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verobatto · 4 years

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The Ultimate Sacrifice

Or the second chance?

Supernatural meta. Meta spec. TFW meta. 15x15 spoiler.

Hello everyone! I'm gonna try to convey here this episode.

If you want to read the Destiel meta, you can find it here.

Cas and Jack, angels are watching over us

Cas and Jack faced the lowest of humanity in this episode. Castiel repeated one learned lesson from the Winchesters when he recalled that quote "Humans can be the worst monsters".

Gif credit @shirtlesssammy 👇

But coming around a shelter, in which innocent people just was looking for help and being listened, and also, searching his faith, was the way Davey Perez wanted to show us hope.

Castiel and Jack saved those people's day, and making miracles healing them, and facing their own selves.

The weight of the dialogues were very significative, and we had Jack learning in the process.

The murderer said "Put your faith on God, not in people." Is a voice that talks from the despair and anger.

She was the one making justice with her own hand, but becoming a killer in the process.

Another deep quote was said by the Pastor: A saint is a sinner that keeps trying. That's what we call hope.

At the beginning of the episode, there was a homeless, dirty woman, waiting for her food in the shelter, and the Pastor stopped the first victim from taking her out. He said they have spirit and mercy.

Jack asked the Pastor for an advice, the Nougat boy wanted to know the recipe to reunite so many different people with different thoughts and religion under the same roof. That's God's work, basically, and I think Jack will be the one with that mission.

We had also Castiel's confession, and it was beautiful. He showed us in his speech how much he had changed and how much he had grown up. He recalled his old self, like someone with blind faith, just following orders. He described how he had been lost, without any hopes or propose. Then he mentioned a wonderful person that changed that. (He didn't said Dean, but we all know Dean was the one that cause the angel to take the decision of his life). But he continued, and that person had been the one that brought back his faith (this is Jack), he became a father (thanks to Jack). So he made a journey around his own life, and the persons that changed him. But it caught my attention that when the Pastor discovered he was an angel, Cas said he wasn't a very good one, like, he still feeling bad with himself. And that's not good. We know Cas takes bad decision when he is depressed...

But, at the end of his speech, Castiel indirectly says, his faith is on Jack too, just like Dean and Sam professed in the previous episode.

Jack is the balance, and he doesn't have to fight alone.

Another interesting thing related with previous episode was Cas saying Jack doesn't have to fight alone. And the kid immediately changed his facial expression, because the real plan is he dying and killing Chuck and Amara. The ultimate sacrifice for humanity (Just like Jesus Christ). And if you remember in 15x14, we had the second chance, with Dean pressing the reset button with a hammer, justice. And I said, Jack won't be alone in his fight against Chuck, Dean will help, they will have a second chance. So, is very probable they come out with a second plan, against Death whishes, of course.

When Dean and Sam talk with Amara, the Darkness named the meaning of the balance: they're twins, one is the CREATION and the other is the DESTRUCTION, and if you recall my meta about Hindi God's, Jack is related with Shiva (who had a snake in his neck) and Shiva is the god that destroys the world and rebuilds it, making all things new. So Jack/Shiva is the balance. Because he can do both. He is also the Light (archangel) and the darkness (son of Lucifer). So, who else?

Human Sin, Divine Justice

Dean confessed to Amara he was furious with Chuck and all the cosmic creatures playing their games and playing with their lives, and that's what made Amara to think about helping them.

Also because he said : I WOULD NEVER HURT YOU, which is truth, because he will wait Jack would kill her, but...

This episode talked about ANGER too.

The disturbed girl was willing to kill each member of the church she considered was commiting an unforgivable sin. Taking god's justice in her hands, she meticulously prepared the torture for their victims.

The sins are not the capital sins, but are linked to Chuck and the boys.

LIAR-GREED-LUST-ANGER-LACK OF FAITH

They could be seen as sins against the Saint Spirit, is christianity, but there's a lot of more.

The number 3 was important in this episode too, it represents GOD and perfection, and the search of it, as a propose for those who want to be saints.

The girl said her mother died 3 years ago, and then she gave her victims three hour between finger and finger cut.

She played to be God here, and is a reflection of the cosmic creatures playing with humans, expressed by Dean in his meeting with Amara. The cause of his anger.

It showed the lowest and darkness of humanity, but we also had Castiel and Jack saving them, and Castiel healing them. Like the light that shines in the middle of the dark. There's hopes, my friend.

Note: And what about this Zak demon and the whole new rules in hell? And why he took the killer at the end of the episode? That's the way demons harvest souls now? Everyone needs to go to where they belong??? Mmmmmh. I'm getting crazy ideas here...

But I have to stop.

To Conclude:

This was a deep episode, in which we faced the darkness of humanity, and the Darkness itself hehehe.

There's hints that shows the plan they have is not gonna be the one that succeed.

They will have a second chance in which Dean will be protagonist.

Jack is the balance and could replace not just Chuck but Amara too.

It was very interesting the way Amara and Dean brought back Mary Winchester, she came to make Dean grow up, to mourn about her childhood mother, as I said a lot of times in my metas from season 14. And it was necessary Amara to point this to him, because that wound is still open. So, the acknowledgement of that will mean to Dean to finally face himself, his truth, his fears. He needs to eat his vegetables, as Mrs. Butters said.

Hope you enjoy this mess! See you in the next episode!

@asphodelesauvage @2musiclover2

Tagging @metafest @gneisscastiel @emblue-sparks @magnificent-winged-beast @weird-dorky-little-deana @michyribeiro @whyjm @legendary-destiel @a-bit-of-influence @thatwitchydestielfan @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @lykanyouko @evvvissticante @savannadarkbaby @dea-stiel @mybonsai1976 @anarchiana @angelwithashotgunandtrenchcoat @trashblackrainbow @destielshipper221b @mishtho @dancingtuesdaymorning @feathered-castiel @bre95611 @zoerayne2426 @justmeand-myinsight @that-one-fandom-chick @proccastinate @studio-hatter @pepevons @poorreputation @mrsaquaman187 @dizzypinwheel @jawnlockwinchester @dwstiel @thislunarkiss @ladygon @shippsblog @la-random-fangirl @lets-try-this-again-please @spnsmile @mychemicalobsession514 @destiel-shipper-11

Buenos Aires, October 16th 2020, 1:33 AM

#supernatural meta #spn meta #15x15 meta #tfw meta #spn spoiler #meta spec

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createdgay · 4 years

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Spiritual Xenophobia

by Gary Simpson

The story of Sodom comes from a portion of the Jewish cycle of readings that covers Genesis Chapters 18 to 22. Rabbi Harvey Fields identifies the major themes of the Parashat as the “importance of hospitality,” and the importance of social justice and loyalty to God.(1)

Chapter 19 of Genesis contains a small part of the story of Sodom. Angels visit Sodom, the city where Lot lives. The angels plan on sleeping outside, but Lot convinced the angels to stay with him in his house. The angels are in Lot's home. That is where we are picking up the story.

Genesis 19:4-5 (Moffatt Bible) They had not laid down to rest before all of the townsmen, the inhabitants of Sodom, beset the house, young and old from every quarter, shouting to Lot, “Where are the men who came to visit you to-night. Bring them out that we may rape them.”

The Moffatt Bible translates the passage using the word rape. That is in harmony with comments made in The Jewish Publication Society’s Torah Commentary for Genesis. In that commentary, Sarna describes the men of Sodom's intent as “rape.”(2)

Lot tries to convince the men of Sodom not to sexually assault his guess. He even goes as far as to offer his daughters to the crowd. When things get ugly, the angels pulled Lot inside the house to safety and strike the men of Sodom with blindness.

There is tremendous meaning in the Bible passage. The meaning is broader than what we generally hear when this text is discussed.

Ezekiel describes Sodom sins as being related to pride, wealth, and not caring for the needy.(3) In the context of lack of hospitality, Jesus talks about Sodom sins when He says those who do not welcome his servants will be judged more harshly than Sodom and Gomorrah.(4) Following the lead of the Bible, we will look at non – sexual meanings of this text.

The ancient Jewish sages engage in speculation about the story. The sages feel Lot brought the visitors to his home at night, that he took them to the back door and ask them not to wash their feet, so the authorities would not think he was doing anything special for the visitors.(5)

Some sages think it was against the law to show kindness to visitors to Sodom. They speculate caring for visitors could have resulted in prison or death. There was even some speculation that one of Lot's daughters was killed for giving bread to a stranger.(6) Some think the visitors to Sodom were viewed only as people to be taken advantage of, robbed, and driven out of town.(7)

There are times when sages thoughts seem to drift away from what appears to be in the Biblical narrative. That is why it is important to critically evaluate what everybody, including the sages, say about the Bible. We can learn a little from the sages, even when what they say appears to stray away from the Biblical narrative. The sages give us a sense of the reputation of Sodom, and the ancient reputation is important.

In the Mishnah, one sage states that Sodom is characterized by the saying, “What is mine is mine; what is yours is yours.” I could not disagree more with the sage. I think it is more characterized by the saying, “What is mine is mine and what is yours is mine.”(8)

John Gibson, in The Daily Study Bible commentary for Genesis describes this portion of the story of Sodom as “a concerted sexual attack by the whole population of Sodom on two innocent strangers.”(9) This might have been an attempt to discourage people from visiting Sodom, and ensure the wealth of Sodom did not have to be shared with outsiders. That is one of the rabbinic understandings of this passage.(10)

The residents of Sodom appear to have been very xenophobic. Their fear of others and what others might take from them – wealth and prosperity – might have been the cause of how poorly Sodom treated visitors. Unfortunately, there is spiritual xenophobia too. Diversity can cause some people of faith to fear that they will lose their salvation if people with different ideas and spiritual practices are present. Churches that have spiritual xenophobia may find visitors a threat to their belief systems and their power structures. They may feel scared by the presence of theologies that might differ some from the doctrine of the church. People who live out the faith differently than most people in the congregation may be frightening. In some churches, those who like hymns are seen as less spiritual and than those who like praise and worship music. Other parishes may look down on the use of guitars, synthesizers, electronic keyboards, and drums in religious music. And we have churches that find the presence of devout and faithful queer and trans people so threatening to their faith, so frightening that they:

● Demonize and demean LGBT+ people.

● Condemn sexual and gender minority individuals.

● Insist that queer and trans people remain celibate or not transition

● Promote conversion therapy.

● Excommunicate queer and trans people.

God is calling people of faith to place their trust in God, not in their doctrine, not their philosophy of life, and not their manner of spiritual practice. Doctrinal beliefs, style of worship, and Christian lifestyles can change over time. And our salvation is based on God’s grace, not on our human understandings – our doctrine – and our human expressions of worship, and our flawed human expressions of a Christian lifestyle.

Notes

(1) Harvey J. Fields. A Torah Commentary for Our Times. Vol, 1. (New York: UAHC Press, 1990), 46.

(2) Nahum Sarna. The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis. (Philadelphia: Jewish Pub. Society, 1989), 135.

(3) Refer to Ezekiel 16:49-50. The reference is given by John C.L. Gibson. The Daily Study Bible: Genesis. Vol. 2. (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 1982), 46.

(4) Gibson takes the position that Jesus concentrates on Sodom’s lack of hospitality, even though he states that in the Old Testament homosexuality is an abomination. Gibson. (1982), 83.

(5) Field (1990), 47.

(6) Field (1990), 48.

(7) Field (1990), 48.

(8) Adele Brown and Marc Brattle, eds. The Jewish Study Bible. (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2004), 41.

(9) Gibson (1982), 82.

(10)Sarna (1989), 135.

#lgbt #gay #gay christian #faithfullylgbt #lgbt christian #created gay #lesbian #queer #asexual #pansexual #bisexual christian #bisexual #lesbian christian #asexual christian #sermon #xenophobia #spiritual Xenophobia

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dog-day-morning · 3 years

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YOU OWE THEM NOTHING

People can be self-righteous when it comes to what they think God is supposed to do if, and when they call on Him. God is not a genie in a bottle that you rub, and a jinn pops out granting you 3 or 300 wishes. The saying faith without works is dead can be applied here. Have you ever heard of or read the book Daniel Webster and the devil? This tall tale or folklore legend was about a man who made a deal with old Slew Foot, and when it was time to pay up he had 2nd thoughts. Satan never plays fair. He's forever putting us in positions where we find ourselves desperate for a quick solution to a temporary problem that only leads to a difficult end. The Latin term for buyer beware is caveat emptor, and Satan knows how to spell. The power of a wicken comes from their basic weapon of spelling or casting spells by word of mouth. Even the Bible tells us that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” Tell that to a Nicolaitan. Those who make deals with the most unclean should expect to suffer in the end. Never trust the father of lies who deals in treachery, and deceit. I look back at my mother's life and wonder if God had ever intervened for her, and fought her battles that surely He and only He would be able to deliver her from, and He has. Life is hard, for many it’s a nightmare that’s ongoing. Satan comes to you when you're at your weakest or most vulnerable in the hopes of snaring your soul into eternal suffering. Jesus comes to deliver us from death, sin, and temptations that confuse us in our trek towards His truth. If you have any aspirations of entertaining people with your gifted voice or your talent for playing lead guitar, don’t sign a contract that promises you the world only to find out you owe them your sweet ass which a man of honor wouldn't consider let alone make you cosign your body for their horn dog appeasement.

Revelation 2:9

9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

You're abundantly rich in spirit Yacob. Now’s the time to claim your position. These bastards have taken everything from you leaving your ancestors nothing but dust. If they could remove us off the face of the Earth they would. They're plotting to do so as you and I breathe, that's why the Father never sleeps. They are demon spawns who say they worship, and believe in God, but whose god, and what righteous god tells you to destroy a people with his blessing knowing what the children of Japheth have done to them historically? The spawns of Satan want your penuche, mouth, titties, and a-hole for their pleasure along with your talent that Justin Timberlake does not have. The new faces of R&B do not look like the people I grew up listening to or the race of people whose songs left an everlasting impression on my bleeding heart that helped me through my ill-fated, miserable existence. Robin Thicke, Christina Aguilera, K-Pop, the BackStreet Boys, and New Kids on the Block. Some of these groups are defunct, but they’re cranking out as many as they possibly can like Justin Bieber, and Demi Lovato. I just saw on YouTube where people were considering if Elvis Presley was Black, WTF?!! He was the biggest culture thief that Dr. Frankenstein, AKA Colonel Parker ever created. Man is cruel; Satan is a whole other type of bastard you shouldn’t entertain. I'm retarded. Some call me an idiot savant. YO MOMMA!!! People are blessed by the Father who has blessed many of us with gifts. There are many of you whom God has endowed with multiple talents that people would sell their soul in order to possess just one. If you're anointed by God to sing like Aretha Franklin may He lead you to sign with a label like Brother Carl Crawford's who won't make the same mistake he did with a very popular artist at this moment. More than likely you'll sign a contract entrusting your talent, blessing, and soul to the most unclean ones. Ain’t a reason in hell you should bow down or bend over for a leach like Mr. Friedman so he can butt bone your a-hole while enriching himself off your God given talents. God blesses those who seek him out, and those that don’t. I don’t know if Eddie Murphy went to Church, and sowed an offering every Sunday to God praying that the Father would make him the highest paid comedic actor in his prime. Richard Pryor was anointed in the womb to be the most blessed comedic talent, and influential comedian to ever walk this Earth bar none yet he and Mr. Murphy pursued their dreams in different ways with both of them becoming world renown. I'm inclined to ask, was it worth it?

