The Didache (The Teaching) First Christian Catechism

[Luke_Wilbur]

The Four and Twenty Elders Casting their Crowns before the Divine Throne, c. 1803–5. William Blake, Tate. 354 x 293 mm.

 

[Luke_Wilbur]

Russian and Greek iconography depicts Jesus as the Word or Logos, Wisdom, and the Angel of Great Counsel.

 

 

Veneration (Latin veneratio or dulia, Greek δουλεία, douleia), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Philologically, "to venerate" derives from the Latin verb, venerare, meaning to regard with reverence and respect.

 

Within Christianity, veneration is practiced by groups such as the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic, and Eastern Catholic Churches, all of which have varying types of canonization or glorification procedures. In some Christian denominations, veneration is shown outwardly by respectfully bowing or making the sign of the cross before a saint's icon, relics, or statue, or by going on pilgrimage to sites associated with saints. The practice of veneration is deemed heretical by iconoclastic denominations.

 

In Judaism, there is no classical or formal recognition of saints, but there is a long history of reverence shown toward biblical heroes and martyrs. In some regions, for example within Judaism in Morocco, there is a long and widespread tradition of saint veneration.

 

The Jewish Saint Amram ben Diwan is credited with many healing miracles and had at least one son, Rabbi Hayyim ben Diwan. While touring Morocco with his son, he fell ill and died in Ouazzane in 1782.

 

 

Saint Amram ben Diwan burial place in Ouazzane became a pilgrimage site and is regularly visited, particularly by people who invoke him to heal their illness.

 

Tombs of Jewish Saints

 

Hinduism has a long tradition of veneration of saints, expressed toward various gurus and teachers of sanctity, both living and dead. Branches of Buddhism include formal liturgical worship of saints, with Mahayana Buddhism classifying degrees of sainthood.

 

In Islam, veneration of saints is practiced by sects such as the Shi'a and Sufi, and in many parts of Southeast Asia, along with "folk Islam", which often incorporates local beliefs and practices. Other sects, such as Sunnis and Wahhabists, abhor the practice.

 

Epicurus was correct that we must not assign divinity to celestial or earthly events. The prophet Isaiah stated the futility of such nonsense 400 years before Epicurus.

 

Isaiah 47

 

47:12 Persist in trusting your amulets

 

and your many incantations,

 

which you have faithfully recited since your youth!

 

Maybe you will be successful –

 

maybe you will scare away disaster.

 

47:13 You are tired out from listening to so much advice.

 

Let them take their stand –

 

the ones who see omens in the sky,

 

who gaze at the stars,

 

who make monthly predictions –

 

let them rescue you from the disaster that is about to overtake you! 33

 

47:14 Look, they are like straw,

 

which the fire burns up;

 

they cannot rescue themselves

 

from the heat of the flames.

 

There are no coals to warm them,

 

no firelight to enjoy.

 

 

The followers of Epicurus method of plural explanation fail to place God's will as a cause for everything. Rather Epicureans emphasize the neutrality of divinity, if it exists. They fail to understand those who seek the wisdom of the creator.

 

1 Corinthians 15

 

15:50 Now this is what I am saying, brothers and sisters:

 

Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

 

15:51 Listen, I will tell you a mystery:

 

We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed –

 

15:52 in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

 

15:53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

 

15:54 Now when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will happen,

 

“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

 

15:55 “Where, O death, is your victory?

 

Where, O death, is your sting?”

 

 

Philippians 3;20-21 For our conservation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the LORD Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto hemself.

 

 

Psalms 53

53:1 Fools say to themselves, “There is no God.”

They sin and commit evil deeds;

none of them does what is right.

53:2 God looks down from heaven at the human race,

to see if there is anyone who is wise and seeks God.

53:3 Everyone rejects God;

they are all morally corrupt.

None of them does what is right,

not even one!

53:4 All those who behave wickedly do not understand –

those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,

and do not call out to God.

53:5 They are absolutely terrified,

even by things that do not normally cause fear.

For God annihilates those who attack you.

You are able to humiliate them because God has rejected them.

53:6 I wish the deliverance of Israel would come from Zion!

When God restores the well-being of his people,

may Jacob rejoice,

may Israel be happy

 

2 Kings 23

23:1 The king summoned all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. 1 23:2 The king went up to the Lord’s temple, accompanied by all the people of Judah, all the residents of Jerusalem, the priests, and the prophets. All the people were there, from the youngest to the oldest. He read aloud 2 all the words of the scroll of the covenant that had been discovered in the Lord’s temple. 23:3 The king stood by the pillar and renewed 3 the covenant before the Lord, agreeing to follow 4 the Lord and to obey his commandments, laws, and rules with all his heart and being, 5 by carrying out the terms 6 of this covenant recorded on this scroll. All the people agreed to keep the covenant. 7

 

23:4 The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the high-ranking priests, 8 and the guards 9 to bring out of the Lord’s temple all the items that were used in the worship of 10 Baal, Asherah, and all the stars of the sky. 11 The king 12 burned them outside of Jerusalem in the terraces 13 of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. 14 23:5 He eliminated 15 the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to offer sacrifices 16 on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the area right around Jerusalem. (They offered sacrifices 17 to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the constellations, and all the stars in the sky.) 23:6 He removed the Asherah pole from the Lord’s temple and took it outside Jerusalem to the Kidron Valley, where he burned it. 18 He smashed it to dust and then threw the dust in the public graveyard. 19 23:7 He tore down the quarters 20 of the male cultic prostitutes in the Lord’s temple, where women were weaving shrines 21 for Asherah.

 

23:8 He brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and ruined 22 the high places where the priests had offered sacrifices, from Geba to Beer Sheba. 23 He tore down the high place of the goat idols 24 situated at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the city official, on the left side of the city gate. 23:9 (Now the priests of the high places did not go up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they did eat unleavened cakes among their fellow priests.) 25 23:10 The king 26 ruined Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom so that no one could pass his son or his daughter through the fire to Molech. 27 23:11 He removed from the entrance to the Lord’s temple the statues of horses 28 that the kings of Judah had placed there in honor of the sun god. (They were kept near the room of Nathan Melech the eunuch, which was situated among the courtyards.) 29 He burned up the chariots devoted to the sun god. 30 23:12 The king tore down the altars the kings of Judah had set up on the roof of Ahaz’s upper room, as well as the altars Manasseh had set up in the two courtyards of the Lord’s temple. He crushed them up 31 and threw the dust in the Kidron Valley. 23:13 The king ruined the high places east of Jerusalem, south of the Mount of Destruction, 32 that King Solomon of Israel had built for the detestable Sidonian goddess Astarte, the detestable Moabite god Chemosh, and the horrible Ammonite god Milcom. 23:14 He smashed the sacred pillars to bits, cut down the Asherah pole, and filled those shrines 33 with human bones.

 

23:15 He also tore down the altar in Bethel 34 at the high place made by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who encouraged Israel to sin. 35 He burned all the combustible items at that high place and crushed them to dust; including the Asherah pole. 36 23:16 When Josiah turned around, he saw the tombs there on the hill. So he ordered the bones from the tombs to be brought; 37 he burned them on the altar and defiled it. This fulfilled the Lord’s announcement made by the prophet while Jeroboam stood by the altar during a festival. King Josiah 38 turned and saw the grave of the prophet who had foretold this. 39 23:17 He asked, “What is this grave marker I see?” The men from the city replied, “It’s the grave of the prophet 40 who came from Judah and foretold these very things you have done to the altar of Bethel.” 23:18 The king 41 said, “Leave it alone! No one must touch his bones.” So they left his bones undisturbed, as well as the bones of the Israelite prophet buried beside him. 42

 

23:19 Josiah also removed all the shrines on the high places in the cities of Samaria. The kings of Israel had made them and angered the Lord. 43 He did to them what he had done to the high place in Bethel. 44 23:20 He sacrificed all the priests of the high places on the altars located there, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

 

23:21 The king ordered all the people, “Observe the Passover of the Lord your God, as prescribed in this scroll of the covenant.” 23:22 He issued this edict because 45 a Passover like this had not been observed since the days of the judges; it was neglected for the entire period of the kings of Israel and Judah. 46 23:23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah’s reign, such a Passover of the Lord was observed in Jerusalem.

 

23:24 Josiah also got rid of 47 the ritual pits used to conjure up spirits, 48 the magicians, personal idols, disgusting images, 49 and all the detestable idols that had appeared in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem. In this way he carried out the terms of the law 50 recorded on the scroll that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the Lord’s temple. 23:25 No king before or after repented before the Lord as he did, with his whole heart, soul, and being in accordance with the whole law of Moses. 51

 

“My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!” Psalm 108:1

 

Faithfulness is defined as: “constant; true to one’s word or promise”. This defines Our God! “The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; My God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety.” Psalm 18

 

18:9 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must not learn the abhorrent practices of those nations. 18:10 There must never be found among you anyone who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, 12 anyone who practices divination, 13 an omen reader, 14 a soothsayer, 15 a sorcerer, 16 18:11 one who casts spells, 17 one who conjures up spirits, 18 a practitioner of the occult, 19 or a necromancer. 20 18:12 Whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord and because of these detestable things 21 the Lord your God is about to drive them out 22 from before you. 18:13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God. 18:14 Those nations that you are about to dispossess listen to omen readers and diviners, but the Lord your God has not given you permission to do such things.

 

18:15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you – from your fellow Israelites; 23 you must listen to him. 18:16 This accords with what happened at Horeb in the day of the assembly. You asked the Lord your God: “Please do not make us hear the voice of the Lord our 24 God any more or see this great fire any more lest we die.” 18:17 The Lord then said to me, “What they have said is good. 18:18 I will raise up a prophet like you for them from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak to them whatever I command. 18:19 I will personally hold responsible 25 anyone who then pays no attention to the words that prophet 26 speaks in my name.

 

18:20 “But if any prophet presumes to speak anything in my name that I have not authorized 27 him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die. 18:21 Now if you say to yourselves, 28 ‘How can we tell that a message is not from the Lord?’ 29 – 18:22 whenever a prophet speaks in my 30 name and the prediction 31 is not fulfilled, 32 then I have 33 not spoken it; 34 the prophet has presumed to speak it, so you need not fear him.”

 

Acts 14

14:8 In Lystra sat a man who could not use his feet, lame from birth, who had never walked.

 

14:9 This man was listening to Paul as he was speaking. When Paul stared intently at him and saw he had faith to be healed,

 

14:10 he said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And the man leaped up and began walking.

 

14:11 So when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”

 

14:12 They began to call Barnabas Zeus and Paul Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.

 

14:13 The priest of the temple of Zeus, located just outside the city, brought bulls and garlands to the city gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

 

14:14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about it, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting,

 

14:15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We too are men, with human natures just like you! We are proclaiming the good news to you, so that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them.

 

14:16 In past generations He allowed all the nations to go their own ways,

 

14:17 yet He did not leave himself without a witness by doing good, by giving you rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying you with food and your hearts with joy.”

 

14:18 Even by saying these things, they scarcely persuaded the crowds not to offer sacrifice to them.

 

14:19 But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and after winning the crowds over, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, presuming him to be dead.

 

14:20 But after the disciples had surrounded him, he got up and went back into the city. On the next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.

 

With a gentle spirit God wants us to honor everyone, including Himself. And we must accept being subjected to those in authority, even if this means suffering unjustly. We must remember that Jesus unjustly suffered on the cross for our sake. When we suffer for doing good, God looks upon us favorably. People will also take notice of our tranquil lifestyle. As we know, actions speak louder than words.

 

1 Peter 1

2:11 Dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and exiles to keep away from fleshly desires that do battle against the soul,

 

2:12 and maintain good conduct among the non-Christians, so that though they now malign you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God when he appears.

 

2:13 Be subject to every human institution for the Lord’s sake, whether to a king as supreme

 

2:14 or to governors as those he commissions to punish wrongdoers and praise those who do good.

 

2:15 For God wants you to silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.

 

2:16 Live as free people, not using your freedom as a pretext for evil, but as God’s slaves.

 

2:17 Honor all people, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the king [president, prime minister].

 

2:18 Slaves, be subject to your masters with all reverence, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are perverse.

 

2:19 For this finds God’s favor, if because of conscience toward God someone endures hardships in suffering unjustly.

 

2:20 For what credit is it if you sin and are mistreated and endure it? But if you do good and suffer and so endure, this finds favor with God.

 

2:21 For to this you were called, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving an example for you to follow in his steps.

 

2:22 He committed no sin nor was deceit found in his mouth.

 

2:23 When he was maligned, he did not answer back; when he suffered, he threatened no retaliation, but committed himself to God who judges justly.

 

2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we may cease from sinning and live for righteousness. By his wounds you were healed.

 

2:25 For you were going astray like sheep but now you have turned back to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

 

3:1 In the same way, wives, be subject to your own husbands. Then, even if some are disobedient to the word, they will be won over without a word by the way you live,

 

3:2 when they see your pure and reverent conduct.

 

3:3 Let your beauty not be external – the braiding of hair and wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes –

 

3:4 but the inner person of the heart, the lasting beauty of a gentle and tranquil spirit, which is precious in God’s sight.

 

3:5 For in the same way the holy women who hoped in God long ago adorned themselves by being subject to their husbands,

 

3:6 like Sarah who obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You become her children when you do what is good and have no fear in doing so.

 

3:7 Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as the weaker partners and show them honor as fellow heirs of the grace of life. In this way nothing will hinder your prayers.

[Luke_Wilbur]

Pope Francis really moved me. What he said about how we treat immigrants is biblical.

Malachi 3

2:17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” Because you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the Lord’s opinion, and he delights in them,” or “Where is the God of justice?”

3:1 “I am about to send my messenger, who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the Lord who rules over all.

3:2 Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can keep standing when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.

 

3:3 He will act like a refiner and purifier of silver and will cleanse the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will offer the Lord a proper offering.

 

3:4 The offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in former times and years past.

3:5 “I will come to you in judgment. I will be quick to testify against those who practice divination, those who commit adultery, those who break promises, and those who exploit workers, widows, and orphans, who refuse to help the immigrant and in this way show they do not fear me,” says the Lord who rules over all.

[Luke_Wilbur]

The Nature of Freemasonry

Bro. W. L. Wilmshurst, a noted authority in the masculine Order, has this to say about the nature of Freemasonry and its inner meaning:

“It proclaims the fact that there exists a higher and more secret path of life than that which we normally tread. When the outer world and its pursuits and rewards lose their attractiveness for us, as sooner or later they will, we are compelled to turn back upon ourselves, to seek and knock at the door of a world within. It is upon this inner world, and the path to and through it, that Freemasonry promises light, charts the way, and indicates the qualifications and conditions of progress.”

The Nature of Jesus

10:32 “Whoever, then, acknowledges 58 me before people, I will acknowledge 59 before my Father in heaven.

10:33 But whoever denies me before people, I will deny him also before my Father in heaven.

10:34 “Do not think that I have come to bring 60 peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword.

10:35 For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law,

10:36 and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household. 61

10:37 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

10:38 And whoever does not take up his cross 62 and follow me is not worthy of me.

10:39 Whoever finds his life 63 will lose it, 64 and whoever loses his life because of me 65 will find it.

10:40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. 66

10:41 Whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Whoever 67 receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.

10:42 And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, I tell you the truth, 68 he will never lose his reward.”

Pandit Dhanaraja was a friend of Bhagwan Das, a scholar of Sanskrit, and member Order of the Star in the East (OSE), of the international organization established in 1911 by the leadership of the Theosophical Society at Adyar, Chennai. Bhagwan Das was an opponent of President Annie Besant of the Theosophical Society (founded by Helena Blavatsky) calling her adopted son, Jiddu Krishnamurti, the living reincarnation of Jesus Christ. He wrote about that subject in his pamphlet, "The Central Hindu College and Mrs. Besant." Bhagwan Das remained always loyal to the Theosophical Society, however, and served as General Secretary for the Indian Section. He made great contributions to Theosophical literature, and his best-known work is The Essential Unity of All Religions.

 

The Order of the Star in the East (OSE) was established in 1911 to prepare the world for the arrival of a messianic entity, the so-called World Teacher or Maitreya. OSE believed an eight year old boy Jiddu Krishnamurti, they found on a beach in South India was a vehicle of the Lord Maitreya.

Krishnamurti: The Invention of a Messiah

"In the spring of 1909, Krishnamurti turned up with his brother on a beach near Madras. He was six years old. Charles Webster Leadbeater --- and I didn't make up that name --- saw him, saw auras, and said "This one is going to be the new divine." A Jesus of the East, as it were.

Leadbeater was co-founder of Theosophy. He was "massively built, he oozed strength and vitality, even in his mid-fifties, with a chest broad as an English oak...a thick silver beard and powerful shoulders." He immediately had the youngster moved him onto the school grounds. The boy was an "empty vessel," to be cleaned up (he was fly-specked, dirty) and brought up in the proper English manner, with a proper English education.

Unfortunately, Leadbeater was, they say, as interested in the beauty of the boy as in his auras. Over the next few years, there were claims of hanky-panky with the new empty vessel, his brother, and with others. To get away from the scandal of it, the Theosophists sent Krishnamurti --- hereinafter known as Krishna --- off to England to be properly educated as the new Christ."

Eighteen years later, Krishnamurti dissolved the OSE during the annual Star Camp at Ommen, the Netherlands, on 3 August 1929.He stated that he had made his decision after "careful consideration" during the previous two years, and that:

"I maintain that truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. That is my point of view, and I adhere to that absolutely and unconditionally. Truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, cannot be organized; nor should any organization be formed to lead or coerce people along a particular path. ... This is no magnificent deed, because I do not want followers, and I mean this. The moment you follow someone you cease to follow Truth. I am not concerned whether you pay attention to what I say or not. I want to do a certain thing in the world and I am going to do it with unwavering concentration. I am concerning myself with only one essential thing:

to set man free. I desire to free him from all cages, from all fears, and not to found religions, new sects, nor to establish new theories and new philosophies."

Krishnamurti: The Invention of a Messiah

 

"When followers tried to put Krishna back on the divinity throne, he would go into a rage:

 

"this sort of blank, inactive acceptance of his words infuriated him and led him to deride audiences for their spineless devotion."

 

The hardest time for him was when it came time to hide from "a genuinely kind and sincere person...the Dalai Lama, whom he dreaded having to inform about the absurdity of institutionalized religion and spiritual authority."

Krishnamurti died 17 February 1986. Ten days before he passed on, he said,

"For seventy years that super energy --- no --- that immense energy, immense intelligence, has been using this body. I don't think people realize what tremendous energy and intelligence went through this body...You won't find another body like this, or that supreme intelligence operating in a body for many hundred years. You won't see it again. When he goes, it goes."

 

Kushan Maitreya. Musee Guimet, Paris.



According to Buddhist tradition, Maitreya is a bodhisattva who will appear on Earth in the future, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure dharma. According to scriptures, Maitreya will be a successor to the present Buddha, Gautama Buddha (also known as Śākyamuni Buddha).

Annie Besant was a known activist who wrote attacks on the churches and the way they controlled people's lives. In particular she attacked the status of the Church of England as a state-sponsored faith. In 1889, she was asked to write a review for the Pall Mall Gazette on The Secret Doctrine, a book by H. P. Blavatsky. After reading it, she sought an interview with its author, meeting Blavatsky in Paris. In this way she was converted to Theosophy.

Theosophy (from Greek θεοσοφία theosophia, which comes from the combination of words θεός theos, God + σοφία sophia, wisdom; literally "God's wisdom") refers to systems of esoteric philosophy concerning, or seeking direct knowledge of, presumed mysteries of being and nature, particularly concerning the nature of divinity. Theosophy is considered a part of the broader field of esotericism, referring to hidden knowledge or wisdom that offers the individual enlightenment and salvation. The theosopher seeks to understand the mysteries of the universe and the bonds that unite the universe, humanity, and the divine. The goal of theosophy is to explore the origin of divinity, humanity and the world. From investigation of those topics, theosophers try to discover a coherent description of the purpose and origin of the universe.

The present-day New Age movement is said to be based to a considerable extent on original Theosophical tenets and ideas. "No single organization or movement has contributed so many components to the New Age Movement as the Theosophical Society. ... It has been the major force in the dissemination of occult literature in the West in the twentieth century.

In 1902 Annie Besant and fellow theosophist Francesca Arundale travelled to Paris, along with six friends to become Freemasons. "They were all initiated, passed and raised into the first three degrees and Annie returned to England, bearing a Charter and founded there the first Lodge of International Mixed Masonry, Le Droit Humain." Besant eventually became the Order's Most Puissant Grand Commander, and was a major influence in the international growth of the Order.



7. Is Freemasonry a religion? [Le Droit Humain]

It is not. It is concerned with the ultimate values of human life, and so might be called “religious” in a broad sense of that term. Some branches of Freemasonry do their work “to the glory of the Great Architect of the Universe (a poetic expression for the cosmic guiding intelligence) and to the perfection of humanity.” Some work only “to the perfection of humanity.” But in either case, Freemasonry is not a religion, and Freemasons belong to all of the great religions of the world (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and so on) or to none at all.

8. Is belief in God a requirement to be a Freemason? [Le Droit Humain - American Federation]

"The Order professes no dogma and rejects dogmatism. Our members are men and women fraternally united without distinction on grounds of race, ethnic origin, philosophical opinion or religion. Freemasons owe obedience to the International Order of Freemasonry for Men and Women, Le Droit Humain, and to the laws of their country; they must live honorably, practice justice, and love their neighbors. In addition, they respect members’ independence from religious institutions and organizations, and are respectful of the right to absolute freedom of conscience of all."

The Le Droit Humain Freemasons do not require the belief in a Supreme Being as the Scottish and York Rites. In 2001 the Grand Lodge of Freemasonry for Men and Women was formed by expelled and suspended members of the Consistory Council of the "Le Droit Humain" British Federation for refusing to drop the requirement for a belief in a Supreme Being. The Eastern Order of International Co-Freemasonry formed later, as did a few other smaller orders.

Declaration of the Grand Lodge of Freemasonry for Men and Women

The essential requirement of a belief in a Supreme Being and the use of the V.S.L. writings of the great religions is the most important Landmark of Ancient Freemasonry. Without this, Masonic rituals, as we all know them, become useless literature without a spiritual aim.

7. Is Freemasonry a religion? [Eastern Order of International Co-Freemasonry]

Certainly not. It is, however, concerned with the ultimate values of human life, and so might be called “religious” in a broad sense of that term. Freemasonry works “to the glory of the Great Architect of the Universe (a poetic expression for the cosmic intelligence that guides the world and everything in it) and to the perfection (or evolutionary development) of humanity.” But Freemasonry is not a religion, and Freemasons belong to the many various religions of the world or to none at all. Freemasons may be Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, Confucians, or various other religionists; or they may have no specific religious affiliation. That is the choice of each individual Freemason.

Is Freemasonry a religion [scottish]

No. While it is a requirement that each member believe in a Supreme Being, it is not important how one expresses that very personal belief. Further, there is no dogmatic system in Freemasonry. However, confusion about the secular nature of Freemasonry has been a common misconception for many years. Most likely, this misconception is due to the Holy Book that sits on the altar in the middle of a Masonic lodge. This Holy Book does not have to be Christian, like the Bible, rather it can be any Holy Book that is important to the members of the lodge. In the U.S. where the population is mostly Christian, the Holy Book most often used in Lodges is the King James Version of the Bible.

Cryptic Rite [York]

One reason for its popularity is that it completes a story, a Masonic allegory. Freemasonry is very philosophical and teaches its ideals by allegory or story. This philosophy is moralistic and religious however Freemasonry is not a religion., nor a substitute for one. A requirement for membership in Freemasonry is a professed belief in God and eternal life. It is mandatory that a man profess a personal faith in a Supreme Being prior to becoming a Freemason. Fremasonry never attempts to alter any one's beliefs. Freemasonry offers no theology or plan of salvation. However, it does offer a moral plan to use in this world. Leaving the Mason to look to his religion for salvation into the next world.

Radha Burnier was the Head of the Krotona Institute of Theosophy in Ojai, California; The Manor Centre in Sydney and President of the International Theosophical Centre in Naarden, Holland. She was president of the Olcott Education Society, The Theosophical Order of Service (founded by Annie Besant in 1908), the Besant Education Fellowship and founder of The New Life for India Movement (1968), which promotes right citizenship, right values and right means among Indians. She was a former member of "Le Droit Humain" and the Head of the Eastern Order of International Co-Freemasonry. She was also a close associate of Jiddu Krishnamurti and was a Trustee of the Krishnamurti Foundation India.

An interesting factoid. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is a member of the Freemason Charity Lodge No. 362, located in Campbell, California.

 

 

How does a materialist quanitify an intimate connection with another? Is it purely physical?


Pinacoteca Comunale, Recanati
Verklärung Christi



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_filiation

The Seven Deadly Sins

seven_deadly_sins_models_130127.jpg



The Transfiguration of Jesus is an episode in the New Testament narrative in which Jesus is transfigured (or metamorphosed) and becomes radiant upon a mountain. The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 17:1–9, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28–36) describe it, and 2 Peter 1:16–18 refers to it.

The presence of the prophets next to Jesus and the perceptions of the disciples have been subject to theological debate. Origen was the first to comment that the presence of Moses and Elijah represented the "Law and the Prophets", referring to the Torah (also called the Pentateuch) and the rest of the Hebrew Bible.[25] Martin Luther, continued to see them as the Law and the Prophets respectively, and their recognition of and conversation with Jesus as a symbol of how Jesus fulfills "the law and the prophets" (Matthew 5:17–19, see also Expounding of the Law).

The real presence of Moses and Elijah on the mount is rejected by those churches and individuals who believe in "soul sleep" (Christian mortalism) until resurrection. Several commentators have noted that Jesus describes the transfiguration using the Greek word orama (Matthew 17:9), according to Thayer more often used for a supernatural "vision" than for real physical events,and concluded that Moses and Elijah were not truly there

Mortalism emerged in Christianity when it was promoted by some Reformation leaders, and it survives today mostly among Restorationist sects, such as Jehovah's Witnesses. Conti has argued that during the Reformation both psychosomnolence (the belief that the soul sleeps until the resurrection) and thnetopsychism (the belief that the body and soul both die and then both rise again) were quite common.

Matthew 17

17:1 Six days later 1 Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John the brother of James, 2 and led them privately up a high mountain. 17:2 And he was transfigured before them. 3 His 4 face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 17:3 Then Moses 5 and Elijah 6 also appeared before them, talking with him. 17:4 So 7 Peter said 8 to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, I will make 9 three shelters 10 – one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 17:5 While he was still speaking, a 11 bright cloud 12 overshadowed 13 them, and a voice from the cloud said, 14 “This is my one dear Son, 15 in whom I take great delight. Listen to him!” 16 17:6 When the disciples heard this, they were overwhelmed with fear and threw themselves down with their faces to the ground. 17 17:7 But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Do not be afraid.” 17:8 When 18 they looked up, all they saw was Jesus alone.

17:9 As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, 19 “Do not tell anyone about the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 17:10 The disciples asked him, 20 “Why then do the experts in the law 21 say that Elijah must come first?” 17:11 He 22 answered, “Elijah does indeed come first and will restore all things. 17:12 And I tell you that Elijah has already come. Yet they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wanted. In 23 the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.” 17:13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them about John the Baptist.

If Jesus Christ is the firstborn of the dead, then how did he speak with Elijah and Moses before he was resurrected? As I have written, there are those that believe Enoch and Elijah did not die, but the bible is clear that Moses did in fact die.

Deuteronomy Chapter 34

5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.

6 And he was buried in the valley in the land of Moab over against Beth-peor; and no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.

Is David going to reign with Jesus for a 1000 years after the first resurrection at the end of time?

Approximately 50 years before Christ's birth there was a sect called Essenes. During Christ's life there was a sect known as Nazarines or Nazarites. Were the Essenes the same as the the Nazarites?

Is it possible that Jesus was speaking to Moses without his glorified body?

The Prophets understood the pain Hashem was willing to instill on His chosen Son as a testament of sacrifice to a rebellious creation. An invisible Lord begot a visible son for the world to believe in and understand the meaning of selfless love and devotion.


What kind of a Jew was Jesus?
James D. Tabor

Here are the main parallel themes and emphases within both groups that I consider to be most significant. The quotations are from the Community Rule (1QS), the Damascus Document (CD), and some fragments from cave 4 ( 4Q ), with parallels noted in the classical sources of Josephus and Philo.

1) Apocalyptic: “This the time for the preparation of the way into the wilderness” (1QS 9) “From the day of the gathering in of the Teacher of the Community until the end of all the men of war who deserted to the Liar there shall pass about 40 years” (CD( B ) 2). Both John and Jesus began their preaching by declaring that “The time is at hand,” and “the kingdom of God has drawn near” (Luke 3:7-9, Mark 1:14-15).

2) Prepare the Way in the Wilderness: “They shall separate from the habitation of unjust men and shall go into the wilderness to prepare there the way of Him” (1QS 8). John the Baptizer characterizes his work with the same text from Isaiah 40:3 and Jesus, being baptized by John, identified with the same set of ideas (Mark 1:14-15).

3) Messianic in Hope and Orientation: “They shall be ruled by the primitive precepts in which the men of the Community were first instructed until there shall come the Prophet and the Messiahs of Aaron and Israel” (1QS 9). These expectations appear to be at the core of the Jesus movement as well, regarding the identity of both John the Baptist and Jesus as Prophet, Priest, or Davidic King? (Mark 8:27-30; John 1:19-23).

4) Community of the New Covenant: “None of the men who enter the New Covenant in the land of Damascus and betray it shall be inscribed in its Book from the day of the gathering in of the Teacher of the Community until the coming of the Messiah(s) of Aaron and Israel” (CD 8). Jesus understood his own inauguration of the kingdom of God as ushering in the “new covenant” (Luke 22:20).

5) Water Initiation for spiritual purification: “And when his flesh is sprinkled with purifying water and sanctified by cleansing water, it shall be made clean by the humble submission of his soul to all the precepts of God” (1QS 3) “They shall not enter the water to partake of the pure Meal of the saints unless they turn from their wickedness” (1 QS 5) (Josephus). Both John and Jesus practiced immersion in water as a sign of repentance and remission of sins (Mark 1:4; John 3:22-26).

6) Spiritual Temple is the Community: “He has commanded that a Sanctuary of men be built for Himself, that there they may send up, like the smoke of incense, the works of the Torah” (4Q174) “They shall atone for sins without the flesh of holocausts and the fat of sacrifice and prayer shall be an acceptable fragrance of righteousness” (1QS 9) (Josephus, Philo). Jesus quoted Hosea 6:6 more frequently than any other text of the Prophets: “I desire loving kindness not sacrifice.”

