#Bible number systems

[numbersbythebook]

The 6th Seal of Revelation & the Letter Vav

written by Will Schumacher

I did a series of posts that the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet correspond to the 22 chapters of Revelation.

The 6th chapter of Revelation corresponds to the 6th Hebrew letter Vav. The ancient Hebrew language is a pictograph language. The letter vav is a picture of a nail or tent peg. The letter vav is considered the connecting force of God to creation. It is what joins just as a nail or tent peg joins.

The first time the 6th Hebrew letter vav is found in the Bible , it is in the 6th word “and”. It is joining the words “heaven” and “the earth”.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

The word “vav” is Strong’s H2053. And is translated as “hook” or “tent peg”. These tent pegs were used in the tabernacle to join the tabernacle to the earth. Since the tabernacle was the dwelling of God from heaven these hooks/vavs connected heaven to the earth.

Note that man is joined to God through Jesus by being nailed (vav) to the cross.

John 20:25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

This is the only use of Strong’s G2247 = “nail” and it has an intext gematria = 888 = Jesus.

Jesus is known as restorer of the “missing vav”.

The word for generations as used in Genesis 2:4 before the fall of man is spelled correctly with 2 vavs but after the fall has only 1 vav until Ruth 4:18 and the generations of Pharez, hence a “missing vav”.

Genesis 2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

Ruth 4:18 Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron,

The running total gematria to the second word, Strong’s H8435 = “generations” with the restored vav, is 888. Again Jesus = 888.

Strong’s H6557 “Pharez” means breach or break forth and is from Strong’s H6556.

Pharez’ birth genealogy leads to the birth of David. Jesus is the Son of David and the promised king of the Davidic covenant. God was saying He would break forth into humanity through Jesus and provide redemption and the restored vav.

Jesus is known as the repairer of the breach (Pharez) in chapter 888 of the Bible. Again 888 = Jesus.

Amos 9:11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:

Genesis 2:4 is verse 35 and Ruth 4:18 is verse 7209. 7209-35 = 7174 verses in between. Only 1 verse in all of Bible with gematria 7174 and it is about the crucifixion, the nails (vav) pierced our Savior’s body to restore back to creation.

Mark 15:33 And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

So Jesus is the missing vav and He is what joins heaven and earth. Chapter 6 of Revelation is tied to the letter vav. The beginning of the 6th seal of this 6th chapter of Revelation uses the same language as Mark 15:33 tied to Jesus as the missing vav. This darkness begins at the 6th hour and corresponds to the 6th seal.

Revelation 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

As I have said in other posts the sun and moon are called “rulers” of the heavens in Genesis 1:16 and are symbolically used as symbols of leadership. The Bible paints a picture of God as the sun since He is the chief ruler from the heavens. Sackcloth symbolizes mourning. The symbolism of the sun turning black as sackcloth is a picture of God the Father in mourning over His Son whom He has put the penalty of sin upon. The moon is symbolized in the Bible as a leader who reflects the light of the moon. When Jesus was on earth He was a reflection of the Father and served Him. The moon became blood I believe refers to Jesus becoming the blood sacrifice for our sins.

Genesis 37:34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

A pertinent question is if the beginning of the 6th seal is the death of Jesus then how can He be pictured in Revelation 5 as worthy to open the seals because He was slain and accomplished redemption? That makes no sense. However, Revelation 13 states that the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. God and the events in heaven are not subject to the laws of time as we are here on earth.

Revelation 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

The verse jump from Mark 15:33 to Revelation 6:12 is 5946. Verse 5946 contains the Passover. Christ on the cross was the Passover Lamb. It is also the first time that they ate from the Promised Land after being in the wilderness 40 years. It would seem to be a confirmation of the Abrahamic covenant.

Josh 5:11 And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the morrow after the passover, unleavened cakes, and parched corn in the selfsame day.

The first verse with a gematria of 5946 is about the covenant God made with Abram. It is important to note that Abram never walked through the divided animals, only God. God was saying He alone will be responsible for keeping this covenant, a reference again to God Himself breaking forth/Pharez into humanity through Jesus and providing redemption.

Genesis 15:10 And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against another: but the birds divided he not

[prokopetz]

Re: your post about genre limitations of D&D

There was like a ton of d20 games back then, from browsing forums it feels like half of genres and IPs got their d20 book printed, and the other half got some homebrew.

Did it carry the genre implications of D&D itself? Was it something subtle or did it straight up feel like reskinned D&D? If yes, is this because the implications are that deep mechanically, or simply because the authors didn't do enough hacking?

The thing you need to understand about the d20 System renaissance is that the overwhelming majority of licensed d20 System games genuinely do not give a shit whether Dungeons & Dragons is a good fit for them or not. Indeed, many were created with the explicit understanding that it isn't, and no intention of trying to address that in any way. The bulk of such adaptations exist for one of two reasons:

The author and/or IP owner wanted to publish a worldbuilding bible for their setting (or, in the case of a television franchise, an episode guide), but getting people to pay money for a worldbuilding bible or episode guide is hard. However, if you take that exact same worldbuilding bible, staple some game mechanics to the side of it, and call it a licensed RPG, nerds will line up to buy it. Most worldbuilding-bibles-pretending-to-be-RPGs use the d20 System because the OGL allows you to copy and paste D&D's rules into your product verbatim, which cuts down on development costs.

