The plural term Elohim

[The Mystro]

GOD himself shall pass judgement on other religions like Thelema.

 

Being a "Born again Christian" myself I believe in the Father,Son and the Holy Spirit. I believe as well stated in the bible that Jesus is mentioned many times as being GOD here on Earth and the Father in Heaven as well. I feel when Jesus walked the Earth he was GOD in human form but once he was called back to the Father they became one...GOD. Once you accept Jesus into your heart he lives in you and completes the HOLY Trinity.

 

As far as the Star of David being used in almost all religions baffles me to a point and saddens me because i believe that Star symbol represents satan and is something I will not be a part of promoting it in any way.

 

I thank the above posters for bringing this to light for me because i feel the HOLY Spirit wanted me to know about this sorry symbol which I believe is evil. The HOLY Spirit directs you once you have excepted Jesus as your LORD and Savior but will not force you to do anything you don't want to do with our GOD given free will.

 

I am not perfect in my walk with Jesus but i do try to improve from time to time. Thanks to the mercy and grace GOD has given us gives us a lifetime to learn and develop a HOLY union with him and become a better Christian along the way.

[conspiracy_theory]

I just read a small part of an article entitled:

 

illuminatiMATRIX

 

the unveiling and revelation of the war on humanity

 

This propaganda that was put together by folks that subscribe to, "The luciferian Mind – the egregore group of Thinking Entities" These people use a belief system that uses numbers, degrees, and doctrine such as knowing how to conjure up and manipulate matter, simply by THINKING A THOUGHT. This they said created the 3 dimensional reality we are now experiencing and everything we see is simply a THOUGHT manifesting as, what appears to be, MATTER. I will be adding on to this post i am making from time to time because there is to much information in this article for me to condense it all into one long post...If i did that i would not be doing justice to this topic and I would be leaving out way to much.

 

Stay tuned to This Channel for more informative information.

[Guest Otherside]

Professor Gershom Sholem theorizes that the "Star of David" originates in the writings of Aristotle, who used triangles in different positions to indicate the different basic elements. The superposed triangles thus represented combinations of those elements. From Aristotle's writings those symbols made their ways into early, pre-Muslim Arab literature. The Arabs and Muslims were interested in arithmetics, and were also strongly drawn to biblical and Islamic tales. In fact, one of the most important persons in early Arab and Islamic literature was King Solomon (Arabic, ''Suliman'' or ''Sulayman''). The Babylonian Talmud contains a legend about King Solomon being kidnapped by Ashmedai, the king of demons. He succeeded in kidnapping the king by stealing his "seal of Solomon", although according to the Talmud this seal was simply a metal coin with Hebrew letters meaning the name of God, inscribed on it. It is possible that the seal was altered in the Arab tales. The first appearance of the symbol in Jewish scriptures was in oriental Kabbalistic writings, so it is possible that it was an alteration of the pentagram under Arab influence.

[Guest G. Schein]

Did you know that the six pointed star was on the flag of Morocco until 1915? Or that the six pointed star was on Morroccan currency until 1954?

 

It actually has a quite interesting history, only part of which I quote from the Encyclopedia Judaica:

"In the Second Temple period, the hexagram was often used by Jews and non-Jews alike alongside the pentagram (the five-pointed star), and in the synagogue of Capernaum (second or third century C.E.) it is found side by side with the pentagram and the swastika on a frieze. There is no reason to assume that it was used for any purposes other than decorative...

 

"In Arab sources the hexagram, along with other geometrical ornaments, was widely used under the designation "seal of Solomon," a term which was also taken over by many Jewish groups. This name connects the hexagram with early Christian, possibly Judeo-Christian magic, such as the Greek magical work The Testament of Solomon...

 

"In Arabic magic the "seal of Solomon" was widely used, but at first its use in Jewish circles was restricted to relatively rare cases. Even then, the hexagram and pentagram were easily interchangeable and the name was applied to both figures. As a talisman, it was common in many of the magical versions of the mezuzah which were widespread between the tenth and 14th centuries. .."

 

"The prime motive behind the wide diffusion of the sign in the 19th century was the desire to imitate Christianity. The Jews looked for a striking and simple sign which would "symbolize" Judaism in the same way as the cross symbolizes Christianity. This led to the ascendancy of the magen David in official use, on ritual objects and in many other ways."

[Guest Morbonzi]

According to the Talmud ( Gittin 68a, b ), Solomon's Ring was engraved with the 'shem ha-meforesh' the Ineffable Name of GOD.

 

Islamic authors tell us that it contained “the Most Great Name of God.

 

An inscribed hexagram or pentagram on Solomon’s Seal did not arise until medieval times, appearing on amulets that sought an association with King Solomon and his ring.

 

Read this wonderful Children's book for more ideas.

 

http://www.professor...mon%27sring.pdf

 

Solomon visited Melchizedek who lived in the Cave of the Ages. He ordered a jinni to give Solomon the ring and scroll with instructions on how to use it.

[Guest Soldier of God]

The name "Christ" is, as we know, the Greek equivalent of the word "Messiah" and means "Anointed." Besides the royal character, which we treated in the previous reflection, it also includes, according to Old Testament tradition, the "priestly" character. As elements pertaining to the messianic mission, these two aspects, though differing among themselves, are nonetheless complementary. The figure of the Messiah outlined in the Old Testament embraces both elements by showing the profound unity of the royal and priestly mission.