7) Communal Sharing of Property and Wealth: “All those who freely devote themselves to His truth shall bring all their knowledge, powers and possessions into the Community of God” (1QS 1) (Josephus, Philo). Jesus told his followers to “sell what they had” and come follow and the early movement seemed to practice a form of communal living, at least in Jerusalem (Luke 12:33; Mark 10:28-31; Acts 2:47-47)

8) Meals of Bread and Wine Anticipating the Messianic Banquet. “And then the Messiah of Israel shall come and the chiefs of the clans of Israel shall sit before him. . . and they shall gather at the common table to eat (the first fruits of the bread) and drink new wine” (1QSa 2). Jesus promised his “chiefs,” the Twelve apostles, who were to be over the clans of Israel, a place at his table to eat and drink when the Kingdom arrived (Luke 22:29-30).

9) Forbidding of Divorce: Fornication is “taking a second wife while the first is alive, whereas the principle of creation is ‘male and female’ he created them.” Two not three or more…(CD 4:20). Jesus quoted the same texts for the same point (Mark 10:1-12).

One could point out any number of additional parallels here and there. The Dead Sea community was ruled by a Council of Twelve and Jesus, of course, chose Twelve to be his Apostles. The Teacher had an inner council of three, and Jesus again, chose three–Peter, James, and John to be his inner circle.

http://jamestabor.com/2012/06/25/what-kind-of-a-jew-was-jesus-2/

Jeremiah 45

46:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah about the nations.
The Prophecy about Egypt’s Defeat at Carchemish

46:2 He spoke about Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt which was encamped along the Euphrates River at Carchemish. Now this was the army that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah.

46:3 “Fall into ranks with your shields ready!
Prepare to march into battle!

46:4 Harness the horses to the chariots!
Mount your horses!
Put on your helmets and take your positions!
Sharpen you spears!
Put on your armor!

46:5 What do I see?” says the Lord.
“The soldiers are terrified.
They are retreating.
They have been defeated.
They are overcome with terror;
they desert quickly
without looking back.

46:6 But even the swiftest cannot get away.
Even the strongest cannot escape.
There in the north by the Euphrates River
they stumble and fall in defeat.

46:7 “Who is this that rises like the Nile,
like its streams turbulent at flood stage?

46:8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
like its streams turbulent at flood stage.
Egypt says, ‘I will arise and cover the earth.
I will destroy cities and the people who inhabit them.’

46:9 Go ahead and charge into battle, you horsemen!
Drive furiously, you charioteers!
Let the soldiers march out into battle,
those from Ethiopia and Libya who carry shields,
and those from Lydia who are armed with the bow.

46:10 But that day belongs to the Lord God who rules over all.
It is the day when he will pay back his enemies.
His sword will devour them until its appetite is satisfied!
It will drink their blood until it is full!
For the Lord God who rules over all will offer them up as a sacrifice
in the land of the north by the Euphrates River.

46:11 Go up to Gilead and get medicinal ointment,
you dear poor people of Egypt.
But it will prove useless no matter how much medicine you use;
there will be no healing for you.

46:12 The nations will hear of your devastating defeat.
your cries of distress will echo throughout the earth.
In the panic of their flight one soldier will trip over another
and both of them will fall down defeated.”

Matthew 4

4:1 ... Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

4:2 After he fasted forty days and forty nights he was famished.

4:3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread.”

4:4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

4:5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the highest point of the temple,

4:6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you’ and ‘with their hands they will lift you up, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

4:7 Jesus said to him, “Once again it is written:

‘You are not to put the Lord your God to the test.’”

4:8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their grandeur.

4:9 And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you throw yourself to the ground and worship me.”

4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written:

‘You are to worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”

4:11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and began ministering to his needs.

King David like Jesus did not come from wealth and nobility and was shunned for his wisdom and relationship with Hashem.

Psalms 22

22:4 In you our ancestors trusted;

they trusted in you and you rescued them.

22:5 To you they cried out, and they were saved;

in you they trusted and they were not disappointed.

22:6 But I am a worm, not a man;

people insult me and despise me.

22:7 All who see me taunt me;

they mock me and shake their heads.

22:8 They say,

“Commit yourself to the Lord!

Let the Lord rescue him!

Let the Lord deliver him, for he delights in him.”

22:9 Yes, you are the one who brought me out from the womb

and made me feel secure on my mother’s breasts.

22:10 I have been dependent on you since birth;

from the time I came out of my mother’s womb you have been my God.

Isaiah knew that the righteous one would have suffer the punishment of man for following the commands of Hashem.

Isaiah 49

53:2 He sprouted up like a twig before God,

like a root out of parched soil;

he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention,

no special appearance that we should want to follow him.

53:3 He was despised and rejected by people,

one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness;

people hid their faces from him;

he was despised, and we considered him insignificant.

53:4 But he lifted up our illnesses,

he carried our pain;

even though we thought he was being punished,

attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done.

53:5 He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds,

crushed because of our sins;

he endured punishment that made us well;

because of his wounds we have been healed.

53:6 All of us had wandered off like sheep;

each of us had strayed off on his own path,

but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him.

53:7 He was treated harshly and afflicted,

but he did not even open his mouth.

Like a lamb led to the slaughtering block,

like a sheep silent before her shearers,

he did not even open his mouth.

53:8 He was led away after an unjust trial –

but who even cared?

Indeed, he was cut off from the land of the living;

because of the rebellion of his own people he was wounded.

53:9 They intended to bury him with criminals,

but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb,

because he had committed no violent deeds,

nor had he spoken deceitfully.

53:10 Though the Lord desired to crush him and make him ill,

once restitution is made,

he will see descendants and enjoy long life,

and the Lord’s purpose will be accomplished through him.

53:11 Having suffered, he will reflect on his work,

he will be satisfied when he understands what he has done.

“My servant will acquit many,

for he carried their sins.

53:12 So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes,

he will divide the spoils of victory with the powerful,

because he willingly submitted to death

and was numbered with the rebels,

when he lifted up the sin of many

and intervened on behalf of the rebels.”

Menahem the Essene (Hebrew: מנחם‎, Menahem) was a Jewish Tanna sage living during the era of the Zugot might be either considered the Teacher of Righteousness or the Wicked Priest. He was "Paired" ("Zugot", pairs) with Hillel the Elder (president) and served as Av Beit Din (judge). Menachem was Tana 's last generation lived period of couples. The Mishnah, Tractate "Hagigah" 16b, cites that he "went forth [out]", and as a result of that he was replaced by Shammai, that became from that point on the "Pair" mate of Hillel the Elder.

Ten years after the inauguration of Hillel the Elder to the Nasi or President of the Great Sanhedrin in Jerusalem and Menahem the Essene as Hillel’s Vice–President or Av Beit Din a mysterious event occurred. Some identify the comforting mentioned in the Mishnah with the cited Josephus ( Antiquities of the Jews , Book O, Chapter X, E), where Menahem tells about the plague of the Essenes. Around 20 CE, as recorded in the Hagigah 16B, Menahem the Essene took 80 “pairs of disciples” and left the religious politics of Judea.

MENAHEM THE ESSENE

Prominent teacher of the Essene faction in the time of King Herod, about the middle of the first pre-Christian century. He was renowned for his prophetic powers. According to Josephus ("Ant." xv. 10, § 5), he was distinguished also for the saintliness of his life as well as for possessing knowledge of the future. Legend has it that when he saw young Herod going to school he clapped him on the back and addressed him as king, announcing to him that he would reign successfully, but without displaying the love and justice he ought toward men or the piety due to God, and that therefore his end would be one befitting his crimes. When afterward in the zenith of his power Herod recalled this strange prediction, he sent for Menahem and asked him how long his reign would be. As Menahem did not immediately answer, Herod urged him, asking whether his reign would last ten years; whereupon Menahem replied: "Yes, twenty; nay, thirty years." Pleased with this answer, Herod dismissed him with a clasp of the hand and thenceforth bestowed special honors upon the Essenes. This Menahem has been correctly identified with the one mentioned in the Mishnah as ab bet din and head of a school in association with Hillel ha-Nasi and as Shammai's predecessor; but the duumvirate of ab bet din and nasi is probably due to a misconstruction of history when the real issues between the Hasidean or Pharisean and the Sadducean or Boethusian factions were no longer understood. A dim reminiscence of the relation of Menahem to Herod, however, has been preserved in a baraita, quoted in Ḥag. 16b, which states that "Menahem went out to join those serving the king, and eighty pairs of disciples attired in silk robes went with him." Another tradition is that he became an apostate (Yer. Ḥag. ii. 77d). The two traditions have been confounded and appear in two other forms also: according to one, Menahem was forced to leave the Pharisaic school, and when seen with his eighty pairs of disciples was told that they no longer had a share in the God of Israel; according to the other, he went from one degree ("middah") to another until he became a Gnostic (heretic?). See, however, Grätz, "Gesch." iii. 213.

http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/10625-menahem-the-essene

"He that dips for common food and has credit for common food," etc. According to whom is our Mishna? Shall we say it is according to the rabbis, for they make a distinction between common food and tithes? According to whom, then, would be the latter part of the Mishna: The garments of a common person are defiled by pressure for Pharisees; the garments of Pharisees are defiled by pressure for those that eat heave-offering? which is certainly in accordance with R. Meir, who says, common food and tithes are exactly the same? Then this conclusion would be that the former part is according to the rabbis, and the latter part according to R. Meir? Yea, it is so. R. A'ha bar Ada, however, teaches in the latter part five orders, and establishes it all according to the rabbis.

[Luke_Wilbur]

Lyrics..

Can you feel the strength of this woman who tames?
Lady of the beast who commands the reigns
Mistress of the fire has a thousand names
Her truth of desire burns blood in your veins
It's the Indian tapas yes the heat that heals
Sleeping Goddess only she reveals
The power of priestess to sing the truth
Wrathful dakini who chants down the moon
Let the luminous light fire flame from within
Humbling demeanor so sweet without a sin
Kundalini serpent rise from her spine
Suspended in time like a spider on a line
Weaves destiny with the fabric of dreams
Her majesty yes divinity's Queen
Initiation through shamanic dream
Dancing through space as one with dakin
In a cosmic embrace through her eyes I've seen
Her power I taste her vision is keen
Sharp as the knife that slices illusion
Thresholds that hold the sacred soul fusion
And the tempest of tomorrow rises like the sun
Through her tears and her sorrow we are born as one
In the womb of creation we are all the same
Eternal elation we are one in name

Chorus:
Kundalini Manifest Empress
Rising like a Tempest Temptress

Can you feel the warm breath of this dakini
Step into my realm and your bound to be free
Like your curiosity I see
The glow of your immortal illuminated soul
Whisper in your ear that its time to let go
Softly in your ear to dissolve your control
Surrender to the flow of Oya
Mother of form
Mother of storm
Mother of sacred regeneration
Constantly shaping our nation
Consecration breaking the spells
Like the swells of a tsunami
Bring it on we
Your skin is ready and porous
So listen to this verse and chorus
Let it penetrate let it permeate never hesitate to celebrate
This dakini's wrath
take a bath take a bath
Take a bath in this lyrical wrath
Take a bath take a bath take a bath
Take a bath in this lyrical wrath

Chorus:

I dreamt of late, we women were dakini
Living freely, in cosmic sensual praise
Root energy weaving in waves
Through our bodies
We're communing with the wrathful Kali
Dancing on our crumbling egos
No room here, for false heroes
Cause we sisters be sifting freely
Below and above
Transcending your dependent love...
Love truly from the center
Enter
My body my temple,
Channels dark mother
Fiercely live life as lover
Uncover, sakhir
Right in the now and the here
We'll heal all them fear-based spells
Cast over patterns
Returning all possessions
Off paternal obsessions
Breaking vows to avow
Kundalini Manifest
Rising like a Tempest Temptress

I asked if Shri Mataji believes that the Holy Spirit dwells within her? Or does Shri Mataji profess she is the Holy Spirit? If the former, does Shri Mataji believe we all have the Holy Spirit dwelling with us? If the latter does Shri Mataji profess we are all the Holy Spirit?

I received a response from Sandeep Krish.

Dear Wilbur, thats a good question, with all humility I would like to answer it.

But why do you want to believe me or anyone else?

You see..Christ is the Son of God..but when he said the same...very few people believed it..and people got angry,upset about it and ultimately put him on the Cross...so even if you tell the truth people wont believe it easily.

So what is the solution??? Why dont you take it as a honest challenge and try it with open mind... Unlike many organizations..sahaja yoga is totally free..and you will be given all the knowledge of chakras openly.
Once you learn little bit of it. and try it for few weeks..you can actually feel your chakras...and three channels and know which chakras are clean and which are not..thats what they call----- "know thy self" once you know about our selves we can know more about God.

Just like a honest scientist do the experiment with Sahaja Yoga, do it sincerely for a couple of weeks...if it works..its all good..if it doesnt, then just forget it.....its simple. Good Luck

Isaiah 13

13:19 Babylon, the most admired of kingdoms,

the Chaldeans’ source of honor and pride,

will be destroyed by God

just as Sodom and Gomorrah were.

13:20 No one will live there again;

no one will ever reside there again.

No bedouin will camp there,

no shepherds will rest their flocks there.

13:21 Wild animals will rest there,

the ruined houses will be full of hyenas.

Ostriches will live there,

wild goats will skip among the ruins.

13:22 Wild dogs will yip in her ruined fortresses,

jackals will yelp in the once-splendid palaces.

Her time is almost up,

her days will not be prolonged.

According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law (Hebrew: תורה שבעל פה, Torah she-be-`al peh, lit "Torah that is spoken") represents those laws, statutes, and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the "Written Torah" (Hebrew: תורה שבכתב, Torah she-bi-khtav, lit. "Torah that is written"), but nonetheless are regarded by Orthodox Jews as prescriptive and co-given. This holistic Jewish code of conduct encompass a wide swath of ritual, worship, God-man and interpersonal relationships, from dietary laws to Sabbath and festival observance to marital relations, agricultural practices, and civil claims and damages.

According to Jewish tradition, the Oral Torah was passed down orally in an unbroken chain from generation to generation until its contents were finally committed to writing following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, when Jewish civilization was faced with an existential threat.

The major repositories of the Oral Torah are the Mishnah, compiled between 200–220 CE by Rabbi Yehudah haNasi, and the Gemara, a series of running commentaries and debates concerning the Mishnah, which together are the Talmud, the preeminent text of Rabbinic Judaism. In fact, two "versions" of the Talmud exist: one produced in Jerusalem c. 300-350 CE (the Jerusalem Talmud), and second, more extensive Talmud compiled in Babylonia and published c. 450-500 CE (the Babylonian Talmud).

The six "orders" (top-level sections) or guilds (sedarim) of the Mishna (shisha sidrei mishna) the lessons taught by the Men of the Great Assembly (Anshei Kennesses Hagedola).The sixth section is Taharos (since. Purity), purity regulations. There are 12 treaties (tractates) of Taharos:

Kaylim - The longest tractate in the whole Mishna. It deals with the ritual purity (tuma'ah) of utensils.
Ohalos - The laws of ritual impurity that can be caused by being under the same roof as the defiled object.
Negaim - The laws of Tzara'as.
Para - The red heifer (cow) whose ashes are used to purify those who have come in contact with dead human bodies.
Taharos - The general laws of impurity.
Mikvaos - The laws governing the building and maintenance of ritual (purification) pools.
Nidah - The laws surrounding a woman's menstrual cycle.
Machshirim - The preliminary preparation needed before an object can become ritually defiled.
Zavim - The laws concerning various bodily emmissions.
Tavul Yom - The status of an impure person who's been to the mikva, but must still wait for nightfall.
Yedaim - The special role played by hands in the laws of purity.
Uktzim - The role of stems and shells in the ritual purity of produce.

The six working days of the week
The six days of Creation
Six is the number of the beasts and of man (both created on the 6th day).

[Luke_Wilbur]

1906 Jewish Encyclopedia

The Divine Spirit.

What the Bible calls "Spirit of Yhwh" and "Spirit of Elohim" is called in the Talmud and Midrash "Holy Spirit" ("Ruaḥ ha-Ḳodesh." never "Ruaḥ Ḳedoshah," as Hilgenfeld says, in "Ketzergesch." p. 237). Although the expression "Holy Spirit" occurs in Ps. li. 11 (LXX. πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον) and in Isa. lxiii., it had not yet the definite meaning which was attached to it in rabbinical literature: in the latter it is equivalent to the expression "Spirit of the Lord," which was avoided on account of the disinclination to the use of the Tetragrammaton (see, for example, Targ. to Isa. xl. 13). It is probably owing to this fact that the Shekinah is often referred to instead of the Holy Spirit. It is said of the former, as of the Holy Spirit, that it rests upon a person. The difference between the two in such cases has not yet been determined. It is certain that the New Testament has πνεῦμα ἅγιον in those passages, also, where the Hebrew and Aramaic had "Shekinah"; for in Greek there is no equivalent to the latter, unless it be δόξα (="gleam of light"), by which "ziw ha-shekinah" may be rendered. Because of the identification of the Holy Spirit with the Shekinah, πνεῦμα ἅγιον is much more frequently mentioned in the New Testament than is "Ruaḥ ha-Ḳodesh" in rabbinical literature.

Nature of the Holy Spirit.

Although the Holy Spirit is often named instead of God (e.g., in Sifre, Deut. 31 [ed. Friedmann, p. 72]), yet it was conceived as being something distinct. The Spirit was among the ten things that were created on the first day (Ḥag. 12a, b. Though the nature of the Holy Spirit is really nowhere described, the name indicates that it was conceived as a kind of wind that became manifest through noise and light. As early as Ezek. iii. 12 it is stated, "the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing," the expression "behind me" characterizing the unusual nature of the noise. The Shekinah made a noise before Samson like a bell (Soṭah 9b, below). When the Holy Spirit was resting upon him, his hair gave forth a sound like a bell, which could be heard from afar. It imbued him with such strength that he could uproot two mountains and rub them together like pebbles, and could cover leagues at one step (ib. 17b; Lev. R. viii. 2). Similarly Acts ii. 2 reads:

"And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting" (it must be noted that this happened at Pentecost, i.e., the Feast of Revelation).

Although the accompanying lights are not expressly mentioned, the frequently recurring phrase "he beheld ["heẓiẓ"] in the Holy Spirit" shows that he upon whom the spirit rested saw a light. The Holy Spirit gleamed in the court of Shem, of Samuel, and of King Solomon (Gen. R. lxxxv. 12). It "glimmered" in Tamar (Gen. xxxviii. 18), in the sons of Jacob (Gen. xlii. 11), and in Moses (Ex. ii. 12), i.e., it settled upon the persons in question (see Gen. R. lxxxv. 9, xci. 7; Lev. R. xxxii. 4, "niẓoẓah" and "heẓiẓ"; comp. also Lev. R. viii. 2, "hitḥil le-gashgesh"). From the day that Joseph was sold the Holy Spirit left Jacob, who saw and heard only indistinctly (Gen. R. xci. 6). The Holy Spirit, being of heavenly origin, is composed, like everything that comes from heaven, of light and fire. When it rested upon Phinehas his face burned like a torch (Lev. R. xxi., end). When the Temple was destroyed and Israel went into exile, the Holy Spirit returned to heaven; this is indicated in Eccl. xii. 7: "the spirit shall return unto God" (Eccl. R. xii. 7). The spirit talks sometimes with a masculine and sometimes with a feminine voice (Eccl. vii. 29 [A. V. 28]); i.e., as the word "ruaḥ" is both masculine and feminine, the Holy Spirit was conceived as being sometimes a man and sometimes a woman.

According to Canaanite beliefs, when the physical body dies, the npš (usually translated as "soul") departs from the body to the land of Mot. Bodies were buried with grave goods, and offerings of food and drink were made to the dead to ensure that they would not bother the living. Dead relatives were venerated and sometimes asked for help.



Jesus is the Master Craftsman who works only with imperfect material like you and me.

Hashem as Architect/Builder/Geometer/Craftsman, The Frontispiece of Bible Moralise




Prefactory miniature from a moralized Bible of "God as architect of the world", folio I verso, Paris ca. 1220–1230. Ink, tempera, and gold leaf on vellum 1' 1½" × 8¼". Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna 2554. God shapes the universe with the aid of a compass. Within the perfect circle already created are the spherical sun and moon and the unformed matter that will become the earth once God applies the same geometric principles to it. A view of the earth influenced by Ancient Greek Geometry and icons of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

http://beginningandend.com/kehas-illuminati-die-young-video-the-marketing-of-satan/

Six is the number of the beasts and of man (both created on the 6th day).

 

 

Proverbs 15

15:21 Folly is a joy to one who lacks sense,

but one who has understanding follows an upright course.

http://world-news-research.com/27nov2006.html

http://revelationrevolution.org/revelation-11-a-preterist-commentary-who-are-the-two-witnesses/



The Babylonian Talmud

Talmud - Mas. Chagigah 16a

MISHNAH. JOSE B. JO'EZER SAYS THAT [ON A FESTIVAL-DAY] THE LAYING ON OF HANDS [ON THE HEAD OF A SACRIFICE] MAY NOT BE PERFORMED; JOSEPH B. JOHANAN SAYS THAT IT MAY BE PERFORMED. JOSHUA B. PERAHIA SAYS THAT IT MAY NOT RE PERFORMED; NITTAI THE ARBELITE SAYS THAT IT MAY BE PERFORMED. JUDAH B. TARBAI SAYS THAT IT MAY NOT BE PERFORMED; SIMEON A. SHETAH SAYS THAT IT MAY BE PERFORMED. SHEMAIAH SAYS THAT IT MAY BE PERFORMED; ABTALION SAYS THAT
IT MAY NOT BE PERFORMED. HILLEL AND MENAHEM DID NOT DIFFER. MENAHEM WENT FORTH, SHAMMAI ENTERED. SHAMMAI SAYS THAT IT MAY NOT BE PERFORMED; HILLEL SAYS THAT IT MAY BE PERFORMED.

Talmud - Mas. Chagigah 16b

MENAHEM WENT FORTH AND SHAMMAI ENTERED etc. Whither did he go forth? Abaye said:

He went forth into evil courses.

Raba said:

He went forth to the King's service. Thus it is also taught:

Menahem went forth to the King's service, and there went forth with him eighty pairs of disciples dressed in silk.

http://halakhah.com/pdf/moed/Chagigah.pdf

Tractate Hagiga

Chapter 2

MISHNA: Jose b. Joezer says that one must not lay on his hand (on a sacrifice on a biblical festival), but Joseph b. Johanan says that one may. Joshua b. P'ra'hia says that one must not lay it, but Mathai the Arbelite says that one may. Jebudah b. Tabbai says that one must not, but Simeon b. Sheta'h says he should. Sh'maia says he must, but Abtalian says he must not. Hillel and Mena'hem. did not differ. Mena'hem went out (left the Sanhedrin); Shammai entered it. Shammai says one must not; Hillel says one may. The first of the several pairs were princes, the second to them were chiefs of the court.

GEMARA: The rabbis taught: In the three former pairs, which say that a man is not to lay, and in the two latter pairs, which say that a man is to lay, the first were princes and the second chiefs of the court. So said R. Meir. But the sages say: Jehudah b. Tabbai was a chief of the court and Simeon b. Sheta'h was a prince.

"Mena'hem went out," etc. Whither did he go out? Said Rabha:

He went out from the service of the king. We have learned in a Boraitha:

Mena'hem went out from the service of the king, and there went out with him eighty pairs of disciples clothed in Syrian robes. Said R. Shaman bar Abba in the name of R. Johanan:

Let a rabbinical decree concerning the Sabbath not be a light thing in thine eyes, for the laying on of the hand is only a rabbinical prohibition, and the greatest men of the different generations were divided upon this matter. Is this not self-evident? He comes to teach us that even a rabbinical prohibition which is seemingly contrary to a positive command of the Bible must also not be light in thine eyes. But this is also self-evident from the teachings of our Mishna? This is needed to object to those who say that they differ not as to the rabbinical prohibition, but as to the laying on of the hand itself, because they maintain that the laying on of the hand is necessary only in case of a voluntary peace-offering, but not in that of an obligatory peace-offering.

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Talmud/hagiga2.html

Baraita" probably referred to teachings from schools outside of the main Mishnaic-era academies

Matthew 2

2:19 After Herod had died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt

2:20 saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.”

2:21 So he got up and took the child and his mother and returned to the land of Israel.

2:22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the regions of Galilee.

2:23 He came to a town called Nazareth and lived there. Then what had been spoken by the prophets was fulfilled, that Jesus would be called a Nazarene.

The Jewish leaders considered a Nazarene to be negative connotation. The enemies of Jesus Christ have done their very best to promote the rejection of his mission by taunting and humiliation. Like

Babylonian Talmud

Tract Hagiga (Holocaust) Chapter II

Regulations Concerning Public Lectures Which Are Not Allowed

As stated in the following Boraitha: It is written [Deut. iv. 32]: "For do but ask of former days" (this is in the singular). From this we may infer, that one may ask, not two. Lest one assume that a man can ask, What was before the creation? therefore it is written [ibid.]: "Since the day that God created man from the earth"; but lest one assume, a man must not ask even what was done in the six days of creation? therefore it is written [ibid.]: "Which were before thee" [i.e., the six days before]; lest one ask, What is above and what is beneath, what was before creation and what will be after it? therefore it is written [ibid.]: "From one end of the heavens unto the other end of the heavens," "but not what is beyond." [if we infer this from what is written: "From one end of the heavens unto the other end," why is needed the verse further: "Since the day that God created man upon the earth"? This is according to R. Elazar, who said that Adam was tall from the earth up to heaven, and after he had transgressed, the Holy One, blessed be He, laid His hand upon him, and made him lower, as it is written (Ps. cxxxix. 5): "Behind and before hast thou hedged me in, and thou placest upon me thy hand."]

R. Jehudah in the name of Rabh said: Ten things were created on the first day, and they are: heaven and earth; chaos and desolation; light and darkness; wind and waters; the measures of the day and those of the night--heaven and earth, for it is written [Gen. i. 1]: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth"; chaos and desolation, for it is written [ibid. i. 2]: "And the earth was without form and void (chaos)"; light and darkness--darkness, for it is written [ibid., ibid.]: "And darkness was upon the face of the deep"; light, for it is written [ibid. i. 3]: "And God said, Let there be light"; wind and water, for it is written [ibid. i. 2]: "And the spirit (wind) of God was waving over the face of the waters"; the measures of the day and those of the night, for it is written [ibid. i. 5]: "And it was evening; and it was morning, the first day."

We have learned in a Boraitha: Chaos is a green line compassing all the world, and from it darkness springs, as it is written [Ps. xviii. 12]: "He made darkness his hiding place, round about him." Desolation--this means the stones covered

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with mud, which are sunk in the deep, from which waters come forth, as it is written [is. xxxiv. 11]: "And he shall stretch out over it the line of destination and the weights of desolation."

Was light created on the first day? Is it not written [Gen. i. 17]: "And God set them in the expansion of the heaven," and also [ibid. i. 19]: "And it was evening and it was morning the fourth day"? This is as R. Elazar said: The light which the Holy One created on the first day, Adam saw by its means from one end of the world to the other. When the Holy One considered the generation of the flood and the generation of the dispersion, and that their works were vain, He took it from them and concealed it for the upright in the world to come. In this, however, the following Tanaim differ, as we have learned in a Boraitha: The light which the Holy One, blessed be He, created on the first day, Adam observed and saw by its means from one end of the world' to the other. So said R. Jacob. But the sages said. These are the luminaries which were created on the first day, but were not hung up until the fourth day.

R. Zutra bar Tobiah in the name of Rabh said: By ten things the world was created: by wisdom and by understanding; by knowledge and by strength; by rebuke and by might; by righteousness and by judgment; by mercy and by compassion. 1 R. Jehudah in the name of Rabh said: At the time that the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world it went spreading on like two clews of shoot and warp, until the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked it and brought it to a standstill, as it is written [Job xxvi. 11]: "The pillars of heaven tremble greatly, and are astounded at his rebuke." And this is what Resh Lakish also said: What is meant by [Gen. xvii. 1]: "I am the Almighty God"? (‏שדי‎) It means: I am He Who (‏ש‎) said to the world, "Enough" (‏די‎) Resh Lakish said again: At the time the Holy One, blessed be He, created the sea, it went spreading on, until the Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked it and made it dry, for it is written [Nah. i. 4]: "He rebuketh the sea and maketh it dry; and all the rivers he dried up."

The rabbis taught: The School of Shammai say: The heavens were created in the beginning, and afterwards the earth was created, for it is written [Gen. i. 1]: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." But the School of Hillel say: The earth was created in the beginning, and afterwards the

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heavens, for it is written [Gen. ii. 4]: "On the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven." Said the School of Hillel to the School of Shammai: According to your words, a man builds an upper story, and afterwards builds a house; and the heavens are the upper story, as it is written [Amos ix. 6]: "That buildeth in the heavens his steps, and hath founded his vault over the earth." Said the School of Shammai to the School of Hillel: According to you, a man makes a footstool, and afterwards makes a throne, as it is written [is. lxvi. i]: "Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool." The sages say: Both were created together, as it is written [ibid. xlviii. 13]: "My hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned out the heavens. I call unto them, they stand forward together."

What is meant by "heavens"? Said R. Jose bar Hanina: It means, the place where there is water. In a Boraitha it is explained as equivalent to fire and water, thus teaching that the Holy One, blessed be He, brought them and mingled them one with the other, and made from them the firmament. R. Ishmael questioned R. Aqiba when they were on the road: Thou art one who hast served for twenty-two years Na'hum, the man of "Gimzu," the man who expounded the meaning of all the particles "eth" (the) which are in the Law. What was his exposition of "Eth-ha-shamayim v'eth haaretz"? R. Aqiba answered: If the words had been simply: First created God heaven and earth, I should have said, "Heaven" is another name of God. But as it is now, all know that heaven and earth are to be taken in the literal meaning. And why do I find the expression "v'eth haaretz"? To show that heaven preceded the earth.

