Water is a source of life, energy and absolution in religion, and Rivers have always played an especially important role in worshippers lives. Unfortunately, in the world of today, people have polluted the spiritual purpose of this essential sources of life by industrialization and urban waste.
The Jordan River is a 251km/156mi long River in the Middle East that flows roughly North to South through the Sea of Galilee and on to the Dead Sea. It has an upper course from its sources to the Sea of Galilee, and a lower course South of the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea.
Over its upper course, the Jordan drops rapidly in a 75km/47mi run to the once large and swampy Lake Hula, which is slightly above sea level. Then, exiting the now almost extinct lake, it goes through an even steeper drop over 25km/16mi down to the Sea of Galilee, which enters at its Northern end. The River deposits much of the silt it is carrying within the Lake, which it leaves again near its Southern tip. At that point the river is situated about 210 meters below sea level. The last 120km/75mi long section follows what is commonly termed the "Jordan Valley,"which has less gradient (the total drop is another 210m) so that river meanders before entering the Dead Sea, a terminal Lake about 422 meters below sea level with no outlet. Two major tributaries enter from the East during this last section: the Yarmouk River, the largest tributary of the Jordan that runs in Jordan, Syria, and Israel and drains much of the Hauran plateau, and the Zarqa River, the second largest tributary that encompasses the most densely populated areas of the Jordan River.
In 1964, Israel began operating a pumping station that diverts water from the Sea of Galilee in the North of the country to the highly populated center and arid South. In 1964 also, Jordan constructed a channel that diverted water from the Yarmouk River, one of the major tributaries of the Jordan River, to the East Ghor Canal, the largest irrigation canal system in Jordan that runs parallel to the East bank of the Jordan River. Syria has also built reservoirs that catch the Yarmouk's waters. Environmentalists blame Israel, Jordan, and Syria for extensive damage to the Jordan River ecosystem. The practice of letting sewage and brackish water flow into the river has almost destroyed it all. The waters are now 70% to 90% used for human purposes and the flow is greatly reduced. Because of this and the high evaporation rate of the Dead Sea, as well as industrial extraction of salts through evaporation ponds, the Dead Sea is shrinking rapidly. Rescuing the Jordan could take decades. In 2007, The Jordan River was declared one of the World's most endangered ecological site, due to the lack of cooperation between Israel and the neighboring Arab states.
The people of the Jordan Rift Valley, also called the Syro-African Depression, do not realize that it is an elongated depression shared by modern-day Israel, Jordan, and Palestine. Anything that alter the normal function of its ecosystem will have a change reaction affecting the whole geographical area. This geographic region includes the entire length of the Jordan River -from its sources, through the Hula Valley, the Korazim block, the Sea of Galilee, the Lower Jordan Valley, all the way to the Dead Sea (the lowest point on Earth) and then continues through the Ar'Ab'Ah depression, the Gulf of Aq'Ab'A whose shorelines it incorporates, until finally reaching the Red Sea proper at the Straits of Tir'An. Access to Jordan's only Seaport of Aq'Ab'A and to Israel's only Red Sea seaport of E'Ilat is through the Gulf of Aqaba, which gives the Straits of Tir'An strategic importance.
The Jordan Rift Valley was formed many millions of years ago when the Arabian Plate moved Northward and then Eastward away from Africa. One million years later, the land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan Rift Valley rose so that the sea water stopped flooding the area.
The Jordan Rift Valley's lowest point is in the Dead Sea, the lowest spot of which is 790 meters below sea level. Rising sharply to almost 1,000m/3,300ft in the West, and similarly in the East, the Rift is a significant topographic feature over which a few narrow paved roads and difficult mountain tracks lead.
The Great Rift Valley is the continuous geographic trench, approximately 6,000km / 3,700mi in length, that runs from Lebanon's Beqaa Valley in Asia to Mozambique in South Eastern Africa.
In the Scripture, the Jordan River is referred to as the source of fertility of a large plain, said to be watered like "the Garden of God" (Genesis 13). It has a major significancy in Judaism and Christianity Jacob and his sons, crossed it and its tributary, the Jabbok (Al-Zarqa), on his way back from Haran (Genesis 32). The Jordan is noted as the line of demarcation between the "two tribes and the half tribe" settled to the East (Numbers 34) and the "nine tribes and the half tribe of Manasseh" that, led by Joshua, settle to the West (Joshua 13).
Opposite Jericho, it was called "the Jordan of Jericho"(Num. 34). The Jordan has a number of fords, a shallow place good for crossing, and one is famous as the place where many Ephraimites were slain by Jephthah, the judge (Judges 12). This same forts are mentioned as being near Beth'Barah, where Gideon lay in wait for the Midianites (Judges 7). In the plain of the Jordan, between Suc'Coth and Zar'than, is the clay ground where Solomon had his brass-foundries (1King7). In 2 King 6 the Jordan Valley is portrayed as a Wood Land Region. The trees were rare in most parts of Palestine, but plentiful in the Jordan Valley.
The New Testament speaks several times about Jesus crossing the Jordan during His Ministry (Matt19; Mark10), and of believers crossing the Jordan to come near and hear Him preach and to be healed of their diseases (Matt.4; Mark 3). When his enemies sought to capture Him, Jesus took refuge at Jordan in the place where John the Baptist had first baptized Him (John 10).
Jordan is understood as the bridge to freedom from slavery. The Israelites had to make a difficult and hazardous journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land. The actual crossing is the final step of the journey, which is then complete.
Thursday, 5 July 2018
KETH'UR'A, MOTHER OF MIDIAN.
The traditional belief among medieval Jewish commentators was that Keth'Ur'A had the same role played by Hagar, the Egyptian handmaid from which Abraham's firstborn Ish'Ma'El, the progenitor of the Ish'Ma'El'Ites, was born. God's plan shows us the Old and the New Covenant with each woman representing the world of the flesh according to the time in which they came to the life of Ab'Ra'Ham.
Hag'Ar and Keth'Ur' A, both are called concubines of Ab'Ra'Ham, but Sarah always was referred to as wife. Sarah is the Covenant itself, and the 2 concubines represents the Old flesh and the New flesh.
Then when Abraham still was alive, he gave his whole state unto Isaac, his son through his wife Sarah, the son of the Promise, But unto the sons of his concubines Ab'Ra'Ham gave gifts, and sent them away from his son Isaac. Therefore the sons of the concubines have gifts that were given by his father when he was alive but those gifts are not powerful enough to attain salvation and eternal life.
According to the Scripture, the Midianites, were descendants of Midian, the son of Ab'Ra'Ham through Keth'Ur'A. Ab'Ra'Ham and Keth'Ur'A had 6 sons.
Genesis 25 says, "... she bore him Zimr'An, -Jok'Sh'An, -Med'An, -Midi'An, -Ishb'Ak, and -Shu'Ah.
-Jok'Sh'An's sons were Sh'Eba and Ded'An. Ded'An descendants were the Assh'Ur'Ites, Letu'Sh'Ites, Leumm'Ites.
-Mid'Ian's sons were Eph'Ah, -Eph'Er, -Han'Och, -Ab'Ida, -El'Da'Ah. (1-4)
Mid'Ian is also mentioned in the Scripture through these series of events:
-Joseph, an important figure in the Scripture was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers to Mid'Ian, who came across them, and Mid'Ian'Ites sold Joseph to the Ish'Ma'El'Ites. Joseph rose to become vizier, the second powerful man in Egypt next to Pharaoh.
-Mid'An is the place where Moses spent 40 years in voluntary exile after killing an E'gypt'ian.
-Moses married Zipp'Or'Ah the daughter of Jeth'Ro (also known as Reu'El), the priest of Mid'Ian.