A media franchise with an existing tabletop RPG wanted to get a foot in the door with the D&D crowd, so they bashed together a d20 System version of their core rulebook as a marketing gimmick, gambling that some non-zero percentage of D&D players who tried it would be interested enough to check out the non-d20 System game it's adapted from. In this case, the d20 System version doesn't need to be good, or even playable, because its purpose isn't to be played – it just needs to exist.

Hasbro, for their part, encourages all this because it reinforces the popular perception that Dungeons & Dragons can do anything, and that's worth more than the relatively tiny number of players they're likely to poach. The fact that half of them are unplayable copied-and-pasted garbage which exist only for marketing purposes and the other half boil down to logistics-driven dungeon crawling with a thin veneer of the licensed setting painted over it just isn't terribly important.

(To anticipate a variety of inevitable responses, please note that no part of this post remarks on the merits of Dungeons & Dragons as a game; I'm talking about marketing here, not game design.)

[metalheadsforblacklivesmatter]

"When they dig up your bones they'll know if you're a MAN or WOMAN"

First of all. No they won't. Apparently determining if someone is a man or woman in archeology is very fucking difficult.

But second of all. There's people in 2022 that genuinely believe women have 1 less rib than men because of what the Bible says.

So not only is determining the sex of bones really fucking hard. But there's people in 2022 that don't know what a woman's skeleton looks like.

There is a greater than zero chance that you're bones will be discovered in 500 years and people will have zero fucking clue what your sex assigned at birth is. And honestly I think that's very gender.

(Plus the skeletal system way of recognizing people doesn't really account for things like people being assigned female at birth but they really have male internal anatomy. Or women who may develop "masculine" skeletal structures because they have PCOS which causes them to produce a high amount of testosterone. It's estimated 6% of women have PCOS.)

-fae

[deception-united]

Let's talk about writing fantasy.

Fantasy is one of my favourite genres, to read and to write. But the worldbuilding required and the existing tropes can make it difficult to craft a unique, compelling novel. There are a number of less-discussed nuances that might not always be at the forefront of writing discussions. Here are some tips to help you out:

Ground it in reality: Even though fantasy allows for boundless imagination, grounding your world in elements familiar to readers can make it more relatable and believable. Making it too otherworldly can make it difficult to understand or follow, and will likely make it much more difficult to interweave the explanation of your world and its society into the text seamlessly.

Consistency is key: Fantasy worlds can be complex, with their own rules, magic systems, and histories. Ensure consistency in your worldbuilding, avoiding contradictions or sudden changes without explanation. I find it helpful to keep a world bible or notes to track details and maintain coherence throughout the story.

Character-driven plots: While epic battles and magical quests are exciting, don't forget that compelling characters drive the heart of any story. Develop multi-dimensional characters with strengths, weaknesses, and personal arcs that resonate with readers (see my post on character development for more).

Avoid clichés and stereotypes: Fantasy often draws from familiar tropes and archetypes, but try not to rely on them too heavily. Subvert expectations and breathe new life into old conventions by adding unique twists or exploring lesser-known mythologies and cultures. Make it your own!

Magic has consequences: Magic adds wonder to fantasy worlds, but it should also have limitations and consequences. Consider the societal, environmental, and personal impacts of magic on your world and characters. A well-defined magic system can enhance the depth and realism of your story.

Worldbuilding through storytelling: Instead of dumping large chunks of exposition, reveal your fantasy world gradually through character interactions, dialogue, and plot progression. Show, don't tell, and let readers piece together the intricacies of your world as they journey through your story (check out my previous post on worldbuilding for more tips).

Embrace diversity: Fantasy worlds should reflect the diversity of our own world. Include characters from various backgrounds, cultures, and identities, and explore themes of inclusivity and acceptance within your narrative.

Conflict beyond good vs. evil: While the battle between good and evil is a classic fantasy trope, consider adding layers of moral ambiguity and complexity to your conflicts. Explore themes of power, redemption, and the consequences of choices made in the face of adversity.

Research is essential: Even in a world of imagination, research plays a crucial role in grounding your story in reality. Whether it's drawing inspiration from historical events, cultural practices, or scientific principles, thorough research can enrich your worldbuilding and add depth to your narrative. Even fantasy worlds and elements require some sort of basis to make them more believable.

Revise: Like any genre, writing fantasy requires extensive revision and polishing. Be prepared to revise your manuscript multiple times, seeking feedback from beta readers or critique partners to strengthen your story, characters, and worldbuilding.

Happy writing!

[jasper-pagan-witch]

Library Tips For Magic Practitioners

As a Missouri librarian, I've gotten to know my library district pretty well. So here are some tips for you!

Tip 1: Dewey is your friend.

And by that I mean the Dewey Decimal System (a more in-depth list is in that link) is your friend. It breaks down as follows:

000: General Knowledge (encyclopedias, newspapers, almanacs, etc)

100: Psychology & Philosophy (feelings, logic, friendships, etc)

200: Religions & Mythology (Bible stories, Native American myths, classical mythology, etc)

300: Social Sciences & Folklore (families, career, money, government, etc)

400: Languages (English, Spanish, American Sign Language, grammar, etc)

500: Math & Science (arithmetic, animals, rocks, plants, fossils, etc)

600: Medicine & Technology (inventions, machines, farming, health, etc)

700: Arts & Recreation (crafts, painting, music, games, sports, etc)

800: Literature (poetry, plays, novels from other countries, etc)

900: Geography & History (countries, biographies, etc)

If you're looking for ghosts, divination, and witchcraft specifically, look around 133. That's where I've found most of my magic-based books to borrow. You'll also find books talking about people's near-death experiences or reincarnation around this point.

