Elijah (E-Li' Jah =Yahweh is my God) is the most famous Gileadite, known as a fiercely Yahwish prophet in the tradition of Moses and a well-prepared supernatural teacher that, through God, had the power to make subtle changes in higher realms, which in turn produced physical results. God performed many supernatural miracles through him, including raising the dead, bringing fire from the sky, and taking the prophet up to heaven by a whirlwind.
The Elijah cycle is a collection of narratives which circulated and were well preserved within the supernatural prophetic community of which Elijah was a part, before being incorporated into the Deuterono-mystic history.
The final Book of the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament, the Book of Malachi prophesies Elijah's return "before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord."The Book looks back at Moses and looks forward to the return of the prophet Elijah. This Book originated in the first half of the 6th century BCE, when again dissension plagued the complacent even contemptuous priesthood; and marriage to foreigners was not uncommon.
Elijah came from Tishbeh in the land of Gilead, the dome like mountanious region East of the Jordan River that extended N and S of the torrent Valley of Jabbok, and where Yahwism had most likely preserved its separation from other cults. Looking at the fact that the Gilead clan gave its name to the entire region, one can assume that the Gileadites were the strongest family in terms of spiritual and physical power, within the Tribe of Manasseh.
During the period of the Judges, Gilead was not only the strongest Israelite group in Trans-Jordan but was, at times, the strongest Israelite contingent in all Canaan. The Gileadites were strong enough to defeat the power of the Ammonites. Due to the region's changing in spiritual power the exact boundaries of powerful Gilead are difficult to determine in the unseen world. Gilead proper spiritual power was centered in the mountanious Trans-Jordan hills and loosely associated with the mystical power of the Jabbok River. The mountanious territory was often a place of salvation or safety for the Faithful. It was to Gilead that Jacob fled from Laban, from where the Ishmaelites came and saved Joseph from the hands of his brothers, where some people hid from the power of the Philistines in the days of Saul, and where David won his victory over Absalom.
According to the Books of Kings, Elijah was a defendant of the worship of Yahweh over that of the Canaanite idol Baal. He was sent by God to announce chastisement upon Israel because of their gross low spiritual state. Elijah was appalled by the development of conflicting beliefs among the people because of the influence of King Ahab's wife Jezebel, a princess of Tyre, and a devotee of the Phoenician Baal.
The spiritual region from which Elijah came, was bounded in the North by Bashan; in the South by the tableland North of the torrent Valley of Arnon; and in the East by the territory of Ammon. However, at times "the land of Gilead," in a spiritual sense, is applied generally to the entire Israelite territory East of the Jordan, including the tableland North of the Arnon and Bashan. Yet this same area is, in other spiritual occasion, called simply "Gilead," where the spiritual city of refuge Ramoth was located.
From at least 213 meters (700 ft) below sea level at the Jordan Valley, Gilead rises to an elevation of over 1,006 meters (3,300 ft), giving us a picture of how the spiritual realms are interwoven. Blessed with abundant rainfall in winter and heavy dews in summer, as well as many springs, this fertile region anciently supported great forests in the physical realm, and was well known for its healing balsam. Its rolling plateaus were ideal for raising livestock, cultivating cereals, and vineyards.
With these background Elias is portrayed as an individual of remarkable strength and energy.
He started his long career as prophet in Israel during the reign of King Ahab and continue during the reign of Ahab's son Ahaziah. The last time he is mentioned as serving as a prophet, this time for Judah, is toward the end of the 8 year reign of King Jehoram of Judah.
Through Elijah God provided a pillar of strength for true worship in a time when Israel's spiritual and moral condition had fallen to an alarmingly low state. To make his wife, Jezebel feel at home, King Ahab erected a "Temple of Baal" in Samaria. The Canaanite fertility cult, ever a threat to Yahweh worship, now had a fanatical evangelist in Jezebel who imported a large number of Baal prophets from Phoenicia, supported them out of state funds, and begun an enthusiastic campaign to make the Phoenician Baal the only deity in Israel. Although Ahab "served Baal a little," his tolerant position allowed his wife freedom of religion, but such collaborative, and permissive character were incompatible with God's claim for exclusive allegiance, and led to the prophetic guilds' trenchant criticism of the court's "limping with two different opinions." This was the prelude to a general persecution in which altars of Yahweh were torn down, prophets were killed, and loyal adherents were driven underground.
