Language is understood as any means, vocal or other, by which feelings or thoughts are expressed or communicated. In general, language means a body of words and the methods of combining them in order to be understood by a community of people.
Language is most intimately associated with the mind, which employs the speech organs -throat, tongue, lips, and teeth- as its instruments. Thinking and words go together, and words are man's principal means of receiving, storing, manipulating and transmitting information. Of all earth's creatures only man has the ability of true and intelligent speech.
Language had been employed for untold ages prior to man's appearance on the universe scene. God maintained a good communication with his heavenly first-born Son. Hence he was called the 'Word.'
The apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 13, made reference to 'tongues of men and of angels.' God speaks to his angelic creatures 'in their tongue' and they carried out His Word.
Since God and His spirit sons are not reliant upon an atmosphere, which makes possible the sound waves and vibrations necessary for human speech, angelic language is obviously beyond human conception or attainment. To talk with men as God's messenger, angels therefore employed human language, and angelic messages are recorded in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.
Hebrew: Genesis 22 ..."But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, 'Abraham, Abraham!' And he said, 'Here am I.' He said, 'Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.' ....
And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, 'By myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the Gate of their enemies, and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed My Voice.' "
Aramaic: Daniel 7 "In the 1st year of Bels'Haz'Zar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, and told the sum of the matter."
Daniel said, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the 4 Winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. And 4 Great Beasts came up out of the Sea, different from one another,"
"The 1st was like a Lion and had Eagles' wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted from the ground and made to stand upon two feet like a man; and the Mind of Man was given to it."
"And behold, another beast, a 2nd one, like a Bear. It was raised up on one side; it had 3 ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, 'Arise, devour much flesh.' "
"After this I looked, and lo, another, like a Leopard, with 4 wings of a bird on its back; and the beast had 4 heads; and dominion was given to it."
"After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a 4th beast, terrible and dreadful and exceedingly strong; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet.
It was different from all the beasts that were before it; and it had 10 horns. I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which 3 of the first horns were plucked up by the roots; and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things."
"As I looked, thrones were placed and one that was Ancient of Days took his seat; his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, its wheels were burning fire."
"A stream of fire issued and came forth from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the Books were opened."
"I looked then because of the sound of the Great Words which the horn was speaking. And as I looked the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time."
"I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came One Like a Son of Man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed."
"As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious and the visions of my head alarmed me. "
"I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the Truth concerning all this. So he told me, and made known to me the interpretation of the things. This 4 Great Beasts are 4 Kings who shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, for ever and ever."
Greek : Revelation 11 "Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told: 'Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the Court outside the temple, leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample over the holy city for 42 months, And I will grant my 2 Witnesses power to prophecy for 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth."
"These are the 2 Olive Trees and the 2 Lamp-stands which stand before the Lord of the earth. And if any one would harm them, Fire pours from their mouths and consumes their foes; if any one would harm them, thus he is doomed to be killed. They have power to Shut the Sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the Waters to turn them into blood, and to Smite the Earth with every plague, as often as they desire."
"And when they have finished their testimony, the Beast that ascends from the bottomless pit will make war upon them and conquer them and kill them, and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the Great City which is allegorically called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified."
"For 3 1/2 days men from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these 2 prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth."
"But after the 3 1/2 days a breath of Life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. Then they heard a Loud Voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up hither!" And in the sight of their foes they went up to heaven in a cloud."
"And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a 10th of the City fell; 7000 people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven."
"The 2nd woe has passed; behold, the 3rd woe is soon to come. Then the 7th angel blew his trumpet, and there were Loud Voices in Heaven, saying, 'The Kingdom of the World has Become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever."
"And the 24 elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God saying,
'We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who are and who was, that you have taken the great power and begun to reign."
"The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear Your Name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth."
"Then God's temple in heaven was opened , and the Ark of His Covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashed of lightning, Voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail."
Trying to understand how this world function in our minds. Interrelation between physical and nonphysical entities.
Sunday, 28 August 2016
PHOENIC' IA ORIGINS.
Phoenic'Ia was an ancient civilization that were primarily known as sailors who developed a high level of skill in ship-building and were able to navigate the often turbulent waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
Phoenic'Ians were composed of independent city-states settled along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea stretching through what is now Syr'Ia, Lebann'On, and Northern Isra'El. The city-states began to take form around 3200 BC and were firmly established by 2750 BC. The island city of Tyre and the city of Sidon were the most powerful states with Geb'Al/Byblos ans Baal'Bek as the most important spiritual / religious centers.
They were highly regarded for their skill in ship-building, glass-making, the production of dyes, and an impressive level of skill in the manufacture of luxury and common goods.
Ship building seems to have been perfected at Geb'Al/Byblos where the design of the curved hull was first initiated. Over the following centuries, Geb'Al/Byblos and other city-states such as Tyre, Sidon, Arvad, and Beirut, created an important 'niche' for themselves by transporting luxury goods and bulk raw materials from overseas markets back to the Near East. These new trade routes took in much of the Eastern Mediterranean, including Cyprus, Rhodes, the Cyclades, mainland Greece, Crete, the Libyan coast, and Egypt. The sailors were also known to have traveled to Britain and to Mesopotamian ports.
The cargo of these ships carried ingots of copper and tin, storage vessels containing unguents, wine, oil,
glass, gold and silver jewelry, glazed earthen-ware, painted pottery, tools, and scrap metal.
Phoenic'Ians were known by the Greeks as the 'Purple People,' owing to the dye manufactured at Sidon and used extensively at Tyre), or as the 'Horse People' owing to the ornately carved horse heads which adorned the prows of their ships. This horse heads were purposeful tributes to honor the might of their sea god Y'Amm, the brother of M'Ot, the god of death, and were used on the ships to placate the god's mood, needed to be constantly appeased to prevent his wanton destruction of the ships at the sea.
Y'Amm (Hebrew word for 'sea') was depicted as tyrannical, angry, violent, and harsh, and closely associated with chaos. The god was in constant conflict with Baal Ha'Dad, the son of the supreme god El, a force of Order. Both gods met each other in combat on the Plains of Heaven and, after the defeat of Y'Amm, the god was cast out of heaven into the depths of chaos. Still, Y'Amm wished to dethrone Baal Ha'Dad and rule in heaven and so he came back from the depths beneath the seas to battle for heaven's gates, bringing chaos with him. Y'Amm was defeated again and exiled to the seas where he directs his rage against humans.
The 'Purple Dye' manufactured and used in Tyre for the robes of Mesopotamian royalty gave to the Phoenic'Ians the Name by which we know it today (from Greek 'Phoinik'Es' for Tyr'Anian Purple) because the dye stained the skin of the workers.
The extraordinary skill of the artists of Sidon in glass-making made the thought that the Sidon'Ians invented the glass. They provided the model for the Egyptian manufacture of faience and set the standard for work in bronze and silver. They developed the art of mass production in similar artifacts, fashioned in the same way and in large quantities. All of this was accomplished through the competition between the city-states (particularly keen between Tyre and Sidon), the skill of the sailors who transported the goods, and the high art attained by the craftsmen in the manufacture of the goods.
Herod'Otus cites Phoenic'Ia as the birthplace of the Alpha'Bet, stating that it was brought to Greece by the Phoenic'Ian Cadm'Us (before 8th BC) and that, prior to that time, the Greeks had no alpha'bet.
The Phoenic'Ian Alpha'Bet is the basis for most Western Languages written today and their city of Geb'Al (called by the Greeks 'Byblos') gave the Bible its name (Greek 'Ta Biblia', 'The Books') as Geb'Al was the great exporter of papyrus ('bublos' to the Greeks) which was the paper used in writing in ancient Egypt and Greece.
In its time Phoenic'Ia was known as Can'Aan and is the land referenced in the Hebrew Scriptures to which Moses led the Israelites from Egypt and which Joshua then conquered.
The people of the land recognized a shared ethnic identity as Cann'Ai, inhabitants of the land Can'Aan yet, despite a common linguistic, cultural, and religious inheritance, the region was very rarely united, with each city operating as a sovereign state ruled over by a king.
The city-states flourished through maritime trade between 1500 - 322 BC when the major cities were conquered by Alexander the Great. In 334 BC he conquered Baal'Bek (re-naming it Heliopolis) and marched to subdue Tyre and Sidon in 332 BC. Upon his arrival at Tyre, the citizens followed Sidon' s example by submitted peacefully to Alexander's demand for submission. He then wished to offer a sacrifice in the holy temple of Melq'Art at Tyre and this the Tyrians could not allow. The beliefs of the Tyrians forbade foreigners from sacrificing, or even attending services, in the temple, and so they offered Alexander a compromise whereby he could offer sacrifice in the Old City on the mainland but not in the temple on the island complex of Tyre. He found this proposal unacceptable and sent envoys to Tyre demanding the surrender. The Tyrians killed the envoys and threw their bodies over the walls.
At this point Alexander ordered the siege of Tyre and was so determined to take the city that he built a causeway from the ruins of the Old City, debris, and felled trees, from the mainland to the island (which owing to sediment deposits over centuries is why Tyre is not an island today), and, after 7 months, breached the walls and massacred most of the populace. It is estimated that over 30,000 citizens of Tyre were massacred or sold into slavery and only those wealthy enough to properly bribe Alexander were allowed to escape with their lives (besides those who found a way to escape by stealth).
After the Fall of Tyre, the other city-states surrendered to Alexander's rule, thus ending the Phoenic'Ian Civilization and ushering in the Hellenistic Age. After Alexander's death, the region became a battle ground in the fight between his generals for succession and their empire.
By 64 BC the disassembled parts of Phoenic'Ia were annexed by Rome and, by 15 BC were colonies of the Roman Empire with Heliopolis remaining an important pilgrimage site which boasted the grandest religious building (Temple of Jupiter Baal) in all of the Empire, the ruins of which remain well preserved to this day.
The Bible refers to the Phoenic'Ians as the 'princes of the sea' in a passage from Ezeki'El 26 and 27, in which the prophet seems to predict the destruction of the city-state of Tyre and Sidon.
Melq'Art was the highest god and patron of the city of Tyre, equivalent to Baal at Sidon. The god was associated with monarchy, sea, hunting, colonization, and commercial enterprise, both at home and abroad. The deity, in addition, assumed some of the characteristics of both Adonis and Eshmun as he was the focus of a festival of resurrection each year (February-March). He was responsible for the cities commercial success as we can see that the discovered of the dye the Phoenic'Ians extracted from the murex shellfish, which they used to create their famous purple cloth, was attributed to him.
Religion was an inseparable part of everyday life and remarkably constant, due to the geography of the region where their land were contained on the narrow coast of the Levant and backed by the Mountains creating a border with their Ar'Ama'Eans and Hebrew neighbors. Their beliefs influenced the Mediterraneans and continued to evolve and was perpetuated by their greatest colony of all, Cart'Hage.
Phoenic'Ians were composed of independent city-states settled along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea stretching through what is now Syr'Ia, Lebann'On, and Northern Isra'El. The city-states began to take form around 3200 BC and were firmly established by 2750 BC. The island city of Tyre and the city of Sidon were the most powerful states with Geb'Al/Byblos ans Baal'Bek as the most important spiritual / religious centers.
They were highly regarded for their skill in ship-building, glass-making, the production of dyes, and an impressive level of skill in the manufacture of luxury and common goods.
Ship building seems to have been perfected at Geb'Al/Byblos where the design of the curved hull was first initiated. Over the following centuries, Geb'Al/Byblos and other city-states such as Tyre, Sidon, Arvad, and Beirut, created an important 'niche' for themselves by transporting luxury goods and bulk raw materials from overseas markets back to the Near East. These new trade routes took in much of the Eastern Mediterranean, including Cyprus, Rhodes, the Cyclades, mainland Greece, Crete, the Libyan coast, and Egypt. The sailors were also known to have traveled to Britain and to Mesopotamian ports.
The cargo of these ships carried ingots of copper and tin, storage vessels containing unguents, wine, oil,
glass, gold and silver jewelry, glazed earthen-ware, painted pottery, tools, and scrap metal.