There is a Boraitha of R. Jose which says: Woe to the creatures which see and know not what they see, which stand and know not upon what they stand. Upon what does the earth stand? Upon the pillars. The pillars stand upon the waters; the waters upon the mountains; the mountains upon the wind; the wind upon the storm; 1 the storm is suspended upon the strength of the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written [Deut. Xxxiii. 27]: "And here beneath, the everlasting arms." The sages say: It stands upon twelve pillars, as it is

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written [Deut. xxiii. 8]: "He set the bounds of the tribes according to the number of the sons of Israel." According to others, seven pillars, as it is written [Prov. ix. i]: "She had hewn out her seven pillars." R. Elazar b. Shamua said: Upon one pillar, and its name is Zaddik (The Righteous), as it is written [Prov. x. 25]: "But the righteous is an everlasting foundation." R. Jehudah said: There are two firmaments, as it is written [Deut. x. 14]: "Behold, to the Lord thy God belong the heavens and the heavens of the heavens." Resh Lakish said, they are seven, viz.: Vilon, Rakia, Shchakim, Zbul, Maon, Makhon, Araboth. Vilon serves no purpose whatever save this, that it enters in the morning, and goes forth in the evening, and renews every day the work of creation. Rakia is that in which are set sun and moon, stars and constellations. Shchakim is that in which the millstones stand and grind manna for the righteous. Zbul is that in which is the heavenly Jerusalem and the Temple, and the altar is built there, and Michael the great prince stands and offers upon it an offering. Maon is that in which are companies of ministering angels, who utter His song in the night and are silent in the day for the sake of the glory of Israel. Resh Lakish said: Every one who studied in the Law in this world, which is like the night, the Holy One, blessed be He, stretches over him the thread of grace for the future world, which is like the day, as it is written: "By the day the Lord gives his merciful command, and by night his song is with me." Makhon is that in which are the treasures of hail, and the high dwelling-place of harmful dews and the high dwelling-place of the round drops, and the chamber of the whirlwind and of the storm, and the retreat of noisome vapor; and their doors are made of fire. Araboth is that in which are righteousness and judgment and grace, the treasures of life and the treasures of peace and the treasures of blessing, and the souls of the righteous and the spirits and souls which are about to be created, and the dew with which the Holy One, blessed be He, is about to quicken mortals. There also are celestials and seraphs and holy beings and ministering angels and the throne of glory, and the King, the Living God, high and lifted up, sitting over them among the clouds, and darkness and cloud and thick darkness surround Him. How is there darkness in the presence of the Lord? Is it not written [Dan. ii. 22]: "He is that revealeth what is deep and secret: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him"? This presents no difficulty.

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[paragraph continues] The one refers to that which is within, the other to that which is without. R. A'ha bar Jacob said: There is again a firmament above the heads of the living creatures, for it is written [Ezek. i. 22]: "And the likeness of a vault was over the head of the living creatures, shining like the glitter of the purest crystal." So far thou hast permission to speak. Thenceforward thou hast not permission to speak. For thus it is written in the book of Ben Sira: Seek not out the things that are too hard for thee, and into the things that are hidden from thee inquire thou not. In what is permitted to thee instruct thyself thou must not discuss secret things.

We have learned in a Boraitha: Rabban Johanan b. Zakkai said: What answer did the heavenly voice make to that wicked man at the time when he said [is. xiv. 14], "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be equal to the Most High"? The heavenly voice said to him: Thou wicked man, son of a wicked man, grandson of Nimrod the Wicked, who led all the world to rebel against Him in his kingdom, how many are the years of a man? Seventy years, as it is said [Ps. xc. 10]: "The days of our years in this life are seventy years, and if by uncommon vigor they be eighty . . ." And is not from the earth to the firmament a journey of five hundred years, and so too the interspace of the firmaments? Above there are the holy living creatures. The feet of the living creatures are of corresponding measure to all the things mentioned above, the ankles of the living creatures are of corresponding measure, the legs of the living creatures are of corresponding measure, the knees of the living creatures are of corresponding measure, the thighs of the living creatures are of corresponding measure, the bodies of the living creatures are of corresponding measure, the necks of the living creatures are of corresponding measure, the heads of the living creatures are of corresponding measure, the horns of the living creatures are of corresponding measure. Above them is the throne of glory. The feet of the throne of glory are of corresponding measure. The throne of glory is of corresponding measure. The King, the Living and Eternal God, high and lifted up, sitteth upon them. And thou didst say: "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be equal to the Most High"? Yet thou, shalt be brought down to bell, to the uttermost parts of the pit.

"Nor the divine chariot with one." R. Hyya taught: But you may impart to him the quintessence of the chapters. Said

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[paragraph continues] R. Zera: Even that may only be imparted to a chief of the Beth Din, and only then when his heart yearns for knowledge.

R. Ami said: The secrets of the Law may be imparted only to the one who has the five prescribed things, viz. [is. iii, 3]: "The captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counsellor, and the skilful artificer, and the eloquent orator." R. Johanan said to R. Elazar: Come, I will fully instruct thee in the subject of the divine chariot. He said to him: I am not old enough. When he was old enough, R. Johanan's soul had passed away. R. Asi said to him: Come, I will fully instruct thee in the subject of the divine chariot. He said to him: If I had been worthy, I should have received full instruction from R. Johanan, thy teacher. R. Joseph was giving full instruction in the subject of the divine chariot. The sages of Pumbeditha were teaching the subject of creation. They said to him: Would the master instruct us fully in the subject of the divine chariot? He answered them: Instruct me in the subject of creation. After they had instructed him, they said to him: Would the master instruct us in the subject of the divine chariot? He answered: In reference to this we have learned in a Boraitha: It is written [song of Songs iv. 11]: "Honey and milk are under thy tongue." That means, let words sweeter than honey and milk be under thy tongue. R. Abuhu infers the same thing from the following passage [Prov. xxvii. 26]: "The sheep are for thy clothing." That means, things that are the secrets of the world shall be under thy clothes. They said to him: We have worked in them as far as the words [Ezek. ii. 1]: "And he said unto me, Son of man." And he said to them: But this is the real subject of the divine chariot.

The rabbis taught: It happened once that a certain child, who was reading in his teacher's house in the Book of Ezekiel, was pondering over 'Hashmal, and there came out fire from 'Hashmal and burnt him, and they sought in consequence to conceal the Book of Ezekiel. Said Hananiah b. Hezkyah to them: If he was wise, are then all wise?

It is written [Ezek. i. 4]: "And I saw, and behold, a storm wind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a flaming fire, and a brightness was on it round about; and out of the midst of it was like the glitter of amber, out of the midst of the fire." Whither did it go?, Said R. Jehudah in the name of Rabh: It went forth to subdue the whole world under the wicked Nebuchadnezzar. And this was done that the nations might not

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say: The Holy One, blessed be He, delivered His children into the hands of a low nation. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: What forced Me to minister to worshippers of carved images? The iniquities of Israel, they forced me. It is written [ibid. i. 15]: "And I looked on the living creatures, and behold, there was one wheel upon the earth close by the living creatures." Said R. Elazar: It means a certain angel who stands upon the earth, and his head reaches to the level of the living creatures. In a Tosephtha we are taught that his name is Sandalphon, who is higher than his fellows by the space of a journey of five hundred years, and he stands behind the divine chariot and binds crowns for his Creator. This is not so, as it is written [Ezek. iii. 12]: "Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place." From this we may infer that His place is impossible to know? He utters one of the holy names of the Lord over the wreath, and thereupon he goes and rests by His head. Rabha said: All which Ezekiel saw Isaiah saw, but Ezekiel was like a villager who saw the king for the first time (and therefore he said all that he has seen); Isaiah, however, was like a townsman who has often seen the king (and therefore he said little).

Resh Lakish said: What is the meaning of the passage [Ex. xv. 1]: "I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously"? It means a song to Him who takes His place proudly above the high, as the Master said: The king among living creatures is a lion; the king among domestic beasts is an ox; the king among birds is an eagle, but man takes his place proudly above them, and the Holy One, blessed be He, takes His place proudly above them all, and above the whole world in its entirety. We have learned in a Boraitha: Rabbi said in the name of Abba Jose b. Dosai: It is written [Dan. vii. 10]: "Thousand times thousands ministered unto him." This is the number of one troop, but all his troops cannot be numbered. R. Jeremiah bar Abba, however, said: This passage refers to the fiery stream, as it is written [ibid., ibid.]: "A stream of fire issued and came forth from before him; thousand times thousands ministered unto him; and myriad times myriads stood before him." Whence does it come forth? From the perspiration of the living creatures. And upon what is it poured? Said R. Zutra bar Tobiah in the name of Rabh: Upon the heads of the wicked men in Gehenna, as it is written [Jer. xxiii. 19]: "Behold, the storm wind of the Lord is gone forth in fury; yea, a whirling storm upon the head of the wicked shall it fall grievously." R.

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[paragraph continues] A'ha bar Jacob said: Upon those who were held back, as it is writ. ten [Job xxii. 16]: "Who were shrivelled up before their time, whose foundation was flooded away like a river?" There is a Boraitha to the effect that R. Simeon the Pious said: There are nine hundred and seventy-four generations which were held back from being created. The Holy One, blessed be He, scattered them through all the successive generations, and these are the impudent (‏עזי פגים‎) who are in a generation. R. Na'hman bar Itz'hak, however, said: On the contrary, this passage refers to those who are wrinkled for blessing, as it is written: As for these scholars who have become wrinkled over the words of the Law in this world, the Holy One, blessed be He, discloses to them the secrets of the world to come, as it is written [Job xxii. 16]: "Whose foundation was flooded away like a river."

Samuel said to Hyya bar Rabh: Thou son of a scholar, come and I will tell thee something of those noble words which thy father used to say: Every several day ministering angels are created from the fiery stream, and they utter a song and perish, as it. is written [Lam. iii. 23]: "They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness."

When R. Dimi came he said: Eighteen curses did Isaiah pronounce upon Israel, and he was not satisfied, until he had spoken against them this passage [is. iii. 5]: "The boy shall demean himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honorable."

What are the eighteen curses? The following [is. iii. 1-4]: For, behold, the Lord, the Eternal of hosts, doth remove from Jerusalem and from Judah stay and staff, every stay of bread, and every stay of water. The hero and the men of war," etc., etc. "Stay"--these are the learned in the Law. "Staff"--these are the learned in the Mishna; e.g., R. Jehudah b. Tema and his fellows. [R. Papa and the rabbis differ in respect to this: One says, there were six hundred sections of Mishna, and another says, there were seven hundred sections.] "Every stay of bread"--these are the learned in Talmud, as it is written [Prov. ix. 5): "Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled." "And every stay of water"--these are the learned in Agada, who draw a man's heart like water by means of Agada." "The hero"--this is the man versed, in oral tradition. "And the man of war"--this is he who knows how to handle matters in the battle of the Law. "The judge"--this

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is a magistrate who gives decisions faithfully, "And the prophet"--this is in its literal meaning. "The prudent"--this is a king, as it is written [Prov. xvi. 10] "There should be a wise sentence on the lips of the king." "And the ancient"--this is he who is worthy to sit as a teacher presiding over an academy. "The captain of fifty"--this is in accordance with R. Abuhu, who saith: From this we may infer, that an interpreter who is less than fifty years old is not appointed over the congregation. "And the honorable man"--this is he for whose merits his generation is forgiven; by Heaven (e.g., R. Hanina b. Dosa); in this world (e.g., R. Abuhu in the house of Cæsar). "And the counsellor"--one who knows how to intercalate years and to fix months. "And the skilful"--this is the disciple who, by his keenness, sharpens the minds of his teachers. "Artificer"--at the time he is unfolding the words of the Law all are made like deaf men. 1 "And the eloquent"--this is he who, having knowledge of one thing, can derive therefrom knowledge of another thing. 2 "Orator"--this is he to whom it is fitting to impart the words of the Law, which is given in a whisper (e.g., the subject of the divine chariot. See page 21). "And I will set up boys as their princes"--that is, as R. Elazar said: These are men who are deprived of good works. 3 "And children shall rule over them"--as R. A'ha bar Jacob said: These are foxes and sons of foxes. 4 And he was not satisfied until he had said to them: "The boy shall demean himself proudly against the ancient," etc. [ibid., ibid.]--these are the men who are deprived of good works. They shall demean themselves proudly against the one who is filled with good works as a pomegranate. "And the base against the honorable"--i.e., that one to whom heavy sins are like light ones will demean himself proudly against the one to whom light sins are like heavy ones.

R. Kattina said: Even at the time of the destruction of

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[paragraph continues] Jerusalem there did not cease from them faithful men. Is that so? Did we not learn: Rabha said: Jerusalem was not laid waste till there ceased from it faithful men, as it is written [Jer. v. 1]: "Roam about through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and notice, and search in its broad places, if ye can find one man, if there be one who executeth justice, that searcheth for truth: and I will pardon it"? This presents no difficulty. The former means, faithful in the study of the Law, and the latter means, honesty in common business.

The rabbis taught: It happened with Rabban Johanan b. Zakkai that he was riding upon his ass and was travelling on the road, and R. Elazar b. Arakh was behind him, as driver. Said the latter to him: Rabbi, teach me a chapter on the subject of the divine chariot. And he answered him: Have I not taught you: Nor the chariot with one individual, unless he was a wise man and had much knowledge of his own? Then he said to him: Rabbi, allow me to say before thee one thing which thou hast taught me. He allowed him. Immediately R. Johanan b. Zakkai dismounted from the ass, and wrapped himself up and seated himself upon the stone under the olive tree. R. Elazar asked him: Rabbi, wherefore didst thou dismount from the ass? He answered him: Is it right that thou shouldest investigate the subject of the divine chariot, and the Shekhina is with us and ministering angels accompany us, and that I should ride. upon the ass? Then R. Elazar b. Arakh entered upon the subject of the divine chariot and lectured: And there descended fire from heaven and encircled all the terebinth trees of the field, which uttered a song. [What was the song which they uttered? [Ps. cxlviii. 7, 9, 14]: "Praise the Lord from the earth, ye sea monsters, and all deeps . . . fruitful trees and all cedars . . . Hallelujah."] An angel answered from the fire: This is the real subject of the divine chariot. R. Johanan arose and kissed him upon his head, and said: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel who hath given to our father Abraham. a son who is able to understand and lecture on this subject. There is one who lectures well, but doth not perform well. There is one who performeth well, but does not expound well. Thou dost expound well and dost perform well. Blessed art thou, Abraham our father, from whose loins bath come forth Elazar b. Arakh.

And when these things were told to R. Joshua, he and R. Jose the priest were travelling on the road. They said: Let us also expound on the same subject. R. Joshua opened his mouth

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and lectured: And it was the day of the summer solstice. The heavens were wrapped in clouds, and there appeared the form of a bow in the cloud, and the angels were assembling and coming to hearken, as the men assemble and come to look at the festivities of bridegroom and bride. R. Jose the priest went forward and related the whole occurrence to Rabban Johanan b. Zakkai, who said: Blessed are ye, and blessed is she that bare you. Blessed are mine eyes, that they have thus seen. And also in my dream I and ye were resting upon Mount Sinai, and a heavenly voice was heard, which said: Come up hither, come up hither. Large banqueting chambers are prepared and fair coverlets are spread for you, you and your disciples and your disciples' disciples, as fitted to attain to the third degree of blessedness.

Is it so? Have we not learned in a Boraitha: R. Jose in the name of R. Jehudah said: There were three consecutive expositions. R. Joshua explained things before R. Johanan b. Zakkai; R. Aqiba explained things before R. Joshua; Hananiah b. Hachinai explained before R. Aqiba. Hence we see that R. Elazar b. Arakh was not mentioned. (This presents no difficulty:) He who teaches and before whom others teach is mentioned, while he who teaches and before whom others do not teach is not mentioned. But was not Hananiah b. Hachinai one who taught and before whom others did not teach? And still he was mentioned? Yea, for he taught at least in the presence of one who taught others.

The rabbis taught: Four men went up into the heavenly garden, 1 and they were: Ben Azzai and Ben Zoma, A'her and R. Aqiba. Ben Azzai gazed and died; 2 to him the scriptural passage may be applied [Ps. cxvi. 15]: "Grievous in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his pious ones." Ben Zoma gazed and went mad; to him the scriptural passage may be applied [Prov. xxv. 16] Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou consume too much of it, and have to vomit it forth." A'her cut the plants. 3 R. Aqiba departed

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in peace. 1 A'her cut the plants; it is to him that the scriptural passage may be applied [Eccl. v. 6]: "Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy body to sin." There came out a heavenly voice and said [Jer. iii. 14]: "Return, O backsliding children" (except A'her). When he learned it he said: Inasmuch as that man is excluded from yonder world, let him go and enjoy himself in this world. A'her went forth into evil courses. A'her asked this question of R. Meir, after he had gone forth into evil courses: What is the meaning of the passage [Eccl. vii. 14]: "Also this hath God made in equal measure with the other"? He answered him: Everything which the Holy One, blessed be He, created, He created with its counterpart. He created mountains; He created hills: He created seas; He created rivers. He said to him: R. Aqiba thy teacher did not say so, but he explained it as meaning that He created righteous; He created sinners. He created the Garden of Eden; He created Gehenna. To every individual belongs two shares, one in the Garden of Eden and one in Gehenna. If one is meritorious and righteous, he receives his own portion and also the portion of his neighbor in the Garden of Eden. If he has incurred guilt, he receives his own portion and also the portion of his neighbor in Gehenna. [R. Mesharshia said: What is the Scripture proof? As regards the righteous it is written [is. lxi. 7]: "Therefore in their hand shall they possess a twofold (portion)"; as regards the wicked it is said [Jer. xvii. 18]: "And strike them with a double breach."]

A'her asked again of R. Meir: What is the meaning of the passage [Job xxviii. 17]: "She cannot be estimated after gold and glass; and not in exchange for her (can) vessels of refined gold (be taken)"? He answered him: These are the words of the Law, which are difficult to buy, as vessels of gold and of pure gold, and are easily lost, as vessels of glass. He said to him: R. Aqiba thy teacher did not say so, but he explained it as meaning that as vessels of gold and vessels of glass, although they are broken, may be mended, so a disciple of the sages, although he have sinned, may be mended. He said to him: Return thyself also. He answered him I have already heard from behind the curtain [Jer. iii. 14]: "Return, O backsliding children" (except A'her).

Also, what happened to Ben Zoma with R. Jehoshua b. Hananiah, as it seems to us the version of the Palestinian Talmud is correct. See note above.}

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The rabbis taught: It happened that A'her was riding upon his horse on the Sabbath, and R. Meir was walking behind him to learn the Law from his mouth. He said to him: Meir, turn thee backwards, for I have already measured by means of my horse's hoofs up to this point the legal limit of the Sabbath. He answered him: Return thyself also. He said to him: And have I not already answered thee what I have heard from behind the curtain? He forced him to enter a place of lecturing. He said to a child: Repeat for me thy verse. He said to him [is. xlviii. 22]: "There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked." He brought him to another synagogue, until he had brought him into thirteen synagogues. They all repeated to him the same way. In the last one he said to him: Repeat for me thy verse. He said to him [Ps. i. 16]: "But unto the wicked God saith: What hast thou to do to relate my statutes, and why bearest thou my covenant upon thy mouth?" That child was a stammerer. It sounded as if he had said: "And to Elisha said God," etc. 1 And he said: If there had been a knife in my hand I would have cut him in pieces.

When A'her died it was said: Let him not be brought into judgment (because he has studied the Law), but let him not be admitted to the world to come (because he sinned). R. Meir said: It would have been better if he would have been brought to judgment and punished, and then admitted to the world to come. I wish I would die, in order that smoke should go up from his grave (i.e., that he should be brought to judgment). When R. Meir died it was so: smoke went up from the grave of A'her. Said R. Johanan: A mighty deed it was to consign his teacher to the flames. There was one among us, and we should not find a way to save him? If I take him by the hand, who will snatch him away from me? Would that I might die and extinguish the smoke from his grave. And it was so. When R. Johanan died the smoke ceased from the grave of A'her. The public mourner then uttered this expression over him: Even the keeper of the door of Gehenna stood not his ground before thee, O our teacher!

The daughter of A'her came to Rabbi and asked him for food. He said to her: Whose daughter art thou? She answered:

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[paragraph continues] I am the daughter of A'her. And he said to her: Is there still of his seed in the world? Is it not written [Job xviii. 19]: "He will have neither son nor grandson among his people, nor any that escapeth in the places of his sojourning"? She said to him: Remember his studiousness, and not his deeds. Immediately there came down fire, and consumed the seat of Rabbi. Rabbi wept and said: And if those who disgrace themselves through it, are honored thus, how much more those who obtain praise through their use of it.

How did R. Meir study the Law from the mouth of A'her? Have we not learned (see Tract Moed Katan) that if it is not certain that the rabbi is equal to an angel, no instruction must be received from him? Said Resh Lakish: R. Meir interpreted the following passage thus [Prov. xxii. 17]: "Incline thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thy heart unto my knowledge." It is not written, "Unto their knowledge," but "unto My knowledge." R. Hanina said the following passage [Ps. xlv. 11]: "Hearken, O daughter, and look and incline thy ear, and forget thy own people, and thy father's houses," etc. But do not these passages contradict each other? Nay, the one is the case of an adult, the other of a young person (who cannot distinguish between good and evil).

When R. Dimi came he said: They say in the West: R. Meir, while eating the date, he threw away the stone (i.e., he picked out the good and threw away the bad teachings).

Rabha expounded the meaning of the passage [song of Songs vi. 11]: "Into the nut-garden was I gone down, to look about among the plants of the valley," etc. Why are scholars likened to a nut? It means to say that, as a nut, although soiled, what is within it is clean: so also, although a scholar has sinned, his study of the law is not rejected.

Rabba bar Shila met Elijah and said to him: What is the Holy One, blessed be He, doing? He answered him: He had uttered doctrine in the name of all other rabbis, but in the name of R. Meir He had not uttered. He said to him: Why? Because he learned doctrine from the mouth of A'her. He said to him again: Why? R. Meir found a pomegranate. He ate its inside and cast away its husk. He answered him: He is at this moment saying: Meir my son is speaking and says: At the time that men were afflicted, the Shekhina used the following language: My head and my arm are heavy on me (i.e., I am sorry that the men I have created have to die for their sins). If the

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[paragraph continues] Holy One, blessed be he, is thus grieved when the blood of wicked men is poured out, how much more when the blood of the righteous man is poured out.

Samuel found R. Jehudah when the latter was swinging upon the bolt of a door and weeping. He said to him: Is it a small thing that is written concerning the rabbis [is. xxxiii. 18]: "Where is he who wrote down? where is he that weighed? where is he that counted the towers"? "Where is he that counted?" for they counted all the letters that are in the Books of the Law. "Where is he that weighed?" for they weighed the light and the heavy things which are in the Law. "Where is he that counted the towers?" for they taught three hundred doctrines concerning the tower which flies in the air. And R. Ami said: Three hundred questions were treated by Doeg and Ahithophel concerning the tower which flies in the air. And we learned, however, in a Mishna (Tract Sanhedrin, chap. xi. 1): Three kings and four private persons have no position in the world to come, and we--what will there be for us? He said to him: Oh, clever one, there was uncleanness in their hearts.

It was said about A'her: Greek melody ceased not from his mouth, as it was said of him (A'her), that at the time when he stood up to go out of the college many books of the Minim used to fall from his lap.

Nimus of Gardi 1 asked R. Meir: Does all wool which goes down to the dyeing-vat come up with the right color? He answered him: All which was clean on its mother's (sheep's) back does so come up; all which was not clean on its mother's back does not so come up.

It is said above: R. Aqiba went into the heavenly garden in peace and came down from it in peace. And it is to him that the scriptural passage may be applied [song of Songs i. 4]: "Oh, draw me! after thee will we run." Nevertheless R. Aqiba was also in danger of being thrust away by the angels, but the Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: Leave this elder, for he is worthy to avail himself of My glory.

What kept R. Aqiba from being misled, as was A'her? The passage [1 Kings xix. 11, 12]: "But not in the wind was the Lord; and after the wind was an earthquake, but not in the

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earthquake was the Lord; and after the earthquake was a fire, but not in the fire was the Lord; and after the fire was the sound of a soft whisper. And, behold, the Lord passed by" (i.e., from the whisper he understood that there was the Shekhina).

The rabbis taught: Six things are said with regard to demons, three in which they are like the angels: they have wings, they float from one end of the world to the other, and they know what is about to be; and three in which they are like men: they eat and drink, they are fruitful and multiply, and they are mortal.

Six things are said with regard to men, three in which they are like angels: they have knowledge like the angels, they go with stature erect, and they speak in the holy language; and three like the beasts: they eat and drink like beasts, and they are fruitful and multiply, and they relieve nature.

"Every one who does not respect the glory," etc. What is meant by this? Said R. Joseph: This is the man who commits a transgression secretly. This is in accordance with R. Itz'hak, who said: Every one who committeth a transgression secretly is as though he jarred the feet of the Shekhina, as it is written [is. lxvi. i]: "Thus hath said the Lord, The heaven is my throne and the earth is my foot-stool." But this is not so, for R. Alea the Elder said (in Tract Moed Katan), that in such a case he may go to a place where he is not known? (as it will be explained in Moed Katan). This presents no difficulty. The former is the case of a man who has found a means of checking his evil nature; the other, of one who is not able to do so.

R. Jehudah in the name of R. Na'hmani, the interpreter of Resh Lakish, lectured: Every one who gazes upon three things, his eyes grow weak, viz.: upon the bow, and the prince, and the priests. Upon the bow, for it is written [Ezek. i. 28]: "Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain . . . this was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord." Upon the prince, for it is written [Num. xxvii. 20]: "And thou shalt put some of thy greatness upon him." 1 He that gazeth upon the priests--this has to do with the time that the Temple was in existence, when they stood upon their platform and blessed Israel in the ineffable name.

The same lectured again in the name of the same authority:

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[paragraph continues] It is written [Mic. vii. 5]: "Trust ye not in a friend, put ye not confidence in a confidant." It means, if the evil imagination say to thee, Do thou sin and the Lord will forgive, be not persuaded, as it is written: "Trust ye not in an evil one"; 1 and "an evil one" is nothing but the evil imagination, as it is written [Gen. viii. 21]: "The imagination of a man's heart is evil"; and there is no "guide" but the Lord, as it is written [Jer. iii. 4]: "My father, the guide of my youth art thou." Perhaps one might say, Who witnesseth against me? The stones of a man's house and the timbers of his house, these witness against him, as it is written [Hab. ii. 11]: "For the stone will cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the wood (work) will answer it." The sages say: The soul of a man witnesseth against him, as it is written [Mic. vii. 5]: "From her that lieth in thy bosom guard the doors of thy mouth." What is this that lieth in a man's bosom? Say, it is the soul. R. Zerika said: The two angels which lead him, these witness against him, as it is written [Ps. xci. 11]: "For his angels will he give charge concerning thee, to guard thee on all thy ways." Others say: The limbs of one's body testify against him, as it is written [is. xliii. 12]: "And ye are my witness, saith the Lord, and I am God."

MISHNA: Jose b. Joezer says that one must not lay on his hand (on a sacrifice on a biblical festival), but Joseph b. Johanan says that one may. Joshua b. P'ra'hia says that one must not lay it, but Mathai the Arbelite says that one may. Jebudah b. Tabbai says that one must not, but Simeon b. Sheta'h says he should. Sh'maia says he must, but Abtalian says he must not. Hillel and Mena'hem. did not differ. Mena'hem went out (left the Sanhedrin); Shammai entered it. Shammai says one must not; Hillel says one may. The first of the several pairs were princes, the second to them were chiefs of the court.

GEMARA: The rabbis taught: In the three former pairs, which say that a man is not to lay, and in the two latter pairs, which say that a man is to lay, the first were princes and the second chiefs of the court. So said R. Meir. But the sages say: Jehudah b. Tabbai was a chief of the court and Simeon b. Sheta'h was a prince.

"Mena'hem went out," etc. Whither did he go out? Said Rabha: He went out from the service of the king. We have

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learned in a Boraitha: Mena'hem went out from the service of the king, and there went out with him eighty pairs of disciples clothed in Syrian robes. Said R. Shaman bar Abba in the name of R. Johanan: Let a rabbinical decree concerning the Sabbath not be a light thing in thine eyes, for the laying on of the hand is only a rabbinical prohibition, and the greatest men of the different generations were divided upon this matter. Is this not self-evident? He comes to teach us that even a rabbinical prohibition which is seemingly contrary to a positive command of the Bible must also not be light in thine eyes. But this is also self-evident from the teachings of our Mishna? This is needed to object to those who say that they differ not as to the rabbinical prohibition, but as to the laying on of the hand itself, because they maintain that the laying on of the hand is necessary only in case of a voluntary peace-offering, but not in that of an obligatory peace-offering. 1

Said Rami bar Hama: Infer from this that the laying on of the hands must be with all one's strength, because if we would imagine that all the strength is not necessary, what labor is it or what is he doing to the animal that the rabbis prohibited it on the festival?

An objection was raised: We have learned elsewhere It is written [Lev. i. 2-4]: "Speak unto the children of Israel . . . and he shall lay his hand." He--the males, but not the females of Israel. R. Jose and R. Simeon, however, said that the females of Israel, if they wish, they may lay on their hands (although it is not obligatory for them); and R. Jose added to this: My father Elazar told me that it happened once that we had a calf of peace-offering, and we brought it to the department of the women, and the latter laid their hands on it. It was not because the laying on of the hands belongs to women, but so as to gratify them. Now, if you think that the laying on of the hand must be with all one's strength, would it be right, in order to gratify the women, to allow them to do labor with the holy things? Infer, therefore, from this that it is not necessary to use all the strength. Nay, maybe it is necessary, but in that case it was told to the women to lay on their hands lightly. If so, why does R. Jose say: Not because the laying on of the hands belongs to women, etc. Let him say, because it was not considered

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laying on at all? Said R. Ami: he meant both, firstly, because it was not considered laying on the hands at all; and, secondly, in order to gratify the women.

MISHNA: The House of Shammai say: A peace-offering may be brought without laying the hands on them, but not burnt-offerings. But the House of Hillel say: Both peace-offerings and burnt-offerings may be brought, and also lay the hands on them.

In the case of Pentecost, which falls upon the eve of a Sabbath, the House of Shammai say: The day for sacrificing is after the Sabbath. But the House of Hillel say: There is no day for sacrificing after the Sabbath. Both, however, admit that if it fall upon a Sabbath the day for sacrificing is the day after the Sabbath. And on that day (which is called the day of sacrificing) a high-priest is not to clothe himself in his costly garments, unless in case of a mourning or of a fast. The prohibition was in order not to confirm the words of those who say, Pentecost is after the Sabbath (only).

GEMARA: (The Gemara begins with the saying of R. Elazar in the name of R. Oshiyah, that the Pentecost-offering is transferable to all the six succeeding days, and repeats here all the statement contained in Tract Rosh Hashana, p. 6, lines 15-29.)

