Happy Thanksgiving from America's oldest continuously settled chartered settlement St. Clement's Manor

Today is Thanksgiving, a national holiday, yet many people have no idea of the history of the holiday. Those of you living around Coltons Point should know this history as it began around the colonial days.  Coltons Point is the oldest continuously lived in town in the American colonies and was the third landing point for pilgrims from Europe, arriving here in 1634.  Exactly 155 years after the colonists landed here, the Thanksgiving tradition began.

Originally called St. Clement's Island Manor, after the island just offshore where the pilgrims landed, it was home to two wives of President George Washington's great, great grandfather.  One of the Gerard daughters, whose father was most responsible for the settlement, married Washington's great, great grandfather who lived across the Potomac River within eyesight of Coltons Point.  When she died early into the marriage, her younger single sister took her place under the tradition of British Colonial law.



Now not to overlook the Spaniards, they did hold some form of Thanksgiving celebrations in Saint Augustine in 1565, then San Elceario (near today's El Paso) but neither was part of the original thirteen colonies. In 1619 Virginia colonists held such a feast and in 1621 the Plymouth, Massachusetts colonists held such a feast but this was before the founding of the nation and they were not annual traditions.



After the founding of the United States the first holiday was declared by President George Washington, a religious feast to thank the "providence of Almighty God" for his help. Still, it was not designated a national holiday but states were encouraged to participate.



Of course George was born directly across the river from Coltons Point and when younger he walked this area as a surveyor.



George Washington

As President, on October 3, 1789, George Washington made the following proclamation and created the first Thanksgiving Day designated by the national government of the United States of America:

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor, and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me "to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks, for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation, for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his providence, which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war, for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed, for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted, for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions, to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually, to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed, to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord. To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and Us, and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.



The national holiday came during the darkest hours of the Civil War when Lincoln was president. The year was 1863, and it was the bloodiest days of the Civil War. It followed the battles of Vicksburg and Gettysburg and Lincoln's trip to Gettysburg to honor the most soldiers killed in one battle in our history, Lincoln, heartbroken by what he had seen at Gettysburg, may have used Thanksgiving as a time to give the people to reflect and hope. He was not a publicly religious man, but he used his Thanksgiving proclamation to find humility and gratitude, and to remember how richly blessed we as a nation really were despite everything. His proclamation was one of the first times he used strong religious overtones in his public speech.



Abraham Lincoln

In the middle of the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, prompted by a series of editorials written by Sarah Josepha Hale, proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day, to be celebrated on the final Thursday in November 1863:

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years, with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty three, and of the independence of the United States the eighty-eighth."

Proclamation of President Abraham Lincoln, October 3, 1863.

Since 1863, Thanksgiving has been observed annually in the United States.



I hope you all join me in Thanksgiving, honoring the Almighty God as Washington and Lincoln told us, and honoring our sons and daughters around the world defending our right to be free.

Now, for your delight, here are all the presidents since Roosevelt with their Thanksgiving turkey.

FDR

 

Truman

Ike

JFK

Johnson

Nixon

Ford

Rosalynn filled in for Jimmy

He was busy hunting turkeys

Is he the turkey?

Reagan first to officially pardon turkey

Bush Sr

Clinton

Bush Jr

Obama

Trump

 .

The Melchizedek Chronicles - The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia - What might destiny have in store? Can he complete the dreams of Cyrus the Great, Darius I and beloved Saladin?

Unify the Arab and Persian worlds

Restore the glory of the ancient empires?

Bring spiritual evolution to the Muslim world

Inspire peace between all religions

Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud 

June 21, 2017 became Crown Prince.

Born   August 31, 1985

If you were the Creator, God, Allah, YHWH, the Supreme Being, and looked down on your Creation today, what would you think?

Personally, I think he would be disappointed to say the least.  No matter what your culture or religion might be, I am quite sure your God shares the same sentiment.  We live in a contaminated world.

People have lost their moral and ethical compass, they no longer live the Will of the Creator, hate overshadows love and anger dominates fear.  We are more enslaved than any point in our history, financial, sexual, addictions, digital, depression and despair.
    

Of all the disappointment we caused, thanks to our free will and poor decision-making, one disappointment stands alone in the eyes of the Creator.

God’s creations, us, after all their time on Earth, have never brought peace, sustained peace, to the holiest of all lands on earth, the Holy Lands, home to where God once talked to humans and we talked to him.

Where the sacred teachings were revealed to man, the holiest of Holy sites still remain, and where Jesus lived and worked miracles for man.