 

This unity has its earliest expression as a prototype and an anticipation in Melchizedek, king of Salem, the mysterious figure in the Old Testament at the time of Abraham. We read of him in the Book of Genesis that in going out to meet Abraham, "He offered bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said, 'Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth'" (Gen 14:18-19).

 

The figure of Melchizedek, king and priest, entered into the messianic tradition, as indicated especially by Psalm 110 (the messianic psalm) by antonomasia. In this psalm, God-Yahweh addresses "my Lord" (i.e., the Messiah) with the words: "'Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool.' The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your foes!" (Ps 110:1-2).

 

These expressions which leave no doubt about the royal character of the one addressed by Yahweh, are followed by the announcement: "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, 'You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek'" (Ps 110:4). As is evident, the one whom God-Yahweh addresses by inviting him to sit "at his right hand," will be simultaneously king and priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

 

Sacrifices of adoration and atonement

 

In the history of Israel the institution of the Old Testament priesthood traces its origin to Aaron, the brother of Moses, and it was hereditary in the tribe of Levi, one of the twelve tribes of Israel.

In this regard, it is significant that we read in the Book of Sirach: "(God) exalted Aaron, the brother of Moses...of the tribe of Levi. He made an everlasting covenant with him and gave him the priesthood of the people" (Sir 45:6-7). "[The Lord] chose him out of all the living to offer sacrifice to the lord, incense and a pleasing odor as a memorial portion, to make atonement for the people. In his commandments he gave him authority in statutes and judgments to teach Jacob the testimonies, and to enlighten Israel with his law" (Sir 45:16-17). From these texts we deduce that selection as a priest is for the purpose of worship, for the offering of sacrifices of adoration and atonement, and that worship in its turn is linked to teaching about God and his law.

 

In this same context the following words from the Book of Sirach are also significant: "For even [God's] covenant with David...was an individual heritage through one son alone; but the heritage of Aaron is for all his descendants" (Sir 45:25).

 

According to this tradition, the priesthood is placed "alongside" the royal dignity. However, Jesus did not come from the priestly line, from the tribe of Levi, but from that of Judah. Hence it would seem that the priestly character of the Messiah does not become him. His contemporaries discover in him, above all, the teacher, the prophet, some even their "king," the heir of David. It would therefore be said that the tradition of Melchizedek, the king-priest is absent in Jesus.

 

It is, however, only an apparent absence. The paschal events revealed the true meaning of the "Messiah-King" and of the "king-priest after the order of Melchizedek" which is present in the Old Testament found its fulfillment in the mission of Jesus of Nazareth. It is significant that during his trial before the Sanhedrin, Jesus replied to the high priest who asked him if he was "the Christ, the Son of God," by saying, "You have said so. But I tell you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of God..." (Mt 26:63-64). It is a clear reference to the messianic Psalm 110 which expresses the tradition of the king-priest.

 

It must be said, however, that the full manifestation of this truth is found only in the Letter to the Hebrews which treats of the relationship between the levitical priesthood and that of Christ. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews touches the theme of Melchizedek's priesthood in order to say that Jesus Christ fulfilled the messianic pre-announcement linked to that figure who by a higher predestination was inscribed in the mission of the people of God already from the time of Abraham.

 

We read of Christ who "being made perfect, became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek" (Heb 5:9-10). Then, after recalling what was said about Melchizedek in the Book of Genesis (cf. Gen 14:18), the Letter to the Hebrews continues: "His name when translated means king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, and has neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest for ever" (Heb 7:2-3).

 

Using the analogies of the ritual of worship, of the ark and of the sacrifices of the old covenant, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews presents Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of all the figures and promises of the Old Testament, ordained "to serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary" (Heb 8:5). Christ, however, a merciful and faithful high priest (cf. Heb 2:17; 3:2-5), bears in himself a "priesthood that continues for ever" (Heb 7:24), having offered "himself without blemish to God" (Heb 9:14).

 

It is worthwhile quoting completely some particularly eloquent passages of this letter. Coming into the world, Jesus Christ says to God his Father: "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me. In burnt offerings and sin offerings you take no pleasure. Then I said, 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God'" (Heb 10:5-7). "For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest" (Heb 7:26). "Therefore he had to be made like his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make expiation for the sins of the people" (Heb 2:17). We have then, "a high priest...who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning," a high priest who is able "to sympathize with our weaknesses" (cf. Heb 4:15).

 

Further on we read that such a high priest "has no need, like the other high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did this once for all when he offered up himself" (Heb 7:27). Again, "when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come...he entered once for all into the Holy Place...taking his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption" (Heb 9:11-12). Hence our certainty that "the blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, will purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God" (Heb 9:14).

 

This explains why an everlasting saving power is attributed to Christ's priesthood whereby "he is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them" (Heb 7:25).