"In the case of Pentecost which falls on the eve of a Sabbath," etc. Does that not mean that there is no day at all for sacrificing? Nay, it means that a substituted day is necessary for this. But what does it come to teach us--that it shall be sacrificed on the very day of the festival? Was this not discussed already in the beginning of our Mishna? It is needed. For if the statement would be in the latter paragraph only, one might say that the School of Shammai hold so because it can be done on the morrow, but if it fall on the eve of a Sabbath, when it cannot be done on the morrow, they agree with the School of Hillel; and if the statement would be in the first paragraph only, one might say that the School of Hillel allow it to be sacrificed on the very day of the festival because it cannot be done on the morrow, but when the Pentecost falls on the Sabbath day, they agree with the House of Shammai; therefore both statements are needed. (An objection was raised:) Come and hear: He who has not kept the feast for the seven days of the Passover, and the eight days of the Feast of Tabernacles, and the first day of Pentecost, he cannot afterwards keep the

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feast. Did this not include also the day of Pentecost, that it has no compensation? (i.e., if not sacrificed on the very festival, it cannot be done soon any other day). Nay, it means the last day of compensation.

The disciples of R. Eliezer b. Jacob taught It is written [Lev. xxiii. 21, 22]: "And ye shall proclaim." "And when ye reap." What is the feast in which thou makest proclamation and reapest? Thou must say, it is the Feast of Pentecost. Now, let us see. When is it? If I am to say on the holiday itself, how is reaping lawful on a holiday? We must then say, it means the completion days. Resh Lakish, however, said: It is inferred from the following passage [Ex. xxiii. 16]: "And the feast of the harvest." What is the feast on which thou feastest and reapest? Thou must say, it is the Pentecost. When is it? If I am to say, on the holiday itself, how is reaping lawful on a holiday? We must then say, it means the completion days. Said R. Johanan: According to thee, the Feast of Ingathering. What is the feast in which there is an ingathering? Thou must then say, it is the Feast of Tabernacles. When is it? Shall I say, on the holiday itself? How is work lawful on a holiday? And if you will say, that it means on one of the middle days? But even then is work allowed on those days? Therefore we must say, that it means the feast that falls during the time of the gathering in. Say, also, this is the case here.

We see from this that both are of the opinion that on the middle days the doing of work is forbidden. Whence do we deduce this? From the following Boraitha: It is written [Lev. xxiii. 8]: "No servile work shall ye do." That means, that on the middle days the doing of work is forbidden. So said R. Jose the Galilean. R. Aqiba says: It was not necessary, because it is written [ibid. 4]: "These are the feasts of the Lord," etc. With reference to what is the Scripture speaking? If to the first day, it has been already called a Sabbath day; if to the seventh day, it has also been already called a Sabbath day. We must therefore say, it refers to the middle days, to teach that doing of work is forbidden thereon.

There is another Boraitha: It is written [Deut. xvi. 8]: "Six days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work." As on the seventh day work is prohibited, so also on the six days. But one might say, as on the seventh day no work at all is to be done, so also on the six days; therefore it is

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written [ibid.]: "And on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly . . . thou shalt not work," thus indicating that on the seventh day no work at all shall be done, but on the six days there is not a prohibition from all work. Consequently, the Scripture has communicated only to the sages that they can decree on which days work is and on which work is not allowed, and what labor may and what labor may not be done, etc.

"But it is allowed in case of a mourning or of a fast after the Sabbath." But have we not learned in a Boraitha: It happened that Alexis died in Luda, and all Israel assembled to mourn him, and R. Tarphon had not allowed them because it was the festival? Now, if it was the festival itself, how did they come to assemble at all? We must therefore say, it was on the day of sacrificing, and hence we see even on those days it is not allowed to mourn? The Mishna refers to a case when the Pentecost falls on a Sabbath. And the case of Alexis was when it fell on the first day of the week.

MISHNA: One may wash his hands for common food and for second-tithes and for heave-offerings, but for hallowed things they must be bathed legally. For the sin-offering, if one's hands be defiled, his whole body is defiled.

If he have dipped for common food, he has credit as clean for common food, but is forbidden tithe; if for tithe, he has credit for tithe, but not for heave-offering; if for heave-offering, he has credit for heave-offering, but not sacred things; if for sacred things, he has credit for sacred things, but not sin-offering. If for a weightier thing (more rigorous), he is free for a lighter thing (lenient). If he have dipped without any intention for cleanness, it is as though he had not dipped.

The garments of a common person are defiled by pressure (i.e., are looked upon as affected by uncleanness arising from pressure) for Pharisees; the garments of Pharisees are defiled by pressure for those that eat heave-offering; the garments of those that eat heave-offering are defiled by pressure for those that partake of sacred things; the garments of those that partake of sacred things are defiled by pressure for those that partake of sin-offering. Jose b. Joezer was the most pious among the priests, and yet his apron was defiled by pressure for those that partake of sacred things. Johanan b. Gudgodah was one who ate his ordinary food all his days with observance of the laws of purification which belong to sacred things, and yet his apron was defiled by pressure for those that partake of sin-offering.

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GEMARA: Is, then, for common food and tithes, washing of hands needed? (Have we not learned elsewhere that it is not needed?) This presents no difficulty: The one has to do with bread, the other with fruit. For R. Na'hman said: Every one who washes his hands for fruit is overscrupulous and affected.

"He that dips for common food and has credit for common food," etc. According to whom is our Mishna? Shall we say it is according to the rabbis, for they make a distinction between common food and tithes? According to whom, then, would be the latter part of the Mishna: The garments of a common person are defiled by pressure for Pharisees; the garments of Pharisees are defiled by pressure for those that eat heave-offering? which is certainly in accordance with R. Meir, who says, common food and tithes are exactly the same? Then this conclusion would be that the former part is according to the rabbis, and the latter part according to R. Meir? Yea, it is so. R. A'ha bar Ada, however, teaches in the latter part five orders, and establishes it all according to the rabbis.

Translated by William Whiston

J. BJ 3.11 (wst)
This excursion was led on by three men, who were the chief of them all, both for strength and sagacity; Niger, called the Peraite, Silas of Babylon, and besides them John the Essene.


J. BJ 2.567 (wst)
Nor did they neglect the care of other parts of the country; but Joseph the son of Simon was sent as general to Jericho, as was Manasseh to Perea, and John, the Essene, to the toparchy of Thamma; Lydda was also added to his portion, and Joppa, and Emmaus.


J. Vit. 203 (wst)
They also wrote to John to make all ready for fighting me, and gave orders to the inhabitants of Sepphoris, and Gabara, and Tiberias, to send auxiliaries to John.


J. BJ 4.116 (wst)
However, Titus was greatly displeased that he had not been able to bring this John, who had deluded him, to punishment; yet he had captives enough, as well as the corrupted part of the city, to satisfy his anger, when it missed of John.


J. Vit. 372 (wst)
So that no others staid with John but his own citizens, and about fifteen hundred strangers that came from the metropolis of Tyre; and when John saw that he had been outwitted by my stratagem, he continued afterward in his own country, and was in great fear of me.


J. Vit. 317 (wst)
62. However, the governors of Tiberias took care to have their city secured with walls, and commanded their inhabitants to take their arms. They also sent for a great many soldiers from John, to assist them against me, if there should be occasion for them. Now John was at Gischala.


J. Vit. 368 (wst)
66. Now, when I had settled the affairs of Tiberias, and had assembled my friends as a sanhedrin, I consulted what I should do as to John: whereupon it appeared to be the opinion of all the Galileans that I should arm them all, and march against John, and punish him as the author of all the disorders that had happened.


J. AJ 13.11 (wst)
And the sons of Ambri laid an ambush for John from the city Medaba, and seized upon him, and upon those that were with him, and plundered all that they had with them. They also slew John, and all his companions. However, they were sufficiently punished for what they now did by John’s brethren, as we shall relate presently.


J. Vit. 292 (wst)
As soon, therefore, as we were gone home, Jonathan and his colleagues wrote to John to come to them in the morning, and desiring him to come with as many soldiers as he possibly could, for that they should then be able easily to get me into their hands, and to do all they desired to do.—When John had received this letter, he resolved to comply with it.


J. Vit. 301 (wst)
and as the people were crying out that they would not leave me alone, there came one and told Jesus and his friends privately, that John and his armed men were at hand: whereupon Jonathan and his colleagues, being able to contain themselves no longer (and perhaps the providence of God hereby procuring my deliverance, for, had not this been so, I had certainly been destroyed by John), said,


J. BJ 5.440 (wst)
And he who was utterly despoiled of what he had by Simon was sent back again to John, as of those who had been already plundered by John, Simon got what remained; insomuch that they drank the blood of the populace to one another, and divided the dead bodies of the poor creatures between them;


J. BJ 2.624 (wst)
so he excepted those of every city which had joined in this revolt with John, by name, who had readily been shown him by these that came from every city, and caused public proclamation to be made, that he would seize upon the effects of those that did not forsake John within five days’ time, and would burn both their houses and their families with fire.


J. Vit. 124 (wst)
As for the people of Sepphoris, who belonged to neither of us, because they had chosen to be in subjection to the Romans, they did not comply with his proposal; and for those of Tiberias, they did not indeed so far comply as to make a revolt from under me, but they agreed to be his friends, while the inhabitants of Gabara did go over to John; and it was Simon that persuaded them so to do, one who was both the principal man in the city and a particular friend and companion of John.


J. BJ 5.21 (wst)
4. And now there were three treacherous factions in the city, the one parted from the other. Eleazar and his party, that kept the sacred firstfruits, came against John in their cups. Those that were with John plundered the populace, and went out with zeal against Simon. This Simon had his supply of provisions from the city, in opposition to the seditious.

J. AJ 11.299 (wst)
In confidence of whose support, Jesus quarreled with John in the temple, and so provoked his brother, that in his anger his brother slew him. Now it was a horrible thing for John, when he was high priest, to perpetrate so great a crime, and so much the more horrible, that there never was so cruel and impious a thing done, neither by the Greeks nor Barbarians

J. Vit. 238 (wst)
When John had given them this counsel, what he had said was very agreeable to the rest of them.


J. BJ 4.395 (wst)
So the sedition was divided into two parts, and John reigned in opposition to his adversaries over one of them:


J. BJ 6.71 (wst)
And as the Jews were flying away to the temple, they fell into that mine which John had dug under the Roman banks.


J. BJ 5.266 (wst)
3. However, John staid behind, out of his fear of Simon, even while his own men were earnest in making a sally upon their enemies without.


J. BJ 4.212 (wst)
for they plainly perceived that they understood all the resolutions taken against them at their consultations. Nor was there anyone whom they had so much reason to suspect of that discovery as this John;


J. Vit. 308 (wst)
whereupon they were prevailed on. At which time also, John, when the snares he had laid did not take effect, returned back to Gischala.


J. BJ 4.564 (wst)
However, Simon waited for such as ran away from John, and was the more bloody of the two; and he who had escaped the tyrant within the wall was destroyed by the other that lay before the gates.


J. AJ 11.298 (wst)
Now Jesus was the brother of John, and was a friend of Bagoses, who had promised to procure him the high priesthood.


J. Vit. 88 (wst)
but they were chiefly Justus and his father Pistus that were earnest for their revolt from me, and their adherence to John. But I came upon them, and prevented them;


J. Vit. 70 (wst)
From thence I and my fellow legates went to Gischala, to John, as desirous to know his intentions, and soon saw that he was for innovations, and had a mind to the principality,


J. Vit. 371 (wst)
When the men heard of this, they were in no small disorder, and deserted John; and to the number of four thousand threw down their arms, and came to me.


J. Vit. 95 (wst)
for John had chosen the most trusty of those armed men that were about him out of those thousand that he had with him, and had given them orders when he sent them to kill me, having learned that I was alone, excepting some of my domestics.


J. BJ 4.98 (wst)
But John returned Titus this answer: That for himself he was content to hearken to his proposals, and that he would either persuade or force those that refused them.


J. AJ 18.116 (wst)
2. Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod’s army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist:

The phrases traditionally rendered as "Jesus of Nazareth" can also be translated as "Jesus the Nazarene" or "Jesus the Nazorean", and the title "Nazarene" may have a religious significance instead of denoting a place of origin. Some scholars believe that Nazarenes were the name of a sect of Northern Essenes living near Mount Carmel. Many Southern Jews did not respect the Jews living in the North for proximity and their historical relationship to gentiles as we read in Maccabees. Nazareth was the community which housed the Roman garrison for the northern regions of Galilee. The Jews at that time despised Roman occupation of their land.

During the Maccabees period and Israelite man or woman could only become a Nazirite by an intentional verbal declaration. This declaration can be in any language, and can be something as minor as saying "me too" as a nazirite passes by. A person can specify the duration as any period of 30 days or more. If a person does not specify, or specifies a time less than 30 days, the vow is for 30 days. A person who says "I am a nazirite forever" or "I am a nazirite for all my life" is a permanent nazirite and slightly different laws apply. Likewise if a person says "I am a nazirite like Samson," the laws of a Samson-like nazirite apply. However if a person says that he is a nazirite for a thousand years, he is a regular nazirite. A father, but not a mother, can declare his son, but not his daughter, a nazirite. However the child or any close family member has a right to refuse this status. At the end of the nazirite period the nazirite brings three sacrifices in the Temple in Jerusalem. The first is a ewe for a chatat (sin offering), the second is lamb for an olah (elevation offering), and finally a ram as a shelamim (peace offering) along with a basket of matzah and their grain and drink offerings. After bringing the sacrifices the nazirite shaves his or her head in the outer courtyard of the Temple. Part of the Nazir's commencement offering is given to the Kohen. This gift is listed as one of the twenty-four kohanic gifts. Nahmanides, in his commentary on the Torah, explains that ideally the person should be a nazirite his whole life. Therefore ceasing to be nazirite requires a sin-offering.

http://beginningandend.com/kehas-illuminati-die-young-video-the-marketing-of-satan/

Six is the number of the beasts and of man (both created on the 6th day).

[Luke_Wilbur]

The Great Isaiah Scroll

Chapter 49 : Verse 1

Listen to me, O coastlands; pay attention, peoples from afar. The LORD has called me from the womb; while yet inside my mother my name He pronounced.

Chapter 49 : Verse 2

He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hands he hid me. He made me like a polished arrow; in his quivers he concealed me

Chapter 49 : Verse 3

He said to me, 'You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will glorify myself.'

Chapter 49 : Verse 4

I said, 'For nothing have I labored. I have exhausted my strength on worthlessness and on emptiness. Yet my cause is with the LORD, and my reward is with my God.'

Chapter 49 : Verse 5

And now says the LORD-who formed you from the womb as his servant, to bring Jacob back to him again, that Israel might be gathered to him; I have gained honor in the sight of the LORD, and my God has been my help-

Chapter 49 : Verse 6

He says, 'It is too small a thing that you should be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Israel and bring back the preserved of Jacob. I will also give you as a light to the nations, to be my salvation to the ends of the earth.'

Chapter 49 : Verse 7

Thus says my Lord, the LORD your Redeemer, Israel, and his Holy One, to one despised, to ones abhorred as a nation, to a servant of rulers-kings see and rise, and princes will bow down, because of the LORD who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, the one who chose you,"

Chapter 49 : Verse 8

thus says the LORD: In a time of favor I will answer you, and in a day of salvation I will help you. I have protected you, and given you as a covenant of the people, to reestablish the land, to redistribute the inheritances that have been devastated;

Chapter 49 : Verse 9

saying to prisoners, 'Come out!' and to those who are in darkness, 'Go free!' They will feed upon all the mountains, and their pasture will be on all the heights.

Chapter 49 : Verse 10

They will not hunger or thirst, nor will the scorching desert or sun harm them; for one who has compassion on them will lead them and guide them along springs of water.

Chapter 49 : Verse 11

I will turn all my mountains into a road, and my highways will be elevated.

Chapter 49 : Verse 12

See, they will come from afar: these from the north and from the west, and others from the land of Syene.

Chapter 49 : Verse 13

Sing out, heavens, and rejoice, earth! Break out, mountains into song! The LORD is comforting his people and will have compassion upon his oppressed ones.

Chapter 49 : Verse 14

But Zion had said, 'The LORD has abandoned me; my God has forgotten me.'

Chapter 49 : Verse 15

Can a woman forget her infant, lack compassion for the child of her womb? Even these may forget; I, however, I will not forget you.

Chapter 49 : Verse 16

Look, I have inscribed you upon the palms of my hands, and your walls are constantly before me.

Chapter 49 : Verse 17

Your builders are working faster than your destroyers, and those who devastated you will depart from you.

Chapter 49 : Verse 18

Look up all around and see: they have all gathered to come to you. As I live, says the LORD, you will be clothed with all of them like ornaments and adorn yourself with them like a bride.

Chapter 49 : Verse 19

Indeed, your ruins, your desolate places, your destroyed land-indeed now you will be too cramped for inhabitants, and those who would swallow you up will be far distant.

Chapter 49 : Verse 20

You will yet hear the children of your bereavement say, 'This place is too cramped for me. Make space for me where I may settle.'

Chapter 49 : Verse 21

Then you will say to yourself, 'Who has begotten these for me-though I was bereaved and barren, and an exile and cast away-who has raised these? Behold, I was left in solitude; these, from where did they come?'

Chapter 49 : Verse 22

For thus says the LORD: Watch, I will lift up my hand to the nations and raise my signal to the peoples. They will bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.

Chapter 49 : Verse 23

Ho, kings will be your foster fathers and their princesses those nursing for you. They will bow to you with their faces to the earth and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD. Those who wait for me will not be shamed.

Chapter 49 : Verse 24

Can they seize prey from a warrior, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?

Chapter 49 : Verse 25

Thus says the LORD: Even the prey of the warrior will be seized, and the captives of the tyrant will be rescued. I myself will oppose those who oppose you, and I myself will save your children.

Chapter 49 : Verse 26

Those who maltreat you I will make eat their own flesh; and they will be drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine. Then all flesh will know that I am the LORD, your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Christ is the true Easter. Not a bunny.


Some theologians believe that the Zachariah mentioned by Jesus was actually John the Baptist's father. Just like today many children are named after their ancestors, famous people, places, or just because they like popular names.

In 2003, a 4th-century inscription on Yad Avshalom, a 1st-century monument in Jerusalem, was deciphered as, "This is the tomb of Zachariah, the martyr, the holy priest, the father of John." This suggests to some scholars that it is the burial place of Zechariah the father of John the Baptist.

Zechariah and St. John the Baptist. A medieval Georgian fresco from Jerusalem.
National Parliamentary Library of Georgia



Professor Gideon Foerster at the Hebrew University states that the inscription tallies with a 6th-century Christian text stating that Zechariah was buried with Simon the Elder and James the brother of Jesus, and believes that both are authentic.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/jewish-yad-avshalom-revealed-as-a-christian-shrine-from-byzantine-era-1.94882


Ben Hanan began to recruit for armed conflict. The Zealots, who were quartered in the Temple, learned that ben Hanan was preparing for battle, and sallied forth, attacking all in their way. Ben Hanan quickly organized the people against them. The skirmish began with the belligerents throwing rocks at one another, then javelins, then finally hand-to-hand combat with swords ensued. Eventually the Zealots retreated to the inner court of the Temple, and 6,000 of ben Hanan's men held the first (outer) court.

http://www.bible.ca/archeology/archeology-exodus-route-sinai-levitical-priesthood-levi-gershomites-kohathites-merarites-aaronic-zadok-asaph-heman-ethan-abiathar-eli-sadducees-annas-caiaphas-ananias.htm

[Luke_Wilbur]

Prana is universal energy. Master Stephen believes that we must have a pure head, throat, and heart to be grateful for the gift of Prana.

To move beyond using prana only for physical health, you must cultivate a deep sense of gratitude for this universal energy and its source. Healers with a highly developed visual awareness can see that people with the proper “attitude of gratitude” have clean, balanced chakras, with the upper chakras (heart, throat, and head) slightly larger than the lower chakras (basic, navel, and solar plexus). This is the ideal proportion, for it means that the upper chakras, which control our higher or more spiritual impulses, are governing our lower chakras, which control our lower or more worldly impulses.

Master Stephen Co, Alternative & Complementary Medicine

In Christianity the Holy Spirit is more than just breath. It dwells in us.

 

Herodotus' account (written c. 440 BC) refers to the myths of Io and Europa. (History, I:1).

According to the Persians best informed in history, the Phoenicians began the quarrel. These people, who had formerly dwelt on the shores of the Erythraean Sea, having migrated to the Mediterranean and settled in the parts which they now inhabit, began at once, they say, to adventure on long voyages, freighting their vessels with the wares of Egypt and Assyria ...

The Assyrians gave their god the combined powers of the Sumerian Triad. Like Anu, he created the cosmos and rules the gods; like Enlil, he lords over mankind; like Enki, he is Lord of the Deep. He had held them together while they were emerging as a nation, and he was the guiding force of their national state, similar to Yahweh in Israel. In some ways, the Assyrians thought of Assur the same way the Hebrews thought of Yahweh. "Thus Assur, though of solar form, is the great god of battles, he is sexless and childless, and though he produces all things, he is not linked with inferior divinities, he admits no rivals, he is unique, personal, supreme.”

http://wolcottwheeler2.blogspot.com/2008/11/masks-of-god-changing-concept-of.html

 

In Sumerian mythology, Anu (also An; from Sumerian An meaning sky and heaven) was a sky-god, the god of heaven, lord of constellations, king of gods, spirits and demons, and dwelt in the highest heavenly regions. It was believed that he had the power to judge those who had committed crimes, and that he had created the stars as soldiers to destroy the wicked. His attribute was the royal tiara.

He was one of the oldest gods in the Sumerian pantheon and part of a triad including Enlil (god of the air) and Enki (god of water). He was called Anu by the later Akkadians in Babylonian culture. By virtue of being the first figure in a triad consisting of Anu, Enlil, and Enki (also known as Ea), Anu came to be regarded as the father and at first, king of the gods. Anu is so prominently associated with the E-anna temple in the city of Uruk (biblical Erech) in southern Babylonia that there are good reasons for believing this place to be the original seat of the Anu cult. If this is correct, then the goddess Inanna (or Ishtar) of Uruk may at one time have been his consort.

Anu in Sanskrit is a yogamāyā potency that induces a spiritual loving sentiment

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Ādi 4.30

"Neither the gopīs nor I shall notice this, for our minds will always be entranced by one another's beauty and qualities."

Zână (plural zâne; zînă and zîne, d̦ână and d̦âne in old spellings) is the Romanian equivalent of the Greek Charites. These characters make positive appearances in fairy tales and reside mostly in the woods. They can also be considered the Romanian equivalent of fairies and of the Germanic Elf. They give life to fetuses in utero and bestow upon them great gifts like the art of dancing, beauty, kindness, and luck. In folk tales, it is told not to upset them because they also have the power to do bad things or put a curse on the wrongdoer. They also act like guardian angels, especially for children who enter the woods, or for other good people.

sân (common abbreviation of sfânt - "saint", "holy")

Sânziană (Sân-ziană) is the Romanian name for gentle fairies who play an important part in local folklore, also used to designate the Galium verum or Cruciata laevipes flowers. Under the plural form Sânziene, the word designates an annual festival in the fairies' honor.

One etymology of Sânziană is that the word comes from the Latin Sancta Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt and moon, also celebrated in Roman Dacia (ancient Romania). Diana was known to be the virgin goddess and looked after virgins and women. She was one of the three maiden goddesses, Diana, Minerva and Vesta, who swore never to marry.



Is there a bridge between Ziana meaning Heaven and Ziana meaning fairy?

An interesting factoid is the Santa Ana winds are known as the "devil winds" across Southern California and Northern Baja for the hot dry weather (often the hottest of the year) that they bring in the fall, and are infamous for fanning regional wildfires.

san in Sanskrit means being so, being

Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 4.6

ajaḥ — unborn; api — although; san — being so; avyaya — without deterioration; ātmā — body; bhūtānām — of all those who are born; īśvaraḥ — the Supreme Lord; api — although; san — being so; prakṛtim — in the transcendental form; svām — of Myself; adhiṣṭhāya — being so situated; sambhavāmi — I do incarnate; ātma-māyayā — by My internal energy.

Translation

Although I am unborn and My transcendental body never deteriorates, and although I am the Lord of all living entities, I still appear in every millennium in My original transcendental form.

PURPORT

The Lord has spoken about the peculiarity of His birth: although He may appear like an ordinary person, He remembers everything of His many, many past "births," whereas a common man cannot remember what he has done even a few hours before. If someone is asked what he did exactly at the same time one day earlier, it would be very difficult for a common man to answer immediately. He would surely have to dredge his memory to recall what he was doing exactly at the same time one day before. And yet, men often dare claim to be God, or Kṛṣṇa. One should not be misled by such meaningless claims. Then again, the Lord explains His prakṛti, or His form. Prakṛti means "nature," as well as svarūpa, or "one's own form." The Lord says that He appears in His own body. He does not change His body, as the common living entity changes from one body to another. The conditioned soul may have one kind of body in the present birth, but he has a different body in the next birth. In the material world, the living entity has no fixed body but transmigrates from one body to another. The Lord, however, does not do so. Whenever He appears, He does so in the same original body, by His internal potency. In other words, Kṛṣṇa appears in this material world in His original eternal form, with two hands, holding a flute. He appears exactly in His eternal body, uncontaminated by this material world. Although He appears in the same transcendental body and is Lord of the universe, it still appears that He takes His birth like an ordinary living entity. And although His body does not deteriorate like a material body, it still appears that Lord Kṛṣṇa grows from childhood to boyhood and from boyhood to youth. But astonishingly enough He never ages beyond youth. At the time of the Battle of Kurukṣetra, He had many grandchildren at home; or, in other words, He had sufficiently aged by material calculations. Still He looked just like a young man twenty or twenty-five years old. We never see a picture of Kṛṣṇa in old age because He never grows old like us, although He is the oldest person in the whole creation — past, present, and future. Neither His body nor His intelligence ever deteriorates or changes. Therefore, it is clear that in spite of His being in the material world, He is the same unborn, eternal form of bliss and knowledge, changeless in His transcendental body and intelligence.

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.23.8

tena — thus by practicing such austerities; krama — gradually; anu — constantly; siddhena — by perfection; dhvasta — smashed; karma — fruitive activities; mala — dirty things; āśayaḥ — desire; prāṇa-āyāmaiḥ — by practice of prāṇāyāma-yoga, breathing exercises; san — being; niruddha — stopped; ṣaṭ-vargaḥ — the mind and the senses; chinna-bandhanaḥ — completely cut off from all bondage.

TRANSLATION

By thus practicing severe austerities, Mahārāja Pṛthu gradually became steadfast in spiritual life and completely free of all desires for fruitive activities. He also practiced breathing exercises to control his mind and senses, and by such control he became completely free from all desires for fruitive activity.

PURPORT

The word prāṇāyāmaiḥ is very important in this verse because the haṭha-yogīs and aṣṭāńga-yogīs practice prāṇāyāma, but generally they do not know the purpose behind it. The purpose of prāṇāyāma, or mystic yoga, is to stop the mind and senses from engaging in fruitive activities. The so-called yogīs who practice in Western countries have no idea of this. The aim of prāṇāyāma is not to make the body strong and fit for working hard. The aim is worship of Kṛṣṇa. In the previous verse it was specifically mentioned that whatever austerity, prāṇāyāma and mystic yoga practices Pṛthu Mahārāja performed were performed for the sake of worshiping Kṛṣṇa. Thus Pṛthu Mahārāja serves as a perfect example for yogīs also. Whatever he did, he did to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa.

Ana in Sanskrit means breath inspired, breathing, inhalation, respiration, exhaling through the nose, blowing, and that which energizes everything.

Hare Krishna

Shiva and Shakti, Krishna and Radha, and Rama and Sita.

I sense from my reading that the East has more feminine traits for the Holy Spirit, while in the West the Holy Spirit is more masculine.

Looking to see if there is root origin in Pneuma

umā in Sanskrit means Pārvatī, Goddess Umā (wife of Lord Śiva), demigoddess

Atma in Sanskrit means soul

There is an ancient Jewish tradition called ta'anit dibur -- a "speech fast." When people find themselves talking too much, they refrain from all conversation except for Torah study. Likewise, in the House of Prayer, there should be no outside conversations -- just Hashem and yourself.

Ta'Anit Esther, the Fast of Esther, is observed on Adar 13 in anticipation of Hashem's deliverance of the Jewish people.

The soul is the divine breath. It purifies, revivifies, and heals the instrument through which it functions. - Hazrat Inayat Khan

 

Sanskrit has the verb form: aniti 'to breathe, breathes, he breathes, respire, gasp; to live (anit, ana, anana) can be gender neutral or masculine in origin.

Anit is an ancient Indian grammatical term an-i 'without i', referring to the infinitive meaning unlimited; not bounded or restricted; undefined. Anit can mean simply breathed

ānanā in Sanskrit means face, their faces, mouth, her mouth, mouths. appearance

prāṇa in Sanskrit means of the air going outward, outgoing air, incoming breath, life, air of respiration, the vital air, the life air, the life force, the living force, the senses, my mind, the life and soul

prāṇāyāma in Sanskrit practice by breathing exercise, by the practice of regulating the airs within the body, yogic breath control

prāṇa-āyāma — trance induced by stopping all breathing

Yama means the god of punishment, of the lord of death, we shall go, let us go, of Yamarāja, the lord of death, the regulating principle

āyāma means length,

While Atri Muni was engaged in these severe austerities, a blazing fire came out of his head by virtue of his breathing exercise, and that fire was seen by the three principal deities of the three worlds.

 

 

Atri Muni was one of the mental sons of Brahmaji

The inhabitants of those islands are also divided into four castes — Ṛtavrata, Satyavrata, Dānavrata and Anuvrata — which exactly resemble brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra. They practice prāṇāyāma and mystic yoga, and in trance they worship the Supreme Lord in the form of Vāyu.

 

Some Jews like, Rabbi Jacob Emden believe that the writers of the Gospel never meant to say that the Jesus Christ came to abolish Judaism, but only that he came to establish a religion based on the long forgotten Seven Commandments given to the Sons of Noah. He reasoned that Saint Paul circumcised Saint Timothy, because his mother was Jewish. Gentiles are not to be circumcised, because that marks the Covenant Hashem gave to Israel. Emden's logic was correct, but not address the issue of Jesus Christ being the Son of Hashem.

Emden was a traditionalist who responded to the ideals of tolerance being circulated during the 18th-century Enlightenment. He stretched the traditional inclusive position into universal directions. Believing, like Maimonides, that Christianity and Islam have important roles to play in God's plan for mankind, he wrote:

We should consider Christians and Muslims as instruments for the fulfillment of the prophecy that the knowledge of God will one day spread throughout the earth. Whereas the nations before them worshiped idols, denied God's existence, and thus did not recognize God's power or retribution, the rise of Christianity and Islam served to spread among the nations, to the furthest ends of the earth, the knowledge that there is One God who rules the world, who rewards and punishes and reveals Himself to man.

A "righteous proselyte" is a gentile who has converted to Judaism, is bound to all the doctrines and precepts of the Jewish economy, and is considered a full member of the Jewish people.