It was against this background of struggle between Yahweh and Baalism that Elijah appeared suddenly in Ahab's court to announce, in the Name of God, that there would be a paralyzing drought. Thus Elijah threw out a potent challenge to Baal in the arena of his expertise, "Fertility." The crucial question behind all of this is, "Who has the power of life?" Although the worshippers of Baal believed their god was the possessor of that power, but the description of the situation proves that the very power attributed to Baal is controlled by Israel's God. As drought and famine devastated the country so that even the king was forced to scour the land for water and grass to keep the animals alive.
Elijah received a Divine Order to confront Ahab again. After an angry exchange, the King agreed to a trial of strength between Elijah and Jezebel's prophets of Baal. The description of the contest is one of the most dramatic biblical accounts. Meeting on Mount Carmel, Elijah accused the people of syncretistic behavior, trying to keep on foot on Israel's traditional path and the other in the worship of Baal. The clear object of the contest was to determine who was really Lord and controller of rain and fertility. Elijah was outnumbered 450 to 1, and "Rain" was Baal's specialty. Both parties agreed to call on their deity, to perform their rites, with the understanding that "the god who answers by fire is indeed God." As Elijah satirically taunts their efforts, the Baal prophets rant, rave, and slash themselves, but there was no response.
Then Elijah takes center stage, repairing an abandoned Yahweh altar and so reclaiming a cult site for Yahweh which had been under Phoenician control and used to stage Baal's ritual dances.
The prophet prepares his sacrifice and then commands the people to drench the altar with water, a priceless sacrifice during a drought. Elijah calls out to Yahweh, who responds by sending fire, the traditional symbol of God's active historical presence, to consume the offering. Convinced by the spectacle, the people exclaimed, "Yahweh indeed is God," and the Baal prophets were condemned to death. The real climax of the narrative is the end of the drought. The descent of rain was proof that God, not Baal, controlled the productivity of the land and merited the people's total allegiance, but not for long.
Elijah was depicted as an elusive wanderer, appearing and disappearing at a moment's notice, so at the end it was told that he vanished, carried heavenward by fiery horses and a chariot. The watching Elisha was left empowered. He was given the legacy of firstborn son, a "double portion" of Elijah's spirit as well as the prophet's mantle which Elisha also uses to part the Jordan and so re-entered the historical sphere where the waiting prophets recognized him as their new leader.
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Saturday, June 25, 2016
TIMOTHY AND THE REAL VALUE OF THE SCRIPTURES.
Timothy, (Tim' o-thy = One who honors God) son of a Jewess Eunice, and a Greek father, not named in the Scriptures. Paul chose Timothy as his closer coworker and emissary in his journeys, and, in order to avoid giving to the fanatical Jews an occasion for stumbling, Timothy had to be circumcised.
While very young, Timothy was taught the "Holy Scriptures" by his mother and grandmother Lois.
The first recorded encounter between the two occurs when Paul enters in the Lycaonian Town of Lystra (Acts 16) during his second missionary journey. Timothy was well reported on by the brothers in Lystra and Iconium, to Paul.
As a result of the Divine Operation of God's Spirit, certain Prophecies or Predictions were voiced concerning Timothy. After the Holy Spirit had in this way indicated the future of Timothy, the older men of the congregation joined the apostle Paul in laying their hands upon Timothy, thereby setting him apart for a particular service in connection with God's Plan to the Christian congregation.
Timothy 3 .. "Indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while Evil Men and Impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from Whom you learned it and How from childhood you have been acquainted with the Sacred Writings which are Able to Instruct you for Salvation through Faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching in Righteousness, that the Man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."
Timothy 4 ... "I charge you (Timothy) in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to Judge the Living and the Dead, and by His Appearing and His Kingdom: 'Preach the Word, Be urgent in season and out of season, Convince, Rebuke, and Exhort, Be unfailing in Patience and in Teaching. "
"For the Time is coming when people will not Endure Sound Teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves Teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the Truth and wander ...' "
In the First Letter, Paul urges Timothy to remain in Ephesus to deal with these False Teachers and to establish proper patterns of worship and of community order.
While at Ephesus, Paul, in his First Letter to the Corinthians wrote: "I am sending Timothy to you, as he is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord; and he will put you in mind of my methods in connection with Christ Jesus, just as I am teaching everywhere in every congregation."
