#what a raca it was!

[raphoupix]

[grison-in-space]

I did a bit of de novo genome assembly way, way back in the day which I have never been able to use professionally because my PI refused to spend $2000 more on getting new read depth. He had ordered the reads before actually learning anything about the pipeline and only about half of the libraries he had ordered were usable in any given pipeline, see. (Some had been for older assembly methods and others had been for newer ones, basically.)

Rather than find the money to fucking get me the reads to do it right, he heard about an open source project called RACA that was some dude's dissertation arguing that you COULD use some of the worthless libraries to fill in the gaps of the assembly and get a functional genome out of it. I spent two years trying to move massive quantities of data through that fuckhead's pipeline on the campus supercomputer to get the assembled genome out, and then I got to the end and found there was no output as fastq files or ant other format recognizable to me.

(Give me a break, I was 23 and had also been frantically learning acoustic analysis, basic electrical engineering, and technical equipment maintenance in the two years since I had started learning to code. Plus I was figuring out what I wanted my dissertation to be. I'd never grappled with anything more complicated than our home-written library of matlab acoustic analysis before, and it simply hadn't occurred to me that anyone would publish a non-functional pipeline to achieve a goal quickly anyone verifying that anyone else had done anything yet.)

Anyway, eventually he collaborated with someone else who ponied up $2000 and a postdoc to get new reads. My name was not on the paper, so that's two years of my life developing a particular and fairly unique skill set that I will almost certainly never use.

In retrospect it's less surprising than you might think that the PhD took eight years and absolutely shattered my confidence.

And the best part is that it was just about impossible to predict at the time that shit would go quite this bad, except that some people handle power well when they're stressed and some people maintain a strong layer of cognitive dissonance over their knowledge of power such that it's never real enough to be responsible about but always real enough to win a dispute.

Anyway I think every student should have two advisors so that everyone in the department should have to immediately know about it when a PI is floundering and have a strong direct incentive to do something about it. A LOT of my problems could have been fixed with one look with a gimlet eye from a senior, more experienced researcher being not impressed at a student under their supervision running on an endless treadmill to nothing. Frankly a lot of my problems could have been solved if my mentor had formal training or literally any supervision that could deliver metrics faster than "how close am I to my previous mentees?"

I know a lot of dual advised students wind up in a tug of war between two advisors, but like: that's the point. If one of them turns out to be insane and malicious then a) the students all have clear lines to bail, b) the other ones all realize quickly that bailing out the chaos and career damage of someone who is fucking it up is way more work than resolving the problem, and c) the one with more tethers to reality has a way bigger likelihood of formally retaining the student when and if a third party has to examine the contract.

Just. It was such a fucking waste. And not because anyone necessarily wanted it to be wasteful, either, or any malice, but because I was... mm, I think the fifth PhD student in that lab and that's actually not that many to be learning on. Systems that set you up to play with decades of people's lives should have more fail-safes and places for people to learn before they get to be the sole director of someone else's career for five fucking years, not less. And yet!

[a-h-mad-hish]

The acceptance of oneself is the essence of the whole moral problem and the epitome of a whole outlook on life. That I feed the hungry, that I forgive an insult, that I love my enemy in the name of Christ -- all these are undoubtedly great virtues. What I do unto the least of my brethren, that I do unto Christ. But what if I should discover that the least among them all, the poorest of all the beggars, the most impudent of all the offenders, the very enemy himself -- that these are within me, and that I myself stand in need of the alms of my own kindness -- that I myself am the enemy who must be loved -- what then? As a rule, the Christian's attitude is then reversed; there is no longer any question of love or long-suffering; we say to the brother within us "Raca," and condemn and rage against ourselves. We hide it from the world; we refuse to admit ever having met this least among the lowly in ourselves.

C.G. Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections

[clanraire]

OOOOH. I am really really loving the Seer Pools. What I'm SUPER excited about is the idea of not all of them being Water dragons. Does this affect their visions at all? Do they receive them in different ways than their counterparts or see different things that might deal with their own personal Flight rather than say a Water dragon's?

:D I'm glad you like the Seer Pools! They're one of the most important parts of the lair, respected and lauded by the rest of its inhabitants.

And yes! Some dragons have seer powers that are a bit different from the Water dragons. Killa, the Matriarch who is Water, is typical in that she hears her prophecies, sometimes out of thin air, sometimes when bubbles pop. Though her prophecies have gone thin on the ground since the Tidelord disappeared...

But others have different methods. For example, Entropy, who might be water, nonetheless has strong plague heritage from her Plague witch mother and she uses bones to predict the future, able to read from the way they fall the way potential futures. She only seems to see how somethings might end, allowing her lair to prepare for say, the end of Water prophecies ;)

Nebula, who is from Ice, Sees the past, in an overwhelming rush of information she can't stop, so she keeps herself blindfolded most of the time.

Raca is a shadow dragon, and her insight is more like... gut feelings. She goes to sleep, and then wakes up she Knows something. She just knows things and doesn't know how she knows it. But sometimes she doesn't remember she knows, so the Seers have to ask her what she knows about a certain subject for the information to pop up. This is actually a really annoying process for her! But she puts up with it to have the protection and luxuries afforded to Seers in the clan.