 

An Eternal Priesthood

 

Finally, we can note that the Letter to the Hebrews states clearly and convincingly that Jesus Christ has fulfilled with his whole life, and especially with the sacrifice of the cross, all that was written in the messianic tradition of divine revelation. His priesthood is situated in reference to the ritual service of the priests of the old covenant, which he surpasses as priest and victim. God's eternal design which provides for the institution of the priesthood in the history of the covenant is fulfilled in Christ.

According to the Letter to the Hebrews, the messianic task is symbolized by the figure of Melchizedek. There we read that by God's will "another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, not according to a legal requirement concerning bodily descent but by the power of an indestructible life" (Heb 7:15). It is therefore an eternal priesthood (cf. Heb 7:3-24).

 

The Church, faithful guardian and interpreter of these and other texts contained in the New Testament, has reaffirmed over and over again the truth of the Messiah-priest, as witnessed, for example, by the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus (431), that of Trent (1562) and in our own time, the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).

 

An evident witness of this truth is found in the Eucharistic sacrifice which by Christ's institution the Church offers every day under the species of bread and wine, "after the order of Melchizedek."

 

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/alpha/data/aud19870218en.html

[Guest TruthSeeker]

Moses had learned the great lines of his teachings not through divine inspiration but through his ascendant Katro, with whose family Melchizedek lived,

 

The members of the family of Katro, with whom Melchizedek lived for more than thirty years, knew many of these higher truths and long perpetuated them in their family, even to the days of their illustrious descendant Moses, who thus had a compelling tradition of the days of Melchizedek handed down to him on this, his father’s side, as well as through other sources on his mother’s side. (p.1016 - §7)

 

Hebrews in the New Testament of the Christian Bible for corroboration of this immensely important personality from the twentieth century BC:

 

But one of the writers of the Book of Hebrews understood the mission of Melchizedek, for it is written: “This Melchizedek, priest of the Most High, was also king of peace; without father, without mother, without pedigree, having neither beginning of days nor end of life but made like a Son of God, he abides a priest continually.”

 

In these quotes, Melchizedek is described as more than human. He is interpreted as a type of “high priest” “for ever” (Heb 5:6,10) of the New Covenant, Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 7:3, which has become the basis for most Christian interpretation of the figure of Melchizedek, we read that Melchizedek was “made like unto the Son of God” or “like the Son of God” “forever” or “continually” as other versions of this same passage state:

 

3 We are not told that he had a father or mother or ancestors or beginning or end. He is like the Son of God and will be a priest forever. (NIV)

 

3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God), abideth a priest continually. (ASV)

 

3 We are not told that he had a father or mother or ancestors or beginning or end. He is like the Son of God and will be a priest forever. (CEV)

 

http://www.freeurantia.org/Melchizedek.htm

[Guest TruthSeeker]

Here are some unorganized mentions of Melchizedek in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

 

Abraham tithed to Melchizedek [Genesis 14:20]

 

The area surrounding the Spring of Gihon and containing the Bronze Age city of Melchizedek, the pre-Israelite Canaanite city, and the Iron Age town of King David.

 

17When he returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh, which is the Valley of the King. 18And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High. 19He blessed him, saying,

 

“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,

 

Creator of heaven and earth.

 

20And blessed be God Most High,

 

Who has delivered your foes into your hand.”

 

And [Abram] gave him a tenth of everything.

 

There Abram gives to Melchizedek, king of Salem (Jerusalem?) and priest of God Most High (El Elyon), a tenth (ma’aser) of “everything.” From then on, the ma’aser became a permanent tax, initially to God, later to the priests or to the Levites—a tenth part of everything.

 

11QMelchizedek has survived only in fragments of a single ms from the Herodian period. Nine of 14 fragments were arranged by the editor. There were originally three columns. Only the second can be reconstructed intelligibly. Here Lev 25:13 (the year of the jubilee) provides the point of departure and is interpreted with the aid of other biblical texts—e.g., it is identified with the year of favor in Isa 61:2. This in turn is said to be Melchizedek’s year of favor, and he is identified with the ˒elohı̂m (‘god’) of Ps 82:1. Melchizedek is said to exact the vengeance of El’s judgments (cf. Isa 61:2) on Belial and his spirits. See MELCHIZEDEK (11QMelch).

 

Here Lev 25:13 (the year of the jubilee) provides the point of departure and is interpreted with the aid of other biblical texts—e.g., it is identified with the year of favor in Isa 61:2. This in turn is said to be Melchizedek’s year of favor, and he is identified with the ˒elohı̂m (‘god’) of Ps 82:1. Melchizedek is said to exact the vengeance of El’s judgments (cf. Isa 61:2) on Belial and his spirits. See MELCHIZEDEK (11QMelch).

 

The Jubilee (Hebrew Yovel יובל) year is the year at the end of seven cycles of Sabbatical years (Hebrew Shmita), and according to Biblical regulations had a special impact on the ownership and management of land in the territory of the kingdoms of Israel and of Judah; there is some debate whether it was the 49th year (the last year of seven sabbatical cycles, referred to as the Sabbath's Sabbath), or whether it was the following (50th) year.