A "gate proselyte" is a resident alien who lives in the Land of Israel and follows some of the customs. They are not required to be circumcised nor to comply with the whole of the Torah. They are bound only to conform to the Seven Laws of Noah (do not worship idols, do not blaspheme God's name, do not murder, do not commit fornication (immoral sexual acts), do not steal, do not tear the limb from a living animal, and do not fail to establish rule of law) to be assured of a place in the world to come.

[Luke_Wilbur]

Take a break and watch the Fix - One Thing Leads To Another

 

 

"One Thing Leads To Another"

 

The deception with tact

Just what are you trying to say

You've got a blank face, which irritates

Communicate, pull out your party piece

You see dimensions in two

State your case with black or white

But when one little cross

Leads to shots, grit your teeth

You run for cover so discreet

Why don't they

Do what they say

Say what you mean

One thing leads to another

You told me something wrong

I know I listen too long

But then one thing leads to another

 

The impression that you sell

Passes in and out like a scent

But the long face that you see

Comes from living close to your fears

If this is up, then I'm up

But you're running out of sight

You've seen your name on the walls

And when one little bump

Leads to shock miss a beat

You run for cover and there's heat

Why don't they

 

Do what they say

Say what they mean

One thing leads to another

You told me something wrong

I know I listen too long

But then one thing leads to another

One thing leads to another

 

Then it's easy to believe

Somebody's been lying to me

But when the wrong word

Goes in the right ear

I know you've been lying to me

It's getting rough, off the cuff

I've got to say enough's enough

Bigger the harder, he falls

But when the wrong antidote

Is like a bulge on the throat

You run for cover in the heat

Why don't they

Do what they say

Say what they mean

One thing leads to another

You told me something wrong

I know I listen too long

But then one thing leads to another

One thing leads to another

[Luke_Wilbur]

Merry Christmas everyone. At the end of church service our pastor asked to a mother of a newborn infant to come in front of the congregation. Our pastor then placed the baby in the manger for everyone to see a living representation of Jesus. There is disputes on the exact day of the birth of Jesus, but there is no dispute that he was born to save our world. Praise the mercy of our Father to give this gift for all mankind to benefit.

 

[Luke_Wilbur]

Watch "Life of Brian sermon on the mount" and imagine how easily it is to wrongly interpret scripture.

The two oldest Greek uncial manuscripts of the New Testament (fourth century), Codex Sinaiticus (Aleph) and Codex Vaticanus ( B ), plus many other old manuscripts, do not contain the . Because of patristic evidence from the late 2nd century for the existence of copies of Mark with the "Longer Ending," it is contended by a majority of scholars that the "Longer Ending" must have been written and attached no later than the early 2nd century.

Bishop Theodore of Antioch seems to have no knowledge of the longer ending, and considering he died in the first half of the fifth century, his testimony is interesting.

Theodore of Mopsuestia, Commentary on the Nicene Creed Chapter 7

 

All the evangelists narrated to us His resurrection from the dead and with it they ended their respective Gospels, because they knew that it was sufficient for us to learn that He rose from the dead, moved to an immortal and immutable life and gave us the hope of participating with Him in the future good things. The blessed Luke, however, who is also the writer of a Gospel, added that He ascended into heaven so that we should know where He is after His resurrection.

 

Mark 16

 

16:15 He [Jesus] said to them [Disciples], “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

16:16 The one who believes and is baptized will be saved, but the one who does not believe will be condemned.

16:17 These signs will accompany those who believe:

In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages;

16:18 they will pick up snakes with their hands, and whatever poison they drink will not harm them; they will place their hands on the sick and they will be well.”

16:19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.

16:20 They went out and proclaimed everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through the accompanying signs.

Bible Scholar, Professor Bruce Metzger writes: “Clement of Alexandria and Origen [early third century] show no knowledge of the existence of these verses; furthermore Eusebius and Jerome attest that the passage was absent from almost all Greek copies of Mark known to them.” (Metzger, 2005, p.123)

Metzger also states: “The last twelve verses of the commonly received text of Mark are absent from the two oldest Greek manuscripts (? and B ), 20 from the Old Latin codex Bobiensis, the Sinaitic Syriac manuscript, about one hundred Armenian manuscripts, 21 and the two oldest Georgian manuscripts (written a.d. 897 and a.d. 913).”

Is Mark 16:9-20 Inspired?

Dave Miller, Ph.D.

 

In addition to these items of evidence that support omission of verses 9-20, several manuscripts that actually do contain them, nevertheless have scribal notations questioning their originality. Some of the manuscripts have markings—asterisks or obeli—that ordinarily signal the scribe’s suspicion of the presence of a spurious addition. However, even here, such markings (e.g., tl, tel, or telos) can be misconstrued to mean the end of the book, whereas the copyist merely intended to indicate the end of a liturgical section of the lectionary. Metzger agrees that such ecclesiastical lection signs constitute “a clear implication that the manuscript originally continued with additional material from Mark” (1994, p. 102, note 1).

The internal evidence that calls verses 9-20 into question resolves itself into essentially two central contentions:

(1) the vocabulary and style of the verses are deemed non-Markan, and (2) the connection between verse 8 and verses 9-20 seems awkward and gives the surface appearance of having been added by someone other than Mark.

 

In 1995, the Khabouris Codex was examined by a specially assembled project team, who dated it as 12th century. In 1999, radio-carbon dating confirmed this date.

John Wesley Etheridge Khabouris Codex Mark 16

XLIII.

 

16:14 BUT afterward he appeared to the eleven as they reclined, and he reproved the littleness of their faith and the hardness of their heart, because those who had seen that he had arisen they had not believed.

16:15 And he said to them, Go into all the world, and proclaim my
gospel to every creature:

16:16 He who believeth and is baptized is saved; and he who believeth
not is condemned.

16:17 And these signs shall follow those who believe: In my name they shall cast out devils, and with new tongues shall they speak;

16:18 and serpents they shalt take up; and if the poison of death they drink, it shall not hurt them; and their hands shall they lay upon the sick, and they shall be healed.

16:19 But Jeshu our Lord, after he had spoken with them, unto the heavens ascended, and sat on the right hand of Aloha.

16:20 And they went forth and preached in every place, and our Lord helped them, and confirmed their words by the signs which they wrought

 

http://www.biblicala...the-difference/

 

Can you see the Light

http://www.bible.ca/archeology/archeology-exodus-route-sinai-levitical-priesthood-levi-gershomites-kohathites-merarites-aaronic-zadok-asaph-heman-ethan-abiathar-eli-sadducees-annas-caiaphas-ananias.htm

[Luke_Wilbur]

Through the power of the Holy Spirit my mother has graduated to Heaven. I imagine her looking 33 and enjoying her new glorified body. I imagine Jesus embracing Mom to a new exciting life. She smiles now in peace.

 

I am not God, but I am very confident that my mother was full of faith and love. A few months ago I asked mom who was her greatest love. Without hesitation she stated that she loves Jesus. Through all her pain she was never rude, easily angered or resentful. My mother believed it was our Creator's will for her to endure this terrible disease.

 

My family, friends, and I and witnessed the cross my mother bared, As her body got weaker, her spirit became stronger. Mom endured and never gave up hope when others, including myself, may have thrown in the towel.

 

I am not God, but I am very confident that my mother made the right moral choices in life. Proverbs 22 states that a generous person will be blessed. Mom was generous. 2 Corinthians 9 states God loves a cheerful giver. Mom gave with always with that beautiful smile on her face. 1 Peter 4 states to rejoice that you have shared in the sufferings of Christ, so that when his glory is revealed you may also rejoice and be glad. My mother can rejoice that she conquered her trial of the flesh.

 

My family, friends, and I and witnessed the fruit of my mother's spirit. Throughout her life, mom

displayed love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and served the community, even during difficult times when others, including myself, may have looked out for ourselves.

 

I am not God, but I am very confident that my mother made it to Heaven. James 1 states Happy is the one who endures testing, because when proven to be genuine, that person will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love Him. 1 Peter 4 states since Christ suffered in the flesh, you also arm yourselves with the same attitude, because the one who has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin, in that one spends the rest of time on earth concerned about the will of God and not human desires. Mother endured her suffering and focused on her love with God.

 

I was once told by a Rabbi that If one has true love of his fellow, to the extent that he no longer views him as a body but rather as a soul, he has in effect achieved exactly what the entire Torah was given to achieve. I know my mother's love is considered righteous by those of Jewish faith who knew her.

 

Every night before we went to sleep my mother and I recited the Lord's Prayer. I would like everyone to say Lord's prayer with me in honor of the vessel before us that held my mother's spirit.

 

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses
as we also have forgiven our trespassers
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.

 

Psalms 27 states I have asked the Lord for one thing – this is what I desire! I want to live in the Lord’s house all the days of my life, so I can gaze at the beauty of the Lord. My mother's prayers are answered.

 

I imagine Mom with Dad, Abuela, Pops, Gloria, Bruce, family and friends with Jesus looking down from Heaven and praying for us all to make the right choices in life.Romans 8 states If you live according to the flesh, you will die), but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

 

Faith

Luke Wilbur

Quote

I am the wind you cannot breathe, until I touch your face.
Once you feel essence of this simple thought, look pass the complex termed dead to believe.
I am always with you.
I have given your soul and it's shell the gift of choice to see.
The gift of choice is more then left or right.
Choice is a chaotic path leading
you nowhere or to the light of my side.
Your last breath will be the beginning of time. Look to others that cross your path.
A sign will shine in gentle light.
There is no beginning, there is no end, there is only me.

[Luke_Wilbur]

Scripture explains that Manslaughter of an unborn child by a grown up adult carries a heavy fine with our Lord.

 

Exodus 21 - The Law

 

21:22 “If men fight and hit a pregnant woman and her child is born prematurely, but there is no serious injury, he will surely be punished in accordance with what the woman’s husband demands of him, and he will pay what the court decides.

 

21:23 But if there is serious injury, then you will give a life for a life,

 

21:24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,

 

21:25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

The Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-212) is a United States law which recognizes a child in utero as a legal victim, if he or she is injured or killed during the commission of any of over 60 listed federal crimes of violence. The law defines "child in utero" as "a member of the species Homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb."

 

http://beta.congress.gov/bill/108th-congress/house-bill/1997

 

§ 1841. Protection of unborn children

 

 

 

( d ) As used in this section, the term ‘unborn child’ means a child in utero, and the term ‘child in utero’ or ‘child, who is in utero’ means a member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.’’

 

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-108publ212/pdf/PLAW-108publ212.pdf

May God bless Melissa Hart for sponsoring the The Unborn Victims of Violence Law.

 

 

Science and religion both understand the life of a child begins at the womb and is at the mercy and protection of the mother who carries this new member of our race. Fathers have a role too.

 

 

The proper response is not to incite violence on people that run abortion clinics. The proper response is to pray to our Creator that they see the truth of their action.

 

 

Robert Lewis Dear, 57, shot and killed three people at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood clinic said in court that he's was guilty and is a "warrior for the babies." His violent action was termed a "terrorist act against women" and was a public relations blow for the "right to life" movement.

 

 

 

 

Watch "Animal Cruelty. Dog beaten by neighbor"

 

http://youtu.be/7_O3qpX0YQQ

 

Leviticus 24 - The Law

 

24:17 “‘If a man beats any person to death, he must be put to death.

 

24:18 One who beats an animal to death must make restitution for it, life for life.

 

24:19 If a man inflicts an injury on his fellow citizen, just as he has done it must be done to him

 

24:20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth – just as he inflicts an injury on another person that same injury must be inflicted on him.

 

24:21 One who beats an animal to death must make restitution for it, but one who beats a person to death must be put to death.

 

24:22 There will be one regulation for you, whether a foreigner or a native citizen, for I am the Lord your God.’”

 

Proverbs 12

 

 

 

12:10 A righteous person cares for the life of his animal,

 

but even the most compassionate acts of the wicked are cruel.

Job 34

 

34:10 “Therefore, listen to me, you men of understanding.

 

Far be it from God to do wickedness,

 

from the Almighty to do evil.

 

 

34:11 For he repays a person for his work,

 

and according to the conduct of a person,

 

he causes the consequences to find him.

 

 

34:12 Indeed, in truth, God does not act wickedly,

 

and the Almighty does not pervert justice.

 

 

34:13 Who entrusted to him the earth?

 

And who put him over the whole world?

 

 

34:14 If God were to set his heart on it,

 

and gather in his spirit and his breath,

 

 

34:15 all flesh would perish together

 

and human beings would return to dust.

Proverbs 14

 

14:29 The one who is slow to anger has great understanding,

 

but the one who has a quick temper exalts folly.

 

14:30 A tranquil spirit revives the body,

 

but envy is rottenness to the bones.

[Luke_Wilbur]

Exodus 20

 

20:13 “You shall not murder.

 

20:14 “You shall not commit adultery.

 

20:15 “You shall not steal.

 

20:16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

 

20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

If you believe in The Father, Jesus, and are baptized in the Holy Spirit, but are having trouble finding love in your heart, start by following the rules given by the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles. are simple to follow.

 

http://thepenwrote.com/halal-and-kosher-meat/

 

Acts 15

 

15:1 Now some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

 

15:2 When Paul and Barnabas had a major argument and debate with them, the church appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to meet with the apostles and elders in Jerusalem about this point of disagreement.

 

15:3 So they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, they were relating at length the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers.

 

15:4 When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all the things God had done with them.

 

15:5 But some from the religious party of the Pharisees who had believed stood up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise the Gentiles and to order them to observe the law of Moses.”

 

15:6 Both the apostles and the elders met together to deliberate about this matter.

 

15:7 After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that some time ago God chose me to preach to the Gentiles so they would hear the message of the gospel and believe.

 

15:8 And God, who knows the heart, has testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us,

 

15:9 and he made no distinction between them and us, cleansing their hearts by faith.

 

15:10 So now why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?

 

15:11 On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they are.”

 

15:12 The whole group kept quiet and listened to Barnabas and Paul while they explained all the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.

 

15:13 After they stopped speaking, James replied,“Brothers, listen to me.

 

15:14 Simeon has explained how God first concerned himself to select from among the Gentiles a people for his name.

 

15:15 The words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written,

 

15:16 ‘After this I will return,

 

and I will rebuild the fallen tent of David;

 

I will rebuild its ruins and restore it,

 

15:17 so that the rest of humanity may seek the Lord,

 

namely, all the Gentiles I have called to be my own,’ says the Lord, who makes these things

 

15:18 known from long ago.

 

15:19 “Therefore I conclude that we should not cause extra difficulty for those among the Gentiles who are turning to God,

 

15:20 but that we should write them a letter telling them to abstain from things defiled by idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled and from blood.

 

15:21 For Moses has had those who proclaim him in every town from ancient times, because he is read aloud in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

 

15:22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to send men chosen from among them, Judas called Barsabbas and Silas, leaders among the brothers, to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.

 

15:23 They sent this letter with them:

 

From the apostles and elders, your brothers, to the Gentile brothers and sisters in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, greetings!

 

15:24 Since we have heard that some have gone out from among us with no orders from us and have confused you, upsetting your minds by what they said,

 

15:25 we have unanimously decided to choose men to send to you along with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul,

 

15:26 who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

15:27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas who will tell you these things themselves in person.

 

15:28 For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us not to place any greater burden on you than these necessary rules:

 

15:29 that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what has been strangled and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from doing these things, you will do well. Farewell.

Life depends upon the existence and circulation of blood. God has decreed that blood is the instrument of atonement and purification of the soul from sin.

 

Leviticus 17

 

17:10 “‘Any man from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who reside in their midst who eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats the blood, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people,

 

17:11 for the life of every living thing is in the blood. So I myself have assigned it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives, for the blood makes atonement by means of the life.

 

17:12 Therefore, I have said to the Israelites: No person among you is to eat blood, and no resident foreigner who lives among you is to eat blood.

 

17:13 “‘Any man from the Israelites or from the foreigners who reside in their midst who hunts a wild animal or a bird that may be eaten must pour out its blood and cover it with soil,

 

17:14 for the life of all flesh is its blood. So I have said to the Israelites: You must not eat the blood of any living thing because the life of every living thing is its blood – all who eat it will be cut off.

Jesus gave his sinless blood to atone the sins of humanity against Hashem. Just as donating our blood can save physical lives, the donation Jesus made saved our souls.

 

 

 

Tom O'Loughlin discusses the Didache (Teaching) as a handbook for Gentiles looking to be a follower of Christ found in a library in Constantinople.

 

The Inter-Orthodox Cooperation in the Preparations for a Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church bases fasting on the Didache.

 

The Third Pan-Orthodox Pre-Council Conference adopted in 1986 the following basic provisions on fasting:

 

“Fasting is… a great spiritual feat and predominant expression of the Orthodox ascetic ideal.

 

… In the very beginning of the apostolic era, the Church… fixed each Wednesday and Friday as fasting days (Didache, 8, 1) as well as the fast before Pascha… The established diversity as to the duration and content of these fasts… underlines the spiritual character of a fast and all the faithful are called to observe it, each according to his or her power and resources, while not giving them the freedom to defy this sacred rule.

 

https://mospatspammer/en/2011/11/03/news50923/

The Russian Orthodox Church Scientific and theological conference on "The theological and practical aspects of church sacrament of the Eucharist" in St. Petersburg Theological Academy referred to the Didache.

 

"The Spirit prepares man to the Son of God and Son leads to the Father. His father bestows immortality to eternal life. " In connection with the Eucharist pneumatological aspect raises the question of Epiklesis, or invocation of the Holy Spirit upon the Holy Sacrament. Without going into the details of liturgical, just to say that epiklesis is an ancient and universal mystery of the Church. Already in the first Eucharistic prayer set forth in Doctrine 12 Apostles (Didache) peoples can find a reference to pneumatological dimension of the Eucharist. First of all it is called "spiritual food" ("gave us the same spiritual food and drink in the eternal life). Secondly, the Didache contains eschatological call appropriate Epiklesis "Thy grace and let this world pass away." Rather complicated issue of Epiklesis era in the Roman Liturgy of St.. Justin the Philosopher.

 

http://www.patriarchiaspammer/db/text/215201.html

THE SACRAMENTARY OF SERAPION

 

The Didache is a source for the study of the worship,the form of government and the life of the primitive Church, It has the teaching of the ways; that of life which must be followed and that of death which must be avoided.

The Sacramentary of Serapion of Thmuis is a work of a fourth century Bishop Sarapion (Serapion) of Thmuis (Modern: Tell el-Timai) in the Nile Delta. Serapion was prominent supporter of Athanasius I, the 20th bishop of Alexandria in the struggle against Arianism (Arianism is a nontrinitarian belief that asserts that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, created by God the Father, distinct from the Father and therefore subordinate to the Father). He is best known in connection with the Sacramentary of Sarapieon prayer-book or sacramental intended for the use of bishops.

 

The Church of Greece discusses the influence of the Didache in the evolution of the Judaic-Christian fellowship.

 

Also it speaks about worship i.e. of Baptism, fasting, prayer, Holy Eucharist and the ecclesiastical form of government and the coming judgment as well.

 

http://www.ecclesia.gr/greek/press/theologia/material/1957_2_5_rodopoulos1.pdf

 

It may very well have been during Bishop Sarapion of Thmuis life that the Didache began to lose its foothold on the Church. Christianity in the 4th century was dominated in its early stage by Constantine the Great after a dramatic event in 312 at the Battle of Milvian Bridge, after which Constantine claimed the title Master of the Empire. According to these sources, Constantine looked up to the sun before the battle and saw a cross of light above it, and with it the Greek words "ΕΝ ΤΟΥΤΩ ΝΙΚΑ" ("by this, conquer!", often rendered in the Latin "in hoc signo vinces"); Constantine commanded his troops to adorn their shields with a Christian symbol (the Chi-Ro), and thereafter they were victorious.

 

The Chi Rho (/ˈkaɪ ˈroʊ/) is one of the earliest forms of christogram, and is used by some Christians. It is formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters chi and rho (ΧΡ) of the Greek word "ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ" = KRistos = Christ in such a way to produce the monogram. The Chi Rho with a wreath symbolizing the victory of the Resurrection, above Roman soldiers, ca. 350.

 

 

The labarum (Greek: λάβαρον) was a vexillum (military standard) that displayed the "Chi-Rho" symbol. A coin of Constantine (c.AD 337) showing a depiction of his labarum spearing a serpent.

 

 

Constantine the Great reigned during the First Council of Nicaea of 325, which was the beginning of the period of the First seven Ecumenical Councils (325–787), and in its late stage by the Edict of Thessalonica of 380, which made Nicene Christianity the state church of the Roman Empire.

 

The word "pontiff", though now most often used in relation to a Pope, technically refers to any bishop. The phrase "Roman Pontiff" is not tautological, but means "Bishop of Rome", as "Alexandrian Pontiff" means Bishop of Alexandria.[1] In the same way, the adjective "pontifical" does not refer exclusively to the Pope: a Pontifical Mass is a Mass celebrated by a bishop, not necessarily by a pope. From the adjective have been formed the nouns "the Pontifical" (the liturgical book containing the prayers and ceremonies for rites used by a bishop)[6] and "pontificals" (the insignia of his order that a bishop uses when celebrating Pontifical Mass, not papal insignia, such as the papal tiara)

 

Constans was the third and youngest son of Constantine the Great and Fausta, his father's second wife.

 

The highest office in the pagan pantheon was that of Pontifex Maximus or Supreme Pontiff....This was held by the Roman Caesars. The last Caesar to hold that title was Emperor Gratian who conferred it upon Pope Damascus.

 

IOANNES PAULUS PP. II

 

EVANGELIUM VITAE

To the Bishops

Priests and Deacons

Men and Women religious

lay Faithful

and all People of Good Will

on the Value and Inviolability

of Human Life

 

From the beginning, the living Tradition of the Church-as shown by the Didache, the most ancient non-biblical Christian writing-categorically repeated the commandment "You shall not kill": "There are two ways, a way of life and a way of death; there is a great difference between them... In accordance with the precept of the teaching: you shall not kill ... you shall not put a child to death by abortion nor kill it once it is born ... The way of death is this: ... they show no compassion for the poor, they do not suffer with the suffering, they do not acknowledge their Creator, they kill their children and by abortion cause God's creatures to perish; they drive away the needy, oppress the suffering, they are advocates of the rich and unjust judges of the poor; they are filled with every sin. May you be able to stay ever apart, o children, from all these sins!"

 

Christian Tradition-as the Declaration issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith points out so well61-is clear and unanimous, from the beginning up to our own day, in describing abortion as a particularly grave moral disorder. From its first contacts with the Greco-Roman world, where abortion and infanticide were widely practised, the first Christian community, by its teaching and practice, radically opposed the customs rampant in that society, as is clearly shown by the Didache mentioned earlier. Among the Greek ecclesiastical writers, Athenagoras records that Christians consider as murderesses women who have recourse to abortifacient medicines, because children, even if they are still in their mother's womb, "are already under the protection of Divine Providence".63 Among the Latin authors, Tertullian affirms: "It is anticipated murder to prevent someone from being born; it makes little difference whether one kills a soul already born or puts it to death at birth. He who will one day be a man is a man already".

 

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangelium-vitae_en.html

Take a break from reading and watch "Why Study...the Didache with Tom O'Loughlin."

 

 

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources/apologetics/catholic-doctrines-and-practices/the-sabbath-or-the-lords-day/

 

Lutheran Links on the Didache

 

http://steadfastlutherans.org/2013/12/catechesis-integrating-the-small-catechism-with-the-liturgy-didache-by-prof-john-pless/

 

http://truediscipleship.com/how-should-we-view-baptism-in-the-didache-3/

 

http://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/11544/apostolic-succession-and-the-didache

 

http://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1091&context=ils_papers

 

http://standrewatlanticcity.org/42

 

The Vatican acknowledges the influence of the Didache on the formation of the church.

 

APOSTOLIC PILGRIMAGE

OF HIS HOLINESS PAUL VI

TO WEST ASIA, OCEANIA AND AUSTRALIA

 

ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER PAUL VI

TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE

Sydney, Australia

Tuesday, 1 December 1970

 

Let us reflect together a moment on unity in the Church. We shall do well to consider how much theological thought was given to this theme down the centuries:

 

from the unforgettable and prophetic words of the Didache (Cfr. Didache, 9: 4; 10: 5), and of the letters of Saint Ignatius of Antioch (Cfr. Philad. 4; Eph. 20: 2 ; Smyrn. 1: 2; etc.), to the treatise of Saint Cyprian (De Catholicae Ecclesiae Unitate) to the thought of Saint Ambrose (Cfr. Eph. 11: 4; PL. 16: 986), of Saint Augustine especially, of Saint Leo, and to the great theologians of the Middle Ages (Cfr. S. TH. 11: 8) and of the Renascence (Cfr. Cajetan, Bellarmine, Suarez, etc.), and down to the modern writers (Cfr. J. Adam Moehler in particular, Newman, Scheeben, Perrone, Clarissac, Congar, Hamer, Cardinal Journet in his great synthesis on L’Eglise du Verbe Incarné), and finally to the post-conciliar theologians (Cfr., among the many, Philips, etc.).

 

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/speeches/1970/documents/hf_p-vi_spe_19701201_conferenza-panoceanica_en.html

[Guest Luke]

One Love

 

I am the power and knower of all things.

I am the eternal word and judge.

I am the glory and giver of life.

 

Through Me, With Me, In Me

Unified selfless light.

Reflecting Love without end.

 

 

[Luke_Wilbur]

Epiphanius of Salamis (church father, ca. 310–20 – 403), fresco at Gracanica monastery, near Lipljan in Kosovo



The first mention of the Didascalia was mentioned by Bishop Epiphanius of of Cyprus in a response letter to abbots in Syria on its use by a Christian sect known as Audianites. Audius, was later exiled by the Emperor Theodosius I to Lower Scythia (Eastern Europe) where the Audiunite belief flourished among the Goths (East Germanic people) for approximately a century.

Letter of Acacius and Paul

In a letter written in 366 Ad from the Archimandrite presbyters Acacius and Paul (superior abbots) of Beroea (modern day Aleppo, Syria) in Coelesyria (Beqaa Valley forms part of the modern nations of Lebanon, Syria and Israel) to Epiphanius of Eluetheropolis (modern day Beit Guvrin, Israel) in Palestine (better known as Bishop Epiphanius of Constantia in the province of Cyprus) requesting a understanding of the type of cult heresy was being done by a list of Chrisitan sects given to him. The Archimandrites believed these sects were following Christ in name only and not his faith.

Proem II

The 50th sect mentioned by the archmandrites to Bishop Epiphanius was the Audian sect, who followed similar practices as the Byzantine Church of this time period, but were thought to be in possible heresy. Epiphanius' replied to the presbyter Acacius and Paul, concerning their letter to him about his writing a cult heresiology on the Audians and other sects for better clarification.

In Book II, section Anacephalaeosis VI in the volume of "The Panarion (Medicine Chest) of Epiphanius of Salamis," Bishop Epiphanius begins his discourse by stating the Audians (Odians) are not a sect, but rather a body of laymen founded by Audius (or Audaeus) of Mesopotamia that were in rebellion with the Catholic Church in their use of apocrphal works and consider Catholic bishops materialistic. The Audians also kept the the Passover on the Jewish date and were literal on God's image meaning God's body. Bishop Salamis describes Audius as a pure, godly, man in the trinity and Christian faith. Like Martin Luther he observed and spoke out against the money loving corruption of the Catholic Church and separated himself from it and repeatedly beaten for his rebellion. After being expulsed from the Catholic Church, the presbyters consecrated him bishop.

Ephanius rebuked Audius view that at the Council of Nicea the Catholic Church gave up celebrating Easter (Pachal Feast) at the same time as the Jews celebrate Passover to suit emperor Constantine's birthday (April 21 the birthday of the city of Rome founded in 753 BC. The Festival of Perilia, later known as the Natalis urbis Romae became a public holiday of celebration and entertainment to honor its founders, the twin brothers Romulus and Remus). Ephanius argued that the emperor was not concerned for his birthday, but for unity of the eastern and western branches of the church and to silence pagan jokes that no one knew the exact date of the Pachal Feast. It is in this passage that Ephanius directly mentions the Didascalia of the Apostles.

The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis

The Audians cite the Ordinance of the Apostles [Didascalia], which is held to be dubious by many, but not spurious. For it contains every canonical regulation and no falsification of the faith is to found there-of its confession, or the church's order, law and creed. But, the line which they seriously misinterpret, and ignorantly misunderstand in taking their cue for the Paschal Feast from it, is the following. "Reckon ye not, but celebrate when your brethren of the circumcision do; celebrate with them." They did not say, "your brethren in the circumcision," but, "your brethren of the circumcision" to show to show that those who had come from the circumcision to the church were the leaders from then on, and so that the others would agree with them, and one not celebrate the Paschal Feast at one time and another at another. For they came to this conclusion for the sake of the church's unity.

Ephanius further interprets the Didascalia's ordinance did not mean to celebrate Easter with the Jews, which at his time were considered enemies of Christ by the Empire. But, rather when the Jews celebrate their passover, mourn and fast during this time, for they crucified Christ. And Christians should feast when the Jews mourn on the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Error derives from following the Jewish dating method of determing Paschal celebration because movements of the Sun and Moon during a solar year not fall on a fixed dates. Further, Ephanius stated that the Audians' rebellion on an agreed upon Easter date was not in harmony with Christ wanting one Pachal Feast.

Didascalia Apostolorum

Chapter XXI

But, it is required of you, my brethren in the days of Passover, that you keep your fast with all care, but commence, when your brethren of the Nation keep the Passover; because when our Lord and Teacher ate the Passover with us, after that hour He was delivered up by Judas, and immediately we began to be grieved about what we had done t Him; and the number of the moon is our number in the numbers of the believing Hebrews....

...Whenever the fourteenth day of Passover may fall, thus observe it; for neither the month nor the day corresponds in time every year, but it varies. Therefore ye, when the people keep their Passover, fast and study to complete your vigil in the midst of their unleavened bread, On Sunday be always glad, for everyone who afflicts his soul on Sunday is guilty of sin. There also, except at the the Passover, no one is allowed to fast during these three hours of night which is between Saturday and Sunday, because it belongs to the night of Sunday. But nevertheless in that night only fast those three hours of that night, being assembled together, ye Christians who are in the Lord.

To better understand Bishop Epiphanius rebuttal of Audian error is to read the writing of Bishop Eusebius Pamphilus of Caesarea Maritima (also known as Eusebius Pamphili). Eusebius was a scholar of Biblical cannon and is considered to as the Father of Church history and favorite of Emperor Constantine.