-Jeth'Ro advised Moses on establishing a system of delegated legal decision-making.
-Moses asked Hob'Ah, the son of Reu'El (Jeth'Ro) the Midianite, to accompany the Israelites traveling towards the Promised Land because of his local knowledge, although Hob'Ah preferred to return to his homeland.
-Cozbi, the daughter of Z'Ur, a prominent Medianite chief, was speared by Phinehas, a priest, grandson of Aaron and son of Eleazar, the High Priest, together with the Israelite Zim'Ri, son of a Simeon'Ite chief. Zimri, as Prince of a family within the Tribe of Simeon, took the woman into his family as a concubine. The Midianite women's seductions of Israelites to their idol Baal-Peor is described as the cause of offense to God, even though, the Midianites were racially akin to the Israelites as descendants of Abraham, and Moses' own wife Zipporah was Midianite.
-Soon after, God instructed Moses to collect an army and destroy Mid'Ian.
-The Israelites killed every Midianite male including the chief Z'Ur and four other named chiefs, and brought back the women and children as prisoners of war.
-Moses condemned the Midianite women as the cause of the enmity (threatening, forceful adverse) between the Israelites and the Midianites, and ordered every woman who had slept with a man to be killed (Numbers 31), but 32,000 girls who have never slept with a man were kept as slaves.
-Israel was oppressed by Mid'Ian for 7 years during the time of Judges (chapter 6). Gideon was called by God to deliver Israel from Mid'ian's armies. He killed the Mid'Ian princes Or'Eb and Ze'Eb, then pursued their kings Zeb'Ah and Zal'Mun'Na as far as Kar'Kor in the open desert wastes on the East of the Jordan, not far beyond Succoth and Penuel to the South, slaying them as well.
-Hadad the Edomite, opposing King Solomon, passed through Mid'ian and Par'An while fleeing from Edom to Egypt.
-Isaiah 60 speaks of camels from Midian and Ephah coming to "cover your land," along with the gold and frankincense from Sheba. This passage is taken by the Gospel of Matthew as a foreshadowing of the Magi's gift to the infant Jesus. Again the representation of the Abraham's gifts given to the sons of the concubines are offered to the Christ Jesus, showing Him as the only one powerful enough to defeat Satan and the power of Death.
Mid'Ian, in a religious sense, was a foundation or confederation of tribes brought together as a cultic collective league in the vicinity of a sanctuary to exercise their gifts for worship purposes. It is uncertain which deities the Mid'Ianites worship. But through the apparent religio-political connection with the Moab'Ites they are thought to have worshiped a multitude, including Baal-peor and the Queen of heaven, Ash'Ter'Oth.
An Egyptian temple of Hath'Or (personification of joy, music, feminine love, motherhood) at Tim'Na, North of the Gulf of Aq'Aba (area rich in copper ore mined since 5th BC) continued to be used for cultic purposes during Mid'Ian occupation of the site . Mid'Ian transformed the Hath'Or mining temple into a desert tent-shrine. However , whether Hath'Or or some other deity was the object of devotion during this period is difficult to ascertain. Post-holes, large quantities of red and yellow decayed cloth with beads woven into it, along with numerous copper rings/wire used to suspend the curtains, were unearthed all along two walls of the shrine. Mid'Ian did make offerings to whoever the divinity was, especially since a large number of Mid'Ian votive vessels were also discovered in the shrine. The Mid'Ian tent-shrine at Tim'Na is one of the closest parallels to the Scriptural Tabernacles.
The people of Median are also mentioned in the Arabic Q'Ur'An. The word Mad'Yan appears 10 times in it. They are also called "Ash'Abu" meaning "Companions of the Wood."
Hag'Ar and Keth'Ur' A, both are called concubines of Ab'Ra'Ham, but Sarah always was referred to as wife. Sarah is the Covenant itself, and the 2 concubines represents the Old flesh and the New flesh.
Then when Abraham still was alive, he gave his whole state unto Isaac, his son through his wife Sarah, the son of the Promise, But unto the sons of his concubines Ab'Ra'Ham gave gifts, and sent them away from his son Isaac. Therefore the sons of the concubines have gifts that were given by his father when he was alive but those gifts are not powerful enough to attain salvation and eternal life.
According to the Scripture, the Midianites, were descendants of Midian, the son of Ab'Ra'Ham through Keth'Ur'A. Ab'Ra'Ham and Keth'Ur'A had 6 sons.
Genesis 25 says, "... she bore him Zimr'An, -Jok'Sh'An, -Med'An, -Midi'An, -Ishb'Ak, and -Shu'Ah.
-Jok'Sh'An's sons were Sh'Eba and Ded'An. Ded'An descendants were the Assh'Ur'Ites, Letu'Sh'Ites, Leumm'Ites.
-Mid'Ian's sons were Eph'Ah, -Eph'Er, -Han'Och, -Ab'Ida, -El'Da'Ah. (1-4)
Mid'Ian is also mentioned in the Scripture through these series of events:
-Joseph, an important figure in the Scripture was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers to Mid'Ian, who came across them, and Mid'Ian'Ites sold Joseph to the Ish'Ma'El'Ites. Joseph rose to become vizier, the second powerful man in Egypt next to Pharaoh.
-Mid'An is the place where Moses spent 40 years in voluntary exile after killing an E'gypt'ian.
-Moses married Zipp'Or'Ah the daughter of Jeth'Ro (also known as Reu'El), the priest of Mid'Ian.
-Jeth'Ro advised Moses on establishing a system of delegated legal decision-making.
-Moses asked Hob'Ah, the son of Reu'El (Jeth'Ro) the Midianite, to accompany the Israelites traveling towards the Promised Land because of his local knowledge, although Hob'Ah preferred to return to his homeland.
-Cozbi, the daughter of Z'Ur, a prominent Medianite chief, was speared by Phinehas, a priest, grandson of Aaron and son of Eleazar, the High Priest, together with the Israelite Zim'Ri, son of a Simeon'Ite chief. Zimri, as Prince of a family within the Tribe of Simeon, took the woman into his family as a concubine. The Midianite women's seductions of Israelites to their idol Baal-Peor is described as the cause of offense to God, even though, the Midianites were racially akin to the Israelites as descendants of Abraham, and Moses' own wife Zipporah was Midianite.
-Soon after, God instructed Moses to collect an army and destroy Mid'Ian.
-The Israelites killed every Midianite male including the chief Z'Ur and four other named chiefs, and brought back the women and children as prisoners of war.
-Moses condemned the Midianite women as the cause of the enmity (threatening, forceful adverse) between the Israelites and the Midianites, and ordered every woman who had slept with a man to be killed (Numbers 31), but 32,000 girls who have never slept with a man were kept as slaves.
-Israel was oppressed by Mid'Ian for 7 years during the time of Judges (chapter 6). Gideon was called by God to deliver Israel from Mid'ian's armies. He killed the Mid'Ian princes Or'Eb and Ze'Eb, then pursued their kings Zeb'Ah and Zal'Mun'Na as far as Kar'Kor in the open desert wastes on the East of the Jordan, not far beyond Succoth and Penuel to the South, slaying them as well.
-Hadad the Edomite, opposing King Solomon, passed through Mid'ian and Par'An while fleeing from Edom to Egypt.
-Isaiah 60 speaks of camels from Midian and Ephah coming to "cover your land," along with the gold and frankincense from Sheba. This passage is taken by the Gospel of Matthew as a foreshadowing of the Magi's gift to the infant Jesus. Again the representation of the Abraham's gifts given to the sons of the concubines are offered to the Christ Jesus, showing Him as the only one powerful enough to defeat Satan and the power of Death.