Totora's powers are more difficult, or rather, take longer, to work. As a Nature dragon, she chooses a subject, or question, and she plants something she finds "appropriate" into a pot. Then she watches it grow, and based on how it grows or wilts or gets diseased she interprets what can happen.

There's some other dragons I haven't figured out their way of clairvoyance yet, but it's in the works and you made me excited to get working on them again!

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

On this day, June 6, 1961, C. G. Jung passed. A few days before, Jung is said to have had a dream which one might interpret to express a judgement on his life's work and the man he had become:

"He saw a huge round block of stone sitting on a high plateau and at the foot of the stone was engraved these words: 'And this shall be a sign unto you of Wholeness and Oneness.'"

This dream was described in a letter written by Ruth Bailey on June 16, 1961 to Miguel Serrano about Jung's passing. This letter can be found in Miguel Serrano's book 'C. G. Jung and Hermann Hesse: A Record of Two Friendships' (Serrano, 1966, pp. 104-105)

* * * *

“As a child I felt myself to be alone, and I am still, because I know things and must hint at things which others apparently know nothing of, and for the most part do not want to know.” ― Carl Gustav Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections

+

“The acceptance of oneself is the essence of the whole moral problem and the epitome of a whole outlook on life. That I feed the hungry, that I forgive an insult, that I love my enemy in the name of Christ -- all these are undoubtedly great virtues. What I do unto the least of my brethren, that I do unto Christ. But what if I should discover that the least among them all, the poorest of all the beggars, the most impudent of all the offenders, the very enemy himself -- that these are within me, and that I myself stand in need of the alms of my own kindness -- that I myself am the enemy who must be loved -- what then? As a rule, the Christian's attitude is then reversed; there is no longer any question of love or long-suffering; we say to the brother within us "Raca," and condemn and rage against ourselves. We hide it from the world; we refuse to admit ever having met this least among the lowly in ourselves.” ― C.G. Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections

[childofchrist1983]

Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. - Matthew 5:21-22 KJV

When Jesus Christ threw the money-changers out of the temple, He was angry. Was He breaking His own rule or being sinful? No! He was righteous in His anger and for good reason - The money-changers were cheating the people, and doing it in the holy temple of all places! Turning it into "a den of theives" (Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:17)

There are things that should make us angry: Seeing someone being abused is a good example! But these days, it seems that anything can cause anger and people react violently with the slightest provocation. Thinking that someone insults you, for example, can lead to a fight. Road rage is another example of this. What about using foul and abusive language? That is so common that people often don't even hear it, much less correct themselves. What has happened to us? We used to be so kind to one another! We are all God's creation. As Christians, we are all God's beloved children. We often forget that abusive language and any other sin can mourn and weaken the Holy Spirit. The love of Jesus Christ and His Holy Word and Spirit can and will bind us together and we must make sure that we seek and lean on Him daily. May we be righteous in our anger and save our anger for injustices that we can help to change, calling out sin while still treating one another as Jesus would do and with the respect that's deserved. Keep the faith and keep moving forward in your walk with Jesus!

Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His Holy Word and for sending His Holy Spirit so that we might have His grace, not only to awaken us and transform our hearts in our spiritual rebirth and guarantee our eternity with Him, but to also call upon Him whenever we are in need. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for all the reminders of His love and mercy and faithfulness within His Holy Word. He is bigger than any challenge or circumstance in our lives. Knowing this within our minds and our hearts, nothing can deter our faith in Him and His Truth. May we all accept Him and His eternal gift of salvation and ask that He would transform our hearts and lives according to His will and ways. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His Holy Spirit who saves, seals and leads us. May we always thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His almighty power and saving grace. For He is our strength, and He alone is able to save us, forgive our sins and gift us eternal salvation and entry into His Kingdom of Heaven.

May we make sure that we give our hearts and lives to God and take time to seek and praise Him and share His Truth with the world daily. May the LORD our God and Father in Heaven help us to stay diligent and obedient and help us to guard our hearts in Him and His Holy Word daily. May He help us to remain faithful and full of excitement to do our duty to Him and for His glorious return and our reunion in Heaven as well as all that awaits us there. May we never forget to thank the LORD our God and our Creator and Father in Heaven for all this and everything He does and has done for us! May we never forget who He is, nor forget who we are in Christ and that God is always with us! What a mighty God we serve! What a Savior this is! What a wonderful Lord, God, Savior and King we have in Jesus Christ! What a loving Father we have found in Almighty God! What a wonderful God we serve! His will be done!

Thanks and glory be to God! Blessed be the name of the LORD! Hallelujah and Amen!

[dirt-apple-productions]

For certain, there exist Christians who are hateful people, but I don’t think non-Christians will ever understand how offensive it is to a Christian to be falsely accused of being hateful. Like, you may not take it seriously when you falsely accuse a Christian of being a bigot, because you likely use the word “bigot” to mean “heretic to my very specific belief system about what makes a good person,” but we see it as a much bigger deal than that.

Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. (1 John 3:15)

You have heard that it was said to those [d]of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother [e]without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’[f] shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, [g]‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of [h]hell fire. (Matthew 5:21-22)

So using “hatred,” which is tantamount to murder, to mean “you disapprove of certain freewill actions I have chosen to take” sounds to a well-meaning Christian like you’re accusing them of wanting you dead. Communication is a two-way street, and how a sentence is received matters just as much as how it was intended.