EUSEBIUS PAMPHILUS OF CAESAREA

THE LIFE OF THE BLESSED EMPEROR CONSTANTINE

BOOK III.
CHAPTER V: Of the Disagreement respecting the Celebration of Easter.

BUT before this time another most virulent disorder had existed, and long afflicted the Church; I mean the difference respecting the salutary feast of Easter. For while one party asserted that the Jewish custom should be adhered to, the other affirmed that the exact recurrence of the period should be observed without following the authority of those who were in error, and strangers to gospel grace.

Accordingly, the people being thus in every place divided in respect of this, and the sacred observances of religion confounded for a long period (insomuch that the diversity of judgment in regard to the time for celebrating one and the same feast caused the greatest disagreement between those who kept it, some afflicting themselves with fastings and austerities, while others devoted their time to festive relaxation), no one appeared who was capable of devising a remedy for the evil, because the controversy continued equally balanced between both parties. To God alone, the Almighty, was the healing of these differences an easy task; and Constantine appeared to be the only one on earth capable of being his minister for this good end. For as soon as he was made acquainted with the facts which I have described, and perceived that his letter to the Alexandrian Christians had failed to produce its due effect, he at once aroused the energies of his mind, and declared that he must prosecute to the utmost this war also against the secret adversary who was disturbing the peace of the Church.

CHAPTER XIV: Unanimous Declaration of the Council concerning Faith, and the Celebration of Easter.

The result was that they were not only united as concerning the faith, but that the time for the celebration of the salutary feast of Easter was agreed on by all. Those points also which were sanctioned by the resolution of the whole body were committed to writing, and received the signature of each several member. Then the emperor, believing that he had thus obtained a second victory over the adversary of the Church, proceeded to solemnize a triumphal festival in honor of God.

CHAPTER XV: How Constantine entertained the Bishops on the Occasion of his Vicennalia.

About this time he completed the twentieth year of his reign. On this occasion public festivals were celebrated by the people of the provinces generally, but the emperor himself invited and feasted with those ministers of God whom he had reconciled, and thus offered as it were through them a suitable sacrifice to God. Not one of the bishops was wanting at the imperial banquet, the circumstances of which were splendid beyond description. Detachments of the body- guard and other troops surrounded the entrance of the palace with drawn swords, and through the midst of these the men of God proceeded without fear into the innermost of the imperial apartments, in which some were the emperor's own companions at table, while others reclined on couches arranged on either side. One might have thought that a picture of Christ's kingdom was thus shadowed forth, and a dream rather than reality.

CHAPTER XVIII: He speaks of their Unanimity respecting the Feast of Easter, and against the Practice of the Jews.

"AT this meeting the question concerning the most holy day of Easter was discussed, and it was resolved by the united judgment of all present, that this feast ought to be kept by all and in every place on one and the same day. For what can be more becoming or honorable to us than that this feast from which we date our hopes of immortality, should be observed unfailingly by all alike, according to one ascertained order and arrangement? And first of all, it appeared an unworthy thing that in the celebration of this most holy feast we should follow the practice of the Jews, who have impiously defiled their hands with enormous sin, and are, therefore, deservedly afflicted with blindness of soul. For we have it in our power, if we abandon their custom, to prolong the due observance of this ordinance to future ages, by a truer order, which we have preserved from the very day of the passion until the present time. Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd; for we have received from our Savior a different way. A course at once legitimate and honorable lies open to our most holy religion. Beloved brethren, let us with one consent adopt this course, and withdraw ourselves from all participation in their baseness. For their boast is absurd indeed, that it is not in our power without instruction from them to observe these things. For how should they be capable of forming a sound judgment, who, since their parricidal guilt in slaying their Lord, have been subject to the direction, not of reason, but of ungoverned passion, and are swayed by every impulse of the mad spirit that is in them? Hence it is that on this point as well as others they have no perception of the truth, so that, being altogether ignorant of the true adjustment of this question, they sometimes celebrate Easter twice in the same year. Why then should we follow those who are confessedly in grievous error? Surely we shall never consent to keep this feast a second time in the same year. But supposing these reasons were not of sufficient weight, still it would be incumbent on your Sagacities to strive and pray continually that the purity of your souls may not seem in anything to be sullied by fellowship with the customs of these most wicked men. We must consider, too, that a discordant judgment in a case of such importance, and respecting such religious festival, is wrong. For our Savior has left us one feast in commemoration of the day of our deliverance, I mean the day of his most holy passion; and he has willed that his Catholic Church should be one, the members of which, however scattered in many and diverse places, are yet cherished by one pervading spirit, that is, by the will of God. And let your Holinesses' sagacity reflect how grievous and scandalous it is that on the self-same days some should be engaged in fasting, others in festive enjoyment; and again, that after the days of Easter some should be present at banquets and amusements, while others are fulfilling the appointed fasts. It is, then, plainly the will of Divine Providence (as I suppose you all clearly see), that this usage should receive fitting correction, and be reduced to one uniform rule.

Read Historian Salminius Hermias Sozomenus book, "The Ecclesiastical History of Salaminius Hermias Sozomenus," Chapter XVIII. "Another Heresy, that of the Sabbatians, is originated by the Novatians. Their Synod in Sangarus. Account in Greater Detail of the Easter Festival."

The date of Easter is still unresolved between the Eastern and Western Church. the Christian Orthodox Church continues to follow the Julian calendar when calculating the date of the Pachal Feast. The rest of Christianity uses the Gregorian calendar. There is a thirteen-day difference between the two calendars, the Julian calendar being thirteen 13 days behind the Gregorian. The other factor at work is that the Orthodox Church continues to adhere to the rule set forth by the First Ecumenical Council, held in Nicea in 325 AD, that requires that the Pachal Feast must take place after the Jewish Passover in order to maintain the Biblical sequence of Christ’s Passion. The rest of Christianity ignores this requirement, which means that on occasion Western Easter takes place either before or during the Jewish Passover. Messianic Jews, Jews for Jesus, Church of God International and Seventh Day Baptists do recognize and celebrate Passover.

[Luke_Wilbur]

Approximately 13.8 billion years ago, our known Universe expanded from a singularity.

 

Genesis 1

 

1:3 God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light!

To love God, is to know God and what He is not. As we have evolved in our created world, so has choice between arrogance and humility to the power of what made us.

Psalm 82

 

82:1 A psalm of Asaph.

God stands in the assembly of El;

in the midst of the gods He renders judgment.

 

82:2 He says, “How long will you make unjust legal decisions

and show favoritism to the wicked? (Selah)

 

82:3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless!

Vindicate the oppressed and suffering!

 

82:4 Rescue the poor and needy!

Deliver them from the power of the wicked!

 

82:5 They neither know nor understand.

They stumble around in the dark,

while all the foundations of the earth crumble.

 

82:6 I thought, ‘You are gods;

all of you are sons of the Most High.’

 

82:7 Yet you will die like mortals;

you will fall like all the other rulers.”

John 3

 

3:16 For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life.

 

3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him.

 

3:18 The one who believes in him is not condemned. The one who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

 

3:19 Now this is the basis for judging: that the light has come into the world and people 45 loved the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were evil.

 

3:20 For everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed.

 

3:21 But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God.

Great Isaiah Scroll

 

Translation: Professor Peter Flint (Western Trinity University, Canada) and Professor Eugene Ulrich (University of Notre Dame)

 

 

 

 

Chapter 63 : Verse 19

For a long time we have been like those whom you do not rule, like those who are not called by your name.

 

Chapter 64 : Verse 1

O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence-

 

Chapter 64 : Verse 2

 

as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil-to your adversaries to make known your name, to your adversaries before you, so that the nations might quake at your presence!

 

Chapter 64 : Verse 3

When you did awesome deeds that we looked for, you came down, the mountains quaked before you.

 

Chapter 64 : Verse 4

Since ancient times no one has heard, and no ear has perceived, and no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

 

Chapter 64 : Verse 5

You meet those who gladly do right, those who remember you in your ways. See, you were angry, and we sinned against them for a long time, but we will be saved.

 

Chapter 64 : Verse 6

All of us have become like one who is unclean; all, all our righteous acts are like a polluted cloth. And we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our iniquities sweep us away.

 

Chapter 64 : Verse 7

There is no one who calls on your name or strives to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have given us into the hand of our iniquity.

 

Chapter 64 : Verse 8

But as for you, O LORD, you are our Father; and we are clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hands.

 

Chapter 64 : Verse 9

Do not be angry beyond measure, O LORD, and do not remember our iniquity for a long time. Please look now, we are all your people.

2 Peter 3

 

3:3 Above all, understand this: In the last days blatant scoffers will come, being propelled by their own evil urges

 

3:4 and saying, “Where is his promised return? For ever since our ancestors died, all things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation.”

 

3:5 For they deliberately suppress this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water.

 

3:6 Through these things the world existing at that time was destroyed when it was deluged with water.

 

3:7 But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, by being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

 

3:8 Now, dear friends, do not let this one thing escape your notice, that a single day is like a thousand years with the Lord and a thousand years are like a single day.

 

3:9 The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

 

3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; when it comes, the heavens will disappear with a horrific noise, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze, and the earth and every deed done on it will be laid bare.

 

3:11 Since all these things are to melt away in this manner, what sort of people must we be, conducting our lives in holiness and godliness,

 

3:12 while waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God? 4 Because of this day, the heavens will be burned up and dissolve, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze!

 

3:13 But, according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness truly resides.

Each one of us has unique life events and circumstance that cause us think differently, unconventionally, or from a new a new perspective.

 

What is your perspective on unknown force(s) operating within our expanding and dying universe?

 

The Universe is a simulation

The Universe is real, but not created by God

The Universe is created with God

 

Many scientist put their faith in one or both of the first two options and are working hard to create something to replace Him.

 

Synthetic Creation made in the image of man

 

Singularitarianism is a movement of philosophers, scientists and futurists that predict a technological singularity—the creation of a Super Artificial Intelligence (SAI) machine that could successfully outperform any intellectual task that a human being can within our near future. Some scientists, such as Stephen Hawking and Stuart Russell, believe that if advanced Artificial Intelligence someday gains the ability to re-design itself at an ever-increasing rate, an unstoppable "intelligence explosion" could lead to human extinction.

 

Machine made in the image of man

 

Elon Musk, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, and actor Ashton Kutcher are all high-profile investors in Vicarious, a company that aims to build a computer that can think like a person. "We are building a unified algorithmic architecture to achieve human-level intelligence in vision, language, and motor control. Currently, we are focused on visual perception problems, like recognition, segmentation, and scene parsing. We are interested in general solutions that work well across multiple sensory domains and tasks. Using inductive biases drawn from neuroscience, our system requires orders of magnitude less training data than traditional machine learning techniques. Our underlying framework combines advantages of deep architectures and generative probabilistic models. We use modern software engineering practices, and we strive to maintain a codebase and a culture that are a joy to work in."

 

If science fiction shapes the future, then it is possible that one day machines will recognize emotions as efficiently as they do speech. How are we to ensure that empathetic, emotionally intelligent machines evolve at the hands of selfless individuals whose sole purpose is to help humanity and not just make jobs more efficient and profitable.

 

In the film, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" before the T-800 autonomous robot, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, terminated it told John Connor: "I know now why you cry, but it is something I can never do." The T-800 understood loss, but not pain.

 

 

 

Synthetic God made in the image of a machine

 

In the films 'The Matrix Reloaded' and 'The Matrix Revolutions,' the Architect is a heartless error-correcting program created by machines in a human image to understand the nature of humanity.

 

 

The Architect of the Matrix was modeled after the concept of The Great Architect of the Universe (also Grand Architect of the Universe or Supreme Architect of the Universe) discussed by many Christian theologians, apologists, and Freemasons.

 

Unlike our Creator, the Great Architect of the Universe has no defined empathy that affects aspects of our communal living. Similarly, the Architect of the Matrix does not calculate or choice of compassion and mercy for others. Rather compassion and mercy are considered systemic anomalies that can crash the calculation of fate prediction built within the program.

 

Unlike our Creator, the the the Architect of the Matrix can be destroyed from a virus (Evil).

 

Unlike the Architect of the Matrix, the Oracle of the Matrix views empathy as a calculation of choice that she can make. Like the Architect of the Matrix, the Oracle cannot calculate the outcome of her choice, but the accuracy of a choice made can be verified.

 

Like a Prophet in the Bible, the Oracle acts as a intermediary between the Matrix and humanity to promote change. Unlike a Prophet in the Bible, the Oracle's intuition is not completely accurate.

 

Similar to the Didache, humans are given a choice to stay connected or disconnect from the Matrix simulation of the real world. The difference is the Matrix is somewhat dependent on humans to reboot the program if it freezes from a calculation error or gets a virus. Our Creator is not dependent on humans at all.

 

Synthetic God made in the image of man

 

The Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI), formerly the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence (SIAI), is a non-profit organization founded in 2000 to research safety issues related to the development of Strong AI. The main issue MIRI states is unknown "once AI algorithms are doing the bulk of the intellectual work in designing new AI systems, it is not clear how to establish safety guarantees that apply not only to the programs we write, but also to the programs our programs write. These and other under-explored questions will only become more pressing as progress in computer science allows AI systems to act with increasing autonomy and efficiency." At this point, I seen read any paper that an autonomous AI system would have the ability to calculate the consequences of whether or not an action it makes could manipulate, harm or eradicate humanity in the future.

 

Over the past few months I have noticed that the robo calls to my home are increasing in frequency and sophistication in voice recognition and response. I have also noticed AI written articles and paintings are getting to the point where they are indistinguishable from a writer or artist.

 

Synthetic Man made in the image of man.

 

In June 2016, scientists formally announced HGP-Write, a plan to synthesize the human genome. The newly created HGP-Write project will be managed by the Center of Excellence for Engineering Biology, a new nonprofit organization. For-profit organ harvesting is the first step in creating a synthetic man.“These self-selected scientists and entrepreneurs are launching a corporate-dominated moonshot that could open the door to producing synthetic human beings,” said Marcy Darnovsky, PhD, Executive Director of the Center for Genetics and Society. “They are doing this without the involvement or even the knowledge of the public or civil society, without consultation with other scientists, and in the absence of public policy.”

 

Man made in the image of an alien

 

Vox Media, held an invitation-only Code Conference where top technology industry leaders gathered for in-depth conversations about the current and future impact of digital technology on our lives. All the media focused attention to conference speaker, Elon Musk, the founder, of SpaceX, Tesla Motors, PayPal, Zip2;chairman of SolarCity; and co-chairman of OpenAI. Musk was asked whether we were living in a simulation?

 

Elon Musk stated the strongest argument for mankind currently living in a simulation is only 30 years ago we were playing PONG, the very first sports arcade video game that featured simple two-dimensional graphics. Now several decades later we have photo realistic 3-Dimensional video simulations with millions of people playing simultaneously. Augmented reality (AR) is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. A good commercial example is Six Flags Revolution Virtual Reality Coaster. Musk continued that with any improvement in technology, virtual reality will be indistinguishable from our perception of base reality. He then gave his theory that the odds that we are in base reality is "one in billions." If we are not in base reality, then what is?

 

Simulation Hypothesis

 

In 2003, philosopher Nick Bostrom proposed a trilemma that one of three unlikely-seeming propositions must be true. The trilemma points out that a technologically mature "posthuman" civilization would have enormous computing power; if even a tiny percentage of them were to run "ancestor simulations" (that is, "high-fidelity" simulations of ancestral life that would be indistinguishable from reality to the simulated ancestor), the total number of simulated ancestors, or "Sims", in the universe (or multiverse, if it exists) would greatly exceed the total number of actual ancestors. Therefore, at least one of the following three propositions is almost certainly true:

 

1. "The fraction of human-level civilizations that reach a posthuman stage (that is, one capable of running high-fidelity ancestor simulations) is very close to zero", or

 

2. "The fraction of posthuman civilizations that are interested in running ancestor-simulations is very close to zero", or

 

3. "The fraction of all people with our kind of experiences that are living in a simulation is very close to one"

 

If we are just avatars living in a simulation, then our thoughts and feelings are not truly our own. And the world as we know it is just coded algorithms of vibrating energy harvested to power our Creator's base reality or converted to a higher form.

 

Random Action or Creator Command

 

Are we just randomly made pond scum and not unique created children of God?

 

Stephen Hawking's states "The human race is just a chemical scum on a moderate-sized planet, orbiting around a very average star in the outer suburb of one among a hundred billion galaxies." When asked about death he recently said this: “I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers. That is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.”

 

God is outside the box we understand.

[Luke_Wilbur]

Even social scientist will tell you that your life is worth more than money. Valuing your time more than the pursuit of money is linked to greater happiness, according to new research published by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.

 

The Benefits from Marriage and Religion in the United States: A Comparative Analysis

by Linda J. Waite and Evelyn L. Lehrer the association between religious involvement and better mental health outcomes, including greater self-esteem, better adaptation to bereavement, a lower incidence of depression and anxiety, a lower likelihood of alcohol and drug abuse, and greater life satisfaction and happiness in general (Koenig et al. 2001). Recent longitudinal analyses of subgroups of the population provide additional evidence in support of this relationship (Zuckerman et al. 1984; Levin et al. 1996).

 

[Luke_Wilbur]

Saint Justin, also known as Justin Martyr (100–165), was an early Christian apologist, and is regarded as the foremost interpreter of the theory of the Logos in the 2nd century. He was martyred, alongside some of his students, and is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, and the Eastern Orthodox Church

 

JUSTIN MARTYR -- THE FIRST APOLOGY OF JUSTIN

 

CHAPTER V -- CHRISTIANS CHARGED WITH ATHEISM.

 

Why, then, should this be? In our case, who pledge ourselves to do no wickedness, nor to hold these atheistic opinions, you do not examine the charges made against us; but, yielding to unreasoning passion, and to the instigation of evil demons, you punish us without consideration or judgment. For the truth shall be spoken; since of old these evil demons, effecting apparitions of themselves, both defiled women and corrupted boys, and showed such fearful sights to men, that those who did not use their reason in judging of the actions that were done, were struck with terror; and being carried away by fear, and not knowing that these were demons, they called them gods, and gave to each the name which each of the demons chose for himself. And when Socrates endeavored, by true reason and examination, to bring these things to light, and deliver men from the demons, then the demons themselves, by means of men who rejoiced in iniquity, compassed his death, as an atheist and a profane person, on the charge that "he was introducing new divinities;" and in our case they display a similar activity. For not only among the Greeks did reason (Logos) prevail to condemn these things through Socrates, but also among the Barbarians were they condemned by Reason (or the Word, the Logos) Himself, who took shape, and became man, and was called Jesus Christ; and in obedience to Him, we not only deny that they who did such things as these are gods, but assert that they are wicked and impious demons, whose actions will not bear comparison with those even of men desirous of virtue.

 

CHAPTER VI -- CHARGE OF ATHEISM REFUTED.

 

Hence are we called atheists. And we confess that we are atheists, so far as gods of this sort are concerned, but not with respect to the most true God, the Father of righteousness and temperance and the other virtues, who is free from all impurity. But both Him, and the Son (who came forth from Him and taught us these things, and the host of the other good angels who follow and are made like to Him), and the prophetic Spirit, we worship and adore, knowing them in reason and truth, and declaring without grudging to every one who wishes to learn, as we have been taught.

 

Painting - The Artist's Hand, by Alex Grey

 

In Book II, section Anacephalaeosis VI in the volume of "The Panarion (Medicine Chest) of Epiphanius of Salamis," Bishop Epiphanius rebuked the Christian sect, known as the 'Audians,' literal view that God is visible in men and women in the body.

The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis

 

...For he and adherents stubbornly declare that the gift God granted Adam of being in his image applies to his body, supposedly because of the literal wording of the literal wording of "Let us make man in our image and our likeness." And then the word of God adds, "And God took dust from the earth and made man." Since scripture has said that God made man from the earth," says Audius, "see how it has said the perfect truth that the entire eartly part is 'man.' Therefore it is said earlier that the earthly part of man will itself be in the image of God."

Ephanius believed that Audius' error was making the invisible God visible and mankind His equal. Epanius did believe men and women were made in God's image, but where in God's image is known only to Jesus, Angels, and pure of heart. Many have speculated God's image could be our soul which is invisible as God is invisible, virtue, grace of the heavenly image in baptism which is lost in sin, or in Adam before the his fall from grace. "How can the corporeal by like the incorporeal? How can the tangible be like the incomprehensible?" Ephanius stated that Audianites believed the proof was in the physical description of God in scripture. The prophets in the old testament were not baptized. Epanius rebutted God revealed His image to the holy ones as far as their minds could comprehend to to give testimony to the faithful that He is more than just mere words. God exists over the world of fact and imagination. Through the power of God's Holy Spirit, the infinite aspect of God became finite in the flesh of Jesus Christ.

 

The Didascalia Apstolorum opens with a summary and expansion of both scripture and the previous Didache's view on the choice we all make in life. The only traits of our Creator the Didascalia Apostolorum reveals is that He is the Father to his righteous creation and only the pure in Spirit can see and dwell with Him in the Kingdom of Heaven.

 

Didascalia Apostolorum

 

Chapter 1

 

This which ye hear, O Christian Nazarenes, who are beneath the sun is that ye may learn with diligence and care. He who hears and keeps these commandments which are written in this Didascalia, will have everlasting life, and great boldness before the judgment-seat of our Lord Jesus the Christ the Son of God, He who taught us about His great mystery. And he who is contentious, and doth not keep them, they shall put him out as an opposer and quarreller, as it is written that those who do evil things shall go to to everlasting torment, and those who do good things shall inherit everlasting life in the kingdom of heaven.

 

Chapter I.

 

About the simple and natural law

 

The planting of God, and the holy Vine of His Catholic Church, the chosen people who trust in the simplicity of the fear of the Lord, those who by their faith inherit the eternal kingdom, those who have received the power and communion of the Holy Ghost, with which they are armed and confirmed in His worship, those who have been partakers in the sprinkling of the pure and precious blood of the great God, Jesus the Christ; those who have received boldness to call God the Almighty ' Father,' as heirs and partakers with His Son [and] His Beloved ; hear the Teaching of God, ye who hope for and expect His promises, according as it was written by order of our Savior, and is in accordance with His glorious commandments! Take care, ye sons of God, and do everything so as to obey God, and in all things be pleasing to the Lord our God. If any man run after iniquity, and oppose the will of God, he shall be counted by God as an heathen and an evildoer.

 

Also in the Gospel He saith thus, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

The modern day Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints share the same belief as the Audiuns that "All Human Beings Are Created in the Image of God." President Thomas S. Monson: “God our Father has ears with which to hear our prayers. He has eyes with which to see our actions. He has a mouth with which to speak to us. He has a heart with which to feel compassion and love. He is real. He is living. We are his children made in his image. We look like him and he looks like us”

 

To Muslims, Jesus role is similar to the how Jews view the prophet Ezra, who had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel. Both Jews and Christians believe Ezra a member of the priestly family of Aaron. Christians believe Jesus was a member of the priestly family of David through his blessed Mother, Mary and his adopted earthly father Joseph. It is worth noting that some Muslims believe Jesus to be from priestly family of Aaron, because Mary is a cousin Elizabeth. The Gospel of Luke does not determine how close the two women are related. In addition the Greek word "suggenes" can also mean akin to, fellow countryman, and kinsman.

 

Both Jews and Christians believe Ezra was both a prophet and priestly scribe that taught and published the "book of the law of Moses" (Torah) which he had brought with him from Babylon, and made fellow Jews solemnly recognize it as the basis of their religious and civil code. Some Muslims believe Ezra to be a prophet, other Muslim scholars such as Mutahhar al-Maqdisi and Djuwayni and notably Ibn Hazm and al-Samaw'al accused Uzair (or one of his disciples) of falsification of the Torah.

 

Some Muslims believe that Ezra was revered by a community of Jews in Yemen as a divine "son of God."

 

Quran

 

At-Tawbah (The Repentance)

 

 

9:30 "The Jews call Ezra a son of God, and the Christians call the Christ a son of God. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. May Allah destroy them: how they are deluded away from the Truth!."

All Jews consider the notion of prophet Ezra being a divine son of God blasphemy. Tractate Ta'anit of the Jerusalem Talmud, which predates Muhammad by two to three hundred years, states that “if a man claims to be God, he is a liar." This may be do to a Muslim linguistic misunderstanding of Ezra's position in the Jewish faith as a Bene Elohim (Sons of God) a phrase used in the Hebrew Bible and apocrypha to describe a righteous individual who becomes conscious of God's fatherhood to his creation. The Encyclopedia of Judaism clarifies that the title of 'son of God' is attributed a person whose piety has placed him in a very near relationship to God and "by no means carries the idea of physical descent from, and essential unity with, God" In this Logic a Muslim could consider the prophet Mohamed a Bene Elohim. Bene Elohim use to refer a righteous being is in contrast to the New Testament and Quran understanding of the phrase, where it can refer to man as divine being.

 

 

To Christians Jesus’ is a rabbi, priest, prophet, and divine king that during his time on Earth taught, fulfilled, and expanded the "book of the law of Moses" (Torah) and commands given by our Creator to the prophets and converted fellow Jews to solemnly recognize the Christian meaning of being righteous (love, purity and sacrifice). Many Jews believe that Jesus violated the Torah's purity laws by touching the sick and dead.

 

Ezra recorded Persian King Cyrus' decree of 538 which allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild our temple for Our Creator's Holy Spirit to dwell in . Jesus prophesied the destruction of the physical temple dedicated to Our Creator and new sanctuary built within the body of all those that follow Jesus example of being righteous (love, purity and sacrifice).

 

I think it is beneficial for both Christians and Muslims to study Jewish law and the prophets in order to enrich their spiritual understanding of what it means to be a righteous person. Likewise, it is beneficial for Jews and Muslims to study the teachings of Jesus and his disciples on what it means to be righteous person. Finally the Jews and Christians should study the teachings of Mohamed and his disciples on what it means to be righteous person.

 

Original sin, also called ancestral sin, is the Christian doctrine of humanity's state of sin resulting from the fall of man, namely the sin of consuming from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, stemming from Adam's rebellion in Eden. Here we find Saint Paul explaining that our physical death was a result of Adam's failure to follow our Creator's command. Our eternal life is a result of the sacrifice Jesus made for us.

[Luke_Wilbur]

Psalm 51

 

51:1 For the music director; a psalm of David, written when Nathan the prophet confronted him after David’s affair with Bathsheba.

Have mercy on me, O God, because of your loyal love!

Because of your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts!

 

51:2 Wash away my wrongdoing!

Cleanse me of my sin!

 

51:3 For I am aware of my rebellious acts;

I am forever conscious of my sin.

 

51:4 Against you – you above all – I have sinned;

I have done what is evil in your sight.

So you are just when you confront me;

you are right when you condemn me.

 

51:5 Look, I was guilty of sin from birth,

a sinner the moment my mother conceived me.

 

51:6 Look, you desire integrity in the inner man;

you want me to possess wisdom.

 

51:7 Sprinkle me with water and I will be pure;

wash me and I will be whiter than snow.

 

51:8 Grant me the ultimate joy of being forgiven! 24

May the bones 25 you crushed rejoice! 26

51:9 Hide your face 27 from my sins!

Wipe away 28 all my guilt!

51:10 Create for me a pure heart, O God! 29

Renew a resolute spirit within me! 30

51:11 Do not reject me! 31

Do not take your Holy Spirit 32 away from me! 33

51:12 Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance!

Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey! 34

51:13 Then I will teach 35 rebels your merciful ways, 36

and sinners will turn 37 to you.

51:14 Rescue me from the guilt of murder, 38 O God, the God who delivers me!

Then my tongue will shout for joy because of your deliverance. 39

51:15 O Lord, give me the words! 40

Then my mouth will praise you. 41

51:16 Certainly 42 you do not want a sacrifice, or else I would offer it; 43

you do not desire a burnt sacrifice. 44

51:17 The sacrifices God desires are a humble spirit 45 –

O God, a humble and repentant heart 46 you will not reject. 47

51:18 Because you favor Zion, do what is good for her! 48

Fortify 49 the walls of Jerusalem! 50

51:19 Then you will accept 51 the proper sacrifices, burnt sacrifices and whole offerings;

then bulls will be sacrificed 52 on your altar. 53

 

Proverbs 16

 

 

16:4 The Lord works everything for its own ends –

even the wicked for the day of disaster.

 

16:5 The Lord abhors every arrogant person;

rest assured that they will not go unpunished.

 

16:6 Through loyal love and truth iniquity is appeased;

through fearing the Lord one avoids evil.

 

16:7 When a person’s ways are pleasing to the Lord,

he even reconciles his enemies to himself.

16:8 Better to have a little with righteousness

than to have abundant income without justice.

16:9 A person plans his course,

but the Lord directs his steps.

Malachi 3

 

1 Behold, I send My messenger, and he shall clear the way before Me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to His temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold, he comes, saith the LORD of hosts.

 

2 But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap;

 

3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver; and there shall be they that shall offer unto the LORD offerings in righteousness.

 

4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years.

Matthew 11

 

11:2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds Christ had done, he sent his disciples to ask a question: 4 11:3 “Are you the one who is to come, 5 or should we look for another?”

 

11:4 Jesus answered them, “Go tell John what you hear and see:

 

11:5 The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them.

 

11:6 Blessed is anyone 9 who takes no offense at me.”

 

11:7 While they were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?

 

11:8 What did you go out to see? A man dressed in fancy clothes? Look, those who wear fancy clothes are in the homes of kings!

 

11:9 What did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.

 

11:10 This is the one about whom it is written:

 

‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

 

who will prepare your way before you.’

 

11:11 “I tell you the truth, among those born of women, no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is.

 

11:12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and forceful people lay hold of it.

 

11:13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John appeared.

 

11:14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah, who is to come.

 

11:15 The one who has ears had better listen!

 

11:16 “To what should I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to one another,

 

11:17 ‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance;

 

we wailed in mourning, yet you did not weep.’

 

11:18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ 28 11:19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 31 But wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

 

23:1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 23:2 “The 1 experts in the law 2 and the Pharisees 3 sit on Moses’ seat. 23:3 Therefore pay attention to what they tell you and do it. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they teach. 4 23:4 They 5 tie up heavy loads, hard to carry, and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing even to lift a finger to move them. 23:5 They 6 do all their deeds to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries 7 wide and their tassels 8 long. 23:6 They 9 love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues 10 23:7 and elaborate greetings 11 in the marketplaces, and to have people call them ‘Rabbi.’ 23:8 But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher and you are all brothers. 23:9 And call no one your ‘father’ on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 23:10 Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one teacher, the Christ. 12 23:11 The 13 greatest among you will be your servant. 23:12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

 

23:13 “But woe to you, experts in the law 14 and you Pharisees, hypocrites! 15 You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven! 16 For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in.