Mid'Ian, in a religious sense, was a foundation or confederation of tribes brought together as a cultic collective league in the vicinity of a sanctuary to exercise their gifts for worship purposes. It is uncertain which deities the Mid'Ianites worship. But through the apparent religio-political connection with the Moab'Ites they are thought to have worshiped a multitude, including Baal-peor and the Queen of heaven, Ash'Ter'Oth.
An Egyptian temple of Hath'Or (personification of joy, music, feminine love, motherhood) at Tim'Na, North of the Gulf of Aq'Aba (area rich in copper ore mined since 5th BC) continued to be used for cultic purposes during Mid'Ian occupation of the site . Mid'Ian transformed the Hath'Or mining temple into a desert tent-shrine. However , whether Hath'Or or some other deity was the object of devotion during this period is difficult to ascertain. Post-holes, large quantities of red and yellow decayed cloth with beads woven into it, along with numerous copper rings/wire used to suspend the curtains, were unearthed all along two walls of the shrine. Mid'Ian did make offerings to whoever the divinity was, especially since a large number of Mid'Ian votive vessels were also discovered in the shrine. The Mid'Ian tent-shrine at Tim'Na is one of the closest parallels to the Scriptural Tabernacles.
The people of Median are also mentioned in the Arabic Q'Ur'An. The word Mad'Yan appears 10 times in it. They are also called "Ash'Abu" meaning "Companions of the Wood."
Wednesday, 4 July 2018
MOUNT BISOTOUN.
Mount Bisotoun is a mountain of the Zagros Mountains range, located in Ker'Man'Shah Province of Western Iran. The Zagros Mountains is long mountain range in Iran, Iraq, and South Eastern Turkey.
Ker'Man'Shah is located in the middle of the Western part of Iran. The city is built on the slopes of Mount Sefid Kooh. City's elevation average is about 1,350 meters above sea level. The distance between Ker'Man'Shah and Teh'Eran is 525 km. It is the trade center of rich agricultural region that produces grain, rice, vegetables, fruits, and oilseeds, and there are many industrial centers, oil and sugar refineries, and cement, textile, and flour factories, etc.
Many caves with Paleo'Lithic remains have been surveyed or excavated there. The oldest prehistoric village in the Middle East dating back to 9,800 BC was discovered in Sah'Neh, in West Ker'Man'Sheh.
Mount Bisotoun is well known for the inscription and rock relief in which the great Acha'Emen'Ian King, Darius the Great, had the narrative of his exploits carved around 500 BC.
The Acha'Emen'Id Empire (550-330BC), also called the First Persian Empire, was an empire based in Western Asia, founded by Cyrus the Great. Darius I ruled the empire at its peak, when it included much of West Asia, the Caucasos (region at the border of Europe and Asia between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea), part of the Balkans (Thrace-Macedonia and Paeonia), most of the Black Sea coastal regions, parts of the North Caucasus (between the Sea of Azov and Black Sea on the West and Caspian Sea on the East), Central Asia, as far as the Indus Valley in the far East and portions of North and North East Africa including Egypt (Mud'Raya), Eastern Libya and coastal Sudan.
It was larger than any previous empire in history, spanning 5.5 million sq km. Darius organized the empire by dividing it into provinces, incorporating various peoples of different origins and faiths. Also it is notable for its successful model of a centralized and unified, bureaucratic administration through governors [satraps] under the King of Kings, for building infrastructure such as road systems and a postal system, the use of Aramaic as an official language across its territories, and the development of civil services and a large professional army. He also introduced standard weights and measures and organized a new uniform monetary system. The empire's successes inspired similar systems in later empires. Darius also worked on construction projects throughout the empire, focusing on Susa (lower Zagros, East of the Tigris, between Kar'Kheh and Dez rivers, Pas'Argad'Ae, Perse'Polis, Babyl'On, and Egypt.
Darius is mentioned in the Scriptural Books of Hagg'Ai, Zechar'Iah, and Ez'Ra-Neh'Em'Iah.
Darius the Great's inscription at Mount Bisotun, which dates to 522 BC, lies some 1300 meters high in the Mountains, and counts as one of the most famous sites in Near Eastern archaeology. The site has attracted visitors for centuries.
The Behistun inscription is to Old Persian cuneiform what the Roseta Stone is to Egyptian hieroglyphs.
The trilingual inscription (in Old Persian, Elamite and Akkadian) was crucial in the decipherment of the script. The relief above the inscription depicts Darius facing 9 rebels who objected to his crowning. At the king's feet lies Gaumata, a Magian priest from Media, and impostor of Bardiya, the younger son of Cyrus the Great. The location of this important historical document is not coincidental : Gaumata was a Medean and in Acha'Emen'Id times Behistun lay on the Medea-Parsa highway.
The Behistun is also notable for 3 reliefs at the foot of the hill that date from the Parth'Ian era. Among them is a Hellenistic-era depiction of the divinity Bah'Ram as the Greek hero Hercules, who reclines with a goblet in his hand, a club at his feet and a lion-skin beneath him.
Ker'Man'Shah is located in the middle of the Western part of Iran. The city is built on the slopes of Mount Sefid Kooh. City's elevation average is about 1,350 meters above sea level. The distance between Ker'Man'Shah and Teh'Eran is 525 km. It is the trade center of rich agricultural region that produces grain, rice, vegetables, fruits, and oilseeds, and there are many industrial centers, oil and sugar refineries, and cement, textile, and flour factories, etc.
Many caves with Paleo'Lithic remains have been surveyed or excavated there. The oldest prehistoric village in the Middle East dating back to 9,800 BC was discovered in Sah'Neh, in West Ker'Man'Sheh.
Mount Bisotoun is well known for the inscription and rock relief in which the great Acha'Emen'Ian King, Darius the Great, had the narrative of his exploits carved around 500 BC.
The Acha'Emen'Id Empire (550-330BC), also called the First Persian Empire, was an empire based in Western Asia, founded by Cyrus the Great. Darius I ruled the empire at its peak, when it included much of West Asia, the Caucasos (region at the border of Europe and Asia between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea), part of the Balkans (Thrace-Macedonia and Paeonia), most of the Black Sea coastal regions, parts of the North Caucasus (between the Sea of Azov and Black Sea on the West and Caspian Sea on the East), Central Asia, as far as the Indus Valley in the far East and portions of North and North East Africa including Egypt (Mud'Raya), Eastern Libya and coastal Sudan.
It was larger than any previous empire in history, spanning 5.5 million sq km. Darius organized the empire by dividing it into provinces, incorporating various peoples of different origins and faiths. Also it is notable for its successful model of a centralized and unified, bureaucratic administration through governors [satraps] under the King of Kings, for building infrastructure such as road systems and a postal system, the use of Aramaic as an official language across its territories, and the development of civil services and a large professional army. He also introduced standard weights and measures and organized a new uniform monetary system. The empire's successes inspired similar systems in later empires. Darius also worked on construction projects throughout the empire, focusing on Susa (lower Zagros, East of the Tigris, between Kar'Kheh and Dez rivers, Pas'Argad'Ae, Perse'Polis, Babyl'On, and Egypt.
Darius is mentioned in the Scriptural Books of Hagg'Ai, Zechar'Iah, and Ez'Ra-Neh'Em'Iah.
Darius the Great's inscription at Mount Bisotun, which dates to 522 BC, lies some 1300 meters high in the Mountains, and counts as one of the most famous sites in Near Eastern archaeology. The site has attracted visitors for centuries.
The Behistun inscription is to Old Persian cuneiform what the Roseta Stone is to Egyptian hieroglyphs.
The trilingual inscription (in Old Persian, Elamite and Akkadian) was crucial in the decipherment of the script. The relief above the inscription depicts Darius facing 9 rebels who objected to his crowning. At the king's feet lies Gaumata, a Magian priest from Media, and impostor of Bardiya, the younger son of Cyrus the Great. The location of this important historical document is not coincidental : Gaumata was a Medean and in Acha'Emen'Id times Behistun lay on the Medea-Parsa highway.