Oh, and to the Christians who are genuinely hateful toward anyone and won’t take correction? Enjoy that label of murderer. :)

[one-coming-is-enough]

Why is half of your fanbase so annoying 😔😔 like please- yk you could have added a little footnote that said "be gay do crime" to your biography, right?

I feel like I said that, like, all the time.

Or like, I told people how to break the very specific laws of the Roman empire in a way that would get the noble Romans and the soldiers in trouble, not the Jews or the slaves or your average baker dude.

And I told people not to worry about outdated food restrictions and who's "impure" or whatever because, like, everyone is a person, bro? Even lepers could use some kindness. You aren't gonna catch anything from a prostitute just sitting across from the table and sharing a basket of fried shrimp with her.

I didn't just sit there and say "Do crimes, it's cool!" because people are going to be like, "Let's do all the murders now!" because unfortunately, a lot of people are just, like.

*deep breath*

They do not think about the kind of world they are creating with their actions, just whether their own immediate desires can be justified in any way.

*big toke*

Gahhh.

Also, did nobody notice Me saying "There is no male or female in Me" or what? I wasn't saying that I don't bottom (cause I do). I was saying that I don't think we should be divvying up labor or inheritance laws or pretty much any laws between men and women, same as you shouldn't be using slaves to do your dirty work or hiring Jews at a cut rate because it's technically legal. Fuck that, compensate people fairly for their labor and recognize skill where it lays. I don't think that's so hard to do.

And yeah, sex stuff pertains to that, too. Those laws in the Torah were written way back when there weren't that many people on Earth at all and Mother needed everyone to breed. And then She added some when She was fighting with the Greeks.

"Don't bring your Greek twink home and fuck him in your wife's bed or she'll kill you and nobody will blame her for it, they'll probably even help." That was real specific, Mother. No wonder I never got married.

(I'm not saying I think She killed Her husband before She even created the Universe, but... I think She killed Her husband before She even created the Universe and that's why I have two Mommies and a very patient step-dad instead.)

(It's just a theory. And a big reason I've been slacking off really hard for a couple millennia.)

I also told people not to use words like "raca" for guys even if they're really femme because that's just fuckin' rude, man. Or what is it now, "sissy"? Same with "ergi" or calling stuff you don't like "gay".

(Sorry, this phone automatically translates everything to what I speak and read, which is a pretty informal mix of Hebrew, Latin, and Koine Greek, so some things I have to translate myself. I'm literally learning English by teaching myself Yiddish and going back through German, it's really funky and I'm still getting used to it.)

I even healed a completely paralyzed guy because I thought it was really sweet that his Roman boyfriend loved him enough to come seek Me out even though he would have definitely gotten into big trouble with his garrison leader if anyone had found out. I had my boys write that down specifically.

I also can't just say "Be gay" because then everybody would be gay regardless of how they actually felt about it, and that's not good either. Plus, very few babies born, and that's like the exact opposite of what any of Us want.

So. Do as thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law? And Love is the Law, Love under Will?

(I think I said that to someone about a hundred years ago, but I was drinking and blazing a lot then. Shit was not going well on Earth and I was not taking it well. I don't know if he wrote it down or if anything ever came of it.)

[slightlydensedragons]

We're taking a dive today friends and fam, to the underwater lair of Raire's, where its pretty sights and even prettier dragons. Admist all the coral and the no doubt amazingly gorgeous fish, I have taken a moment to browse the selection of dragons, and boy howdy, if I didn't limit myself, there'd be a lot more. Shall we get started?

I am such a sucker for Mint, there's no doubting that but Mint AND the purple colour from the clothing choice? Raca is an amazingly coordinated dragon. Something about the Spiral's energy instantly drew me to her, and I must say, she is just a sight to behold. A fantastic combination of colour that has me just enamoured for who knows how long. I'm going to end up with a minty dragon of my own, just you wait.

I would be a terrible member of the Ice Flight if I didn't pick Uru from the confines of the other flight reps that were present. He's simple, but sometimes that's all it really takes. The Irishim is nothing to sneeze at, and it works on him amazingly with the added Ringlets as well? And the free Underbelly to boot? There's only so much to fawn over he is an stunning dragon and deserves to be adored.

Something about this funny little guy just had me attracted to his appearance. Haemo probably appeals to my sense of dark shades and reds, that make up my own corner of my flight and beckoned me to come closer. Simple and rather effective, just something about him had to make me look closer at him.

Geos is gorgeous and I am goddamn sucker for her colours. I am notorious for making characters and just, slapping shades of brown on them. "Karlos once again, making a shades of brown character." But when you look at it, what's not to love. She's inviting and so very warm. I feel as if her hugs could melt so many worries from my life. If she offering? Because I would take it up in a heart beart.

I swear I was going to do only 4 dragons. 4 became 5 when Azalea showed up. The green and pink shouted at me to come see him, to embrace the wonderfulness that is his gorgeous appearance. And who was I to refuse an audience with him. I personally would not place the carousel apparel upon my dragons, but damn does he do it some justice with how nice it looks. Chef kiss all around.

[hyperdemona]

UNFOLLOW ME YOU FUCKING CUNT

What does Christ say about calling one's brother "Raca"?

[18-plus-books]

H.I.M (Horror In Material)/ I dreamt about killing you

H.I.M (Hell In Material) A.K.A I dream of killing you. 