 

The Word Became Flesh Among Us

 

Papyrus 66 (also known as P66) is a near complete codex of the Gospel of John, and part of the collection known as the Bodmer Papyri. It is one of the oldest well-preserved New Testament manuscripts known to exist.

 

The Good News According to John - Papyrus 66

 

Chapter 1

 

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

 

John 1:2 He was with God in the beginning.

 

John 1:3 Through Him all things were made, and without Him not one thing was made that has been made.

 

John 1:4 In Him was life, and that life was the light for humankind.

 

John 1:5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not mastered it.

 

John 1:6 There came a man sent from God; his name was John.

 

John 1:7 He came as a witness to testify about that light, so that through Him all people might believe.

 

John 1:8 He himself was not the light; he came rather to bear witness to the light.

 

John 1:9 The true light, which gives light to every human being, was coming into the world.

 

John 1:10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.

 

John 1:11 He came to that which was His own, and His own did not receive Him.

 

John 1:12 But to all who did receive Him, to those believing on His name, He gave the right to become children of God

 

John 1:13 children born, not from bloods, nor from body desire, nor from a man's decision, but born of God.

 

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and moved his tent in among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of an only begotten from a Father, full of grace and truth.

John 3

 

3:22 After this, 47 Jesus and his disciples came into Judean territory, and there he spent time with them and was baptizing. 3:23 John 48 was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, 49 because water was plentiful there, and people were coming 50 to him 51 and being baptized. 3:24 (For John had not yet been thrown into prison.) 52

 

3:25 Now a dispute came about between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew 53 concerning ceremonial washing. 54 3:26 So they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, the one who was with you on the other side of the Jordan River, 55 about whom you testified – see, he is baptizing, and everyone is flocking to him!”

 

3:27 John replied, 56 “No one can receive anything unless it has been given to him from heaven. 3:28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ 57 but rather, ‘I have been sent before him.’ 3:29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly 58 when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. This then is my joy, and it is complete. 59 3:30 He must become more important while I become less important.” 60

 

3:31 The one who comes from above is superior to all. 61 The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. 62 The one who comes from heaven 63 is superior to all. 64 3:32 He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 3:33 The one who has accepted his testimony has confirmed clearly that God is truthful. 65 3:34 For the one whom God has sent 66 speaks the words of God, for he does not give the Spirit sparingly. 67 3:35 The Father loves the Son and has placed all things under his authority. 68 3:36 The one who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects 69 the Son will not see life, but God’s wrath 70 remains 71 on him.

 

 

John 4

 

4:19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet.

 

4:20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you people say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.”

 

4:21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

 

4:22 You people worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews.

 

4:23 But a time is coming – and now is here – when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers.

 

4:24 God is spirit, and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

 

4:25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (the one called Christ); “whenever he comes, he will tell us everything.”

 

4:26 Jesus said to her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.”

 

7:1 After this 1 Jesus traveled throughout Galilee. 2 He 3 stayed out of Judea 4 because the Jewish leaders 5 wanted 6 to kill him. 7:2 Now the Jewish feast of Tabernacles 7 was near. 8 7:3 So Jesus’ brothers 9 advised him, “Leave here and go to Judea so your disciples may see your miracles that you are performing. 10 7:4 For no one who seeks to make a reputation for himself 11 does anything in secret. 12 If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” 7:5 (For not even his own brothers believed in him.) 13

7:6 So Jesus replied, 14 “My time 15 has not yet arrived, 16 but you are ready at any opportunity! 17 7:7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I am testifying about it that its deeds are evil. 7:8 You go up 18 to the feast yourselves. I am not going up to this feast 19 because my time 20 has not yet fully arrived.” 21 7:9 When he had said this, he remained in Galilee.

 

John 10

 

10:22 Then came the feast of the Dedication in Jerusalem.

 

10:23 It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple area in Solomon’s Portico.

 

10:24 The Jewish leaders surrounded him and asked, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

 

10:25 Jesus replied, “I told you and you do not believe. The deeds 66 I do in my Father’s name testify about me.

 

10:26 But you refuse to believe because you are not my sheep.

 

10:27 My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

 

10:28 I give 67 them eternal life, and they will never perish; 68 no one will snatch 69 them from my hand.

 

10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, 70 and no one can snatch 71 them from my Father’s hand. 10:30 The Father and I 72 are one.” 73

 

10:31 The Jewish leaders 74 picked up rocks again to stone him to death.

 

10:32 Jesus said to them, 75 “I have shown you many good deeds 76 from the Father. For which one of them are you going to stone me?”

 

10:33 The Jewish leaders 77 replied, 78 “We are not going to stone you for a good deed 79 but for blasphemy, 80 because 81 you, a man, are claiming to be God.” 82

 

10:34 Jesus answered, 83 “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 84

 

10:35 If those people to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’ (and the scripture cannot be broken), 85

 

10:36 do you say about the one whom the Father set apart 86 and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?

 

10:37 If I do not perform 87 the deeds 88 of my Father, do not believe me.

 

10:38 But if I do them, even if you do not believe me, believe the deeds, 89 so that you may come to know 90 and understand that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.”

 

10:39 Then 91 they attempted 92 again to seize him, but he escaped their clutches. 93

 

God had appointed them as “gods” (i.e., individuals with power by God’s authority). He had made them His sons in the sense of His representatives on earth

 

1 John 1

 

1:5 Now this is the gospel message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

 

1:6 If we say we have fellowship with Him and yet keep on walking in the darkness, we are lying and not practicing the truth.

 

1:7 But if we walk in the light as He himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, His Son cleanses us from all sin.

 

1:8 If we say we do not bear the guilt of sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

 

1:9 But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.

 

1:10 If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

2:1 (My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.) But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous One,

 

2:2 and He himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for our sins but also for the whole world.

1 John 4

 

4:15 If anyone confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God resides 38 in him and he in God. 4:16 And we have come to know and to believe 39 the love that God has in us. 40 God is love, and the one who resides 41 in love resides in God, and God resides in him. 4:17 By this 42 love is perfected with 43 us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because just as Jesus 44 is, so also are we in this world. 4:18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. 45 The 46 one who fears punishment 47 has not been perfected in love. 4:19 We love 48 because he loved us first.

 

 

Both Christians and Muslims believe Jesus is the Messiah.

 

The concept of messianism originated in Judaism. According to Jewish tradition, the Jewish Messiah, ha-Mashiach (המשיח, "the Messiah", "the anointed one"), often referred to as "King Messiah" (מלך המשיח, melekh mashiach), is plainly distinct from the concept of a divine Christian Messiah or any other concept of a messiah in other Abrahamic religions, especially the Islamic. The future Jewish Messiah to come is thought to be a human leader, physically descended from the paternal Davidic line through King David and King Solomon. He is thought to accomplish predetermined things in only one future arrival, including the unification of the tribes of Israel, the gathering in of all Jews to Eretz Israel, the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem, the ushering in of a Messianic Age of global universal peace, and the annunciation of the World to Come.

 

THE NOBLE QUR'AN

 

Ali 'Imran (Family of Imran)

 

3:43 O Mary, be devoutly obedient to your Lord and prostrate and bow with those who bow [in prayer]."

 

3:44 That is from the news of the unseen which We reveal to you, [O Muhammad]. And you were not with them when they cast their pens as to which of them should be responsible for Mary. Nor were you with them when they disputed.

 

3:45 [And mention] when the angels said, "O Mary, indeed Allah gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary - distinguished in this world and the Hereafter and among those brought near [to Allah ].

 

3:46 He will speak to the people in the cradle and in maturity and will be of the righteous."

 

3:47 She said, "My Lord, how will I have a child when no man has touched me?" [The angel] said, "Such is Allah ; He creates what He wills. When He decrees a matter, He only says to it, 'Be,' and it is.

 

3:48 And He will teach him writing and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel

 

3:49 And [make him] a messenger to the Children of Israel, [who will say], 'Indeed I have come to you with a sign from your Lord in that I design for you from clay [that which is] like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by permission of Allah . And I cure the blind and the leper, and I give life to the dead - by permission of Allah . And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers.

 

3:50 And [i have come] confirming what was before me of the Torah and to make lawful for you some of what was forbidden to you. And I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, so fear Allah and obey me.

 

3:51 Indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord, so worship Him. That is the straight path."

 

3:52 But when Jesus felt [persistence in] disbelief from them, he said, "Who are my supporters for [the cause of] Allah?" The disciples said," We are supporters for Allah . We have believed in Allah and testify that we are Muslims [submitting to Him].

 

3:53 Our Lord, we have believed in what You revealed and have followed the messenger Jesus, so register us among the witnesses [to truth]."

 

3:54 And the disbelievers planned, but Allah planned. And Allah is the best of planners.

 

3:55 [Mention] when Allah said, "O Jesus, indeed I will take you and raise you to Myself and purify you from those who disbelieve and make those who follow you [in submission to Allah alone] superior to those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then to Me is your return, and I will judge between you concerning that in which you used to differ.

 

3:56 And as for those who disbelieved, I will punish them with a severe punishment in this world and the Hereafter, and they will have no helpers."

 

3:57 But as for those who believed and did righteous deeds, He will give them in full their rewards, and Allah does not like the wrongdoers.

 

3:58 This is what We recite to you, [O Muhammad], of [Our] verses and the precise [and wise] message.

 

3:59 Indeed, the example of Jesus to Allah is like that of Adam. He created Him from dust; then He said to him, "Be," and he was.

 

3:60 The truth is from your Lord, so do not be among the doubters.

2 Corinthians 3

 

3:7 But if the ministry that produced death – carved in letters on stone tablets – came with glory, so that the Israelites could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face (a glory which was made ineffective),

 

3:8 how much more glorious will the ministry of the Spirit be?

 

3:9 For if there was glory in the ministry that produced condemnation, how much more does the ministry that produces righteousness excel in glory!

 

3:10 For indeed, what had been glorious now has no glory because of the tremendously greater glory of what replaced it.

 

3:11 For if what was made ineffective came with glory, how much more has what remains come in glory!

 

3:12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we behave with great boldness,

 

3:13 and not like Moses who used to put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from staring at the result of the glory that was made ineffective.

 

3:14 But their minds were closed. For to this very day, the same veil remains when they hear the old covenant read. It has not been removed because only in Christ is it taken away.

 

3:15 But until this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds,

 

3:16 but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

 

3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is present, there is freedom.

 

3:18 And we all, with unveiled faces reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, which is from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

The Letter of Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, To the Magnesians

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do not be led astray by wrong views or by outmoded tales that count for nothing. For if we still go on observing Judaism, we admit we never received grace. The divine prophets themselves lived Christ Jesus’ way. That is why they were persecuted, for they were inspired by his grace to convince unbelievers that God is one, and that he has revealed himself in his Son Jesus Christ, who is his Word issuing from the silence and who won the complete approval of him who sent him.

Romans 8

 

8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

 

8:2 For the law of the life-giving Spirit in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.

 

8:3 For God achieved what the law could not do because it was weakened through the flesh. By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,

 

8:4 so that the righteous requirement of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

 

8:5 For those who live according to the flesh have their outlook shaped by the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their outlook shaped by the things of the Spirit.

 

8:6 For the outlook of the flesh is death, but the outlook of the Spirit is life and peace,

 

8:7 because the outlook of the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so.

 

8:8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

 

8:9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, this person does not belong to Him.

 

8:10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is your life because of righteousness.

 

8:11 Moreover if the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the One who raised Christ from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through His Spirit who lives in you.

 

8:12 So then, brothers and sisters, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh

 

8:13 (for if you live according to the flesh, you will 15 die), 16 but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.

 

8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.

 

8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, 18 but you received the Spirit of adoption, 19 by whom 20 we cry, “Abba, Father.”

 

8:16 The Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit that we are God’s children.

 

8:17 And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ) 22 – if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him.

 

8:18 For I consider that our present sufferings cannot even be compared 23 to the glory that will be revealed to us.

 

8:19 For the creation eagerly waits for the revelation of the sons of God.

 

8:20 For the creation was subjected to futility – not willingly but because of God 24 who subjected it – in hope

 

8:21 that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children.

 

8:22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now.

 

8:23 Not only this, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, 25 groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, 26 the redemption of our bodies.

 

8:24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees?

 

8:25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with endurance. 28

 

8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how we should pray, 29 but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings.

 

8:27 And he 30 who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit 31 intercedes on behalf of the saints according to God’s will.

 

8:28 And we know that all things work together 32 for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose,

 

8:29 because those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that his Son 33 would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

 

8:30 And those he predestined, he also called; and those he called, he also justified; and those he justified, he also glorified.

 

8:31 What then shall we say about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

 

8:32 Indeed, he who 35 did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things?

 

8:33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? 36 It is God who justifies.

 

8:34 Who is the one who will condemn? Christ 37 is the one who died (and more than that, he was raised), who is at the right hand of God, and who also is interceding for us.

 

8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will trouble, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 38

 

8:36 As it is written, “For your sake we encounter death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 39

 

8:37 No, in all these things we have complete victory 40 through him 41 who loved us!

 

8:38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, 42 nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers,

 

8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Paedagogus (Book I)

 

Chapter 2. Our Instructor's Treatment of Our Sins

 

 

 

 

Now, O you, my children, our Instructor is like His Father God, whose son He is, sinless, blameless, and with a soul devoid of passion; God in the form of man, stainless, the minister of His Father's will, the Word who is God, who is in the Father, who is at the Father's right hand, and with the form of God is God. He is to us a spotless image; to Him we are to try with all our might to assimilate our souls. He is wholly free from human passions; wherefore also He alone is judge, because He alone is sinless. As far, however, as we can, let us try to sin as little as possible. For nothing is so urgent in the first place as deliverance from passions and disorders, and then the checking of our liability to fall into sins that have become habitual. It is best, therefore, not to sin at all in any way, which we assert to be the prerogative of God alone; next to keep clear of voluntary transgressions, which is characteristic of the wise man; thirdly, not to fall into many involuntary offenses, which is peculiar to those who have been excellently trained. Not to continue long in sins, let that be ranked last. But this also is salutary to those who are called back to repentance, to renew the contest.

Romans 5 - Codex Sinaiticus

 

5:1 Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

 

2 through whom, also, we have had the access, by faith, into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in hope of the glory of God.

 

3 And not only so, but we also boast in afflictions, knowing that affliction works endurance,

 

4 and endurance approval, and approval, hope;

 

5 and hope makes not ashamed, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit that was given to us.

 

6 Furthermore, we being yet without strength, at the proper time Christ died for the ungodly.

 

7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; though for the good man perhaps some one would even dare to die;

 

8 but God renders his love for us conspicuous in this, that, we being yet sinners, Christ died for us.

 

9 Much more, then, being now justified in His blood, we shall be saved through Him from the wrath.

 

10 For if being enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more having been reconciled we shall be saved in His life;

 

11 and not only so, but also glorying in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

 

12 Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and through sin death, and so death passed through upon all men, inasmuch as all sinned;

 

13 for till the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed where there is no law;

 

14 yet, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those that did not sin after the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the coming one.

 

15 Yet, not as the offense, so also the gracious gift; for if through the offense of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

 

16 And not as through one that sinned is the gift; for the judgment passed from one offense to condemnation, but the gracious gift from many offenses to the righteous decree.

 

17 For if, in the offense of one, death reigned through the one, much more shall they that receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ.

 

18 Therefore, as through one offense judgment came upon all men to condemnation, so also through one righteous deed, judgment came upon all men to justification of life.

 

19 For as through the disobedience of the one man the many were constituted sinners, so also through the obedience of the one shall the many be constituted righteous.

 

20 But law came in beside, that the offense might abound; but where sin abounded, grace exceedingly abounded,

 

21 that, as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Didache confirms what it means to be righteous. To those without faith, the Didache is wisdom to being virtuous. But, faith alone is a grace given by our Creator alone. Without faith one cannot be righteous with God, by rejecting His presence.

 

Romans 9

 

9:30 What shall we say then? – that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness obtained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith,

 

9:31 but Israel even though pursuing a law of righteousness did not attain it.

 

9:32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but (as if it were possible) by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone,

 

9:33 just as it is written,

 

“Look, I am laying in Zion a stone that will cause people to stumble

and a rock that will make them fall,

yet the one who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

 

10:1 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites is for their salvation.

 

10:2 For I can testify that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not in line with the truth.

 

10:3 For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

 

10:4 For Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes.

 

10:5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is by the law: “The one who does these things will live by them.”

 

10:6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down)

 

10:7 or “Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

 

10:8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we preach),

 

10:9 because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

 

10:10 For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation.

 

10:11 For the scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

 

10:12 For there is no distinction between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all, who richly blesses all who call on Him.

 

10:13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

 

10:14 How are they to call on one they have not believed in? And how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they to hear without someone preaching to them?

 

10:15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How timely is the arrival of those who proclaim the good news.”

 

10:16 But not all have obeyed the good news, for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”

 

10:17 Consequently faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word of Christ.

 

10:18 But I ask, have they not heard? Yes, they have: Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.

 

10:19 But again I ask, didn’t Israel understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous by those who are not a nation; with a senseless nation I will provoke you to anger.”

 

10:20 And Isaiah is even bold enough to say, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I became well known to those who did not ask for me.”

 

10:21 But about Israel He says, “All day long I held out my hands to this disobedient and stubborn people!”

 

11:1 So I ask, God has not rejected His people, has He? Absolutely not! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.

 

11:2 God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew! Do you not know what the scripture says about Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel?

 

11:3 “Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars; I alone am left and they are seeking my life!”

 

11:4 But what was the divine response to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand people who have not bent the knee to Baal.”

 

11:5 So in the same way at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.

 

11:6 And if it is by grace, it is no longer by works, otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

 

11:7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was diligently seeking, but the elect obtained it. The rest were hardened,

 

11:8 as it is written,

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,

eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear,

to this very day.”

 

11:9 And David says,

“Let their table become a snare and trap,

a stumbling block and a retribution for them;

 

11:10 let their eyes be darkened so that they may not see,

and make their backs bend continually.”

 

11:11 I ask then, they did not stumble into an irrevocable fall, did they? Absolutely not! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make Israel jealous.

 

11:12 Now if their transgression means riches for the world and their defeat means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full restoration bring?

 

11:13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Seeing that I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,

 

11:14 if somehow I could provoke my people to jealousy and save some of them.

 

11:15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

 

11:16 If the first portion of the dough offered is holy, then the whole batch is holy, and if the root is holy, so too are the branches.

 

11:17 Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and participated in the richness of the olive root,

 

11:18 do not boast over the branches. But if you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

 

11:19 Then you will say, “The branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.”

 

11:20 Granted! They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but fear!

 

11:21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps He will not spare you.

 

11:22 Notice therefore the kindness and harshness of God – harshness toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness toward you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.

 

11:23 And even they – if they do not continue in their unbelief – will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.

 

11:24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree?

 

11:25 For I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

 

11:26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

 

“The Deliverer will come out of Zion;

He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.

 

11:27 And this is my covenant with them,

when I take away their sins.”

 

11:28 In regard to the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but in regard to election they are dearly loved for the sake of the fathers.

 

11:29 For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.

 

11:30 Just as you were formerly disobedient to God, but have now received mercy due to their disobedience,

 

11:31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy.

 

11:32 For God has consigned all people to disobedience so that he may show mercy to them all.

 

11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how fathomless His ways!

 

11:34 For who has known the mind of the Lord,

or who has been His counselor?

 

11:35 Or who has first given to God,

that God needs to repay him?

11:36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever! Amen.

 

 

Watch "Differences between Adam and Satan." This video explains the Muslim view of thhe demise of Iblis (Satan) from Allah's (God's) favor and the rise of Prophet Adam as the inheritor and successor on Earth.

 

[Luke_Wilbur]

In the First Council with the Apostles, Saint James revealed the prophecy that Jesus divine mission is to unite both Messianic Jews and Christian Gentiles into the House of David. After the Ascension of Jesus Christ, both Jews and Gentiles began to fulfill the prophecy by turning away from the darkness of sin to the light of righteous. Through the power of the Holy Spirit it was agreed upon to create the first cannon for Gentile believers in Jesus Christ living in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia on how to properly love God. (Acts 12:12 - 17, Galatians 1:19 -20, Acts 15:13 - 29. Acts 21:17 - 24)

Acts 21

15:13 After they stopped speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me.

15:14 Simeon [Peter's Jewish Aramaic name] has explained how God first concerned Himself to select from among the Gentiles a people for His name.

15:15 The words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written,

15:16 ‘After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the fallen tent of David;
I will rebuild its ruins and restore it,

[Amos 9:11 “In that day I will rebuild the collapsing hut of David.
I will seal its gaps,
repair its ruins,
and restore it to what it was like in days gone by.
9:12 As a result they will conquer those left in Edom
and all the nations subject to my rule.”
The Lord, who is about to do this, is speaking!
9:13 “Be sure of this, the time is coming,” says the Lord,
“when the plowman will catch up to the reaper
and the one who stomps the grapes will overtake the planter.
Juice will run down the slopes,
it will flow down all the hillsides.
9:14 I will bring back my people, Israel;
they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble and settle down.
They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce;
they will grow orchards and eat the fruit they produce.
9:15 I will plant them on their land
and they will never again be uprooted from the land I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.
15:17 so that the rest of humanity may seek the Lord,
namely, all the Gentiles I have called to be my own,’ says the Lord, who makes these things

15:18 known from long ago.

15:19 “Therefore I conclude that we should not cause extra difficulty for those among the Gentiles who are turning to God,

15:20 but that we should write them a letter telling them to abstain from things defiled by idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled and from blood.

15:21 For Moses has had those who proclaim him in every town from ancient times, because he is read aloud in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

15:22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to send men chosen from among them, Judas called Barsabbas and Silas, leaders among the brothers, to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.

15:23 They sent this letter with them:

From the apostles and elders, your brothers, to the Gentile brothers and sisters in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, greetings!

15:24 Since we have heard that some have gone out from among us with no orders from us and have confused you, upsetting your minds by what they said,

15:25 we have unanimously decided to choose men to send to you along with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul,

15:26 who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

15:27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas who will tell you these things themselves in person.

15:28 For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us not to place any greater burden on you than these necessary rules:

15:29 that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what has been strangled and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from doing these things, you will do well. Farewell.

According to modern day Jewish rabbis, the first cannon given by the Apostles and the Holy Spirit to gentiles was a revision of already established Jewish laws for Proselyte Gentiles regarding the admission into Israel's community according to the Torah. The Ger toshav (righteous gentile) has always been welcomed in the Jewish community and is believed by Jews to be assured of a place in the World to Come (Olam Haba). Some modern Jewish religious organizations have been particularly active in promoting the Seven Laws, notably the Chabad-Lubavitch movement (whose late leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, launched the global Noahide Campaign), groups affiliated with Dor Daim.

The Seven Noachide Laws

Do Not Deny God
Do Not Blaspheme God
Do Not Murder
Do Not Engage in Incestuous, Adulterous or Homosexual Relationships.
Do Not Steal
Do Not Eat of a Live Animal
Establish Courts/Legal System to Ensure Law Obedience

While Peter and the Apostles spread Good News according to Jesus Christ across the globe, James stayed and governed the new Christian Church in Jerusalem and converted many Jews coming to worship at the temple to Jesus Christ. Using the Torah and the words of the Prophets, James was able preach how evil tempts the pride of ones desires away from the truth of eternal life and gives birth to death.

Like other prophets before him, James 'the Just' was considered a holy man to both Messianic and Non Messianic Jews. James did not drink alcohol, and was vegetarian. Unlike the other disciples of Jesus Christ, Eusebius states James alone was able to enter the temple of God in Jerusalem to worship and pray.

The Church History of Eusebius

Book II.

Chapter XXIII.—The Martyrdom of James, who was called the Brother of the Lord.

4. “James, the brother of the Lord, succeeded to the government of the Church in conjunction with the Apostles. He has been called 'the Just' by all from the time of our Savior to the present day; for there were many that bore the name of James.

5. He was holy from his mother’s womb; and he drank no wine nor strong drink, nor did he eat flesh. No razor came upon his head; he did not anoint himself with oil, and he did not use the bath

6. He alone was permitted to enter into the Holy Place; for he wore not woolen but linen garments. And he was in the habit of entering alone into the Temple, and was frequently found upon his knees begging forgiveness for the people, so that his knees became hard like those of a camel, in consequence of his constantly bending them in his worship of God, and asking forgiveness for the people.

7. Because of his exceeding great justice he was called the Just, and Oblias, which signifies in Greek, ‘Bulwark of the people’ and ‘Justice,’ in accordance with what the prophets declare concerning him.

 

James understood that both the saved and the damned know know of our Creator and Savior is one God. But, Salvation comes from our understanding and following the Royal Law of Love taught by both our Creator and His son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Damnation comes from the rebellious that ignore the Royal Law of Love and judge others with hate and no mercy.

James 2

2:1 My brothers and sisters, do not show prejudice if you possess faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.

2:2 For if someone comes into your assembly wearing a gold ring and fine clothing, and a poor person enters in filthy clothes,

2:3 do you pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and to the poor person, “You stand over there,” or “Sit on the floor”?

2:4 If so, have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil motives?

2:5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters! Did not God choose the poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?

2:6 But you have dishonored the poor! Are not the rich oppressing you and dragging you into the courts?

2:7 Do they not blaspheme the good name of the one you belong to?

2:8 But if you fulfill the royal law as expressed in this scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.

2:9 But if you show prejudice, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as violators.

2:10 For the one who obeys the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

2:11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a violator of the law.

2:12 Speak and act as those who will be judged by a law that gives freedom.

2:13 For judgment is merciless for the one who has shown no mercy. But mercy triumphs over judgment.

2:14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can this kind of faith save him?

2:15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacks daily food,

2:16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm and eat well,” but you do not give them what the body needs, what good is it?

2:17 So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead being by itself.

2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith without works and I will show you faith by my works.

2:19 You believe that God is one; well and good. Even the demons believe that – and tremble with fear.

2:20 But would you like evidence, you empty fellow, that faith without works is useless?

2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?

2:22 You see that his faith was working together with his works and his faith was perfected by works.

2:23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Now Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.

2:24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.

2:25 And similarly, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another way?

2:26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

 

Paul understood respected James authority and mission to convert Jews to Jesus. Both Paul and James were once esteemed members in the Jewish community that were humbled by Lord's atonement of mankind through the law of Moses, which has redeemed all of us of our transgression before we knew him. Faith (Trust) in God results in righteousness for both Jews and Gentiles. Salvation comes from our understanding and following the Royal Law of Love.

Paul and James testify to both Jews and Gentiles, that if we continue to willfully transgress (sin) after we know the truth about putting love and good works over the afflictions of the flesh, then our punishment from God will be far worse than the Jews judged without mercy under the old covenant given to Moses. Talmudic scholar Daniel Boyarin has argued that Paul's theology of the spirit is more deeply rooted in Hellenistic Judaism than generally believed. In "A Radical Jew: Paul and the Politics of Identity", Boyarin argues that Paul combined the life of Jesus with Greek philosophy to reinterpret the Hebrew Bible in terms of the Platonic duelist opposition between the ideal (which is real) and the material (which is false). I would argue that like the other Apostles Saint Paul explained the New Covenant in terms Hellenistic Jews could understand.

Textus Receptus Hebrews 10

19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
21 And having an high priest over the house of God;
22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised;)
24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
26 For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins,
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
30 For we know Him that hath said, Vengeance belongs unto Me, I will recompense, says the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32 But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;
33 Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.
34 For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in Heaven a better and an enduring substance.
35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
37 For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
[Habbak 2:4 Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion, but the person of integrity will live because of his faithfulness.]
39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

 

Paul does proclaim God will judge each one of us according to our works following truth or unrighteousness. Through Jesus Christ, God will judge Jews according to the law he gave to them by Moses. Then Jesus will judge the Gentiles that did not know of Him according to their conscience. If a Gentile is following Jewish law, Jesus will judge them according to the Law given to Moses. If a Gentile is a Christian, then He will judge them according to the new Law of Love.

Romans 2 Codex Sinaticus

2:5 ...according to thy hardness and impenitent heart, thou dost treasure up for thyself wrath in a day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
6 who will render to each one according to his works;
7 to those that, by perseverance in good work, seek for glory and honor and incorruptibility, eternal life;
8 but to those that are of party-spirit, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation shall be rendered.
9 Affliction and anguish shall be on every soul of man that works out that which is evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek;
10 but glory and honor and peace to every one that works that which is good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
11 For there is no acceptance of persons with God.
12 For as many as sinned without law shall also perish without law; and as many as sinned under the law shall be judged by the law;
13 for not the hearers of law are righteous before God, but the doers of law shall be declared righteous.
14 For whenever Gentiles, that have no law, do by nature the things of the law, these, not having law, are a law to themselves:
15 who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing testimony, and their reasoning between one another bringing accusation, or also making excuse
16 in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men through Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
17 But if thou art named Jew, and restest on the law, and makes thy boast in God,
18 and knows His will, and proves things that differ, being instructed out of the law;
19 and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light to those that are in darkness,
20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and of truth in the law:
21 thou, then, that teaches another, teaches not thou thyself? Thou that preaches that men should not steal, dost thou steal?
22 Thou that says that men should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? Thou that abhors idols, dost thou rob temples?
23 Thou that makes thy boast in the law, through transgression of the law dishonor thou God?
24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you, as it is written.
25 For circumcision indeed profits if thou keep the law; but if thou be a transgressor of law, thy circumcision has become uncircumcision.
26 If, then, the uncircumcision keep the judgments of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?
27 And that which is by birth uncircumcision, if it keep the law, will judge thee, who with letter and circumcision art a transgressor of law.
28 For he is not a Jew that is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh;
29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in spirit, not in letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God.

 

 

 

The Church History of Eusebius

Book II.

Chapter XXIII.—The Martyrdom of James, who was called the Brother of the Lord.

8. Now some of the seven sects, which existed among the people and which have been mentioned by me in the Memoirs, asked him, ‘What is the gate of Jesus?’and he replied that He [Jesus] was the Savior.

9. On account of these words some believed that Jesus is the Christ. But the sects mentioned above did not believe either in a resurrection or in one’s coming to give to every man according to his works. But as many as believed did so on account of James.

10. Therefore when many even of the rulers believed, there was a commotion among the Jews and Scribes and Pharisees, who said that there was danger that the whole people would be looking for Jesus as the Christ. Coming therefore in a body to James they said, ‘We entreat thee, restrain the people; for they are gone astray in regard to Jesus, as if he were the Christ. We entreat thee to persuade all that have come to the feast of the Passover concerning Jesus; for we all have confidence in thee. For we bear thee witness, as do all the people, that thou art just, and dost not respect persons.

