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writingwithcolor · 3 years

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I'm writing an AU of a movie that takes place in the 1880s USA, where a travelling white character and a Jewish character are waylaid by Native Americans, who they befriend. Probably because it was written by and about PoC (Jews) the scene actually avoids the stuff on your Native American Masterpost, but I'd still like to do better than a movie made in the 1980's, and I feel weird cutting them from the plot entirely. I have a Jewish woman reading it for that, but are there any things you (1/1)

2/2 1880s western movie ask--are there things you'd LIKE to see in a movie where a white man and a Jewish man run into Native Americans in the 1880s? I do plan to base them on a real tribe (Ute, probably) and have proper housing/clothes and so forth, but right now I'm just trying to avoid or subvert awful cowboy movie tropes. Any ideas?

White and Jewish Men, Native American interactions in 1880s

I am vaguely concerned with how you only cite one of our posts about Native Americans, that was not written by a Native person, and do not cite any of the posts relating to this time period, or any posts relating to representation in media.

Sidenote: if you want us to give accurate reflections of the media you’re discussing, please tell us the NAME. I cannot go look up this movie based off this description to give you an idea of what my issues are with this scene, and must instead trust that the representation is good based off your judgement. I cannot make my own judgement. This is a problem. Especially since your whole question boils down to “this scene is good but not great and I want it to be great. How can I do that?”

Your baseline for “good” could very well be my baseline for “terrible hack job”. I can’t give you the proper education required for you to be able to accurately evaluate the media you’re watching for racist stereotypes if you don’t tell me what you’re even working with.

When you’re writing fanfic where the media is directly relevant to the question, please tell us the name of the media. We will not judge your tastes. We need this information in order to properly help you.

Moving on.

I bring up my concern for you citing that one—exceptionally old—post because it is lacking in many of the tropes that don’t exist in the media critique field but exist in the real world. This is an issue I have run into countless times on WWC (hence further concern you did not cite any other posts) and have spoken about at length.

People look at the media critique world exclusively, assume it is a complete evaluation of how Native Americans are seen in society, and as a result end up ignoring some really toxic stereotypes and then come to the inbox with “these characters aren’t abc trope, so they’re fine, but I want to rubber stamp them anyway. Anything wrong here?”. The answer is pretty much always yes.

Issue one: “Waylaid” by Native Americans

This wording is extremely loaded for one reason: Native American people are seen as tricksters, liars, and predators. This is the #1 trope that shows up in the real world that does not show up in media critique. It’s also the trope I have talked about the most when it comes to media representation, so you not knowing the trope is a sign you haven’t read the entirety of the Native tag—which is in the FAQ as something we would really prefer you did before coming at us to answer questions. It avoids us having to re-explain ourselves.

Now, hostility is honestly to be expected for the time period the movie is set in. This is in the beginnings (or ramping up) of residential schools in America* and Canada, we have generations upon generations of stolen or killed children, reserves being allocated perhaps hundreds of miles from sacred sites, and various wars with Plains and Southwest peoples are in full force (Wounded Knee would have happened in 1890, in December, and the Dakoa’s mass execution would have been in 1862. Those are just the big-name wars. There absolutely were others).

*America covers up its residential schools abuse extremely thoroughly, so if you try to research them in the American context you will come up empty. Please research Canada’s schools and apply the same abuse to America, as Canada has had a Truth and Reconciliation Commission about residential schools and therefore is more (but not completely) transparent about the abuse that happened. Please note that America’s history with residential schools is longer than Canada’s history. There is an extremely large trigger warning for mass child death when you do this research.

But just because the hostility is expected does not mean that this hostility would be treated well in the movie. Especially when you consider the sheer amount of tension between any Native actors and white actors, for how Sacheen Littlefeather had just been nearly beaten up by white actors at the 1973 Academy Awards for mentioning Wounded Knee, and the American Indian Religious Freedom Act had only been passed two years prior in 1978.

These Native actors would not have had the ability to truly consent to how they were shown, and this power dynamic has to be in your mind when you watch this scene over. I don’t care that the writers were from a discriminated-against background. This does not always result in being respectful, and I’ve also spoken about this power imbalance at length (primarily in the cowboy tag).

Documentaries and history specials made in the 2010s (with some degree of academic muster) will still fall into wording that harkens Indigenous people to wolves and settlers as frightened prey animals getting picked off by the mean animalistic Natives. This is not neutral, or good. This is perpetuating the myth that the settlers were helpless, just doing their own thing completely unobtrusively, and then the evil territorial Native Americans didn’t want to share.

To paraphrase Batman: if I had a week I couldn’t explain all the reasons that’s wrong.

How were these characters waylaid by the Native population? Because that answer—which I cannot get because you did not name the media—will determine how good the framing is. But based on the time period this movie was made alone, I do not trust it was done respectfully.

Issue 2: “Befriending”

I mentioned this was in an intense period of residential schools and land wars all in that area. The Ute themselves had just been massacred by Mormons in the Grass Valley Massacre in 1865, with ten men and an unknown number of women and children killed thanks to a case of assumed association with a war chief (Antonga Black Hawk) currently at war with Utah. The Paiute had been massacred in 1866. Over 100 Timpanogo men had been killed, with an unknown number of women and children enslaved by Brigham Young in Salt Lake City in 1850, with many of the enslaved people dying in captivity (those numbers were not tracked, but I would assume at least two hundred were enslaved— that’s simply assuming one woman/wife and one child for every man, and the numbers could have very well been higher if any war-widows and their children were in the group, not to mention families with multiple children). This is after an unknown group of Indigenous people had been killed by Governor Brigham Young the year prior, to “permanently stop cattle theft” from settlers.

The number of Native Americans killed in Utah in the 1800s—just the number of dead counted (since women and children weren’t counted)—in massacres not tied to war (because there was at least one war) is over 130. The actual number of random murders is much higher; between the uncounted deaths and how the Governor had issued orders to “deal with” the problem of cattle theft permanently. I doubt you would have been tried or convicted if you murdered Indigenous peoples on “your” land. This is why it’s called state sanctioned genocide.

This is not counting the Black Hawk War in Utah (1865-1872), which the Ute were absolutely a part of (the wiki articles I read were contradictory if Antonga Black Hawk was Ute or Timpanogo, but the Ute were part of it). The first official massacre tied to the war—the Bear River Massacre, ordered by the US Military—places the death count of just that singular massacre at over five hundred Shoshone, including elders, women, and children. It would not be unreasonable to assume that the number of Indigenous people killed in Utah from 1850, onward, is over a thousand, perhaps two or three.

Pardon me for not reading beyond that point to list more massacres and simply ballparking a number; the source will be linked for you to get an accurate number of dead.

So how did they befriend the Native population? Let alone see them as fully human considering the racism of the time period? Natives were absolutely not seen as fully human so long as they were tied to their culture, and assimilation equalling some sliver of respect was already a stick being waved around as a threat. This lack of humanity continues to the present day.

I’m not saying friendship is impossible. I am saying the sheer levels of mistrust that would exist between random wandering groups of white/pale men and Indigenous communities wouldn’t exactly make that friendship easy. Having the scene end be a genuine friendship feels ignorant and hollow and flattening of ongoing genocide, because settlers lied about their intentions and then lined you up for slauther (that’s how the Timpanogo were killed and enslaved).

Utah had already done most of its mass killing by this point. The era of trusting them was over. There was an active open hunting season, and the acceptable targets were the Indigenous populations of Utah.

(sources for the numbers:

List of Indian Massacres in North America Black Hawk War (1865-1872))

Issue 3: “Proper housing/clothes and so forth”

Do you mean Western style settlements and jeans? If yes, congratulations you have written a reservation which means the land-ripped-away wounds are going to be fresh, painful, and sore.

You do not codify what you mean by “proper”, and proper is another one of those deeply loaded colonial words that can mean “like a white man” or “appropriate for their tribe.” For the time period, it would be the former. Without specifying which direction you’re going for, I have no idea what you’re imagining. And without the name of the media, I don’t know what the basis of this is.

The reservation history of this time period seems to maybe have some wiggle room; there were two reservations allocated for the Ute at this time, one made in 1861 and another made in 1882 (they were combined into the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in 1886). This is all at the surface level of a google and wikipedia search, so I have no idea how many lived in the bush and how many lived on the reserve.

There were certainly land defenders trying to tell Utah the land did not belong to them, so holdouts that avoided getting rounded up were certainly possible. But these holdouts would be far, far more hostile to anyone non-Native.

The Ute seemed to be some degree of lucky in that the reserve is on some of their ancestral territory, but any loss of land that large is going to leave huge scars.

It should be noted that reserves would mean the traditional clothing and housing would likely be forbidden, because assimilation logic was in full force and absolutely vicious at this time.

It’s a large reserve, so the possibility exists they could have accidentally ended up within the borders of it. I’m not sure how hostile the state government was for rounding up all the Ute, so I don’t know if there would have been pockets of them hiding out. In present day, half of the Ute tribe lives on the reserve, but this wasn’t necessarily true historically—it could have been a much higher percentage in either direction.

It’s up to you if you want to make them be reservation-bound or not. Regardless, the above mentioned genocide would have been pretty fresh, the land theft in negotiations or already having happened, and generally, the Ute would be well on their way to every assimilation attempt made from either residential schools, missionaries, and/or the forced settlement and pre-fab homes.

To Answer Your Question

I don’t want another flattened, sanitized portrayal of genocide.

Look at the number of dead above, the amount of land lost above, the amount of executive orders above. And try to tell me that these people would be anything less than completely and totally devastated. Beyond traumatized. Beyond broken hearted. Absolutely grief stricken with almost no soul left.

Their religion would have been illegal. Their children would have been stolen. Their land was taken away. A saying about post-apocalyptic fiction is how settler-based it is, because Indigenous people have already lived through their own apocalypse.

It would have all just happened at the time period this story is set in. All of the grief you feel now at the environment changing so drastically that you aren’t sure how you’ll survive? Take that, magnify it by an exponential amount because it happened, and you have the mindset of these Native characters.

This is not a topic to tread lightly. This is not a topic to read one masterpost and treat it as a golden rule when there is too much history buried in unmarked, overfull graves of school grounds and cities and battlefields. I doubt the movie you’re using is good representation if it doesn’t even hint at the amount of trauma these Native characters would have been through in thirty years.

A single generation, and the life that they had spent millennia living was gone. Despite massive losses of life trying to fight to preserve their culture and land.

Learn some history. That’s all I can tell you. Learn it, process it, and look outside of checklists. Look outside of media.

And let us have our grief.

~ Mod Lesya

On Question Framing

Please allow me the opportunity to comment on “are there things you'd LIKE to see in a movie where a white man and a Jewish man run into Native Americans in the 1880s?” That strikes me as the same type of question as asking what color food I’d like for lunch. I don’t see how the cultural backgrounds of characters I have literally no other information about is supposed to make me want anything in particular about them. I don’t know anything about their personalities or if they have anything in common.