 

n 11QMelchizedek the author strings together pesher-type expositions of various biblical texts (Lev 25:9–10, 12:13; Deut 15:2; Isa 49:8; 52:7; 61:1–3; Pss. 7:8–9; 82:1–2; Dan 9:25). He interprets the freedom accorded in the biblical jubilee as the eschatological liberation of the Sons of Light imprisoned by the evil Belial (ii 1–6). This liberation will take place at “the End of Days” (ii 4), at the end of the tenth jubilee (ii 7), which implies a division of historical time into ten jubilees (cf. 1 En. 93:1–10; 90:12–17; Kobelski 1981: 49–51). The chief actor in these events is Melchizedek, the eschatological judge who figures as a priest in Gen 14:18 and Ps. 110:4. In this capacity he acts as liberator and expiator of sins for the Sons of Light while wreaking vengeance upon Belial and his hosts (ii 13–14). By applying Ps. 82:1 to Melchizedek (ii 13), the author of the pesher treats him as a supernatural figure.

 

Two other liturgical fragments have eschatological overtones. It is alleged by Milik (1972) that 4Q280 belongs to a document on purities (4QTeharot). In 4Q280:1–2 is a curse on Melchiresa which is related to the curse on the lot of Belial in 1QS2. In 4Q286, which is part of 4QBerakot, a collection of blessings and curses, is contained a curse on Belial and his guilty lot. By analogy with 1QS, we might suppose that such curses were recited in a covenant renewal ceremony (Milik 1972: 136). 3. Angelic Liturgy (4QShirShabb). A remarkable liturgical text, 4QShirShabb (the Angelic Liturgy), is preserved in fragmentary form in eight mss from Cave 4 (4Q400–7) ranging in date from late Hasmonean to early Herodian.

 

These songs call on the angels to praise God, describe the angelic priesthood, and the heavenly temple, and its sabbath worship. The climactic seventh (middle) song begins with a series of seven calls to the angels. Then the heavenly temple, with all its parts, is summoned to join in the praise. There appears to be a brief description of the divine throne, and the song concludes with the praise uttered by the markābôt, “chariots.” The 12th song, in 4Q405, also contains a description of the merkābâ, “throne of glory,” in terms heavily dependent on Ezekiel. According to Newsom (1985: 37) it is “highly likely” that 4Q401 should be restored to yield two references to Melchizedek, one of which calls him “a priest in the council of God.” The reference to the council seems to presuppose the exegesis of Psalm 82 in 11QMelch but adds the element of priesthood. 4Q401 also contains several references to war in heaven and to the mustering of angelic hosts (Newsom 1985: 8). Newsom (1985: 17) reasonably suggests that this composition is intended to evoke within a human community “a sense of being in the heavenly sanctuary and in the presence of angelic priests and worshippers”

 

Amram son of Qahat, son of Levi had a dream vision saw two supernatural beings contesting over him. One of these was called Melchiresa, who rules over darkness. The other rules over light. If Milik has reconstructed the text correctly, each figure had three names: the first called Belial, Prince of Darkness, Melchiresa, and the second called Michael, Prince of Light, Melchizedek

 

Kobelski, P. J. 1981. Melchizedek and Melchiresa. Washington, DC.

 

http://cojs.org/cojswiki/The_Dead_Sea_Scrolls%2C_John_J._Collins%2C_Anchor_Bible_Dictionary_%28ed._David_Noel_Freedman%29%2C_Doubleday%2C_NY%2C_1992%2C_Vol.2%2C_p.85-101.

[Guest wiki]

Exaltation of Melchizedek

 

Chapters 69-73 of 2 Enoch (sometimes referred as the Exaltation of Melchizedek or 2EM) outline the priestly succession of Enoch. There is not unanimous consensus whether this section belongs to the main body of the text or it is an early addition. Considering the not-fragmentary main manuscripts, 2EM is not included in P V N, it is included partially in J, while it is fully included in R U B, which anyway represent the best traditions of all versions. So we have both shorter and a longer versions of 2EM. Some early authors, as Charles, have not included this section mainly because they based their edition on manuscripts P and N. The lack of this section in recent manuscripts is explained by others because of the scandalous content (the virgin birth of Melchisedek) for Christian copyists. According Vaillant, who edited the first critical edition of 2 Enoch, there is no evidence that 2EM ever existed separately. Modern editions usually include also these chapters.

 

The recent discoveries of Melchisedek 11Q13 text at Qumran and of a related text at Nag Hammadi, have made possible to have an idea about the Melchisedek controversy, involving also 2EM and the Letter to the Hebrews, that developed in non-mainstream Jewish communities and in early Christians communities from the 1st century BCE to the 3rd century CE against the traditional Jewish identification of Melchisedek with Shem.

 

A growing number of scholars recognize the antiquity of 2 Enoch, including also 2EM, and support a pre-70 CE dating for its original composition.[18] Sacchi[3] suggests that 2EM is actually an addition to the main body of the text (the style is slightly different), but a very early addition by someone of the same sect that wrote 2 Enoch (it uses the same language and same typical names as Ahuzan for Temple), dating 2EM after the 70 CE but before or about the Letter to the Hebrews. The differences between 2EM with Letter to the Hebrews (for Hebrews Melchisedek is primarily a heavenly figure while 2EM depicts him as an earthly one) don't allow to prove the dependence of 2EM from Hebrews.

[Guest Luke]

I like Lloyd Thomas's interpretation.