Mark 8:36

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

The synagogue of Satan isn’t a trending pop culture manifestation that’s to be esteemed, cherished, or envied. These cults are trying to maintain a stranglehold on a world that’s not meant for them or their sort. People who play with Ouija boards or childhood games like Bloody Mary, and light as a feather are ushering dark spirits into their homes leaving their loved ones exposed to something sinister. Get the hell away from me and mine unless you're my sister, AKA Ms. Skunk Funk, who needs to get the crust burnt off her musty, dusty drawers. The whore of Don Juan has a death wish. Explain to me how running with the devil beats walking with God?

Isaiah 59:7

7 Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths.

This Nation was built on our ancestor’s blood, sweat, and relentless faith. Believe me when I say there's strength in every tear. I pray to God that I don’t shed anymore of them. Their wealth is not. It's a stolen Promise that the Father shall reward His children with. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. The most glaring, and frustrating example that is also bitter and disheartening I can give you is our Promised Inheritance called Yisrael that the gentiles are squatting on. When a person or in this case a tribe or race of people believe in their own lies they've become reprobate; they're lost.

Revelation 3:9

9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

This is what all of Esau's children fear. It's why the bland, colored people of the world are flipping over the Earth's axis, and killing us without any probable cause. They are a lawless people who've displayed their lack of empathy, and humanity for anyone save their own breed, they behave like blood hounds. I've become content with this planet being void of water (Holy Spirit.) Black people suffer from a social disorder called the crab bucket mentality. We hate to see anyone rise up, and we’ll do whatever it takes to keep them down or discourage them. That person may possess something that can benefit the collective, who cares. He who possesses that blessing needs to haul tail ASAP before the winter comes knowing the Father will bless him, and a downtrodden people beyond their wildest dreams. This is why Yeshua, and His Father call us children. It's why I pray, and bemoan to the Father daily that He slays me, putting the fear of the Lord in the heathen and His Son Christ Jesus uses us for His purpose. God doesn't need us, we need Him. He's given us so much power, and authority. When you acquire it, use it for something other than satisfying your sinful, carnal, flesh minded desires. Men, don't behave like horn dogs, and women do not behave as Aholah, and Aholibah, 2 whores.

Numbers 32:24

24 Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.

Out of thine own mouth you have power to tread over snakes and scorpions. You can exorcise demons and devils out of your present life braking generational curses which is what I' want for a family that's disowned me. To God be the glory. God is telling us to declare a thing, and claim it. What a mighty, just God we serve. Your tongue will become a weapon to use against the lawless ones who use theirs recklessly in their attempts to get us arrested or murdered by local, and federal authorities. You can call it giving them a taste of their own medicine, it isn't. You're reclaiming what they've taken, stolen, including those of us they've murdered.

Isaiah 54:17

17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. Speak positive prayers out loud if you can. If you live with your family or have a roommate pray in the closet. You'll have favor with God that many people won't. They rebuked the Lord, and their anger did tear perpetually, and they kept their wrath forever. When they use their privilege, which is what we call it more often than they, comprehending they’re fully aware knowing they use it with a Demonic, driven hatred. They persecute Black men, women, and children for reasons that are not godly, and the Father does not condone. They, and all the Earth will have to answer for our individual sins against the Father in the end.

Luke 10:19

19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

We don’t worship the same god as they do. They're praying to a god to erase us off the face of the Earth. Why hasn't he?.

Exodus 1:12

12 But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.

Their birth rate is dropping steadily. For the first time in the history of the census they decreased in population globally while indigenous, and other races of people stayed steady or in our case increased. This is the reasoning behind these draconian abortion laws. They're trying to preserve themselves while God is eliminating the Earth of their bloody dominion. God is sending the wicked a message before the storm comes, but no one's listening. Their violence towards us is documented, and more often it's unprovoked. They continue with the guilty until proven worthy of their mercy dogmatic mantra which is racist BS. The Earth will be lulled back to sleep. When they're confident that their world isn't in danger of being challenged by anyone, especially us. That's when God will do things that will scare them right back to the caucasus mountains bringing destruction to those who've touched, bruised, and abused the Apple of His eye. Speak life into your angel spirit, don’t entertain the demon seed that's trying to kill you, and the rest of Earth's indigenous people. You have much authority, use it. Elohim. 9/23/2021

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galemalio · 5 years

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The Concept of Redemption in Hazbin Hotel

So this is a mix of analysis and headcanons, take what you will.

I remember that when Charlie first introduced the “Happy Hazbin Hotel,” a lot of demons reacted with scorn.

I once read a HH criticism that they expected the demons to be happy for having their suffering end and be given a chance to go to heaven. But I have to disagree with that one.

The Demons’ General Mindset

The people in hell already accepted that they’re the worst of the worst. The rejected. The unworthy to be in a holy place. And who can blame them?

They made their choices when they were alive, and now they’re in demon forms designed to remind them of their sins, and in a reality designed to make them suffer for their sins. So in order to survive in hell, they have to throw whatever remaining morals they have.

Because they think they’re unworthy, they’re stuck in an endless cycle of destructive behavior and self-destructive coping mechanisms, instead of striving to be better.

Like Husk for example.

According to his Wikia page, Husk fought in Vietnam. A lot of soldiers had to do terrible things in war. This may indicate he has soldier’s PTSD and copes by being an alcoholic and a gambling addict.

Even Alastor thinks so. He tries to be above the tragedy of hell by treating other people’s suffering as his entertainment. His motive was clear in the pilot, he’s there for the laughs when they fail.

Charlie’s Offered Solutions

Charlie is well-meaning and as the saying goes, “Good intentions paved the way to Hell.” Just like her song song number.

Her solutions were casting out their vices and injecting them with "love + fun” to change them for the better.

I think the show will deal by showing her the faults in her plans. The pilot had shown her naivety (”Life is not a musical number” and the way she awkwardly orders Alastor as the Princess of Hell). With things not going according to her plans, Charlie learning from her mistakes promises her character growth.

She is right, there can be redemption rehabilitation in Hell. Demons can try to be better. But perhaps not in a way that she knows.

Headcanon: Hell is Potentially A Place of Rehabilitation

In Demonology, demons that can be invoked give knowledge on divinity, magic and liberal sciences.

For example, Stolas teaches astronomy, herbs, plants and precious stones. Buer teaches Natural and Moral Philosophy, including human nature. Foras teaches the Art of Logic and Ethics.

Hell is a place of knowledge and yet Charlie isn’t even applying ethical, evidence-based psychiatric treatment to rehabilitate. I would’ve excused her lack of knowledge because psychiatry, psychology, mental health physiology even is “new” science compared to the specialties of what demons teach but the whole setting of HH is so modern. It’s not believable that they stayed with the old knowledge only.

She’s educated enough to know about rehabilitation. But she doesn’t have a mental health expert in her team... unless she’s the expert but we didn’t get that info in the pilot itself. Yes, she wrote “Dr. Charlie” in her prescription paper in her song number but the methods that followed after was cartoonier than usual that the show seem to portray it as unrealistic.

Everyone’s going in blind and figuring things out the hard way. (Maybe that’s the point to build drama, attachment and entertainment for the audience.)

Maybe the demon lords keep the knowledge to themselves to have the sinners under their foot. Charlie doesn’t seem to be aware of it if that’s the case. What does this say about Lucifer though...

Breaking the Cycle

Even if Charlie is the type to take in every demon for the possible chance of redemption, her potential rehabilitees are those who can break their self-destructive and destructive behavior, be open to healing and actively make an effort to be a better person. I think this is the message of redemption for the HH lore.

And even if they went out of their way to be a better person, there is no evidence (yet) that they’ll be worthy of heaven. Charlie had no evidence to guarantee it. Just this hope/faith that “the big guy upstairs” would see their redemption and claim them.

Potential rehabilitees will need a motive first to redeem themselves in order to see it through. I don’t know enough of the cast to deduct what possible motives they can have along the way.

Possible Conclusions to HH

Supposed Charlie achieved the impossible and one client went to heaven. There would be more sinners who would believe her and her cause. Demon lords aren’t going to be pleased that they’d be losing people to exploit. All hell breaks loose. Epicness then conclusion on the hope of redemption.

Or the rehabilitees struggle to being a better person in a toxic environment. But the more sinners turn their ways, the toxic environment gets smaller. All Hell still breaks lose because the demon lords are now being refused and defied at. Epic battles. Then comes the conclusion that we don’t need Heaven. We just need to build a better place where we are.

I look forward to knowing how Charlie will help her people and what will happen to her and to them after.

I don’t have a Tumblr penny to give for your thoughts but feel free to enlighten me if I’m missing something.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel analysis #hazbin charlie #charlie magne #hazbin hotel charlie

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madewithonerib · 4 years

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MY people perish for lack of knowledge [Hosea 4:6]

Jonah 1:12 | “Pick me up,” he answered, “& cast me into the sea, so it may quiet down for you. For I know that I am to #blame for this 𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦 that has come upon you”

Why? Knowingly in rebellion to GOD's call MY ppl perish for 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 of knowledge [Hosea 4:6]

twitter.com/EntiretyinYHWH/status/1353150372873818112

Ensure there's no one among you today, whose heart turns away from the LORD our GOD to worship gods of those nations.

Ensure there's no root among you that bears such poisonous & bitter fruit [Deut 29:17-18]

Quote Tweet 𝕁𝕠𝕖 𝔽𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕤 @EntiretyinYHWH · 8h

because when such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself saying: I will have peace, even though I walk in the stubbornness of my own heart.

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 on the watered land as well as the dry. [Deuteronomy 29:19]

twitter.com/EntiretyinYHWH/status/1353140292275249152

Mt 7:22-23 | #Many will say to ME on that day, ‘LORD, LORD, did we not prophesy in YOUR name, & in YOUR name drive out demons & perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly,

I never knew you; 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐌𝐄, you workers of lawlessness!’

twitter.com/EntiretyinYHWH/status/1353142064926482432

Jonah 1:12

Seek the LORD while HE may be found call on HIM while HE is near ⁷Let the wicked forsake his way ..let him return to the LORD, that HE may have compassion & to our GOD for HE will freely pardon

⁸“For MY thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways MY ways” [Isaiah 55:6-8]

twitter.com/EntiretyinYHWH/status/1353153081995714561

There Are No Atheists in Foxholes Statement

"There are no atheists in foxholes" is an aphorism used to argue that in times of extreme stress/fear, such as during war ("in foxholes"), all people will believe in, or hope for, a higher power.

Thus there are therefore no #atheists.

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God Fodder @PeteAlonSoCrazy · 1h

And that is 100% false.

Only the weak minded believe in god out of fear.

In REALITY, there are no theists in foxholes.

If you are under attack or in imminent danger, theists immediately abandon any notion of faith, and stick to reality and logic for survival, just like atheists.

twitter.com/PeteAlonSoCrazy/status/1353224094507036672

God Fodder @PeteAlonSoCrazy · 1h

If you were confronted by a hungry lion, would you drop to your knees and pray, or think of a real world solution?

I know what I would do.

"Atheists in foxholes" is a complete myth and complete lie. Every theist looks both ways before crossing the street.

twitter.com/PeteAlonSoCrazy/status/1353225415574347778

[Psalm 119:153, Proverbs 10:21, Isaiah 1:3, 3:12; 5:13; Jeremiah 5:4, Ezekiel 44:23, Hosea 2:13-14, 4:1; 4:12-14, 5:4, 6:6; 7:9, 7:11, 8:1, 8:12-14, 13:6, Zechariah 11:8-9, Malachi 2:7-8]

● Psalm 119:153 | Look upon my affliction & rescue me, for I have not forgotten YOUR law.

● Proverbs 10:21 | ²¹ The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of judgment.

● Jeremiah 5:4 | ⁴ Then I said, “They are only the poor; they have played the fool, for they do not know the way of the LORD, the justice of their GOD.

● Ezekiel 44:23 | ²³ They are to teach MY people the difference between the holy & the common, & show them how to discern between the clean & the unclean.

● Hosea 2:13-14 | I will punish her for the days of the Baals when she burned incense to them, when she decked herself with rings & jewelry, & went after her lovers.

But ME she forgot,” declares the LORD.

¹⁴ I will not punish your daughters when they prostitute themselves or your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery.

For the men themselves go off with prostitutes & offer sacrifices with cult prostitutes.

So a people without understanding will come to ruin.

● Hosea 4:1 | ¹ Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, & no knowledge of GOD in the land!

● Hosea 4:12-14 | ¹² MY people consult their wooden idols, & their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of prostitution leads them astray & they have played the harlot against their GOD. ¹³ They sacrifice on the mountaintops & burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, & terebinth, because their shade is pleasant.

And so your daughters turn to prostitution & your daughters-in-law to adultery. ¹⁴ I will not punish your daughters when they prostitute themselves or your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery.

For the men themselves go off with prostitutes & offer sacrifices with cult prostitutes.

So a people without understanding will come to ruin.

● Hosea 5:4 | ⁴ Their deeds do not permit them to return to their GOD, for a spirit of prostitution is within them, & they do not know the LORD.

● Hosea 6:6 | ⁶ For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, & the knowledge of GOD rather than burnt offerings.

● Hosea 7:9 | ⁹ Foreigners consume his strength, but he does not notice. Even his hair is streaked with gray, but he does not know.

● Hosea 7:11 | ¹¹ So Ephraim has become like a silly, senseless dove—calling out to Egypt, then turning to Assyria.

● Hosea 8:1 | ¹ Put the ram’s horn to your lips! An eagle looms over the house of the LORD, because they have transgressed MY covenant & rebelled against MY law.

● Hosea 8:12 | ¹² Though I wrote for them the great things of MY law, they regarded them as something strange.

● Hosea 8:14 | ¹⁴ Israel has forgotten his Maker & built palaces; Judah has multiplied its fortified cities.

But I will send fire upon their cities, & it will consume their citadels.

● Hosea 13:6 | ⁶ When they had pasture, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, their hearts became proud, & as a result, they forgot ME.

● Zechariah 11:8-9 | And in one month I dismissed three shepherds. MY soul grew impatient with the flock, & their souls also detested me.

⁹ Then I said, “I will no longer shepherd you.

Let the dying die, & the perishing perish; & let those who remain devour one another’s flesh.”

● Malachi 2:7 | ⁷ For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, & people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts.”