H.I.M the one that should remain nameless

Rated R

The main character is a Gemini with Scorpio moon. The boyfriend is a Scorpio. The antagonist is a Capricorn.

At the beginning, she hates everything that made her heritage. But really quick in her Samurai training, she starts to appreciate all the sides of herself. Kisha makes peace with herself

This is my story of resistance against Evil

After HIM kills Kisha’s mom: At her 2nd birthday, Kisha receives a gift box. On the linguette is written inside lays what that you value the most. She is impatient to open the gift box. When she opens it, she sees the head of her mother only bloodied. And she throws up from this horrible view.

At her 15th birthday. HIM surprised her with the other half, the body without the head of her mother. The body drops from the ceiling. Since from 5 years old, she was looking for the body of her mother in cemeteries and more to revenge her.

HIM did a coup to take control of his country

Talk about heroine addiction 

At the beginning of the book, at the beginning of her trip to Japan, Kisha and her soon boyfriend don’t like each other as they have to fight/compete against each other. HE says he has never seen a woman that knows how to fight. She wins, but don’t kill him. She saves Lee live

Elle entends l’haut-relief delà après avoir fais son entraînement de ninja / Samouraï. Elle a le Sharingan

Dans l’entraînement de Samurai de Kisha, on leur met une petite dose de morphine dans leur veines pour qu’il s’habitue à la douleur 

When she sleeps, she dream about the different ways her mother died

Her ancestors were Moors. She becomes a Afr-Samurai

Elle écrit des lettres à sa défainte mère

Around the half of the book will be about H.I.M crimes => H.I.M trilogy

The cover is me holding an African mask on my face

She finds the evidence in our dream. Her mom’s killer in her dream

When she sleeps, she sees all the crime he has done

Talking about H.I.M back story

First Chapter: The Coup, the night where they killed her mom

She sees him murdering her mother

Rape for the sake of violence. No attraction

We see how HIM is violent with her mom.

She sees him killing, raping, kidnap. She go see the victims and talk about what happened

At the end she learns that he is her dad

The beginning of the book is in H.I.M mind

Her grandpa uses a machine to go into her dreams

Her first memory is her mother beheaded

An abusive father who uses his family to serve his violent means (rape, kidnapping, beheading)

The book is happening in the ‘80s

A girl that grew up on anime becomes her favorite idols

Une fille qui deviant un Afro-Samurai. Son but tuer him. Cut him in half so he can never reincarnate. Devise: Maman, je vais tuer H.I.M

Men I dream of offing this man since before I was a embryo. Before the dawn

Blasian

Ft Paloma Mami

At every sunset she talks to her godmother Orisha Aya

Self defense was the case

The Emirates v. Kisha

Mental trilogy. La moitié du travail se passe quand elle dort dans des rêves

Mental thriller

Le livre commence avant sa naissance 

She is called the error 

Because of a twisted tale. And hatred against the county where she comes from

Y’all combat technique is ameliorate la raca. Ours is multiplication

Kisha:” As I am already a demon child, my only salute rest is to eliminate the system that H.I.M build. Mom p, I have found my nemesis. I have found my life force. I have found my goal in this living hell

I will let at the people to imagine where she will hide/ in which city. Her senses showed her the globe and told her to choose with the heart chakra

It is about looking your aggressor in the eye and tell him. I am not the little fragile thing that you used to know

Book anti royalist

Anti puritanical/ puritain 

Elle voyage dans le temps pour la sauver après

Question to the Professor: how to pick up the the mood I was in when I wrote the resume

Le dernier combat se passé en enfer. Don’t you know that this is my territory. I am born here

BDSM scenes with boo

Baby, I’m an assassin 

Since we are all bad let’s stay together 

She reads Bakki to find the inspiration to train

Her and her boyfriend talk through letters transported by pigeons

She aims for liberation and reparations of the system

Kisha and her boyfriend get along and find common interest on the fact that they both love Foxy Brown

HEr and her boyfriend experience bondage together

Show Japanese men in business culture 

Her boyfriend name is Lee

I was a child of the night. My mom always told me that people were scared of my energy. I used to scare the kids at my school

Towards the end, when she kills him with a gun, she held over her head an African masks and Ziglibiti dancers are in the scene

Kisha: You killed mine so I have no choice but to haunt you

He is going to see himself dying 10 different ways

Her father is Japanese, her mother is Ivorian 

After Kisha kills HIM, the next chapter is the life of crime of HIM

Show how HIM destroyed his country with drug and murder. HIM kidnapper wear ski mask and grills

Follow a young heroin addict. A friend of Kisha. When he shoot himself his eyes turn black and his vein turn blue

After shooting HIM in the head from behind, Kisha is arrested and sent to the court. She is sentenced to the death penalty. When she is on the chair of death penalty, her guide ask her if she wants to reincarnate or do she wants to safe all the life that HIM killed by giving away her livelihood. She accepts the later.

