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 Then many of the people of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews fell upon them.

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Release

Test screening

The film was originally produced and scheduled for release by Twentieth Century-Fox. The studio previewed it in San Jose for an audience who had just watched the Dirty Harry film, The Enforcer.

Director Flynn later explained, "The first 20 minutes of the film were placid by design -- Devane's homecoming, reunited with his family. Then violence overtakes this family. In the space of two minutes, Devane's hand is ground off and his wife and son are shot dead before his eyes."[11]

The preview audience did not react well to this. In his book, Adventures in the Screen Trade, William Goldman characterized this as "the most violent sneak reaction of recent years ... the audience actually got up and tried to physically abuse the studio personnel present among them."[12]

"The lobby looked like Guadalcanal", recalled producer Gordon. "Which, by the way, is a salesman's dream."[3]

Flynn says Fox screened the film for psychiatrists in an attempt to learn what it was that so disturbed the audience. Recalls Flynn,

They determined that it was like a symbolic castration. So, seeing it incited a (negative) reaction akin to the sneak of the original Exorcist ...Home is supposedly the place where everyone feels safest. When people are reminded that the home is vulnerable, which we all know it is, that's disturbing.[11]

Flynn says,

There were several discussions about what Fox should do with Rolling Thunder -- cut it, re-edit it or what.[11]

Fox insisted on making cuts but Gordon refused and he took the film to AIP.[3]

Devane later recalled:

It probably would've made a big difference if they'd actually released it properly. But when they tested it ... the Mexicans set the theater on fire! They were really, really, really down on it. So then the studio backed way off, and it never got the release it would've if they'd really jumped on it and supported it. But I didn't understand how to operate in those days. I still don't know how to operate. [Laughs.] But a movie star guy would've done everything he could to force them to release it properly, you know? And Tommy [Lee Jones] and I were just starting. God, that was the first featured role I ever did. Good picture, though. It's a really good picture ... You know, they tried to do the same thing to Warren Beatty with Bonnie and Clyde. But Warren was hip enough and smart enough and knew how to put enough pressure on them to get them to release that picture. And I didn't know how to do that. I didn't have any idea.[13]

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1“Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the Lord of hosts.

2“But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire And like launderers��� soap. 3He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And [a]purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the Lord An offering in righteousness.

--------------------------

1 Spirit divine, attend our prayers, and make this house thy home; descend with all thy gracious powers; O come, great Spirit, come!

2 Come as the light: to us reveal our emptiness and woe; and lead us in those paths of life where all the righteous go.

3 Come as the fire, and purge our hearts like sacrificial flame; let our whole soul an offering be to our Redeemer's name.

4 Come as the Dove, and spread thy wings, the wings of perfect love; and let thy church on earth become blest as the church above.

5 Spirit divine, attend our prayers; make a lost world thy home; descend with all thy gracious powers; O come, great Spirit, come!

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1 Let all creation bless the Lord, till heaven with praise is ringing. Sun, moon, and stars, peal out a chord, stir up the angels' singing. Sing, wind and rain! Sing, snow and sleet! Make music, day, night, cold and heat: exalt the God who made you.

2 All living things upon the earth, green fertile hills and mountains, sing to the God who gave you birth; be joyful, springs and fountains. Lithe waterlife, bright airborne birds, wild roving beasts, tame flocks and herds: exalt the God who made you.

3 O men and women everywhere, lift up a hymn of glory; all you who know God's steadfast care, tell out salvation's story. No tongue be silent; sing your part, you humble souls and meek of heart; exalt the God who made you.

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re·deem·ing

[rəˈdēmiNG] adjective compensating for someone's or something's faults; compensatory: "tuneless dirges with few redeeming features" · "a quite dreadful man, without a single redeeming quality"

Similar: compensating compensatory extenuating offsetting

able to save people from sin, error, or evil: "the transforming power of God's redeeming grace"

circumspectly

[ˈsərkəmˌspek(t)lē]

definition adverb form of circumspect

cir·cum·spect

[ˈsərkəmˌspek(t)]

adjective

wary and unwilling to take risks: "the officials were very circumspect in their statements"

Similar: cautious wary careful chary guarded discreet

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15See then that you walk [e]circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

17Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21submitting to one another in the fear of [f]God.