In the Second Letter, written during Paul's imprisonment, is primarily a Letter of exhortation and encouragement, in a style of a final statement. Paul warns Timothy again to avoid becoming entangled in controversies, but to continue to be bold in opposing false teaching. In contrast to the First Letter, Timothy is here urged not to remain in Ephesus, but to return to Paul as soon as possible.
Paul's language in describing Timothy emphasizes the special relationship of Trust which developed between the two over the course of their association. Timothy was fully capable of handling these weighty responsibilities, having proving himself by laboring eleven years or more in close association with Paul. Regarding him Paul said, "I have no one else of a disposition like his who will genuinely care for the things pertaining to ... You know the proof he gave of himself, that like a child with a father he slaved with me in furtherance of the Good news." (Phil.2). And to Timothy he wrote: "I never leave off remembering you, ... as I remember your tears ... For I recollect the Faith which is in you without any hypocrisy." (2 Tim. 1).
Although having to contend with frequent illness because of stomach trouble, Timothy willingly expended himself in behalf of others. His fine qualities endeared him to the apostle Paul, who very much desired Timothy's association when facing imminent Death. Being relatively young, he was not a proud man and appreciated his limitations.
While very young, Timothy was taught the "Holy Scriptures" by his mother and grandmother Lois.
The first recorded encounter between the two occurs when Paul enters in the Lycaonian Town of Lystra (Acts 16) during his second missionary journey. Timothy was well reported on by the brothers in Lystra and Iconium, to Paul.
As a result of the Divine Operation of God's Spirit, certain Prophecies or Predictions were voiced concerning Timothy. After the Holy Spirit had in this way indicated the future of Timothy, the older men of the congregation joined the apostle Paul in laying their hands upon Timothy, thereby setting him apart for a particular service in connection with God's Plan to the Christian congregation.
Timothy 3 .. "Indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while Evil Men and Impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from Whom you learned it and How from childhood you have been acquainted with the Sacred Writings which are Able to Instruct you for Salvation through Faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching in Righteousness, that the Man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."
Timothy 4 ... "I charge you (Timothy) in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to Judge the Living and the Dead, and by His Appearing and His Kingdom: 'Preach the Word, Be urgent in season and out of season, Convince, Rebuke, and Exhort, Be unfailing in Patience and in Teaching. "
"For the Time is coming when people will not Endure Sound Teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves Teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the Truth and wander ...' "
In the First Letter, Paul urges Timothy to remain in Ephesus to deal with these False Teachers and to establish proper patterns of worship and of community order.
While at Ephesus, Paul, in his First Letter to the Corinthians wrote: "I am sending Timothy to you, as he is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord; and he will put you in mind of my methods in connection with Christ Jesus, just as I am teaching everywhere in every congregation."
In the Second Letter, written during Paul's imprisonment, is primarily a Letter of exhortation and encouragement, in a style of a final statement. Paul warns Timothy again to avoid becoming entangled in controversies, but to continue to be bold in opposing false teaching. In contrast to the First Letter, Timothy is here urged not to remain in Ephesus, but to return to Paul as soon as possible.
Paul's language in describing Timothy emphasizes the special relationship of Trust which developed between the two over the course of their association. Timothy was fully capable of handling these weighty responsibilities, having proving himself by laboring eleven years or more in close association with Paul. Regarding him Paul said, "I have no one else of a disposition like his who will genuinely care for the things pertaining to ... You know the proof he gave of himself, that like a child with a father he slaved with me in furtherance of the Good news." (Phil.2). And to Timothy he wrote: "I never leave off remembering you, ... as I remember your tears ... For I recollect the Faith which is in you without any hypocrisy." (2 Tim. 1).
Although having to contend with frequent illness because of stomach trouble, Timothy willingly expended himself in behalf of others. His fine qualities endeared him to the apostle Paul, who very much desired Timothy's association when facing imminent Death. Being relatively young, he was not a proud man and appreciated his limitations.
Friday, June 24, 2016
UNDERSTANDING THE SOUL EATERS.
A soul eater is able to consume an individual's spirit. The trait can be inherited from one's parents, or can be acquired from an existing practitioner. The soul eater can be human or can take the form of a dog or other animal in pursuit of his or her practice. This belief connects with the beliefs in werewolves, were-cats, selkies, and other were-creatures and human/animal beings found in World Folklore.