Phoenic'Ians were known by the Greeks as the 'Purple People,' owing to the dye manufactured at Sidon and used extensively at Tyre), or as the 'Horse People' owing to the ornately carved horse heads which adorned the prows of their ships. This horse heads were purposeful tributes to honor the might of their sea god Y'Amm, the brother of M'Ot, the god of death, and were used on the ships to placate the god's mood, needed to be constantly appeased to prevent his wanton destruction of the ships at the sea.
Y'Amm (Hebrew word for 'sea') was depicted as tyrannical, angry, violent, and harsh, and closely associated with chaos. The god was in constant conflict with Baal Ha'Dad, the son of the supreme god El, a force of Order. Both gods met each other in combat on the Plains of Heaven and, after the defeat of Y'Amm, the god was cast out of heaven into the depths of chaos. Still, Y'Amm wished to dethrone Baal Ha'Dad and rule in heaven and so he came back from the depths beneath the seas to battle for heaven's gates, bringing chaos with him. Y'Amm was defeated again and exiled to the seas where he directs his rage against humans.
The 'Purple Dye' manufactured and used in Tyre for the robes of Mesopotamian royalty gave to the Phoenic'Ians the Name by which we know it today (from Greek 'Phoinik'Es' for Tyr'Anian Purple) because the dye stained the skin of the workers.
The extraordinary skill of the artists of Sidon in glass-making made the thought that the Sidon'Ians invented the glass. They provided the model for the Egyptian manufacture of faience and set the standard for work in bronze and silver. They developed the art of mass production in similar artifacts, fashioned in the same way and in large quantities. All of this was accomplished through the competition between the city-states (particularly keen between Tyre and Sidon), the skill of the sailors who transported the goods, and the high art attained by the craftsmen in the manufacture of the goods.
Herod'Otus cites Phoenic'Ia as the birthplace of the Alpha'Bet, stating that it was brought to Greece by the Phoenic'Ian Cadm'Us (before 8th BC) and that, prior to that time, the Greeks had no alpha'bet.
The Phoenic'Ian Alpha'Bet is the basis for most Western Languages written today and their city of Geb'Al (called by the Greeks 'Byblos') gave the Bible its name (Greek 'Ta Biblia', 'The Books') as Geb'Al was the great exporter of papyrus ('bublos' to the Greeks) which was the paper used in writing in ancient Egypt and Greece.
In its time Phoenic'Ia was known as Can'Aan and is the land referenced in the Hebrew Scriptures to which Moses led the Israelites from Egypt and which Joshua then conquered.
The people of the land recognized a shared ethnic identity as Cann'Ai, inhabitants of the land Can'Aan yet, despite a common linguistic, cultural, and religious inheritance, the region was very rarely united, with each city operating as a sovereign state ruled over by a king.
The city-states flourished through maritime trade between 1500 - 322 BC when the major cities were conquered by Alexander the Great. In 334 BC he conquered Baal'Bek (re-naming it Heliopolis) and marched to subdue Tyre and Sidon in 332 BC. Upon his arrival at Tyre, the citizens followed Sidon' s example by submitted peacefully to Alexander's demand for submission. He then wished to offer a sacrifice in the holy temple of Melq'Art at Tyre and this the Tyrians could not allow. The beliefs of the Tyrians forbade foreigners from sacrificing, or even attending services, in the temple, and so they offered Alexander a compromise whereby he could offer sacrifice in the Old City on the mainland but not in the temple on the island complex of Tyre. He found this proposal unacceptable and sent envoys to Tyre demanding the surrender. The Tyrians killed the envoys and threw their bodies over the walls.
At this point Alexander ordered the siege of Tyre and was so determined to take the city that he built a causeway from the ruins of the Old City, debris, and felled trees, from the mainland to the island (which owing to sediment deposits over centuries is why Tyre is not an island today), and, after 7 months, breached the walls and massacred most of the populace. It is estimated that over 30,000 citizens of Tyre were massacred or sold into slavery and only those wealthy enough to properly bribe Alexander were allowed to escape with their lives (besides those who found a way to escape by stealth).
After the Fall of Tyre, the other city-states surrendered to Alexander's rule, thus ending the Phoenic'Ian Civilization and ushering in the Hellenistic Age. After Alexander's death, the region became a battle ground in the fight between his generals for succession and their empire.
By 64 BC the disassembled parts of Phoenic'Ia were annexed by Rome and, by 15 BC were colonies of the Roman Empire with Heliopolis remaining an important pilgrimage site which boasted the grandest religious building (Temple of Jupiter Baal) in all of the Empire, the ruins of which remain well preserved to this day.
The Bible refers to the Phoenic'Ians as the 'princes of the sea' in a passage from Ezeki'El 26 and 27, in which the prophet seems to predict the destruction of the city-state of Tyre and Sidon.
Melq'Art was the highest god and patron of the city of Tyre, equivalent to Baal at Sidon. The god was associated with monarchy, sea, hunting, colonization, and commercial enterprise, both at home and abroad. The deity, in addition, assumed some of the characteristics of both Adonis and Eshmun as he was the focus of a festival of resurrection each year (February-March). He was responsible for the cities commercial success as we can see that the discovered of the dye the Phoenic'Ians extracted from the murex shellfish, which they used to create their famous purple cloth, was attributed to him.
Religion was an inseparable part of everyday life and remarkably constant, due to the geography of the region where their land were contained on the narrow coast of the Levant and backed by the Mountains creating a border with their Ar'Ama'Eans and Hebrew neighbors. Their beliefs influenced the Mediterraneans and continued to evolve and was perpetuated by their greatest colony of all, Cart'Hage.
Saturday, 27 August 2016
THE CHARACTER OF JEHOSHAPHAT, KING OF JUDAH.
Je'Hosh'A'Phat (God is Judge) was the son of Judah King A'Sa by Azub'Ah the daughter of Shil'Hi. At the age of 35 he succeeded his father to the throne. His reign was contemporaneous with that of Israelite Kings Ah'Ab, Ahazi'Ah, and Je'Ho'Ram.
Je'Hosh'A'Phat' s reign was marked by stability, prosperity, glory, and relative peace with neighboring lands. He received presents from his subjects and tribute from the Philistines, and Arabs.
As King of Judah, he strengthened his position by putting military forces in his fortified cities, and garrisons both in the land of Judah and in Israelite territory captured by his father. Also he built more fortified places and storages.
At Jerusalem a large body of valiant warriors served the royal interests.
Je'Hosh'A'Phat manifested a great concern for true worship and commissioned certain princes, Levites and priests to teach God's Law in the cities of Judah. He also sanctified Holy Offerings and personally traveled throughout his spiritual realm, directing his subjects to return to God's worship in faithfulness.
Courageously he continued the campaign against idolatry started by A'Sa, his father, and high places, sacred poles, and the remaining Male Temple Prostitutes began to disappear from his dominion. But improper worship at high places was so entrenched among the Israelites that Je'Hosh'A'Phat 's efforts did not completely and permanently eradicate it.
His reign witnessed the institution of a better Judicial System. The king himself impressed upon the judges the importance of being impartial and free from bribery, since they were judging, not form man, but for the God of Israel. He proved himself to be a king who relied fully on God.
When Judah was threatened by the combined forces of Ammon, Moab, and the mountainous region of Se'Ir, he humbly acknowledged the nation's weakness in the face of this danger and prayed to God for help. Thereafter God fought for Judah by striking confusion into the ranks' mind of the enemy so that they slaughtered one another. Consequently the surrounding nations became fearful and Judah continued to enjoy peace. 2 Chronicles 20.
Je'Hosh'A'Phat maintained peace with the Northern Kingdom and formed a marriage alliance with Ah'Ab. For this reason on several occasions he was drawn into other alliances with them. During a visit in the northern kingdom sometime after the marriage of Ahab's daughter Atha'Liah to his first born Je'Ho'Ram, he agreed to accompany king Ahab in a military venture to recover Ramot-Gilead from the Syrians. However, before actually starting out, Je'Hosh'A'Phat requested that Ahab inquire of God's guidance. 400 prophets assured Ahab of success. But God's true prophet Mica'Iah, hated by Ahab but called at Je'Hosh'A'Phat's insistence, foretold certain defeat. Nevertheless, Je'Hosh'A'Phat, keeping his word in going with Ahab to the venture, went into battle dressed in his royal garments. Ahab had taken the precaution to disguise himself, making the Syrians belief that Je'Hosh'A'Phat was Israel's king, and therefore subjected him to the heaviest attack. Je'Hosh'A'Phat barely escaped with his life, and Ahab, despite the disguise, was mortally wounded.
Upon retuned to Jerusalem, Je'Hosh'A'Phat was censured for unwisely allying himself with wicked Ahab, the visionary Jehu saying to him: "Is it to the wicked that help is to be given, and is it for those hating God that you should have love? And for this there is indignation against you from the person of God."
Later, Je'Hosh'A'Phat became partner to King Ahaz'Iah, Ahab's successor, in a shipbuilding enterprise at Ezion-Geber on the Gulf of Aqabah. But God disapproved of this maritime alliance with wicked Ahaz'Iah. Therefore, in fulfillment of prophecy, the ships were wrecked.
Sometime after this Je'Hosh'A'Phat joined Ahaz'Iah's successor to the throne, Je'Ho'Ram, and the king of Edom in a military offensive to put down Moabite King Mesha's revolt against the 10-tribe kingdom.
But the armies of the alliance became entrapped in a waterless wilderness. Je'Hosh'A'Phat therefore called for a prophet of God. Only out of regard for Je'Hosh'A'Phat did the prophet Elisha seek divine inspiration, and his subsequent advice saved the 3 kings and their armies from disaster.
While Je'Hosh'A'Phat was still alive he gave the kingship to his firstborn Je'Ho'Ram, but to his other sons he gave precious gifts and fortified cities in Judah.
Particularly after Je'Hosh'A'Phat's death and burial in the city of David did the marriage alliance with the House of Ahab prove to be disastrous for the kingdom of Judah. Under the influence of Athaliah, Je'Ho'Ram abandoned the Right Course of his father and revived idolatrous practices.
In the Book of Joel, chapter 3, evidently, the Low Plain of Je'Hosh'A'Phat, is a symbolic place, also called the Low Plain of the Decision. Since it relates to God's execution of Judgment, it is appropriately designated using the name of Je'Hosh'A'Phat that encircle the meaning 'God is Judge.' Also, during his reign God delivered Judah and Jerusalem from the combined forces of 3 huge military forces of Ammon, Moab, and the mountainous region of Se'Ir, causing the enemy forces to become confused and to slaughter one another.
The low plain itself serves as a huge symbolic winepress for crushing the nations like bunches of grapes.
Je'Hosh'A'Phat' s reign was marked by stability, prosperity, glory, and relative peace with neighboring lands. He received presents from his subjects and tribute from the Philistines, and Arabs.
As King of Judah, he strengthened his position by putting military forces in his fortified cities, and garrisons both in the land of Judah and in Israelite territory captured by his father. Also he built more fortified places and storages.
At Jerusalem a large body of valiant warriors served the royal interests.
Je'Hosh'A'Phat manifested a great concern for true worship and commissioned certain princes, Levites and priests to teach God's Law in the cities of Judah. He also sanctified Holy Offerings and personally traveled throughout his spiritual realm, directing his subjects to return to God's worship in faithfulness.
Courageously he continued the campaign against idolatry started by A'Sa, his father, and high places, sacred poles, and the remaining Male Temple Prostitutes began to disappear from his dominion. But improper worship at high places was so entrenched among the Israelites that Je'Hosh'A'Phat 's efforts did not completely and permanently eradicate it.
His reign witnessed the institution of a better Judicial System. The king himself impressed upon the judges the importance of being impartial and free from bribery, since they were judging, not form man, but for the God of Israel. He proved himself to be a king who relied fully on God.
When Judah was threatened by the combined forces of Ammon, Moab, and the mountainous region of Se'Ir, he humbly acknowledged the nation's weakness in the face of this danger and prayed to God for help. Thereafter God fought for Judah by striking confusion into the ranks' mind of the enemy so that they slaughtered one another. Consequently the surrounding nations became fearful and Judah continued to enjoy peace. 2 Chronicles 20.