● Malachi 2:8 | “But you have departed from the way, & your instruction has caused many to stumble.

You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of Hosts.

● Isaiah 1:3 | ³ The ox knows its owner, & the donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know; MY people do not understand.”

● Isaiah 3:12 | Youths oppress MY people, & women rule over them. O MY people, your guides mislead you; they turn you from your paths.

● Isaiah 5:13 | ¹³ Therefore MY people will go into exile for their lack of understanding; their dignitaries are starving & their masses are parched with thirst.

Charles John Ellicott, Theologian [1819–1905] | Hosea 4:6

[6] For lack of knowledge, which you, O priest, should have kept alive in their hearts.

The knowledge of GOD is life eternal. [Comp. John 17:3]

● John 17:3 | ³ Now this is eternal life, that they may know YOU, the only true GOD, & JESUS CHRIST, whom YOU have sent.

● Proverbs 8:35 | ³⁵ For whoever finds me finds life & obtains the favor of the LORD.

● John 3:17 | ¹⁷ For GOD did not send HIS SON into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through HIM.

● John 5:44 | ⁴⁴ How can you believe if you accept glory from one another, yet do not seek the glory that comes from the only GOD?

The LORD's “controversy” repudiates the entire priesthood, as they had rejected the true knowledge of GOD.

They had inclined to calf-worship, had been vacillating respecting Baal, & had connived at moral offences.

If, on the other hand, with most commentators, we consider the people themselves as thus addressed, the passage refers to the cessation of the position of priesthood, which every member of the true theocracy ought to have maintained [Comp. Exodus 19:6]

● Exodus 19:6 | ⁶ And unto ME you shall be a kingdom of priests & a holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to speak to the Israelites.”

● 1 Peter 2:5 | ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to GOD through JESUS CHRIST.

�� ● 1 Peter 2:9 | ⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for GOD’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of HIM who called you out of darkness into HIS marvelous light.

● Revelation 1:6 | ⁶ who has made us to be a kingdom, priests to HIS GOD & FATHER—to HIM be the glory & power forever & ever! Amen.

The people should no longer be priests to YHWH

Joseph Benson, Methodist [1749–1821] | Hosea 4:6

MY people are destroyed for lack of knowledge—The ignorance of the nature, necessity, & excellence of true religion, which prevailed among the Jews & Israelites, was one principal cause of those sins which drew down such heavy judgments upon them.

Because YOU have rejected knowledge—That is, would not use the means of knowledge which YOU had.

“But this lack of knowledge in the people was, in a great measure, owing to the want of that constant instruction which they ought to have received from the priests.

The mention of it, therefore, occasions a sudden transition from general threatenings to particular denunciations against the priesthood.”

I will also reject thee—The high-priest for the time being, as the representative of the whole order, seems to be here addressed; that you shall be no priest to ME—

Since the person threatened was to be rejected from being a priest, he was priest at the time when he was threatened; otherwise had not been subject of rejection.

The person threatened therefore must have been the head, for the time being, of the true Levitical priesthood, not of the intruded priesthood of Jeroboam.

This is a proof, that the metropolis, threatened with excision is Jerusalem, not Samaria, & that the ten tribes exclusively are not the subject of this part of the prophecy.”—Bishop Horsley.

Seeing you have forgotten the law of your GOD—Hast neither desired nor endeavoured to understand, or retain it in your mind, nor to transmit the knowledge & remembrance of it to posterity.

I will also forget your children—Thy offspring, or the people whose priest you are, & of whom you ought to have taken fatherly care; I will not look upon them any longer as the seed of Abraham, & children of MY covenant.

Matthew Henry, Nonconformist [1662-1714] | Hosea 4:6-11

Hosea 4:6-11 | ⁶ MY people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as MY priests.

Since you have forgotten the law of your GOD, I will also forget your children. ⁷ The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against ME;

they exchanged their glorious GOD for a thing of disgrace.

⁸ They feed on the sins of MY people & set their hearts on iniquity. ⁹ And it shall be like people, like priest.

I will punish both of them for their ways & repay them for their deeds.

¹⁰ They will eat but not be satisfied; they will be promiscuous but not multiply. For they have stopped obeying the LORD.

¹¹ Promiscuity, wine, & new wine take away understanding.

Both priests & people rejected knowledge;

GOD will justly reject them.

They forgot the law of GOD, neither desired nor endeavoured to retain it in mind, & to transmit the remembrance to their posterity; therefore GOD will justly forget them & their children.

If we dishonour GOD with that which is our honour, it will, sooner or later, be turned into shame to us.

Instead of warning the people against sin, from the consideration of the sacrifices, which showed what an offence sin was to GOD, since it needed an atonement, the priests encouraged the people to sin, since atonement might be made at so small an expense.

It is very wicked to be pleased with the sins of others, because they may turn to our advantage.

What is unlawfully gained, cannot be comfortably used.

The people & the priests hardened one another in sin; therefore justly shall they share in the punishment.

Sharers in sin must expect to share in ruin.

Any lust harboured in the heart, in time will eat out all its strength & vigour.

That is the reason why many professors grow so heavy, so dull, so dead in the way of religion.

They have a liking for some secret lust, which takes away their hearts.

Albert Barnes, American Theologian [1798-1870] | Hosea 4:6

1.] MY people are destroyed for lack of knowledge— "MY people are," not, "is." This accurately represents the Hebrew.

The word "people" speaks of them as a whole; are, relates to the individuals of whom that whole is composed.

Together, the words express the utter destruction of the whole, one & all.

They are destroyed "for lack of knowledge," literally, "of the knowledge," i.e., the only knowledge, which in the creature is real knowledge, that knowledge, of the want of which he had before complained, the knowledge of the Creator.

So Isaiah mourns in the same words,

"therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge" Isaiah 5:13.

They are destroyed for lack of it,

for the true knowledge of GOD is the life of the soul, true life, eternal life, as our Saviour saith,

"This is life eternal, that they should know Thee, the only true GOD, & JESUS CHRIST whom Thou has sent."

The source of this lack of knowledge, so fatal to the people, was the willful rejection of that knowledge by the priest;

1.] Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that you shalt be no priest to ME—

GOD marks the relation between the sin & the punishment, by retorting on them, as it were, their own acts; & that with great emphasis, "I will utterly reject thee.”

Those, thus addressed, must have been true priests, scattered up & down in Israel, who, in an irregular way, offered sacrifices for them, & connived at their sins.

For GOD's sentence on them is, "You shalt be no priest to ME."

But the priests whom Jeroboam consecrated out of other tribes than Levi, were priests not to GOD, but to the calves.

Those then, originally true priests to GOD, had probably a precarious livelihood, when the true worship of GOD was deformed by the mixture of the calf-worship, & the people "halted between two opinions;"

& so were tempted by poverty also, to withhold from the people unpalatable truth.

They shared, then, in the rejection of GOD's truth which they dissembled, & made themselves partakers in its suppression.

And now, they "despised, were disgusted" with the knowledge of GOD, as all do in fact despise & dislike it, who prefer ought besides to it.

So GOD repaid their contempt to them, & took away the office, which, by their sinful connivances, they had hoped to retain.

2.] Seeing you have forgotten the law of your GOD—This seems to have been the sin of the people.

For the same persons could not, at least in the same stage of sin, despise & forget.

They who despise or "reject," must have before their mind that which they "reject."

To reject is willful, conscious, deliberate sin, with a high hand; to "forget," an act of negligence.

The rejection of GOD's law was the act of the understanding & will, forgetfulness of it comes from the neglect to look into it; & this,

● from the distaste of the natural mind for spiritual things, ● from being absorbed in things of this world, ● from inattention to the duties prescribed by it, or shrinking from seeing "that" condemned, which is agreeable to the flesh.

The priests knew GOD's law & "despised" it; the people "forgot" it.

In an advanced stage of sin, however, man may come to forget what he once despised; & this is the condition of the hardened sinner.

I will also forget YOUR children—Literally, "I will forget YOUR children, I too." GOD would mark the more, that HIS act followed on their's; they, first; then, HE saith, "I too." He would requite them, & do what it belonged not to HIS Goodness to do first.

Parents who are careless as to themselves, as to their own lives, even as to their own shame, still long that their children should not be as themselves.

GOD tries to touch their hearts, where they are least steeled against HIM.

He says not, "I will forget thee," but I will forget those nearest YOUR heart, "thy children." GOD is said to forget, when HE acts, as if HIS creatures were no longer in HIS mind, no more.

the objects of HIS providence & love.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brow, Anglican & FC of Scotland [1871] | Hosea 4:6

lack of knowledge—"of GOD" [Hosea 4:1], that is, lack of piety.

Their ignorance was wilful, as the epithet, "My people," implies; they ought to have known, having the opportunity, as the people of GOD. thou—O priest, so-called.

Not regularly constituted, but still bearing the name, while confounding the worship of Jehovah & of the calves in Beth-el [1 Kings 12:29, 31].

I will … forget YOUR children—Not only those who then were alive should be deprived of the priesthood, but their children who, in the ordinary course would have succeeded them, should be set aside.

Matthew Poole, Nonconformist [1624-1679] | Hosea 4:6

My people: the divorce was not yet issued out, the ten tribes yet were in some sense Ammi.

Are destroyed; not only in the prophetic style, are, because ere long they shall most certainly be destroyed, but in the course of the history it is plain in matter of fact; many of them were cut off by Pul king of Assyria, 2 Kings 15, & many were destroyed by the bloody & cruel tyranny of Menahem, & more were ruined in their estates by exactions & impositions.

The civil wars, the seditions, the usurpations of some & the deposing of others, were things the prophet Hosea lived to see, & I believe speaks of here as things that had already destroyed many.

For lack of knowledge of GOD, his law, his menaces, his providences, & government of the world.

Had they known his holy nature, his jealousy for his own glory, his hatred of sin & his power to punish it, had they known their GOD, they would either have forborne to sin, or repented of what sins they had committed, & so prevented his wrath.

Because thou: the prophet now turns his words from the people to the priests among them.

The people’s ignorance was much from the ignorance & profane humour of their priests, & this the prophet doth tacitly charge on the priests, to whom he speaks as to one particular person:

Thou, who callest thyself, art accounted by the people, & goest under the name of a priest.

Hast rejected knowledge: strange perverseness! they who should direct others, who should be teachers, are & will be ignorant, will not know, reject knowledge; detestest to know, as the Chaldee paraphrase.

I will also reject thee; with equal dislike I will reject time, I will destroy your Church constitution, & with that I will destroy your priesthood; & I will do this with detestation & abhorrence too.

Thou have forgotten the law of YOUR GOD: O Israel, & you, O priests, you have all sinned together, slighted & disrespected the law, broken all the precepts of it, set up other gods, other worship, other priests than the law directs.

I will also forget; I will pay thee in YOUR own coin, I will forget, i.e. slight & disregard.

Thy children; the people of Israel, the whole kingdom of the ten tribes; both those pretended priests & their ghostly children with them.

John Gill, Baptist & Calvinist [1697-1771] | Hosea 4:6

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge—This is not to be understood of those who are the LORD's people by special grace; for they cannot he destroyed, at least with everlasting destruction; GOD's love to them, his choice of them, covenant with them, the redemption of them by CHRIST, & the grace of GOD in them, secure them from such destruction: nor can they perish through want of knowledge; for though they are by nature as ignorant as others, yet it is the determinate will of GOD to bring them to the knowledge of the truth, in order to salvation; & that same decree which fixes salvation as the end, secures the belief of the truth as the means; & the covenant of grace provides for their knowledge of spiritual things, as well as other spiritual blessings; in consequence of which their minds are enlightened by the SPIRIT of wisdom & understanding, & they have the knowledge of GOD & CHRIST given them, which is life eternal.

But this is to he understood of the people of the ten tribes of Israel, who were nationally & nominally the people of GOD, were so by profession; they called themselves the people of GOD; & though they were idolaters, yet they professed to worship GOD in their idols; & as yet GOD's "loammi" had not taken place upon them; he still sent his prophets among them, to reprove & reform them, & they were not as yet finally rejected by him, & cast out of their land.

These may be said to be "destroyed", because they were threatened with destruction, & it was near at hand, they were just upon the brink of it; & because of the certainty of it, & this "through the lack of knowledge": either in the people, who were ignorant of GOD, his mind, & will, & worship, & without fear & reverence of him, which was the cause of all the abominations they ran into, for which they were threatened with ruin; or in the priests, whose business it was to teach & instruct the people; but instead of teaching them true doctrine, & the true, manner of worship, taught them false doctrine, & led them into superstition & idolatry; & so they perished through the default of the priests in performing their office; which sense is confirmed by what follows: because YOU have rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that YOU shall be no priest to me; the priests that Jeroboam made were of the lowest of the people, ignorant & illiterate men, 1 Kings 12:31 & they chose to continue such; they rejected with contempt & abhorrence, as the word signifies, the knowledge of GOD, & of all divine things; of the law of GOD, concerning what was to be done, or not to be done, by the people; & of all statutes & ordinances relating to divine worship, & the performance of the priestly office: & though there might be some of Aaron's line that continued in the land of Israel, & in their office; yet these affected the same ignorance, & therefore the LORD threatens them with a rejection from the priesthood; or, however, that they should be no priests to him, or in his account, but should be had in the utmost abhorrence & contempt, The word here used has a letter in it more than usual [s], which may signify the utter rejection of them, & the great contempt they were had in by the LORD; this was to take place, & did, at the captivity by Shalmaneser.

Seeing YOU have forgotten the law of YOUR GOD: which he had given them, who was their GOD by profession; & which they had forgot as if they never had read or learnt it; & so as not to observe & keep it themselves, nor teach & instruct others in it:

I will also forget YOUR children; have no regard to them, take no notice & care of them, as if they were never known by him; meaning either the people in general, their disciples & spiritual children; or else their natural children, who should be cut off, & not succeed them in the priesthood.

The words are very emphatic, "I will forget them, even I" [t]; which expresses the certainty of it more fully, as well as more clearly points at the justness of the retaliation.

[s] the last is superfluous; the reason of the word being so written.

Ben Melech confesses his ignorance of.

[t] "etiam ego", Pagninus, Montanus, Zanchius, Cocceius, Rivet, Schmidt.

Geneva Study BIBLE, ‎Protestant Affiliation [1557-1560] | Hosea 4:6

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because {f} YOU have rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that YOU shalt be no priest to me: seeing {g} YOU have forgotten the law of YOUR GOD, I will also forget YOUR children. [f] That is, the priests will be cast off, because for lack of knowledge they are not able to execute their charge, & instruct others; De 33:3, Mal 2:7.

[g] Meaning the whole body of the people, who were weary with hearing the word of GOD.

Cambridge BIBLE, Anglican Editor John Perowne [1882] | Hosea 4:6

MY people are destroyed] The prophet cannot escape, because the people is on the brink of ruin through the prophet’s fault.