In the Book of Genesis, we find the first powerful predator, the Serpent, devouring the soul of the first woman, Eve, making her his slave in the flesh, and through her, all the human race, since she was made from Adam's flesh. Through the flesh, corruption enter Man's spiritual body, making all the human race subjects to the Devil. He, as a predator, gain control of our system of beliefs, our ideas of good and evil, setting up our hopes and expectations only through the flesh. Covetousness, greed, and cowardice, were the main ingredients that the predator implanted in us, making us feel complacent, routinary, and egomaniacal. As his prisoners, he declared himself, our lord and master.
In the Book of Numbers, Korah, the eldest son of Izhar, a descendant of Levi, of the Kohath division of Levitical Priests, is portrayed as a paradigm of rebellion (predators) against Moses and the Aaronic priesthood, during the spiritual journey in the wilderness. They appeared before Moses and Aaron to affirm that the entire congregation, not just the Aaronic Priest, is Holy. The Korahites were Gatekeepers of the Tent of Meeting. They were also a leading guild of Temple Singers. Thus, their objection is not only against the Division between Levitical groups and Aaronic Priesthood, but also against any Division with regard to "Holiness" between the Congregation and the Priesthood. It represented the First Spiritual Conflict between two groups, one being overpowered by the forces of the Flesh (soul eaters), and the other being established by Divine Power in order to maintain Righteousness at its fullest in which the Glory of God was able to manifest fully and exercise legal Dominion over the Souls of his followers. God responded to the rebellion by causing the ground to open up and swallow Korah, Dathan, and Abiram and their families, and then sending Fire to consume the remaining 250 associates.
In the aftermath God commands that the burned bronze censers of the rebellion, that represented their spiritual divine holiness as members of the priest class, be fashioned into a covering for the spiritual altar as a warning to all future challenges to the Aaronic hegemony.
The Prophet Amos, described as a spiritual herdsman and a tender of sycamore fig trees, engaged self-consciously in the activity of prophesying by divine compulsion, but did not adopt the vocation of being a professional prophet. His message portrayed contemporary religious institutions as corrupt, and able to succumb to the spiritual powers of Egypt and Assyria (soul eaters). The capital city of Samaria have yielded physical evidence of urban population growth and the development of an economic elite possessing large houses furnished with imported luxury items. The accelerated redistribution of Land, economic resources, and fleshy social authority from a kinship-and land-based society to the centralized bureaucracy of an expanding state created in an accelerated way much of the social upheaval that provided the spiritual setting for Amos' message.
Amos 1:1 dated his prophecy to "2 years before the earthquake." His message employs the physical impact of an earthquake imagery to describe God's impending Judgment to the soul eaters that were corrupting the Truth about God's Plan of Salvation. The meaning of an earthquake was severe enough, as it was in the case of Korah, to make the earth swallow their predators that gain an entrance to the Priestly class.
Amos also uses the image of a Solar Eclipse to describe Divine Judgment, and two of them can be dated within Amos' lifetime. The message owes its preservation to the perception that a connection between cosmic disturbances of heaven (predators' chaos) and earth (soul eaters) and the social turmoil of the spiritual Children of Israel, all of them are interrelated.
The angry roar of an enraged God from His Universal Throne in Jerusalem signals distress and destruction encompassing the entire created order, and demonstrate the Cosmic Dimension of the Moral and Social defenses of Spiritual Israel.
Israel's crimes in the flesh are spelled out in a list of 7 offenses that are violations of its Covenant. Israel's Salvation history does not exempt them from judgment, but instead intensifies their punishment because of their unique relationship and responsibility to God.
Amos' denunciation of fleshy Israel is based upon the irony of increasing social and economic exploitation, on the one hand, and a heightened degree of religious activity, on the other. Israel's prosperity is described in references to "Winter Houses," "Summer Houses," "Houses of Ivory," "Great Houses,"and "Houses of Hewn Stones," where the wealthy live in leisure and indulgence at the expense of the disenfranchised poor. Their myriad religious practices are declared to be abhorrent to God because they serve to insulate the wealthy from the plight of the poor and to mitigate the demands of conscience. Their religious observances actually increased their transgression. Their love to bring sacrifices, tithes, and freewill offerings, did not demonstrate that they had returned spiritually to God.
The final section of the Book softens the oracles of doom in the preceding sections by limiting the extent of Israel's fleshy destruction. It states that God will not utterly destroy "the House of Jacob."
Amos uses the metaphor of a sieve, by which the soul eaters of Israel are sifted out through Judgment while a remnant remains. It promises a Time of Restoration and Salvation for the people that truly belongs to spiritual Israel at some undetermined future date.