 

http://lloydthomas.org/5-SpecialStudies/melchizedek.html

 

Although their city-state of Jebus (one of the ten nations in Abram's time between the southern limit of Palestine at Wadi el Arish and the northen limit at Upper Euphrates in Syria, Gen.15:21) was part of Canaan's Amorite culture, its king had been very different from the others.

 

Under his rule Jebus had become called Salem – 'Peace'. His personal conduct had turned the word 'righteousness/justice' (zedek) into a throne-name, a royal title. (*Melchi means king, as also Melech).

 

More than this, Melchizedek led his people to worship the Most High. He was a priest on their behalf (this was often a royal function at that time) and probably a prophet of God to them. This latter aspect shows in the blessing he pronounced upon Abram the Hebrew.

 

"Blessed be Abram by God-Most-High, Creator of heaven and earth.

And blessed be God-Most-High, who delivered your enemies into your hand."

 

It has a rhyming structure in the Hebrew which sets it apart from the narrative text, probably as prophetic (inspired) speech (Gen.14:19-20). Abram then recognises this by adopting Melchizedek's terminology in his reply to the king of Sodom.

 

David remembered Melchizedek, and later with inspired speech announced the future messianic king of Israel as –

 

"...a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." (Psalm 110:4).

In contrast to the inherited priesthood in the order of Aaron, Melchizedek's priestly recognition by God was earned! His life in its context set a standard – recognized by God forever.

 

 

No wonder young David, in the flush of awed gratitude to God for his impossible victory over Goliath (a wonderment which he later penned in Psalm 8), took his grizly trophy-head to Melchizedek's ancient city.

 

Abram adopts the king of Salem's terms for God, El Elyon (אֵל עֶלְיֹון)

 

 

David made Jerusalem his own. After his seven-and-a-half-year rule over Judah, the rest of Israel eventually acknowledged his leadership, and David implemented his plan.

 

 

Jebus/Salem was captured and became David's capital without driving the Jebusite's out (1 Chron.21:18). Why? Could it be for Melchizedek's sake?

 

 

Now here is an even more significant clue. Two high priests served simultaneously before the Lord under David in Jerusalem – Zadok (of Eleazar's line from Aaron) and Abiathar. Both were of Aaron's line through their fathers, but one had a Jebusite name – Zadok. Not only does this indicate intermarriage between Israel and the Jebusites, it also indicates a religious compatibility that is unparalleled in Israel's history.

 

 

No other explanation does justice to this situation; than that it was for the sake of Melchizedek and his influence in Jebus/Salem; their ancient godly king.

 

 

In 971 BC Zadok became Israel's sole high priest, and later Ezekiel prophesied that the future true priests of Israel would be descendants of this Zadok.

[Guest Tzah-Dee]

The perfect union of opposites (pentagram, hexagram) should create a finalized form of transmuted Spirit.

 

 

BEFORE ME RAPHAEL

BEHIND ME GABRIEL

AT MY RIGHT HAND MICHAEL

AT MY LEFT HAND AURIEL

BEFORE ME FLAMES THE PENTAGRAM

BEHIND ME SHINES THE SIX-RAYED STAR

[Guest Repent]

[Guest Fairy Queen]

Man is a little universe, and the universe, a great man.

Sufi saying.

 

Islamic art, according to Sharia law, may not be representational. Muslims may not draw pictures of human beings, birds, trees, mountains, or anything which is representative of any object in the real world. So, almost by default, Islam has used geometric design as a platform and inspiration in its artwork.

 

The flower of life is a beautiful pattern

 

 

Research Solomon Ibn Gabirol (1020-1058). A Jewish mystic and follower of the great Sufi Muhammad Ibn Masarra (883-931).

Abu 'Abd Allah Muhammad b. 'Abd Allah b. Masarra b. Najih al-Jabali (Arabic: أبو عبد الله محمد بن عبد الله بن مسرة بن نجيح الجبلي‎ ) was one of the first Sufis as well as one of the first philosophers of Al-Andalus.

 

Al-Andalus (Arabic: الأندلس‎, trans. al-ʼAndalus, Spanish: Al-Ándalus, Portuguese: Al-Andalus), also known as Moorish Iberia, was a medieval Muslim nation and territorial region occupying most of what is today Spain and Portugal, and parts of modern France. The name more generally describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims (given the generic name of Moors), at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries underwent constant changes due to wars with the Christian Kingdoms.

 

Following the Muslim conquest of Hispania, Al-Andalus was divided into five administrative areas roughly corresponding to Andalusia, Galicia and Portugal, Castile and León, Aragon and Catalonia, and Septimania.[4] As a political domain or domains, it successively constituted a province of the Umayyad Caliphate, initiated by the Caliph Al-Walid I (711–750); the Emirate of Córdoba (c. 750–929); the Caliphate of Córdoba (929–1031); and the Caliphate of Córdoba's taifa (successor) kingdoms. Rule under these kingdoms saw the rise in cultural exchange and cooperation between Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Under the Caliphate of Córdoba, al-Andalus was a beacon of learning, and the city of Córdoba became one of the leading cultural and economic centres in both the Mediterranean Basin and the Islamic world.