It is the perfect of prophetic certitude, ‘my people is already as good as destroyed.’

for lack of knowledge] More precisely, by reason of [their] lack of knowledge.

The ‘knowledge of GOD’ is meant [see on Hosea 4:1].

YOU have rejected knowledge] Thou is emphatically expressed in the Hebrew.

‘Knowledge’, viz.

of GOD’s revealed will, was theoretically a deposit in the priestly order [Deuteronomy 33:10; Ezekiel 44:23; Malachi 2:7].

There is no reason to think that the ‘priest-people’ of Israel is addressed; there was no priest-people till after the return from exile.

forgotten … forget] To ‘forget’ what has been committed to one’s charge is the same as to ignore it.

The penalty of the priests is not really distinct from that of the people [see Hosea 4:9]; the priestly office could in no full sense be maintained in captivity.

the law of YOUR GOD] ‘Thy GOD’, because the priest was specially ‘brought near’ to Jehovah.

‘The law’, Heb.

tôr âh, will cover oral as well as written instructions [comp.

Deuteronomy 17:11], but a later passage [Hosea 8:12] shows that a written legislation existed in Hosea’s time.

The contents of this may be presumed from Hosea’s language to have been, at any rate to a large extent, concerned with applications of religious morality.

thy children] i.e.

the members of the priestly caste; ‘thy brethren’ would be more consistent with the figure [compHosea 4:6.

‘thy mother’, Hosea 4:5].

Donald Spence Jones [1836-1917] |

—My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Here the verb is plural & its subject singular, because, being collective, it comprehends all the individual members of the nation.

The word כדמו is rendered

[1] by Jerome in the sense of "silence:" "conticuit populus incus," which he explains to mean "sinking into eternal silence." So also the Chaldee.

[2] The LXX., understands it in the sense of "likeness:" "My people are like [ὡμοιώθη] as if they had no knowledge." Aben Ezra disproves this sense as follows: "This word, if it were from the root signifying 'likeness,' would have after it el with seghol, as, 'To [el with seghol] whom art YOU like in YOUR greatness?' [Ezekiel 31:2]; but without the word el it has the meaning of ' cutting off.'" So Kimchi: "Here also it has the sense of 'cutting off.'" The article before "knowledge" implies renewed mention & refers to the word in ver.

1; or it may emphasize the word as that knowledge by way of eminence, which surpasses all other knowledge, & without which no other knowledge can really prove a blessing in the end.

The knowledge of GOD is the most excellent of all sciences.

Paul counted all things but loss in comparison with its possession; & our blessed LORD himself says, "This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true GOD, & JESUS CHRIST, whom YOU have sent;" while the Prophet Isaiah attributed the captivity to its absence: "My people are gone into captivity because they have no knowledge." Because YOU have rejected knowledge...

seeing YOU have forgotten the Law of YOUR Son.

The cause of this ignorance is here charged on the unfaithfulness of the priesthood.

They rejected knowledge & forgot the Law of their GOD.

The two concluding clauses of this verse may be regarded as "split members" of a single sentence.

As rejection implies the presence of the object rejected, while forgetfulness implies its absence from the mind or memory, some have understood rejection of knowledge as the sin of the priest, & forgetfulness that of the people.

This separation is not necessary, for what men continue for a time to despise they will by-and-by forget.

The forgetfulness is thus an advance upon rejection.

The sin of these priests was very great, for, while the priests' lips were required to keep knowledge, they neither preserved that knowledge themselves nor promoted it among the people; hence the indignant & direct address.

Thus Kimchi says: "HE addresses the priestly order that existed at that time: Thou have rejected he knowledge for thyself & to teach it to the people, consequently I will reject thee from being a priest unto me.

Since YOU dost not exercise the office of priest, which is to teach the Law, I will reject thee so that YOU shalt not be a priest in my house." I will also reject thee that YOU shalt be no priest to me...

I will also forget YOUR children, even I.

The punishment resembles the offence; the human delinquency is reflected in the Divine retaliation.

To make this the more pointed, the "YOU on YOUR part [attah]" at the head of the sentence has its counterpart, or rather is counterbalanced by the "even I" or "I too [gam ani]" at its close.

The severity of the punishment is augmented by the threat that, not only the then existing priests, but their sons after them, would be excluded from the honor of the priesthood.

This was touching painfully the tenderest part.

It needs scarcely be observed that forgetfulness is only spoken of GOD in a figurative sense, & after the manner of men, that being forgotten which is no longer the object of attention or affection.

"The meaning of אשׁ," says Kimchi, "is by way of figure, like the man who forgets something & does not take it to heart." The unusual form אֶמְאָסְאָך has been variously accounted for.

The Massorites mark the aleph before caph as redundant; it is omitted in several manuscripts of Kennicott & De Rossi, as also some of the early printed editions.

Kimchi confesses his ignorance of its use.

Olshausen treats it as a copyist's error; but Ewald "regards it as an Aram-seen pausal form." Some take the reference to be to Israel as a kingdom of priest

#Hosea 4:6

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aethelflaedladyofmercia · 5 years

Text

Sapling

I’ve fallen VERY far behind in @drawlight‘s advent challenge! But I knew what I wanted to post for day 9 all along, I just never had a chance to work on it. Here it is now!

(Fun fact: a big part of the delay was me being unable to decide if Crowley or Aziraphale should be the POV character. Behold: a very unexpected solution!)

09 - Chestnuts (1,928 words)

Small trees are not aware of much.

The little sapling didn’t know what a volcano was, or what an eruption meant, or how close it had come to being subsumed entirely in boiling lava. It was rather shocked when a sudden rush of earth broke loose from further up the slope, completely burying it and all the other plants growing nearby.

It should have snapped, been torn completely out of the ground, like all the others. The little sapling had only emerged from its chestnut this past spring, had only reached the sunlight a few weeks before. But luck, perhaps, had been on its side.

A few leaves on one side of its forked stem (too small to even call it a trunk) still stood above the earth. Not much at all. It should have died, slowly starved of sunlight.

Except that a pair of hands, digging in the earth, uncovered it. They were gentle and patient, not at all matching the grumbling voice that came along with them.

“Lousy place to grow. Whatever squirrel buried you here didn’t do you any favors. Might as well have just eaten you and saved you the trouble.”

The sapling slowly emerged, long as the arms that were digging it free, thinner than the smallest finger. Its stem was bent, snapped almost through along one branch of the fork.

“Ah, bless it. That doesn’t look good. You’re going to give up now, aren’t you? Going to tell me it’s too much damage, you can’t go on. I don’t want to hear it. Once I get this cleared, I don’t want any excuses from –”

“Crawley? Is that you?”

“Angel.” A growl. “What are you up to? Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“Why are you here? Is this your doing?”

The hands moved away, the black robed figure springing up. “My doing? You think I run around causing volcanic eruptions and landslides and natural disasters?” The foot lashed out, kicking aside a few rocks. “I seem to remember, last time we talked it was your side pulling all that.”

“My side – That was an entirely different situation.”

“Yes, apparently God was angry and drowned all the sinful people in a great Flood. Well done. How’s the recovery going in that area? Still sin-free?” The silence might have been telling to another man-shaped being, but the tree was still trying to work out what a Flood might be. In a softer voice, the figure continued: “How do I know you’re not here to wipe out all the people on this island, too?”

“I’m not. If they’re good people, they don’t have to worry about that.”

“Don’t they? What are the rules, Aziraphale? Do they even know what not to do?” He settled back down, continuing his work, moving earth from around the sapling. “Why did you even come here, Angel?”

“I was…well, I was looking for you, in a way. There have been rumors that some monster lives on or under this mountain. Er, a man with a hundred fire-breathing snake heads I believe.”

The figure through back his head and laughed. “Humans! What will they think of next?” He tossed aside a few more stones. “And? I assume they sent you to find out if the monster was really a demon. Now what are you supposed to do? Kill me? Bury me under the mountain for all time?”

“Hardly!” The second figure’s voice went very high. “I’m only here to…to determine whether you are causing these disasters.”

“This again?” The figure ran a finger along the sapling’s stem, trying to get it to stand straight, but the stem had become too soft and weak in the earth. “The mountain erupted because it’s a volcano. It keeps erupting because it’s a very active volcano. I spread a rumor that a horrible monster lives here so that people wouldn’t try to make their homes on a volcano because humans are just the right combination of stubborn and stupid. And I’m here now because…” Fingers gently rubbed one of the sapling’s leaves. “…because humans aren’t the only ones who get hurt in these disasters.” He stood up again.

“Where are you going now?”

“Well, apparently after all the work I put into digging it out, this sapling doesn’t want to stand up anymore. Lazy plants. I’m going to go find a stick or something so I can stake it upright. Probably just get buried again in the next eruption, but maybe it’ll get lucky.” Feet stomped away across the bare earth.

A few moments later, the other figure approached. “I honestly don’t know what to make of him,” he confessed, half to himself, half to the sapling. “Angry and coarse and unkind, and yet…and yet, here you are, free of the earth. Why?” Soft fingers felt their way up the stem, and every where they brushed the sapling felt stronger, grew straighter. The broken fork knitted itself back together. “There. That should help.”

“Can I tell you a secret, little tree?” The white robed figure bent closer. “I don’t think he’s really unkind at all. He speaks as if he is, oh, he says some awful things. But the questions he asks…well, they make a lot of sense.”

The figure sucked in a breath, sat silent for a long time. The only response to the comment, though, was a small breeze that stirred the sapling’s leaves. The figure finally continued in a thicker voice. “I… I always understood that questions, doubts, those were signs of a sick mind. A lack of faith. Some strain of selfishness or cruelty, seeking things better left unknown. But his questions…how are the humans supposed to be good if they don’t know what we want? How does killing them help them learn their lesson?”

Fingers combed through the earth. “Why wasn’t I sent to help after the eruption? Why is he the one here to heal the mountain, while I come looking for a fight?”

Even the sapling recognized that these questions had not come from the first figure.

“Do you know what they would do to me, little tree, if they heard me asking these things? No, leave these questions to the demon. I… I must follow orders. But there’s no harm, I suppose, in following my orders in the way that seems best to me.”

The fingers gently ran across a leaf. “Grow strong, little tree. He cares for you, in his way, and, well…I suppose we don’t want to let him down, do we?”

Footsteps echoed across the mountainside. “Still here, Angel? I hope you’re not teaching that sapling to be all soft and pitiable. No one’s going to come and care for it up here.”

“Of course not.” The second figure stood up, brushing off white robes. “I was just wondering… is there anything I can do to help? I do have to thoroughly check this mountain for hundred-headed snake monsters, and I may as well make myself useful while I’m about it.”

“Nh.” The black-robed figure knelt beside the sapling. “I suppose there’s a lot of ground to cover. Head over that way and see if anything else is sticking out of the ground.” He gestured vaguely. “I’ll come show you what to look for in a minute.”

Once the other figure was gone, he began hammering a long branch into the ground beside the sapling. “Useless angel. Probably doesn’t even know a live plant from a dead one. He’ll spend half the day trying to rescue dead bushes.” A heavy breath. “At least he’s trying. That’s more than I ever expected, really. Sometimes I even think he actually listens.”

The fingers paused, picking at the edge of the robe, pulling out threads. “Do you have any idea how rare that is? Of course you don’t, you’re a tree. Barely even that. But no one – no one – listens to me. Just ‘shut up, Crawley,’ and ‘do your assignment, Crawley,’ and ‘one more question and you’ll regret ever trying to have an original thought…’”

Each thread was carefully looped around the sapling, tying it to the branch, showing it how to grow straight. “Questions are dangerous. He shouldn’t ask. I shouldn’t try to make him ask. If anything happened to him… Well, I’d say ‘I’d never forgive myself,’ but I’m already unforgiveable, aren’t I? But I won’t let that happen. I won’t.”

The figure paused, looking at the sapling and the piled-up earth around it. “That’s enough from me. You’ll get enough sunlight; you have room to grow. It’s up to you now.” He placed two fingers on the ground where the stem emerged. “I saw him talking to you. Sign that he’s going mad, if you ask me. But I guess he likes you. So you’re not allowed to give up, no matter what. You hear me? He deserves better than that.”

The second figure called from the distance, “Crawley! I think I found something!”

“We’ll see about that,” he growled, standing up and walking away. “Angel! Don’t even touch it until I get over there.”

And the sapling was left alone. Growing quietly on the eastern face of a volcano, with nothing for company but the memory of the touch of an angel and a demon, of the words they had spoken, words brimming with emotion that they could no more understand than the little tree could.

But all that emotion worked its way into trunk and root and leaf. And the tree grew, and grew, and grew.

And five thousand years later, a figure in black and another in white visited Mt. Etna again. The circle of enormous trunks formed a grove almost two hundred feet across, all linked in one root system, growing as strong as ever. A fence protected the Hundred-Horse Chestnut tree from curious tourists, but barriers had never kept these two from where they wanted to be.

“According to this,” said the figure in white, “this is the oldest tree in all of Europe. And the largest! Can you imagine, my dear?”

“Eh, it’s not that old,” grumbled the figure in black, digging through a bag of roasted sweet chestnuts. “I mean, it isn’t as old as us.”

“I’m sure we’ve been here before. This mountain looks very familiar.”

“Of course we have. We’ve been everywhere before.” He popped a chestnut into his mouth and chewed threateningly where the tree could see him. “If it’s important, you’ll remember.”

“I suppose I will. Oh, look over there!” The figure in white wandered off to look at the way one of the trunks grew, tall and slightly twisted.

The other figure leaned against the thickest trunk at the front of the grove, continuing to pick at the bag of chestnuts the shop had insisted came from this very tree. “I think you’ve done well for yourself,” he said, gazing up at the bare branches that still grew in thick with green every spring. “Didn’t give up. Don’t expect applause from me, though.”

The eyes – hidden behind black lenses – drifted over to the other figure again. “I’m starting to think I did well for myself, too. Don’t tell him I said that. He’ll just get all sappy. To tell you the truth, I don’t know why he sticks around, but I’ll never take it for granted.”

He pulled off his lenses to glare at the next trunk beside him. “Now I’m getting all sappy. You just keep growing or you’ll hear from me again.” Then he pushed off and sauntered into the grove. “Angel, are you going to eat these or not?”

(The Hundred Horse Chestnut tree on Mount Etna, Sicily, is the oldest tree in Europe and likely one of the oldest in the world. Estimates range from 2,000 to 4,000 years old, with some arguing almost 5,000. Despite being only 5 miles from the crater of a very large and very active volcano, it continues to thrive.)

(Also, despite various legends of Mt. Etna being the prison of Typhon or the forge of Hephaestus, not to mention very real and very dangerous earthquakes and eruptions, humans have been living on it since at least the 8th century BC. The fact that volcanic soil is incredibly fertile probably keeps bringing them back, despite Crowley’s best efforts...)