Compare the following questions:

“Are there things you’d like to see in a movie where two American women, one from a Nordic background and one Jewish, are interacting?” I struggle to see how our backgrounds are going to yield any further inspiration. It certainly doesn’t tell you that we’re both queer and cling to each other’s support in a scary world; it doesn’t tell you that we uplift each other through mental illness; it doesn’t go into our 30 years of endless bizarre inside jokes related to everything from mustelids to bad subtitles.

Because: “white”, “Jewish”, and “Native American” aren’t personality words. You can ask me what kind of interaction I’d like to see from a high-strung overachieving woman and a happy-go-lucky Manic Pixie Dream Girl, and I’ll tell you I’d want fluffy f/f romance. Someone else might want conflict ultimately resolving in friendship. A third person might want them slowly getting on each other’s nerves more and more until one becomes a supervillain and the other must thwart her. But the same question about a cultural demographic? That told me nothing about the people involved.

Also, the first time I meet a new person from a very different culture, it might take weeks before discussion of our specific cultural differences comes up. As a consequence, my first deep conversations with a Costa Rican American gentile friend were not about Costa Rica or my Jewishness but about things we had in common: classical music and coping with breakups--which are obviously conversations I could have had if we were both Jewish, both Costa Rican gentiles, or both something else. So in other words, I’m having trouble seeing how knowing so little about these characters is supposed to give me something to want to see on the page.

Thank you for understanding.

(And yes, I agree with Lesya, what’s with this trend of people trying to explain their fandom in a roundabout way instead of mentioning it by name? It makes it harder to give meaningful help….)

--Shira

#platypan #genocide #native american #North America #america #history #american history #media #representation #asks

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dfroza · 4 years

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there is opposition to God’s truth.

even when God as Man walked the earth and shared it Himself. and so it is now as well. and there are people attempting to change it. to rewrite its sacredness. to disregard the good conscience of the Spirit. to spread lies into earth. and lies seek to steal the Temple treasure of the heart.

even in ancient times, and among believers, there was opposition in belief. such as in Today’s reading from the book of Acts when some wanted new believers in the new covenant to be circumcised as the Jews were under Mosaic law, which was protested by Paul and Barnabas and they ended up sending a letter to instruct others with these basics: to not have anything to do with activities involving idols, to guard the morality of sex and marriage, and to avoid eating blood.

and things did change in the new covenant because the Lord came to fulfill Mosaic law, of which consisted many symbols, such as the Temple service and its sacrifices involving animals, that all pointed to the consummation on the cross, thus cancelling any further sacrifice. but the laws of morality still exist. the law of Love according to God’s truth as our Creator.

[Acts 15]

It wasn’t long before some Jews showed up from Judea insisting that everyone be circumcised: “If you’re not circumcised in the Mosaic fashion, you can’t be saved.” Paul and Barnabas were up on their feet at once in fierce protest. The church decided to resolve the matter by sending Paul, Barnabas, and a few others to put it before the apostles and leaders in Jerusalem.

After they were sent off and on their way, they told everyone they met as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria about the breakthrough to the non-Jewish outsiders. Everyone who heard the news cheered—it was terrific news!

When they got to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas were graciously received by the whole church, including the apostles and leaders. They reported on their recent journey and how God had used them to open things up to the outsiders. Some Pharisees stood up to say their piece. They had become believers, but continued to hold to the hard party line of the Pharisees. “You have to circumcise the pagan converts,” they said. “You must make them keep the Law of Moses.”

The apostles and leaders called a special meeting to consider the matter. The arguments went on and on, back and forth, getting more and more heated. Then Peter took the floor: “Friends, you well know that from early on God made it quite plain that he wanted the pagans to hear the Message of this good news and embrace it—and not in any secondhand or roundabout way, but firsthand, straight from my mouth. And God, who can’t be fooled by any pretense on our part but always knows a person’s thoughts, gave them the Holy Spirit exactly as he gave him to us. He treated the outsiders exactly as he treated us, beginning at the very center of who they were and working from that center outward, cleaning up their lives as they trusted and believed him.

“So why are you now trying to out-god God, loading these new believers down with rules that crushed our ancestors and crushed us, too? Don’t we believe that we are saved because the Master Jesus amazingly and out of sheer generosity moved to save us just as he did those from beyond our nation? So what are we arguing about?”

There was dead silence. No one said a word. With the room quiet, Barnabas and Paul reported matter-of-factly on the miracles and wonders God had done among the other nations through their ministry. The silence deepened; you could hear a pin drop.

James broke the silence. “Friends, listen. Simeon has told us the story of how God at the very outset made sure that racial outsiders were included. This is in perfect agreement with the words of the prophets:

After this, I’m coming back;

I’ll rebuild David’s ruined house;

I’ll put all the pieces together again;

I’ll make it look like new

So outsiders who seek will find,

so they’ll have a place to come to,

All the pagan peoples

included in what I’m doing.

“God said it and now he’s doing it. It’s no afterthought; he’s always known he would do this.

“So here is my decision: We’re not going to unnecessarily burden non-Jewish people who turn to the Master. We’ll write them a letter and tell them, ‘Be careful to not get involved in activities connected with idols, to guard the morality of sex and marriage, to not serve food offensive to Jewish Christians—blood, for instance.’ This is basic wisdom from Moses, preached and honored for centuries now in city after city as we have met and kept the Sabbath.”

Everyone agreed: apostles, leaders, all the people. They picked Judas (nicknamed Barsabbas) and Silas—they both carried considerable weight in the church—and sent them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas with this letter:

From the apostles and leaders, your friends, to our friends in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia:

Hello!

We heard that some men from our church went to you and said things that confused and upset you. Mind you, they had no authority from us; we didn’t send them. We have agreed unanimously to pick representatives and send them to you with our good friends Barnabas and Paul. We picked men we knew you could trust, Judas and Silas—they’ve looked death in the face time and again for the sake of our Master Jesus Christ. We’ve sent them to confirm in a face-to-face meeting with you what we’ve written.

It seemed to the Holy Spirit and to us that you should not be saddled with any crushing burden, but be responsible only for these bare necessities: Be careful not to get involved in activities connected with idols; avoid serving food offensive to Jewish Christians (blood, for instance); and guard the morality of sex and marriage.

These guidelines are sufficient to keep relations congenial between us. And God be with you!

And so off they went to Antioch. On arrival, they gathered the church and read the letter. The people were greatly relieved and pleased. Judas and Silas, good preachers both of them, strengthened their new friends with many words of courage and hope. Then it was time to go home. They were sent off by their new friends with laughter and embraces all around to report back to those who had sent them.

Paul and Barnabas stayed on in Antioch, teaching and preaching the Word of God. But they weren’t alone. There were a number of teachers and preachers at that time in Antioch.

After a few days of this, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit all our friends in each of the towns where we preached the Word of God. Let’s see how they’re doing.”

Barnabas wanted to take John along, the John nicknamed Mark. But Paul wouldn’t have him; he wasn’t about to take along a quitter who, as soon as the going got tough, had jumped ship on them in Pamphylia. Tempers flared, and they ended up going their separate ways: Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus; Paul chose Silas and, offered up by their friends to the grace of the Master, went to Syria and Cilicia to build up muscle and sinew in those congregations.

The Book of Acts, Chapter 15 (The Message)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is chapter 8 in 1st Samuel when the people demanded a king rather than choosing God as their King:

When Samuel got to be an old man, he set his sons up as judges in Israel. His firstborn son was named Joel, the name of his second, Abijah. They were assigned duty in Beersheba. But his sons didn’t take after him; they were out for what they could get for themselves, taking bribes, corrupting justice.

Fed up, all the elders of Israel got together and confronted Samuel at Ramah. They presented their case: “Look, you’re an old man, and your sons aren’t following in your footsteps. Here’s what we want you to do: Appoint a king to rule us, just like everybody else.”

When Samuel heard their demand—“Give us a king to rule us!”—he was crushed. How awful! Samuel prayed to God.

God answered Samuel, “Go ahead and do what they’re asking. They are not rejecting you. They’ve rejected me as their King. From the day I brought them out of Egypt until this very day they’ve been behaving like this, leaving me for other gods. And now they’re doing it to you. So let them have their own way. But warn them of what they’re in for. Tell them the way kings operate, just what they’re likely to get from a king.”

So Samuel told them, delivered God’s warning to the people who were asking him to give them a king. He said, “This is the way the kind of king you’re talking about operates. He’ll take your sons and make soldiers of them—chariotry, cavalry, infantry, regimented in battalions and squadrons. He’ll put some to forced labor on his farms, plowing and harvesting, and others to making either weapons of war or chariots in which he can ride in luxury. He’ll put your daughters to work as beauticians and waitresses and cooks. He’ll conscript your best fields, vineyards, and orchards and hand them over to his special friends. He’ll tax your harvests and vintage to support his extensive bureaucracy. Your prize workers and best animals he’ll take for his own use. He’ll lay a tax on your flocks and you’ll end up no better than slaves. The day will come when you will cry in desperation because of this king you so much want for yourselves. But don’t expect God to answer.”

But the people wouldn’t listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We will have a king to rule us! Then we’ll be just like all the other nations. Our king will rule us and lead us and fight our battles.”

Samuel took in what they said and rehearsed it with God. God told Samuel, “Do what they say. Make them a king.”

Then Samuel dismissed the men of Israel: “Go home, each of you to your own city.”

The Book of 1st Samuel, Chapter 8 (The Message)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for Sunday, September 27 of 2020 with a paired chapter from each Testament along with Today’s Psalms and Proverbs

Today’s message by the Institute for Creation Research:

September 27, 2020

The Discerner

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

The Word of God (both the written Word and the living Word, Jesus Christ) is “living and energizing” and is the double-edged sword of the Spirit, piercing into the deepest recesses of body, soul, and spirit, where it “discerns” even the very thoughts and intents of our hearts.

This discernment, however, is more than just understanding or insight. The Greek word for “discerner” is kritikos and is used only this one time in the Bible. Our word “critic” is derived from it, and this is an important dimension of its meaning. Its discernment is a critical, judging discernment—one that convicts and corrects, as well as one that understands.

It is paradoxical that people today presume to become critics of the Bible when it should really be the other way around. There are textual critics who sort through the various ancient manuscripts of the Bible, trying to arrive at the original text; there are the “higher critics” who critique vocabularies and concepts, trying to show that the traditional authors did not actually write the books attributed to them; and then there are many other purely destructive critics who criticize the Bible’s miracles, morals, and everything else, hoping thereby to justify their rebellion against the Word.

But the Bible still stands! It stands in judgment on our lives and our subconscious motives. It will have the final word when “the books [are] opened...and the dead [are] judged out of those things which were written in the books” (Revelation 20:12). It is far better to heed the constructive criticism of the Word now than to hear its condemnation later. HMM

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delwray-blog · 5 years

Text

CHRISTIANS FACE A BLOODED BATH UNHEARD OF

THE JEWS WILL BE THE KILLERS

Since the origin of the Church, Jewry has declared a war of life and death upon Christianity without any grounds, without provocation, and without the Church in the first three centuries answering violence with violence. The Jews abused in cruel form the gentleness of the first Christians, who restricted themselves to combating their deadly enemies simply with well-founded discussions, in return for which they had to suffer the degrading slanders of the Jews, their imprisonments, their murders and every kind of persecution. These begin with the unjust and cruel murder of Christ Our Lord; there follows the killing of Saint Stephen, which is related to us by the Holy Bible in the Acts of the Apostles, in all its horror, from the planning of the crime in the bosom of the Synagogue, passing to the use of bribery, so that some slandered and cast poisonous accusations against him, up to the use of false witnesses to confirm these accusations, and finally the murder of the Saint by the Jews, which was completed by stoning in a cruel manner, without Stephen having committed any misdeed other than to preach the true Gospel. He was the first martyr of Christianity, and the Israelites had the honor of being the first to have shed Christian blood after the murder of Jesus.

