Titus Jonathan's Stories

What happens with the world nowadays? In Daniel 12:4, the prophet was told to seal up the book until the time of the end. " But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase. " Do we live in that time today, when the time of the end is coming? While we are living in the midst of the perilous times, in an era of unprecedented prophetic activity and clarity, there are still questions many people have regarding Bible prophecy. This book is a compilation of 70 frequently asked questions about the end of time as what is written in the Bible, from Israel –started when God made His covenant to Abraham and the journey of Israel as nation until today–, the church –mandated as God’s witness to the world–, the rapture, the tribulation, the millennium, the great white throne judgement, and heaven. The authors, Amir Tsarfati is a native Israeli who –through his nonprofit ministry– provides Bible teachin...

Andrew Jackson was a controversial figure in American history. Elected as seventh president in 1829 and reelected for the 2nd term until 1837, he was marked by both democratic triumphs and racist tragedies during his presidency. Jackson expanded the powers of the presidency in ways that none of his six predecessors had. He was the first president to come from the common people, not from an educated elite. He was the first to build what was recognized as a political party. He was also the first to maintain a large circle of private advisers –what was called his Kitchen Cabinet-- to help him make policy. During his presidency, he showed him as the most contradictory of men. He brought America into a country that professed a love of democracy but on the other hand created society to live with inequality that was prone to racism and intolerance. Jackson was a sentimental man who rescued an Indian orphan on a battlefield to raise in his home, however he was also the president responsible fo...

“ I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. " - Charles Dickens Jika Natal bukan suatu musim, atau suatu momen, atau sekadar event , apakah Natal akan tinggal di hati kita, dan terus hidup sejalan dengan detak jantung kita? Setelah Silent Night dinyanyikan, setelah nyala lilin dimatikan, setelah pohon terang plastik diturunkan dan disimpan di gudang, setelah pintu gerbang gereja ditutup… Apakah Natal hanya lewat sebentar di suatu waktu, singgah tidak bahkan menyapa pun tidak, karena kita mengabaikannya dan tidak peduli untuk apa ia hadir? Apakah Natal tahun ini masih mengguratkan maknanya di hati kita, sedalam cinta yang dikandung oleh perawan Maria, seteguh tekadnya untuk taat, sekuat kerelaan rahimnya untuk dipinjam sebentar demi sebuah rencana yang ia tidak mengerti sepenuhnya?  Apakah hati kita masih tergugah dengan ketulusan para bangsawan dari Timur, orang-orang Majus itu, yang menempuh perjalanan dari negeri yang jauh hanya untuk menyembah Anak k...

This book that written by Bart D. Ehrman, Jesus, Interrupted contains critical thinking –not to mention an attack– to the Bible especially the New Testament, and more especially the Gospel that tells a story about Jesus and who Jesus actually is. “We don’t have the originals of the Bible which opens the door to the possibility that the Bible is a very human book,” Ehrman wrote. Ehrman studied the Bible from a historical-critical perspective that led him to find there were flat-out discrepancies among the books of the New Testament. He explained in detail about the differences between one author and other authors towards Jesus’ stories, for example what was written by Mark compared to what was written by Matthew or Luke. “I came to see that many of the books of the New Testament were not written by the people to whom they are attributed,” Ehrman said. And he explained an argument that it was not Matthew who wrote The Gospel of Matthew, John did not write The Gospel of John, etc. Even th...

Tagar #kaburajadulu tampaknya sudah mulai sepi. Tetapi jika masih ada Gen Y (millennial) atau Gen Z yang mau kabur, jangan kabur ke luar negeri. Kabur saja ke Maluku Utara. Maluku Utara punya Gubernur hebat. Namanya Shirley Tjoanda. Bu Gubernur punya banyak cita-cita, banyak rencana, banyak program untuk membangun daerahnya, dan kamu para Gen Y dan Gen Z yang idealis dapat mencoba melamar jadi timnya. Shirley sebenarnya adalah seorang Ibu rumah tangga. Ia tak pernah menyangka apalagi kepengin jadi pemimpin daerah. Tetapi Oktober tahun lalu, suaminya, Benny Laos, meninggal dunia karena kecelakaan di tengah-tengah proses pilgub Maluku Utara. Benny maju sebagai salah satu calon. Di tengah kesedihan dan kegalauan itu Shirley bermaksud ke Jakarta ingin melupakan segalanya. Tetapi banyak yang meminta (termasuk partai pengusung) Shirley yang maju menggantikan suaminya sebagai calon. Ia sempat merenung, akankah ia menepi dan terus berduka atas kehilangan orang yang paling dicintainya, atau mas...

Nepal selama ini seolah terlupakan. Kita tidak pernah tertarik kesana, kecuali mau menjajal keangkuhan Mount Everest.  Negara ini ditindas oleh kemiskinan bertahun-tahun. Sebagai gambaran, pendapatan per kapita Nepal tahun 2024 adalah USD 1.179, sedangkan Indonesia adalah USD 4.960. Jika kita melihat Indonesia yang (miskin) keadaannya begini, lalu income rakyat Nepal seperlima dari rakyat Indonesia, dapatkah kita bayangkan betapa miskinnya mereka? Kita belum membandingkan dengan China sebesar USD 13.121, apalagi Amerika Serikat dengan USD 66.683. Sampai suatu ketika dunia menoleh kesana. POV-nya adalah: Social unrest, kerusuhan, Gen Z, dan Discord. Setelah kerusuhan besar minggu lalu, banyak yang menduga negara ini bakal terjerembab ke krisis politik yang panjang, terjadi kekosongan kekuasaan setelah PM-nya (Sharma Oli) dan setidaknya 3 menteri mundur, lalu militer mengambil alih, darurat militer, otoriterisme dan seterusnya. Tetapi tidak, kondisi Nepal cepat tenang dan kondusif. T...