The Behistun is also notable for 3 reliefs at the foot of the hill that date from the Parth'Ian era. Among them is a Hellenistic-era depiction of the divinity Bah'Ram as the Greek hero Hercules, who reclines with a goblet in his hand, a club at his feet and a lion-skin beneath him.
THE SPIRITUAL WORLD OF PYTH'AGORAS.
Pyth'Agoras was considered a philosopher, more than anything else. He was born on the island of Samos, Greece in 569BC. Various writings place his death between 500BC and 475BC in Meta-Pontum, Lucania, Italy. His father, Mnes'Archus, was a gem merchant. His mother's name was Pyth'Ais. Pyth'Agoras had two or three brothers.
Pyth'Agoras was well educated, and he played the 7 strings lyre throughout his lifetime, knew poetry and recited Homer. He was interested in philosophy, astronomy, music, the mysticism of numbers, and was greatly influenced by Ph'Erek'Ydes (philosophy), Th'Ales (astronomy), and Ana'Xim'Ander (phylosophy).
Pyth'Agoras left Samos for Egypt in about 535BC(35 years old) to study with the priests in the temples.
Ten years later, when Persia invaded Egypt, he was taken prisoner and sent to Babyl'On (now Iraq), where he met the Magoi, priests who taught him sacred rites. Iam'Blichus (250-330CE), a Syrian philosopher, wrote about Pyth'Agoras, "He also reached the acme of perfection in numbers and music and other sciences taught by the babylonians.. ."
In 520BC (49 years old), now a free man, left Babyl'On and returned to Samos, and sometime later began a school called "The Semicircle."His methods of teaching were not very popular with the leaders of Samos, and their desire for him to become involved in politics did not appeal to him, so he left.
In 518CE9 (51 years old), he settled in Crotona, a Greek colony in Southern Eastern coast of Italy, and founded a philosophical and religious school where his many followers lived and worked. The school lived by rules of behavior, including when they spoke, what they wore and what they ate. Many of the practices and beliefs of the society (secrecy, vegetarianism, fasting, silence, refusal to eat beans, refusal to wear animal skins, celibacy, self-examination, immortality and reincarnation) can be traced to the beliefs of Egyptian priests and were re-directed as "rules of life." They had no personal possessions and were strictly vegetarians . Another group of followers who lived apart from the school were allowed to have personal possessions and were not expected to be vegetarians. They all worked communally on discoveries and logical thinking. Both men and women were permitted to become members. In fact, several female Pyth'Agoreans became noted philosophers. For example, Ae'Sara of Lucania was known for her theory of the tri-part soul, which she believed consisted of the mind, spiritedness, and desire.
Pyth'Agoreans believed that all relationships of any kind could be reduced to mystic numbers in order to account for geometrical properties and purposes. He had long played the seven string lyre and learned how harmonious the vibrating strings sounded when the lengths of the strings were proportional to whole numbers, such as 2:1, 3:2, 4:3. He also realized that this knowledge could be applied to other musical instruments. From this viewpoint, the concept of number was developed, which became the dominant principle of all proportion, order, and harmony in the universe. Then, with the same principle, they found the existence of the "incommensurable" (irrational) numbers. It caused a scandal at the beginning, so serious that some members tried to suppress the knowledge of the existence of the newly found concept. By any means the ethics of the school was based on strict loyalty and secrecy.
The core of Pyth'Agorean philosophy developed primarily within religious concepts, such as: the soul was thought to reside in the brain, and was considered immortal. The soul was able to move from one being to another, or sometimes from a human into an animal, through a series of reincarnations called transmigration until it achieved the spiritual purification needed in order to continue its divine journey. Both mathematic and music were considered entities with enough power to achieve purification. Certain symbols have a mystical significance. Numbers have personalities,characteristics, strengths and weaknesses. They were not only symbols of reality, but also were the final substance of real things, known as "number mysticism." They held, for example, that One is the point, Two is the line, Three is the surface, and Four is the solid. Seven was considered the destiny that dominates human life because infancy ends there, and also because the number Seven was associated with the Seven Wandering Stars. the age of maturity began at age Fourteen, marriage occurred in the Twenty-First year, and Seventy years was the normal life span. The number Ten was identified as the perfect number because it was the sum of One, plus Two, plus Three, plus Four.
The world was understood an an entity that depends upon the interaction of opposites, such as male and female, lightness and darkness, warm and cold, dry and moist, light and heavy, fast and slow.
The Pyth'Agoreans deduced that any Triangle whose sides were in the ratio 3:4:5 was a right- angled triangle. The earlier Egyptians stated this empirical relationship and the desire to find the mathematical harmonies of all things led the Pyth'Agoreans to prove it. Today it is known as the Pyth'Agorean Theorem.
In Astronomy, the Pyth'Agorean were the first to consider the Earth as a sphere revolving with the other planets and the Sun around a universal central fire. Then planets were believed to exist in order to produce the number of Ten. They also recognized that the orbit of the Moon was inclined to the equator of the Earth, and were one of the first to accept that Venus was both the Evening Star and the Morning Star.
The Pyth'Agorean doctrine of numerology and number mysticism influence the developing of the idea that nature could be understood through mathematical concepts and science was extremely important for studying and understanding the physical world in which we live.
Pyth'Agoras was well educated, and he played the 7 strings lyre throughout his lifetime, knew poetry and recited Homer. He was interested in philosophy, astronomy, music, the mysticism of numbers, and was greatly influenced by Ph'Erek'Ydes (philosophy), Th'Ales (astronomy), and Ana'Xim'Ander (phylosophy).
Pyth'Agoras left Samos for Egypt in about 535BC(35 years old) to study with the priests in the temples.
Ten years later, when Persia invaded Egypt, he was taken prisoner and sent to Babyl'On (now Iraq), where he met the Magoi, priests who taught him sacred rites. Iam'Blichus (250-330CE), a Syrian philosopher, wrote about Pyth'Agoras, "He also reached the acme of perfection in numbers and music and other sciences taught by the babylonians.. ."
In 520BC (49 years old), now a free man, left Babyl'On and returned to Samos, and sometime later began a school called "The Semicircle."His methods of teaching were not very popular with the leaders of Samos, and their desire for him to become involved in politics did not appeal to him, so he left.
In 518CE9 (51 years old), he settled in Crotona, a Greek colony in Southern Eastern coast of Italy, and founded a philosophical and religious school where his many followers lived and worked. The school lived by rules of behavior, including when they spoke, what they wore and what they ate. Many of the practices and beliefs of the society (secrecy, vegetarianism, fasting, silence, refusal to eat beans, refusal to wear animal skins, celibacy, self-examination, immortality and reincarnation) can be traced to the beliefs of Egyptian priests and were re-directed as "rules of life." They had no personal possessions and were strictly vegetarians . Another group of followers who lived apart from the school were allowed to have personal possessions and were not expected to be vegetarians. They all worked communally on discoveries and logical thinking. Both men and women were permitted to become members. In fact, several female Pyth'Agoreans became noted philosophers. For example, Ae'Sara of Lucania was known for her theory of the tri-part soul, which she believed consisted of the mind, spiritedness, and desire.
Pyth'Agoreans believed that all relationships of any kind could be reduced to mystic numbers in order to account for geometrical properties and purposes. He had long played the seven string lyre and learned how harmonious the vibrating strings sounded when the lengths of the strings were proportional to whole numbers, such as 2:1, 3:2, 4:3. He also realized that this knowledge could be applied to other musical instruments. From this viewpoint, the concept of number was developed, which became the dominant principle of all proportion, order, and harmony in the universe. Then, with the same principle, they found the existence of the "incommensurable" (irrational) numbers. It caused a scandal at the beginning, so serious that some members tried to suppress the knowledge of the existence of the newly found concept. By any means the ethics of the school was based on strict loyalty and secrecy.