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1Now all the people gathered together as one man in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate; and they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded Israel. 2So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men and women and all who could hear with understanding on the first day of the seventh month. 3Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate [a]from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law.

4So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose; and beside him, at his right hand, stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah; and at his left hand Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam. 5And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. 6And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God.

Then all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

7Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law; and the people stood in their place. 8So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.

9And Nehemiah, who was the [b]governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the Law.

10Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

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Study Dictionary

Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZTable of Contents

ISBE: TONGUES OF FIRE Tombstone | Tomorrow | Tongs | Tongue | Tongues | Tongues Of Fire | Tongues, Confusion of | Tongues, Gift of | Tongues, Interpretation, Of | Tools | Toparchy

Tongues Of Fire

TONGUES OF FIRE [ISBE]

TONGUES OF FIRE - (glossai hosei puros): The reference in this topic is to the marvelous gift of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13). After His resurrection the Lord bade His disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until He should fulfill to them the promise of the Father, and until they should be clothed with power from on high (Lk 24:49). Acts 1:8 repeats the same gracious promise with additional particulars: "But ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." These were probably the last words our Lord spoke on earth before He ascended to the right hand of God.

1. Supernatural Manifestations:

When the Day of Pentecost was fully come and the disciples, no doubt by previous arrangement and with one accord, were gathered together in one place, the promise was gloriously fulfilled. On that day, the 50th after the Passover, and so the first day of the week, the Lord's day, the Spirit of God descended upon them in marvelous copiousness and power. The gift of the Spirit was accompanied by extraordinary manifestations or phenomena. These were three and were supernatural. His coming first appealed to the ear. The disciples heard a "sound from heaven," which rushed with mighty force into the house and filled it even as the storm rushes, but there was no wind. It was the sound that filled the house, not a wind. It was an invisible cause producing audible effects. Next, the eye was arrested by the appearance of tongues of fire which rested on each of the gathered company. Our the King James Version "cloven tongues" is somewhat misleading, for it is likely to suggest that each fire-like tongue was cloven or forked, as one sometimes sees in the pictures representing the scene. But this is not at all the meaning of Luke's expression; rather, tongues parting asunder, tongues distributed among them, each disciple sharing in the gift equally with the others. "Like as of fire," or, more exactly, "as if of fire," indicates the appearance of the tongues, not that they were actually aflame, but that they prefigured the marvelous gift with which the disciples were now endowed.

Finally, there was the impartation to them of a new strange power to speak in languages they had never learned. It was because they were filled with the Holy Spirit that this extraordinary gift was exhibited by them. Not only did the Spirit enable them thus to speak, but even the utterance of words depended on His divine influence--they spake "as the Spirit gave them utterance."

Many attempts have been made by writers on the Acts to explain the phenomenon of Pentecost so as to exclude in whole or in part the supernatural element which Luke unquestionably recognizes. Some try to account for the gift of tongues by saying that it was a new style of speaking, or new forms of expression, or new and elevated thoughts, but this is both unnatural and wholly inconsistent with the narrative where a real difference of language is implied. Others imagine that the miracle was wrought upon the ears of the hearers, each of whom supposed what he heard to be uttered in his mother-tongue. But this view contradicts the distinct statement in Acts 2:4: they "began to speak with other tongues," i.e. the disciples did. It contradicts what the multitude affirmed, namely, "How hear we, every man in our own language, wherein we were born?" (2:8). Furthermore, the view contains an element of falsehood, for in this case the miracle was wrought to make men believe what was not actually the fact. The only reasonable explanation of the phenomena is that which the record bears on its face, and which Luke obviously meant his readers to believe, namely, that the Holy Spirit enabled the disciples to speak in the various languages represented by the multitude gathered together at the time.