The Holy Land - birthplace of three religions

There are three religions whose history is interwoven with the Holy Lands, the old city of Jerusalem, where each religion has sacred sites.  The most important of these include;

The Temple Mount (Haram Al-Sharif)

The Temple Mount is a massive plaza of stone in the South East corner of Jerusalem’s Old City surrounded by date palms and cypress trees. Arguably the most holy place in the city, it has major significance to all three religions (Islam, Judaism, and Christianity).

It’s thought to be Mount Moriah, where Abraham offered to sacrifice his son Isaac to God. Today on the Temple Mount complex you’ll find two important Islamic structures, the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

For Jews, the Temple Mount was the location of the First Temple built by King Solomon in 957 BC to house the Ark of the Covenant (which held the Ten Commandments) in a special room called “The Holy of Holies”.  It is the most sacred site in Judaism, and the Foundation Stone under the dome is where Earth was first created.

For Muslims, Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) is the 3rd holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. The rock under the dome is where the Prophet Muhammad left Earth to visit heaven on a winged horse during his Night Journey in the 7th Century. It was also the direction of Islamic prayer before God allowed Muhammad to pray towards Mecca instead.

For Christians, the Temple Mount is significant because the Jewish temple located here was where Jesus prayed daily and later preached with his disciples.  Jerusalem is also where the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus took place.

All three religions find themselves under attack from within their own congregations while also fighting off challenges from outside forces.  Oh yes, they even find time to fight each other in the process.

In order to understand the destiny of the Crown Prince in the eyes of Melchizedek, one must have a knowledge of the entire Middle East and the historic events that shaped them, not just the history of the region but of the entire world.

Recap of Middle East History

There is a reason Iran is considered the cradle of civilization, and the Middle East is the bridge between the European and Asian cultures, a crossroads for the world.  Yet for all the gifts bestowed on the Middle East by God or Allah, why is it not the holiest, most sacred, most peaceful place on Earth filled with the grace of the Creator?

Today, the young Crown Prince, has an opportunity before him to complete the dreams of some of the most powerful and beloved leaders of the Persian, Arab, and Muslim nations from the region.

Cyrus the Great, king of ancient Persia, founder of the greatness of the Achaemenids and of the Persian Empire (c. 559 – 529 B.C.)

Darius I (Darius the Great), king of ancient Persia (521 – 486 B.C.)

An-Nasir Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, known as Salah ad-Din or Saladin, was the first sultan of Egypt and Syria and the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. A Sunni Muslim of Kurdish ethnicity, Saladin led the Muslim military campaign against the Crusader states in the Levant (c. 1138 -- 1193 A.D.)

All sought to unify the Arabian – Persian – Middle East nations.  All wanted people of all religions to live in harmony and respect.  All protected not only the sacred sites of their own religion, but those of the other faiths as well.

Persian Facts

Persians entered Iran about 1,000 BCE.

Persians speak Persian (Farsi), related to Greek and Latin.

There are 120 million Persians, one half live in Iran.

Cyrus, the Achaemenid dynasty, build empire in 550 BCE

Most Persians are Shiite Muslims

Those are lofty goals that to this date have not been achieved.  Oh, several leaders came close, certainly the Persians Cyrus and Darius and Saladin, the Sunni Muslim.  Each consolidated or maintained major empires, and invoked the principles of coexistence, peace, and honor for all.  All three rank among the greatest leaders in the history of mankind.

The Greek versus Persian Empires

Few people, especially from the West, know the nature of the Middle East, the true history, nor the contributions to mankind that were generated in the Middle East.

Once upon a time, we all learned, there was the Greek Empire with adepts like Pythagoras to Socrates, Plato and Aristotle spanning the 600 BCE to 300 BCE era.  In western civilization it is considered the golden age of civilization, the hub of civilization of the world.

 

What we were not taught was there were other civilizations and cultures equally important to the evolution of mankind but located in areas not so well known as the European-based Greek Empire.

The Persian empire under Cyrus the Great was one, and would become the world’s first great superpower equaling Greece and the world in the areas of the culture, religion, science, art and technology.

Cyrus completed the consolidation of the Persian empire in 550 BCE by uniting the sacred sites of Mesopotamia, Egypt’s Nile Valley and India’s Indus Valley.

The Persian empire threatened the very existence of the Greek way of life and would remain the greatest threat to the Greek empire from 550 BCE until 334 BCE when Alexander the Great invaded Persia.

It took three years of grueling warfare and three decisive battles before Alexander smashed the Persian army and captured the Persian empire including the legendary city of Babylon, finally unifying the Greek and Persian competitors.  Yet Alexander died from disease at age 33 and his empire rapidly fell apart.