The core of Pyth'Agorean philosophy developed primarily within religious concepts, such as: the soul was thought to reside in the brain, and was considered immortal. The soul was able to move from one being to another, or sometimes from a human into an animal, through a series of reincarnations called transmigration until it achieved the spiritual purification needed in order to continue its divine journey. Both mathematic and music were considered entities with enough power to achieve purification. Certain symbols have a mystical significance. Numbers have personalities,characteristics, strengths and weaknesses. They were not only symbols of reality, but also were the final substance of real things, known as "number mysticism." They held, for example, that One is the point, Two is the line, Three is the surface, and Four is the solid. Seven was considered the destiny that dominates human life because infancy ends there, and also because the number Seven was associated with the Seven Wandering Stars. the age of maturity began at age Fourteen, marriage occurred in the Twenty-First year, and Seventy years was the normal life span. The number Ten was identified as the perfect number because it was the sum of One, plus Two, plus Three, plus Four.
The world was understood an an entity that depends upon the interaction of opposites, such as male and female, lightness and darkness, warm and cold, dry and moist, light and heavy, fast and slow.
The Pyth'Agoreans deduced that any Triangle whose sides were in the ratio 3:4:5 was a right- angled triangle. The earlier Egyptians stated this empirical relationship and the desire to find the mathematical harmonies of all things led the Pyth'Agoreans to prove it. Today it is known as the Pyth'Agorean Theorem.
In Astronomy, the Pyth'Agorean were the first to consider the Earth as a sphere revolving with the other planets and the Sun around a universal central fire. Then planets were believed to exist in order to produce the number of Ten. They also recognized that the orbit of the Moon was inclined to the equator of the Earth, and were one of the first to accept that Venus was both the Evening Star and the Morning Star.
The Pyth'Agorean doctrine of numerology and number mysticism influence the developing of the idea that nature could be understood through mathematical concepts and science was extremely important for studying and understanding the physical world in which we live.
THE ROLE OF PLANTS AND TREES IN THE SCRIPTURE.
Human life ends with death and burial in the ground. Plants are just the opposite. They emerge from the earth and draw nourishment from it. For this specific reason, many stories associate plants with birth or rebirth and with the eternal cycle of life springing from death. However, because some plants yield poisons and some die in winter, plants can also represent death and decay.
Various trees, shrubs, herbs, grains, flowers, and fruit appear in the Scripture as general symbols of rebirth, decay, and immorality. We can see why trees often take leading roles along with mountains and the sea, because trees are bigger than we are; they stand when we fall and they endure when we pass away. Yet, unlike the sea and the hills, we can muster the trees' power by chopping them down and discard them from its natural use for the sake of our on commodity. This is a sinful and stupid act.
We, as believers, are bound to the obligation to see the natural world as one charged with the power and glory of God. In the world of today, nature is treated as something that have lost their enchantment and it is represent just a thing for consumption. A star is just a nuclear reaction; a snake is just a reptile; a baby is just an arrangement of cells. We are not able to fell the insight of things.
In Genesis, the Scripture says, "And out of the ground made God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the Tree of Life also in the midst of the Garden, and Tree of Knowledge of good and evil." When we read these words, we are able to see the setup for the plot. The Tree of Knowledge of good and evil God commands the humans not to use, they disobey and used it as food. "The woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise." The woman reverses God's order. For her food is first, beauty second. That Tree was good only for its beauty but not for its food. The woman was deceived: It is not wise to set aside beauty for food. Any animal can eat, but only humans can worship the Creator of things.
We find in the Scripture trees mentioned in a variety of kinds. They are mentioned for their beauty and each had fruits with seeds in it given to us for its spiritual use. Some seeds produced oil, others provided food. God gave us the possibility to increase their number by planting the seeds and by taking care of the trees, in that way we were able to secure our overall welfare.
In Revelation 22, we learn that the tree of life bears fruit crops 12 times a year and its leaves are for the healing of the nations. The Tree of Life, referred to in Genesis, is now portrayed as the symbol of God's provision for immortality to His chosen ones. The Tree of Life is now the blessing for all mankind while the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil is a curse. The Tree of Life is then the continuous reminder that immortality is a consequence of obedience. God has given us enough time to know the New Covenant made through Christ Jesus and His provision for eternal life to the ones who have the sincere desire in their hearts to obey His Command.
Various trees, shrubs, herbs, grains, flowers, and fruit appear in the Scripture as general symbols of rebirth, decay, and immorality. We can see why trees often take leading roles along with mountains and the sea, because trees are bigger than we are; they stand when we fall and they endure when we pass away. Yet, unlike the sea and the hills, we can muster the trees' power by chopping them down and discard them from its natural use for the sake of our on commodity. This is a sinful and stupid act.
We, as believers, are bound to the obligation to see the natural world as one charged with the power and glory of God. In the world of today, nature is treated as something that have lost their enchantment and it is represent just a thing for consumption. A star is just a nuclear reaction; a snake is just a reptile; a baby is just an arrangement of cells. We are not able to fell the insight of things.
In Genesis, the Scripture says, "And out of the ground made God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the Tree of Life also in the midst of the Garden, and Tree of Knowledge of good and evil." When we read these words, we are able to see the setup for the plot. The Tree of Knowledge of good and evil God commands the humans not to use, they disobey and used it as food. "The woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise." The woman reverses God's order. For her food is first, beauty second. That Tree was good only for its beauty but not for its food. The woman was deceived: It is not wise to set aside beauty for food. Any animal can eat, but only humans can worship the Creator of things.
We find in the Scripture trees mentioned in a variety of kinds. They are mentioned for their beauty and each had fruits with seeds in it given to us for its spiritual use. Some seeds produced oil, others provided food. God gave us the possibility to increase their number by planting the seeds and by taking care of the trees, in that way we were able to secure our overall welfare.
In Revelation 22, we learn that the tree of life bears fruit crops 12 times a year and its leaves are for the healing of the nations. The Tree of Life, referred to in Genesis, is now portrayed as the symbol of God's provision for immortality to His chosen ones. The Tree of Life is now the blessing for all mankind while the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil is a curse. The Tree of Life is then the continuous reminder that immortality is a consequence of obedience. God has given us enough time to know the New Covenant made through Christ Jesus and His provision for eternal life to the ones who have the sincere desire in their hearts to obey His Command.
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
VERSES ABOUT THE LAST DAYS.
2 Timothy3: "But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. They are the kind who work their way into people's homes and win the confidence of vulnerable women who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by many desires. Such women are forever following new teachings, but they never understand the truth, and their teachers fight the Truth just as Jannes and Jambres fought against Moses. Their minds are depraved and their faith is counterfeit."(1-8) Paul wrote this Letter in 66CE from prison in Rome, shortly before his execution by the emperor, exhorting Timothy to remain faithful.
James1: "Whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your Faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything."(2-4) ... "for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can't make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do."(6-8)... "those who are rich will fade away like a flower in the field. The hot sun rises and dries up the grass; the flower withers, and its beauty fades away. So also, wealthy people will fade away with all of their achievements."(10-11) ... "Temptation comes from the lure of our own evil desires. These evil desires lead to evil actions, and evil actions lead to death."(14-15) ..."Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God above, Who created all heaven's lights. Unlike them, He never changes or casts shifting shadows."(17) .."be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.Your
anger can never make things right in God's sight."(20) 'Get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives and humbly accept the Message God Had Planted in your hearts, for it is strong enough to save your souls.