2. Sinai and Pentecost:

The scenes witnessed at Pentecost were somewhat analogous to the events which occurred at the giving of the Law at Sinai, but the contrast between them is much more pronounced. We are told in Heb 12:18,19 that "tempest," "fire," and "the voice of words" attended the inauguration of the Mosaic dispensation. Something similar was witnessed at Pentecost. But the differences between the two are very marked. At Sinai there were also the blackness and darkness, the quaking earth, the thunderings and lightnings, the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud, the terror of the people, and the fear of Moses (Ex 19:16-18; Heb 12:18,19). Nothing of this was seen at Pentecost.

The phenomena characterize the two dispensations. That of Sinai was legal. Its substance was: Do and live; disobey and die. Law knows no mercy, extends no grace. Exact justice is its rule, perfect righteousness its requirement, and death its penalty. No wonder terrible things accompanied its proclamation, and Moses trembled with fear. No wonder it was called "a fiery law" (Dt 33:2).

3. Qualities Imparted by the Spirit:

With the advent of the Spirit came perfect grace, divine power and complete pardon for the worst of men. At Sinai God spoke in one language. At Pentecost the Spirit through the disciples spoke in many tongues (15 in all are mentioned in Acts 2). The Law was for one people alone; the gospel is for the whole race. The sound that accompanied the outpouring of the Spirit filled all the house and all the disciples likewise--token and pledge of the copiousness, the fullness of the gift. The tongues of flame signified the power of speech, boldness of utterance, and persuasiveness which from henceforth were to mark the testimony of the disciples.

The marvelous capabilities which the witnesses display after Pentecost are most noteworthy. It is common to admire their courage and zeal, to contrast their fearlessness in the presence of enemies and danger with their former timidity and cowardice. It is perhaps not so common to recognize in them the qualities that lie at the foundation of all effective work, that which gives to witness-bearing for Christ its real energy and potency. These qualities are such as: knowledge and wisdom, zeal and prudence, confidence and devotion, boldness and love. skill and tact. These and the like gifts appear in their discourses, in their behavior when difficulties arise and dangers impend, and in their conduct before the angry rulers. It is altogether remarkable with what skill and tact they defend themselves before the Sanhedrin, and with what effectiveness they preach the gospel of the grace of God to the multitude, often a scoffing and hostile multitude. In Peter's address on the Day of Pentecost there are the marks of the highest art, the most skillful logic, and the most, persuasive argument. Professor Stifler well says of it: "It is without a peer among the products of uninspired men. And yet it is the work of a Galilean fisherman, without culture or training, and his maiden effort." The like distinguished traits are found in Peter's address recorded in Acts 3, in that to Cornelius and his friends, and in his defense when arraigned by the strict believers at Jerusalem for having gone into the company of men uncircumcised and having eaten with them. No less must be said of the equally wonderful reply of Stephen to the charge brought against him as recorded in Acts 7. It is quite true that Stephen did not share in the effusion of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, so far as we know, but he did share in the gift and power of the Spirit soon after, for we are told that he was full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, that he was also full of grace and power. Accordingly, it should be no surprise to read, as the effect of his discourse, that the high priest and all the rest who heard him "were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth" (7:54). Stephen spoke with a tongue of fire.

In the management of the serious complaint made by the Grecian Jews against the Hebrews as to the neglect of their widows in the daily ministration (Acts 6:1), and in their conduct and defense when brought before the council, as they were once and again (Acts 4; 5; 12), they exhibited a wisdom and prudence far enough removed from shrewdness and cunning. The qualities they possessed and displayed are uncommon, are more than human, they are the gift of the Holy Spirit with whom they were baptized on Pentecost. So the Lord Jesus had promised (Mk 13:11; Jn 16:13; Acts 1:8).