The Bible itself, in the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 12, reveals, how the Jewish King Herod stretched forth his hands...

1. To vex certain of the church.

2. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

3. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also.

However, the Hebrews, not satisfied with their having begun the murder of the leading Saints of Christianity, fell upon the carrying out of cruel persecutions, which degenerated into terrible bloodbaths, as the Bible relates to us in the Acts of the Apostles, and which gave Heaven its first martyrs. In these persecutions, Saul, the future Saint Paul, took part before his conversion, and in fact with a zeal which he himself describes in his letter to the Galatians in the following manner:

Chapter 1, Verse 13: “For ye have heard of my conversation in the past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it.”

The Jews do not accept God, asserts Paul. The Hebrews persecuted with particular tenacity, as is natural, the Apostles and the first leaders of the Church, of which Saint Paul lays witness in his First Letter to the Thessalonians, and in which he categorically asserts that the Jews do not accept God. He says literally: verse 14 “For, ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things for your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews; 15 Whom both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men.”

It is therefore false to say that the Jews, who have denied Christ as the Messiah, are pleasing to God, as those clergies assert who work together with them for the purpose of crippling the defense of the peoples against the Jewish striving for power and its revolutionary activity. How can it be possible that these Jew-friendly priests lay claim to be right, and that Saint Paul lied when he assured us that the Jews are not pleasing to God? Nevertheless, one sees completely clear that the powers of evil, the children of the Devil – as Christ called them – and an integral part of the “Synagogue of Satan”, could not be acceptable to God. The Jews frequently imprisoned the Apostles. In the Acts of the Apostles it is, confirmed that the Jewish priests, the Sadducees and the officials of the temple laid hands-on Saint Peter and Saint John and threw them into prison.

In Chapter 5 the following is related: “ verse 17 Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him (which is the seed of the Sadducees), and were filled with indignation. 18. And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in a common prison.” Among the persecutions unleashed by the Jews against the first leaders of the Church stand out those on account of their mercilessness which was directed against Saint Paul. It is remarked in the Acts of the Apostles — Chapter 9:

Verse 22 “But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is the very Christ. 23. And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him.” Afterward when Saint Paul and Saint Barnabas had discussed religious questions with the Jews in Antioch, the latter ended the discussion with their usual fanaticism and their intolerance and used the argument of violence. The Acts of the Apostles quotes this — Chapter 13

Verse 50 “But the Jews stirred up the devout and honorable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barabbas, and expelled them out of their coasts.”

Afterward, in the 14th chapter of the Bible book mentioned, it is confirmed what occurred in the city of Iconium after a further theological discussion by Paul and Barnabas with the Hebrews,

Verse 4 “But the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the Jews, and part with the Apostles.”

Verse 5 “And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them,”

Verse 6 “They were aware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth roundabout.”

19 “And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.”

One thus sees that even in those days the division was very clear: on the one side the supporters of the Apostles, i.e. the Christians, and on the other, the Jews.

The New Testament of the Holy Bible already makes use in these books of the word “Jews” in order to describe the members of the ancient chosen people who murdered God’s Son and fought against His Church; for those who had converted to the faith of the Redeemer were not Jews, but Christians. The Jews, who in our days persecute the Church still further and threaten to rule and enslave mankind, are in fact the descendants of these Jews, who are described by the New Testament as the worst enemies of Christ and His Church. They have nothing in common spiritually with the old chosen people of Biblical times. The chosen people were loved by God. However, the Jews who denied their Messiah, who murdered Him and who fought against Christianity and continue to fight against it, and who stiff-neckedly grant support to their criminal organizations in our days, are, as Paul said, not acceptable to God.

In Chapter 17 of the aforementioned book of the New Testament, it is said that Paul and Silas came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.

Verse 5 “But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city in an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.” 6 “And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, ‘These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.” 7 “Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.” 8 “And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city when they heard these things.” 9 “And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.”

The passages quoted of the Holy Scripture prove clearly that the Jews were the only enemies of Christianity and that everywhere they not only directly persecuted the Christians, but attempted with slanders to stir up the Gentile peoples against them, and, what is still more weighty, the authorities of the Roman Empire. In the preceding passage of the Acts of the Apostles it is evident how they used slanders, in order with criminal intent to thrust the whole power of the then invincible Roman Empire against the Church, by their more or less accusing the Christians of recognizing another king in place of Caesar, an outrage which infuriated the Roman emperors and their collaborators to the extreme; for this form of treachery to Caesar invited immediate punishment of death upon them. Thus it is beyond doubt what the Israelites strove for, who for many years afterward applied the whole poison of their slanders and intrigues. However, they were not successful in letting loose the Roman Empire against the Christians. Only on the basis of much pressure did they attain this with Nero. An attempt also took place to stir up the rulers of Rome against Paul, as the following passage of the New Testament proves:

Chapter18:12 “And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat,” Verse 13 “Saying, ‘This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law.’” 14 “And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, ‘if it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, 0 ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you:” 15 “But if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters.’’ 16 “And he drove them from the judgment seat.” 17 “Then all the Greeks took Sostheness, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.”

This passage of the Holy Bible allows us to recognize: On the one side the religious tolerance of the Roman authorities and the absolute lack of interest in attacking Christians; on the other side it was the Hebrews who constantly sought for means in order to repeatedly unleash, even if unsuccessfully, the rulers of the Roman Empire against the Christians. In conclusion, when such an infamous attempt had failed, the Jews as madmen ended the affair with a general and furious free fight. Here Sosthenes, the superintendent of the Synagogue, became the unlucky object of Hebrew rage and madness. Naturally, we cannot doubt the truthfulness of these facts, for it is a matter of a literal passage from the New Testament.

It is therefore certainly explicable that, when this mob of wolves, in addition with all full powers, was unchained with the victory of the Communist revolutions, it carried out unbelievable bloodbaths and caused Christian and Gentile blood to flow in torrents, until in the end both in the Soviet Union, as also in the Satellite States, they cut one another to pieces, without respect for anything, not even of Rabbinical dignity, as in the case of that poor Sosthenes who is mentioned in the preceding passage of the Bible. It is completely beyond doubt that they are and remain always the same.

In the Acts of the Apostles, the disciple Luke tells us of further persecutions undertaken by the Jews against Paul. In his description of the behavior of the Hebrews in those times, one could say that he might be writing to us in the present day. Nothing seems to have altered in nearly two thousand years. He relates of the stay of the Saint in Jerusalem: Chapter 21: 27 “And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him.” 28 “Crying out, ‘Men of Israel, help: this is the man, that teacheth all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place; and further, brought Greeks also into the temple and hath polluted this holy place.’” 30 “And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut.” 31 “And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.” 32 “Who immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down unto them; and when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left beating of Paul.”

This passage of the New Testament shows us how the Jews accused Paul of “teaching all men everywhere against the people”, i.e., they caused him in a slanderous manner to appear as an enemy of the people, in order to justify his killing.

More than nineteen centuries afterward, when the Jews in the Soviet Union and other Communist lands wished to kill someone, they accused him of being an enemy of the people and an enemy of the working classes. The methods have remained the same. They have not altered in approximately two thousand years. They also slanderously accused Paul of preaching against the temple, just as in the mock trials of Communist lands they accuse the future victims of having carried out a conspiracy against the Soviet Union or the proletarian state. Finally, they also accuse Saint Paul of having brought Gentiles into the temple and thus defiled the holy place; for in those days the Jews regarded the temple as closed to Gentiles, just as they now regard Jewry as closed to men of other races. Then they only allowed new converts as far as the door of the temple, thus only to the outside door. Now they accept, so they say, Gentiles and Christians in some lands into Jewry, but also only to the outside door, in that by deceit they only allow the latter into the peripheral organizations and never to enter the real synagogues and communities of the Jewish people. In this, their methods have also remained the same. The book of Holy Scripture mentioned further relates that, when the captain allowed Paul to address his words to the angry Jews, in order to calm them, this occurred Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 22: 22. And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, ‘Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.’” 23 “And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air...”

We see here the veritably possessed Jews, who, centuries later, in the midst of the Jewish-Communist terror, were to cut their unfortunate victims into pieces with all their application of cruelty.

This passage from the New Testament goes further (Acts of the Apostles, Chapter22):

“30 “On the morrow, because he (i.e. the Roman captain) would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.”

(Chapter23): 6 “But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, ‘Men and Brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.’” 7 “And when he had so said, there arose a discussion between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided.” 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.” 9 “And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees’ part arose, and strove, saying, ‘We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.’” A magnificent lesson in how, for the cause of Good, the internal differences of opinion of the Jewish parties and sects could be used. One can do this ineffective form, if one knows the secret interior of Jewry, which permits deception through false combat maneuvers, which are frequently pretended among one another, in order to attain definite political goals.

After the violent struggle that was inflamed between the Jewish leaders mentioned and which compelled the Roman captain to use his soldiers, the Apostle continues his report (Acts of the Apostles, Chapter23):

Verse 12 “And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.” Verse 13 “And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy.” 14 “And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, ‘we have bound ourselves under a great curse that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul.” 15 “Now, therefore, ye with the council, signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you tomorrow, as though ye would enquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him.’ ”

The foresight of the captain, who knew the Jews only too well, frustrated their criminal plans. Therefore he sent Paul away under the guard of two hundred soldiers and two officers. Verse 25 explains that the Roman captain did this because he feared that the Jews could snatch away Paul with force and kill him. Also, he feared that afterwards, they would slander him by saying that he had accepted their money. This enlightening passage of the New Testament clearly explains that the Jews as swindlers and inventors of the “hunger strike” already put into practice in the times of Saint Paul, when they swore neither to eat nor to drink until they had succeeded in killing him. The Acts of the Apostles does not explain whether, after the salvation of Saint Paul through the caution of the Roman captain, the fasting Jews kept their oath until death. However, the silence of the Apostle allows us to assume that with the Jews then as with the “hunger strikes” of our days, the Hebrew comedians, as soon as they could not achieve their goal, found a suitable excuse to halt the strike.

On the other side, one sees that, even in those distant times, they applied the system of murdering a prisoner on the road, when the latter was brought from one place to another. One further observes that even the Romans had anxiety before the slanders of the Jews, whom they doubtless knew as masters of this disastrous art.

In order to gain knowledge of the wicked activity of Jewry and its mode of action, one scarcely needs to read the famed “Protocols of the Elders of Zion”. The teachings of the Holy Bible, as well as other reliable and undisputed documents, suffice, which often originated from the most unhoped-for Hebrew sources.