Je'Hosh'A'Phat maintained peace with the Northern Kingdom and formed a marriage alliance with Ah'Ab. For this reason on several occasions he was drawn into other alliances with them. During a visit in the northern kingdom sometime after the marriage of Ahab's daughter Atha'Liah to his first born Je'Ho'Ram, he agreed to accompany king Ahab in a military venture to recover Ramot-Gilead from the Syrians. However, before actually starting out, Je'Hosh'A'Phat requested that Ahab inquire of God's guidance. 400 prophets assured Ahab of success. But God's true prophet Mica'Iah, hated by Ahab but called at Je'Hosh'A'Phat's insistence, foretold certain defeat. Nevertheless, Je'Hosh'A'Phat, keeping his word in going with Ahab to the venture, went into battle dressed in his royal garments. Ahab had taken the precaution to disguise himself, making the Syrians belief that Je'Hosh'A'Phat was Israel's king, and therefore subjected him to the heaviest attack. Je'Hosh'A'Phat barely escaped with his life, and Ahab, despite the disguise, was mortally wounded.
Upon retuned to Jerusalem, Je'Hosh'A'Phat was censured for unwisely allying himself with wicked Ahab, the visionary Jehu saying to him: "Is it to the wicked that help is to be given, and is it for those hating God that you should have love? And for this there is indignation against you from the person of God."
Later, Je'Hosh'A'Phat became partner to King Ahaz'Iah, Ahab's successor, in a shipbuilding enterprise at Ezion-Geber on the Gulf of Aqabah. But God disapproved of this maritime alliance with wicked Ahaz'Iah. Therefore, in fulfillment of prophecy, the ships were wrecked.
Sometime after this Je'Hosh'A'Phat joined Ahaz'Iah's successor to the throne, Je'Ho'Ram, and the king of Edom in a military offensive to put down Moabite King Mesha's revolt against the 10-tribe kingdom.
But the armies of the alliance became entrapped in a waterless wilderness. Je'Hosh'A'Phat therefore called for a prophet of God. Only out of regard for Je'Hosh'A'Phat did the prophet Elisha seek divine inspiration, and his subsequent advice saved the 3 kings and their armies from disaster.
While Je'Hosh'A'Phat was still alive he gave the kingship to his firstborn Je'Ho'Ram, but to his other sons he gave precious gifts and fortified cities in Judah.
Particularly after Je'Hosh'A'Phat's death and burial in the city of David did the marriage alliance with the House of Ahab prove to be disastrous for the kingdom of Judah. Under the influence of Athaliah, Je'Ho'Ram abandoned the Right Course of his father and revived idolatrous practices.
In the Book of Joel, chapter 3, evidently, the Low Plain of Je'Hosh'A'Phat, is a symbolic place, also called the Low Plain of the Decision. Since it relates to God's execution of Judgment, it is appropriately designated using the name of Je'Hosh'A'Phat that encircle the meaning 'God is Judge.' Also, during his reign God delivered Judah and Jerusalem from the combined forces of 3 huge military forces of Ammon, Moab, and the mountainous region of Se'Ir, causing the enemy forces to become confused and to slaughter one another.
The low plain itself serves as a huge symbolic winepress for crushing the nations like bunches of grapes.
THE NATURE OF THE SON OF GOD.
The 1st council of Nicaea was the first and most significantly in the profession and uniform of faith widely used in Christian liturgy.
The doctrinal statement of correct belief was adopted as a creed in the first council in the face of the Ar-Ian controversy, whose leader, Ar'Ius, a member of the clergy of Alexandria, objected Alexander, the bishop of the time, apparent carelessness in blurring the distinction of nature between the Father and the Son by his emphasis on 'eternal generation.' Alexander accused Ar'Ius of denying the divinity of the Son and also of being too 'Jewish' and 'Greek' in his thought. Both of them rejected Gnosticism, Manichaeisn, and Sabellain formulae.
The adherents to Gnosticism (having knowledge) shunned the material world and embraced the spiritual world, meaning that by the spiritual wisdom and practicing philanthropy to the point of personal poverty, sexual abstinence, and helping others, the adherent could reach oneness with God.
The Manichaeism, founded by the Iranian prophet Mani, and based on local Mesopotamian gnostic and religious movements, taught an elaborate dualistic cosmology describing the struggle between a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material world of darkness.
The Sabellianism in the Eastern church or Patripassianism in the Western church, also known as modalism, modalistic monarchianism, or modal monarchism, is the non-trinitarian belief that the Heavenly Father, Resurrected Son, and the Holy Spirit are three different aspects of one monadic God. The term Sabeallianism comes from Sabellius, a theologian and priest from the 3rd CE, who taught in Rome, but may have been from Libya. His opposition to the emerging idea of the Trinity led to his excommunication as a heretic by Pope Calixtus I in 220CE.
Sebellius taught that God was single and indivisible, with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit being three modes or manifestations of one divine Person. A Sabellian modalist said that the One God successively revealed Himself to man through time as the Father in creation; the Son in Redemption; and the Spirit in Sanctification and Regeneration.
The Nicene Creed of 325 CE explicitly affirms the co-essential divinity and nature of the Son, applying to him the term 'co-substantial.' The 381 CE modified creed version speaks of the Holy Spirit as worshiped and glorified with the Father and the Son.
The Athan-Asian creed, also known as Pseudo-Athanasian creed, not used in Eastern Christianity, but its belief is focused on a Trinitarian doctrine and Christology, and describes, according to human nature, in much greater detail the relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
It was widely accepted among Western Christians, including Roman Catholic Church, and some Anglican churches, and Lutheran churches.
A medieval account credited Athanasius of Alexandria, the famous defender of Nicene theology, as the author of the creed. He composed it during his exile in Rome and presented to Pope Julius I as a witness to his orthodoxy.
The Apostles' creed was an earlier statement of Christian belief widely used by a number of Christian denominations for both liturgical and teaching purposes, most visible by earlier liturgical churches of Western tradition, including the Roman Catholic Church, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, and later used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists. It was based on the understanding of the Canonical gospels, the Letters of the New Testament, and to a much lesser extent the understanding of the Old Testament.
The 1st mention of the expression "Apostles' Creed' occurred in a letter of 390 CE wrote from a synod, named Ambrose, in Milan, to Pope Siricius, associated with the belief of the time, and widely accepted in the 4th CE, that, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, each of the 12 Apostles contributed in a way to an article of a creed. But what existed at that time was not what is now known as the Apostles' Creed but a shorter statement of belief that , for instance, did not include the phrase 'Maker of Heaven and earth,' a phrase inserted in the 7th CE.
The earliest of the text evolved from a simpler text based on Matthew 28:19: And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."
The nature of these Words from the Son of God are explained in great detail in the Old Testament in the Book of Daniel, chapter 7: After this ...
I saw in the Night Visions, a 4th beast, terrible and dreadful and exceedingly strong; it had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet. The beast was different from all the beasts that were before it; it had 10 horns, and from there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which 3 of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. In this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.
As I looked, thrones were placed and one that was Ancient of Days took his seat; his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came forth from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the Books were opened.
I looked then because of the sound of the great Words which the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the Beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
I saw in the Night Visions, with the clouds of heaven there came One like a Son of Man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given Dominion and Glory and Kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his Dominion is an Everlasting dominion, which shall Not Pass Away, and his Kingdom one that Shall Not Be Destroyed.
The Nature of the Son of God also is revealed in Philippians 2 : "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the Form of God, did Not Count Equality with God a thing to be grasped, but Emptied Himself, taking the Form of a Servant, being Born in the Likeness of Men. And being Found in Human Form He Humbled Himself and became Obedient unto Death, even death On a Cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted Him and Bestowed on Him the Name which is Above Every Name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
In Revelation 17 we have the nature and order of things: ...
Then one of the 7 angels who had the 7 bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the Judgment of the Great Harlot who is Seated Upon Many Waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and with the wine of whose fornication the dwellers on earth have become drunk."
And he carried me away in the Spirit into a Wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of Blasphemous Names, and it had 7 heads and 10 horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and bedecked with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her Hand a Golden Cup Full of Abominations and the Impurities of her Fornication; and on her Forehead was Written a Name of Mystery: "Babylon the Great, Mother of Harlots and of Earth's Abominations."
And I saw the Woman, Drunk with the Blood of the Saints and the Blood of the Martyrs of Jesus.
When I saw her I marveled greatly. But the angel said to me, "Why marvel? I will tell you the Mystery of the Woman, and of the Beast with 7 Heads and 10 Horns that carries her."
"The Beast that you saw was, and is not, and is to ascend from the bottomless pit and go to perdition; and the dwellers on earth whose Names have Not been Written in the Book of Life from the Foundation of the World, will marvel to behold the beast, because it was, and is not and is to come."
"This calls for a Mind with Wisdom:
The 7 Heads are 7 Mountains on which the Woman is Seated; they are also 7 kings, 5 of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes he must remain only a little while.
As for the Beast that was, and is not, it is an 8th but it belongs to the 7, and it goes to perdition.
And the 10 Horns that you saw are 10 kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for 1 hour, together with the Beast.
These are of One Mind and Give Over their Power and Authority to the Beast; they will make War on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer Them, for he is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, and Those with Him are Called and Chosen and Faithful."
And he said to me, "The Waters that you saw, where the Harlot is Seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. And the 10 Horns that you saw, they and the Beast will hate the Harlot; they will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and Burn Her Up with Fire, for God has put it into their Hearts to Carry Out His Purpose by Being One Mind and Giving Over their Royal power to the Beast, until The Words of God shall be fulfilled.
And the Woman that you saw is the Great City which has Dominion Over the kings of the earth."
The doctrinal statement of correct belief was adopted as a creed in the first council in the face of the Ar-Ian controversy, whose leader, Ar'Ius, a member of the clergy of Alexandria, objected Alexander, the bishop of the time, apparent carelessness in blurring the distinction of nature between the Father and the Son by his emphasis on 'eternal generation.' Alexander accused Ar'Ius of denying the divinity of the Son and also of being too 'Jewish' and 'Greek' in his thought. Both of them rejected Gnosticism, Manichaeisn, and Sabellain formulae.
The adherents to Gnosticism (having knowledge) shunned the material world and embraced the spiritual world, meaning that by the spiritual wisdom and practicing philanthropy to the point of personal poverty, sexual abstinence, and helping others, the adherent could reach oneness with God.
The Manichaeism, founded by the Iranian prophet Mani, and based on local Mesopotamian gnostic and religious movements, taught an elaborate dualistic cosmology describing the struggle between a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material world of darkness.
The Sabellianism in the Eastern church or Patripassianism in the Western church, also known as modalism, modalistic monarchianism, or modal monarchism, is the non-trinitarian belief that the Heavenly Father, Resurrected Son, and the Holy Spirit are three different aspects of one monadic God. The term Sabeallianism comes from Sabellius, a theologian and priest from the 3rd CE, who taught in Rome, but may have been from Libya. His opposition to the emerging idea of the Trinity led to his excommunication as a heretic by Pope Calixtus I in 220CE.
Sebellius taught that God was single and indivisible, with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit being three modes or manifestations of one divine Person. A Sabellian modalist said that the One God successively revealed Himself to man through time as the Father in creation; the Son in Redemption; and the Spirit in Sanctification and Regeneration.
The Nicene Creed of 325 CE explicitly affirms the co-essential divinity and nature of the Son, applying to him the term 'co-substantial.' The 381 CE modified creed version speaks of the Holy Spirit as worshiped and glorified with the Father and the Son.
The Athan-Asian creed, also known as Pseudo-Athanasian creed, not used in Eastern Christianity, but its belief is focused on a Trinitarian doctrine and Christology, and describes, according to human nature, in much greater detail the relationship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
It was widely accepted among Western Christians, including Roman Catholic Church, and some Anglican churches, and Lutheran churches.
A medieval account credited Athanasius of Alexandria, the famous defender of Nicene theology, as the author of the creed. He composed it during his exile in Rome and presented to Pope Julius I as a witness to his orthodoxy.