While fiction technically falls in the 800s, most libraries will have it separate from nonfiction. You may still find things like poems or memoirs in the nonfiction section. Some libraries will have the biographies separated into their own section. A few libraries (at least here in Missouri) will have state-specific sections where you can learn more about local stuff.

Tip 2: There are computers and printers to use.

If you can't research something at home for literally any reason, getting a library card will often grant you access to using the computers and printers in the library.

When using the printer, some libraries will charge based on how much ink you use, other libraries will charge based on how much paper you use, and other libraries will charge based on some other criteria.

Be aware that you lose access to these if you reach a certain level of overdue materials or money is charged to your library card until the materials are returned/paid for or the money is paid off. Luckily, librarians are here to help you and can tell you what's missing.

Tip 3: Libraries have more than books.

Seriously. The main branch of my library district has 3D printers, telescopes, gaming systems to use in-building, and more stuff that I didn't even pay attention to because I was scrambling to learn the behind-the-counter stuff. Feel free to ask us for something and we can see if it's in-county for ya!

Audiobooks are often available on CDs and in the form of Playaways, which are like MP3 players with a single book on them. You will need a wire-connected set of earbuds or a wire-connected headset and batteries. Some libraries sell earbuds, but not batteries.

Large Print books will often have their own special designation as LP, but more often they have their own shelf sections. You'll find a surprising number of Westerns there, but there are Large Print nonfiction books.

Tip 4: Requesting materials.

Not finding something you're looking for? Ask the front desk for help! In Missouri, we have the Missouri Evergreen system, which means we can borrow books from all over the state* on the topic you're looking for.

If we can't find it (or you're in a library that doesn't have such a monumental reach), then you can often fill out a book request form. We will then do our best to order the book for you - but be aware that it could take many months, and most of the time, people will cancel their order of the book well before our budget catches up or we even have time to get the book processed and integrated into the system. Patience is key when ordering a new book.

*At participating branches - not every library district in our state is part of Missouri Evergreen.

Tip 5: Self-checkout is a thing.

At least, it is here in Missouri. If you don't want to interact with the front desk, there are often self-checkout stations for books, DVDs, audiobooks, et cetera. Even my middle-of-nowhere branch has one!

Unfortunately, this won't work for other things, like updating your card once it expires or resolving monetary charges (which will both send you to the front desk).

Tip 6: Search the new shelves.

Some libraries like mine will have specially-designated "New Shelves", where you can find a lot of the most recent releases. If you're trying to find something in a particular number that you saw on the search but can't find it, it may be on the new shelf. These get cycled out whenever new books come in, which may mean that you have several months' worth of new releases to dig through.

In short, I hope this helps you in your search through the library! Best of luck to you!

~Jasper

[talonabraxas]

THE 7-RUNGED LADDER OF THE MYSTERIES

A symbol of progressive advancement from a lower to a higher sphere, which is common to Freemasonry and to many, if not all, of the Ancient Mysteries. In each, generally, as in Freemasonry, the number of steps was seven.

LADDER, BRAHMANICAL

The symbolic ladder used in the Mysteries of Brahma has seven steps, symbolic of the seven worlds of the Indian universe. The lowest is the Earth; the second, the World of Coexistence; the third, Heaven; the fourth, the Middle World, or intermediate region between the lower and the upper worlds; the fifth, the World of Births, in which souls are born again; the sixth, the Mansion of the Blessed; and the seventh, or topmost round, the Sphere of Truth, the abode of Brahma, who is himself a symbol of the sun.

LADDER, QABALISTIC

The ladder of the Qabalists consists of the ten Sephirot, or Emanations, of Deity. The steps are in an ascending series: Kingdom, Foundation, Splendor, Firmness, Beauty, Justice, Mercy, Intelligence, Wisdom, and the Crown. This ladder forms the exception to the usual number of seven steps or rounds;

LADDER, MITHRAITIC

In the Persian Mysteries of Mithras, there is a ladder of seven rounds, the passage through them being symbolical of the soul's approach to perfection. These rounds are called gates, and in allusion to them, the candidate is made to pass through seven dark and winding caverns, which process is called the ascent of the ladder of perfection. Each of these caverns is representative of a world, or a state of existence, through which the soul must pass in its progress from the first world to the last, the World of Truth. The seven steps are further symbolized by the seven planets and the seven metals. Thus, beginning at the bottom, we have Saturn represented by lead, Venus by copper, Jupiter by tin, Mercury by qiucksilver, Mars by iron, the Moon by silver, and the Sun by gold; the whole being a symbol of the sidereal progress of the sun through the universe.

LADDER OF IZADOSH

This ladder, belonging to the advanced Degrees of Freemasonry, consists of the seven following steps, beginning at the bottom: Justice, Equity, Kindliness, Good Faith, Labor, Patience, and Intelligence or Wisdom. Its supports are love of God and love of our neighbor, and their totality constitute a symbolism of the devoir or duty of Knighthood and Freemasonry, the fulfillment of which is necessary to make a Perfect Knight and Perfect Freemason.

LADDER, ROSICRUCIAN

Among the symbols of the Rosicrucians is a ladder of seven steps standing on a globe of the earth, with an open Bible, Square and Compass resting on top. Between each of the steps is one of the following letters, beginning from the bottom: I. N. R. I. F. S. C., being the initials of Iesus, Nazarenus, Rex, Iudaeorum, Fides, Spes, Caritas. These words suggesting Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, Faith, Hope, Charity. But a more recondite or hidden meaning is sometimes given to the first four letters (INRI - All of Nature is Renewed by Fire).