After Saint Paul was led before the deputy (governor), the Acts of the Apostles continues in Chapter 25:

Verse 2 “Then the high priest and the chief of the Jews informed him against Paul, and besought him.” Verse 3 And desired favour against him, that he would send for him to Jerusalem, laying wait on the way to kill him. 4 But Festus answered, that Paul should be kept at Caesarea and that he himself would depart shortly thither. 5 Let them, therefore, said he, which are able, go down with me, and accuse this man if there be any wickedness in him. 7 And when he was come, the Jews which came down from Jerusalem stood round about and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove. 8 While he answered for himself, ‘neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple nor yet against Caesar, have I offended anything at all.’”

In order to understand this terrible tragedy, one must bear in mind that Saint Paul was a devout man and illuminated by the grace of God, to such an extent that he is worthy of being regarded as one of the greatest saints of Christianity. Nevertheless, the Jews, with their natural falsity and their insane tenacity, fell into a fury with him in the manner described in the preceding passages of the Holy Bible. The problem was sharpened still more as a result that not only the Jews from Palestine, but also those from the most different parts of the world, exposed their murderous and godless instincts, and that not only the sect of the Pharisees but also the Sadducees, who were opponents of the former. It was not individuals, isolated and without representation, who oozed such maliciousness, but the high priests, the scribes, the leading personages and most illustrious men of Israel; all cut from the same cloth.

The passages of the New Testament teach us to recognize the danger that modern Jewry represents for mankind, whose infamy exceeds the boundaries of everything which other peoples could possibly imagine.

The most significant thing is that, in the description of the falsity of this generation of vipers, as Christ Our Lord called them, the New Testament of the Holy Bible coincides perfectly with the writings that were composed hundreds of years later by the Church Fathers, with the ideas that are contained in the Koran of Mohammed, with the prescriptions of different Church Councils, with the trials of the Holy Inquisition, and with the opinion of Martin Luther, as well as with the accusations that have been made in different countries by savants of the problem, and in fact by Catholics, Protestants, Russian Orthodox, Mohammedans, and even by unbelievers like Voltaire and Rosenberg. All these have, without previous agreement, agreed during the last thousand years to denounce the high degree of falsity and malice among the Jews. This proves that unfortunately this wickedness and falsity, very dangerous for the remaining peoples, correspond to a confirmed and undisputed reality.

The Apostle Matthew spread the Word of God far and wide, at first in Macedonia and afterward in Judaea and converted many to a belief in Jesus Christ through his sermons and his miracles. It is said, that the Jews could not suffer this, therefore they laid hands upon him, stoned him to the point of almost killing him, and finally, he was decapitated on the 24th February.

THE ROMAN PERSECUTIONS WERE CALLED FORTH BY THE JEWS

We have already studied, in the preceding chapter, the various attempts that the Jews made in order to incite the Roman authorities against Saint Paul. They accused him of being against Caesar and recognizing another King in his place, by which they meant Jesus. Concerning these intrigues and slanders, an undisputed document, i.e. the New Testament of the Holy Bible, provides us with knowledge. These attempts to incite the might of the Roman Empire against Christianity followed frequently upon one another, even if for some time without success. It is a historically proven fact that the Romans in religious matters were tolerant and also in no way hostilely disposed towards the Christians, as is proved by the conduct of Pilate in the case of Jesus and the favorable interventions of the Imperial authorities in the persecutions unleashed by the Jews against Saint Paul and the first Christians. The following fact is very revealing and is recorded by Tertullian and Orosius, who remarked that before the Hebrew attempts at persecution arose against Christians, Emperor Tiberius had a law published that threatened with death those who accused Christians.

In the ninth year of his government, Claudius commanded all Jews to leave Rome because, according to the evidence of Flavius Josephus, they had caused Agrippina, his wife, to take on Jewish customs; or also, as Suetonius writes, because frequent upheavals gave the impetus to the persecutions of Christians.

One sees that the pagan Emperor Claudius was tolerant in the extreme towards Christians. When he became tired of the mutinies that the Jews caused, he expelled them from the city of Rome. The Acts of the Apostles also report this expulsion. One sees here the Jewish tendency to cause their influence to rise up to the steps of the throne, by their controlling the Empress in order to exert influence on the Emperor. In so doing, they held to the completely distorted teachings of the Biblical book of Esther, giving this an ambitious interpretation. Esther, a Jewess, was successful in transforming herself into the Queen of Persia and in exercising a decisive influence on the King, in order to destroy the enemies of the Israelites. However, in the case of the Emperor Claudius, the attempt openly failed, which did not occur with Nero, with whom it was successful in bringing close to him a Jewess named Poppaea, who soon transformed into the lover of the Emperor, and, according to some Hebrew chronicles, into the real Empress of Rome. She was successful in exercising a decisive influence upon this ruler.

Tertullian, one of the Church Fathers, says in his work “Scorpiase”: “The synagogues are the places from whence the persecutions against Christians emanate.” And in his book “Ad Nationes”, the same Tertullian writes: “From the Jews come the slanders against the Christians.”

During the rule of Nero, tolerance at first reigned towards the Christians; however, the Emperor finally gave way to the persistent intrigues of his Jewish lover Poppaea, who is described as the originator of the idea of laying the blame for setting fire to the city of Rome upon the Christians, based on which the first cruel persecution of Christians that was carried out by the Roman Empire was justified.

The Jesuit fathers R. Llorca S. J., R. Garcia-Villoslada S.J., and F. J. Montalban S.J. have established the following in connection with the Christian persecutions by pagan Rome against the weak and defenseless Christians by Nero:

The Jews were the most active elements in the promotion of the climate of hatred against the Christians, whom they regarded as the falsifiers of the Mosaic Law... This activity of the Jews must have exercised a notable influence, for it is known to us that they already enjoyed great regard in Rome at the time of Nero and that, on the occasion of the martyrdom of Peter and Paul, some had hinted at the idea that the latter were killed out of the jealousy of the Jews.

“Given this climate of violence incited by the hatred of the Jews, one can easily understand the persecution by Nero. Since they are capable of every crime, it was simple for them to denounce the Christians as the incendiaries of Rome. It needed no great effort for the people to believe it.”

In fact, they accused the Christians in a slanderous manner that they had even committed the disgusting crime of eating children at their ceremonies, which naturally called forth alarm among the authorities and the Roman people. It is only too understandable that this constant intrigue, this persistent work of slander and blasphemy, which the Hebrews always unleash against those who disturb their plans, and which was carried out by thousands of individual persons in the Roman Empire month by month, year by year, finally attained its goal and unleashed against Christianity, which they alone could not destroy, the enormous power of the Roman Empire in a destructive fury never previously known in human history.

In order to defend the truth, we will quote the reliable evidence of an authorized Jewish source: “Rabbi Wiener, who, in his work “The Jewish Food Laws”, confesses that the Jews were the instigators of the Christian persecutions in Rome, observed that under the rule of Nero, in the year 65 of our calendar, when Rome had the Jewess Poppaea as Empress and a Jew as prefect of the city, the era of martyrs began which was to extend for over 249 years.”

In these instigations of the Hebrews to call forth the Roman persecutions against Christianity, participated even those Rabbis outstanding in the history of the synagogue, such as the famed “Rabbi Jehuda, one of the authors of the Talmud (the sacred books and the source of the religion of modern Jewry), [who was] was successful in the year 155 of our calendar in obtaining a command, according to which all Christians of Rome were to be sacrificed, and on the grounds of which many thousands were killed. The executioners of the martyrs and Popes, Cayo and Marcelino were in fact Jews.”

During three centuries, the Christians showed heroic resistance, without answering violence with violence. In fact it is understandable that, after three centuries of persecutions, when Christianity had gained a complete victory in the Roman Empire through the conversion of Constantine and the acceptance of the Christian religion as the state religion, that it was finally decided to answer violence with violence, in order to defend the Christianity – as well as the peoples who had placed their faith in it and who also saw themselves continually threatened by the destructive and annihilating activity of Jewish imperialism – against the lasting conspiracies of Jewry.

On the other side, it is necessary that the cowards, who, given the present position, think of capitulating to the “Synagogue of Satan”, out of fear of its persecution, power and influence, bear in mind that the terrible threats of our days are far removed from being so grave as those which Christ our Lord, then the Apostles and after them the first Christians faced. They had to expose themselves not only to mighty Jewry but to the then apparently unconquerable power of the Roman Empire, the greatest and strongest of all times. To these two deadly dangers were added those which arose through internal dissension, which the Jews, by means of their “Fifth column”, had called forth in the bosom of Christianity, along with Gnosticism and other false destructive doctrines.

One must bear in mind that, despite the fact that that situation was far graver and more tragic than that of the present, the Church can only save itself if it achieved a complete victory over its deadly enemies. If it was successful in this, then it is because it was able to rely upon spiritual shepherds who never despaired, never lost courage, nor entered into shameful alliances with the powers of the Devil. At no moment did they think of seeking situations of cooperation, nor of peaceful coexistence, nor of diplomatic capitulations, which are always quibbles used by the cowardly clergy and accomplices of the enemy, who in our days strive to achieve that Church and its spiritual shepherds deliver the sheep, whose careful protection Christ our Lord entrusted to them, into the claws of the wolf, for the disadvantage of the Church itself and of the trust that true Christians have placed in it.

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yourgodmoments · 5 years

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Christ’s Foot Soldier’s - part 5

Last time, we were looking at responses to theological objections that a potential brother or sister in Christ might voice, (mostly due to having been misinformed). We looked at those who protested that they did not believe in God and / or did not believe the Bible was the inerrant truth of God’s word. Let’ continue:

3. ‘I don’t believe Jesus is God.’

I understand why you wouldn’t. This has been debated for centuries. So, let’s take a look at what God has to say:

Then God said, “Let Us (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) make man in Our image, according to Our likeness [not physical, but a spiritual personality and moral likeness]…” Gn. 1:26 AMP

‘Note the Amplified Bible’s insertion of a trinity of deities. The New King James translation just sticks with the word ‘Us.’ You might think that God is just referring to Himself in the manner of a royal ‘We.’ Personally, I don’t think so.

Can we conclude that the Son of God was present when humankind was created?

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last…” Rv. 1:11 NKJV [Note that God says the same thing about Himself. (Rv. 21:6)]

“Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” Jn. 8:58 NKJV

“And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” Jn. 17:5 NKJV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. Jn. 1:1-4. NASB

Clearly, the Son of God is the Word of God; God’s very expression. Unmistakably, He was with God before anything, (including the universe itself), was created. Thus, there was nothing to create Christ with, other than the essence of God Himself. And yet, because God is infinite, He cannot divide Himself without becoming finite. Therefore, the Son of God must be incorporated within the Father.

Does that make Him God? In a sense, (to the best of our abilities to understand the infinite), yes; or at the very least, a definite deified Being. A mere man would not be one who could facilitate all creation. Indeed, the Son of God cannot, at this juncture in the beginning of time, be a man, because flesh and blood cannot inhabit heaven. (1 Cor. 15:50) Therefore, He must be a Spirit.