 

In succeeding centuries, Al-Andalus became a province of the Berber Muslim dynasties of the Almoravids and Almohads, subsequently fragmenting into a number of minor states, most notably the Emirate of Granada. With the support of local inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula the Almoravids deposed of the taifa Muslim princes, after helping to repel Christian attacks on the region by Alfonso VI. Rule under the Almoravids and Almohads saw a decline in cultural and social exchange and increased persecution of religious minorities, with a return to more fundamentalist forms of Islam.

 

The word 'Sufi' has come to denote an Islamic gnostic or mystic. The Muslim Conquests had brought large numbers of Christian monks and hermits, especially in Syria and Egypt, under the rule of Muslims. They retained a vigorous spiritual life for centuries after the conquests, and many of the especially pious Muslims who founded Sufism were influenced by their techniques and methods. At least occasionally, men who might otherwise have become Christian monks were converted to Islam in its Sufi form when they felt the call to a more reflective life. Syrian-Egyptian Gnostic Schools drew heavily on Platonic and Judaic influences.

 

http://www.revalvaat...re_of_islam.pdf

[Guest ThinkSpeak]

The common theme is Love and a religion where all people are equal under the eyes of the Creator.

 

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article3294318.ece

 

The rapid spread of Islam across the length and breadth of India was primarily the handiwork of Sufis. At a time when Rahul Gandhi and his cohorts are wondering how to win friends and influence people, the Sufis offer an excellent model. For the model to gain traction, the first requirement is a message which can be simply put across. The message the Sufis sought to communicate offended nobody: oneness of Being (Wahdat ul Wajood), equality of men, Love as a universal value.

 

Egalitarian

 

Rungs of the stratified Hindu order found the egalitarianism of Sufi Khanqahs, ashrams, hospices, compelling. The first-time visitors to the hospice were overwhelmed by the hospitality. The cuisine was custom made for universal consumption. It was not just vegetarian but care was taken to avoid garlic and onion too which some Hindu sects abstain from.

 

If there was one dogma the Sufis lived by, it was their total aversion to Kings and Sultans or those who sat at the top of the feudal heap. Since they would not visit the Sultans as a matter of principle, there were instances of the rulers who, overawed by the saint's boundless popularity, expressed a desire to visit them at their hospices.

 

“If the King enters from the front gate, I shall leave by the backdoor” Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia once famously said. They lived by the Biblical dictum: it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. So, the poor and the intellectually precocious flocked to them.

 

It was not just their charming temperament, demeanour and belief which attracted the people to them. It was part of their spiritual training to harmonise totally with the cultural environment of whichever place they had made their home. They accepted and adopted the local culture.

Their contribution therefore to folk, popular and classical art forms was immense. For instance, Hazrat Amir Khusro, principal disciple of Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia, invented the sitar, tabla, ragas. And, by experimental fusion of Hindvi and Persian, he virtually laid the foundation of what later came to be recognised as Urdu. For popular participation, there were always the Qawwalis, with trance inducing rhythms deftly employed between spiritual and romantic lyrics.

[Guest ThinkSpeak]

The Arabians were polytheists but perhaps not very pious ones. Somewhere up above the jinn (the "genies") and the subordinate godlings to whom they occasionally paid a little attention was the distant and mysterious high god, Allah. His name—or, better his title, which takes its emphasis on the second syllable—is simply the Arabic equivalent of the English word God. Allah is a contraction of the Arabic words al and ilah, which, together, mean "the god." In other words, it is related to the old Semitic names for the high god, El and Elohim, the latter of which should be quite familiar to Latter-day Saints.

 

Elohim is formed from the Hebrew word eloh, "god," and the masculine plural suffix -im. It should never be thought that Allah is the name of some strange idol or foreign deity. In fact, Arabic and Turkish Christians use the same word for God as do their Muslim counterparts, and Allah is the word used for God in the Arabic translation of the Book of Mormon and other Latter-day Saint materials.

[Guest Julia]

It is written that each of these seven pairs of twin flames specializes in manifesting the aspects of our Creator on one of the seven rays.

 

Hercules and Amazonia

Apollo and Lumina

Heros and Amora

Purity and Astrea

Cyclopea and Virginia

Peace and Aloha

Arcturus and Victoria

 

The names of the seven Æons, as given by the author of the Philosophumena, are as follows: The Image from the Incorruptible Form, alone ordering all things, also called The Spirit moving on the Waters and The Seventh Power; “The seventh Power, He who has stood, stands and will stand” for He is the cause of those good things which Moses praised and said they were very good.

[Guest Morbonzi]

There are seven world-creating archons (Greek word that means "ruler" or "lord," derived from same root as monarch, hierarchy, and anarchy), known as the Hebdomad (seven superhuman beings). These Seven are in most systems semi-hostile powers, and are reckoned as the last and lowest emanations of the Godhead; below them—and frequently considered as derived from them—comes the world of the actually devilish powers. There are indeed certain exceptions; Basilides taught the existence of a "great archon" called Abraxas who presided over 365 archons (Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, i. 24); in the Valentinian system, the Seven are in a manner replaced by the Aeons.