#good omens fanfiction #good omens prime #ineffable husbands #31 days of ineffables #aziraphale and crowley #aziraphale #crowley #ineffable demon (crowley)#my writing #crowley and plants

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ftpthemovement · 5 years

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Don’t let the deception of some Christians perceptions fool you, In scripture it says “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.” Hebrews 5:8

Christ himself, God in a body, learned obedience through what he suffered. Many times when Christians are suffering it’s written off as unresolved sin, needing prayer, more works needing to be done such as: Fasting, sozo, counseling, generational curses, etc etc. The list could literally be endless. It’s seems the western world has some sort of answer for all of it, often times ending with the individual focusing on short coming instead of their savior. This can turn into an endless loop of condemnation, leaving the person worse off than ever before. Lacking confidence and assurance of their salvation through Christ’s finished works.

Sadly, most people give the enemy way too much credit over every aspect of their lives. Forgetting the enemy is a defeated foe, that sin and death has lost its sting, and that the spirit within them is stronger than the one in this world. This lack of confidence can become deep rooted and often time is a result of poor leadership, and a lack of personal intimacy (relationship) with God.

Scripture tells us, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.” 1 Peter‬ ‭4:12-13‬ ‭

The issue is, most of us have never been taught rejoice in sufferings, especially the ones related to Christ. Instead, we search for the answers of what’s going wrong, and where we messed up, instead of realizing that we should be rejoicing in Christ’s finished works on the cross, especially when the suffering we endure in life is Christ related. James 1:2-3 says to, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.”

Joy facing trials? Who has joy in facing trials?

Who was taught growing up that we should consider it joy because the testing of our faith will produce steadfastness? When is the last time you were taught that what you were going through was ok? When the last time you rejoiced and we’re encouraged that God was refining you, and building you up, and that, “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Phi ‭1:6‬ ‭

Often times I’ve heard the opposite. Often times I’ve heard the opinions of man, especially in leadership point out peoples short comings instead of the finished works of their savior. I’ve heard several times you need to increase your walk with God, not to rest in his completed works. Though, “We all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

So why is it that some of the people that we believe to be closest to God aren’t teaching that before Christ in us that in the flesh, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.”Isaiah 64:6 But now through His finished works, “He has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.” 1 Col 1:22

Without a single fault? Meditate that for forever lol. Gods word said it not me. If God himself looks at you and doesn’t see a single fault, what is man doing trying to convince you otherwise? Is this not the very works that would be produced in vain, the very reason why Christ came and laid his life down, that through his grace, mercy, and sacrifice, alone we would be saved. So that no man, by his works, would have anything to ever boast about? That all things have been made level at the foot of the cross, that all fall short of the glory of God, that all stand condemned without Christ in us the hope of glory!?(Rhetorical)

Don’t allow anyone to cause you to stray from the confidence and assurance that you have found through Christ sacrifice. Rather, look to the ones who came before you, those who walked with Christ to set the example of what you might expect out of life. Here’s what scripture has to say about a few of them:

“Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” Hebrews‬ ‭11:35-38‬

They were, mocked, flogged, chained, in prison, stoned, sawn into, killed by the sword. This sound familiar to your life?

If you don’t find that to suit your needs, since those people are nameless in scripture and might be hard to relate to, what about Christ himself? We could use Christ, but being he was faultless and sinless, you might find it hard to relate, yet in scripture it says in Hebrews 4:15 that, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin.”

Isn’t Christ life and what he endured the greatest indication of what we should look forward to in this Christian life? If it’s true that the same spirit that lives in Him, lives in us, and allows us to do the world he has done and far greater, then wouldn’t it be Christ who would lead by the best example? But again, for the sake of argument, let’s look at someone who is human, has sinned, and was completely sold out for the gospel. Let’s look at Paul! Let’s see what Paul’s life looked like when Ananias was sent to him.

The words spoken in prophecy to him through Ananias where this, “The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. -Acts 22:14-15

Knowing this, here are just a few examples of what Christ servant of the gospel endured on his walk with Christ:

Paul wrote most of the New Testament (4 or more epistles) from in prison.

He was stoned by the Jews who came from Antioch and Iconium. Then they drug him out of the city. -Acts 14:19

He was bitten by a very poisonous snake while building a fire-Acts 28.

By his own words, here is a small account of what he endured.

“Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.”‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭11:22-33‬ ‭

Does this sound like your life?

Why then if Christ and Paul’s examples are good indicators of what are a possibility of the Christian walk, if we know that 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. John 15:20

That in Christ time when, “John came neither eating nor drinking, they say, 'He has a demon.' And when “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' 1 Matt 11:18-19

If Christ himself and those who came before were spoken of like this, why are we so quick to assume that there is something wrong instead of something right going on?

Notice, the ones who choose to follow God throughout all of the history of scripture all endured extreme hardships in their walk with God. Most of which the world thought they were crazy, or demon possessed. Christ own family thought he was out of his mind. I could go on and list a ton of examples, but it would be almost every individual who God used through scripture.

Does anyone not find it odd that every time a man of God is near to the father, operating in the boldness of the spirit, that he is considered to be hearing from demons and not God himself? The religious of Christ day and age said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons." Matt 12:24

If this is how Christ himself was treated, why are we so quick to fall under the judgment of man, especially when we have been freed from the judgment of God, by passing from death into life from Christ sacrifice. This sacrifice allows us to have the Holy Spirit as a deposit guarantee of our internal inheritance. Why would we listen to the judgment of man over the finished works of Christ?

Do you feel like what you endure for the sake of the gospel is comparable to what those who came before you had endured? Is what you are enduring centered around Gods interest, or self interest? Are you pursuing Gods will for your life, or your own will? Are you concerned with the will of God, or are you concerned with your personal will and comfort?

Instead of allowing ourselves to be under a yoke of oppression, and being entangled in sin once again by focusing on our short coming instead of our savior; what if we choose to look at your hearts desires are when it comes to your own relationship with God?

What are your prayers?

Let me pass this test, let me make more money, let my wife be nicer, let me be able to handle the stress at this high paying job.

Please bless my American wage that is higher than what 90% of other countries will ever make. Please help me family clean up the mess of the abundance we have. Watch over the dogs, the cats and my bird, and let my team win this weekend.

I’m not saying this to be condemning, it’s not that these aren’t genuine concerns, but are the concerns of the Father for your life, or for personal gain and self interest?

What do they look like compared to the servants that came before you, though our generations are always different, the message and the mission has never changed. What do these prayers look like in comparisons to these?

Lord let your will be done no matter the circumstances let your mercy, grace, and power reign supreme in all aspects of my life. I completely surrender all things to you, i am in complete and full submission to your will. Allow your gospel to be spoken through me at all times in all ways, no matter the circumstances. Lord you reign supreme in every aspect of my life and in all things that I do. Always be the meditation of my mind. All that I am belongs to you, all that I will ever want is you to complete your works in me and through me, your portion is enough for me. My focus is on you and your mission alone. Allow me to die to self daily and have the courage to pick up my cross and follow you.

Both believers, but one seems to be running from suffering, while the other is willing to endure hardship for the sake of the gospel. But, before we start passing judgment on who needs to repent, is dealing with generational curses, needs to fast, etc etc. Maybe instead of looking at works, we should look in the mirror first at our own walk with Christ before trying to set the tone for how others should walk.

When Christ said “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.” Matthew‬ ‭7:1-5‬ ‭

What if the speck you saw in your brothers eye, was simply the reflection of your own log. Then once you removed the log from your own eye, if there was still a small speck to be removed, you could remove it clearly through gentle correction instead of judgment.

Don’t allow Christian judgment of man, no matter how Holy they may seem, corrupt the faith and assurance you have through Christ finished works. When Paul was faced with similar issues he said, “I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭4:3-5‬

So go in confidence and assurance that “He chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—” Ephesians‬ ‭1:4-5‬. With this assurance as the foundation of our faith through Christ finished works you will stand strong against the trials and tribulations of life and the adversity of men. You will reign in supremes confidence in Christ finished works that no matter what the judgment of man in this world holds for you. Believe that you are firmly rooted in the finished works of Christ, righteous and blameless in his sight, because you are the ambassador of Christ’s love through action and in truth. What is that love is that confidence rooted in?

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.” 1 John‬ ‭3:16-24‬ ‭

From the front lines- ES December 12th, 4:19pm

#eliasstrategos #ftpthemovement #christianity #ftpclothingco #blessed

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timhatchlive · 5 years

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Politics Needs Religion, God's Answer Is Revival

In 1 Kings 12, Israel is divided. And its leaders seek to keep it that way. Sound familiar? 1 Kings 12:25–27 (ESV) Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. 27 If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.”

Jeroboam was promised 10 tribes from the word of the Lord. Yet he is saturated with insecurity. The passage above shows his lack of trust in God and a need to secure his own fame, glory, and kingdom. He saw the people going to the Temple in the land of Judah and came up with a plan to stop it: 1 Kings 12:28–32 (ESV) So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” 29 And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one. 31 He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites. 32 And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made.

Amazingly Jeroboam replicated the very sin of Israel in the wilderness when Moses delayed on the mountain with God. Only he makes two calves and sets them at opposite ends of the kingdom to make sure they are easily accessible to all. The thought here was to make worship convenient to keep the people from long pilgrimages to Jerusalem. He even modeled this idolatry after the worship in Jerusalem with imitation temples, false priests and feasts.

What's interesting about this passage is how Jeroboam uses this false religion of his own making to manipulate the people from getting near to the true Lord. Isn't this a case study for the political agenda of both right and left-sided politicians in America? To be sure, both sides claim to be Christians of one sort or another. They also use religion to denounce the other side and demonize those with opposing viewpoints. They also claim that their "version" of Christian faith is the true one, that their views are backed up by scriptures selectively chosen for their argument. The sad reality is, many Christians get caught up in these debates and focus on divisive arguments rather than the true worship of the Lord.

The second lesson we should take away from this passage is to notice how easy it is for political leaders to manipulate men with religion. If you are not careful, you will be caught up in the fervor of hot button arguments against your fellow man with no time left to love and serve them. Let us never forget that Jesus brought both the religious left and right together in shared animosity toward Him.

What's the answer to these issues so relevant to our age? Revival. In the next chapter, a prophet comes to predict that spiritual awakening led by a leader from the house of David will bring these divisions to an end and eliminate false religious pretense which covers for political motives.

1 Kings 13:1–2 (ESV) And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the LORD to Bethel. Jeroboam was standing by the altar to make offerings. 2 And the man cried against the altar by the word of the LORD and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’ ”

What is the answer to those of us caught in the antagonistic division of our country right now? We need the true Son of David to come and smash our altars, destroy what we think is sacred and essential for us to gain power and cause us to surrender afresh to the rule of the Lord in our hearts.

I ask this to happen in my life, as well as yours.

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#1 Kings #belief #Bible #Christianity #God #holy spirit #Jesus Christ #Truth

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constantlyirksome · 5 years

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With Lucifer’s Fourth Season, The Devils in the Lack of Detail, (Spoiler Review.)

As a diehard DeckerStar fan, the end of Lucifer season three was as devastating to me as anybody, and the thought of never knowing if Chloe would ever accept Lucifer with his devil face hounded me. Did she run away in fear? Did she go in for a make-out on his crispy face? When the news hit that Lucifer was coming to Netflix I like all the other fans let out a sigh of relief. After episode one, I immediately take that relieved sigh back!

Spoil

The opening, Lucifer doing Radiohead’s Creep, alone in his nightclub every night for months, getting more and more disheveled with time was a brilliant way to lay out Lucifers angst on the table, along with some context on how long Chloe fled the country from, which is what she did. Now as an avid fan and a shipper this might seem like madness, but Linda went practically catatonic when she saw the Devil Face, Chloe earned some thinking time, she had the devils tongue in her mouth that’s cause for retrospection. We got no solid relief the whole episode as she avoided Luci’s prodding gaze and questions, insisting she was fine. But she wasn’t, and the end of episode’s twist, that she was plotting Lucifer’s descent back to hell with a priest hit like a semi-trailer to the stomach.

How dare she! I cried, but again, context is important, she had just figured out she knew the devil, she has a kid she needs to protect but it was still a dick move. After this, however not a lot interesting happens for a while. Now arguably on a streaming platform where people are likely to devour the whole season in a weekend, which I did, so not every episode needs a huge climax like a regular weekly serial. However, the points between this betrayal, Lucifer finding out and swiftly dealing with the problem, and the arrival of Eve are muddied. The murder of the week format has lost some of its charms, even with zany crimes and scenes, like the set of a survivor type reality show, do little to jazz up some very uninteresting murders. I found throughout the ten episodes I was able to follow and enjoy maybe three of the cases, the other’s were either convoluted or very dull. The nudist colony murder was a very good opportunity to get a close look on the peach fuzz on Tom Eliss’ butt. The cases that bring Lucifer’s fall (second fall) from grace, where he begins to punish and beat the murderers he catches for a while serve only as plot devices and little else.

So ultimately there was very little connecting the major plot points, the priest goes to jail randomly, Eve shows up with little investigation into how she escaped heaven, Lucifer is into two women, then the priest shows back up but he’s a demon now.

Now a lot of these individual pieces of narrative worked on their own. Lucifer’s obsession with self hatred and punishment, visually represented by his ever-changing devil form, was thematically sound, torn between the man he was in the garden of Eden, to who he is now solving crimes.

All of this comes to a head when he comes to the cheery realization, “I hate myself!” He’s skirted around his self-hatred, his guilt and resentment as his identity is wrapped up in everyone else’s sins, with Linda in therapy and it’s an incredibly interesting plot line to tug at, that Tom Ellis has risen to really well. What could be considered over the top at the shows conception now works in his favor.

The two women in his life, Chloe and Eve, basically revolve around him and do little else which is a shame, because they are both incredible women. Chloe’s character has been built up in the past, a strong intelligent single mother with some compelling backstory. She prided herself on her ability to rationalize, to do the right thing, but her story is so woven into Lucifer’s now that their romantic intentions are clearer now. She spends a lot of time being a badass, solving crime but she also spends a lot of time crying about Lucifer, the literal devil.

Eve is similarly linked to Luci in totally different ways. She is a thrilling character, imbued with the personality and backstory of the first sinner, but also the first human woman, filled with compassion, spirit, and curiosity. Actress Inbar Lavi brings so much zeal and childlike innocence it’s impossible not to love her. She does bring out the worst in Lucifer, loving him as the tempter from the garden, strong and unyielding in his punishment of evil. So despite her bubbly innocence her biggest character developments either revolve around pleasing and keeping Lucifer in her life, or trying to rebel against her husband, Adam. I truly hope, if there is a season five, she comes back; maybe we can get some more backstory or footage from Eden.