Note that some religious sects try to explain that God and Jesus are not the same because they read Jn. 1:1 as: …and the word was a god in their own translations of the Bible. (Emphasis mine.) But check this out:

For He has rescued us and has drawn us to Himself from the dominion of darkness, and has transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption [because of His sacrifice, resulting in] the forgiveness of our sins [and the cancellation of sin’s penalty].

He is the exact living image [the essential manifestation] of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible], the firstborn [the preeminent one, the sovereign, and the originator] of all creation. For by Him all things were created in heaven and on earth, [things] visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [that is, by His activity] and for Him. And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. [His is the controlling, cohesive force of the universe.]

…He Himself will occupy the first place [He will stand supreme and be preeminent] in everything. For it pleased the Father for all the fullness [of deity – the sum total of His essence, all His perfection, powers, and attributes] to dwell [permanently] in Him (the Son)… Col. 1:13 – 19. AMP

This is not an ordinary man. Jesus would have to be at least God-like, which this scripture clearly expresses. Neither can we hold up a human being to be our source of salvation:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” Jn. 14:6 – 8. NKJV

Jesus is essentially saying, “Look at Me, this is what God is like in the flesh.” This is so that we may experience God with our five senses.

Let’s reflect upon one of God’s prophecies:

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Is. 7:14 NKJV

Immanuel means ‘God is with us.” Here is the same prophet, mouthing God’s words:

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Is. 9:6 NKJV

Indeed, God conveyed the Spirit of His Son, (the essence of God), by way of the Holy Spirit, into the womb of the virgin Mary. The rest is history:

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles believed on in the world, received up in glory. 1 Tim. 3:16 NKJV

…looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus… Titus 2:13 NASB

“My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal to God. Jn. 5:17, 18. NASB

Jesus in fact, said that we must give Him equal honor:

“…all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father.” Jn. 5:22 NKJV

…although He existed in the form and unchanging essence of God [as One with Him, possessing the fullness of all the divine attributes – the entire nature of deity], did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped or asserted [as if He did not already possess it, or was afraid of losing it]… Phil. 2:6 AMP

What must also be considered, is that God demanded in the first of the Ten Commandments that only He is to be worshiped. (Ex. 20:4, 5.) That also forbade any worshiping of angels. (Rv. 22:8) However, Jesus did allow Himself to be worshiped:

Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.” Mt. 14:33 NKJV

Then he said, “Lord I believe!” And he worshiped Him. Jn. 9:38 NKJV

While He was here bodily, Christ raised people from the dead, e.g. Lazarus. At the end of time, He will also give eternal life to all God’s children:

“…everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” Jn. 6:40 NKJV

Again, and again, no ordinary human being could do these things.

Jesus was filled with the essence of God and was separately human. Note the demonstration of His power:

And when He called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. Mt. 10:1 NKJV

Even when Christ went to the cross, He had the power to resurrect Himself:

“…I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have the power to lay it down, and I have the power to take it again.” Jn. 10:17, 18. NKJV

For myself then, if Jesus is not God, He is so much like Him that there is no meaningful difference. However, I receive letters from these aforementioned sects that present well thought-out objections. Let’s consider them:

1. Jesus died; and God cannot die.

My answer is that only the human form of Christ died, and that part, (the perfect man), had to, to pay for the sins of Man. His humanity was trusting His Father to care for Him. It was Christ’s ‘God essence’ that raised Him from the dead (which only God could do), so that the world could be reconciled to His Father.

2. No one can see God and live.

True. But all the people saw was His human form until His resurrection, when they witnessed His integrative God-Man self.

3. Jesus was flesh and blood.

Yes, His human part was. The nature of His God-Man self is unknown to us. As we know, He could then appear and disappear at will, yet allowed the apostles to handle Him.

4. He prayed to His Father. Yes, but that was prior to His God-Man manifestation.

5. Finally, Jesus was tempted; and God cannot be tempted.

Christ was tempted in His flesh. God wanted Jesus to be humankind’s high priest. The only way to do that was to gain an empathy towards them which could only come by direct experience. His ‘God Essence’ was not involved. God cannot be in touch with sin. This was the only way.

Ultimately, even if the Godhead is considered as one, we must acknowledge, (even if we don’t understand it), that there is some form of tripartite existence within the whole. We see in scripture where God declares Himself as one God (Dt. 6:4; Is. 46:9). We see He and Jesus separately in Daniel’s vision (Dan. 7:14, 14.) and during Jesus’ baptism we see all of the Godhead together but separate. (Mt. 3:16, 17.) Jesus said that He required His Father’s power to accomplish anything, but that was when He was in the flesh manifestation. (Jn. 5:19, 20.) He also said that His Father was greater than Him. (Jn. 14:28) We may consider that in the light of God being the integrative whole of the Godhead, but that’s only conjecture on my part. Finally, we have Jesus’ outcries of anguish on the cross; but, He was experiencing the pain of His flesh, which was the source of His cries. (Mk. 15:34)

And then we have all the aforementioned scripture that infers a closeness between the Father and the Son that we may never understand until our heavenly appointment…

Meet your listener where he or she is at, present your case, and the Holy Spirit will lead them to an understanding.

Goodnight and God bless.

#Alpha and Omega #Christ and creation #Christ supports universe #essence of God #exact God image #God in flesh #is Jesus God #Jesus preceded time #trinitarian concept #Word of God

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180brg · 6 years

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Acts 15

To Let Outsiders Inside

1-2 It wasn’t long before some Jews showed up from Judea insisting that everyone be circumcised: “If you’re not circumcised in the Mosaic fashion, you can’t be saved.” Paul and Barnabas were up on their feet at once in fierce protest. The church decided to resolve the matter by sending Paul, Barnabas, and a few others to put it before the apostles and leaders in Jerusalem.

3 After they were sent off and on their way, they told everyone they met as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria about the breakthrough to the non-Jewish outsiders. Everyone who heard the news cheered—it was terrific news!

4-5 When they got to Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas were graciously received by the whole church, including the apostles and leaders. They reported on their recent journey and how God had used them to open things up to the outsiders. Some Pharisees stood up to say their piece. They had become believers, but continued to hold to the hard party line of the Pharisees. “You have to circumcise the pagan converts,” they said. “You must make them keep the Law of Moses.”

6-9 The apostles and leaders called a special meeting to consider the matter. The arguments went on and on, back and forth, getting more and more heated. Then Peter took the floor: “Friends, you well know that from early on God made it quite plain that he wanted the pagans to hear the Message of this good news and embrace it—and not in any secondhand or roundabout way, but firsthand, straight from my mouth. And God, who can’t be fooled by any pretense on our part but always knows a person’s thoughts, gave them the Holy Spirit exactly as he gave him to us. He treated the outsiders exactly as he treated us, beginning at the very center of who they were and working from that center outward, cleaning up their lives as they trusted and believed him.

10-11 “So why are you now trying to out-god God, loading these new believers down with rules that crushed our ancestors and crushed us, too? Don’t we believe that we are saved because the Master Jesus amazingly and out of sheer generosity moved to save us just as he did those from beyond our nation? So what are we arguing about?”

12-13 There was dead silence. No one said a word. With the room quiet, Barnabas and Paul reported matter-of-factly on the miracles and wonders God had done among the other nations through their ministry. The silence deepened; you could hear a pin drop.

13-18 James broke the silence. “Friends, listen. Simeon has told us the story of how God at the very outset made sure that racial outsiders were included. This is in perfect agreement with the words of the prophets:

After this, I’m coming back; I’ll rebuild David’s ruined house; I’ll put all the pieces together again; I’ll make it look like new So outsiders who seek will find, so they’ll have a place to come to, All the pagan peoples included in what I’m doing.

“God said it and now he’s doing it. It’s no afterthought; he’s always known he would do this.

19-21 “So here is my decision: We’re not going to unnecessarily burden non-Jewish people who turn to the Master. We’ll write them a letter and tell them, ‘Be careful to not get involved in activities connected with idols, to guard the morality of sex and marriage, to not serve food offensive to Jewish Christians—blood, for instance.’ This is basic wisdom from Moses, preached and honored for centuries now in city after city as we have met and kept the Sabbath.”

22-23 Everyone agreed: apostles, leaders, all the people. They picked Judas (nicknamed Barsabbas) and Silas—they both carried considerable weight in the church—and sent them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas with this letter:

From the apostles and leaders, your friends, to our friends in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia:

Hello!

24-27 We heard that some men from our church went to you and said things that confused and upset you. Mind you, they had no authority from us; we didn’t send them. We have agreed unanimously to pick representatives and send them to you with our good friends Barnabas and Paul. We picked men we knew you could trust, Judas and Silas—they’ve looked death in the face time and again for the sake of our Master Jesus Christ. We’ve sent them to confirm in a face-to-face meeting with you what we’ve written.

28-29 It seemed to the Holy Spirit and to us that you should not be saddled with any crushing burden, but be responsible only for these bare necessities: Be careful not to get involved in activities connected with idols; avoid serving food offensive to Jewish Christians (blood, for instance); and guard the morality of sex and marriage.

These guidelines are sufficient to keep relations congenial between us. And God be with you!

Barnabas and Paul Go Their Separate Ways

30-33 And so off they went to Antioch. On arrival, they gathered the church and read the letter. The people were greatly relieved and pleased. Judas and Silas, good preachers both of them, strengthened their new friends with many words of courage and hope. Then it was time to go home. They were sent off by their new friends with laughter and embraces all around to report back to those who had sent them.

35 Paul and Barnabas stayed on in Antioch, teaching and preaching the Word of God. But they weren’t alone. There were a number of teachers and preachers at that time in Antioch.

36 After a few days of this, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit all our friends in each of the towns where we preached the Word of God. Let’s see how they’re doing.”

37-41 Barnabas wanted to take John along, the John nicknamed Mark. But Paul wouldn’t have him; he wasn’t about to take along a quitter who, as soon as the going got tough, had jumped ship on them in Pamphylia. Tempers flared, and they ended up going their separate ways: Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus; Paul chose Silas and, offered up by their friends to the grace of the Master, went to Syria and Cilicia to build up muscle and sinew in those congregations.

#Acts #bible #new testament #To Let Outsiders Inside #Barnabas and Paul Go Their Separate Ways

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dfroza · 5 years

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A protest and a Letter sent to clarify

is seen in Today’s reading of the paired chapters of the Testaments with Acts 15 and Zechariah 2

which viewed Together (15•2) reminds me of the address of the coffee house on cherry street in Tulsa, OK

1502 east 15th (cherry) street

Acts 15:

[To Let Outsiders Inside]

After this, I’m coming back;

I’ll rebuild David’s ruined house;

I’ll put all the pieces together again;

I’ll make it look like new

So outsiders who seek will find,

so they’ll have a place to come to,

All the pagan peoples

included in what I’m doing.

“God said it and now he’s doing it. It’s no afterthought; he’s always known he would do this.

From the apostles and leaders, your friends, to our friends in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia:

Hello!

These guidelines are sufficient to keep relations congenial between us. And God be with you!

[Barnabas and Paul Go Their Separate Ways]

Paul and Barnabas stayed on in Antioch, teaching and preaching the Word of God. But they weren’t alone. There were a number of teachers and preachers at that time in Antioch.