The Apostles' creed was an earlier statement of Christian belief widely used by a number of Christian denominations for both liturgical and teaching purposes, most visible by earlier liturgical churches of Western tradition, including the Roman Catholic Church, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, and later used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists. It was based on the understanding of the Canonical gospels, the Letters of the New Testament, and to a much lesser extent the understanding of the Old Testament.
The 1st mention of the expression "Apostles' Creed' occurred in a letter of 390 CE wrote from a synod, named Ambrose, in Milan, to Pope Siricius, associated with the belief of the time, and widely accepted in the 4th CE, that, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, each of the 12 Apostles contributed in a way to an article of a creed. But what existed at that time was not what is now known as the Apostles' Creed but a shorter statement of belief that , for instance, did not include the phrase 'Maker of Heaven and earth,' a phrase inserted in the 7th CE.
The earliest of the text evolved from a simpler text based on Matthew 28:19: And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age."
The nature of these Words from the Son of God are explained in great detail in the Old Testament in the Book of Daniel, chapter 7: After this ...
I saw in the Night Visions, a 4th beast, terrible and dreadful and exceedingly strong; it had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet. The beast was different from all the beasts that were before it; it had 10 horns, and from there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which 3 of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. In this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.
As I looked, thrones were placed and one that was Ancient of Days took his seat; his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came forth from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the Books were opened.
I looked then because of the sound of the great Words which the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the Beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
I saw in the Night Visions, with the clouds of heaven there came One like a Son of Man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given Dominion and Glory and Kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his Dominion is an Everlasting dominion, which shall Not Pass Away, and his Kingdom one that Shall Not Be Destroyed.
The Nature of the Son of God also is revealed in Philippians 2 : "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the Form of God, did Not Count Equality with God a thing to be grasped, but Emptied Himself, taking the Form of a Servant, being Born in the Likeness of Men. And being Found in Human Form He Humbled Himself and became Obedient unto Death, even death On a Cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted Him and Bestowed on Him the Name which is Above Every Name, that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
In Revelation 17 we have the nature and order of things: ...
Then one of the 7 angels who had the 7 bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the Judgment of the Great Harlot who is Seated Upon Many Waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and with the wine of whose fornication the dwellers on earth have become drunk."
And he carried me away in the Spirit into a Wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of Blasphemous Names, and it had 7 heads and 10 horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and bedecked with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her Hand a Golden Cup Full of Abominations and the Impurities of her Fornication; and on her Forehead was Written a Name of Mystery: "Babylon the Great, Mother of Harlots and of Earth's Abominations."
And I saw the Woman, Drunk with the Blood of the Saints and the Blood of the Martyrs of Jesus.
When I saw her I marveled greatly. But the angel said to me, "Why marvel? I will tell you the Mystery of the Woman, and of the Beast with 7 Heads and 10 Horns that carries her."
"The Beast that you saw was, and is not, and is to ascend from the bottomless pit and go to perdition; and the dwellers on earth whose Names have Not been Written in the Book of Life from the Foundation of the World, will marvel to behold the beast, because it was, and is not and is to come."
"This calls for a Mind with Wisdom:
The 7 Heads are 7 Mountains on which the Woman is Seated; they are also 7 kings, 5 of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes he must remain only a little while.
As for the Beast that was, and is not, it is an 8th but it belongs to the 7, and it goes to perdition.
And the 10 Horns that you saw are 10 kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for 1 hour, together with the Beast.
These are of One Mind and Give Over their Power and Authority to the Beast; they will make War on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer Them, for he is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, and Those with Him are Called and Chosen and Faithful."
And he said to me, "The Waters that you saw, where the Harlot is Seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues. And the 10 Horns that you saw, they and the Beast will hate the Harlot; they will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and Burn Her Up with Fire, for God has put it into their Hearts to Carry Out His Purpose by Being One Mind and Giving Over their Royal power to the Beast, until The Words of God shall be fulfilled.
And the Woman that you saw is the Great City which has Dominion Over the kings of the earth."
Friday, 19 August 2016
THE NATURE OF THE APOSTLE LUKE.
Like the other New Testament Gospels, the Gospel of Luke and The Acts of the Apostles, are anonymous documents. Even when involved in first person narration, the writer of Acts identifies himself not as an individual with a name, but as one of a group. He may at times be present as a participant-observer, but his focus is not his individual identity.
The nature of the author becomes available from the language and style used in the narrative. He is well educated, probably urban, with firsthand exposure to rhetorical training and to the Hebrew Scriptures. Also the author is a person of some economic means, writing from the social location of those who traffic in technical or professional writings; and one of the "People of the Way,"a Christian, either second or third generation.
The author is a non-Jewish Semite, since only three Jews' names are mentioned in the New testament as coworkers with Paul, Arist-Archus, Mark, and Justus. The Scriptural intimacy and Jewish interests manifest in Luke-Acts do not require a hypothesis of Jewish authorship, but are equally compatible with significant exposure to Judaism by a non-Jew.
The name 'Luke' appears three times in the New Testament. Little reasons remains not to accept the traditional identification of Luke as the author of Like-Acts. The acceptance of his authorship make him responsible for the largest portion of the New Testament (28%).
Lucas as a companion of Paul, he is not simply one of Paul's traveling assistant, but a faithful person of comparable stature, a missionary colleague, and a fellow worker. Lucas was with Paul at Troas, the principal seaport of North West Asia Minor, 32 km/20mi South of the Hellespont (Dardanelles) and somewhat more than half the distance South of the traditional site of ancient Troy. In fact, Troas drew its name from Troad, the term applied to the part of Mysia that surrounded Troy. It was Paul's second missionary journey and Lucas accompanied him from there to Philippi, where he may have remained until Paul's return on his third missionary journey. Then Lucas accompanied Paul to Palestine at the end of that missionary journey. After Paul was imprisoned for about 2 years at Caesarea, Lucas continued to be Paul's missionary companion in his journey to Rome for trial. There is no record to the outcome of Paul's appeal to Caesar. Then Luke joined Paul in sending greetings to Christians at Colossae when Paul wrote to them from Rome, he identified Lucas as 'the beloved physician.' He stayed close to Paul and was with him shortly before Paul's martyrdom.
As a beloved physician, his knowledge and skills as a healer had won him respect.
The nature of the author becomes available from the language and style used in the narrative. He is well educated, probably urban, with firsthand exposure to rhetorical training and to the Hebrew Scriptures. Also the author is a person of some economic means, writing from the social location of those who traffic in technical or professional writings; and one of the "People of the Way,"a Christian, either second or third generation.
The author is a non-Jewish Semite, since only three Jews' names are mentioned in the New testament as coworkers with Paul, Arist-Archus, Mark, and Justus. The Scriptural intimacy and Jewish interests manifest in Luke-Acts do not require a hypothesis of Jewish authorship, but are equally compatible with significant exposure to Judaism by a non-Jew.
The name 'Luke' appears three times in the New Testament. Little reasons remains not to accept the traditional identification of Luke as the author of Like-Acts. The acceptance of his authorship make him responsible for the largest portion of the New Testament (28%).
Lucas as a companion of Paul, he is not simply one of Paul's traveling assistant, but a faithful person of comparable stature, a missionary colleague, and a fellow worker. Lucas was with Paul at Troas, the principal seaport of North West Asia Minor, 32 km/20mi South of the Hellespont (Dardanelles) and somewhat more than half the distance South of the traditional site of ancient Troy. In fact, Troas drew its name from Troad, the term applied to the part of Mysia that surrounded Troy. It was Paul's second missionary journey and Lucas accompanied him from there to Philippi, where he may have remained until Paul's return on his third missionary journey. Then Lucas accompanied Paul to Palestine at the end of that missionary journey. After Paul was imprisoned for about 2 years at Caesarea, Lucas continued to be Paul's missionary companion in his journey to Rome for trial. There is no record to the outcome of Paul's appeal to Caesar. Then Luke joined Paul in sending greetings to Christians at Colossae when Paul wrote to them from Rome, he identified Lucas as 'the beloved physician.' He stayed close to Paul and was with him shortly before Paul's martyrdom.
As a beloved physician, his knowledge and skills as a healer had won him respect.
Thursday, 18 August 2016
THE QUEEN OF SHEBA.
The king David was succeeded by his son Solomon, who was known for his relationship with God.
The queen of Sheba, also known as a great ruler, was a royal visitor who came from the uttermost parts of the earth, from the extremities of the then known world, to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
The Queen of the South came to Jerusalem in all her splendor, with a great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as those which she gave to Solomon.
Solomon had originally been told of the kingdom of Sheba and of its queen by a bird, whose language he understood. Sheba was a peaceful country, full of gold and silver, whose plants were watered by the rivers of Paradise. He wanted to meet the queen because he had heard of her wonderful land.
The Queen wanted to meet him because he had a reputation for wisdom, and she came to prove him with hard questions about strange things and Solomon answered every one of them.
The Queen was literally overwhelmed by Solomon's answers and astonished by his wisdom, by his orderly manner of his kingdom and his faith, his great wealth, the magnificence of his palace and the number of his servants.
The Queen praised Solomon openly and, even more significantly, began to give the praise to Solomon's God, the One Lord. After presenting gold, spices, and precious stones to Solomon (the Old Testament type of visit of the 3 Kings to baby Jesus), she left Jerusalem with her great train of camels and attendants.
Allegorical interpretations of this episode equated Solomon with "Christ the King"and the queen of Sheba with Mary, the virgin. It also represent non believers acknowledging Christianity, and the queen of Sheba is representing in this case the ones with a very righteous nature but without knowledge of the Kingdom of God.
There are additional non-biblical versions of the visit. One is that the queen had exceptionally hairy legs and hoped to obtain a depilatory recipe from the wise king. Another is that Solomon had heard rumors that she had hirsute limbs and webbed feet. To discover the truth, he caused her to walk over a polished crystal and she, mistaking this for a pool of water, raised her skirt.
It was also said that the wood of the 'Tree of Knowledge' had been used to bridge a stream in Jerusalem. In a vision, the queen of Sheba had been told that this would be the 'True Cross.' She refused to walk over the bridge, worshiped the wood, and forded the stream barefoot.
The royal house of Ethiopia claimed to be descended from the union of Solomon and their Queen, and black Jews of Ethiopia, the Fal-Ashas, trace their own origin to the Israelites whom Solomon sent back with her.
Another descendant of their union, other versions says, was Nebu-Chad-Nezz-Ar, who became king of Babylon.
The 'En-Medur-Anki Legend (seed of kingship) is a Sumero-Akkadian composition relating his endowment with perfect wisdom by the god 'Marduk' and his claim to belong to a 'distant line of kingship from before the Flood' and to be an 'offspring of En-Medur-Anki, king of Sippar.' It begins with a lament over preceding events:
"At that time, in the reign of a previous king, conditions changed. Good departed and Evil was regular.
The Lord became angry and got furious. He gave the command and the gods of the land abandoned it
... its people were incited to commit crime. The guardians of peace became furious, and went up to the dome of heaven, the spirit of justice stood aside ... who guards living beings, prostrated the people, they all became like those who have no god. Evil demons filled the land, the Nam-Tar-Demon ... they penetrated the cult centers. The land diminished, its fortunes changed. The wicked Elamite, who did not hold (the land's) treasures in esteem ... his battle, his attack was swift. He devastated the habitations, he made them into a ruin, he carried off the gods, he ruined the shrines."
The duration of Nebu-Chad-Nezz-Ar' s war with Elam and the number of campaigns he conducted are not known.
The queen of Sheba, also known as a great ruler, was a royal visitor who came from the uttermost parts of the earth, from the extremities of the then known world, to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
The Queen of the South came to Jerusalem in all her splendor, with a great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones. Never again came such an abundance of spices as those which she gave to Solomon.
Solomon had originally been told of the kingdom of Sheba and of its queen by a bird, whose language he understood. Sheba was a peaceful country, full of gold and silver, whose plants were watered by the rivers of Paradise. He wanted to meet the queen because he had heard of her wonderful land.
The Queen wanted to meet him because he had a reputation for wisdom, and she came to prove him with hard questions about strange things and Solomon answered every one of them.
