!  Give them the gospel of Jesus!  It is truth and love!

So if you find yourself crying out to God much like Habakkuk did, ask yourself why God is doing what He is doing.  Ask yourself what the proper response is to what He is doing.  Then I think you will come to the same conclusion.

God · Uncategorized

“There are no facts, only interpretations.” Friedrich Nietzsche

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nietzsche is dead

“There are no facts, only interpretations.”  Friedrich Nietzsche.  I don’t know if Nietzsche thought this through before he said this.  If he had, perhaps he would have noticed the contradiction.  Let’s take a quick look at the first part of the statement.  “…There are no facts…”  That statement seems to be asserting a fact.  So if it is a fact that there are no facts, then this statement is a self-refuting one.  People loved Nietzsche.  Godless nihilism appeals to enemies of God.  God is truth.  There is no darkness in Him.  I know that there are facts.  Pretending like there is no God, and lying to yourself are not the hallmarks of a stable worldview.

Nietzsche is also famous for coining the term, “God is dead.”  Well, the fact is that God is not dead, and Nietzsche is most certainly dead.

Church · cultural · gospel · love · marriage · Uncategorized

Do You Want to be a Happy Old Married Couple?

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I often overhear people say things like, “Oh what a cute old couple.” or “I want to be like them when we get old. They look so happy.” They say these things when they see a happy old couple. I don’t know if they think about what it takes to get there. First, you have to be a married couple. You can’t do it if you are just shacking up, or getting married and divorced every few years. You also have to be happy. Not just momentary happiness, but the kind of contentment, and joy, that can still smile, and talk with a young person even when their arthritis is causing them so much pain it would put most people in tears. So a long lasting marriage gives the two time to get to really, and truly know each other. It gives them time to put that knowledge into expressing love to them as they would love themselves. This knowledge doesn’t come easy most times. When you put two sinners together in a marriage, sin is going to happen. It is an opportunity for the one who is sinned against to demonstrate the gospel by giving grace to the other. Remember, grace is unmerited favor.  While we were yet sinners Christ died for us.  Not only that, He bore our sins, and the punishment for those sins.  While your spouse is wrong, and may have hurt your feelings, die to yourself and submit to Christ the way He submitted to the cross.  This long lasting marriage is ordained by God. It is a covenant between Him, and the Husband, and Wife. This should not be taken lightly. If you truly want to be a happy old married couple, trust and obey God. Read His word and pray together. Be humbled together and convicted together. When the kids are grown and you are alone with each other, you will be forced to confront the successes and failures you’ve made over the years. Accept and appreciate God’s sanctifying work in your marriage for your own personal growth and use it to love others well.

God · mormonism · Uncategorized

Have you ever chatted with a mormon on their website?

Bob SnyderLeave a comment

mormonchat

Have you ever chatted with a mormon on their website?  I just did.  I had two simple questions.  Where did God come from, and did He have a body of flesh and bone?  As a Christian, I know that God has no beginning or end.  I know that He is the uncaused causation of all things.  I know that He has never not been and will always be.  I also know that God the Father is spirit and must be worshipped in spirit.  He has no body.

The chat started out with two mormons in the chat.  One was named Kyle the other was Tyler.  As I began asking my questions Kyle became the main responder.  Kyle was giving very evasive non-answers to my questions.  It was as if the mormon church had no answers for my questions officially.  When I explained the eternality of God, Kyle immediately left the chat and a new person named Alec joined.  Then Tyler became the main responder to my questions.  He paraphrased his partner’s previous noncommittal answers.  When I was satisfied that I had received as much of an answer as I was going to get, I ended the conversation.

I wanted them to answer the questions because I didn’t want to misrepresent their beliefs.  After talking with them, it is easy to see how people would misrepresent them.  Their indefinite official stance on what their church doesn’t know is quite frustrating.  The following is a transcript of the conversation;

“Thank you for your interest in chatting with a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
What would you like to talk about?

B
Did God always exist as God, or did He at some point in time not exist as He does now?
8:29 PM

Now chatting with Tyler & Kyle
T
Hi Bob!
8:31 PM

B
Hello.
8:31 PM

T
How are you tonight Bob?
8:31 PM

B
Fine, how are you?
8:31 PM

T
I’m doing well. Thanks.
8:32 PM
What brought you onto Mormon.org tonight?

B
Did God always exist as God, or did He at some point in time not exist as He does now?
8:34 PM
you guys still there?
8:40 PM

K
That is a great question! To be honest, we don’t know too much about the origin of God. Some leaders of the Church have taught that God progressed from a man to Godhood.
8:41 PM
Sorry about the delay.
We are here.