After a few days of this, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit all our friends in each of the towns where we preached the Word of God. Let’s see how they’re doing.”

The Book of Acts, Chapter 15 (The Message)

and silence is also mentioned at the conclusion of Today’s paired chapter with this:

Zechariah chapter #2

[Third Vision: The Man with the Tape Measure]

I looked up and was surprised to see

a man holding a tape measure in his hand.

I said, “What are you up to?”

“I’m on my way,” he said, “to survey Jerusalem,

to measure its width and length.”

Just then the Messenger-Angel on his way out

met another angel coming in and said,

“Run! Tell the Surveyor, ‘Jerusalem will burst its walls—

bursting with people, bursting with animals.

And I’ll be right there with her’—God’s Decree—‘a wall of fire

around unwalled Jerusalem and a radiant presence within.’”

“Up on your feet! Get out of there—and now!” God says so.

“Return from your far exile.

I scattered you to the four winds.” God’s Decree.

“Escape from Babylon, Zion, and come home—now!”

God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the One of Glory who sent me on my mission, commenting on the godless nations who stripped you and left you homeless, said, “Anyone who hits you, hits me—bloodies my nose, blackens my eye. Yes, and at the right time I’ll give the signal and they’ll be stripped and thrown out by their own servants.” Then you’ll know for sure that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me on this mission.

“Shout and celebrate, Daughter of Zion!

I’m on my way. I’m moving into your neighborhood!”

God’s Decree.

Many godless nations will be linked up with God at that time. (“They will become my family! I’ll live in their homes!”) And then you’ll know for sure that God-of-the-Angel-Armies sent me on this mission. God will reclaim his Judah inheritance in the Holy Land. He’ll again make clear that Jerusalem is his choice.

Quiet, everyone! Shh! Silence before God. Something’s afoot in his holy house. He’s on the move!

The Book of Zechariah, Chapter 2 (The Message)

to be accompanied by inspiration and wisdom from Today’s reading of Psalm 11 and Proverbs 11 for january 11 of 2020:

[Psalm 11]

For the worship leader. A song of David.

I am already in the soft embrace of the Eternal,

so why do you beckon me to leave, saying,

“Fly like a bird to the mountains.

Look! The wicked approach with bows bent,

sneaking around in the shadows,

setting their arrows against their bowstrings to pierce everyone whose heart is pure.

If the foundations are crumbling,

is there hope for the righteous?”

But the Eternal has not moved; He remains in His holy temple.

He sits squarely on His heavenly throne.

He observes the sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, examining us within and without,

exploring every fiber of our beings.

The Eternal searches the hearts of those who are good,

but He despises all those who can’t get enough of perversion and violence.

If you are evil, He will rain hot lava over your head,

will fill your cup with burning wind and liquid fire to scorch your insides.

The Eternal is right in all His ways;

He cherishes all that is upright.

Those who do what is right in His eyes will see His face.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 11 (The Voice)

[Proverbs 11]

To set high standards for someone else,

and then not live up to them yourself,

is something that God truly hates.

But it pleases him when we apply the right standards

of measurement.

When you act with presumption,

convinced that you’re right,

don’t be surprised if you fall flat on your face!

But walking in humility helps you to make wise decisions.

Integrity will lead you to success and happiness,

but treachery will destroy your dreams.

When Judgment Day comes,

all the wealth of the world won’t help you one bit.

So you’d better be rich in righteousness,

for that’s the only thing that can save you in death.

Those with good character walk on a smooth path,

with no detour or deviation.

But the wicked keep falling because of their own wickedness.

Integrity will keep a good man from falling.

But the unbeliever is trapped,

held captive to his sinful desires.

When an evil man dies, all hope is lost,

for his misplaced confidence goes in the coffin

and gets buried along with him.

Lovers of God are snatched away from trouble,

and the wicked show up in their place.

The teachings of hypocrites can destroy you,

but revelation knowledge will rescue the righteous.

The blessing that rests on the righteous

releases strength and favor to the entire city,

but shouts of joy will be heard when the wicked one dies.

The blessing of favor resting upon the righteous

influences a city to lift it higher,

but wicked leaders tear it apart by their words.

To quarrel with a neighbor is senseless.

Bite your tongue; be wise and keep quiet!

You can’t trust gossipers with a secret;

they’ll just go blab it all.

Put your confidence instead in a trusted friend,

for he will be faithful to keep it in confidence.

People lose their way without wise leadership,

but a nation succeeds and stands in victory

when it has many good counselors to guide it.

The evil man will do harm when confronted by a righteous man,

because he hates those who await good news.

A gracious, generous woman

will be honored with a splendid reputation,

but the woman who hates the truth

lives surrounded with disgrace and by men

who are cutthroats, only greedy for money.

A man of kindness attracts favor,

while a cruel man attracts nothing but trouble.

Evil people may get a short-term gain,

but to sow seeds of righteousness

will bring a true and lasting reward.

A son of righteousness experiences the abundant life,

but the one who pursues evil hurries to his own death.

The Lord can’t stand the stubborn heart bent toward evil,

but he treasures those whose ways are pure.

Assault your neighbor and you will certainly be punished,

but God will rescue the children of the godly.

A beautiful woman who abandons good morals

is like a fine gold ring dangling from a pig’s snout.

True lovers of God are filled with longings

for what is pleasing and good,

but the wicked can only expect doom.

Generosity brings prosperity,

but withholding from charity brings poverty.

Those who live to bless others

will have blessings heaped upon them,

and the one who pours out his life to pour out blessings

will be saturated with favor.

People will curse the businessman with no ethics,

but the one with a social conscience receives praise from all.

Living your life seeking what is good for others brings untold favor,

but those who wish evil for others will find it coming back on them.

Keep trusting in your riches and down you’ll go!

But the lovers of God rise up like flowers in the spring.

The fool who brings trouble to his own family

will be cut out of the will,

and the family servant will do better than he.

But a life lived loving God bears lasting fruit,

for the one who is truly wise wins souls.

If the righteous are barely saved,

what’s in store for all the wicked?

The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 11 (The Passion Translation)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for january 11 of 2020, simultaneously the 22nd day of Winter

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dfroza · 5 years

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to affirm sinful behavior, to say that it’s Okay

as if to play God by making our own rules, is in itself sinful behavior.

and the only remedy for this, for all of sin, is grace. it is the cure and the pure rebirth of the heart that is necessary in becoming known as a child of Light who has found the place of “Home”

(inside, Anew)

and the act of grace that is (already inside) as a seed of the Spirit to be found and chosen within those who have been first chosen by Love (by God) to be in Love is what we see in Today’s reading of the Scriptures beginning with chapter 15 of the ancient book of Mark

and the True beauty of grace should spark humility of heart and mind, which should inspire people to do good things. not being saved by such good works, of course, yet at the same time faith without works is considered dead. we have to use it to actively do good toward others, which includes forgiving and letting go of offense. and doing something good is not for the sake of recognition, rather should be done out of a heart of Love that actually cares.

because the common theme of this world is the nature of good vs. evil, for the time being. everyone has a choice in how to conduct themselves, for better or for worse. and good will always conquer evil, eventually. Love will make all things right at some point.

from the writing of Mark and a sacred act of grace on a Tree that clearly speaks of a New Covenant with God, our Creator, the Maker of the heavens and garden earth as the instrumental womb of the universe. for each person alive on this planet began life at the genesis spark of conception as a shared seed between mother and father, to be protected inside the womb. but Love requires an act of rebirth so that Heaven may be welcomed within the space of the heart. and each heart is becoming an eternal book that contains our words and deeds, kept safe in a heavenly Library to be opened and read in A grand end of time.

Chapter 15 of Mark that contains 47 verses of Scripture that mirrors a number seen twice repeated in the odometer reading of 147847 miles on my former Chevy Lumina after my last shift worked at Love envelopes, inc. in Tulsa, Oklahoma on january 27 of ‘06 that reflects upon my dream of writing to reach the heart in the True illumination of Light that seeks to befriend someone, to share a story in Love with pure simplicity and Authenticity

(this is the significance of True nature to me)

Mark 15:

[Jesus Handed Over to Pilate]

Before dawn that morning, all the ruling priests, elders, religious scholars, and the entire Jewish council set in motion their plan against Jesus. They bound him in chains, took him away, and handed him over to Pilate.

As Jesus stood in front of the Roman governor Pilate asked him, “So, are you really the king of the Jews?”

Jesus answered, “You have just spoken it.”

Then the ruling priests, over and over, made bitter accusations against him, but he remained silent.

So Pilate questioned him again. “Have you nothing to say? Don’t you hear these many allegations they’re making against you?” But Jesus offered no defense to any of the charges, much to the great astonishment of Pilate.

[Jesus and Barabbas]

Every year at Passover, it was the custom of the governor to pardon a prisoner and release him to the people—anyone they wanted. Now, Pilate was holding in custody a notorious criminal named Barabbas, one of the assassins who had committed murder in an uprising. The crowds gathered in front of Pilate’s judgment bench and asked him to release a prisoner to them, as was his custom.

So he asked them, “Do you want me to release to you today the king of the Jews?” (Pilate was fully aware that the religious leaders had handed Jesus over to him because of sheer spite and envy.)

But the ruling priests stirred up the crowd to incite them to ask for Barabbas instead.

So Pilate asked them, “Then what do you want me to do with this one you call the king of the Jews?”

They all shouted back, “Crucify him!”

“Why?” Pilate asked. “What evil thing has he done wrong?” But they kept shouting out with an deafening roar, “Crucify him at once!”

Because he wanted to please the people, Pilate released Barabbas to them. After he had Jesus severely beaten with a whip made of leather straps and embedded with metal, he sentenced him to be crucified.

[The Soldiers Mock Jesus]

The soldiers took Jesus into the headquarters of the governor’s compound and summoned a military unit of nearly six hundred men. They placed a purple robe on him to make fun of him. Then they braided a victor’s crown, a wreath made of thorns, and set it on his head. And with a mock salute they repeatedly cried out, “Hail, your majesty, king of the Jews!” They kept on spitting in his face and hit him repeatedly on his head with a reed staff, driving the crown of thorns deep into his brow. They knelt down before him in mockery, pretending to pay him homage. When they finished ridiculing him, they took off the purple robe, put his own clothes back on him, and led him away to be crucified.

[The Crucifixion of Jesus]

As they came out of the city, they stopped an African man named Simon, a native of Libya. He was passing by, just coming in from the countryside with his two sons, Alexander and Rufus, and the soldiers forced him to carry the heavy crossbeam for Jesus. They brought Jesus to the execution site called Golgotha, which means “Skull Hill.” There they offered him a mild painkiller, a drink of wine mixed with gall, but he refused to drink it.

They nailed his hands and feet to the cross. The soldiers divided his clothing among themselves by rolling dice to see who would win them. It was nine o’clock in the morning when they finally crucified him. Above his head they placed a sign with the inscription of the charge against him, which read, “This is the King of the Jews.”

Two criminals were also crucified with Jesus, one on each side of him. This fulfilled the Scripture that says:

He was considered to be a criminal.