Involve Yakuza culture

Japanese Guerilla

HEr boyfriend is her right hand. He help Kishar fight during the different missions and wars

Outside people don’t want to see Kisha and Lee together which will make them not trust each other at certain moments. Trust issue in the relationship 

Show that she is more crazy and twisted than her father HIM

The new Bonnie and Clyde her and her man

Show what is schizophrenia in the book.  Kisha is scizophrene

Physic description of HIM: He was mixed with a couple things, I couldn’t tell his origin. He is Lebanese and Dominican

Her mom is black and Japanese

Kisha and her boyfriend Lee meet in a Japanese Black club 90’s party

Kisha and Lee goes to exchangist club 

They do threesomes

The book is written in the first person. We are shown the perspective of Kisha, a drug abuser victim of HIM and HIM perspective 

For her boyfriend’s birthday they both say it at the same. They go to a exchanigist sex club. She first like it but get a crisis of psychosis and they have to leave in a hurry

People used to say, the only thing Afro about Kisha is her hair

Preface: I started writing horror books when I realized all the horror that was going on in the world 

At the end of Kisha life on Earth when she is on the chair of death, her haters are screaming schizophren every 12 seconds. To show them that she becoming worse, more conniving, and evil than the thought she were, she take off her 2 eyes.

When HIM dies, he is shocked to see her with eyes that ressembles his

The sword day when pass you your katana 

When Kisha dies. Lee experiences the 5 levels/seasons of grief. After seeing her grave, he decides to kill himself. They get together in the after world

The first page of the book: she wakes up on the grass in the middle of the forest. We hear the birds tripping 

Talking about H.I.’M part. At the end of the book, when he dies. Give him a retrospective and follow his journey into a vilain. Give him the first person of the book. Explain how he meet Kisha’s mother

Kisha (to herself, in her mind): Should I be crucified for the blood on my hand? Am I a bad person?

H.I.M trilogy

Murder, Drugs, Chaos

At the end she returns in the past to shot him before he kills her mother

After she kills him and the case is over. She haunts him. If I fall, you fall with me. She tortures him and make him feel what he has done to her mother 

If I go to war, would you wait for me? Kisha ask her boyfriend 

Her boyfriend is attached to her and ready to do everything for her love

The Emirates v. kisha Johnson. They gave her the death penalty. The guides ask Kisha: Do you want to sacrifice your living hood to salvage the one that have died by his hands?

3 days, 2 nights

The clock always stops at the right time 

She passes the knife on her tongue 

Her boyfriend commits suicide after she dies

Après une bataille, elle a du sang sur le visage et elle regarde le ciel. Il y’a tellement de sang sur le sol que son oxygène sanguin est monté dans les nuages. Et soudain il pleut du sang. Une goutte de sang du. Iel lui tombe sur le visage.

Lee, le copain de Kisha se fait tuer par HIM. Pour qu’il revient en vie, Kisha fait un pacte avec un mage. Le mage lui dit: “Be careful, you can only use this potion on one person one time. Who you choose to use it on?”. Kisha says:”Lee Thomas!”.

Her favorite sentence to say is: You fucking cocksucker.

Kisha decide

To unify the countries of Asia

In the 80’s

Au feu rouge, dans un embouteillage

Lee et Kisha tuent les méchants assaillants. Sur des motos ils coupent leur tête.

Un assaillant les voient t’entraîner de tuer ses collègues et il stresse au feu rouge, il regarde le feu en attendant que ça tourne au vert. Quand ça tourne au vert et qu’il fait le premier pas, Lee lui coupe la joue.

[oursuperbbasementcollectionus]

What People Do When They Get Angry!

Matthew 5:22

“But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” King James Version

[mrlnsfrt]

It Begins in The Heart

This post is part of my “Join Me on The Mountainside” series.

In my previous post, I discussed how Jesus came to fulfill the law, and how He said our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. In this post, I’ll take a closer look at Matthew 5:21-30 which will help flesh out what Jesus meant by what He said earlier.

You have heard that it was said…

You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ - Matthew 5:21 NKJV

Most of you are probably familiar with the 10 commandments. They can be found in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21. Here Jesus references the 6th commandment. Some translations say kill, but murder seems to be a better translation.

“Murder” is the correct rendering since the underlying Hebrew (ratsach, sometimes translated “kill”) did not include killing in self-defense, wars ordered by Yahweh, capital punishment following due process of law, or accidental manslaughter. - Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 106.

Jesus quotes a familiar law and one where there is little argument. Most cultures around the globe would agree that murder should not happen. However, Jesus expounds on this law, He brings about a fuller understanding of how we ought to behave as followers of God. If our righteousness is to surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees it is not enough to simply not commit the act of murder.

But I say to you…

“But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. - Matthew 5:22 NKJV

According to Jesus, the true application of the prohibition was much wider. Jesus includes thoughts and words, as well as deeds, anger, and insult as well as murder. Jesus gives us a fuller understanding of God’s law, or God’s desire for our lives. As followers of God, we should not be content with simply not having murdered anyone recently, but our aim should be higher, to not experience hate toward another.

Matthew 5:22 is one of those verses where there is some variance regarding ancient manuscripts and some of them do not have the phrase “without cause” but the main point remains clear either way.

A strong manuscript tradition (D, L, W, f1, f13, etc.) adds the phrase “without cause” following the word “brother.” This phrase is usually viewed as a later textual addition, but it nevertheless gives the correct interpretation. There is a righteous indignation against sin (as esp. with Jesus versus the money changers in the temple—21:12–17), and God himself is properly wrathful (cf. 18:34; 22:7).  - Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 106.

The possible issue with including the phrase “without cause” is that some might take it as permission to be angry with the brother who did something to deserve it. On the other hand, not all anger is necessarily sinful. For examples of anger that is directed towards sin or evil and not directed specifically towards the person see Exodus 32:19 and John 2:14-17.