The Queen was literally overwhelmed by Solomon's answers and astonished by his wisdom, by his orderly manner of his kingdom and his faith, his great wealth, the magnificence of his palace and the number of his servants.
The Queen praised Solomon openly and, even more significantly, began to give the praise to Solomon's God, the One Lord. After presenting gold, spices, and precious stones to Solomon (the Old Testament type of visit of the 3 Kings to baby Jesus), she left Jerusalem with her great train of camels and attendants.
Allegorical interpretations of this episode equated Solomon with "Christ the King"and the queen of Sheba with Mary, the virgin. It also represent non believers acknowledging Christianity, and the queen of Sheba is representing in this case the ones with a very righteous nature but without knowledge of the Kingdom of God.
There are additional non-biblical versions of the visit. One is that the queen had exceptionally hairy legs and hoped to obtain a depilatory recipe from the wise king. Another is that Solomon had heard rumors that she had hirsute limbs and webbed feet. To discover the truth, he caused her to walk over a polished crystal and she, mistaking this for a pool of water, raised her skirt.
It was also said that the wood of the 'Tree of Knowledge' had been used to bridge a stream in Jerusalem. In a vision, the queen of Sheba had been told that this would be the 'True Cross.' She refused to walk over the bridge, worshiped the wood, and forded the stream barefoot.
The royal house of Ethiopia claimed to be descended from the union of Solomon and their Queen, and black Jews of Ethiopia, the Fal-Ashas, trace their own origin to the Israelites whom Solomon sent back with her.
Another descendant of their union, other versions says, was Nebu-Chad-Nezz-Ar, who became king of Babylon.
The 'En-Medur-Anki Legend (seed of kingship) is a Sumero-Akkadian composition relating his endowment with perfect wisdom by the god 'Marduk' and his claim to belong to a 'distant line of kingship from before the Flood' and to be an 'offspring of En-Medur-Anki, king of Sippar.' It begins with a lament over preceding events:
"At that time, in the reign of a previous king, conditions changed. Good departed and Evil was regular.
The Lord became angry and got furious. He gave the command and the gods of the land abandoned it
... its people were incited to commit crime. The guardians of peace became furious, and went up to the dome of heaven, the spirit of justice stood aside ... who guards living beings, prostrated the people, they all became like those who have no god. Evil demons filled the land, the Nam-Tar-Demon ... they penetrated the cult centers. The land diminished, its fortunes changed. The wicked Elamite, who did not hold (the land's) treasures in esteem ... his battle, his attack was swift. He devastated the habitations, he made them into a ruin, he carried off the gods, he ruined the shrines."
The duration of Nebu-Chad-Nezz-Ar' s war with Elam and the number of campaigns he conducted are not known.
Friday, 12 August 2016
THE "WOE" OF JESUS TO CHOR-AZIM.
In historical time, the Ar-Ians lived in the country along the River Ar-Ios. There were large deserts surrounding the fertile River Valley.
After some time, new tribal coalitions came into being: in the West, the Medes; in the South, the Persians; in the East, the Bactrians, and in the center the Ar-Ians.
If there is a region that can be described as a place of opposites, it must be Bactr-Ia. Their culture, known as the Bactr-Ia / Marg-Iana is dated 2,200-1700 BC and associated with the arrival of the Indo-Iranians. Bactria (Northern Afghanistan), in Antiquity was famous for its fierce warriors and its ancient religion founded by Zarathustra. Situated between the Hindu Cush Mountain Range in the South and the River Ox-Us (Amud-Ar'Ya) in the North, it is an East-West zone that consists of extremely fertile alluvial plains, hot desert, and cold mountains.
The real ancient name for of the Ox-Us River was "W-Axs,"meaning "the Wild One."
The River's sources are on the Western slopes of the Pam-Ir Mountain Range, where the ancient Silk Road crossed into China. The Upper Ox-Us flows from East to West and separated Bactr-Ia (Northern Afghanistan) from S-Og-Dia (modern Uzbeki-Stan and parts of Tajiki-Stan), also called Trans-Ox-Iana. Beyond Bactr-Ia, the River turns to the North West.
The River divides 2 deserts, the Black Desert (Kara Kum) to the South West, and the Red Desert (Kizil Kum) to the North East. The waters never were used for irrigation, the River was something of an intrusion in a desert landscape. It never produced vegetation.
The Delta immediately south of lake Ar-Al was called Chor-Asmia, in Antiquity. The waters were heavily used to irrigate the land. The wild River Ox-Us empties in this lake (Ar-Al). It once had an extra branch that emptied into the Casp-Ian Sea. A very ancient kingdom named Chor-Asmia came into being in this area as early as the 13th BC.
According to the Avestan texts written in the 14th BC, it says that Zarath-us-tra was protected by king Hyst-Aspes of Chor-Asmia. It
The kingdom of Chor-Asmia became part of the Acha-Emenid empire before 522 BC. It is mentioned by king Dar-Ius I the Great (522-486 BC) in the Behistun Inscription implying that Darius received Chor-Asmia as one of his territories when he became king.
Then the kingdom of Chor-Asmia was ruled by the satrap of Parth-Ia, because Herodotus mentions the two together in a description of the taxes under Dar-Ius and in a catalogue of army units under king Xerxes.
By the time of Dar-Ius III Cod-Omann-Us (336-330 BC), Chor-Asmia became an independent kingdom. Its king concluded a Peace Treaty with Alexander the Great in the winter of 328 / 327 BC.
The Chor-Asmian kings stated to mint coins inspired by the coins of the Seleucid kings, whom after the death of Alexander dominated the Eastern Provinces.
After 240 BC, Bactr-Ia, which was ruled by people who claimed Greek descent, dominated the region, and absorbed the people that once belonged to the Cho-Asmian empire.
The name of Chor-Azin later appeared in the Scriptures among those reproached by Jesus pronouncing a coming "woe" for the Jacob's descendants living in the place who were witnesses of 'powerful works' that would have moved the fleshy inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon to repentance, and yet who failed to act on Jesus' message. After this, in the fall of 32 CE, when dispatching the 70 disciples during his later ministry, Jesus inserted a reference to Chor-Azin's impenitent attitude into his discussion to emphasize that great "woe" that would be experienced by the unresponsive cities against which his disciples were to "wipe the dust" off their feet. (Luke 10).
The contrast between the country's fertility and desolation was noted in Antiquity by the Roman author Quintus Curtius Rufus.
The Hindu Cush, marks the fault line of the Ir-Anian and Eur-Asian tectonic plates, from East to West, and the small rivers going down from its slopes to the North, deposit sediments on the foothills and the plain that runs parallel to the mountain range. The same symbolic picture is taken when the Scriptures mention the first-named son of Ham and father of 6 sons: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, Sabteca, and Nimrod. (Genesis 10, 1 Chronicles 1). Consequently, this very fertile area, where farmers produced wheat and barley in very ancient times is also the cradle from which cities were born.
Cush and his named descendants are included in the Scriptures among those from whom "the nations were spread about in the earth after the Flood." Also, the name of Cush is associated through his son Nimrod with Babel and the kingdom that Nimrod forged in post-Flood times.
The land of Cush referred to at Genesis 2 as the land originally encircled by the River Gihon, one of the four heads of the "River issuing out of Eden," is the place in which ancient inhabitants had their settlements before the Flood.
An ancient city of Kish was revealed by excavations done in lower Mesopotamia near Babylon, and said to be the city from which emperors of the 3rd millennium BC in Babylonia assumed the title of "king of the world."
The Sumerian King List, an ancient record, though highly legendary, contains the statement: After the Flood had swept over and when kingship was lowered from heaven, kinship was in Kish." Following the breakup at Babel because of the confusion of language, the main body of Cush's descendants migrated Southward. It is of note that, while the names of Cush's 6 sons appear to have been perpetuated by tribes descended from them. This is not the case with the name Nimrod, that the name is mentioned solely as that of an individual or a title, indicating that Nimrod remained without progeny.
If the Gihon had a common source with the Euphrates and the Tigris Rivers, then, after the universal Flood, it is assumed that everything was brought to an extreme spiritual and physical radical changes.
The name of Cush is also used in the Scriptures to parallel "the land of Midian" at Habakkuk 3, and with reference to Moses' Midianite wife Zipporah. She is called a "Cushite," in Exodus 9 and Numbers 12.
After some time, new tribal coalitions came into being: in the West, the Medes; in the South, the Persians; in the East, the Bactrians, and in the center the Ar-Ians.
If there is a region that can be described as a place of opposites, it must be Bactr-Ia. Their culture, known as the Bactr-Ia / Marg-Iana is dated 2,200-1700 BC and associated with the arrival of the Indo-Iranians. Bactria (Northern Afghanistan), in Antiquity was famous for its fierce warriors and its ancient religion founded by Zarathustra. Situated between the Hindu Cush Mountain Range in the South and the River Ox-Us (Amud-Ar'Ya) in the North, it is an East-West zone that consists of extremely fertile alluvial plains, hot desert, and cold mountains.
The real ancient name for of the Ox-Us River was "W-Axs,"meaning "the Wild One."
The River's sources are on the Western slopes of the Pam-Ir Mountain Range, where the ancient Silk Road crossed into China. The Upper Ox-Us flows from East to West and separated Bactr-Ia (Northern Afghanistan) from S-Og-Dia (modern Uzbeki-Stan and parts of Tajiki-Stan), also called Trans-Ox-Iana. Beyond Bactr-Ia, the River turns to the North West.
The River divides 2 deserts, the Black Desert (Kara Kum) to the South West, and the Red Desert (Kizil Kum) to the North East. The waters never were used for irrigation, the River was something of an intrusion in a desert landscape. It never produced vegetation.
The Delta immediately south of lake Ar-Al was called Chor-Asmia, in Antiquity. The waters were heavily used to irrigate the land. The wild River Ox-Us empties in this lake (Ar-Al). It once had an extra branch that emptied into the Casp-Ian Sea. A very ancient kingdom named Chor-Asmia came into being in this area as early as the 13th BC.
According to the Avestan texts written in the 14th BC, it says that Zarath-us-tra was protected by king Hyst-Aspes of Chor-Asmia. It
The kingdom of Chor-Asmia became part of the Acha-Emenid empire before 522 BC. It is mentioned by king Dar-Ius I the Great (522-486 BC) in the Behistun Inscription implying that Darius received Chor-Asmia as one of his territories when he became king.
Then the kingdom of Chor-Asmia was ruled by the satrap of Parth-Ia, because Herodotus mentions the two together in a description of the taxes under Dar-Ius and in a catalogue of army units under king Xerxes.
By the time of Dar-Ius III Cod-Omann-Us (336-330 BC), Chor-Asmia became an independent kingdom. Its king concluded a Peace Treaty with Alexander the Great in the winter of 328 / 327 BC.
The Chor-Asmian kings stated to mint coins inspired by the coins of the Seleucid kings, whom after the death of Alexander dominated the Eastern Provinces.
After 240 BC, Bactr-Ia, which was ruled by people who claimed Greek descent, dominated the region, and absorbed the people that once belonged to the Cho-Asmian empire.
The name of Chor-Azin later appeared in the Scriptures among those reproached by Jesus pronouncing a coming "woe" for the Jacob's descendants living in the place who were witnesses of 'powerful works' that would have moved the fleshy inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon to repentance, and yet who failed to act on Jesus' message. After this, in the fall of 32 CE, when dispatching the 70 disciples during his later ministry, Jesus inserted a reference to Chor-Azin's impenitent attitude into his discussion to emphasize that great "woe" that would be experienced by the unresponsive cities against which his disciples were to "wipe the dust" off their feet. (Luke 10).
The contrast between the country's fertility and desolation was noted in Antiquity by the Roman author Quintus Curtius Rufus.
The Hindu Cush, marks the fault line of the Ir-Anian and Eur-Asian tectonic plates, from East to West, and the small rivers going down from its slopes to the North, deposit sediments on the foothills and the plain that runs parallel to the mountain range. The same symbolic picture is taken when the Scriptures mention the first-named son of Ham and father of 6 sons: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, Sabteca, and Nimrod. (Genesis 10, 1 Chronicles 1). Consequently, this very fertile area, where farmers produced wheat and barley in very ancient times is also the cradle from which cities were born.