Those who passed by shook their heads and spitefully ridiculed him, saying, “Aha! You boasted that you could destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. Why don’t you save yourself now? Just come down from the cross!”

Even the ruling priests and the religious scholars joined in the mockery and kept laughing among themselves, saying, “He saved others, but he can’t even save himself! Israel’s king, is he? Let the ‘Messiah,’ the ‘king of Israel,’ pull out the nails and come down from the cross right now. We’ll believe it when we see it!” Even the two criminals who were crucified with Jesus began to taunt him, hurling insults on him.

[The Death of Jesus]

For three hours, beginning at noon, darkness came over the earth. About three o’clock, Jesus shouted with a mighty voice in Aramaic, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?”—that is, “My God, My God, why have you turned your back on me?”

Some who were standing near the cross misunderstood and said, “Listen! He’s calling for Elijah.” One bystander ran and got a sponge, soaked it with sour wine, then put it on a stick and held it up for Jesus to drink. But the rest said, “Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah comes to rescue him.” Just then Jesus passionately cried out with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the veil in the Holy of Holies was torn in two from the top to the bottom.

When the Roman military officer who was standing right in front of Jesus saw how he died, he said, “There is no doubt this man was the Son of God!

Watching from a distance, away from the crowds, were many of the women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and had cared for him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jacob the younger and Joseph, and Salome. Many other women who had followed him to Jerusalem were there too.

[Jesus’ Burial]

Evening was fast approaching, and it was a preparation day before a Sabbath. So a prominent Jewish leader named Joseph, from the village of Ramah, courageously went to see Pilate and asked to have custody of the body of Jesus. Joseph was a highly regarded member of the Jewish council and a follower of Jesus who had focused his hope on God’s kingdom realm. Pilate was amazed to hear that Jesus was already dead, so he summoned the Roman officer, who confirmed it. After it was confirmed, Pilate consented to give the corpse to Joseph.

Joseph purchased a shroud of fine linen and took the body down from the cross. Then he wrapped it in the linen shroud and placed it in a tomb quarried from out of the rock. Then they rolled a large stone over the entrance to seal the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph were there and saw exactly where they laid the body of Jesus.

The Book of Mark, Chapter 15 (The Passion Translation)

and paired with Mark 15 from the New Testament, since i read a chapter from each Testament on a daily basis moving sequentially through the books of the Bible with the exception of Psalms and Proverbs, is the 2nd chapter of the book of Daniel in which is seen a dream and its interpretation by the inspiration of the Spirit working through Daniel:

[King Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream]

In the second year of his reign, King Nebuchadnezzar started having dreams that disturbed him deeply. He couldn’t sleep. He called in all the Babylonian magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and fortunetellers to interpret his dreams for him. When they came and lined up before the king, he said to them, “I had a dream that I can’t get out of my mind. I can’t sleep until I know what it means.”

The fortunetellers, speaking in the Aramaic language, said, “Long live the king! Tell us the dream and we will interpret it.”

The king answered the fortunetellers, “This is my decree: If you can’t tell me both the dream itself and its interpretation, I’ll have you ripped to pieces, limb from limb, and your homes torn down. But if you tell me both the dream and its interpretation, I’ll lavish you with gifts and honors. So go to it: Tell me the dream and its interpretation.”

They answered, “If it please your majesty, tell us the dream. We’ll give the interpretation.”

But the king said, “I know what you’re up to—you’re just playing for time. You know you’re up a tree. You know that if you can’t tell me my dream, you’re doomed. I see right through you—you’re going to cook up some fancy stories and confuse the issue until I change my mind. Nothing doing! First tell me the dream, then I’ll know that you’re on the up and up with the interpretation and not just blowing smoke in my eyes.”

The fortunetellers said, “Nobody anywhere can do what you ask. And no king, great or small, has ever demanded anything like this from any magician, enchanter, or fortuneteller. What you’re asking is impossible unless some god or goddess should reveal it—and they don’t hang around with people like us.”

That set the king off. He lost his temper and ordered the whole company of Babylonian wise men killed. When the death warrant was issued, Daniel and his companions were included. They also were marked for execution.

When Arioch, chief of the royal guards, was making arrangements for the execution, Daniel wisely took him aside and quietly asked what was going on: “Why this all of a sudden?”

After Arioch filled in the background, Daniel went to the king and asked for a little time so that he could interpret the dream.

Daniel then went home and told his companions Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what was going on. He asked them to pray to the God of heaven for mercy in solving this mystery so that the four of them wouldn’t be killed along with the whole company of Babylonian wise men.

[Dream Interpretation: A Story of Five Kingdoms]

That night the answer to the mystery was given to Daniel in a vision. Daniel blessed the God of heaven, saying,

“Blessed be the name of God,

forever and ever.

He knows all, does all:

He changes the seasons and guides history,

He raises up kings and also brings them down,

he provides both intelligence and discernment,

He opens up the depths, tells secrets,

sees in the dark—light spills out of him!

God of all my ancestors, all thanks! all praise!

You made me wise and strong.

And now you’ve shown us what we asked for.

You’ve solved the king’s mystery.”

So Daniel went back to Arioch, who had been put in charge of the execution. He said, “Call off the execution! Take me to the king and I’ll interpret his dream.”

Arioch didn’t lose a minute. He ran to the king, bringing Daniel with him, and said, “I’ve found a man from the exiles of Judah who can interpret the king’s dream!”

The king asked Daniel (renamed in Babylonian, Belteshazzar), “Are you sure you can do this—tell me the dream I had and interpret it for me?”

Daniel answered the king, “No mere human can solve the king’s mystery, I don’t care who it is—no wise man, enchanter, magician, diviner. But there is a God in heaven who solves mysteries, and he has solved this one. He is letting King Nebuchadnezzar in on what is going to happen in the days ahead. This is the dream you had when you were lying on your bed, the vision that filled your mind:

“While you were stretched out on your bed, O king, thoughts came to you regarding what is coming in the days ahead. The Revealer of Mysteries showed you what will happen. But the interpretation is given through me, not because I’m any smarter than anyone else in the country, but so that you will know what it means, so that you will understand what you dreamed.

“What you saw, O king, was a huge statue standing before you, striking in appearance. And terrifying. The head of the statue was pure gold, the chest and arms were silver, the belly and hips were bronze, the legs were iron, and the feet were an iron-ceramic mixture. While you were looking at this statue, a stone cut out of a mountain by an invisible hand hit the statue, smashing its iron-ceramic feet. Then the whole thing fell to pieces—iron, tile, bronze, silver, and gold, smashed to bits. It was like scraps of old newspapers in a vacant lot in a hot dry summer, blown every which way by the wind, scattered to oblivion. But the stone that hit the statue became a huge mountain, dominating the horizon. This was your dream.

“And now we’ll interpret it for the king. You, O king, are the most powerful king on earth. The God of heaven has given you the works: rule, power, strength, and glory. He has put you in charge of men and women, wild animals and birds, all over the world—you’re the head ruler, you are the head of gold. But your rule will be taken over by another kingdom, inferior to yours, and that one by a third, a bronze kingdom, but still ruling the whole land, and after that by a fourth kingdom, ironlike in strength. Just as iron smashes things to bits, breaking and pulverizing, it will bust up the previous kingdoms.

“But then the feet and toes that ended up as a mixture of ceramic and iron will deteriorate into a mongrel kingdom with some remains of iron in it. Just as the toes of the feet were part ceramic and part iron, it will end up a mixed bag of the breakable and unbreakable. That kingdom won’t bond, won’t hold together any more than iron and clay hold together.

“But throughout the history of these kingdoms, the God of heaven will be building a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will this kingdom ever fall under the domination of another. In the end it will crush the other kingdoms and finish them off and come through it all standing strong and eternal. It will be like the stone cut from the mountain by the invisible hand that crushed the iron, the bronze, the ceramic, the silver, and the gold.

“The great God has let the king know what will happen in the years to come. This is an accurate telling of the dream, and the interpretation is also accurate.”

When Daniel finished, King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face in awe before Daniel. He ordered the offering of sacrifices and burning of incense in Daniel’s honor. He said to Daniel, “Your God is beyond question the God of all gods, the Master of all kings. And he solves all mysteries, I know, because you’ve solved this mystery.”

Then the king promoted Daniel to a high position in the kingdom, lavished him with gifts, and made him governor over the entire province of Babylon and the chief in charge of all the Babylonian wise men. At Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to administrative posts throughout Babylon, while Daniel governed from the royal headquarters.

The Book of Daniel, Chapter #2 (The Message)

with Today’s reading of the Psalms to accompany this:

[Psalm 11]

For the worship leader. A song of David.

I am already in the soft embrace of the Eternal,

so why do you beckon me to leave, saying,

“Fly like a bird to the mountains.

Look! The wicked approach with bows bent,

sneaking around in the shadows,

setting their arrows against their bowstrings to pierce everyone whose heart is pure.

If the foundations are crumbling,

is there hope for the righteous?”

But the Eternal has not moved; He remains in His holy temple.

He sits squarely on His heavenly throne.

He observes the sons of Adam and daughters of Eve, examining us within and without,

exploring every fiber of our beings.

The Eternal searches the hearts of those who are good,

but He despises all those who can’t get enough of perversion and violence.

If you are evil, He will rain hot lava over your head,

will fill your cup with burning wind and liquid fire to scorch your insides.

The Eternal is right in all His ways;

He cherishes all that is upright.

Those who do what is right in His eyes will see His face.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 11 (The Voice)

[Psalm 50]

God Has Spoken

A poetic song of Asaph, the gatherer

The God of gods, the mighty Lord himself, has spoken!

He shouts out over all the people of the earth

in every brilliant sunrise and every beautiful sunset,

saying, “Listen to me!”

God’s glory-light shines out of the Zion-realm

with the radiance of perfect beauty.

With the rumble of thunder he approaches;

he will not be silent, for he comes with an earsplitting sound!

All around him are furious flames of fire,

and preceding him is the dazzling blaze of his glory.

Here he comes to judge his people!

He summons his court with heaven and earth as his jury, saying,

“Gather all my lovers,

my godly ones whose hearts are one with me—

those who have entered into my holy covenant

by sacrifices upon the altar.”

And the heavens declare his justice:

“God himself will be their judge,

and he will judge them with righteousness!”

Pause in his presence

“Listen to me, O my people! Listen well, for I am your God!

I am bringing you to trial and here are my charges.

I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices,

which you continually bring to my altar.

Do I need your young bull or goats from your fields

as if I were hungry?

Every animal of field and forest belongs to me, the Creator.

I know every movement of the birds in the sky,

and every animal of the field is in my thoughts.

The entire world and everything it contains is mine.

If I were hungry, do you think I would tell you?

For all that I have created, the fullness of the earth, is mine.

Am I fed by your sacrifices? Of course not!

Why don’t you bring me the sacrifices I desire?

Bring me your true and sincere thanks,

and show your gratitude by keeping your promises to me,

the Most High.

Honor me by trusting in me in your day of trouble.

Cry aloud to me, and I will be there to rescue you.

And now I speak to the wicked. Listen to what I have to say to you!