In the Book of Genesis, we find the first powerful predator, the Serpent, devouring the soul of the first woman, Eve, making her his slave in the flesh, and through her, all the human race, since she was made from Adam's flesh. Through the flesh, corruption enter Man's spiritual body, making all the human race subjects to the Devil. He, as a predator, gain control of our system of beliefs, our ideas of good and evil, setting up our hopes and expectations only through the flesh. Covetousness, greed, and cowardice, were the main ingredients that the predator implanted in us, making us feel complacent, routinary, and egomaniacal. As his prisoners, he declared himself, our lord and master.
In the Book of Numbers, Korah, the eldest son of Izhar, a descendant of Levi, of the Kohath division of Levitical Priests, is portrayed as a paradigm of rebellion (predators) against Moses and the Aaronic priesthood, during the spiritual journey in the wilderness. They appeared before Moses and Aaron to affirm that the entire congregation, not just the Aaronic Priest, is Holy. The Korahites were Gatekeepers of the Tent of Meeting. They were also a leading guild of Temple Singers. Thus, their objection is not only against the Division between Levitical groups and Aaronic Priesthood, but also against any Division with regard to "Holiness" between the Congregation and the Priesthood. It represented the First Spiritual Conflict between two groups, one being overpowered by the forces of the Flesh (soul eaters), and the other being established by Divine Power in order to maintain Righteousness at its fullest in which the Glory of God was able to manifest fully and exercise legal Dominion over the Souls of his followers. God responded to the rebellion by causing the ground to open up and swallow Korah, Dathan, and Abiram and their families, and then sending Fire to consume the remaining 250 associates.
In the aftermath God commands that the burned bronze censers of the rebellion, that represented their spiritual divine holiness as members of the priest class, be fashioned into a covering for the spiritual altar as a warning to all future challenges to the Aaronic hegemony.
The Prophet Amos, described as a spiritual herdsman and a tender of sycamore fig trees, engaged self-consciously in the activity of prophesying by divine compulsion, but did not adopt the vocation of being a professional prophet. His message portrayed contemporary religious institutions as corrupt, and able to succumb to the spiritual powers of Egypt and Assyria (soul eaters). The capital city of Samaria have yielded physical evidence of urban population growth and the development of an economic elite possessing large houses furnished with imported luxury items. The accelerated redistribution of Land, economic resources, and fleshy social authority from a kinship-and land-based society to the centralized bureaucracy of an expanding state created in an accelerated way much of the social upheaval that provided the spiritual setting for Amos' message.
Amos 1:1 dated his prophecy to "2 years before the earthquake." His message employs the physical impact of an earthquake imagery to describe God's impending Judgment to the soul eaters that were corrupting the Truth about God's Plan of Salvation. The meaning of an earthquake was severe enough, as it was in the case of Korah, to make the earth swallow their predators that gain an entrance to the Priestly class.
Amos also uses the image of a Solar Eclipse to describe Divine Judgment, and two of them can be dated within Amos' lifetime. The message owes its preservation to the perception that a connection between cosmic disturbances of heaven (predators' chaos) and earth (soul eaters) and the social turmoil of the spiritual Children of Israel, all of them are interrelated.
The angry roar of an enraged God from His Universal Throne in Jerusalem signals distress and destruction encompassing the entire created order, and demonstrate the Cosmic Dimension of the Moral and Social defenses of Spiritual Israel.
Israel's crimes in the flesh are spelled out in a list of 7 offenses that are violations of its Covenant. Israel's Salvation history does not exempt them from judgment, but instead intensifies their punishment because of their unique relationship and responsibility to God.
Amos' denunciation of fleshy Israel is based upon the irony of increasing social and economic exploitation, on the one hand, and a heightened degree of religious activity, on the other. Israel's prosperity is described in references to "Winter Houses," "Summer Houses," "Houses of Ivory," "Great Houses,"and "Houses of Hewn Stones," where the wealthy live in leisure and indulgence at the expense of the disenfranchised poor. Their myriad religious practices are declared to be abhorrent to God because they serve to insulate the wealthy from the plight of the poor and to mitigate the demands of conscience. Their religious observances actually increased their transgression. Their love to bring sacrifices, tithes, and freewill offerings, did not demonstrate that they had returned spiritually to God.
The final section of the Book softens the oracles of doom in the preceding sections by limiting the extent of Israel's fleshy destruction. It states that God will not utterly destroy "the House of Jacob."
