“And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off . . . Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:” Exodus 24:1, 9, KJV
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee . . . And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle. And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.” Numbers 11:16, 24-25, KJV
“And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about. And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.” Ezekiel 8:9-12, KJV
In the New Testament, we find the counterpart to these Seventy Elders in such verses as the following; however, they were definitely not the same God-fearing people who comprised the Sanhedrin under Moses’ leadership. If they had been, they wouldn’t have killed Jesus Christ:
“But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” Matthew 5:22, KJV
“Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;” Matthew 26:59, KJV
“And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate.” Mark 15:1, KJV
“And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.” Acts 5:21, KJV
“On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.” Acts 22:30, KJV
Please note that the word “council” is derived from the Greek form of the word “Sanhedrin”, which is transliterated from Greek as “sunedrion”.
It is certain we have lost our senses,
To Planet Earth look what we have done,
Our cities have become so polluted,
We can barely see the stars and Sun.
Water supplies are tainted with toxins,
Everyday we breathe in dangerous fumes,
Our crops are filled with chemicals,
Surely we are building our own tombs.
Plastics have become a huge scourge,
They fill oceans from east to west,
God gave us such a wonderful world,
But we have miserably failed His test.
The Earth is the Lord’s we’re told,
The Bible makes this truth so plain,
So considering what we’ve done to it,
Is there any doubt we must be insane?
Let me start by saying that since joining Twitter back in February of 2011, I have been a very active user. In fact, to date — April 21, 2023 — I have posted over 43,000 tweets, and I continue to be very active to this day. One would think that given my amount of time on Twitter, plus the number of tweets I have made, and my normal level of engagement, by this time, I would have quite a following, and many of my tweets would have received thousands of views and thousands of likes, comments and retweets, right?
Sadly, such is not the case whatsoever, and has never been the case. Prior to the arrival of Elon Musk, and due to the fact that Twitter was controlled by liberals who have a clear bias against Conservatives and Christians, my tweets didn’t stand a chance for getting any real exposure. In other words, it was very obvious that I was shadow banned. So, not surprisingly, most, if not all, of my tweets received 0 to 5 views, and very rarely, if ever, a like, comment or retweet.
Then along came Elon Musk with his vision of liberating Twitter from the hands of those nasty liberals, right? I wish. Other than paying for a few boosted posts on Facebook quite some time ago — which proved to be a total waste of money insofar as improved outreach was concerned — I have never paid for boosted posts, sponsored ads, or whatever you wish to call it.
But, here’s the thing. Until recently, I have admired Elon Musk to a certain degree due to his obvious accomplishments in the technological, scientific and automotive fields. Thus, contrary to my normal modus operandi, I decided to subscribe to the new Twitter Blue verification system. In fact, to show good faith, I spent $84.00 for a full year of Twitter Blue on March 29, 2023.
While the new Twitter Blue offers subscribers certain perks — such as longer tweets and editable tweets for the first thirty minutes, which I do like — my primary interest in subscribing to the service was the hope that my tweets would receive a lot more exposure, thus resulting in more likes, comments and retweets. So after being admitted and receiving my Twitter Blue badge, I watched and waited for the “miracle” to begin …. and I waited …. and I waited.
Folks, what a total disappointment! It didn’t take me long to figure out that my dream of better exposure and more user interaction was a pipe dream and a dud. Not only have I been very disappointed, but I have also felt cheated, used, suckered and scammed. In short, the returns I have been getting since signing up with Twitter Blue — insofar as my personal objectives are concerned — have been basically zilch! In other words, except for a few rare tweets which might get up to perhaps 15 views, all of my tweets continue to receive 0 to 5 views on average, and for the most part, no comments, no likes, and no retweets. So what was the point of even subscribing to Twitter Blue?
In fact, I have felt so cheated, that on four different occasions, I have contacted Twitter via regular email, and via their online contact form. In each of my messages to them, I have clearly spelled out my disappointment and frustration. One would think that because I had paid for the service, I would at least receive a decent human response from Twitter, right?