So it was, as soon as he came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing. So Moses’ anger became hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain. - Exodus 32:19 NKJV

14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. 15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” 17 Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.” - John 2:14-17 NKJV

If you would like to explore further what Jesus had to say regarding how to treat our brother see Mathew 5:44; 7:3–5; 12:49–50; 18:15, 21, 35; 23:8; 25:40; 28:10.

Some interpret “brother” as a fellow believer, but since Jesus will tell His listeners to love their enemies in a few verses (Matthew 5:44) I would not limit Jesus’ use of “brother” to a reference to fellow believers but rather to everyone. If we refer to God as “our Father” (Matthew 6:9) then other humans are our brothers and sisters.

Raca?

“Raca” (a quasi-swear word in Aramaic). The expression probably meant something like empty-headed. So too those who call someone a “fool” commit a sin. This word (mōros) carries overtones of immorality and godlessness as well as idiocy. - Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 107.

So we need to remember that the word “fool” had acquired both religious and moral overtones, being applied in the Old Testament to those who denied God’s existence and as a result plunged into reckless evil doing. (Psalm 14:1–4; 53:1–4)

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good. - Psalm 14:1 NKJV

There is also another approach to interpreting the word “mōre” translated as “fool.”

Alternatively, as some scholars suggest, mōre may transliterate a Hebrew word which means a ‘rebel’, an ‘apostate’ or an ‘outcast’. In this case, Tasker proposes the sentiment: ‘The man who tells his brother that he is doomed to hell is in danger of hell himself’. Ps. 78:8; Je. 5:23 - John R. W. Stott and John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): Christian Counter-Culture, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 84.

Hell?

Gehenna (“fire of hell”)—a reference to the valley south of Jerusalem in which children were slaughtered in Old Testament times and traditionally associated with a perpetually burning garbage dump in later centuries. (Craig Blomberg, 107)

(For a deeper dive keep reading, or skip to the next heading)

Hell fire. Literally, “the Gehenna [Gr. geenna] of fire,” or “the hell of fire.” Geenna, “hell,” is a transliteration of the Hebrew ge’ ben hinnom, “valley of Hinnom,” or ge’ ben hinnom, “valley of the son of Hinnom” (Joshua 15:8), the valley to the south and west of Jerusalem that meets with the Kidron Valley immediately south of the City of David and the Pool of Siloam (see on Jer. 19:2). Wicked King Ahaz seems to have introduced the barbaric heathen rite of burning infant children to Molech at a high place called Tophet, in the Valley of Hinnom (2 Chron. 28:3), during the days of Isaiah. For a further description of these revolting rites see on Lev. 18:21; Deut. 18:10; 32:17; 2 Kings 16:3; 23:10; Jer. 7:31. Manasseh, a grandson of Ahaz, restored this practice (2 Chron. 33:1, 6; cf. Jer. 32:35). Years later good King Josiah formally desecrated the high places in the Valley of Hinnom, where this appalling form of worship had been conducted (2 Kings 23:10), so bringing it to a halt. In retribution for this and other evils God forewarned His people that the Valley of Hinnom would one day become “the valley of slaughter” for “the carcases of this people” (Jer. 7:32, 33; Jer. 19:6; cf. Isa. 30:33). Accordingly, the fires of Hinnom became symbolic of the consuming fire of the last great day of judgment and the punishment of the wicked (cf. Isa. 66:24). In Jewish eschatological thinking, derived in part from Greek philosophy, Gehenna was the place where the souls of the ungodly were reserved under punishment until the day of final judgment and rewards.

The tradition that makes the Valley of Gehenna a place for burning rubbish, and thus a type of the fires of the last day, appears to have originated with Rabbi Kimchi, a Jewish scholar of the 12th and 13th centuries. Ancient Jewish literature knows nothing of such an idea. The earlier rabbis base the idea of Gehenna as a type of the fires of the last day on Isa. 31:9. See Strack and Billerbeck, Kommentar zum Neuen Testament, vol. 4, pp. 1029, 1030. - Francis D. Nichol, ed., The Seventh-Day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5 (Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1980), 335.

Words or Feelings?

Do you think Jesus had a problem with the words “raca” or “fool?” If that was the case then I could find other words to express the same sentiment and avoid judgment or hell fire. What if I choose to say, “idiot” or “nincompoop?” Would it be okay for me to call someone a witling?

If we were to study and try to figure out the precise degree of unholy feelings towards our brother that are indicated by the words Jesus used in the original language and proper historical and cultural context we would be embarking on an adventure in missing the point.

If murder is a horrible crime, malicious anger and insult are horrible too.  - John R. W. Stott and John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): Christian Counter-Culture, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 86.

The main point is that Jesus goes far deeper than what we tend to interpret the law of God to mean. He traces murder to its dark lair in human hearts: hatred. The God we worship sees our heart and is concerned not only by the fruit, the actions, the actual murder, but also by the root, the hatred that starts the entire process. Hatred may not be accountable in an earthly court of law, but it is to have no place among followers of God. Anger will have to face the judgment of God.

Legalism?