Amos uses the metaphor of a sieve, by which the soul eaters of Israel are sifted out through Judgment while a remnant remains. It promises a Time of Restoration and Salvation for the people that truly belongs to spiritual Israel at some undetermined future date.
Monday, June 13, 2016
BAAL AND HIS ANCIENT WORSHIP. Page 2
Baal, as the storm and fertility god, has been an epithet for various deities, especially Hadad, meaning "lord," designating a spiritual legal state of ownership or social superiority.
Baal was known as the most powerful god of the Canaanite pantheon, though his progenitor "El" is its head. Its cult played a major role in the spiritual daily and ritual lives of societal members, given the paramount need for rain as a symbolic way of world power and its continuous impact upon the population.
The force inherent in a thunderstorm lends itself its association with warring prowess. Baal was known as a warrior par excellence in Ugaritic literature. His defeat of the forces of chaos, represented by the god Yamm (Sea), saved order in the divine realms. The king of a spiritual society which revered him was to imitate Baal in this aspect, to protect mundane society from the forces of chaos, imitating their respective warrior gods who protected them.
In the Scriptures, Baal continue to be mentioned with reference to:
3) -Owners of the nations. Isaiah 15 and 16: An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar is laid waste in a night Moab is undone. .. Heshbon and El-e-a'leh cry out, their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles. ... For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the Lords of the Nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea. Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and El-e-a'leh; for upon your fruit and your harvest the battle shout has fallen.
4) -Confederates. Genesis 14: In the Days of Am'Raphel, king of Shinar, Ar' Ioch king of Ella' Sar, Ched-Or-Lao' Mer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goi' Im, these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomor' Rah, Shinab king of Admah, Shem' Eber king of Zeboi' Im, and the king of Bela (that is, Zo' Ar). And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). Twelve years they had served Ched-Or-Lao' Mer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. In the fourteenth year Ched-Or-Lao' Mer and the kings who were with him came and subdued the Reph' Aim in Ash' Teroth-Karna' Im, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Sha' Veh-Kiriatha' Im, and the Horites in their Mount Se' Ir as far as El-Paran on the border of the Wilderness; then they turned back and came to Enmish' Pat (that is, Kadesh), and subdued all the country of the Amal' Ekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Haz' Azon-Ta' Mar. Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomor' Rah, the king of Admah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboi' Im, and the king of Bela (that is, Zo' Ar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim with Ched-Or-Lao' Mer king of Elam and his allies, four kings against five. Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits; and as the kings of Sodom and Gomor' Rah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the mountain. So the enemy took All the gods of Sodom and Gomor' Rah, and all their provisions, and went their way; they also took Lot, the son of Abram's brother, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. ...
5) Owners or possessors of tangibles. Exodus 21:28: When an Ox gores a man or a woman to death, the Ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the Owner of the Ox shall be clear. But if the Ox has been accustomed to gore In the Past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the Ox shall be stoned, and its Owner also shall be put to death. Exodus 22:9: For every breach of Trust; whether it is for Ox, for Ass, for Sheep, for Clothing, or for any kind of lost thing, of which one says, "This is it, the case of both parties shall come before God; he whom God shall condemn shall pay double to his neighbor."
6) Persons or things having something that is characteristic of their nature, manner, occupation and the like; for example:
- an archer, literally, "owner of arrows," Genesis 49:22-23: Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall. The archers fiercely attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him sorely; yet his bow remained unmoved, his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel), by God Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that couches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
- a creditor (an owner of a debt), Deuteronomy 15: At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release. And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, because the Lord's release has been proclaimed. Of a foreigner you may exact it; but whatever of yours is with your brother your hand shall release. But there will be no poor among you (for the Lord will bless you in the Land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance to posses), if only you Will Obey the Voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do All This Commandment which I command you This Day. For the Lord your God will bless you, as He Promised you, and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; and you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you. Deuteronomy 28: The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways. The Lord will command the Blessing upon you in your barns, and in all that you undertake; and he will Bless you in the Land which the Lord your God gives you. The Lord will establish you as a people Holy to Himself, as He has sworn to you, if you Keep the Commandments of the Lord your God, and Walk in His Ways. And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the Name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of you. And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your ground, within the Land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open to you His Good Treasure the Heavens, to give the Rain of your land in its Season and to Bless All the Work of your hands; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
- owner of anger, Proverbs 22:24: Make no friendship with a man given to the spirit of anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare. 22:5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; he who guards himself will keep far from them.