It is a Message to obey, not just to listen to. If you do not obey, you are only fooling yourself, it is like looking your face in a mirror but doing nothing to improve your appearance."(21-25) ..."If you claim to be religious but do not control your tongue, you are just fooling yourself and your religion is worthless.
Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God means that we must care for spiritual orphans and widows in their troubles and refuse to let the world corrupt us." (26-27)
James3: "If you do not brag about the good you do, then you will be truly wise! But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your hearts, do not brag about being wise. That is the worst kind of lie. For jealousy and selfishness are not God's kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, un-spiritual,
and motivated by the Devil. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every kind of evil. But the Wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no partiality and is always sincere." (13-18) James the half-brother of Jesus and a leader in the Jerusalem church, wrote this Letter around 45CE, in order to correct the false belief that appeared among the believers regarded to Faith. The false belief said that a person can have faith without a change of behavior. The practical instructions that James gave to the believers regarding the true life of faith and its social implications helped them to understand the difference.
Luke 21: "By standing firm, you will win your souls. And when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies then you will know that the time of its destruction has arrived."(20) ..."And Jerusalem will be conquered and trampled down by the Gentiles until the Age of the Gentiles comes to an end. And there will be strange events in the skies -signs in the sun, moon and stars. And down here on earth the nations
will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides... the stability of the very heavens will be broken up."(24-26) Luke, a Gentile physician and associate of Paul, wrote the Gospel around 60CE.
Matthew 24:"As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to Him the various Temple buildings. But Jesus told them, 'Do you see all these buildings? I assure you, they will be so completely demolished that not one stone will be left on top of another.' Later, Jesus sat on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to Him privately and asked, 'When will all this take place? And will there be any sign ahead of time to signal Your Return and the End of the World?' Jesus told them, 'Do not let anyone mislead you. For many will come in My Name, saying, I am the Messiah. They will lead many astray. And spiritual wars will break out near and far, but do not panic. Yes, these things must come, but the end won't follow immediately. The nations and kingdoms will proclaim war against each other in the spiritual world and there will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the physical world. But all this will be only the beginning of the horrors to come.'"(1-8) ..."The time will come when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about: the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place... For that will be a time of greater horror than anything the world has ever seen or will ever see again. In fact, unless the Time of Calamity is shortened the entire human race will be destroyed.But it will be shortened for the sake of God's chosen ones.Then if anyone tells you, 'Look, here is the Messiah,' or 'There He is,' do not pay any attention. For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great miraculous signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones.'"(15-24).."Immediately after those horrible days end, the sun will be darkened
the moon will not give light, the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then at last the sign of the coming of the Son of Man will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the nations of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man arrive on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with the sound of a mighty trumpet blast and they will gather together His chosen ones from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven." (29-31) Matthew's Gospel, written probably between 60-65CE records the advent of this long-awaited age of a new kingdom on earth -The Kingdom of Heaven.
Hebrews1: "Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets.
But now in these Final Days, he has spoken to us through His Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance and through the Son He made the universe and everything in it." (1-2)
"The Son reflects God's own glory, and everything about the Son represents God exactly. The Son sustains the universe by the mighty power of God's Command. After the Son died to cleanse us from the stain of sin, the Son sat down in the place of honor at the Right hand of the majestic God of heaven. This shows that God's Son is far greater than the angels, just as the Name God gave Him is far greater than their Names. For God never said to any angel what He said to Jesus: "You are My Son, Today I have become Your Father,' And again God said, 'I will be His Father, and He will be My Son.' And then, when God presented His honored Son to the World, God said, 'Let all the angels of God worship His Son.' God calls His angels 'messengers swift as the wind and servants made of flaming fire.'"(3-7)
Hebrews 2: "Furthermore, the future World we are talking about will not be controlled by angels. For somewhere in the Scripture it says, 'What is man that You should think of him and the Son of Man that you should care for Him. For a little while You made him lower than the angels and You crowned him with glory and honor. You gave him authority over all things.' Now when it says 'all things,' it means 'nothing is left out.' But we have not yet seen all of this happen. What we do see in Jesus, who 'for a little while was made lower than the angels and now is crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death for us. Yes, by God's grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone in all the World. And it was only right that God -Who Made Everything and for Whom Everything was Made- should bring His many children into glory. Through Jesus' suffering, God made Him a perfect leader, One fit to bring them into their salvation."(5-10) .."Because God's children are human beings -made of flesh and blood-
Jesus also became flesh and blood by being born in human form. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could He break the power of the Devil, who had the power of death." (14-15)
Hebrews' writings have an uncertain author or authors. The writings appeared a few years before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (70CE). Apparently, after some pressure and persecution, the believers were having second thoughts about their decision to leave Judaism to become Christians. So, this Letter shows how Christianity is superior to Judaism. In every way, Christ is shown to be better.
As God, He is superior to angels, to Moses, and to the Old Testament priests. As a man, Jesus Christ is able to identify himself with our human struggles. Jesus Christ sealed a New Covenant that is far superior to the Old Covenant. So the writings encourage the believers to move beyond questions about the basics of the Faith and follow the examples of the many faithful men and women of the past, who followed God in the midst of chaos and persecutions.
James1: "Whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your Faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything."(2-4) ... "for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can't make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do."(6-8)... "those who are rich will fade away like a flower in the field. The hot sun rises and dries up the grass; the flower withers, and its beauty fades away. So also, wealthy people will fade away with all of their achievements."(10-11) ... "Temptation comes from the lure of our own evil desires. These evil desires lead to evil actions, and evil actions lead to death."(14-15) ..."Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God above, Who created all heaven's lights. Unlike them, He never changes or casts shifting shadows."(17) .."be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.Your
anger can never make things right in God's sight."(20) 'Get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives and humbly accept the Message God Had Planted in your hearts, for it is strong enough to save your souls.
It is a Message to obey, not just to listen to. If you do not obey, you are only fooling yourself, it is like looking your face in a mirror but doing nothing to improve your appearance."(21-25) ..."If you claim to be religious but do not control your tongue, you are just fooling yourself and your religion is worthless.
Pure and lasting religion in the sight of God means that we must care for spiritual orphans and widows in their troubles and refuse to let the world corrupt us." (26-27)
James3: "If you do not brag about the good you do, then you will be truly wise! But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your hearts, do not brag about being wise. That is the worst kind of lie. For jealousy and selfishness are not God's kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, un-spiritual,
and motivated by the Devil. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every kind of evil. But the Wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no partiality and is always sincere." (13-18) James the half-brother of Jesus and a leader in the Jerusalem church, wrote this Letter around 45CE, in order to correct the false belief that appeared among the believers regarded to Faith. The false belief said that a person can have faith without a change of behavior. The practical instructions that James gave to the believers regarding the true life of faith and its social implications helped them to understand the difference.
Luke 21: "By standing firm, you will win your souls. And when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies then you will know that the time of its destruction has arrived."(20) ..."And Jerusalem will be conquered and trampled down by the Gentiles until the Age of the Gentiles comes to an end. And there will be strange events in the skies -signs in the sun, moon and stars. And down here on earth the nations
will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides... the stability of the very heavens will be broken up."(24-26) Luke, a Gentile physician and associate of Paul, wrote the Gospel around 60CE.