 Jesus was not against the law and its principles, but rather against all performance-based religiosity generated by the legislative superstructure erected by the religious leaders in an attempt to help prevent the breaking of the law.

for example at Shabbath 3–6 in the Mishnah we note that a new lamp can be moved from one place to another on the Sabbath, but not an old one; hot food may be kept warm by covering with clothes, feathers or dried flax, but not by covering with damp herbs or straw—which could engender fresh heat (and thus ‘work’) on the Sabbath day. An ass may go out on the Sabbath day wearing its saddle cloth if this was fixed on before the Sabbath, but may not wear a bell even if it is plugged (that would be work for the ass). Goats may go out with a protective cloth on their udders if it is to keep them dry, but not if it is intended to collect the milk … and so forth. And all this was intended to preserve scribal righteousness. - Michael Green, The Message of Matthew: The Kingdom of Heaven, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 93.

Jesus is not adding a performative aspect to the law. Jesus is not creating a list of words that are not allowed to be uttered, rather He is clarifying the heart and intention of the law.

In fact, so little are we to make of mere words, apart from the feeling which they express, that as anger is expressly said to have been borne by our Lord towards His enemies though mixed with “grief for the hardness of their hearts” (Mk 3:5), and as the apostle teaches us that there is an anger which is not sinful (Eph 4:26); so in the Epistle of James (Jam 2:20) we find the words, “O vain (or, empty) man”; and our Lord Himself applies the very word “fools” twice in one breath to the blind guides of the people (Mt 23:17, 19) - Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 2 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 21–22.

Two passages that help clarify Jesus’ message are Ephesians 4:6 and 1 John 3:15

 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, - Ephesians 4:26 NKJV

Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. - 1 John 3:15 NKJV

Here we see that not all anger is sinful and that hatred is compared to murder. My understanding of this is that someone’s behavior may upset you and cause you to experience anger, but you should not hate the person and wish them evil (damnation).

Worship and Relationships

23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. - Matthew 5:23-26 NKJV

What I take away from Jesus’ words is that his followers should avoid judgment by dealing honestly with sin. Not by trying to excuse it, or find loopholes, but rather by considering their hearts honestly and sincerely dealing with their sin.

 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. - Romans 12:18 NKJV

We cannot control the behavior of those around us, but as much as it depends on us we should strive to live in peace with those around us. If I am worshipping at church, giving offerings, returning my tithe, volunteering, and I remember that I wronged someone, I should go and do my best to make it right. We should not do this because someone is forcing us, but because we genuinely want to be at peace with those around us.

Adultery

27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. - Matthew 5:27-28 NKJV

Now Jesus shifts His attention to the 7th commandment. Adultery specifically refers to sexual relations by a married person with a partner other than his or her spouse but verse 28 clarifies that Jesus is addressing sexual sin in general.

Jesus could be speaking of one who “looks at a woman with the intention of committing adultery” or to one who “looks at a woman for the purpose of getting her to lust after him.”  - Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 108–109.

Jesus is not talking about a passing glance, or even noticing that someone is beautiful. What Jesus is condemning is the lustful thoughts and actions to have sexual relations with someone who is not that person’s spouse.

As the prohibition of murder included the angry thought and the insulting word, so the prohibition of adultery included the lustful look and imagination. We can commit murder with our words; we can commit adultery in our hearts or minds. - John R. W. Stott and John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): Christian Counter-Culture, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 87.

Just to clarify, Jesus is not speaking against natural sexual relations within the confines of heterosexual marriage (between a biological male and a biological female). The Song of Solomon is part of the Bible after all. Jesus is speaking against sexual interactions outside of marriage (biblical marriage as described in Genesis 1:26-28).

For those who want to argue that Jesus is only talking about married men, insinuating that it is okay for a woman or single men to engage in lustful fantasies is missing the point. Jesus is saying that what you should not do, you should also not fantasize about. Don’t even think about it.

One of the Hebrew equivalents of the Greek word Jesus used for lust is translated as “to desire,” or “to take pleasure in.” The same word is translated as “covet” in the tenth commandment (Ex. 20:17) and “desire” in Deut. 5:21 and Isa. 53:2.

Christ was doubtless thinking of the tenth commandment when He warned against looking “on a woman to lust after her.” In other words, the man who orders his affections and his will in harmony with the tenth commandment is thereby protected against violating the seventh. - Francis D. Nichol, ed., The Seventh-Day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5 (Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1980), 336.

Prevention?

29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. - Matthew 5:29-30 NKJV

Is Jesus advocating for bodily mutilation as a means of salvation? (Matthew 18:8-9)

If the eye is the means by which the temptation reaches the heart, should we not remove the eye? But removal of the eye does not keep the heart from sinning. However, if we refuse to behold that which tempts us to sin we achieve the same results, avoiding the lustful thoughts.

“I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman? - Job 31:1 NKJV

But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. - 1 Corinthians 9:27 NKJV

These Bible passages give us insights relating to this topic. We cannot control what is happening all around us, but we have a choice regarding the thoughts we dwell on and what we stare at.

The command to get rid of troublesome eyes, hands and feet is an example of our Lord’s use of dramatic figures of speech. What he was advocating was not a literal physical self-maiming, but a ruthless moral self-denial. Not mutilation but mortification is the path of holiness he taught, and ‘mortification’ or ‘taking up the cross’ to follow Christ means to reject sinful practices so resolutely that we die to them or put them to death. - John R. W. Stott and John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): Christian Counter-Culture, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 89.