- owner of judgment, Isaiah 50: Thus says the Lord: "Where is your mother's bill of divorce, with which I put her away? Or which of My Creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities you were sold, and for your transgressions your mother was put away. ... The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, ... and I know that I shall not be put to shame; He who vindicates me is near. Isaiah 54:9 "For this is like the days of Noah to Me: as I swore that the Waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you and will not rebuke you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast Love shall not depart from you, and My Covenant of Peace shall not be removed."
In Israel's history God was referred to as 'The Lord' in the sense of being the Lord and Husband of the Nation. Isaiah 54: For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth He is called.
Baal was known as the most powerful god of the Canaanite pantheon, though his progenitor "El" is its head. Its cult played a major role in the spiritual daily and ritual lives of societal members, given the paramount need for rain as a symbolic way of world power and its continuous impact upon the population.
The force inherent in a thunderstorm lends itself its association with warring prowess. Baal was known as a warrior par excellence in Ugaritic literature. His defeat of the forces of chaos, represented by the god Yamm (Sea), saved order in the divine realms. The king of a spiritual society which revered him was to imitate Baal in this aspect, to protect mundane society from the forces of chaos, imitating their respective warrior gods who protected them.
In the Scriptures, Baal continue to be mentioned with reference to:
3) -Owners of the nations. Isaiah 15 and 16: An oracle concerning Moab. Because Ar is laid waste in a night Moab is undone. .. Heshbon and El-e-a'leh cry out, their voice is heard as far as Jahaz; therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud; his soul trembles. ... For the fields of Heshbon languish, and the vine of Sibmah; the Lords of the Nations have struck down its branches, which reached to Jazer and strayed to the desert; its shoots spread abroad and passed over the sea. Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer for the vine of Sibmah; I drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and El-e-a'leh; for upon your fruit and your harvest the battle shout has fallen.
4) -Confederates. Genesis 14: In the Days of Am'Raphel, king of Shinar, Ar' Ioch king of Ella' Sar, Ched-Or-Lao' Mer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goi' Im, these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of Gomor' Rah, Shinab king of Admah, Shem' Eber king of Zeboi' Im, and the king of Bela (that is, Zo' Ar). And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea). Twelve years they had served Ched-Or-Lao' Mer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. In the fourteenth year Ched-Or-Lao' Mer and the kings who were with him came and subdued the Reph' Aim in Ash' Teroth-Karna' Im, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Sha' Veh-Kiriatha' Im, and the Horites in their Mount Se' Ir as far as El-Paran on the border of the Wilderness; then they turned back and came to Enmish' Pat (that is, Kadesh), and subdued all the country of the Amal' Ekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Haz' Azon-Ta' Mar. Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomor' Rah, the king of Admah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboi' Im, and the king of Bela (that is, Zo' Ar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim with Ched-Or-Lao' Mer king of Elam and his allies, four kings against five. Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits; and as the kings of Sodom and Gomor' Rah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the mountain. So the enemy took All the gods of Sodom and Gomor' Rah, and all their provisions, and went their way; they also took Lot, the son of Abram's brother, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. ...
5) Owners or possessors of tangibles. Exodus 21:28: When an Ox gores a man or a woman to death, the Ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the Owner of the Ox shall be clear. But if the Ox has been accustomed to gore In the Past, and its owner has been warned but has not kept it in, and it kills a man or a woman, the Ox shall be stoned, and its Owner also shall be put to death. Exodus 22:9: For every breach of Trust; whether it is for Ox, for Ass, for Sheep, for Clothing, or for any kind of lost thing, of which one says, "This is it, the case of both parties shall come before God; he whom God shall condemn shall pay double to his neighbor."