11. Do thou therefore persuade the multitude not to be led astray concerning Jesus. For the whole people, and all of us also, have confidence in thee. Stand therefore upon the pinnacle of the temple, that from that high position you may be clearly seen, and that thy words may be readily heard by all the people. For all the tribes, with the Gentiles also, are come together on account of the Passover.’

12. The aforesaid Scribes and Pharisees therefore placed James upon the pinnacle of the temple, and cried out to him and said: ‘You just one, in whom we ought all to have confidence, for as much as the people are led astray after Jesus, the crucified one, declare to us, what is the gate of Jesus.’

13. And he answered with a loud voice, ‘Why do you ask me concerning Jesus, the Son of Man? He himself sits in heaven at the right hand of the great Power, and is about to come upon the clouds of Heaven.’
14. And when many were fully convinced and gloried in the testimony of James, and said, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David,’ these same Scribes and Pharisees said again to one another, ‘We have done badly in supplying such testimony to Jesus. But let us go up and throw him down, in order that they may be afraid to believe him.’

15. And they cried out, saying, ‘Oh! oh! the just man is also in error.’ And they fulfilled the Scripture written in Isaiah, ‘Let us take away the just man, because he is troublesome to us: therefore they shall eat the fruit of their doings.’

16. So they went up and threw down the just man, and said to each other, ‘Let us stone James the Just.’ And they began to stone him, for he was not killed by the fall; but he turned and knelt down and said, ‘I entreat thee, Lord God our Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’

17. And while they were thus stoning him one of the priests of the sons of Rechab, the son of the Rechabites, who are mentioned by Jeremiah the prophet, cried out, saying, ‘Cease, what you do! The just one prays for you.’

18. And one of them, who was a fuller, took the club with which he beat out clothes and struck the just man on the head. And thus he suffered martyrdom. And they buried him on the spot, by the temple, and his monument still remains by the temple. He became a true witness, both to Jews and Greeks, that Jesus is the Christ. And immediately Vespasian besieged them.”

19. These things are related at length by Hegesippus, who is in agreement with Clement. James was so admirable a man and so celebrated among all for his justice, that the more sensible even of the Jews were of the opinion that this was the cause of the siege of Jerusalem, which happened to them immediately after his martyrdom for no other reason than their daring act against him.

20. Josephus, at least, has not hesitated to testify this in his writings, where he says, “These things happened to the Jews to avenge James the Just, who was a brother of Jesus, that is called the Christ. For the Jews slew him, although he was a most just man.”

21. And the same writer records his death also in the twentieth book of his Antiquities in the following words: “But the emperor, when he learned of the death of Festus, sent Albinus to be procurator of Judea. But the younger Ananus, who, as we have already said, had obtained the high priesthood, was of an exceedingly bold and reckless disposition. He belonged, moreover, to the sect of the Sadducees, who are the most cruel of all the Jews in the execution of judgment, as we have already shown.

CONCERNING ALBINUS UNDER WHOSE PROCURATORSHIP JAMES WAS SLAIN; AS ALSO WHAT EDIFICES WERE BUILT BY AGRIPPA.

 

 

The Shepherd of Hermas mentions a Clement whose office it was to communicate with other churches; most likely, this is a reference to Clement I.




The narrative is addressed to James the Just, the Bishop of Jerusalem, and is related in the voice of Clement himself. He begins by detailing his religious questionings, his doubts about immortality, his love for celibacy, and so on. Clement hears at Rome the preaching of a man of Judea who relates the miracles of Christ. R identifies this man as Barnabas; H does not provide a name. Clement defends this speaker from the mob, and follows him to Palestine.

Epistle of Clement to James

When the Apostles were martyred in their steadfast Love of God and mankind, their personal testimony of Jesus, the Didache, and most importantly the Holy Spirit remained with the Church body to help communicate the Living Word of God of love and avoid hate. The Didache became a well known guide that was cited frequently by the early Christian Patriarchs Athanasius, Didymus, and Eusebius, and Serapion of Thmuis as the Christian Church spread to Antioch, Rome, and Alexandria. From my research I speculate that Hellenistic Jews in these areas were absorbed into Christianity. Further I speculate that these Hellenistic Christians came into conflict with Traditional Jewish Christians that still believed in following the revised Mosaic law found in the Didache given by the Apostles.

[Luke_Wilbur]

Jeremiah 7

 

7:21 The Lord said to the people of Judah, “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says: ‘You might as well go ahead and add the meat of your burnt offerings to that of the other sacrifices and eat it, too!

 

7:22 Consider this:

 

When I spoke to your ancestors after I brought them out of Egypt, I did not merely give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices.

 

7:23 I also explicitly commanded them:

 

“Obey me. If you do, I will be your God and you will be my people. Live exactly the way I tell you and things will go well with you.”

 

7:24 But they did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They followed the stubborn inclinations of their own wicked hearts. They acted worse and worse instead of better.

 

7:25 From the time your ancestors departed the land of Egypt until now, I sent my servants the prophets to you again and again, day after day.

 

7:26 But your ancestors did not listen to me nor pay attention to me. They became obstinate and were more wicked than even their own forefathers.’”

 

7:27 Then the Lord said to me, “When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you. When you call out to them, they will not respond to you.

 

7:28 So tell them:

 

‘This is a nation that has not obeyed the Lord their God and has not accepted correction. Faithfulness is nowhere to be found in it. These people do not even profess it anymore.

 

7:29 So, mourn, you people of this nation. Cut off your hair and throw it away. Sing a song of mourning on the hilltops. For the Lord has decided to reject and forsake this generation that has provoked his wrath!’”

1. AND now Caesar, upon hearing the death of Festus, sent Albinus into Judea, as procurator. But the king deprived Joseph of the high priesthood, and bestowed the succession to that dignity on the son of Ananus, who was also himself called Ananus. Now the report goes that this eldest Ananus proved a most fortunate man; for he had five sons who had all performed the office of a high priest to God, and who had himself enjoyed that dignity a long time formerly, which had never happened to any other of our high priests. But this younger Ananus, who, as we have told you already, took the high priesthood, was a bold man in his temper, and very insolent; he was also of the sect of the Sadducees, who are very rigid in judging offenders, above all the rest of the Jews, as we have already observed; when, therefore, Ananus was of this disposition, he thought he had now a proper opportunity [to exercise his authority]. Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the sanhedrim of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, [or, some of his companions]; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned: but as for those who seemed the most equitable of the citizens, and such as were the most uneasy at the breach of the laws, they disliked what was done; they also sent to the king [Agrippa], desiring him to send to Ananus that he should act so no more, for that what he had already done was not to be justified; nay, some of them went also to meet Albinus, as he was upon his journey from Alexandria, and informed him that it was not lawful for Ananus to assemble a sanhedrim without his consent.[24] Whereupon Albinus complied with what they said, and wrote in anger to Ananus, and threatened that he would bring him to punishment for what he had done; on which king Agrippa took the high priesthood from him, when he had ruled but three months, and made Jesus, the son of Damneus, high priest.

Jesus also revealed the concept of God's Love for a repentant heart who puts faith in His mercy. And God's disdain for the self righteous who lack empathy for others.

 

Luke 7

 

7:36 Now one of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so He went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table.

 

7:37 Then when a woman of that town, who was a sinner, learned that Jesus was dining at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfumed oil.

 

7:38 As she stood behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. She wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfumed oil.

 

7:39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.”

 

7:40 So Jesus answered him,“Simon, I have something to say to you.” He replied, "Say it, Teacher."

 

7:41 “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed him five hundred silver coins, and the other fifty.

 

7:42 When they could not pay, he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

 

7:43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” Jesus said to him, “You have judged rightly.”

 

7:44 Then, turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

 

7:45 You gave me no kiss of greeting, but from the time I entered she has not stopped kissing my feet.

 

7:46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfumed oil.

 

7:47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which were many, are forgiven, thus she loved much; but the one who is forgiven little loves little.”

 

7:48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

 

7:49 But those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”

 

7:50 He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

John 7

 

7:37 On the last day of the feast, the greatest day, 101 Jesus stood up and shouted out, 102 “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and 7:38 let the one who believes in me drink. 103 Just as the scripture says, ‘From within him 104 will flow rivers of living water.’” 105 7:39 (Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were going to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been given, 106 because Jesus was not yet glorified.)

 

 

The 39th Festal Letter of Athanasius, written for Easter of AD 367, is of particular interest as regards the biblical canon moving away from the Didache.

 

Athanasius: Select Works and Letters

 

4. There are, then, of the Old Testament, twenty-two books in number; for, as I have heard, it is handed down that this is the number of the letters among the Hebrews; their respective order and names being as follows. The first is Genesis, then Exodus, next Leviticus, after that Numbers, and then Deuteronomy. Following these there is Joshua, the son of Nun, then Judges, then Ruth. And again, after these four books of Kings, the first and second being reckoned as one book, and so likewise the third and fourth as one book. And again, the first and second of the Chronicles are reckoned as one book. Again Ezra, the first and second are similarly one book. After these there is the book of Psalms, then the Proverbs, next Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. Job follows, then the Prophets, the twelve being reckoned as one book. Then Isaiah, one book, then Jeremiah with Baruch, Lamentations, and4545 the epistle, one book; afterwards, Ezekiel and Daniel, each one book. Thus far constitutes the Old Testament.

 

5. Again it is not tedious to speak of the [books] of the New Testament. These are, the four Gospels, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Afterwards, the Acts of the Apostles and Epistles (called Catholic), seven, viz. of James, one; of Peter, two; of John, three; after these, one of Jude. In addition, there are fourteen Epistles of Paul, written in this order. The first, to the Romans; then two to the Corinthians; after these, to the Galatians; next, to the Ephesians; then to the Philippians; then to the Colossians; after these, two to the Thessalonians, and that to the Hebrews; and again, two to Timothy; one to Titus; and lastly, that to Philemon. And besides, the Revelation of John.

 

6. These are fountains of salvation, that they who thirst may be satisfied with the living words they contain. In these alone is proclaimed the doctrine of godliness. Let no man add to these, neither let him take ought from these. For concerning these the Lord put to shame the Sadducees, and said, ‘Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures.’ And He reproved the Jews, saying, ‘Search the Scriptures, for these are they that testify of Me.’

 

7. But for greater exactness I add this also, writing of necessity; that there are other books besides these not indeed included in the Canon, but appointed by the Fathers to be read by those who newly join us, and who wish for instruction in the word of godliness. The Wisdom of Solomon, and the Wisdom of Sirach, and Esther, and Judith, and Tobit, and that which is called the Teaching of the Apostles, and the Shepherd. But the former, my brethren, are included in the Canon, the latter being [merely] read; nor is there in any place a mention of apocryphal writings. But they are an invention of heretics, who write them when they choose, bestowing upon them their approbation, and assigning to them a date, that so, using them as ancient writings, they may find occasion to lead astray the simple.

Saint Athanasius of Alexandria (Ἀθανάσιος Ἀλεξανδρείας, Athanásios Alexandrías; c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, Athanasius the Confessor or, primarily in the Coptic Orthodox Church, Athanasius the Apostolic, was the twentieth bishop of Alexandria (as Athanasius I). His episcopate lasted 45 years (c. 8 June 328 – 2 May 373), of which over 17 were spent in five exiles ordered by four different Roman emperors. Athanasius is a renowned Christian theologian, a Church Father, the chief defender of Trinitarianism against Arianism, and a noted Egyptian leader of the fourth century.

 

Conflict with Arius and Arianism as well as successive Roman emperors shaped Athanasius's career. In 325, at the age of 27, Athanasius began his leading role against the Arians as a deacon and assistant to Bishop Alexander of Alexandria during the First Council of Nicaea. Roman emperor Constantine the Great had convened the council in May–August 325 to address the Arian position that the Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth, is of a distinct substance from the Father. Three years after that council, Athanasius succeeded his mentor as archbishop of Alexandria. In addition to the conflict with the Arians (including powerful and influential Arian churchmen led by Eusebius of Nicomedia), he struggled against the Emperors Constantine, Constantius II, Julian the Apostate and Valens. He was known as "Athanasius Contra Mundum" (Latin for Athanasius Against the World).

 

[Guest durga]

Thanks for info......

[Guest Allison]

Hello, I spoke with you Friday at the funeral. Please email me at jonesallison18.aj@gmail.com. I would like to talk a little more about your findings.

[wiley]

Papyrus Prisse

 

2 (column 5, lines 4-6)

 

Then the Power of this god said:

Teach him then the speech from the past

that he may provide the example for the children of the great.

May hearing enter into him, the measure of every heart.

Speak to him. For none can be born wise

8 (column 6, lines 3-6)

The one who overlooks laws is punished;

that is what is overlooked in the sight of the greedy.

It is the small-minded that seize riches,

but crime never managed to land its rewards.

Whoever says 'I snare for myself'

does not say 'I snare for my needs'.

The final part of what is right is its endurance;

of which a man says 'that is my father'

9 (column 6, lines 8-10)

Do not cause fear among people

God punishes with the same.

Anyone who says 'I can live by it'

will lack bread for his statement.

Anyone who say 'I can be powerful'

will have to say 'I snare against myself by my cleverness'.

Anyone who says he will strike another,

will end by being given to a stranger.

13 (column 7, lines 7-9)

If you are weak, follow a man of excellence

and all your conduct will be good before god.

When you have known lesser men before,

do not be proud against him,

from what you knew of him before.

Respect him according to what he has become,

14 (column 7, lines 9-10)

Follow your heart as long as you live.

Do not make a loss on what is said,

do not subtract time from following the heart.

Harming its time is an offence to the ka.

Do not deflect the moment of every day

beyond establishing your heart.

As things happen, follow (your) heart.

There is no profit in things if it is stifled.

17 (column 8, lines 6-11)

The great of heart is the gift of god,

the one who obeys his body belongs to the enemy.

22 (column 9, line 13 to column 10, line 5)

If you wish your conduct to be good

and to save yourself from all evil,

resist the opportunity of greed.

It is a sore disease of the worm,

no advance can come of it.

It embroils fathers and mothers,

with mother's brothers.

It entangles the wife and the man,

it is a levy of all evils,

a bundle of all hatefulness.

The man endures whose guideline is Right,

who proceeds according to his paces.

He can draw up a will by it.

There is no tomb for the greedy hearted.

25 (column 11, lines 1-4)

The spirit of the correct man is the spirit that brings happiness.

28 (column 11, line 12 to column 12, line 6)

Do not have your heart too high, or it will be brought down.

29 (column 12, lines 6-9)

Do not block the moment of a great man

do not constrain the desire of one who is laden down.

Barriers from him arise against the one who disputes with him,

there is release for the ka with the one who shows love for him.

This is the gift of sustenance, this and the god.

What he loves is action for him.

When the face is turned back to you, after a storm,

there follows peace before his ka,

and barriers before the enemy.

Planting love brings sustenance.

41 (column 15, line 8 to column 16, line 2)

The wise man nourishes his soul

by establishing his goodness with it on earth.

The wise man is famed for what he has learned,

42 (column 16, lines 3-13)

The hearer is one whom the god loves.

The one whom god hates does not hear.

The heart is the creator of its master.

Do not hear from the one who does not hear.

A man's heart is his life, prosperity and health.

44 (column 17, lines 4-9)

As for the fool unable to hear,

nothing can ever be done for him.

He sees wisdom as ignorance,

and what is good as what is painful.

He commits every error,

to be accused of it each day.

He lives on what one dies of,

corrupt speect is his food.

His character in this is well-known to the officials,

saying 'living death' each day.

His faults are passed over

from the sheer number of faults on him each day.

An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
John Locke

 

Chapter III
No Innate Practical Principles

 

It is the duty of parents to preserve their children.” But what duty is, cannot be understood without a law; nor a law be known or supposed without a lawmaker, or without reward and punishment; so that it is impossible that this, or any other, practical principle should be innate, i.e. be imprinted on the mind as a duty, without supposing the ideas of God, of law, of obligation, of punishment, of a life after this, innate: for that punishment follows not in this life the breach of this rule, and consequently that it has not the force of a law in countries where the generally allowed practice runs counter to it, is in itself evident.

 

Chapter IV

Other considerations concerning Innate Principles, both Speculative and Practical

 

it seems to me plainly to prove, that the truest and best notions men have of God were not imprinted, but acquired by thought and meditation, and a right use of their faculties: since the wise and considerate men of the world, by a right and careful employment of their thoughts and reason, attained true notions in this as well as other things; whilst the lazy and inconsiderate part of men, making far the greater number, took up their notions by chance, from common tradition and vulgar conceptions, without much beating their heads about them. And if it be a reason to think the notion of God innate, because all wise men had it, virtue too must be thought innate; for that also wise men have always had.

 

Chapter XXVII

 

Of Identity and Diversity

 

 

2. Identity of substances. We have the ideas but of three sorts of substances:

 

1. God.

2. Finite intelligences.

3. Bodies.

 

 

First, God is without beginning, eternal, unalterable, and everywhere, and therefore concerning his identity there can be no doubt.

 

Secondly, Finite spirits having had each its determinate time and place of beginning to exist, the relation to that time and place will always determine to each of them its identity, as long as it exists.

 

Thirdly, The same will hold of every particle of matter, to which no addition or subtraction of matter being made, it is the same. For, though these three sorts of substances, as we term them, do not exclude one another out of the same place, yet we cannot conceive but that they must necessarily each of them exclude any of the same kind out of the same place: or else the notions and names of identity and diversity would be in vain, and there could be no such distinctions of substances, or anything else one from another.

 

16. Consciousness alone unites actions into the same person. But though the same immaterial substance or soul does not alone, wherever it be, and in whatsoever state, make the same man; yet it is plain, consciousness, as far as ever it can be extended — should it be to ages past — unites existences and actions very remote in time into the same person, as well as it does the existences and actions of the immediately preceding moment: so that whatever has the consciousness of present and past actions, is the same person to whom they both belong.

 

19. Which shows wherein personal identity consists. This may show us wherein personal identity consists: not in the identity of substance, but, as I have said, in the identity of consciousness

 

25. Consciousness unites substances, material or spiritual, with the same personality. I agree, the more probable opinion is, that this consciousness is annexed to, and the affection of, one individual immaterial substance.

 

Chapter XXVIII

Of Other Relations

8. Divine law the measure of sin and duty. First, the divine law, whereby that law which God has set to the actions of men — whether promulgated to them by the light of nature, or the voice of revelation. That God has given a rule whereby men should govern themselves, I think there is nobody so brutish as to deny. He has a right to do it; we are his creatures: he has goodness and wisdom to direct our actions to that which is best: and he has power to enforce it by rewards and punishments of infinite weight and duration in another life; for nobody can take us out of his hands. This is the only true touchstone of moral rectitude; and, by comparing them to this law, it is that men judge of the most considerable moral good or evil of their actions; that is, whether, as duties or sins, they are like to procure them happiness or misery from the hands of the ALMIGHTY.

 

Chapter XXXI

Of Adequate and Inadequate Ideas

 

2. Simple ideas all adequate. First, that all our simple ideas are adequate. Because, being nothing but the effects of certain powers in things, fitted and ordained by God to produce such sensations in us, they cannot but be correspondent and adequate to those powers: and we are sure they agree to the reality of things.

 

Chapter XXXII

Of True and False Ideas

 

14. First, our simple ideas, being barely such perceptions as God has fitted us to receive, and given power to external objects to produce in us by established laws and ways, suitable to his wisdom and goodness, though incomprehensible to us, their truth consists in nothing else but in such appearances as are produced in us, and must be suitable to those powers he has placed in external objects or else they could not be produced in us: and thus answering those powers, they are what they should be, true ideas. Nor do they become liable to any imputation of falsehood, if the mind (as in most men I believe it does) judges these ideas to be in the things themselves. For God in his wisdom having set them as marks of distinction in things, whereby we may be able to discern one thing from another, and so choose any of them for our uses as we have occasion; it alters not the nature of our simple idea, whether we think that the idea of blue be in the violet itself, or in our mind only; and only the power of producing it by the texture of its parts, reflecting the particles of light after a certain manner, to be in the violet itself.

 

Chapter XXXIII

Of the Association of Ideas

 

17. Influence of association on intellectual habits. Intellectual habits and defects this way contracted, are not less frequent and powerful, though less observed. Let the ideas of being and matter be strongly joined, either by education or much thought; whilst these are still combined in the mind, what notions, what reasoning, will there be about separate spirits? Let custom from the very childhood have joined figure and shape to the idea of God, and what absurdities will that mind be liable to about the Deity? Let the idea of infallibility be inseparably joined to any person, and these two constantly together possess the mind; and then one body in two places at once, shall unexamined be swallowed for a certain truth, by an implicit faith, whenever that imagined infallible person dictates and demands assent without inquiry.

 

18. Observable in the opposition between different sects of philosophy and of religion. Some such wrong and unnatural combinations of ideas will be found to establish the irreconcilable opposition between different sects of philosophy and religion; for we cannot imagine every one of their followers to impose willfully on himself, and knowingly refuse truth offered by plain reason. Interest, though it does a great deal in the case, yet cannot be thought to work whole societies of men to so universal a perverseness, as that every one of them to a man should knowingly maintain falsehood: some at least must be allowed to do what all pretend to, i.e. to pursue truth sincerely; and therefore there must be something that blinds their understandings, and makes them not see the falsehood of what they embrace for real truth. That which thus captivates their reasons, and leads men of sincerity blindfold from common sense, will, when examined, be found to be what we are speaking of: some independent ideas, of no alliance to one another, are, by education, custom, and the constant din of their party, so coupled in their minds, that they always appear there together; and they can no more separate them in their thoughts than if they were but one idea, and they operate as if they were so. This gives sense to jargon, demonstration to absurdities, and consistency to nonsense, and is the foundation of the greatest, I had almost said of all the errors in the world; or, if it does not reach so far, it is at least the most dangerous one, since, so far as it obtains, it hinders men from seeing and examining. When two things, in themselves disjointed, appear to the sight constantly united; if the eye sees these things riveted which are loose, where will you begin to rectify the mistakes that follow in two ideas that they have been accustomed so to join in their minds as to substitute one for the other, and, as I am apt to think, often without perceiving it themselves? This, while they are under the deceit of it, makes them incapable of conviction, and they applaud themselves as zealous champions for truth, when indeed they are contending for error; and the confusion of two different ideas, which a customary connection of them in their minds hath to them made in effect but one, fills their heads with false views, and their reasoning with false consequences.

 

Book 3

Chapter V

Of the Names of Mixed Modes and Relations

 

4. How this is done. To understand this right, we must consider wherein this making of these complex ideas consists; and that is not in the making any new idea, but putting together those which the mind had before. Wherein the mind does these three things: First, It chooses a certain number; Secondly, It gives them connection, and makes them into one idea; Thirdly, It ties them together by a name. If we examine how the mind proceeds in these, and what liberty it takes in them, we shall easily observe how these essences of the species of mixed modes are the workmanship of the mind; and, consequently, that the species themselves are of men’s making.

 

7. But still subservient to the end of language, and not made at random. But, though these complex ideas or essences of mixed modes depend on the mind, and are made by it with great liberty, yet they are not made at random, and jumbled together without any reason at all. Though these complex ideas be not always copied from nature, yet they are always suited to the end for which abstract ideas are made: and though they be combinations made of ideas that are loose enough, and have as little union in themselves as several others to which the mind never gives a connection that combines them into one idea; yet they are always made for the convenience of communication, which is the chief end of language.

 

8. Whereof the untranslatable words of divers languages are a proof. A moderate skill in different languages will easily satisfy one of the truth of this, it being so obvious to observe great store of words in one language which have not any that answer them in another. Which plainly shows that those of one country, by their customs and manner of life, have found occasion to make several complex ideas, and given names to them, which others never collected into specific ideas.

 

Chapter VI

Of the Names of Substances

 

3. The nominal and real essence different. For, though perhaps voluntary motion, with sense and reason, joined to a body of a certain shape, be the complex idea to which I and others annex the name man, and so be the nominal essence of the species so called: yet nobody will say that complex idea is the real essence and source of all those operations which are to be found in any individual of that sort. The foundation of all those qualities which are the ingredients of our complex idea, is something quite different: and had we such a knowledge of that constitution of man, from which his faculties of moving, sensation, and reasoning, and other powers flow, and on which his so regular shape depends, as it is possible angels have, and it is certain his Maker has, we should have a quite other idea of his essence than what now is contained in our definition of that species, be it what it will: and our idea of any individual man would be as far different from what it is now, as is his who knows all the springs and wheels and other contrivances within of the famous clock at Strasburg, from that which a gazing countryman has of it, who barely sees the motion of the hand, and hears the clock strike, and observes only some of the outward appearances.

 

It is necessary for me to be as I am; God and nature has made me so: but there is nothing I have is essential to me.

 

The workmanship of the all-wise and powerful God in the great fabric of the universe, and every part thereof, further exceeds the capacity and comprehension of the most inquisitive and intelligent man, than the best contrivance of the most ingenious man doth the conceptions of the most ignorant of rational creatures. Therefore we in vain pretend to range things into sorts, and dispose them into certain classes under names, by their real essences, that are so far from our discovery or comprehension.

 

11. That the nominal essence is that only whereby we distinguish species of substances, further evident, from our ideas of finite spirits and of God. That our ranking and distinguishing natural substances into species consists in the nominal essences the mind makes, and not in the real essences to be found in the things themselves, is further evident from our ideas of spirits. For the mind getting, only by reflecting on its own operations, those simple ideas which it attributes to spirits, it hath or can have no other notion of spirit but by attributing all those operations it finds in itself to a sort of beings; without consideration of matter. And even the most advanced notion we have of GOD is but attributing the same simple ideas which we have got from reflection on what we find in ourselves, and which we conceive to have more perfection in them than would be in their absence; attributing, I say, those simple ideas to Him in an unlimited degree. Thus, having got from reflecting on ourselves the idea of existence, knowledge, power and pleasure — each of which we find it better to have than to want; and the more we have of each the better — joining all these together, with infinity to each of them, we have the complex idea of an eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, infinitely wise and happy being. And though we are told that there are different species of angels; yet we know not how to frame distinct specific ideas of them: not out of any conceit that the existence of more species than one of spirits is impossible; but because having no more simple ideas (nor being able to frame more) applicable to such beings, but only those few taken from ourselves, and from the actions of our own minds in thinking, and being delighted, and moving several parts of our bodies; we can no otherwise distinguish in our conceptions the several species of spirits, one from another, but by attributing those operations and powers we find in ourselves to them in a higher or lower degree; and so have no very distinct specific ideas of spirits, except only of GOD, to whom we attribute both duration and all those other ideas with infinity; to the other spirits, with limitation: nor, as I humbly conceive, do we, between GOD and them in our ideas, put any difference, by any number of simple ideas which we have of one and not of the other, but only that of infinity. All the particular ideas of existence, knowledge, will, power, and motion, &c., being ideas derived from the operations of our minds, we attribute all of them to all sorts of spirits, with the difference only of degrees; to the utmost we can imagine, even infinity, when we would frame as well as we can an idea of the First Being; who yet, it is certain, is infinitely more remote, in the real excellency of his nature, from the highest and perfectest of all created beings, than the greatest man, nay, purest seraph, is from the most contemptible part of matter; and consequently must infinitely exceed what our narrow understandings can conceive of Him.

 

12. Of finite spirits there are probably numberless species, in a continuous series or gradation. It is not impossible to conceive, nor repugnant to reason, that there may be many species of spirits, as much separated and diversified one from another by distinct properties whereof we have no ideas, as the species of sensible things are distinguished one from another by qualities which we know and observe in them. That there should be more species of intelligent creatures above us, than there are of sensible and material below us, is probable to me from hence: that in all the visible corporeal world, we see no chasms or gaps. All quite down from us the descent is by easy steps, and a continued series of things, that in each remove differ very little one from the other.

 

And when we consider the infinite power and wisdom of the Maker, we have reason to think that it is suitable to the magnificent harmony of the universe, and the great design and infinite goodness of the Architect, that the species of creatures should also, by gentle degrees, ascend upward from us toward his infinite perfection, as we see they gradually descend from us downwards: which if it be probable, we have reason then to be persuaded that there are far more species of creatures above us than there are beneath; we being, in degrees of perfection, much more remote from the infinite being of GOD than we are from the lowest state of being, and that which approaches nearest to nothing. And yet of all those distinct species, for the reasons above said, we have no clear distinct ideas.

 

Chapter XI

Of the Remedies of the Foregoing Imperfections and Abuses of Words

 

23. A reflection on the knowledge of corporeal things possessed by spirits separate from bodies. Hence we may take notice, how much the foundation of all our knowledge of corporeal things lies in our senses. For how spirits, separate from bodies, (whose knowledge and ideas of these things are certainly much more perfect than ours), know them, we have no notion, no idea at all. The whole extent of our knowledge or imagination reaches not beyond our own ideas limited to our ways of perception. Though yet it be not to be doubted that spirits of a higher rank than those immersed in flesh may have as clear ideas of the radical constitution of substances as we have of a triangle, and so perceive how all their properties and operations flow from thence: but the manner how they come by that knowledge exceeds our conceptions.

 

9. Habitual knowledge is of two degrees. Of habitual knowledge there are, also, vulgarly speaking. two degrees:

First, The one is of such truths laid up in the memory as, whenever they occur to the mind, it actually perceives the relation is between those ideas. And this is in all those truths whereof we have an intuitive knowledge; where the ideas themselves, by an immediate view, discover their agreement or disagreement one with another.

Secondly, The other is of such truths whereof the mind having been convinced, it retains the memory of the conviction, without the proofs.

In his adherence to a truth, where the demonstration by which it was at first known is forgot, though a man may be thought rather to believe his memory than really to know, and this way of entertaining a truth seemed formerly to me like something between opinion and knowledge; a sort of assurance which exceeds bare belief, for that relies on the testimony of another; — yet upon a due examination I find it comes not short of perfect certainty, and is in effect true knowledge. That which is apt to mislead our first thoughts into a mistake in this matter is, that the agreement or disagreement of the ideas in this case is not perceived, as it was at first, by an actual view of all the intermediate ideas whereby the agreement or disagreement of those in the proposition was at first perceived; but by other intermediate ideas, that show the agreement or disagreement of the ideas contained in the proposition whose certainty we remember.

 

Jefferson rejected Atheism, the Trinity, and the notion of self-existent Universe. He also understood that Jesus stated the Creator to be a Spirit, but did not define what Spirit is. Jefferson believed in rational Supreme Intelligent Spirit Being mentioned Torah and Gospels designed the Universe. He considered those that believe that a second being born of a virgin called the Creator's son was needed to create the Universe to be Atheist themselves and enemies of Jesus Christ. Jefferson reasoned that if a second being was needed then the Supreme Being is therefore useless.