4. Distinguished from 1 Corinthians 12; 14:

The tongues of fire which we have been considering appear to have differed in one important aspect from the like gift bestowed on the Corinthians (1 Cor 12; 14). At Pentecost the disciples spoke in the languages of the various persons who heard them; there needed to be no interpreter, as was provided for at Corinth. Paul distinctly orders that if there be no one to explain or interpret the ecstatic utterance of a speaker, he shall keep silent (1 Cor 14:28). At Pentecost many spoke at the same time, for the Spirit had perfect control of the entire company and used each as it pleased Him. At Corinth Paul directed that not more than two or at most three should speak in a tongue, and that by course (one at a time). At Pentecost each one of the 15 nationalities there represented by the crowd heard in his own tongue wherein he was born the wonderful works of God. At Corinth no one understood the tongue, not even the speaker himself, for it seems to have been a rhapsody, an uncontrolled ecstatic outburst, and in case there was no one to interpret or explain it, the speaker was to hold his peace and speak to himself and to God, i.e. he must not disturb the worship by giving voice to his ecstasy unless the whole assembly should be edified thereby. Paul sets prophecy, or preaching the word of God, far above this gift of tongues.

It may not be out of place here to say that the so-called "gift of tongues," so loudly proclaimed by certain excitable persons in our day, has nothing in common with the mighty action of the Spirit of God on the day of Pentecost, and hardly anything with that which the Corinthian Christians enjoyed, and which Paul regulated with a master-hand.

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1O Lord, God of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before You. 2Let my prayer come before You; [b]Incline Your ear to my cry.

3For my soul is full of troubles, And my life draws near to the grave. 4I am counted with those who go[c] down to the pit; I am like a man who has no strength, 5[d]Adrift among the dead, Like the slain who lie in the grave, Whom You remember no more, And who are cut off from Your hand.

6You have laid me in the lowest pit, In darkness, in the depths. 7Your wrath lies heavy upon me, And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah 8You have [e]put away my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an abomination to them; I am shut up, and I cannot get out; 9My eye wastes away because of affliction.

Lord, I have called daily upon You; I have stretched out my hands to You. 10Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall [f]the dead arise and praise You? Selah 11Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction? 12Shall Your wonders be known in the dark? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

13But to You I have cried out, O Lord, And in the morning my prayer comes before You. 14Lord, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me? 15I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught. 16Your fierce wrath has gone over me; Your terrors have [g]cut me off. 17They came around me all day long like water; They engulfed me altogether. 18Loved one and friend You have put far from me, And my acquaintances into darkness.

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Background

[edit]

The Sons of Korah were the sons of Moses' cousin Korah. The story of Korah is found in Numbers 16. Korah led a revolt against Moses; he died, along with all his co-conspirators, when God caused "the earth to open her mouth and swallow him and all that appertained to them" (Numbers 16:31–33). Immediately after this event, the Lord's anger burned and a plague struck killing another 14,700 Israelites. However, "the children of Korah died not" (Numbers 26:11). Several psalms are described in their opening verses as being by the Sons of Korah: numbers 42, 44–49, 84, 85, 87 and 88.[1]

Some of the Korahites were also "porters" of the temple (1 Chronicles 9:17–19); one of them was over "things that were made in the pans" (v31), i.e. the baking in pans for the meat-offering (Leviticus 2:5). According to the genealogies in 1 Chronicles, the prophet Samuel was descended from Korah.[2]

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1Bless the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God, You are very great: You are clothed with honor and majesty, 2Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.

3He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters, Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind, 4Who makes His angels spirits, His [a]ministers a flame of fire.

5You who [b]laid the foundations of the earth, So that it should not be moved forever, 6You covered it with the deep as with a garment; The waters stood above the mountains. 7At Your rebuke they fled; At the voice of Your thunder they hastened away. 8[c]They went up over the mountains; They went down into the valleys, To the place which You founded for them. 9You have set a boundary that they may not pass over, That they may not return to cover the earth.