Matthew 24:"As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to Him the various Temple buildings. But Jesus told them, 'Do you see all these buildings? I assure you, they will be so completely demolished that not one stone will be left on top of another.' Later, Jesus sat on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to Him privately and asked, 'When will all this take place? And will there be any sign ahead of time to signal Your Return and the End of the World?' Jesus told them, 'Do not let anyone mislead you. For many will come in My Name, saying, I am the Messiah. They will lead many astray. And spiritual wars will break out near and far, but do not panic. Yes, these things must come, but the end won't follow immediately. The nations and kingdoms will proclaim war against each other in the spiritual world and there will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the physical world. But all this will be only the beginning of the horrors to come.'"(1-8) ..."The time will come when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about: the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place... For that will be a time of greater horror than anything the world has ever seen or will ever see again. In fact, unless the Time of Calamity is shortened the entire human race will be destroyed.But it will be shortened for the sake of God's chosen ones.Then if anyone tells you, 'Look, here is the Messiah,' or 'There He is,' do not pay any attention. For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great miraculous signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones.'"(15-24).."Immediately after those horrible days end, the sun will be darkened
the moon will not give light, the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then at last the sign of the coming of the Son of Man will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the nations of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man arrive on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with the sound of a mighty trumpet blast and they will gather together His chosen ones from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven." (29-31) Matthew's Gospel, written probably between 60-65CE records the advent of this long-awaited age of a new kingdom on earth -The Kingdom of Heaven.
Hebrews1: "Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets.
But now in these Final Days, he has spoken to us through His Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance and through the Son He made the universe and everything in it." (1-2)
"The Son reflects God's own glory, and everything about the Son represents God exactly. The Son sustains the universe by the mighty power of God's Command. After the Son died to cleanse us from the stain of sin, the Son sat down in the place of honor at the Right hand of the majestic God of heaven. This shows that God's Son is far greater than the angels, just as the Name God gave Him is far greater than their Names. For God never said to any angel what He said to Jesus: "You are My Son, Today I have become Your Father,' And again God said, 'I will be His Father, and He will be My Son.' And then, when God presented His honored Son to the World, God said, 'Let all the angels of God worship His Son.' God calls His angels 'messengers swift as the wind and servants made of flaming fire.'"(3-7)
Hebrews 2: "Furthermore, the future World we are talking about will not be controlled by angels. For somewhere in the Scripture it says, 'What is man that You should think of him and the Son of Man that you should care for Him. For a little while You made him lower than the angels and You crowned him with glory and honor. You gave him authority over all things.' Now when it says 'all things,' it means 'nothing is left out.' But we have not yet seen all of this happen. What we do see in Jesus, who 'for a little while was made lower than the angels and now is crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death for us. Yes, by God's grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone in all the World. And it was only right that God -Who Made Everything and for Whom Everything was Made- should bring His many children into glory. Through Jesus' suffering, God made Him a perfect leader, One fit to bring them into their salvation."(5-10) .."Because God's children are human beings -made of flesh and blood-
Jesus also became flesh and blood by being born in human form. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could He break the power of the Devil, who had the power of death." (14-15)
Hebrews' writings have an uncertain author or authors. The writings appeared a few years before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (70CE). Apparently, after some pressure and persecution, the believers were having second thoughts about their decision to leave Judaism to become Christians. So, this Letter shows how Christianity is superior to Judaism. In every way, Christ is shown to be better.
As God, He is superior to angels, to Moses, and to the Old Testament priests. As a man, Jesus Christ is able to identify himself with our human struggles. Jesus Christ sealed a New Covenant that is far superior to the Old Covenant. So the writings encourage the believers to move beyond questions about the basics of the Faith and follow the examples of the many faithful men and women of the past, who followed God in the midst of chaos and persecutions.
Monday, 2 July 2018
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM TERTULLIANUS?
Quintus Septimus Florens Tertullianus (155-240CE) from Carth'Age (now Tunisia, North coast of Africa) was a scholar with an excellent education. As an important early Christian theologian, polemicist, and moralist who, as initiator of ecclesiastical Latin, was instrumental in shaping the vocabulary and thought of Western Christianity.
Carth'Age was founded bt Phoenicians of Tyre in 814BC; its Phoenician name means "New Town."The Greeks called the city Karch'Edon. The Aeneid, a Virgil's epic poem, written from about 30 to 19BC, tells the story of Dido, queen of Carth'Age falling in love with Aeneas, who has taken refuge in Carth'Age after the fall of Troy. He refuses to marry her and sails away, the despairing queen kills herself. Carth'Age's inhabitants were known to Romans as "Poeni,"a derivation from the word "Phoenicians,"from the adjective "Punic"is derived. Nothing earlier than the last quarter of the 8thBC has been discovered. The Phoenicians selected the locations of their maritime colonies with great care, focusing on the quality of harbors and their proximity to trade routes. The interests of the inhabitants were turned toward commerce and Carth'Age controlled much of the Western trade in the luxurious dye from the murex shell. The marine snail feeds by drilling a hole through the shell of bivalves or other shelled animals and inserts its long proboscis to ingest the prey. The purple color appears when its natural yellow fluid is exposed to sunlight. Carth"age fell to the expansion of Roman control in 146BC.
In 122 CE the Roman Senate entrusted Gaius Gracchus and Marcus Fulvius Flaccus with the foundation of a colony on the site of Carth'Age.Thereafter it became known as Colonia Julia Carth'Ago and it soon grew prosperous enough to be ranked with Alexandria and Antioch. Carth'Age became a favorite city of the emperors, but in the mid-3rd CE, the city began to decline again.
From the end of the 2nd CE, Cath'Age had its own Christian bishop and among its luminaries were the Church Fathers, Tertullianus, and St. Cyprian.
When Tertullianus was born in 155CE, Carth'Age was 2nd only to Rome as a cultural and educational centre in the West. He received an exceptional education in grammar, rethoric, literature, philosophy and law. His parents were unbelievers, and his father was a non commissioned officer in an African-based legion assigned to the governor of the province. After completing his education Tertullianus went to Rome to study further and it was there that he became interested in the Christian movement, but not until he returned to Carth'Age toward the end of the 2nd CE he was converted to the Christian faith. He left no account of his conversion experience but he indicated in his early works that he was impressed by the courage and determination of martyrs, the moral rigor-ism and the uncompromising belief in one God. By the end of the 2nd CE the church in Carth'Age had become large, firmly established and well organized and was rapidly becoming a powerful force in North Africa. By the year 225CE there were approximately 70 Bishops in Numidia and Pro-Consularis, the two provinces of Roman Africa.
Tertullianus emerged as a leading member of the African church, using his talents as a teacher in instructing the unbaptized seekers and the faithful and as a literary defender of Christian beliefs and practices.
During the next 20 to 25 years, from his early 40 to mid-60s, Tertullianus devoted himself almost entirely to literary pursuits. Developing an original Latin style, his fiery and tempestuous personality became a lively and pungent propagandist though not the most profound writer in Christian antiquity.
Tertullianus' works abound with arresting and memorable phrases, ingenious aphorisms, bold and ironic puns, wit, sarcasm, countless words of his own coinage, and a constant stream of invective against his opponents.