What right do you have to presume to speak for me

and claim my covenant promises as yours?

For you have hated my instruction and disregarded my words,

throwing them away as worthless!

You forget to condemn the thief or adulterer.

You are their friend, running alongside them into darkness.

The sins of your mouth multiply evil.

You have a lifestyle of lies,

devoted to deceit as you speak against others,

even slandering those of your own household!

All this you have done and I kept silent,

so you thought that I was just like you, sanctioning evil.

But now I will bring you to my courtroom

and spell out clearly my charges before you.

This is your last chance, my final warning. Your time is up!

Turn away from all this evil, or the next time you hear from me

will be when I am coming to pass sentence upon you.

I will snatch you away and no one will be there

to help you escape my judgment.

The life that pleases me is a life lived in the gratitude of grace,

always choosing to walk with me in what is right.

This is the sacrifice I desire from you.

If you do this, more of my salvation will unfold for you.”

The Book of Psalms, Poem 50 (The Passion Translation)

[Psalm 15]

A song of David.

Eternal One, who is invited to stay in Your dwelling?

Who is granted passage to Your holy mountain?

Here is the answer: The one who lives with integrity, does what is right,

and speaks honestly with truth from the heart.

The one who doesn’t speak evil against others

or wrong his neighbor,

or slander his friends.

The one who loathes the loathsome,

honors those who fear the Eternal,

And keeps all promises no matter the cost.

The one who does not lend money with gain in mind

and cannot be bought to harm an innocent name.

If you live this way, you will not be shaken and will live together with the Lord.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 50 (The Voice)

and concluded by the lines (in 31 verses) of chapter 11 from the book of Proverbs for november 11:

To set high standards for someone else, and then not live up to them yourself, is something that God truly hates. But it pleases him when we apply the right standards of measurement.

When you act with presumption, convinced that you’re right, don’t be surprised if you fall flat on your face!But walking in humility helps you to make wise decisions.

Integrity will lead you to success and happiness, but treachery will destroy your dreams.

When Judgment Day comes, all the wealth of the world won’t help you one bit. So you’d better be rich in righteousness, for that’s the only thing that can save you in death.

Those with good character walk on a smooth path, with no detour or deviation. But the wicked keep falling because of their own wickedness.

Integrity will keep a good man from falling. But the unbeliever is trapped, held captive to his sinful desires.

When an evil man dies, all hope is lost, for his misplaced confidence goes in the coffin and gets buried along with him.

Lovers of God are snatched away from trouble, and the wicked show up in their place.

The teachings of hypocrites can destroy you, but revelation knowledge will rescue the righteous.

The blessing that rests on the righteous releases strength and favor to the entire city, but shouts of joy will be heard when the wicked one dies.

The blessing of favor resting upon the righteous influences a city to lift it higher, but wicked leaders tear it apart by their words.

To quarrel with a neighbor is senseless. Bite your tongue; be wise and keep quiet!

You can’t trust gossipers with a secret; they’ll just go blab it all.

Put your confidence instead in a trusted friend, for he will be faithful to keep it in confidence.

People lose their way without wise leadership, but a nation succeeds and stands in victory when it has many good counselors to guide it.

The evil man will do harm when confronted by a righteous man, because he hates those who await good news.

A gracious, generous woman will be honored with a splendid reputation, but the woman who hates the truth lives surrounded with disgrace and by men

who are cutthroats, only greedy for money.

A man of kindness attracts favor, while a cruel man attracts nothing but trouble.

Evil people may get a short-term gain, but to sow seeds of righteousness will bring a true and lasting reward.

A son of righteousness experiences the abundant life, but the one who pursues evil hurries to his own death.

The Lord can’t stand the stubborn heart bent toward evil, but he treasures those whose ways are pure.

Assault your neighbor and you will certainly be punished, but God will rescue the children of the godly.

A beautiful woman who abandons good morals is like a fine gold ring dangling from a pig’s snout.

True lovers of God are filled with longings for what is pleasing and good, but the wicked can only expect doom.

Generosity brings prosperity, but withholding from charity brings poverty.

Those who live to bless others will have blessings heaped upon them, and the one who pours out his life to pour out blessings will be saturated with favor.

People will curse the businessman with no ethics, but the one with a social conscience receives praise from all.

Living your life seeking what is good for others brings untold favor, but those who wish evil for others will find it coming back on them.

Keep trusting in your riches and down you’ll go! But the lovers of God rise up like flowers in the spring.

The fool who brings trouble to his own family will be cut out of the will, and the family servant will do better than he. But a life lived loving God bears lasting fruit, for the one who is truly wise wins souls.

If the righteous are barely saved, what’s in store for all the wicked?

The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 11 (The Passion Translation)

my personal reading in the Scriptures for november 11, the 50th day of Autumn and day 315 of the year:

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dfroza · 3 years

Text

A letter was written to resolve a difference in opinion

to restore peace of heart & mind to the new believers at a time when the message of grace began to spread beyond the Jews to whom it was first given.

Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the New Testament is the 15th chapter of the book of Acts:

[To Let Outsiders Inside]

After this, I’m coming back;

I’ll rebuild David’s ruined house;

I’ll put all the pieces together again;

I’ll make it look like new

So outsiders who seek will find,

so they’ll have a place to come to,

All the pagan peoples

included in what I’m doing.

“God said it and now he’s doing it. It’s no afterthought; he’s always known he would do this.

From the apostles and leaders, your friends, to our friends in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia:

Hello!

These guidelines are sufficient to keep relations congenial between us. And God be with you!

Paul and Barnabas stayed on in Antioch, teaching and preaching the Word of God. But they weren’t alone. There were a number of teachers and preachers at that time in Antioch.

After a few days of this, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit all our friends in each of the towns where we preached the Word of God. Let’s see how they’re doing.”

The Book of Acts, Chapter 15 (The Message)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 6th chapter of the book (scroll) of Isaiah that describes a heavenly vision that produced reverence before God, which is what the True presence of Light does in all of us:

In the same year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a grand throne way up high with a flowing cape that filled the whole temple. Bright flaming creatures waited on Him. Each had six wings: two covering its face, two covering its feet, and two for flying. Like some fiery choir, they would call back and forth continually.

Flaming Creatures: Holy, holy, holy is the Eternal, the Commander of heavenly armies!

The earth is filled with His glorious presence!

They were so loud that the doorframes shook, and the holy house kept filling with smoke.

Isaiah: I am in so much trouble! I’m ruined!

I’m just a human being—fallible and stammering.

My lips are encrusted with filth;

and I live among people just like me.

But here I am, and I’ve seen with my very own eyes

none other than the King, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.

Then one of the flaming creatures flew to me holding a red-hot ember which it had taken from God’s table, the temple altar, with a pair of tongs. The creature held it to my lips.

Flaming Creature: Look! With the touch of this burning ember on your lips,

your guilt is turned away;

All your faults and wrongdoings are forgiven.

Then I heard the Lord’s voice.

Eternal One: Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?

Isaiah: Here I am! Send me.

Eternal One: Go to this people and say,

“Keep listening, but do not comprehend;

Keep looking, but do not understand.”

Make their hearts hard, their ears deaf, and their eyes blind.

Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears,

Understand with their hearts, and then turn and be healed.

Isaiah: How long, Lord?

Eternal One: Until cities are in ruins, the houses sit empty,

and the land has become a wasteland.

You see, the Eternal has determined to move the people far away;

place after place will be completely abandoned.

And even if just a tenth survive, it will be burned again;

imagine a terebinth or an oak; once it is cut down, the stump remains.

The holy seed remains in the stump.

The Book of Isaiah, Chapter 6 (The Voice)

A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures for monday, june 14 of 2021 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible along with Today’s Proverbs and Psalms

A post by John Parsons that looks at sacrificial Love:

Our Torah portion this week (i.e., parashat Chukat) begins with the words: zot chukat ha-Torah (זאת חקת התורה), "this is the decree of Torah" (Num. 19:2). The language here is both striking and unique, suggesting that what follows, namely, the sacrifice of the parah adumah or “red heifer,” is nothing less than "the seminal decree" of the entire Torah... However if we think about the meaning of the mysterious decree of the red heifer, we will realize that its ashes were used to create the "waters of separation" (i.e., mei niddah: מֵי נִדָּה) to cleanse people from contact with death (i.e., separation). To fulfill God's vital decree, however, required sacrificial love, since the priest who offered this service would become defiled (separated) for the sake of the healing of others... The Hebrew word for love is ahavah (אַהֲבָה), from a root verb (יָהַב) that means “to give.” Love means giving of yourself to benefit another person (John 15:13). The central decree of Torah, then, beyond our ability to rationally understand, is that God's love is so great that it is willing to become dust and ashes on our behalf so that we might find blessing and life.

Yeshua willingly became unclean on our behalf - through contact with our sin and death - so that we could become clean (Isa. 53:3-6, 2 Cor. 5:21, Gal. 3:3, Eph. 5:2, Titus 2:14). The pure became impure through His sacrificial offering. Because of Him, we have been cleansed from our sins "by a better sprinkling" than that which the Tabernacle of Moses could afford (Matt. 26:28, Heb. 9:14, 12:24, Eph. 1:7, 1 Pet. 1:2,18-19, Rom. 5:9; Col. 1:14, 1 John 1:7, etc.).

The ashes of the red heifer represented the death and sacrifice of something extremely rare, valuable, and precious. The ashes were mixed with "living water" (מַיִם חַיִּים) to reveal the truth that though the end of all flesh is but dust and ashes, the Spirit gives cleansing and life. Indeed the word ashes (אֵפֶר) may be rearranged to spell both cure (רַפֵא) and beauty (פְאֵר). The author of the book of Hebrews argues kal va'chomer (i.e., קַל וְחמר, "light and weighty"), that is, “from the lesser case to the greater.” If the sprinkling of water mixed with the ashes of a red heifer purified the flesh from contamination with physical death, how much more does the blood of Messiah purify the soul from that which causes spiritual death? (Heb. 9:13-14). Indeed, because of Yeshua’s sacrifice we are given “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness,” that we may be called “trees of righteousness (אֵילֵי הַצֶּדֶק), the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified” (Isa. 61:3). Amen. Yehi shem Adonai mevorakh! [Hebrew for Christians]

6.14.21 • Facebook

Today’s message (Days of Praise) from the Institute for Creation Research

June 14, 2021

Others' Things

“Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” (Philippians 2:4)

Our responsibility is to think like the Lord Jesus, part of which requires “looking” (marking, identifying) matters beyond our own concerns.

Part of that responsibility is caution. “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark [same Greek word for ‘look’] them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them” (Romans 16:17). Another part is being aware of godly examples. “Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample” (Philippians 3:17).

Surely that responsibility also includes that “we then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (Romans 15:1). And in cases of necessary discipline: “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1). Also consider these:

“Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth” (1 Corinthians 10:24).

“Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved” (1 Corinthians 10:33).

“But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak” (1 Corinthians 8:9).

Finally, written by the same apostle who instructed the stronger Philippian church, there is this gentle summary statement recorded for the struggling Corinthian assembly: “Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed” (2 Corinthians 6:3). HMM III

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