[Guest Lauren Reeves]

Deeprok Chopra has a book

Deepak Chopra's The Seven Spiritual Laws of Superheroes—Now in Paperback

 

 

[Guest Julia]

In many Gnostic systems, the various emanations of God, who is also known by such names as the One, the Monad, Aion teleos (αἰών τέλεος "The Broadest Aeon"), Bythos ("depth or profundity", Greek βυθός), Proarkhe ("before the beginning", Greek προαρχή), the Arkhe ("the beginning", Greek ἀρχή), "Sophia" (wisdom), Christos (the Anointed One) are called Aeons. In the different systems these emanations are differently named, classified, and described, but the emanation theory itself is common to all forms of Gnosticism.

 

In the Basilidian Gnosis they are called sonships (υἱότητες huiotetes; sing.: υἱότης huiotes); according to Marcus, they are numbers and sounds; in Valentinianism they form male/female pairs called "syzygies" (Greek συζυγίαι, from σύζυγοι syzygoi).

 

Similarly, in the Greek Magical Papyri, the term "Aion" is often used to denote the All, or the supreme aspect of God

[Guest K'uei]

Aeons are beings, or cycles of existence, which fill the gap between the Pleroma, or realm of transcendent Light, and matter. They act as pylons or obstacles in the path of initiation. In the mythos, they appear as lesser deities and make up the Gnostic pantheons.

 

The expression of Divine Law of this Aeon of Ra-Hoor-Khuit (Horus) is "Do what thou wilt."

 

http://www.rosslyn.org

 

 

...I believe that the Holy Guardian Angel is a Being of this order. He is something more than a man, possibly a being who has already passed through the stage of humanity, and his peculiarly intimate relationship with his client is that of friendship, of community, of brotherhood, or Fatherhood. He is not, let me say with emphasis, a mere abstraction from yourself; and that is why I have insisted rather heavily that the term "Higher Self" implies "a damnable heresy and a dangerous delusion. - Aleister Crowley, Magick Without Tears

[Luke_Wilbur]

In many Gnostic systems, the various emanations of God, who is also known by such names as the One, the Monad, Aion teleos (αἰών τέλεος "The Broadest Aeon"), Bythos ("depth or profundity", Greek βυθός), Proarkhe ("before the beginning", Greek προαρχή), the Arkhe ("the beginning", Greek ἀρχή), "Sophia" (wisdom), Christos (the Anointed One) are called Aeons. In the different systems these emanations are differently named, classified, and described, but the emanation theory itself is common to all forms of Gnosticism.

 

In the Basilidian Gnosis they are called sonships (υἱότητες huiotetes; sing.: υἱότης huiotes); according to Marcus, they are numbers and sounds; in Valentinianism they form male/female pairs called "syzygies" (Greek συζυγίαι, from σύζυγοι syzygoi).

 

Similarly, in the Greek Magical Papyri, the term "Aion" is often used to denote the All, or the supreme aspect of God

 

I received this diagram to post and would like to know it meaning and who actually created it.

 

[Guest Guest]

George Robert Stowe Mead most likely created this

[Guest Awake]

He was an editor for Lucifer Magazine. He also translated the Pistis Sophia.

 

[Guest Pistis Sophia]

Jesus entereth the thirteenth æon and findeth Pistis Sophia.

 

"It came to pass then thereafter that I ascended to the veils of the thirteenth æon. It came to pass then, when I had arrived at their veils, that they drew apart of their own accord and opened themselves for me. I entered in into the thirteenth æon and found Pistis Sophia below the thirteenth æon all alone and no one of them with her. And she sat in that region grieving and mourning, because she had not been admitted into the thirteenth æon, her higher region. And she was moreover grieving because of the torments which Self-willed, who is one of the three triple-powers, had inflicted on her. But this,--when I shall come to speak with you respecting their expansion, I will tell you the mystery, how this befell her.

 

Sophia and her fellow-powers behold the light."It came to pass then, when Pistis Sophia saw me shining most exceedingly and with no measure for the light which was about me, that she was in great agitation and gazed at the light of my vesture. She saw the mystery of her name on my vesture and the whole glory of its mystery, for formerly she was in the region of the height, in the thirteenth æon,--but she was wont to sing praises to the higher light, which she had seen in the veil of the Treasury of the Light.

 

"It came to pass then, when she persisted in singing praises to the higher light, that all the rulers who are with the two great triple-powers, and her invisible who is paired with her, and the other two-and-twenty invisible emanations gazed [at the light],--in as much as Pistis Sophia and her pair, they and the other two-and-twenty emanations make up four-and-twenty emanations, which the great invisible Forefather and the two great triple-powers have emanated."

 

Mary desireth to hear the story of Sophia.It came to pass then, when Jesus had said this unto his disciples, that Mary came forward and said: "My Lord, I have heard thee say aforetime: 'Pistis Sophia is herself one of the f our-and-twenty emanations, how then is she not in their region? But thou hast said: 'I found her below the thirteenth æon.'"

 

THE STORY OF PISTIS SOPHIA

 

Sophia desireth to enter the Light-world.And Jesus answered and said unto his disciples: "It came to pass, when Pistis Sophia was in the thirteenth æon, in the region of all her brethren the invisibles, that is the four-and-twenty emanations of the great Invisible,--it came to pass then by command of the First Mystery that Pistis Sophia gazed into the height. She saw the light of the veil of the Treasury of the Light, and she longed to reach to that region, and she could not reach to that region. But she ceased to perform the mystery of the thirteenth æon, and sang praises to the light of the height, which she had seen in the light of the veil of the Treasury of the Light.