Cush and his named descendants are included in the Scriptures among those from whom "the nations were spread about in the earth after the Flood." Also, the name of Cush is associated through his son Nimrod with Babel and the kingdom that Nimrod forged in post-Flood times.
The land of Cush referred to at Genesis 2 as the land originally encircled by the River Gihon, one of the four heads of the "River issuing out of Eden," is the place in which ancient inhabitants had their settlements before the Flood.
An ancient city of Kish was revealed by excavations done in lower Mesopotamia near Babylon, and said to be the city from which emperors of the 3rd millennium BC in Babylonia assumed the title of "king of the world."
The Sumerian King List, an ancient record, though highly legendary, contains the statement: After the Flood had swept over and when kingship was lowered from heaven, kinship was in Kish." Following the breakup at Babel because of the confusion of language, the main body of Cush's descendants migrated Southward. It is of note that, while the names of Cush's 6 sons appear to have been perpetuated by tribes descended from them. This is not the case with the name Nimrod, that the name is mentioned solely as that of an individual or a title, indicating that Nimrod remained without progeny.
If the Gihon had a common source with the Euphrates and the Tigris Rivers, then, after the universal Flood, it is assumed that everything was brought to an extreme spiritual and physical radical changes.
The name of Cush is also used in the Scriptures to parallel "the land of Midian" at Habakkuk 3, and with reference to Moses' Midianite wife Zipporah. She is called a "Cushite," in Exodus 9 and Numbers 12.
ARISTOTLE' SUPREME DEITY : GOD, MOVER OF THE UNIVERSE.
Aristotle's own supreme deity is the primal mover of the universe, someone so elevated as to be only thinking -the highest from of life- and thinking about thinking, at that.
in his tautological fashion, this supreme being is untarnished, untouchable, closed to its own perfection.
Were it to think about anything other than its own thinking, it would be vulnerable, in risk of losing its grandeur or its perfection.
This being Aristotle calls God, and defines: "God is a supreme and eternal Being, so that to God belong life and continuous and eternal duration. For that is what God is.
Aristotle believed that all movement depends on there being a mover. Movement, for him, meant more than something traveling from A to B. Movement included change, melting, cooling, heating, etc.
Aristotle argued that behind every movement there existed a chain of events that brought about the movement that we see taking place. This chain of events lead us back to something which moves but is itself unmoved. This, he referred to as the Prime Mover.
The Prime Mover, to Aristotle, is the first of all substances, the necessary first source of movement which is itself unmoved. It is a Being with everlasting life. This Being, Aristotle calls God. This Being does not start off the movement by giving some kind of push, but it is the purpose, or end, of the movement.
Aristotle believed the Prime Mover causes things to move by attraction in much the same way that a bowl of milk attracts a cat. The milk attracts the cat but cannot be said to be changed in the process. Action and reaction are equal and opposite. The keen establishment of this principle assured the concept that the Prime Mover is itself Unmoved, or unaffected, otherwise the whole concept would break down. God draws things to Himself and remains unaffected. The stars and the planets move out of a spiritual desire to imitate God. They do this by moving in eternal circles.
He also believed that change is eternal. A first change never existed, because something had to happen to set it off, and this itself would have been a change, and so on.
Aristotle believed that God does not depend on anything else fro existence. He never changes, never begins and never ends, and so is eternal. The Prime Mover also is immaterial. It could not be made of any kind of stuff, because matter is capable of being acted upon. Matter has potential to change. Since God is immaterial, it cannot perform any kind of physical, bodily action. The activity of God is purely spiritual and intellectual. The activity of God is thought.
in his tautological fashion, this supreme being is untarnished, untouchable, closed to its own perfection.
Were it to think about anything other than its own thinking, it would be vulnerable, in risk of losing its grandeur or its perfection.
This being Aristotle calls God, and defines: "God is a supreme and eternal Being, so that to God belong life and continuous and eternal duration. For that is what God is.
Aristotle believed that all movement depends on there being a mover. Movement, for him, meant more than something traveling from A to B. Movement included change, melting, cooling, heating, etc.
Aristotle argued that behind every movement there existed a chain of events that brought about the movement that we see taking place. This chain of events lead us back to something which moves but is itself unmoved. This, he referred to as the Prime Mover.
The Prime Mover, to Aristotle, is the first of all substances, the necessary first source of movement which is itself unmoved. It is a Being with everlasting life. This Being, Aristotle calls God. This Being does not start off the movement by giving some kind of push, but it is the purpose, or end, of the movement.
Aristotle believed the Prime Mover causes things to move by attraction in much the same way that a bowl of milk attracts a cat. The milk attracts the cat but cannot be said to be changed in the process. Action and reaction are equal and opposite. The keen establishment of this principle assured the concept that the Prime Mover is itself Unmoved, or unaffected, otherwise the whole concept would break down. God draws things to Himself and remains unaffected. The stars and the planets move out of a spiritual desire to imitate God. They do this by moving in eternal circles.
He also believed that change is eternal. A first change never existed, because something had to happen to set it off, and this itself would have been a change, and so on.
Aristotle believed that God does not depend on anything else fro existence. He never changes, never begins and never ends, and so is eternal. The Prime Mover also is immaterial. It could not be made of any kind of stuff, because matter is capable of being acted upon. Matter has potential to change. Since God is immaterial, it cannot perform any kind of physical, bodily action. The activity of God is purely spiritual and intellectual. The activity of God is thought.
Tuesday, 9 August 2016
THE PARANORMAL PHENOMENON.
Paranormal phenomenon describes anything that is above, beyond, or contrary to the bounds of the established world around us. It includes extrasensory perception (ESP), telekinesis, ghosts, life after death, reincarnation, faith healing, human auras, and so forth. The explanation of these phenomena sometimes are phrased in terms of psychic forces, human energy fields, and so on. It also covers several sub-disciplines, including Ufology, Crypto-zoology, and Para-psychology.
The term itself was coined in 1973 by Drew University anthropologist Roger W. Wescott, who defined it as being the serious and systematic study of all phenomena that fail to fit the picture of reality provided for us by common sense or by the established science.
Wescott credited journalist and researcher Charles Fort (August 6, 1874 - May 3, 1932) as being the creator of the paranormal phenomenon as a field of research, and Wescott named biologist Ivan T. Sanderson and Source Book Project compiler William R. Corliss as being instrumental in expanding the research into the phenomenon and to introduce a more conventional perspective into the field.
Charles Fort was of Dutch ancestry. His grocer father was an authoritarian and a physical abuser. Fort's distrust of authority had its roots in his treatment as a child and develop his strong sense of freedom and independence in his early years. He was described as curious and intelligent. As a young adult, he wanted to be a naturalist, and he collected sea shells, minerals, and birds. He was quite knowledgeable about the world that came by his extensive reading. At the age of 18, he left New York on a world tour to "put some capital in the bank of experience."He travelled through Western USA, Scotland, and England, until failing ill in South Africa. Returning home, he was nursed by Ana Filing, a girl he had known from his childhood. They were married on October 26, 1896, when he was 22 years old. Anna was 4 years older than him and was non-literally but a lover of films and of parakeets. They moved to London for 2 years. During that time, when he was not busy with his research, they went to the cinema.
He perused the files, concerning paranormal phenomenon, of the British Museum. His success as a short story writer was intermittent between periods of terrible poverty and depression. Although born in Albany, when the couple came back from London, they settled in the Bronx. He, like his wife, was fond of films, and often went together to the nearby movie theater. He frequented the parks near Bronx, where he would sift through piles of his clippings of information taken from the New York Public Library on 5th Avenue. He spent many hours reading scientific and non-scientific journals along with an armful of newspapers and periodicals from around the world. He had a very small circle of literary friends that share the same theme in their talkative gatherings.
When his uncle died in 1916, a modest inheritance was given to him enough to quit his various day jobs and to write full-time. In 1917 his brother died and his portion of the same inheritance was divided between him and another brother. Fort's experience as a journalist, coupled with high wit egged on by a contrary nature, prepared him for his real-life work, needling the pretensions of scientific positivism and the tendency of journalists and editors of newspapers and scientific journals to rationalize the scientifically incorrect. He wrote 10 novels, although only one, 'The Outcast Manufacturers (1909)' was published. Reviews were positive, the tenement of the tail was out of his time. In 1915, in his forties, he began to write 2 books, the first dealing with the idea that beings on Mars controlled Earth's events, and the second postulated a sinister civilization extant at the South Pole. The books caught the attention of writer Theodore Dreiser, who attempted to get them published, but to no avail. Disheartened, Fort burnt the manuscripts. But soon he was renewed to begin work on the book that changed the course of his life, 'The Book of the Damned (1919)," which Dreiser helped to get into print. The book referred to 'damned' data that Ford collected, phenomena for which science could not account and thus rejection or ignorance did not exist. Fort took thousands of notes in his lifetime. Fort spoke of sitting on a park bench and tossing a large amount of notes into the wind. In his short story, "The Giant, the Insect, and the Philanthropic-looking Old Gentleman,"Fort used his own data collection technique to solve the mystery. He observed that unrelated bits of information were interrelated. He destroyed many times his own work, and started again to collect new data aiming to new results. Some of them has been published little by little by the Fortean Society magazine "Doubt," and, upon the death of its editor Tiffany Thayer aged 57, in 1959, then most of Fort's information were donated to New York Public Library.
Fort was pleasant to find himself in the midst of the emotional attachment that his fans had to the object of his research. Fort distrusted doctors and did not seek conventional medical help for his worsening health, given the fact the he was dealing with supernatural forces that drained his energy. Suffering from poor health and failing eyesight, he died, probably from leukemia.
Drew University, the first institution that went into deep research on that subject, started as a theological seminary to train candidates for ministry in the Methodist church. Daniel Drew (July 29, 1797-Sept 18,1879), a great operator of Wall Street that furnished the most remarkable instance of success followed by utter failure and hopeless bankruptcy, was the one who purchased an estate in Madison to establish the 'seminary.' The seminary later expanded to offer 'an undergraduate liberal arts' curriculum in 1928 and graduate studies in 1955. The 'Drew Theological School', the 3rd-oldest of 13 Methodist seminaries is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
Drew was born in Carmel, a town in Putnam County, New York. He was poorly educated and saw hardship after his father, who owned a small cattle farm, died when Daniel was 15 years old. Drew enlisted and drilled, though did not see face to face combat in the Conflict between United States and United Kingdom. After the conflict, he spent some time with a traveling zoo. In 1820, he moved to New York City and established himself at the Bull's Head Tavern in the Bowery, a place frequented by drovers and butchers doing business in the city. While running the Tavern, he formed a partnership with two other drovers, buying cattle from neighboring counties and bringing them to New York for sale. In 1834, he was married and entered the steamboat business and ran profitable lines outside New York City. Around this time, Drew began to speculate in stocks. He founded a brokerage firm but a decade later his partners died and he continue in the brokerage business as an independent operator. After a while in 1857, he managed to be a member of the board of directors of the Erie Railroad and used his position to manipulate the railroad stock price. He joined forces again with another one in the business but in 1864 he was struggling with his partner and speculating on the stock of New York and Harlem since he and his partner were the director of both, rescuing both railroad firms from bankruptcy because of the manipulation of the stocks. In 1866 to 1868, Drew engaged in another conflict with the same partner Vanderbilt, in which Drew conspired along with fellow directors James Fisk and Jay Gould to issue stock to keep Vanderbilt from gaining control of the Erie Railroad. Vanderbilt, unaware of the increase in outstanding shares, kept buying Erie stock and sustained heavy losses, eventually conceding control of the railroad to the trio. In 1870, the two fellow directors Fisk and Gould betrayed Drew, manipulating the stock price again of the Erie Railroad, cause Drew to lose $ 1.5 million. Fisk was killed in January 1872 by a jealous rival over a mistress; Gould himself would later be swindled out of $1,000,000 worth of Erie railroad stock and never controlled it. For Drew, the Panic of 1873 cost him more, and by 1876, Drew filled for bankruptcy, with debts exceeding a million dollars and no viable assets. He died in 1879, dependent on his son for support.