10He sends the springs into the valleys; They flow among the hills. 11They give drink to every beast of the field; The wild donkeys quench their thirst. 12By them the birds of the heavens have their home; They sing among the branches. 13He waters the hills from His upper chambers; The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Your works.

14He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the service of man, That he may bring forth food from the earth, 15And wine that makes glad the heart of man, Oil to make his face shine, And bread which strengthens man’s heart. 16The trees of the Lord are full of sap, The cedars of Lebanon which He planted, 17Where the birds make their nests; The stork has her home in the fir trees. 18The high hills are for the wild goats; The cliffs are a refuge for the rock[d] badgers.

19He appointed the moon for seasons; The sun knows its going down. 20You make darkness, and it is night, In which all the beasts of the forest creep about. 21The young lions roar after their prey, And seek their food from God. 22When the sun rises, they gather together And lie down in their dens. 23Man goes out to his work And to his labor until the evening.

24O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. The earth is full of Your possessions— 25This great and wide sea, In which are innumerable teeming things, Living things both small and great. 26There the ships sail about; There is that Leviathan[e] Which You have [f]made to play there.

27These all wait for You, That You may give them their food in due season. 28What You give them they gather in; You open Your hand, they are filled with good. 29You hide Your face, they are troubled; You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust. 30You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth.

31May the glory of the Lord endure forever; May the Lord rejoice in His works. 32He looks on the earth, and it trembles; He touches the hills, and they smoke.

33I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. 34May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the Lord. 35May sinners be consumed from the earth, And the wicked be no more.

Bless the Lord, O my soul! [g]Praise the Lord!

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What Are the Seven Types of Souls?

By Menachem Posner

Question:

I've heard it said that the seven branches of the Menorah (candelabra) in the Holy Temple represent the seven types of souls. Can you please tell me the unique characteristics of these different souls?

Answer:

Man was created "in the image of G‑d" (Genesis 1:26). Among the many meanings inherent in this statement is that our souls' composition is the likeness G‑d's divine attributes.

There are seven middot (divine emotive attributes) — Kindness, Severity, Harmony, Perseverance, Humility, Foundation, and Royalty. While every soul possesses all seven of these middot, one of these traits is most dominant, shaping the individual soul's unique service of G‑d.

Here is a brief description of the seven types of Jewish souls:

Chesed (Kindness) — A soul whose service of G‑d is characterized by a calm and flowing love. This soul is also overflowing with love for his fellows.

Gevurah (Severity) – A soul who serves G‑d with awe and a flaming passion. This soul is also highly disciplined, with high expectations of himself and others.

Tiferet (Harmony) – The soul who has achieved a perfect synthesis of Kindness and Severity. This is accomplished through the study of Torah. Tiferet is also the source of the soul's capacity for compassion.

Netzach (Perseverance) – A soul who is constantly battling and struggling, but is ultimately triumphant.

Hod (Humility) – The soul who exemplifies self-abnegation in favor of allowing itself to be overwhelmed by G‑d's goodness.

Yesod (Foundation) – The soul whose unique talent is establishing giving relationships, intellectually or otherwise.

Malchut – (Royalty) The soul who serves its Creator in a majestic manner.

In the Temple's Menorah, all seven branches were hewn from a single block of pure gold. We may have different dispositions and different methods of serving G‑d, but we are essentially one. We have one purpose and one mission, with different ways to accomplish the same goal — serving our creator and being a Menorah — a guiding light — for the entire world.

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‘What man indeed can know the intentions of God?

Who can divine the will of the Lord? .

The reasonings of mortals are unsure

and our intentions unstable;

for a perishable body presses down the soul,

and this tent of clay weighs down the teeming mind.*

It is hard enough for us to work out what is on earth,

laborious to know what lies within our reach;

who, then, can discover what is in the heavens?

As for your intention, who could have learnt it, had you not granted Wisdom

and sent your holy spirit from above?

Thus have the paths of those on earth been straightened

and men been taught what pleases you,

and saved, by Wisdom.”