B
What was He before He was God?
8:42 PM

T
Like what Kyle said earlier, that’s one topic that we just don’t know about. It’s mostly speculation, no concrete doctrine.
8:43 PM

B
I heard from some people that mormons believe he was once a man named Elohim. Is that true?
8:44 PM

K
That’s what I said above ^^^
8:44 PM

B
It was kind of garbled on my screen for some reason.
8:45 PM
What leaders said he was once a man?
Is their some source material you can reference that I could look up and read for myself?

K
Joseph Smith and Lorenzo Snow were two. I’ll give you some articles.
8:48 PM

B
That would be helpful. I don’t want to misrepresent your beliefs when I encounter others in apologetics or polemics.
8:48 PM

K
That is very understandable!
8:49 PM
Here are some links:
https://www.lds.org/ensign/1971/04/the-king-follett-sermon?lang=eng
http://www.josephsmithpapers.org/site/accounts-of-the-king-follett-sermon
https://www.lds.org/ensign/1982/02/i-have-a-question?lang=eng (Second half of the page)
8:50 PM

B
Thank you. If he was at one point in time a man, then where did that man come from?
8:50 PM

K
Here is another one: https://www.lds.org/topics/becoming-like-god?lang=eng. That is an excellent question, that we don’t really comprehend 🙂 The assumption would be that it follows a similar pattern, so he would have a heavenly father as well. There is so much we don’t understand though.
8:53 PM

B
So, that begs the question, where did they come from and so on?
8:56 PM
Is Tyler still there?
8:58 PM

K
Exactly, and that is a question I have. Imagining eternity is a concept, we don’t fully understand as mortals. God hasn’t revealed much about it.
8:58 PM
Tyler stepped out of the room, but will be back shortly.

B
Kyle, I think He did reveal it to us. He is the uncaused causation, or original originator. Logically there has to be an original uncreated creator of all things. The Bible is pretty clear that God is immutable and eternal. Eternity is also understood as an infinite instance or ageless age.
9:00 PM
Kyle?
9:01 PM

T
Hi Bob! I’m back.
9:01 PM

B
Where did Kyle go?
9:02 PM
Hello?
9:03 PM

T
He had to go. He was just covering for me while I was gone. We just help out at Mormon.org in time shifts and he just finished and had to leave.
9:05 PM

Now chatting with Tyler & Alec
B
So could you answer my question about where did god’s parents come from and where did their parents come from?
9:06 PM

T
There is no official church doctrine on that subject. There is mostly speculation and personal opinion on this subject.
9:08 PM
On the last thing that you wrote. I think that’s an interesting thought. Do you have any other concerns.
9:10 PM

B
It seems to me that there would be a being that was the uncaused causation of all things. An eternal God who has always been and never not existed.
9:10 PM
Yes
I have another question I was pondering.
God the Father in the first vision was said to have flesh and bone.
is that true?
also why can’t I copy and paste something from earlier in the conversation into the input field?

T
Yes we believe that God has a body of flesh and blood. And I don’t know why you can’t copy and paste.
9:12 PM

B
Ok thanks.
9:14 PM
Have a good night.”

I wouldn’t want to be accused of making straw man arguments, or any other logically fallacious arguments.  I hope you found this interesting, and informative.

God · prayer · sanctification · Sovereign choice · Theology · Uncategorized

Christian Prayer, and the Sovereignty of God.

Bob SnyderLeave a comment

god-is-sovereign
Experientially, we know that Christian prayer can accomplish miracles. When we consider the omniscience, and sovereignty of God, we know that our prayers don’t change anything that has already been spoken by God, once and for all. We experience life one way. We think something that seems to contradict what we experience. If we can’t square them, it is because we are limited. Some people can justify the sovereignty of God with the experiences of the creature. We don’t look down on those who can’t. I would hope that those who can’t won’t look down on those of us who can.

Consider that God decrees the ends and the means. As I pray for something according to God’s will, as explained in the progressive revelation of His word, I am sanctified. My thoughts and feelings are focused on God and His will. The situation I am praying about changes. I attribute it to God answering my prayers. He willed it to happen by using me to pray at exactly the time He decreed, in the way He decreed, so He could answer in the way that He decreed. The reality of His decree was actual at the moment He spoke everything into being. We are part of that decree. We exist in space-time, when and where He decreed. As our reality unfolds, we are not able to perceive how eternity is experienced. If we can accept that there is an infinite instance that contains our finite, linear experience, and transcends it, then we can also appreciate how the sovereign decreed will of God, and the experience of man are related. Does prayer change things? Yes it does, in our material experience. It changes, here because it was changed before in eternity.