Daniel Drew, from which the university took its name, left a controversial legacy, in the same symbolic way the 'seminary school' turned in something else. At the zenith of his 'career' as a 'financer', when his personal fortune was estimated at $13 million at that time, and he was 'respectfully' called "Uncle Sam' on Wall Street, he was treated with admiration. After his 'fortunes' changed, he was vilified by the newspapers, which wrote that Drew 'has been one of the curses of the market for years past, ... he holds the honest people of the world to be a pack of fools."
Drew is credited with introducing what would be called "watered stock" to the Wall Street, to describe company shares that were issued by false means including counterfeit stock certificates and unauthorized stock release, resulting in a dilution of ownership. The term came from his time in the livestock business, when he would have 'his cattle' lick salt and drink water before selling them, to increase 'weight.' The watered stock tactic was used in the Erie conflict of the 1860s, when Drew along with James Fisk and jay Gould blocked arch rival Cornelius Vanderbilt from getting ownership of the Erie railroad.
Daniel Drew is credited with the nature of the saying: "He who sells what is not his, must buy it back or go to prison," in the physical and spiritual way.
A 'devout' Methodist, Drew built his own churches in Carmel and Brewster, New York, and was the major contributor to the founding of Drew Theological Seminary in Madison, New Jersey, which is now part of Drew University.
The term itself was coined in 1973 by Drew University anthropologist Roger W. Wescott, who defined it as being the serious and systematic study of all phenomena that fail to fit the picture of reality provided for us by common sense or by the established science.
Wescott credited journalist and researcher Charles Fort (August 6, 1874 - May 3, 1932) as being the creator of the paranormal phenomenon as a field of research, and Wescott named biologist Ivan T. Sanderson and Source Book Project compiler William R. Corliss as being instrumental in expanding the research into the phenomenon and to introduce a more conventional perspective into the field.
Charles Fort was of Dutch ancestry. His grocer father was an authoritarian and a physical abuser. Fort's distrust of authority had its roots in his treatment as a child and develop his strong sense of freedom and independence in his early years. He was described as curious and intelligent. As a young adult, he wanted to be a naturalist, and he collected sea shells, minerals, and birds. He was quite knowledgeable about the world that came by his extensive reading. At the age of 18, he left New York on a world tour to "put some capital in the bank of experience."He travelled through Western USA, Scotland, and England, until failing ill in South Africa. Returning home, he was nursed by Ana Filing, a girl he had known from his childhood. They were married on October 26, 1896, when he was 22 years old. Anna was 4 years older than him and was non-literally but a lover of films and of parakeets. They moved to London for 2 years. During that time, when he was not busy with his research, they went to the cinema.
He perused the files, concerning paranormal phenomenon, of the British Museum. His success as a short story writer was intermittent between periods of terrible poverty and depression. Although born in Albany, when the couple came back from London, they settled in the Bronx. He, like his wife, was fond of films, and often went together to the nearby movie theater. He frequented the parks near Bronx, where he would sift through piles of his clippings of information taken from the New York Public Library on 5th Avenue. He spent many hours reading scientific and non-scientific journals along with an armful of newspapers and periodicals from around the world. He had a very small circle of literary friends that share the same theme in their talkative gatherings.
When his uncle died in 1916, a modest inheritance was given to him enough to quit his various day jobs and to write full-time. In 1917 his brother died and his portion of the same inheritance was divided between him and another brother. Fort's experience as a journalist, coupled with high wit egged on by a contrary nature, prepared him for his real-life work, needling the pretensions of scientific positivism and the tendency of journalists and editors of newspapers and scientific journals to rationalize the scientifically incorrect. He wrote 10 novels, although only one, 'The Outcast Manufacturers (1909)' was published. Reviews were positive, the tenement of the tail was out of his time. In 1915, in his forties, he began to write 2 books, the first dealing with the idea that beings on Mars controlled Earth's events, and the second postulated a sinister civilization extant at the South Pole. The books caught the attention of writer Theodore Dreiser, who attempted to get them published, but to no avail. Disheartened, Fort burnt the manuscripts. But soon he was renewed to begin work on the book that changed the course of his life, 'The Book of the Damned (1919)," which Dreiser helped to get into print. The book referred to 'damned' data that Ford collected, phenomena for which science could not account and thus rejection or ignorance did not exist. Fort took thousands of notes in his lifetime. Fort spoke of sitting on a park bench and tossing a large amount of notes into the wind. In his short story, "The Giant, the Insect, and the Philanthropic-looking Old Gentleman,"Fort used his own data collection technique to solve the mystery. He observed that unrelated bits of information were interrelated. He destroyed many times his own work, and started again to collect new data aiming to new results. Some of them has been published little by little by the Fortean Society magazine "Doubt," and, upon the death of its editor Tiffany Thayer aged 57, in 1959, then most of Fort's information were donated to New York Public Library.
Fort was pleasant to find himself in the midst of the emotional attachment that his fans had to the object of his research. Fort distrusted doctors and did not seek conventional medical help for his worsening health, given the fact the he was dealing with supernatural forces that drained his energy. Suffering from poor health and failing eyesight, he died, probably from leukemia.
Drew University, the first institution that went into deep research on that subject, started as a theological seminary to train candidates for ministry in the Methodist church. Daniel Drew (July 29, 1797-Sept 18,1879), a great operator of Wall Street that furnished the most remarkable instance of success followed by utter failure and hopeless bankruptcy, was the one who purchased an estate in Madison to establish the 'seminary.' The seminary later expanded to offer 'an undergraduate liberal arts' curriculum in 1928 and graduate studies in 1955. The 'Drew Theological School', the 3rd-oldest of 13 Methodist seminaries is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
Drew was born in Carmel, a town in Putnam County, New York. He was poorly educated and saw hardship after his father, who owned a small cattle farm, died when Daniel was 15 years old. Drew enlisted and drilled, though did not see face to face combat in the Conflict between United States and United Kingdom. After the conflict, he spent some time with a traveling zoo. In 1820, he moved to New York City and established himself at the Bull's Head Tavern in the Bowery, a place frequented by drovers and butchers doing business in the city. While running the Tavern, he formed a partnership with two other drovers, buying cattle from neighboring counties and bringing them to New York for sale. In 1834, he was married and entered the steamboat business and ran profitable lines outside New York City. Around this time, Drew began to speculate in stocks. He founded a brokerage firm but a decade later his partners died and he continue in the brokerage business as an independent operator. After a while in 1857, he managed to be a member of the board of directors of the Erie Railroad and used his position to manipulate the railroad stock price. He joined forces again with another one in the business but in 1864 he was struggling with his partner and speculating on the stock of New York and Harlem since he and his partner were the director of both, rescuing both railroad firms from bankruptcy because of the manipulation of the stocks. In 1866 to 1868, Drew engaged in another conflict with the same partner Vanderbilt, in which Drew conspired along with fellow directors James Fisk and Jay Gould to issue stock to keep Vanderbilt from gaining control of the Erie Railroad. Vanderbilt, unaware of the increase in outstanding shares, kept buying Erie stock and sustained heavy losses, eventually conceding control of the railroad to the trio. In 1870, the two fellow directors Fisk and Gould betrayed Drew, manipulating the stock price again of the Erie Railroad, cause Drew to lose $ 1.5 million. Fisk was killed in January 1872 by a jealous rival over a mistress; Gould himself would later be swindled out of $1,000,000 worth of Erie railroad stock and never controlled it. For Drew, the Panic of 1873 cost him more, and by 1876, Drew filled for bankruptcy, with debts exceeding a million dollars and no viable assets. He died in 1879, dependent on his son for support.
Daniel Drew, from which the university took its name, left a controversial legacy, in the same symbolic way the 'seminary school' turned in something else. At the zenith of his 'career' as a 'financer', when his personal fortune was estimated at $13 million at that time, and he was 'respectfully' called "Uncle Sam' on Wall Street, he was treated with admiration. After his 'fortunes' changed, he was vilified by the newspapers, which wrote that Drew 'has been one of the curses of the market for years past, ... he holds the honest people of the world to be a pack of fools."
Drew is credited with introducing what would be called "watered stock" to the Wall Street, to describe company shares that were issued by false means including counterfeit stock certificates and unauthorized stock release, resulting in a dilution of ownership. The term came from his time in the livestock business, when he would have 'his cattle' lick salt and drink water before selling them, to increase 'weight.' The watered stock tactic was used in the Erie conflict of the 1860s, when Drew along with James Fisk and jay Gould blocked arch rival Cornelius Vanderbilt from getting ownership of the Erie railroad.
Daniel Drew is credited with the nature of the saying: "He who sells what is not his, must buy it back or go to prison," in the physical and spiritual way.
A 'devout' Methodist, Drew built his own churches in Carmel and Brewster, New York, and was the major contributor to the founding of Drew Theological Seminary in Madison, New Jersey, which is now part of Drew University.
Friday, 5 August 2016
THE LEVI-ATHAN
Levi-Athan is the Biblical sea monster of enormous dimensions and king of all the sea creatures. It symbolizes the power of the human mind. God created him together with man and man governed his power with loyalty and integrity towards His Creator, in order to maintain his majesty and glory given to him in order to exercise authority over the realms that God trusted to him.
When the woman was deceived by him and since she came from man's mind, corruption enter in man's mind making him vulnerable to the power of Death, losing his divine position in authority over the realms entitled to him. Levi-Athan took control of it, meaning that man became an entity controlled by the monster since he was banned from his original and divine place and became disconnected completely from God's divine power.
God slew the female of the species, to prevent the pair breeding and destroying the world, meaning that the pair didn't take fruit from the Tree of Life, symbolizing eternity, and made clothes for Adam and Eve from her skin. Man and woman became sinners and under the power of Death.
God confounded Job with this monster Levi-Athan, emphasizing his impotence in dealing with its power by asking, "Can you draw out Levi-Athan with a hook?" (Job 41).
In another interpretation of the word, it is rendered as "Dragon" or "Serpent," but as Levi-Athan's home was said to be this great and wide sea (Ps 103-104), it was identified with the great fish or whale in which Jonah spent 3 days and 3 nights, meaning the mind power.
Jonah is said to be the son of certain Amitt-Ai, and there is a tradition that says that his mother was the widow of Sarepta and Elijah restored Jonah, the son of the widow, to life, being revived from death, in order to have authority over the spirit of Death.
God ordered Jonah to go to the City of Nineveh to denounce the wicked ways of the inhabitants. Fearing a hostile reception, since he was afraid that they might indeed repent and thus show up the failings of Israel, Jonah tried to avoid God's command by boarding a ship at Joppa bound for the Phoenician city of Tarsh-Ish where Jonah believed that God's writ did not run.
God raised a tempest and the ship was at the mercy of the sea that tried to brake it in two. To discover who on board had provoked the storm, the sailors cast lots and the lot fell upon Jonah, showing him as the one who was bringing the divine wrath. Jonah told them to appease the divine wrath by throwing him overboard.
As he fell into the sea he was swallowed up by a large fish, whose eyes were a big as windows and whose stomach was lit up by the glow from a precious stone. The fish was in danger of being eaten by the Levi-Athan, but Jonah scared this sea monster off by announcing that in the age of the Messiah the monster would be eaten at the Messianic Banquet. He spent in the belly of the sea monster 3 days and 3 nights. Typologically this symbolizes both the entombment of Jesus and the Descent into the Land of the Dead, a parallel made by Jesus himself :"For as Jonas was 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth" ... (Matthew 12).
Jonah then prayed to God who spoke to the sea creature and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. This is both a symbol of the Resurrection and of the Salvation of the individual believer.
Chastened, Jonah carried out God's originally instructions. He went to Nineveh and preached so eloquently against their evil ways that the inhabitants repented. God then did not punish them as He had intended.