LADDER, SCANDINAVIAN

Doctor Oliver refers the symbolic ladder used in the Gothic Mysteries to the Yggrasil, or sacred ashtree. It retains the idea of an ascent from a lower to a higher sphere, which was common to all the mystical ladder systems. At its root lies the dragon of death; at its top are the eagle and hawk, the symbols of life.

LADDER, THEOLOGICAL

The symbolic ladder of the Masonic Mysteries refers to the ladder seen by Jacob in his vision, and consists, like all symbolical ladders, of seven rounds, alluding to the four cardinal and the three theological virtues: Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, Justice, Faith, Hope, and Charity

LADDER, JACOB'S

While sleeping one night on the bare earth and a stone for his pillow, Jacob beheld the vision of a ladder, whose foot rested on the earth and whose top reached to heaven. Angels were continually ascending and descending upon it, and promised him the blessing of a numerous and happy posterity. This ladder, so remarkable in the history of the Jewish people, finds its analogue in all the ancient initiations. It is certain that the ladder as a symbol of moral and intellectual progress existed almost universally in antiquity, presenting itself either as a succession of steps, of gates, of Degrees, or in some other modified form. The number of the steps varied; although the favorite one appears to have been seven, in reference, apparently, to the mystical character almost everywhere given to that number.

-- AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FREEMASONRY AND ITS KINDRED SCIENCES by Albert C. Mackey MD

[newsfromstolenland]

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/08/lgbtq-holocaust-memorial-in-berlin-attacked-with-bible-verses-arson/

Is Germany becoming Nazi Germany again? Da fuck? There was some Neo Nazis living in East Germany and there are a number of far right types in East Germany again.

nazis never left germany, they're just seeing an international surge in support for and complacency about nazism and taking it as an invitation. german nazis were just a bit quieter for a while.

also. can i just say, as much as this happening is fucked up, I only see people sharing news about this around when it's impacting lgbt+ people... when theres been a spike in antisemitic hate crimes worldwide. which.

antisemitism and white/aryan supremacy are the core values of nazism. (ive included the phrase aryan bc i once had a white german tell me he was okay with me being brown because im indian and "indians are aryans too") yes they hate gay and trans people too but I think white ppl who aren't jewish are way too willing to make nazism all about homophobia and transphobia, when their first target is and always has been jewish people, followed by romani ppl and poc.

and if we can't even acknowledge that then how the hell are we gonna dismantle the systems that enable nazism and other forms of white supremacy to exist??

synagogues are being swatted and getting bomb threats and people are only addressing nazism as it impacts those of us who aren't jewish!!

[scotianostra]

On February 25th 1888 a conference advocated the adoption of leaving certificates in Scottish schools.

Scotland has long enjoyed an international reputation as historically one of the best-educated societies in the world. The foundation for this reputation was laid in the 17th century and was the result of Calvinist emphasis on reading the Bible. Putting men and women in touch with the word of God was seen by the Scottish authorities and clergy as of paramount importance. To achieve this goal schools paid for by the Church of Scotland and local landowners were established in all rural parishes and burghs by an Act of Parliament in 1696. These educational establishments were run by the Church and were open to all boys and girls regardless of social status.

The democratic nature of the Scottish system so impressed the 18th century writer Daniel Defoe that he remarked that while England was a land ‘full of ignorance’, in Scotland the 'poorest people have their children taught and instructed’. The openness of the Scottish system ran all the way from the schoolroom to the university. A talented working class boy the 'lad o'pairts’ through intelligence and hard work and by utilising a generous system of bursaries was able to gain a university education, something largely unthinkable in England in the 18th century.

That’s not to say it was perfect on further inspection I found out that even in 1892 when all elementary and most secondary education became free, and scholarships were more widely available, few working-class children were able to take advantage of the opportunity. Only just under 5% of pupils attended a secondary school in Scotland in 1897. The real priority for children from working-class backgrounds was to find work and begin earning a wage.

For a small nation Scotland was particularly well-endowed with universities, boasting five in the 19th century - a figure which included Aberdeen’s Marischal and King’s Colleges. The universities were considered to be national, public institutions and, therefore, less elitist than Oxford or Cambridge in England. Because of this they were said to be more open to working people and, indeed, over 18% of the student population of Glasgow university in 1860 was from working-class backgrounds, quite a high number considering the low percentages of working class children who were educated.

The existence of a substantial number of working class students has given rise to the view that universities in Scotland were more democratic and based more on merit than the class-ridden universities of England. The wider implication was that Scotland was a less class obsessed society than England.

Again all was not as it seemed, and while we had a working class getting into University, the system was somewhat broken in a way. At Glasgow University in 1889-90, out of 225 students taking the junior Latin class 200 failed. The quality of university education in Scotland was generally poor and inferior to that offered in England. The low quality was mainly due to the fact that there was no university entrance examination and, therefore, children could enter the system as early as fourteen or fifteen, the 1888 act would possibly put this to rights.

As a result, philosophy, which had previously formed the core of the arts degree, was made optional. Students were also forced to compete for bursaries and this acted as an unofficial entrance examination. The setting up in 1901 of the Carnegie Trust Fund, set up by the great philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, provided a further source of assistance and by 1930 70% of university students in Scotland were receiving awards from the fund.