All the other supporting players actually had a lot to do, and a lot of growing to do as well. Barring Dan. I don’t remember fully why he is so salty, it’s linked to Charlotte’s death in season three, but he does nothing but mope. Ella, also affected heavily by Charlotte’s passing, questions her faith, but there is no evidence of that journey, no real work is done before she moves back to her faith, apart from a totally random, gratuitous tonsil hockey session with Dan. Seriously where did that come from, and why the creators thought it was necessary.

Linda, Mazikeen and Amenadiel had the most complete, satisfying arcs throughout the season’s length. Linda becomes pregnant with Amenadiel’s baby, which is a fascinating turn of events. What will the baby be like? Would it have wings, or be celestial, or have laser vision. It also begs the question, if Amenadiel could impregnate a woman on his first try, how is there not a little baby Lucifer anti-Christ running around? Their struggle in coming to grips with what it will mean to be parents. Amenadiel's newfound love and respect for humanity has him excited to raise a baby away from heaven. Leading to one of the most impressive pieces of plot, when he tries out being a father figure to a young black man who’s had a rough relationship with the law. He learns both how hard it is being there for a son, but also about real-world politics, in this case police brutality against black people in America. It was a surprisingly insightful moment for a typically camp show. Would it be better to raise their son, Charlie, on earth, or in the silver city?

Side note, Lucifer and Amenadiel's sister coming down to steal the baby when the plan was to raise him on Earth, only to give up after moderate resistance, was another wasted opportunity, though it did plant the seed in Amenadiel's head to take the baby.

Mazikeen slowly becomes more human this season (ironic considering her initial stance on Lucifer hanging out with Chloe), through her friendship with Linda (the best relationship/dynamic on the show next to Maze/Trixie) and her job as a bounty hunter. With Lucifer Linda and Trixie, she built a sort of pseudo-family, but she still lacked a romantic connection, which has her unfulfilled apparently. I didn’t like this either. Her last minute fling with Eve wasn’t thought out, and it was just a ploy by Eve to win back a man who didn’t care so it sort of felt like a big screw you to Maze, who like a lot of the others had little else to do this year.

Although Lucifer’s character arc was tight, was a step towards real growth, and a realistic way to delay gratification for his and Chloe’s relationship it came at the expense of any larger story arc or side plots for some of the other characters who deserved a little more after coming back from cancelation. The end shots, Lucifer sitting on a madly impractical throne does lead to the exciting possibility of exploring more of hell, and baby Charlie brings with him the opportunity to explore the silver city. However, after being canceled once already having as big a cliffhanger as last season seems risky, and if the show doesn’t get a season five fans might go mad thinking about it, even if the fourth season was a little messy.

#reviews #lucifer #lucifer morningstar #chloe decker #mazikeen #linda martin #amenadiel #season 4

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brutality-legacy · 6 years

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100+ Lyric Prompts

Here’s a list of lyrics that can be used as prompts or inspiration for stories.

Feel free to add on to this list, send some of these in if you want to see them written or reblog it for yourself. Whatever inspires you!

I will be updating this periodically and will reblog the updated version!

Dark

Caught up in this madness too blind to see / woke animal feelings in me / took over my sense and I lost control / I'll taste your blood tonight

A murderer walks your street tonight

And now when I speak, I speak to kill

Stalked in the forest too close to hide / I'll be upon you by the moonlight side

If you want survival kneel on my arrival

I am a scavenger / a vulture if you will / and if the price is right / I’m not averse to kill

Wish that you could but you ain't gonna own me / Do anything you can to control me

I'm the queen of pain / I can make it thunder and rain / I can turn the clouds black in the sky / I can put all those tears in your eyes

So death is coming to purge this town / I know your name / And I'm gonna hunt you down

I don't bring forgiveness / I don't bring peace / I've come to slay you / Come to kill the beast

So gather ye demons / It seems it's your day / I’ve sinned but I’ve paid more than 10,000 graves

The devil's gonna come when the sun go down.

Till my final breath / There'll be dust and death

Before I die / I'll take every soul I can into the night

Angst

He who makes a beast out of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man

Step by step, heart to heart, left right left / We all fall down like toy soldiers / Bit by bit, torn apart, we never win / But the battle wages on for toy soldiers

Victims, aren’t we all?

This night will hurt you like never before

Awake at night you focus on everyone who’s hurt you / Then write a list of targets / Your violent lack of virtue

I admit I was wrong to let you in

When I wake up to the sound of demons / they're always telling me that I'm no good

What have I got to lose / when I’ve already lost it all?

Have you ever been abused by someone so brutal that it chills your soul / have you ever been afraid of your own ghost?

I'm just a creature of a broken past

I'm doing what I can to fight this anger / I'm just a product of a living hell

To save your life I would race to my grave

There’s no pain I wouldn’t go through / Even if I have to die for you

Oh, dear mother, I love you / I'm sorry, I wasn't good enough / Dear father, forgive me / 'Cause in your eyes, I just never added up

Oh, dear brother, just don't hate me / for never standing by you or being by your side / Dear sister, please don't blame me / I only did what I thought was truly right

In my heart I know I failed you

It's a long and lonely road / When you know you walk alone

If I could hold back the rain / Would you numb the pain / Cause I remember everything

We build cathedrals to our pain / Monuments to attain / Freedom from all of the scars and the sin / lest we drown in the darkness within

You don't have the guts to love me like you wish you could

I must leave you cause I know your kind / You'd wake me up just to say goodbye

And I know that's not a tear in your eye / Cause boys don't cry and neither do I

At least I gave it a try but you had bourbon in your eyes

I've betrayed you and it should be a sin

One day you will understand / Why I pushed you away as I ran

I ain’t never been a keeper / Despicable / Love her then I leave her / And if I were you I wouldn’t love me neither

Take my life / Just not today

Will you swear on your life / That no one will cry / At my funeral

I'm a dead man walking / Hell's at my door / I'm a shadow of the man I was before

And I admit I am emotionally scared to let anyone inside

Happy/Comfort

We are not alone / It's darkest before the hope / You and I, we're not alone

Hope is a fire to keep us warm

I smile up to the sky / I know I'll be all right

There is no storm we can not weather

When you’re lost and need to be found / I will look forever

Never knew a time / When you weren't by my side / The one thing I could always count on

Just open your eyes / and see that life is beautiful

Just keep me close / There is no storm we can not weather

While my roots hid deeper inside / And my leaves stay bundled up tight / I felt my faith get bigger than life / Not only did I survive / I learned to blossom

Romantic

When it all comes down / when it starts to fall like an avalanche / I will be your wall / I will hold you up / Go against them all

I'll set you free when you're locked in a cell / I’ll find you heaven when you're lost in hell

I had a dream the other night / about how we only get one life / woke me up right after two / I stayed away and stared at you so I wouldn’t lose my mind

And if we only live once I wanna live with you

With broken words I tried to say / ‘Honey don’t you be afraid, if we’ve got nothing we’ve got us.’

I’m so into you / I can barely breath

Let’s get inside your car / just you, me, and the stars

I tried to be chill but you're so hot I melted

Our time is short / This is our fate / I'm yours

You asked me how long I'd stay by your side / So I answered with only just one reply / Till the casket drops

And it turns out s/he's got everything I want / but all rolled into one

You make me smile / please, stay for a while now

Gaze into my eyes, when the fire starts / And fan the flame so hot, it melt our hearts

Once I'm in I own your heart

Welcome to my cage, little lover / Attempt to rearrange with you, baby / Still don’t know your name, Miss Honey / Let’s go up in flames, pretty lady

You’re rich and I'm wishin', um / You could be my mister, yum

You taste like the fourth of July / Malt liquor on your breath, my, my / I love you but I don’t know why

He had a cigarette with his number on it / He gave it over to me, “Do you want it?” / I knew it was wrong but I palmed it / I saved it, I waited, I called it

I can't believe it / When did I start to fall for you?

I think... oh, well, what am I to do? / I didn't know that I would fall in love with you

I just bite my tongue / And when I want to say I love you I'll say ‘Boop’

She got blood cold as ice / And a heart made of stone / But she keeps me alive / She's the beast in my bones / She gets everything she wants / When she gets me alone

I don't judge you love / I never have before / We make mistakes / We leave them by the door

I found love / Where it wasn’t supposed to be

Sexual

Hold my arms above my head and push my face into the bed / Cause I'm a screamer baby / Make me a mute

Wanna wrestle with me baby? / Here's a sneak little peak / You can dominate the game cause I'm tough

Every caress is a medicine / Bringing me to my knees

The more we drank the less that we had on

Take the pain / Take the pleasure / I’m the master of both

Imma hold ya down until you're amazed / Give it to ya 'til you're screaming my name

I wanna fuck you like an animal / I wanna feel you from the inside

I ache for the touch of your lips, dear / But much more for the touch of your whips, dear / You can raise welts like nobody else / As we dance to the masochism tango

I'ma give it to you stronger / Hands up / We can go a little longer

I'm dominant by definition / I'm turned on by your submission

Latex, chains and whips make me hard and excite me / Come on, throw your hands up and pretend you wanna fight me

Fight

Take a last look around while you're alive / I'm an Indestructible Master of War

I know that blood will be spilled / and if you won’t then I will / My grave will never be filled / it’s either kill or be killed

Sleep for today, but tomorrow we fight

I am one man but I'll stand like an army of soldiers

To bring you peace I'll go into war / Ain't afraid of the rain I trained in a storm

The war was on its way / And we were waiting

We'll crush our enemies / Bring them to their knees

Wake the white wolf at the dawn of war / the end of the age is coming now

Hate

My heart it glows as you decompose

And I wonder can you hear me laughing / Cause I'm dancing on your grave

But I want you to know / I always hated you / Hated you from hello

Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do? / I don't give a damn if you say you disapprove

Misc

I straddle the line in discord and rhyme

Sitting here at my grave side I've never been so alive

I'm your Guardian angel and a part of you's tangled

When everyone wears a mask who's the real villain?

Nothing's going to stop me but divine intervention

It’s like a dead masquerade / so come and dance with me

I bet you thought that I was soft and sweet / You thought an angel swept you off your feet

I wait on you inside the bottom of the deep blue sea

I'm neon phosphorescent / Open like a Christmas present

And then you say I'm as cold as November

Every chatelaine / Wants to share her reign / So come and join me in my castle

Your blood’s gone bad / I knew it would

I was born under a bad sign / With a blue moon in my eyes

The boy who fell into the sky / Had no one there to watch him cry / He looked at you with his empty eyes / And said, “I’m doing you a favor”

Let me know / Where I can go to save my soul

Don’t threaten me with a good time

Don't you ever tame your demons / But always keep 'em on a leash

But my peace has always depended / On all the ashes in my wake

Days of rust / Nights of rain / Kingdom comes with a ball and chain

It's strange what desire makes foolish people do

I could be the hero / I could be the villain / It doesn’t really matter / I have the power

I was sent to warn you / The devil's in the next room

Keen to the scent / The hunt is my muse

You’ll fall like a guillotine / And kneel before the queen

Am I the only one I know / Waging my wars behind my face and above my throat

'Cause sometimes to stay alive you gotta kill your mind

Nothing ever comes without a consequence or cost

Took an oath by the blood of my hand / Won't break it

Do you feel the hunger / Does it howl inside / Does it terrify you / Or do you feel alive

To capture a predator / You can’t remain the prey / You have to become an equal in every way

#Prompts #Lyric Prompts #writing prompt #writing games #inbox prompts #long post

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littletyrell · 6 years

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winter is coming.

For as long as she lived, Margaery was certain she would never rid her mind of the image of the Red Keep from the vantage of the small window in her carriage.

The massive entity had loomed threateningly as they’d made their way out of the city’s limits, and had continued to intimidate even as it began to fade into the distance. It was only when it had been swallowed up by the darkness of the night that Margaery had allowed herself to release a long sigh, purging herself of several weeks’ worth of stress and despair. Her Grandmother reached over to squeeze her knee comfortingly, but Margaery struggled to even offer her a thankful smile.

The young Queen had been assured in the days that preceded her escape that her wrongful imprisonment would be coming to an abrupt halt, and that she was meant to be ready when the time came. Scrolls of paper had been tossed haphazardly into her cell at random times of day and night which swore that there was no evidence to hold her, and that even the High Sparrow would be forced to relent and free her without the labor of a trial by faith. These words were uplifting, but did little to prevent the overwhelming sadness that would appear when Margaery was ultimately left to suffer alone in her small cell -- or to even hear the not-so-distant cries of her similarly-imprisoned cousins, who were beaten by the Septa in an effort to bring forth the so-called “confession of sin” and the “redemption” which would follow. The Septa would come for her as well, but she dared not hit so hard as she was able -- there was some manner of law to be had there for a Queen, and perhaps Tommen had screamed and cried on her behalf from within the safety of the castle’s walls.

The day she was visited by Cersei Lannister had been the worst of her days stuck in that cell. The other Queen had come for no reason other than to gloat, and when that had become clear to Margaery, she was no longer able to hold the hatred she had choked on since first arriving at the capital. Margaery promised that all the pain that Cersei had caused the realm at large would be paid back to her. She lodged curses at the vile woman, and swore up and down that she would receive punishment from the Gods.

And so the Gods answered.

A scroll had been tossed into Margaery’s cell at an early hour, with an uplifting inscription: Cersei imprisoned. A few hours later, another scroll appeared, this one even more promising than the last: Tonight.

All it had taken was a changing of the guard, and suddenly Margaery was being rushed out of her cell -- and Megga and Elinor were not far behind. They were dressed in heavy, concealing cloaks, and shuffled under the protection of darkness into two separate carriages. When Margaery was settled into her own carriage, she had found none other than her Grandmother waiting inside. The embrace that the two women shared had been tender and real, and Margaery had found herself crying in a way she hadn’t since she was a little girl.

Even despite her desire to flee the capital and be done with it for good, the Tyrell in her struggled against the fear, questioning with a sniffle: “ -- will we -- should we -- should we retake the throne?”

“Are you out of your bloody mind, girl?” Olenna had tutted, though the bite lacked in her tone. She brushed a wrinkled hand comfortingly over Margaery’s brow, and the young queen’s eyes closed as she relaxed into the contact. “Cersei’s Sparrow has turned this city upside-down -- if we stay, we’ll be eaten alive with all the rest of them.” Scoffing, Olenna made a move as if to look back in the direction of the capital. “Good riddance to the lot of them. Let them burn together -- and burn they will, if we’re to believe this truth of the Targaryen girl and her three demons. She would’ve had no mercy for anyone else calling themselves Queen, dear -- if it wasn’t for this, I would’ve found another way to get you out of that viper’s nest.”

Margaery tried to keep her elation at bay. It felt so strange, to have abandoned the fantasy of being the queen. It felt as though she’d ended that life in the cell Cersei had made for her, and had come out a different person. The only trouble was she didn’t know what it was this Margaery wanted.

“If not here,” Margaery ventured, “ -- then where? Home?”