Again, not so! Each time that I have written to them, I have received the very same automated response. I mean the exact same wording. The only difference is that they add a different name at the end to make it appear as if the response is coming from a human. The fact that I am not even worthy of a real human response after paying the required $84.00 aggravates me even further. Following is a copy of the email I have received from Twitter’s automated system three times between April 1, 2023 and April 4, 2023:
—– Begin Quote —–
Hello Bill,
We’ve determined that your request is not related to Twitter paid features and encourage you to search the Twitter Help Center for further information related to your request.
If you need assistance with one of the following topics, please refile your case with the appropriate option below:
Locked or suspended account
Issues logging in
Privacy on Twitter
Safety (harassment, threats, possible rule violations)
Impersonation (platform manipulation, spam)
Intellectual property (trademark and copyright infringement)
If you have another issue or feedback you’d like to share, please submit it using this form.
Thanks,
[Bogus human name here]
Twitter
—– End Quote —–
If anyone doubts what I am saying here, you can easily visit my Twitter account at https://twitter.com/bill_kochman and look at some of my tweets yourself. Other than the tweet which I have pinned at the top of my account page — which has a higher number of views due to trains I have joined — all other tweets have zero to just a few views, and rarely any interactions.
To further prove my point, I used the Twitter Engagement Calculator which is found at https://mention.com/en/twitter-engagement-calculator/. The calculator proves what I already knew. The new Twitter Blue is basically a scam, and a complete waste of money, insofar as increased exposure and increased user interaction is concerned. To reiterate, I feel seriously cheated. Here are the results:
—– Begin Quote —–
We analyzed the last 10 tweets of Bill Kochman.
The average engagement rate is 0.0%.
? Need improvement
On average Bill Kochman get’s:
* 0.0 likes per tweet
* 0.0 replies per tweet
* 0.0 retweets per tweet.
—– End Quote —–
For all intents and purposes, despite being subscribed to Twitter Blue, it appears that I am still being shadow banned, just like prior to Elon Musk’s arrival at Twitter. So let me ask you a question. What is the point of being able to make longer tweets if nobody ever sees them? Unless Musk fixes this, and I see much improved results in the form of better exposure and more user interactions, I most definitely will NOT be renewing my Twitter Blue subscription a year from now. As they say, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!”
“And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty . . . And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” Revelation 16:13-14, 16, KJV
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS . . . And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.” Revelation 19:11-16, 20-21, KJV
“As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep . . . Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” John 10:15, 17-18, KJV
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13, KJV
“Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” 1 John 3:16, KJV
“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” 1 John 4:10, KJV
“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8, KJV
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” John 3:16-17, KJV
To see many more of my KJV Bible verse lists, go to:
“And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” Luke 2:34-35, KJV
“Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” Matthew 10:34-37, KJV
“Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him.” John 7:40-43, KJV
“If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.” John 15:22, KJV
“But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, nd the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men nd brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the ope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question. nd when he had so said, there arose a dissension between he Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was ivided. For the Sadducees say that there is no esurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees onfess both.” Acts 23:6-8, KJV
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12, KJV
“Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Acts 2:37, KJV
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:” Ephesians 6:17, KJV
“And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;” Isaiah 49:2, KJV
“And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.” Revelation 1:13-16, KJV
“And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges . . . Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” Revelation 2:12, 16, KJV
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS . . . “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.” Revelation 19:11-16, 20-21, KJV
TWITTER BLUE: Is It Worth It?
Read the full commentary at: https://www.billkochman.com/Blog/index.php/twitter-blue-is-it-worth-it/
Let me start by saying that since joining Twitter back in February of 2011, I have been a very active user. In fact, to date — April 21, 2023 — I have posted over 43,000 tweets, and I continue to be very active to this day. One would think that given my amount of time on Twitter, plus the number of tweets I have made, and my normal level of engagement, by this time, I would have quite a following, and many of my tweets would have received thousands of views and thousands of likes, comments and retweets, right?
Sadly, such is not the case whatsoever, and has never been the case. Prior to the arrival of Elon Musk, and due to the fact that Twitter was controlled by liberals who have a clear bias against Conservatives and Christians, my tweets didn’t stand a chance for getting any real exposure. In other words, it was very obvious that I was shadow banned. So, not surprisingly, most, if not all, of my tweets received 0 to 5 views, and very rarely, if ever, a like, comment or retweet.