The numbers of students in higher education institutions increased from 4,400 in 1830 to 6,000 in 1900, to 10,000 in 1938. At Glasgow University, working-class students increased as a percentage of the total, from 18.6% in 1860 to 24% in 1910.

The period from 1900 to the outbreak of War in 1939 did not witness the same degree of change in the educational system as had occurred in the 19th century. However, there were important developments in the sphere of primary and secondary education. These changes did little to alter the class bias of education, but collectively they made important contributions to the

creation of an all encompassing modern educational system in Scotland.

Education in Scotland has been the subject of much myth-making as regards the openness of the system and the quality of provision. In the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, the educational system catered mainly for an elite section of Scottish society. Although the door to higher education was more open than in England, workers and their families, women and Catholics in general were excluded. For these groups, education was sparse and the quality poor.

Legislation gradually improved the access of all groups to better education, but it was only after the introduction of comprehensive education in 1965 that attempts were made to provide adequate standards for all children in Scotland.

[transparencyboo]

For the last two weeks or so I've been playing the Mega Drive dungeon crawler Shining in the Darkness. I've recently been going through all the various action-RPGs the system had to offer and kinda found myself lusting for more, so I expanded the scope.

Shining in the Darkness had one of those cover arts I vividly remember seeing in game stores during the 90s, I understood already back then that whatever this was would be too complicated for my feeble preschool brain, but it had a shiny glossy allure that still beckoned to me with promises of daring adventures and grand battles. Questions lingered in my head: Who is that evil bastard zapping sparks at Cavin from the Gummi Bears? Why has the king entrusted the safety of his kingdom to a meagre boy and his two misfit friends?

Well, it turns out that big bad guy is called Dark Sol, the bane of all game difficulty discourse, and the reason the king has enlisted three poor kids is because there is no one else to rely on after your daddy went missing. Everyone else just sorta gives up along the way.

My initial conclusion of this game was to commend my young self for the striking assessment, my five year old self would never get anywhere in this game between the English text, abstracted navigation and number crunching battle mechanics. Shining in the Darkness is a bona fide classic dungeon gauntlet endurance simulator, where you traverse vanishing point block tunnels and encounter enemies. I've played one or two games like this before, like the original Phantasy Star, but this time a new desire struck me. I wanted to draw maps. Maybe I'm just getting older and more patient, leading me to wilfully ignore easily available resources online.

By my recollection, this is the first time I've dedicated myself to playing a game like this. Usually I just resort to my sense of direction, which I've gathered seems to at least be above average, since anytime I go anywhere with anyone I always end up playing shepherd so they don't get lost. Worst case scenario I'll just fall back to mapping efforts by online heroes from years past. For Shining in the Darkness I persisted blindly about halfway through until I admitted to myself charting a map of the labyrinthine caves would be a lot easier. Luckily, the game allows you to spend 1 MP to see a chunk of where you've walked, meaning I could get neatly organized segments to copy by hand.

Perhaps my biggest takeaway from this endeavour was how much of the game experience was expressed through this map project. I spent just as much time slaying beasts as I did counting tiles and filling them out with my pencil. It became a natural counterbalance that provided vital pacing to the game mechanics. Walking, fighting, charting. In turn, through the principle of learning by doing, I gained a more intimate familiarity with the environments by just replicating them out on a sheet of paper. I found that while the map helped, I actually didn't need it much for backtracking because my drawings had helped me remember the layouts of the corridors anyway.

I guess the lesson learned is that while old design sensibilities may appear to be arcane and cumbersome when easier solutions exists, the obfuscation is part of the fun. The game hands me an intentionally hard to navigate world, shows me that it's fully capable of displaying maps of it, but still asks me to provide that dimension myself. Through doing this, I discover that drawing maps is both surprisingly enjoyable and cognitively stimulating. I realize that had I downloaded some pre-packaged maps online and used as my bible, Shining in the Darkness would've been a vastly different experience, one of monotonous meandering through endless fights while confidently striding along the known path.

Perhaps that's why the game was called Shining and the Darkness in Japan, it doesn't flow as well as the western title, but at the same time it poetically reflects this act of discovery. I am Shining, the game provides the Darkness, we work together, we must unify to become whole.

As for Dark Sol, he turned into a big monster boy and was vanquished by a spunky cartographer child and her two cohorts. The unknown has been made known and the kingdom is once more saved.

/Kiki

[givemearmstopraywith]

This may be a bit of a dump question but I've always wondered about this and I thought I could ask this from you since you seem to know more about it. I hope that's okay! Are the translations of the bible and their differences very important? Are the messages that the writings send us that different from each other depending on the translation?

it's very important. translation is an art, like anything else. from a semitic language like hebrew or arabic, it's difficult and often impossible to fully capture the meaning of a word in the original text using english (or any other language). in judaism every stroke of every letter is thought to be an emanation of God: he is the words themselves. the quran is the word of God exactly as it was transmitted to the prophet. so abrahamic religions, bar christianity, place extraordinary important in literal meaning, because you encounter God not only in the meaning of the words but in their very essence, their form and shape.

scriptural translation has always, always been fraught with problems. for instance jerome, developing the vulgate, encountered exodus 34, where moses encounters God face to face and is transformed with rays of light. the hebrew word for this transformation is קָרַ֛ן, and jerome translate it to "cornuta," horns: for centuries afterward moses is depicted in art as having horns, like a goat, because of this mistranslation. it may be that jerome meant "glorified" rather than "horned," based off his later commentaries and use of the term by previous exegetes, but the fact remains that outside of the theological sphere this single word, translated to a western language, stripped back meaning tragically. even to the extent that it propagated harmful stereotypes about jews.