“A war in the south,” Olenna agreed with a nod, “what dear Renly had wanted all along, realized all too late.” Olenna scoffed, continuing: “war will come, should Cersei free herself of that prison she’s made for herself. The bitch is slippery, and she very well might manage it. Should she, I suspect she’ll turn to take her revenge on Highgarden and every other land she thinks has wronged her.”

“She feels wronged by the realm,” Margaery added, a frown pulling on her lips. “She seeks war with each House that does not bend to her.” Olenna hummed her agreement, and Margaery leaned back against the carriage seat as she contemplated the path that was laid out before them. They had two choice: to tuck tale and defend themselves, or to defend the realm at large. The latter was what she’d wanted as Queen -- to make the realm better via the removal of the Lannisters. The option still presented itself.

“What if we went North instead?” Margaery thought aloud. “What if we joined Stannis, and made him King? He may not have the love of the people, but he is intelligent and capable -- even Renly would have admitted such a thing.” Sensing her Grandmother’s rejection, Margaery pressed: “it is his right to inherit the throne, Grandmother. And our error to deprive him of it. All of this -- all of this could have been solved so long ago, had we just allowed it to pass as it should have been. The realm will be safer for it. And House Tyrell will be hailed as the saviors of the realm for delivering Stannis unto the throne.”

“It is not a bad thought,” Olenna commented after a long moment, seeming to relent. “But even despite the forces we have with us now, we need the permission of that oaf to move them --”

“What permission do you need?” Margaery countered, her golden gaze suddenly steely. “He will do as you say and question nothing of it. The decision rests with you, Grandmother. The fate of the realm sits in your hands. Yours, and no one else’s.”

While Elinor and Megga returned to the safety of Highgarden, Margaery and Olenna took to the North. Her two abused cousins carried with them a letter sealed by Olenna, ordering Mace to provide a division of their soldiers to journey North and accompany their party. It was some weeks before they had their affirmation -- and some time more before they received word that their soldiers marched. Olenna had commented to Margaery that the troops they promised Stannis would be a month or more delayed when they themselves arrived North, but Margaery was not swayed. She thought only of the best sort of revenge against Cersei -- a Westeros made better in the wake of her dethroning. Perhaps she would not even be executed, despite how badly she knew others -- as well as herself -- would wish to see her blood. Perhaps it would be a worse punishment to have her suffer with her misery.

Across the months of their journey North, Margaery thought often of who she would be in this new world. She’d tried and failed three times over to be a Queen. To the realm at large she remained a maiden, still able to marry -- though she suspected many might see her as some sort of a beautiful curse, unable to bed someone without causing their demise. Despite this, she could not imagine herself marrying some Reachmen lord that her father would choose for her, and being no one at all. Nor could she imagine herself attached to a Storm lord chosen by Stannis to affirm the alliance he knew nothing of, though she knew it was very likely a possibility of her fate. She thought endlessly and determined nothing.

The worst of their journey came when they moved through the Stormlands, and caught word of Loras’ fate. The details were sparse and grim: he had fought Cersei’s false war and had been defeated. He was said to be laid out in agony at Dragonstone, wounded from blade and burns and slowly inching towards death. The news had set Margaery into tears for days, and she had begged for nearly a week to divert their course and reclaim his body from Dragonstone. Her Grandmother’s repeated insistence that they could not go to a land teaming with Lannister soldiers was sound, but Margaery could not rid herself of the nightmare of sweet Loras dying with not a soul around him who truly loved him. She prayed for his soul in the night, and begged for his soul to stay by her side as they journeyed onward.

They had made it through the Vale with relative ease, despite their caution. Upon reaching the territory, they had learned of the pitiable fate of Lysa Tully -- and the fate of her child, now made the ward of Petyr Baelish. They dared not journey to the Eyrie to meet with the mockingbird, though they suspected that he was well aware of the forces which moved through the region. These suspicions were confirmed when a flurry of news greeted them in a letter signed by Baelish, leaving them as chilled as the snow that coated the ground.

Stannis was dead. His army was dead. Lord Bolton was dead. The bastard Bolton called himself Lord of Winterfell. The bastard Lord had married a girl said to be Sansa Stark. Sansa Stark had escaped the bastard, and was thought to be plotting the siege of her home.

Winterfell would need to be retaken swiftly, and the letter suggested that the Eyrie’s forces would be deployed only if called upon by Sansa. Without them, however, it was likely any attempt to fight the Bolton army -- bolstered by traitorous houses of the North -- would fail. The night after they’d received the letter, Margaery dreamed of red hair, and of a beautiful girl who seemed to carry with her all the sadness of the world. When she awoke, she demanded that they come to her aid.

“We do not know if Sansa Stark is alive,” Olenna had protested, exasperated at that point by their fruitless journey. “Look at the snow falling around us -- it is all the more likely she died out in that cold, hiding away from that little monster. That little slip of a thing could not survive this.”

“This is her home,” Margaery had protested, steadfast in her desire to journey on to Winterfell. “For all that she has survived already, she would have survived her own home. Grandmother, we cannot turn our backs on her.” Margaery’s expression had crumpled then, remembering how they had left her to be married to Tyrion when their own plot had fallen through. The youngest Lannister was far from a cruel man -- but it had been a mockery nonetheless, and Margaery knew Sansa had suffered for it. “What would we be, if we turned our backs now?”

They did not move from a small inn nearby Moat Cailin for nearly a month -- they would not go to Winterfell without their army in tow. During this time, Margaery and her Grandmother acclimated as best they could to the North. The bitter cold was not good for a woman of Olenna’s age, and Margaery sought to have her constantly cloaked in large furs that seemed to drown her. Margaery herself was swathed in them, and found that with each passing day her skin seemed to pale in the icy region. When she cast a glance at her reflection in a looking glass, she found that she did not recognize the girl who looked back. This was not the little queen of the Red Keep -- it was someone else entirely. It was someone she did not quite know yet.

When their army arrived, they moved at last for Winterfell. In the deep snow, they seemed to travel more slowly than ever before -- a journey meant to be 6 months had seemed to stretch to 8 or 9 by the time they’d closed in upon Torrhen’s square, just southwest of Winterfell. It was there that they received their last bit of news: the Bolton bastard was dead, and Winterfell had been retaken by House Stark -- led by none other than Jon Snow, Winterfell’s own bastard boy. In the wake of this battle, the Northerners had called out for Jon to take up a long-forgotten title: the King in the North.

When Margaery had heard this news, a shock of laughter had overtaken her. Olenna had turned, frustrated, and demanded she divulge what it was that amused her so.

“We journeyed all this way for a King,” Margaery exclaimed, her shoulders shaking with a kind of grim mirth, “ -- well, we’ve found one, haven’t we?”

To this point, Olenna joined in on this rueful, mourning laughter. It was a dark humor, twisted by months of strife and years of blood before it. It was the work of the Gods, Margaery knew, that they had someone still achieved the purpose of their journey.

When they arrived at last at Winterfell, they were met with an understandable opposition. House Tyrell, for all the North knew, were allies of the Lannisters. An envoy from their forces was sent to parlay with a soldier of Winterfell -- a massive man with fiery hair -- and communicate the message of House Tyrell’s break from House Lannister. When their man returned some time later, he was escorted by that same giant, who called himself Torrhen. She and Olenna had been permitted access into the castle, but their men would remain outside Winterfell’s protective walls.

They were escorted to a study within the family’s solar, and were told to wait -- they would be greeted by Sansa Stark, as she would be the only one among them to confirm their identity. Margaery stood uncomfortably in the room, facing away from the door. Olenna reclined in one of the seats beside her. When the heavy door opened, Margaery inhaled softly.

“We came to offer you aid in the retaking of your home,” Margaery spoke, her lips curving into a rueful smirk as the words left her lips. She dared not turn her head to greet her former friend, though she wished too desperately. “Too little and too late, as I can clearly see. Our help was hardly needed.”

#001 #i am sorry both for how long this took and how much dumb exposition is here #NO NEED TO MATCH LENGTH

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bookoftruth · 3 years

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New World Order Plan to control your money and food

Sunday, April 17, 2011 09:00

My beloved daughter, tell the world that they are about to witness a number of ecological disasters now. They will occur in the most unusual and unexpected places and will be severe in their intensity. Man’s sinful behaviour has brought this about. Repent, all of you, and remember these climatic disasters will wake you up from your blind slumber and lack of faith. They are also taking place to dilute the impact of the evil group of global alliances and their wicked, stupid activities. These groups, under what I will term as a “new world government” in waiting, are planning to spring now under the leadership of the antichrist. These same groups have brought about the collapse of the banking system and will now destroy currencies everywhere. This is so that they can control you.

My daughter, when I first shared this Message some months ago you thought that the Messages seemed bizarre, yet you wrote down what I told you. The wicked evil plan, these serpents, followers of Satan, has been plotted for some time now. Some of their cunning schemes are already being revealed yet many people believe that the world is simply going through yet another financial crisis. Wake up all of you – now. Look around you and see for yourselves. Stop trying to imply that the world is simply in the throes of a depression, caused by a slump in the economy, because this is not true. These people will now control each of you through a global currency and your country’s indebtedness. No country will escape their clutches. Please heed My Word. Your money will be worthless. Your access to food and other necessities will only be possible through “the mark”, the identification I spoke about. Please, please do not accept this mark because you will be lost to Me. This mark will kill you, not just physically, but spiritually. Remain outside of this jurisdiction. Start planning your food stockpiles, blankets, candles and water now if you want to avoid receiving the mark, the mark of the beast.

He, the antichrist, who will head this New World Government, believes he will steal the souls of the human race. But he won’t. Just as many will fall under his influence, so too will My followers remain steadfastly loyal to Me their Divine Saviour.

For all of you who will pour scorn on these prophecies, listen now. Fall under the influence of this global power and you will be lost. You will need strong faith to survive. Prayers you request will be answered. I will protect you during this fearsome period on Earth. Prepare now for group gatherings, where you will be able to pray in peace and secrecy. They, the New World Order, will also be in prayer in their own vile churches. These churches exist everywhere although they have been set up in secret. They hold sacrifices and pay homage to their idol, Satan. These cults are rampant now and all share the one ludicrous goal – to control mankind. They will do this by attempting to control your money, food supplies and energy. Fight them in the best way you can, through prayer and the spread of conversion. Pray too for these deluded people, who have been made promises of great wealth, technology, longer life and miracles. How wrong they are. They have been truly deceived. When they find out the truth they will have been plunged into the depths of Hell and it will be too late.

Pray, pray all of you, My Divine Mercy and the Most Holy Rosary, every day, as often as you can to alleviate the impact of this devious and demonic plan. Pray too for those souls who will be lost in the imminent global ecological disasters brought about by the Hand of God the Father. They need your prayers. Please heed My plea for prayers for they will be answered.

Your beloved Saviour Jesus Christ

#The Book of Truth #Message from Jesus #Jesus Christ #Volume One #New World Government #mark of the beast

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duckybeth99 · 6 years

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From Life to Death (Past!Fic)

I’d like to call this from life to death, here and there, but that’s too long lol. really short compared to my normal stuff; literally tiny fics strung together with a similar theme. wasn’t a real order to this? but I did put the most surprising one at the end

—

To become a demon of Hell requires two things: either to commit some great sin or make a demon deal, and die. This is true for every non-born demon, even the most kind of them. Some choose to move on once they have suffered their punishments or reformed. Some choose to stay.

A few who have chosen to stay are Mabuz, Vincent, Elliot, Sharp, Valerie and Violet. What got each of them there is different. Who they once were are all different. Some from Earth, the UpSide, Realm Prime, whatever one wants to call it. Others from different Realms, always from the UpSideDown, always otherworldly. There was little to no difference, though.

They all did something that brought them here.

—

He was the first of his kind. One of his parents, a grand dragon, wild and free. The other, domesticated, raised and cared by humanoid beings, and learned to be small like them. To walk on two legs, to hide their wings when not needed. So he was an oddity. No one quiet knew how he came to be. Some say it was fate. Some whispered of changelings and shapeshifters blood or malicious magics. Some say he was just born unlucky.

But there was their son, hatched from one of several eggs. He was the runt. Cracked his egg a day later than the others, who all appeared as, while smaller than the grand dragon, still as dragons. But the last one was different. Meek horns, tiny height among his siblings, scales that were uneven with some too large, others so small they looked like freckles across his body, and looked more humanlike than the rest. Than even the domesticated dragon. He was pathetic compared to his family. Nobody outright said it to him, but he could see it in how they treated him. His elder siblings, the disappointment his great dragon father showed. He knew he was lesser. To use his family name on itself would bring shame to them.

So he never did when he could prevent it. He only went by the nickname Sharp, and only to those who weren’t in his family, for they were the ones he showed his skills to.

While his brutal strength lacked due to his diminutive stature compared to his family, he was still clever. Sharp has a focused mind, speed, persistence, all on his side. What he didn’t have in raw power, he compensated in those skills. While his siblings used their dragon strength, their abilities over elements in combat, Sharp humbly took to a simple bow and arrow.

The day he discovered his first one was when he was a child. These weapons, laid about next to the carcasses of mortals who tried to hunt for his kind in sport. The swords were too heavy for him, too big to hide from his parents who would be angered by his wandering near fallen hunters. So he stole a bow and pouch of arrows from one body, and began to teach himself.

But still, he was looked down on.

His brothers and sisters mocked him, and the grand dragon said he was worth nothing as a misshapen. While he had the grand dragon’s blood, no symbol of it showed. He was still seen as weak, weaker than even the domesticated ones of his kind.

The pressure and rage built up in him until it reached a fever pitch. And that’s when the stranger came and offered Sharp a deal.

To find acceptance, the stranger said, would be to find power and end his weakness. Sharp listened to the stranger and they revealed a magic arrow he could use to end it all. The stranger warned the damage would be permanent. Sharp wasn’t worried.

Ready to display his power, Sharp took the magic arrow and called for his family to watch. But as they gathered, the grand dragon scolded the son for waisting his time with the power that even humans had at their disposal. Sharp begged for the attention, but the grand dragon showed disapproval still. The children soon joined and were about to make their exit.

Sharp pulled out his arrow, planning one shot to gain their attention. But the arrow in his hands was the magic one given to him. In his rage, he didn’t check the arrow, only drawing back and shooting.

When it released, he realized he was too late.

The magic arrow released its power, slaughtering Sharp’s brothers and sisters, his parents, including the mighty grand dragon. Their souls were ripped from their bodies as the arrow flew near them, as they tried to rush away. It landed straight into the grand dragon’s heart.

Sharp ran to take the arrow out, to try and save his father, but it was to no avail. The arrow disappeared, it’s mission complete. Sharp screamed in agony as his family laid dead around him. At his young age, Sharp wanted to run from the crime he committed. He tried to. But running doesn’t work if it’s the guilt that follows you.