Conquering the Arab territories

Over the ensuing years many peoples would try to conquer and control the Middle East, especially the Arabian and Persian centers.  This included the Egyptians, Hittites, Philistines, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Turks, Franks and British among others and though the geographic boundaries and empire loyalties changed constantly the same people remained throughout the centuries.

It was not until the twentieth century that geographic stability was realized when the British allowed many nations to choose independence and they did. 

Yet even independence did not bring peace and today war still rages in the Middle East, 2,600 years after the rise of the Persian empire.

Arab Facts

There are 400 million Arabs.

Twenty-two nations are in Arab League (1945).

Arabs speak Arabic also incorporated into Persian.

So why does Melchizedek believe the Crown Prince might just be the one to complete the efforts of so many others before him and finally bring peace, stability, and tolerance again to the holiest lands in the world?

About the Crown Prince

Born August 31, 1985, Mohammed bin Salman is the eldest child of Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his third wife, Fahda bint Falah bin Sultan bin Hathleen al-Ajmi, the daughter of the head of a powerful Arabian tribe, known as the Al Ajman. Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was the son of Ibn Saud, the founder and the first king of Saudi Arabia. Salman bin Abdulaziz was the governor of Riyadh province for more than 50 years, until stepping down in 2011. During his tenure, he earned a reputation as an efficient, if harsh, administrator.

The Crown Prince and heir to the Saudi Family Monarchy and throne, comes from one of the richest families in the world.  No previous Arab or Persian leader had access to such astonishing wealth estimated at over $1.4 trillion.

He is young, appointed Crown Prince June 21, 2017 at the age of 32, about the same age Jesus was nearing the end of his ministry on earth.  At his age it is conceivable he could reign for many decades.  The health of his father makes it quite possible he could succeed to the throne in the very near future.

Educated in Saudi Arabia with a law degree, rare for Saudi wealthy, he is amazingly beloved by the youth of the Muslim world.  Having the faith and confidence of the younger generation for a monarch is a rare occurrence indeed in the volatile Middle East and future opportunities for youth are crucial to their support.

At the same time, he has opened the door to improved relations with the United States and Israel.

Muslim facts

There are 1.6 billion Muslims, most non-Arab.

90% of Muslims in the world are Sunni.

10% of Muslims are Shiite.

70% of Muslims live outside the Middle East.

Seven million Muslims live in America.

Sunni in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Shiite in Iran, Pakistan, India and Iraq.

Islam and the Muslim world

As the birthplace of Islam and holiest of holy sites, Saudi Arabia is the dominant nation for Sunni Muslims which make up 90% of the worldwide Muslim population.  The war-weary Middle East has dreamed of peace for 2,600 years and the Crown Prince has a real opportunity to complete the dreams of Saladin, Cyrus and others.

When Muhammad, the founder and prophet of Islam was alive (around 600 A.D.), the Arabs were tolerant of all religions as Jews, Christians and Arabs coexisted peacefully.  Long before his time dating back to the Persian empire days (500 BCE) when Zoroaster was the inspiration for the main religion, it was the same, a peaceful coexistence between different religions although the Christian and Islam faiths did not appear until centuries later.

Even after the birth of Christianity and Islam, when the legendary Saladin recaptured the Holy City of Jerusalem (1187 A.D.) for the Arab Kingdom, and negotiated a peace treaty with King Richard, Saladin still allowed the prisoners to leave with their belongings and sacred objects for worship.  Saladin was held in the highest prestige by friend and foe, even King Richard of England.

Islam Facts

Muslim believe in Islam.

Muhammad was born in Mecca in 570 AD.

Muslims believe in One God.

Allah - the Creator, the One True God

All-powerful, invisible and unknowable.

They revere the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him,

the last Prophet.

Muslims believe in all prophets before Muhammad.

and holy books brought by prophets

Psalms, the Torah, and the Gospel.

Believe in Day of Judgement, Angels and Predestination.

Accomplishments by Crown Prince

The Crown Prince is in a great position to use the power of the Saudi monarchy to bring peace between the Sunni and Shiite Muslims, and bring peace in the entire Middle East thanks to his relationship with the US and Israel.

To show his future vision for the Middle East, in April 2016, Prince Mohammed introduced Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia's vision of the future, which is aimed at making the kingdom the heart of the Arab and Islamic world, an investment powerhouse, and a hub that connects three continents.