or consider the use of the word "atonement" in english translations of the new testament: katallage, used in romans 5:11, is translated as atonement, but it actually means "reconciliation" or "restitution." in fact, jesus never speaks of atonement. in the old testament the word translated to atonement is כָּפַר, "kaphar", which means "covering." in 1 peter 4:8 we are told, "love covers over a great number of sins." how different would christian understandings of atonement be if we translated "kaphar" as "covering" and not atonement? forgiveness for wrongdoing becomes not something we offer to or beg from God, but something to which we submit, because the action is removed from us, humble as we are, to the great forgiver- the great lover.

i say all this to contextualize the difficulty of translation to begin with. but in the sense of critical pedagogy, every translation of any religious text is subject to the bias of the translator. a good translator is conscious of their bias and seeks to remove it from their work. but christian scripture has an agenda. it is not only something we read for a personal relationship to God but something that is used to dictate right behaviour, as a means of social control, something that develops culture. if a person translating a text has this in mind, they can construct the meaning of the text towards what version of a society or culture they feel is "right," based on their personal and invariably biased understanding of a text. this is why i dislike the kjv translation and never recommend it. the kjv is a product of its time. it is not a good translation of the bible: it is old, but it is not the oldest english translation, and its meaning is absolutely skewed. this is difficult, because many evangelical christians believe the kjv is the absolute word of God, and they are already wrong, because no translation will ever be absolute truth: it is only translation.

words are a limiting system. when we try to capture the essence of something like a god, we are limiting him to our vocabulary.

i always recommend the nrsv because it is version i use for scholarly work. it isn't beautiful but it is as close to a "correct" translation as you can get. but i always supplement my reading with other tools: the jewish annotated new testament is wonderful, for instance, and biblehub has detailed interlinear translations of different translations and the original text. but i am also aware i will never be able to fully comprehend the depth and beautiful of scripture until i learn hebrew and greek, at minimum. but this should not discourage anyone: scripture is meant to be read. but it has to be read actively, critically. God wants you to swallow his words, but he needs you to chew them first.

[numbersbythebook]

The Flood & the Abomination of Desolation, 6089

written by clay cantrell

In the course of a long term Bible number project I’m working on, powerful finds come to light with numbers I wasn’t specifically looking for which was my hope when I started it.

Here’s a match between Mark 13:14 (Christ’s warning about the Abomination that makes Desolate from Daniel) and the 1 Peter 3:20 verse re Noah’s Flood.

6089 appears as the highest prime factor in two different number systems, Bible verse number and total verse gematria (TVG) tying the two verses together, thus:

Mark 13:14

"So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not”(let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains."

TVG 18267 (3 x 6089)

1 Peter 3:20

“who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.”

Verse 30445 (5 x 6089)

This makes perfect sense. Two extreme prophetic events find each other via a shared prime number factor which God hid in two different Bible number systems.

Let the reader understand.

Jesus is Lord.

[rhodesmusic]

jesus christ impaled on a wednesday i hate hate HATE it when christianity is brought into mathematics. people pushing their agenda by saying shit like "this beautiful mathematical thing proves the existence of GOD" or "GOD made math and we're just discovering it". that is SO fucking rancid for so many reasons and half the time the people that say those kinds of things hold math in a purely qualitative sence in their mind, thinking that because they got a mandelbrot zoom in their reccomended they eat breathe and shit math out their asshole on the spiritual level

no matter how hard our education systems bastardize the subject, compressing their concepts into a pristine meaninglessness to cull the young person's imagination across the land, nor how well their nouns verbs and adjectives describe what we see in the universe, mathematics at it's heart is a form of SELF EXPRESSION. nothing, NOTHING I SAY in this world we live in would be as FUCKING PSYCHOTIC as to suggest us to dwell over how a bunch of IMAGINARY IDEAS relate to one another along patterns and symmetries, other than OURSELVES. we started doing math because it offers a kind of fulfillment unlike any other artform. the difference between mathematics and other arts is that our culture doesn't see it as one.

mathematics is not about facts, or even worse, about "rules", but rather about the IDEAS that went into drawing such conclusions. similarly, the only thing more beautiful than math's polyhedra, infinitely intricate fractal shapes, and other pictures such as the ones abraham and jacob here put in their thumbnails, are the MADE UP IDEAS that constitute them, ideas that we have thought up for no good reason other than we find doing so lovely. wonderful. fulfilling and completing.

if some BRICK LICKER named EZEKIEL went out to an art fair and proclaimed with their righteous ass vocal cords, "all these paintings, all these works of art, all of these were drawn by GOD and HERE'S WHY", they'd rightfully be told to go off and HUFF DICK, but when it's mathematics it passes with nodding heads because our culture doesn't see math as any kind of self-expression, instead as a bunch of statements and sedentary pictures to worship, bend over, and take cock for to achieve some higher level of virtuosity.