Are beautiful women an instrument of Satan to ensnare men? NO! Sometimes women are treated as if they are the problem. Jesus does not say “if you look at a woman to lust after her tell her to change her outfit.” Jesus places the burden on the beholder who is choosing to think lustful thoughts.

However, all of us, when we get dressed, we should consider the goal of our outfit. If we are aiming to cause others to lust after us, I would say we are also guilty.

My recommendation to men is to resist the temptation to objectify women. Look a the whole person. That beautiful person you are beholding is someone with dreams and aspirations. Someone with feelings, a history, and complex emotions, she is someone that Jesus loves and died to save. Someone who deserves your respect, protection, and help.

Sorry to my female readers, I do not have any recommendations for you. But this is a topic that is worth discussing further with a mature spiritual mentor. For my male readers, feel free to message me by leaving a comment on this blog or by reaching out through social media.

Conclusion

My takeaway from these passages is that it is not enough to simply not murder or commit adultery. Jesus wants us to move beyond that and live a life in harmony with those around us (as far as possible). We should not hate another person and wish them evil. We should not kill, but also not attack with words, and not harbor anger in our hearts towards others.

But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. - Matthew 6:15 NKJV

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? - 1 John 4:20 NKJV

Ultimately Jesus wants to transform our hearts. He does not want followers who are always wishing in their hearts that they could sin, and who would sin if they could get away with it. Jesus wants us to actually, sincerely, and honestly desire to live new lives, to die to the old self, and to be born new and transformed, and to have a heart that desires what God desires for us.

6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. - Romans 6:6-7 NKJV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. - 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. - Galatians 2:20 NKJV

[bills-bible-basics]

JEWISH COUNCIL OF SEVENTY, OR SANHEDRIN -- KJV (King James Version) Bible Verse List Visit https://www.billkochman.com/VerseLists/ to see more. "And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off . . . Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel:" Exodus 24:1, 9, KJV "And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee . . . And Moses went out, and told the people the words of the LORD, and gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people, and set them round about the tabernacle. And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease." Numbers 11:16, 24-25, KJV "And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about. And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth." Ezekiel 8:9-12, KJV In the New Testament, we find the counterpart to these Seventy Elders in such verses as the following; however, they were definitely not the same God-fearing people who comprised the Sanhedrin under Moses' leadership. If they had been, they wouldn't have killed Jesus Christ: "But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." Matthew 5:22, KJV "Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;" Matthew 26:59, KJV "And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate." Mark 15:1, KJV "And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with him, and called the council together, and all the senate of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought." Acts 5:21, KJV "On the morrow, because he 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." Acts 22:30, KJV Please note that the word "council" is derived from the Greek form of the word "Sanhedrin", which is transliterated from Greek as "sunedrion". If you would like more info regarding the origin of these KJV Bible verse lists, go to https://www.billkochman.com/VerseLists/. Thank-you! https://www.billkochman.com/Blog/index.php/jewish-council-of-seventy-or-sanhedrin-kjv-king-james-version-bible-verse-list/?feed_id=167943&JEWISH%20COUNCIL%20OF%20SEVENTY%2C%20OR%20SANHEDRIN%20--%20KJV%20%28King%20James%20Version%29%20Bible%20Verse%20List

[tj-van-heerden]

"Christians" going to Hell.

Do not be deceived about this. The blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins cannot be taken lightly. We must repent of our sins when we become Christians, when the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all past sins (and God therefore forgives us our past sins and welcomes us into the Kingdom of God). We also receive the Holy Spirit when we become Christians to guide and enable us in our Christian walk. The Holy Spirit also should not be taken lightly. True Christians do not go to Hell when they die, but to Heaven. But we have to be serious about our salvation. We need to be true Christians and serve and obey God wholeheartedly, living according to what his Word and the Spirit says, and growing to maturity of the faith and the knowledge of God, in a delightful relationship with Him, and make sure that we don't become slack in our devotion and love for God. "Christians" who live in a half-hearted relationship with God, or sin often, can lose their salvation, and go to Hell when they die.

Someone needs to tell the truth about this. The good side is that a strong and devoted relationship with God is very rewarding, with all kinds of interesting activity, and He has great and wonderful things in store for his faithful and chosen ones, in this life and hereafter.

Matt 5:21, 22 [WEB] You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’ and ‘Whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be in danger of the judgment. Whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be in danger of the council. Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna [means: Hell].

Matt 5:29 [WEB] If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.

Matt 10:28 [WEB] Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.

Mark 9:43 [WEB] If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having your two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire, ‘where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched.’

Rev 2:4, 5 [WEB] But I have this against you, that you left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I am coming to you swiftly, and will move your lamp stand out of its place, unless you repent.

Rev 3:1-5 [WEB] …I know your works, that you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and keep the things that remain, which you were about to throw away, for I have found no works of yours perfected before my God. Remember therefore how you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If therefore you won’t watch, I will come as a thief, and you won’t know what hour I will come upon you. Nevertheless you have a few names in Sardis that didn’t defile their garments. They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will be arrayed in white garments, and I will in no way blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

Rev 3:15-19 [WEB] I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing;’ and don’t know that you are the wretched one, miserable, poor, blind, and naked; I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich; and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. As many as I love, I reprove and chasten. Be zealous therefore, and repent.