The reformative initiative seeks to diversify and privatize the economy, and to make it less reliant on oil. By 2030, the initiative also aims to establish an e-government system.  He also announced a $500 billion plan to create a business and industrial zone extending across its borders into Jordan and Egypt which will focus on industries including energy and water, biotechnology, food, advanced manufacturing and entertainment, and will power itself solely with wind power and solar energy.

The Crown Prince has set in motion the potential for a revival of the incredible Arabian and Persian golden age when the world came to the Middle East to share in the culture, religion, science, art and technology at education centers throughout the land.

That is only the beginning.  He has also called for more entertainment options in the kingdom for both families and youth.

The cabinet passed regulations to reduce the power of the religious police.

An entertainment authority was established in May 2016.

In his attempt to override tradition, he also engaged younger Saudi Muslim scholars who are active on social media and better known among Saudi youth, as opposed to the kingdom's council of senior scholars who set official religious policy and often release religious opinions.

In December 2017, he lifted a 35-year ban on cinemas.

The monarchy ends the world's only ban on female drivers by announcing in September 2017 that they will be able to take the wheel from June 2018.

The decision is part of a vast modernization plan for the country inspired by the prince as he looks to bolster foreign investment.

Last year it was reported that Israel's Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz had invited the Crown Prince to visit Israel and recommended that peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israel happen under the kingdom's auspices.

The new crown prince is also driving a far more aggressive foreign policy to counter the influence of their regional rival, Iran.

Prince Mohammed says in March 2018 that if Iran develops a nuclear weapon, Riyadh will do so too.

In an interview with CBS television, he likens the territorial ambitions of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to those of Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany.

Riyadh holds deep reservations over the 2015 accord aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions and hails President Donald Trump's announcement in May 2018 that the United States is withdrawing from the deal.

In March 2018 the prince embarks on his first foreign tour as heir, visiting Egypt and Britain -- where he lunches with Queen Elizabeth II.

Prince Mohammed then spends two weeks in the US, meeting Trump and other political and economic leaders. He also goes to France and Spain.

Last fall, the 33-year-old Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman announced plans to modernize Saudi Arabia and return the restrictive Muslim country to “what we were before: a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions and to the world.” 

Make no mistake, there will be setbacks along the way as a biased media will continue to look for weakness and mistakes in the efforts of the Crown Prince.  The recent death of Jamal Khashoggi, a well-known journalist and critic of the Saudi government is the latest example.

When Turkey accused the Crown Prince of involvement in the murder, it was vehemently denied by the Crown Prince and Royal family.  Yet Turkey, a bitter enemy of the Saudi’s since the time of the ancient empires up through the Ottoman Empire in World War I, fed the liberal press a stream of damning charges against the Saudi’s.

Of course, the press did not discuss the cultural differences between the Muslim Sunni nation and the US system of democracy, nor the fact that China, Russia, and even present-day Turkey all had far worse records in killing citizens and human rights violations than Saudi Arabia.

Only God can pass judgement on what happened, and the same God offers redemption and salvation to all souls.  If there is a chance the Crown Prince can achieve what destiny has to offer him, then the good he does for the world will far eclipse what it took to get there.   

In the end, the strength of Saudi Arabia, the fierce independence of the Arabian, Arab, Persian and Muslim residents, and the sacred sites and Holy Lands they occupy will be available to all people and religions of the world.  They will be the envy of many nations, and after 2,600 years of war they will finally take their rightful place as a leader at the table for the future of all mankind.

Melchizedek believes Saudi Arabia and the Crown Prince are up to the challenge and the world can only benefit if they are given the chance to lead.

Who are Muslims?

Muslims submit to the Will of God

Under Islam what is the Muslim character?

A Muslim is truthful, not dishonest

He is humble, not arrogant

He is moderate, not an extremist

He is honest, not corrupt

He is reserved, not garrulous

He is soft-spoken, not boastful

He is loving and solicitous to others, not unmindful of them

He is considerate and compassionate, not harsh

He is polite and helpful, not insulting and disrespectful to people

He is generous and charitable, not selfish and miserly

He is refined and gentle in speech, not prone to swearing or cursing

He is cheerful and generous, not bitter and resentful

He is grateful for what he has, not ungrateful

He is cheerful and pleasant, not irritable and gloomy

He is chaste and pure, not lustful

He is alert, not absent-minded

He is dignified and decent, not graceless

He is sincere and straightforward, not hypocritical

He is optimistic and hopeful, not cynical or pessimistic

He is confident and deep in faith, not doubtful and wavering

He is spiritually oriented, not materialistic

He always has faith in God’s mercy, not losing heart or becoming desperate

He is diligent and vigilant, not negligent to his duties

He is thankful to God and constantly prays to Him, not forgetful of His innumerable blessings