Never the one to do well with a sword, he chose the weapon best wielded by his eldest sibling, the daughter who was the pride and joy of the grand dragon. Forged from his own fires, Sharp took the weapon that marked the crime he committed, the symbol of all his shortcomings an failures, and stabbed himself.

He waited for the pain to overtake him, to bleed into unconsciousness, before his life ended. Soon after, transformed into a demon, he served the same being that gave him the magic arrow that sealed his doom. It was only when a stranger of flaming red hair teamed with an old demon, did Sharp join in support and win his freedom, and became a knight in the new kingdom.

———

Fate was not always fair or kind. Sometimes, fate offered only cruelty to those who did nothing. Many demons found themselves in that position, defined as sinners by archaic reasons, or for deals made in desperation, ones made in attempt to do good.

For them, the girls paid the price for choices not made by them. Their names were Valerie and Violet, twin girls. The elder with darker hair and lighter eyes, the other with lighter hair and darker eyes. They thought they had peace in their life. Happiness. Love. But a deal was made behind their back.

The parents of these two had little love for them in their hearts. So in exchange for long life and wealth, they offered their girl. But soon, as young women when a demon came to take their souls, the brave older sister chose to fight for her and her sister’s life. She offered her parents lives for theirs, and they would do the harm themselves, not ask the demon to do it themself. So they agreed, never being one to pass the chance for more chaos and ultimately, more lives taken.

Valerie promised to keep her sister safe from the chaos, so lied of her plan to carry out the deal. In the dead of night, Valerie slit the throats of her parents in their sleep. The stains on her cheeks followed her into her death. As Valerie left the old home to find her sister, cloaked for the night, the younger sister, confused and mistaking her for one of their parents, killed her.

Valerie forgave her sister as she felt herself die. But Violet didn’t forgive herself. With splatters in her own face now, villagers came to try and see what the screams and chaos was caused from. Violet, knowing what would happen next, allowed the people to come and take her, to kill her for the murder of everyone else in her family.

Only hours later, did she awake as a demon, skin purple, with the slashes of blood now marks on her face and neck, matching her sister. Their deal meant nothing to the demon, but in truth, they upheld their end of the deal: the girls wished to undo their parent’s deal and live longer than them.

They got just as they wished.

Along with so many others, they were tortured for their crime, then made slaves in the palace of Discord, abused servants who knew no freedom, no true peace would ever come to them.

Or so they thought.

——

A legend when it came to building weaponry. That’s how he was seen. An ex-soldier named Elliot Edgar, a brave, hulking man who was a gentle giant. He retired early in his work as a soldier, preferring to be a man who crafted instead, but still desired to aid his friends and allies.

As a gentle giant, he stood tall with arms thick with muscle, but a stomach plush enough for hugs, and had an affinity for caring for others. He went so far as to sacrifice his own eye when rescuing a fellow soldier in battle.

Hair tied high in a bun on his head, he took in the trade of blacksmithing, crafting only the finest weapons for the finest knights, each playing to their own strengths and targeting an enemies’ weakness. But a battle is never one sided.

For his skill and expertise, other kingdoms and empires envied him. They desired to take him for their own, or steal his work, or sabotage it. They continued to try and continued to fail with each and every attempt. Elliot remained loyal and clever.

That was, until a stranger slinked through the shadows of his workspace, and whispered an idea into his ear, before vanishing into the shadows as though they were never there.

The idea was a grand weapon, one to end the current war for good, for all the people to move on and progress in peace. So Elliot stayed awake, day and night, crafting a spectacular piece of work that only lacked one quality. It had all the power man could create, but it needed more. The power of magic. The power of a god.

So Elliot turned to people who lurked in the night, asking for help, begging for their wisdom and resources. All turned him away, saying he could not handle the price of his actions. That is Dream was only fantasy and would lead to a dangerous end. Elliot held faith in himself and his creations. Soon enough, a stranger stepped forward to offer their wisdom, one with ginger hair and mismatched eyes.

Offering no name, they cast their magic, promising incredible strength and the final end to come, and the device was ready. Too excited and not wanting to even consider any more rejection, Elliot brought his grand machine, his grand weapon to the field to carry out its task.

Just as the stranger had said, it filled the sky with its power and the final end came. But the end was not the kind he had anticipated or wanted. His homeland, the enemies’ homeland, and all those neighboring were slaughtered. The machine destroyed. No life remained.

Elliot lived for only a moment longer to witness the ruin he brought, his tears sliding against his face before his eyes closed for good. His mortal life had ended. His demon life had him born anew, with violet skin, monstrous teeth and hands like a bear, claws and blank eyes. Though, despite his change, he kept love in his heart. He worked as the cruel Discord commanded, who built their elaborate palace and their empire, but where he could, he showed kindness to the others suffering under their rule.

He hoped he could make up for what he did one day, and craft for good again.

——

Vincent was always considered a smaller man. He was five foot four, not the smallest person, but the smallest boy. However, his ego easily compensated his height. His pride. It wasn’t undeserved, though.

He was a clever young man, one of the smartest people in the town. An orphan who took advantage of his time to educate himself past what schools taught him, continuously advancing his mind and leaving little time to work on and maintain humbleness. He was fairly handsome as well, with lovely red hair and vivid violet eyes. Fantastic with math and arithmetics, biology and sciences, and he was also very formal but blunt. Arthur Archibald Vincent achieved much in his education at a young age, and took quickly to earn the title of a doctor. His skill was incredible for his young age, his studies and papers captivating to his fellow peers. It captivated an employer, too.

He forgot the name of the place over the years, as though erased from his mind, but the men who represented the laboratories remained enough. They came to his current working place, helping maintain and curate a museum containing feats of science, and he introduced them to his private lab. He impressed them with his own studies, own experiments, his own creations. They offered him the job at their mysterious labs. He happily accepted.

He worked alongside plenty of other scientists during that time. Vincent was but another great mind behind the top secret work that was being done, in the discovery of monsters and creatures. Albeit, he did garner plenty of looks when first hired for his young age. The youngest at the labs, the youngest certified doctor. He worked towards the advancements he dreamed of and was promised he would help create. He worked for his patrons to create advancements including some devices used to study creatures.

What the labs deemed as the most valuable, though, was a serum he invented, which with a small device would inject it into the brain.

Initially created to distract a subject’s mind and make it easier to test on them without opposition, it instead intensified and projected fears to their fullest extent. Mental torture. Vincent only realized its flaws on his first test of it in front of many of his superiors. But they didn’t see the mistake.

They saw something fascinating. Something more powerful than they had even asked for.

Vincent was shortly promoted to a supervisor and lead scientist position, the same level as his former boss, Dr. Collins, much to his jealousy and annoyance. But as his ties with the labs became tighter, so did their watch. The torture he saw to the monsters increased. Passing by one of the experiments one day, he realized his serum was being used without his knowledge on the subjects. He heard it be threatened to be used on his coworkers.

Vincent slowed his inventing. Tried to impede on progress where he could. Slow down his research team, try to lose data and hide his findings. The superiors were starting to take note of his disloyal, suspicious behavior.

It came to a head when Vincent released a child.

He didn’t care what the species was, he didn’t ask for a name, nothing. He opened the cage and told it how to escape.

Little did he know, he was watched while he did it.

Soon after, alone at his home, people in the dark were watching him. Stalking him. One night, they broke in. Using his own device, his own serum, they tried to inject it into his head. Vincent fought back, accidentally injecting it into the attacker’s head. As the man screamed and wailed, he stumbled around and knocked a candle down. Vincent tried to escape, but couldn’t make it out of his home. The heat sweltered, the screams continued, and seemed to layer and layer atop itself.

The screams weren’t just the attacker’s. The screams weren’t his.

It was all the screams he heard for all his life.

The air turned worse, smoke filling his lungs. He fought to keep his eyes open, fought for his body to keep moving before he fell, before his eyes closed and he felt his body turn weaker.

Like a candle itself, he went out in an instant after.

When he awoke, he was changed forever. Smaller, meeker than he ever was before. Short like his temper, small like his forethought, his body both there and not. Not entirely physical like a human body, instead the element of fire.

In the past, he bragged about his name, his title as a doctor, his achievements in science.

Here in Hell, nobody knew him. Nobody except Discord, who had knowledge on all they possessed.

Vincent made a choice that day he was brought to Hell. He refused to refer to himself as a doctor. He refused to use his full name anymore. He wouldn’t be Dr. Arthur Archibald Vincent, famed for his science.

He would just be Vincent. Fade into the crowd the best he could.

Be nothing.

#Beth writing #welcome to riverview #sharp #elliot #vincent #valerie and violet

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kingdomofthelogos · 3 years

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The Moats of Chaos

Download a printable version here.

If we watched a little bird get hit by a car and fall limp to the ground, how many of us would even bother to halt our day and inquire of it? How many would even spare it enough thought to ponder whether or not it is still alive? Sister Iris witnessed such an event, and was surprised to see that another onlooker stopped to examine the poor animal. The creature was alive, and thus the driver took the bird into their care. Sister Iris was moved by this, for it accurately revealed a truth about God: that the Author of Life is willing to lift us up from the pits of calamity when others would move along. On this Mother’s Day, we will examine how God wants us to be victorious over the snares of tribulation, and in particular how Mary overcame the adversities of being Jesus’ mother to stand strong in the love and purpose for which she was made.

Of one thing I am now certain: that it is not enough for the devil to encourage and enjoy evil, but the deceiver is also in the business of building moats. The accuser hates all that is good and true, and does not want people to escape from the deep miry clay; therefore, the darkness of hell takes pleasure in constructing bottomless bogs. Wherein we might imagine a medieval castle fortified by a moat to dissuade intruders, we often find that moats surround the good things of God, making their reach difficult. Such moats are not necessarily sinful, but are elaborate blockades which hinder people from living with joy and righteousness.

For instance, those who are beholden to addiction find it difficult to break out of their prison because the pleasure of each hit, the withdraws, and all such shocks to the body create a moat that is too great for them to pass. Physical pain can afflict the body, and create a moat in life to separate one from joy and peace. Assignments, responsibilities, and opportunities at work can build moats that prevent one from having healthy habits and investing in things of more importance than money. Breakdowns in communication can place a moat between people who would otherwise appreciate one another. A difficulty hearing or seeing might be a moat making life harder. The abject lack of thought might be the moat preventing a wounded bird from getting help, as is the case with a great many people who slip in ruin all alone. There are a great many moats in our world, and they give pleasure to the devil and his miserable demons rather than God.

Of all things heinous and sinister, moats have been deliberately constructed around the family structure to prevent people from stepping into the goodness of their natural design. The sinisters wiles of our modern era have replaced emphasis on the natural order with naturally felt desire; and in all things ironic, this has increased suffering rather than doing for the causes of fulfilment and lasting joy.

Genesis 2:24 renders us the institution of the family: therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. The family structure is not merely one of God’s moral laws, but it is actually one of His material laws. The biology of Adam and Eve is as material as is gravity, as true as the laws of nature which produce rain and feed the sparrows. We are now in an era where our culture is not merely rebelling against God’s moral laws, but also against His material laws, against the natural laws which govern the fabric of creation. One cannot appreciate motherhood without appreciating God’s natural law.

A moat has been set up around the family, where young people are not encouraged to have aspirations and take the responsibility of marriage, but instead are cheered on as they embrace the most desperate and uninspiring aspects of their naturally felt desires. Our culture has forgotten we are fallen creatures who naturally desire sin, and the deceiver takes joy in having a moat of ugliness prevent young people from growing up and discovering the beauty of family life. Young people are encouraged to be ugly, in every sense of the word. A lack of maturity, lack of meaningful skill, lack of responsibility, and ultimately a lack of righteous pursuit all come together to create a horrible bog that keeps young separated from the goodness of family; moreover, this moat of chaos keeps them from even desiring to pull one another up as they work through life together as young married couples. The fake virtues of political correctness have heavily contributed to this.

However, the sinister moat against the family does not stop there, for one of the most horrendous aspects of our modern culture is how the Fifth Commandment is rejected. Exodus 20:12 reads honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. God’s moral instruction is that we organize our lives to keep the order of His natural laws, and as stated earlier, family is part of God’s material order. Many neglect to take care of their elderly parents because such is not convenient or not easy. As a result, many parents are left without anything meaningful or stimulating to do, and thus are resigned to an existence which is void of the beautiful characteristics of life.

Twice in Luke Chapter 2 we are told that Mary treasures up the circumstances of Jesus in her heart. When Jesus is a baby, Luke 2:18-19 read and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The events of Jesus’ birth were filled with signs and wonders, and her task as a mother was not easy. The tyrannical Herod would issue a decree of death against all children of two years and younger, forcing Mary, Joseph, and Jesus to flee to Egypt. This terrible moat was one that threatened their lives, for it was designed to prevent Mary from fulfilling her duty in protecting the life of her child. In Luke 2:41-52 we find the second time Mary treasures things in her heart:

Luke 2:41 Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. 43 When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. 44 Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” 49 He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what he said to them. 51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.

Jesus is fully God and fully man, and it was not easy for Mary to raise a child of such favor. Not only did she have to content with the moat of murderous ambitions against her Son, but she also had to deal with the moat of peculiarity. Jesus’ wisdom was amazing, and it could not be explained by conventional knowledge. Even at an early age, the Christ found Himself interacting with the Jewish teachers and rulers. Some, like Herod, wanted to kill Him. Others, like those who talked with Him in the Temple, were astonished by His words.

John 19:25b-27 reads meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. It is perhaps here that we find the most serious of all moats, for the chasm of death has drawn near to separate Mary from her precious Son. All she had so far experienced would now seem pale, for now the impassable wedge of death had come to steal her child away, and to do so under the guise of lies, deceit, and abominable injustice.

Yet, in these final hours, Mary stood faithful by Jesus, crossing the blackest of moats to be with her Son during His final breaths. We must understand that Jesus truly died on the cross, and Mary fully experienced the death of her Son. This evil, this wretchedness, this foul machination, was the final moat for this mother; and, being faithful to the design for which she was created and chosen, she crossed it with an irrevocable love. For at the cross was the ultimate ugliness, the final exercise in hideous rebellion wherein God Himself would be killed; yet, simultaneously was the perfect love of God, the true love of a mother. At the cross we find a unique perfection between Mary and Jesus, for not only was the Author of life displaying the love which motivated Him to create, but we also find a creature perfecting the love for which she was made. Mary stood as the Mother of Jesus, the Mother of God the Son, and she persevered with dignity and love that must be acknowledged.

Genesis 1:27 reads: so God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. As part of the natural order and natural law, God wove into our design a unique ability to reflect His love. However, many moats have fortified us against this goodness since the fall. The modern culture that discourages family life is wretched and evil, for it tears corruption against God’s material law to create chaos and suffering. The idolatrous god of our age, our modern culture, builds moats to separate people from the goodness God has in store for them, hoping to ensure they would never be pulled out. Let us stand firm in declaring the goodness of God, and reach out to pull our neighbors from the deep miry clay.

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