Sometime before 210CE Tertullianus left the orthodox church to join a new prophetic sectarian movement known as Mountanism (founded by 2nd CE Phrygian prophet Montanus), which has spread from Asia Minor to Africa. It held similar views about the basic tenets of Christian doctrine but it was labelled a heresy for its believe in new prophetic revelations. Montanus proclaimed the towns of Pepuza and Tymion in West-Central Phrygia as the site of the New Jerusalem, making the larger, Pepuza, his headquarters. Phrygia as a source for this movement was not arbitrary. Hellenization never fully took root in Phrygia, unlike many of the surrounding Eastern regions of the Roman Empire. This sense of difference, while simultaneously having easy access to the rest of the Mediterranean Christian world, encouraged the foundation of this separate sect of Christianity. Montanus has 2 female colleagues, Prisca (Priscilla) and Maximilla, who likewise claimed the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The female popularity even exceeded Montanus' own. "The Three" spoke in ecstatic visions and urged their followers to fast and to pray, so that they might share these revelations. Their followers claimed they received the prophetic gift from the prophets Quadratus and Ammia of Philadelphia, figures believed to have been part of a line of prophetic succession stretching all the way back to Agabus, 1st CE and to the daughters of Philip the Evangelist. In time, the New Prophecy spread from Phrygia across the Christian world, to Africa and to Gaul. The response to the new movement split the Christian communities, and the proto-orthodox clergy mostly fought to suppress it. They made the people belief that evil spirits were in possession of the Phrygian prophets, and both Maximilla and Priscilla were the targets of failed exorcisms. There was real doubt at Rome, and its Bishop even wrote letters in support of Montanism. In 193, an anonymus writer found the church at Ancyra in Galatia torn in two, and opposed the movement there. The clash of basic beliefs between the movement's proponents and the greater Westernization of the Christian World was enough ingredients for such conflict to occur. The dramatic public displays by its adherents brought unwanted attention to the still fledging religion. There was never a uniform excommunication of the New Prophecy adherents and in many places they maintained their standing within the orthodox community. Montanists may have been guilty of extravagant reverence for the teachings of their prophetic leaders, treasured them, and even appearing to exalt them above the Scripture themselves. The Montanist certainly made excessive use of the writings of John to such a extreme that some extreme Christian believers began to doubt their authenticity.
As the Catholic Christian Church grew in numbers and prosperity the spiritual fire that had driven it on began to burn low. Tertullianus' own dissatisfaction with the increasing moral laxity and formalism of the orthodox Christian community was congenial with the Montanist message of the imminent end of the world combined with a stringent and demanding moralism. He eventually broke with them to found his own sect, a group that existed until the 5th CE in Africa.
The Seven Books Against the Church in Defense Of Montanism that Tertullianus wrote have, sadly, been lost, leaving us with incidental references gleaned from his other works.
Carth'Age was founded bt Phoenicians of Tyre in 814BC; its Phoenician name means "New Town."The Greeks called the city Karch'Edon. The Aeneid, a Virgil's epic poem, written from about 30 to 19BC, tells the story of Dido, queen of Carth'Age falling in love with Aeneas, who has taken refuge in Carth'Age after the fall of Troy. He refuses to marry her and sails away, the despairing queen kills herself. Carth'Age's inhabitants were known to Romans as "Poeni,"a derivation from the word "Phoenicians,"from the adjective "Punic"is derived. Nothing earlier than the last quarter of the 8thBC has been discovered. The Phoenicians selected the locations of their maritime colonies with great care, focusing on the quality of harbors and their proximity to trade routes. The interests of the inhabitants were turned toward commerce and Carth'Age controlled much of the Western trade in the luxurious dye from the murex shell. The marine snail feeds by drilling a hole through the shell of bivalves or other shelled animals and inserts its long proboscis to ingest the prey. The purple color appears when its natural yellow fluid is exposed to sunlight. Carth"age fell to the expansion of Roman control in 146BC.
In 122 CE the Roman Senate entrusted Gaius Gracchus and Marcus Fulvius Flaccus with the foundation of a colony on the site of Carth'Age.Thereafter it became known as Colonia Julia Carth'Ago and it soon grew prosperous enough to be ranked with Alexandria and Antioch. Carth'Age became a favorite city of the emperors, but in the mid-3rd CE, the city began to decline again.
From the end of the 2nd CE, Cath'Age had its own Christian bishop and among its luminaries were the Church Fathers, Tertullianus, and St. Cyprian.
When Tertullianus was born in 155CE, Carth'Age was 2nd only to Rome as a cultural and educational centre in the West. He received an exceptional education in grammar, rethoric, literature, philosophy and law. His parents were unbelievers, and his father was a non commissioned officer in an African-based legion assigned to the governor of the province. After completing his education Tertullianus went to Rome to study further and it was there that he became interested in the Christian movement, but not until he returned to Carth'Age toward the end of the 2nd CE he was converted to the Christian faith. He left no account of his conversion experience but he indicated in his early works that he was impressed by the courage and determination of martyrs, the moral rigor-ism and the uncompromising belief in one God. By the end of the 2nd CE the church in Carth'Age had become large, firmly established and well organized and was rapidly becoming a powerful force in North Africa. By the year 225CE there were approximately 70 Bishops in Numidia and Pro-Consularis, the two provinces of Roman Africa.
Tertullianus emerged as a leading member of the African church, using his talents as a teacher in instructing the unbaptized seekers and the faithful and as a literary defender of Christian beliefs and practices.
During the next 20 to 25 years, from his early 40 to mid-60s, Tertullianus devoted himself almost entirely to literary pursuits. Developing an original Latin style, his fiery and tempestuous personality became a lively and pungent propagandist though not the most profound writer in Christian antiquity.
Tertullianus' works abound with arresting and memorable phrases, ingenious aphorisms, bold and ironic puns, wit, sarcasm, countless words of his own coinage, and a constant stream of invective against his opponents.
Sometime before 210CE Tertullianus left the orthodox church to join a new prophetic sectarian movement known as Mountanism (founded by 2nd CE Phrygian prophet Montanus), which has spread from Asia Minor to Africa. It held similar views about the basic tenets of Christian doctrine but it was labelled a heresy for its believe in new prophetic revelations. Montanus proclaimed the towns of Pepuza and Tymion in West-Central Phrygia as the site of the New Jerusalem, making the larger, Pepuza, his headquarters. Phrygia as a source for this movement was not arbitrary. Hellenization never fully took root in Phrygia, unlike many of the surrounding Eastern regions of the Roman Empire. This sense of difference, while simultaneously having easy access to the rest of the Mediterranean Christian world, encouraged the foundation of this separate sect of Christianity. Montanus has 2 female colleagues, Prisca (Priscilla) and Maximilla, who likewise claimed the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The female popularity even exceeded Montanus' own. "The Three" spoke in ecstatic visions and urged their followers to fast and to pray, so that they might share these revelations. Their followers claimed they received the prophetic gift from the prophets Quadratus and Ammia of Philadelphia, figures believed to have been part of a line of prophetic succession stretching all the way back to Agabus, 1st CE and to the daughters of Philip the Evangelist. In time, the New Prophecy spread from Phrygia across the Christian world, to Africa and to Gaul. The response to the new movement split the Christian communities, and the proto-orthodox clergy mostly fought to suppress it. They made the people belief that evil spirits were in possession of the Phrygian prophets, and both Maximilla and Priscilla were the targets of failed exorcisms. There was real doubt at Rome, and its Bishop even wrote letters in support of Montanism. In 193, an anonymus writer found the church at Ancyra in Galatia torn in two, and opposed the movement there. The clash of basic beliefs between the movement's proponents and the greater Westernization of the Christian World was enough ingredients for such conflict to occur. The dramatic public displays by its adherents brought unwanted attention to the still fledging religion. There was never a uniform excommunication of the New Prophecy adherents and in many places they maintained their standing within the orthodox community. Montanists may have been guilty of extravagant reverence for the teachings of their prophetic leaders, treasured them, and even appearing to exalt them above the Scripture themselves. The Montanist certainly made excessive use of the writings of John to such a extreme that some extreme Christian believers began to doubt their authenticity.
As the Catholic Christian Church grew in numbers and prosperity the spiritual fire that had driven it on began to burn low. Tertullianus' own dissatisfaction with the increasing moral laxity and formalism of the orthodox Christian community was congenial with the Montanist message of the imminent end of the world combined with a stringent and demanding moralism. He eventually broke with them to found his own sect, a group that existed until the 5th CE in Africa.
The Seven Books Against the Church in Defense Of Montanism that Tertullianus wrote have, sadly, been lost, leaving us with incidental references gleaned from his other works.
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