This angered Jonah, and he built a shelter for himself outside the city and sat in its shade. God caused a gourd plant to grow up to give him additional protection from the sun and this pleased Jonah. That night God prepared a worm which attacked the plant and it withered the next morning. Jonah was sorry for the gourd, and God used this as a lesson that he must have true compassion for all men, just as God had had pity for Nineveh that great city, wherein were a great amount of people that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle. Jonah was also taught that true compassion extends also to Gentiles and to the animal world.
God will eventually have the Levi-Athan slay in the age of the Messiah or according to another version, arrange for the gigantic Beh-Emoth to engage in battle with the Levi-Athan until they kill each other.
At the great Messianic banquet for the righteous, the Levi-Athan's skin will form a gigantic marquee and its flesh will be eaten, and in that way, things will be returned toward the way it was, and we will have a new heaven and a new earth for us that believe in God's Truth.
When the woman was deceived by him and since she came from man's mind, corruption enter in man's mind making him vulnerable to the power of Death, losing his divine position in authority over the realms entitled to him. Levi-Athan took control of it, meaning that man became an entity controlled by the monster since he was banned from his original and divine place and became disconnected completely from God's divine power.
God slew the female of the species, to prevent the pair breeding and destroying the world, meaning that the pair didn't take fruit from the Tree of Life, symbolizing eternity, and made clothes for Adam and Eve from her skin. Man and woman became sinners and under the power of Death.
God confounded Job with this monster Levi-Athan, emphasizing his impotence in dealing with its power by asking, "Can you draw out Levi-Athan with a hook?" (Job 41).
In another interpretation of the word, it is rendered as "Dragon" or "Serpent," but as Levi-Athan's home was said to be this great and wide sea (Ps 103-104), it was identified with the great fish or whale in which Jonah spent 3 days and 3 nights, meaning the mind power.
Jonah is said to be the son of certain Amitt-Ai, and there is a tradition that says that his mother was the widow of Sarepta and Elijah restored Jonah, the son of the widow, to life, being revived from death, in order to have authority over the spirit of Death.
God ordered Jonah to go to the City of Nineveh to denounce the wicked ways of the inhabitants. Fearing a hostile reception, since he was afraid that they might indeed repent and thus show up the failings of Israel, Jonah tried to avoid God's command by boarding a ship at Joppa bound for the Phoenician city of Tarsh-Ish where Jonah believed that God's writ did not run.
God raised a tempest and the ship was at the mercy of the sea that tried to brake it in two. To discover who on board had provoked the storm, the sailors cast lots and the lot fell upon Jonah, showing him as the one who was bringing the divine wrath. Jonah told them to appease the divine wrath by throwing him overboard.
As he fell into the sea he was swallowed up by a large fish, whose eyes were a big as windows and whose stomach was lit up by the glow from a precious stone. The fish was in danger of being eaten by the Levi-Athan, but Jonah scared this sea monster off by announcing that in the age of the Messiah the monster would be eaten at the Messianic Banquet. He spent in the belly of the sea monster 3 days and 3 nights. Typologically this symbolizes both the entombment of Jesus and the Descent into the Land of the Dead, a parallel made by Jesus himself :"For as Jonas was 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth" ... (Matthew 12).
Jonah then prayed to God who spoke to the sea creature and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. This is both a symbol of the Resurrection and of the Salvation of the individual believer.
Chastened, Jonah carried out God's originally instructions. He went to Nineveh and preached so eloquently against their evil ways that the inhabitants repented. God then did not punish them as He had intended.
This angered Jonah, and he built a shelter for himself outside the city and sat in its shade. God caused a gourd plant to grow up to give him additional protection from the sun and this pleased Jonah. That night God prepared a worm which attacked the plant and it withered the next morning. Jonah was sorry for the gourd, and God used this as a lesson that he must have true compassion for all men, just as God had had pity for Nineveh that great city, wherein were a great amount of people that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle. Jonah was also taught that true compassion extends also to Gentiles and to the animal world.
God will eventually have the Levi-Athan slay in the age of the Messiah or according to another version, arrange for the gigantic Beh-Emoth to engage in battle with the Levi-Athan until they kill each other.
At the great Messianic banquet for the righteous, the Levi-Athan's skin will form a gigantic marquee and its flesh will be eaten, and in that way, things will be returned toward the way it was, and we will have a new heaven and a new earth for us that believe in God's Truth.
Wednesday, 3 August 2016
THE KINGDOM OF GOD AND DANIEL'S INSIGHT.
The seven chapter of the Book of Daniel tells of Daniel's vision of four kingdoms replaced by the Kingdom of God. The name Dan-iel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means, "God is my Judge."
The Book of Daniel is a biblical record consisting of an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon. Its message is that just as the God of the Israel saved Daniel and his friends from their enemies, so He would save all of His people in their present oppression.
In the 3rd year of Jeho-Iakim (he whom God has set up), king of Judah, God allowed Jerusalem to fall into the power of Nebu-Chad-Nezzar, king of Babylon. After Jos-Iah's death, Jeho-Iakim's younger brother Jeho-Ahaz (also known as Sallum) was proclaimed king, but after 3 months pharaoh Necho II, in whom the power of God was active, deposed him, making Eli-Akim king in his place. When placed on the throne, his name was changed to Jeho-Akim. Young Jews of noble and royal family without defect, and handsome, versed in wisdom and competent to serve in the palace of the king, were taken to Babylon, a major city of Mesopotamia in the fertile plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, to be taught the literature and language of the Chaldeans. Babylon was built upon the Euphrates and divided in equal parts along its left and right banks, with steep embankments to contain the river's seasonal floods. Chaldea is referred to the low, marshy, alluvial land around the estuaries of the Tigris and Euphrates, which in ancient times discharged their waters through separate mouths into the sea. Two different powers were behind this physical behavior. In later time the Chaldeans had burst their narrow bonds and obtained their short but powerful lived period of ascendency over all of Babylonia, and briefly gave their name to the whole land, which was then called Chaldea, particularly the Jews.
Among the Jews selected and taken to Babylon from Jerusalem were Daniel and his three companions, in total 4 individuals, who refused to touch the royal food and wine for fear of spiritual defilement. Their overseer feared for his life in case the health of his charges deteriorated in power, but Daniel suggested a trial and the four emerged healthier than their counterparts from 10 days of nothing but vegetables and water. they were allowed to continue to refrain from eating the king's food, and to Daniel came the power of God giving him insight into visions and dreams. When their training was done Nebu-Chad-Nezzar found them 10 times better than all the wise men in his service and therefore kept them at his court, where Daniel continued until the 1st year of king Cyrus.
In the 2nd year of his reign Nebu-Chad-Nezzar was troubled by a dream, and demanded that his wise men tell him its content. When the wise men protested that it was beyond the power of any man he sentenced all, including Daniel and his three friends to death. Daniel received an explanatory vision from God: Nebu-Chad-Nezzar had seen an enormous statue with a Head of gold, Breast and Arms of silver, Belly and Thighs of bronze, Legs of iron, and Feet of mixed iron and clay. Then saw the statue destroyed by a Rock that turned into a Mountain filling the whole earth.
Daniel explained the dream to the king: the statue symbolized Four successive kingdoms, starting with Nebu-Chad-Nezzar, all of which would be crushed by God's Kingdom, which would endure forever.
Nebu-Chad-Nezzar acknowledged the supremacy of Daniel's God, and raised him over all his wise men, and placed him and his companions over Babylon.
The Kingdom of God is one of the key elements of the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament. The Old Testament refers to "God the Judge of all" and the notion that all humans will eventually "be judged" is an essential element of Christian teachings, and the task of judgment is assigned to Jesus.
Daniel 7 explains that four beasts come out of the sea, the Ancient of Days sits in judgement over them, and one like a son of man is given eternal kingship. An angelic guide interprets the beasts as kingdoms and kings, the last of whom will make war on the 'holy ones' of God, but he will be destroyed and the 'holy ones' will be given eternal dominion.
The Four beasts coming out of the sea need to be apprehended by reason. The material universe in the human consciousness is fashioned and shaped by the four evil beasts, and felt by the human senses, while the non-material containing the good, only can be felt when we avoid the food presented by the world and eat only from the sources that make us grow in the spirit and be able to use the higher senses of the spirit and connect ourselves to the one representing the "Ancient of Days." The self-reflection of Daniel and his companions in obtaining 10 times higher the power needed in their human abilities in order to serve the king of the world confirm to us that the power of the world is nothing compared to the power of God.
The Book of Daniel is a biblical record consisting of an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon. Its message is that just as the God of the Israel saved Daniel and his friends from their enemies, so He would save all of His people in their present oppression.
In the 3rd year of Jeho-Iakim (he whom God has set up), king of Judah, God allowed Jerusalem to fall into the power of Nebu-Chad-Nezzar, king of Babylon. After Jos-Iah's death, Jeho-Iakim's younger brother Jeho-Ahaz (also known as Sallum) was proclaimed king, but after 3 months pharaoh Necho II, in whom the power of God was active, deposed him, making Eli-Akim king in his place. When placed on the throne, his name was changed to Jeho-Akim. Young Jews of noble and royal family without defect, and handsome, versed in wisdom and competent to serve in the palace of the king, were taken to Babylon, a major city of Mesopotamia in the fertile plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, to be taught the literature and language of the Chaldeans. Babylon was built upon the Euphrates and divided in equal parts along its left and right banks, with steep embankments to contain the river's seasonal floods. Chaldea is referred to the low, marshy, alluvial land around the estuaries of the Tigris and Euphrates, which in ancient times discharged their waters through separate mouths into the sea. Two different powers were behind this physical behavior. In later time the Chaldeans had burst their narrow bonds and obtained their short but powerful lived period of ascendency over all of Babylonia, and briefly gave their name to the whole land, which was then called Chaldea, particularly the Jews.
Among the Jews selected and taken to Babylon from Jerusalem were Daniel and his three companions, in total 4 individuals, who refused to touch the royal food and wine for fear of spiritual defilement. Their overseer feared for his life in case the health of his charges deteriorated in power, but Daniel suggested a trial and the four emerged healthier than their counterparts from 10 days of nothing but vegetables and water. they were allowed to continue to refrain from eating the king's food, and to Daniel came the power of God giving him insight into visions and dreams. When their training was done Nebu-Chad-Nezzar found them 10 times better than all the wise men in his service and therefore kept them at his court, where Daniel continued until the 1st year of king Cyrus.
In the 2nd year of his reign Nebu-Chad-Nezzar was troubled by a dream, and demanded that his wise men tell him its content. When the wise men protested that it was beyond the power of any man he sentenced all, including Daniel and his three friends to death. Daniel received an explanatory vision from God: Nebu-Chad-Nezzar had seen an enormous statue with a Head of gold, Breast and Arms of silver, Belly and Thighs of bronze, Legs of iron, and Feet of mixed iron and clay. Then saw the statue destroyed by a Rock that turned into a Mountain filling the whole earth.
Daniel explained the dream to the king: the statue symbolized Four successive kingdoms, starting with Nebu-Chad-Nezzar, all of which would be crushed by God's Kingdom, which would endure forever.
Nebu-Chad-Nezzar acknowledged the supremacy of Daniel's God, and raised him over all his wise men, and placed him and his companions over Babylon.
The Kingdom of God is one of the key elements of the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament. The Old Testament refers to "God the Judge of all" and the notion that all humans will eventually "be judged" is an essential element of Christian teachings, and the task of judgment is assigned to Jesus.
Daniel 7 explains that four beasts come out of the sea, the Ancient of Days sits in judgement over them, and one like a son of man is given eternal kingship. An angelic guide interprets the beasts as kingdoms and kings, the last of whom will make war on the 'holy ones' of God, but he will be destroyed and the 'holy ones' will be given eternal dominion.
The Four beasts coming out of the sea need to be apprehended by reason. The material universe in the human consciousness is fashioned and shaped by the four evil beasts, and felt by the human senses, while the non-material containing the good, only can be felt when we avoid the food presented by the world and eat only from the sources that make us grow in the spirit and be able to use the higher senses of the spirit and connect ourselves to the one representing the "Ancient of Days." The self-reflection of Daniel and his companions in obtaining 10 times higher the power needed in their human abilities in order to serve the king of the world confirm to us that the power of the world is nothing compared to the power of God.
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