"but how can the Mandelbrot set have infinite complexity as you zoom into it, that has to be god right there!!!" perhaps if you ever pondered the distinguishing complex numbers, how recursive processes ballet with its algebraic structure, the geometry unfolding into chaos along an infinitesimal boundary, all things that DON'T ACTUALLY FUCKING EXIST IN OUR WORLD BUT WILL STILL BE THOUGHT OF FOR OUR SAKES, LEST WE LET THE IDEA GO COLD AS WE SHIVER IN THE ABSENCE OF THE WARMTH OF ITS SIMPLE CHARM, then you wouldn't resort to implementing an omnipotent figure in order to fulfill your inclination to have the wonder be explained by anything besides the creativity of humans.

oh, but questioning the words of the bible? now that's sacrilege.

HOLY SHIT.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Andrew Doyle

Published: Apr 18, 2024

“Why do you think the giraffe has a long neck?” says the naturalist Philip Henry Gosse to his son Edmund while he tucks him up into bed. “Does it have a long neck so that it can eat the leaves at the top of the tree? Or does it eat the leaves at the top of the tree because it has a long neck?”

“Does it matter?” says Edmund.

“A great deal, my son.”

This exchange is taken from Dennis Potter’s wonderful television play Where Adam Stood (1976), a loose adaptation of Edmund Gosse’s Father and Son (1907). Gosse’s book must rank among the very best of autobiographies. It is his account of being raised by his father Philip, one of Darwin’s close contemporaries, a man whose faith in the Bible was so fervent that the revelations of natural selection almost destroyed him.

The question about the giraffes is Potter’s invention, but it adroitly captures the profound inner struggle of this scientist who had devoted his life to a belief-system that was suddenly falling apart. It wasn’t just a matter of changing his mind as new evidence emerged, because the proposition that the earth’s age could be numbered in the billions rather than the thousands was not something that his faith could accommodate. The stumbling block was the Bible, a point that Edmund is quick to acknowledge in his book:

“My Father’s attitude towards the theory of natural selection was critical in his career, and oddly enough, it exercised an immense influence on my own experience as a child. Let it be admitted at once, mournful as the admission is, that every instinct in his intelligence went out at first to greet the new light. It had hardly done so, when a recollection of the opening chapter of Genesis checked it at the outset. He consulted with Carpenter, a great investigator, but one who was fully as incapable as himself of remodelling his ideas with regard to the old, accepted hypotheses. They both determined, on various grounds, to have nothing to do with the terrible theory, but to hold steadily to the law of the fixity of species.”

Philip Gosse had an instinct for scientific enquiry, but the new discoveries simply could not be reconciled with his holy text. His whole being was invested in the Biblical truth, and to cast that in doubt would be to undermine the crux of his being. To admit that he might have been wrong, in this particular instance, would be a form of spiritual death.

Both Gosse’s memoir and Potter’s dramatisation grapple with what Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay (in their book How to Have Impossible Conversations) call an “identity quake”, the “emotional reaction that follows from having one’s core values disrupted”. Their point is that when arguing with those who see the world in an entirely different way, we must be sensitive to the ways in which certain ideas constitute an aspect of our sense of self. In such circumstances, to dispense with a cherished viewpoint can be as traumatic as losing a limb.

The concept of identity quakes helps us to understand the extreme political tribalism of our times. It isn’t simply that the left disagrees with the right, but that to be “left-wing” has become integral to self-conceptualisation. How often have we seen “#FBPE” or “anti-Tory” in social media bios? These aren’t simply political affiliations; they are defining aspects of these people’s lives. This is also why so many online disputes seem to be untethered from reason; many are following a set of rules established by their “side”, not thinking for themselves. When it comes to fealty to the cause, truth becomes irrelevant. We are no longer dealing with disputants in an argument, but individuals who occupy entirely different epistemological frameworks.

Since the publication of the Cass Review, we have seen countless examples of this kind of phenomena. Even faced with the evidence that “gender-affirming” care is unsafe for children, those whose identity has been cultivated in the gender wars will find it almost impossible to accept the truth. Trans rights activists have insisted that “gender identity” is a reality, and their “allies” have been the most strident of all on this point. As an essentially supernatural belief, it should come as no surprise that it has been insisted on with such vigour, and that those who have attempted to challenge this view have been bullied and demonised as heretics.

Consider the reaction from Novara Media, a left-wing independent media company, which once published some tips on how to deceive a doctor into prescribing cross-sex hormones. Novara has claimed that “within hours of publication” the Cass Review had been “torn to shreds”. Like all ideologues, they are invested in a creed, and it just so happens that the conviction that “gender identity” is innate and fixed (and simultaneously infinitely fluid) has become a firm dogma of the identity-obsessed intersectional cult.

Identity quakes will be all the more seismic within a movement whose members have elevated “identity” itself to hallowed status. When tax expert Maya Forstater sued her former employers for discrimination due to her gender-critical beliefs in 2019, one of the company’s representatives, Luke Easley, made a revealing declaration during the hearing. “Identity is reality,” he said, “without identity there’s just a corpse”.

This sentiment encapsulates the kind of magical thinking that lies at the core of the creed. So while it becomes increasingly obvious that gender identity ideology is a reactionary force that represents a direct threat to the rights of women and gay people, there will be many who simply will not be able to admit it. In Easley’s terms, if their entire identity is based on a lie, only “a corpse” remains. From this perspective, to abandon one’s worldview is tantamount to suicide.

This determination to hold fast to one’s views, even when the evidence mounts up against them, is known as “belief perseverance”. It is a natural form of psychological self-defence. After all, there is a lot at stake for those who have supported and enabled the Tavistock Clinic and groups like Mermaids and Stonewall. Many of the cheerleaders have encouraged the transitioning of children, sometimes their own. What we have known for years has now been confirmed: many of these young people will have been autistic, or will have simply grown up to be gay. For people to admit that they supported the sterilisation of some of the most vulnerable in society would be to face a terrible reality.