Then along came Elon Musk with his vision of liberating Twitter from the hands of those nasty liberals, right? I wish. Other than paying for a few boosted posts on Facebook quite some time ago — which proved to be a total waste of money insofar as improved outreach was concerned — I have never paid for boosted posts, sponsored ads, or whatever you wish to call it.
But, here’s the thing. Until recently, I have admired Elon Musk to a certain degree due to his obvious accomplishments in the technological, scientific and automotive fields. Thus, contrary to my normal modus operandi, I decided to subscribe to the new Twitter Blue verification system. In fact, to show good faith, I spent $84.00 for a full year of Twitter Blue on March 29, 2023.
While the new Twitter Blue offers subscribers certain perks — such as longer tweets and editable tweets for the first thirty minutes, which I do like — my primary interest in subscribing to the service was the hope that my tweets would receive a lot more exposure, thus resulting in more likes, comments and retweets. So after being admitted and receiving my Twitter Blue badge, I watched and waited for the “miracle” to begin …. and I waited …. and I waited.
Folks, what a total disappointment! It didn’t take me long to figure out that my dream of better exposure and more user interaction was a pipe dream and a dud. Not only have I been very disappointed, but I have also felt cheated, used, suckered and scammed. In short, the returns I have been getting since signing up with Twitter Blue — insofar as my personal objectives are concerned — have been basically zilch! In other words, except for a few rare tweets which might get up to perhaps 15 views, all of my tweets continue to receive 0 to 5 views on average, and for the most part, no comments, no likes, and no retweets. So what was the point of even subscribing to Twitter Blue?
In fact, I have felt so cheated, that on four different occasions, I have contacted Twitter via regular email, and via their online contact form. In each of my messages to them, I have clearly spelled out my disappointment and frustration. One would think that because I had paid for the service, I would at least receive a decent human response from Twitter, right?
Again, not so! Each time that I have written to them, I have received the very same automated response. I mean the exact same wording. The only difference is that they add a different name at the end to make it appear as if the response is coming from a human. The fact that I am not even worthy of a real human response after paying the required $84.00 aggravates me even further. Following is a copy of the email I have received from Twitter’s automated system three times between April 1, 2023 and April 4, 2023:
—– Begin Quote —–
Hello Bill,
We’ve determined that your request is not related to Twitter paid features and encourage you to search the Twitter Help Center for further information related to your request.
If you need assistance with one of the following topics, please refile your case with the appropriate option below:
Locked or suspended account
Issues logging in
Privacy on Twitter
Safety (harassment, threats, possible rule violations)
Impersonation (platform manipulation, spam)
Intellectual property (trademark and copyright infringement)
If you have another issue or feedback you’d like to share, please submit it using this form.
Thanks,
[Bogus human name here]
Twitter
—– End Quote —–
If anyone doubts what I am saying here, you can easily visit my Twitter account at https://twitter.com/bill_kochman and look at some of my tweets yourself. Other than the tweet which I have pinned at the top of my account page — which has a higher number of views due to trains I have joined — all other tweets have zero to just a few views, and rarely any interactions.
To further prove my point, I used the Twitter Engagement Calculator which is found at https://mention.com/en/twitter-engagement-calculator/. The calculator proves what I already knew. The new Twitter Blue is basically a scam, and a complete waste of money, insofar as increased exposure and increased user interaction is concerned. To reiterate, I feel seriously cheated. Here are the results:
—– Begin Quote —–
We analyzed the last 10 tweets of Bill Kochman.
The average engagement rate is 0.0%.
? Need improvement
On average Bill Kochman get’s:
* 0.0 likes per tweet
* 0.0 replies per tweet
* 0.0 retweets per tweet.
—– End Quote —–
For all intents and purposes, despite being subscribed to Twitter Blue, it appears that I am still being shadow banned, just like prior to Elon Musk’s arrival at Twitter. So let me ask you a question. What is the point of being able to make longer tweets if nobody ever sees them? Unless Musk fixes this, and I see much improved results in the form of better exposure and more user interactions, I most definitely will NOT be renewing my Twitter Blue subscription a year from now. As they say, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me!”