 

The rulers hate her for ceasing in their mystery.

 

"It came to pass then, when she sang praises to the region of the height, that all the rulers in the twelve æons, who are below, hated her, because she had ceased from their mysteries, and because she had desired to go into the height and be above them all. For this cause then they were enraged against her and hated her, as did the great triple-powered Self-willed, that is the third triple-power, who is in the thirteenth æon, he who had become disobedient, in as much as he had not emanated the whole purification of his power in him, and had not given the purification of his light at the time when the rulers gave their purification, in that he desired to rule over the whole thirteenth æon and those who are below it.

 

Self-willed uniteth himself with the rulers of the twelve æons and emanateth a lion-faced power to plague Sophia."It came to pass then, when the rulers of the twelve æons were enraged against Pistis Sophia, who is above them, and hated her exceedingly, that the great triple-powered Self-willed, of whom I have just now told you, joined himself to the rulers of the twelve æons, and also was enraged against Pistis Sophia and hated her exceedingly, because she had thought to go to the light which is higher than her. And he emanated out of himself a great lion-faced power, and out of his matter in him he emanated a host of other very violent material emanations, and sent them into the regions below, to the parts of the chaos, in order that they might there lie in wait for Pistis Sophia and take away her power out of her, because she thought to go to the height which is above them all, and moreover she had ceased to perform their mystery, and lamented continuously and sought after the light which she. had seen. And the rulers who abide, or persist, in performing the mystery, hated her, and all the guards who are at the gates of the æons, hated her also.

 

"It came to pass then thereafter by command of the First Commandment that the great triple-powered Self-willed, who is one of the three triple-powers, pursued Sophia in the thirteenth æon, in order that she should look towards the parts below, so that she might see in that region his lion-faced light-power and long after it and go to that region, so that her light might be taken from her.

 

Sophia taketh the lion-faced power of Self-willed for the true Light.

 

"It came to pass then thereafter that she looked below and saw his light-power in the parts below; and she knew not that it is that of the triple-powered Self-willed, but she thought that it came out of the light which she had seen from the beginning in the height, which came out of the veil of the Treasury of the Light. And she thought to herself: I will go into that region without my pair and take the light and thereout fashion for myself light-æons, so that I may go to the Light of lights, which is in the Height of heights.

 

She descendeth to the twelve æons and thence into the chaos.

 

"This then thinking, she went forth from her own region, the thirteenth æon, and went down to the twelve æons. The rulers of the æons pursued her and were enraged against her, because she had thought of grandeur. And she went forth also from the twelve æons, and came into the regions of the chaos and drew nigh to that lion-faced light-power to devour it. But all the material emanations of Self-willed surrounded her, and the great lion-faced light-power devoured

 

The emanations of Self-willed squeeze the light-powers out of Sophia.

 

all the light-powers in Sophia and cleaned out her light and devoured it, and her matter was thrust into the chaos; it became a lion-faced ruler in the chaos, of which one half is fire and the other darkness,--that is Yaldabaōth, of whom I have spoken unto you many times. When then this befell, Sophia became very greatly exhausted, and that lion-faced light-power set to work to take away from Sophia all her light-powers, and all the material powers of Self-willed surrounded Sophia at the same time and pressed her sore.

[Guest Julia]

Aeons are beings, or cycles of existence, which fill the gap between the Pleroma, or realm of transcendent Light, and matter. They act as pylons or obstacles in the path of initiation. In the mythos, they appear as lesser deities and make up the Gnostic pantheons.

 

The expression of Divine Law of this Aeon of Ra-Hoor-Khuit (Horus) is "Do what thou wilt."

 

http://www.rosslyn.org

 

 

...I believe that the Holy Guardian Angel is a Being of this order. He is something more than a man, possibly a being who has already passed through the stage of humanity, and his peculiarly intimate relationship with his client is that of friendship, of community, of brotherhood, or Fatherhood. He is not, let me say with emphasis, a mere abstraction from yourself; and that is why I have insisted rather heavily that the term "Higher Self" implies "a damnable heresy and a dangerous delusion. - Aleister Crowley, Magick Without Tears

 

 

In the Avesta, Frawardin Yasht ("Hymn to the Guardian Angels"), there is a mention of âterepâtahe ashaonô fravashîm ýazamaide, which literally translates from Avestan as "we worship the Fravashi of the holy Atropatene."

 

Atropates ruled over the region of Atropatene (present Iranian Azerbaijan). The name "Atropates" itself is the Greek transliteration of an Old Iranian, probably Median, compounded name with the meaning "Protected by the (Holy) Fire" or "The Land of the (Holy) Fire". The Greek name is mentioned by Diodorus Siculus and Strabo. Over the span of millennia the name evolved to Āturpātākān then to Ādharbādhagān, Ādharbāyagān, Āzarbāydjān and present-day Azerbaijan. The word is translatable as "The Treasury" and "The Treasurer" of fire or "The Land of the Fire" in Modern Persian.