This idea was summarised in parliament on Monday by Victoria Atkins, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Addressing Labour MP Wes Streeting, she said:

“I welcome all those who have changed their minds about this critical issue. In order to move forward and get on with the vital work that Dr Cass recommends, we need more people to face up to the truth, no matter how uncomfortable that makes them feel. I hope the honourable gentleman has the humility to understand that the ideology that he and his colleagues espoused was part of the problem. He talked about the culture and the toxicity of the debate. Does he understand the hurt that he caused to people when he told them to ‘just get over it’? Does he know that when he and his friends on the left spent the last decade crying ‘culture wars’ when legitimate concerns were raised created an atmosphere of intimidation, with the impact on the workforce that he rightly described?”

It remains to be seen whether those politicians who failed to grapple with the implications of gender identity ideology, and who mindlessly accepted the misleading rhetoric of Stonewall and its allies, will have the humility to admit that they were wrong. Many culpable celebrities have been choosing to remain silent in recent days, while others have opted for outright denial. On the question of puberty blockers and their harm to children, television presenter Kirstie Allsop has made the remarkable claim that “it is, and always has been possible to debate these things and those saying there was no debate are wrong”. The concept of “no debate” was official Stonewall policy for many years, and has been a mantra for many within the trans activist movement. To suggest that there have been no attempts to stifle discussion on this subject can only be ignorance, mendacity or a remarkably acute form of amnesia.

Of course, the stakes could hardly be higher. We are dealing with complacency and ideological capture that had resulted in the sterilisation and castration of healthy young people. It is, without a doubt, one of the biggest medical scandals of our time. It is entirely understandable that those who have supported such terrible actions would enter a state of denial. And so we must also be sensitive to those who are now strong enough to admit that they were mistaken.

But we also need to prepare ourselves for the inevitable doubling down. There are those whose psyche cannot withstand the kind of identity quake that Philip Henry Gosse once suffered. His solution was to write a book explaining why God had left evidence of natural selection. It was called Omphalos (1857) – the Greek word for “navel” – and his thesis was that since Adam had no mother, his navel was merely an addition to generate the illusion of past that did not exist. The fossils that were being discovered in the ground were therefore no different than the rings in the first trees in the Garden of Eden. They weren’t evidence of age, but rather part of God’s poetical vision.

Some of the revisionism and excuses from gender ideologues are likely to be even more elaborate. They have invested too much in their fantasies to give up without a fight.

==

As gender identity ideology falls apart, we need to pay attention to who is working to fix the mistakes they made, who is doubling down, and who is remaining silent.

[inhuman-obey-me]

In the ars goetia they are represented as kings, dukes, and so on.. but the demons like Mammon, Leviathan, they are not part of the ars goestia, so could we say there are different structures of hell?

Well, the Ars Goetia is only one part of the overall grimoire The Lesser Keys of Solomon -- and it is certainly not the only grimoire that exists historically! Other famous grimoires include the Dictionnaire Infernal and the Pseudomonarchia Daemonum, though these also are far from the only ones. In fact, we have a book -- The Dictionary of Demons -- which sources and lists over 1,700 demons that have been mentioned in various grimoires and other occult texts over the ages. And here is what that book has to say on rankings:

In the vast majority of grimoires, demons are typically assigned a rank and royal title to indicate their position in the pecking order of Hell. In the Testament of Solomon, [...] demons sometimes present themselves as princes and kings - positions largely in keeping with the concept of royalty that existed at the time. Medieval works [...] expand the demonic hierarchy to include a variety of positions: princes and kings, dukes and earls, counts, presidents, and even knights - positions reflective of the feudal system at work throughout Europe during that time. The ranks attributed to the infernal legions may tell us more about the time period in which the various books of magick were penned than they do about the actual hierarchy of Hell.

It goes on to mention that seven ranks were eventually solidified within demonology, as seven was a number "of great significance in medieval and Renaissance Europe" due to the number of planets known at the time and the thought of seven spheres making up the heavens. The Lesser Key of Solomon was responsible for then assigning planets to each of the ranks, which in turn were linked to metals, and those metals were needed for the magical seals.

Basically, the ranks do sort of establish a sense of hierarchy in hell, but practically speaking, humans mainly need pay attention to those ranks more just for the magical practice of knowing how to deal with the demons correctly.

That said, we've talked about the Hierarchy of the Devildom in this post, which also lists the seven titles. It's also important to note that Mammon and Leviathan in particular are actually demons derived from other concepts/beings -- Mammon originally just meant money/riches, and Leviathan comes from a sea serpent referenced in the Bible, which actually has roots in Lotan. So Levi himself is actually Lotan, and he's just doing a really exaggerated roleplay when he says he's summoning Lotan. So in terms of different ranking structures then, the answer is sort of yes, sort of no. It's a mess of manmade governing systems as applied to theological creatures over time.

But in OM canon, we can very conveniently just throw most of this out because Diavolo is the one and only Future Ruler of the Devildom, the brothers and Barbatos are his immediate council, and everyone else serves as just general "nobles," such as the House of Lords. They probably have more in-depth hierarchies amongst themselves -- but for all we need to care about in the game, they're a big hassle of demons who give Diavolo (and the brothers) a hard time and should back the fuck off!! :)