6) Persons or things having something that is characteristic of their nature, manner, occupation and the like; for example:
- an archer, literally, "owner of arrows," Genesis 49:22-23: Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a spring; his branches run over the wall. The archers fiercely attacked him, shot at him, and harassed him sorely; yet his bow remained unmoved, his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (by the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel), by God Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that couches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
- a creditor (an owner of a debt), Deuteronomy 15: At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release. And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, because the Lord's release has been proclaimed. Of a foreigner you may exact it; but whatever of yours is with your brother your hand shall release. But there will be no poor among you (for the Lord will bless you in the Land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance to posses), if only you Will Obey the Voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do All This Commandment which I command you This Day. For the Lord your God will bless you, as He Promised you, and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; and you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you. Deuteronomy 28: The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you; they shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways. The Lord will command the Blessing upon you in your barns, and in all that you undertake; and he will Bless you in the Land which the Lord your God gives you. The Lord will establish you as a people Holy to Himself, as He has sworn to you, if you Keep the Commandments of the Lord your God, and Walk in His Ways. And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the Name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of you. And the Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your ground, within the Land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open to you His Good Treasure the Heavens, to give the Rain of your land in its Season and to Bless All the Work of your hands; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
- owner of anger, Proverbs 22:24: Make no friendship with a man given to the spirit of anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare. 22:5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; he who guards himself will keep far from them.
- owner of judgment, Isaiah 50: Thus says the Lord: "Where is your mother's bill of divorce, with which I put her away? Or which of My Creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities you were sold, and for your transgressions your mother was put away. ... The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, ... and I know that I shall not be put to shame; He who vindicates me is near. Isaiah 54:9 "For this is like the days of Noah to Me: as I swore that the Waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you and will not rebuke you. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast Love shall not depart from you, and My Covenant of Peace shall not be removed."
In Israel's history God was referred to as 'The Lord' in the sense of being the Lord and Husband of the Nation. Isaiah 54: For your Maker is your husband, the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth He is called.
Sunday, June 12, 2016
BA'AL AND HIS ANCIENT WORSHIP. Page 1
Excavation at Ugarit (Ras Shamra) on the Syrian coast opposite the North Eastern tip of the island of Cyprus, brought to light many religious artifacts and hundreds of clay tablets, now known as the Ras Shamra texts, thought to be the liturgies of or the words spoken by those participating in the rituals.
In the texts, Baal, also called Aliyan, meaning "the one who prevails," is referred to as "Prince"(Zabul),
"Lord of the Earth,"and the "Rider of the Clouds." This harmonizes with its symbolic representation as holding a club in his right hand and a stylized lightning flash with a spearhead in his left. He is also depicted as wearing a helmet with horns, suggesting an intimate connection with the bull, a symbol of fertility.
The changes of the seasons and the resulting effects were thought to come in cycles because of the never-ending conflicts between the gods. The cessation of the rains and the dying of vegetation were attributed to the triumph of the god Mot (death and aridity) over Baal (rain and fertility), compelling Baal to withdraw into the depths of the earth.
The beginning of the rainy season indicated that Baal had awakened to life. It was made possible by the triumph of Baal's sister Anath over Mot, allowing her brother Baal to return to his throne. The mating of Baal with his wife, Ashtoreth, ensured fertility for the coming year.
The farming and cattle-raising was thought that their engaging in a prescribed ritual, supernatural forces would help to stimulate their gods to action according to the pattern enacted at their religious festivals and was necessary to ensure productive crops and herds in the coming year and to avert droughts, locust plagues, and so forth. Baal's coming to life again and to be enthroned and mated with his consort, then, was celebrated with licentious fertility rites, marked by sexual orgies of unrestrained debauchery.
In the Scriptures, the Hebrew word Ba'al is employed with reference to:
1) A husband as owner of his wife. -Genesis 19 and 20: ... The Lord rained on Sodom and Gomor'Rah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; and He overthrew those cities, and all the Valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But Lot's wife behind him looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. (Luke 17: .. on the day when Lot went out from Sodom fire and sulphur rained from heaven and destroyed them all ..) ... From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." And Abim'elech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abim'elech in a dream by night, and said to him, "Behold, you are a dead man, because of the woman whom you have taken; for she is a man's wife." Now Abim'elech had not approached her; so he said, "Lord, will You slay an innocent people? Did he not himself say to me, 'She is my sister? And she herself said, 'He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this." Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart,and it was I who kept you from sinning against me; therefore I did not let you touch her. Now then restore the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you, and all that are yours."
2) Landowners. -Joshua 24: Joshua gathered all the Tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, "Your fathers lived of old beyond the Eu-phra'tes, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac; and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave Esau the hill country of Se'ir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it; and afterwards I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. And when they cried to the Lord, he put Darkness between you and the Egyptians, and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did to Egypt; and you lived in the wilderness a long time. (Luke 17 .. Abraham said, 'Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Laz'arus in like manner evil things; but now Laz'arus is comforted here, and you (rich man) are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there [Hades] to us [Abraham's bosom]).' 'Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other of the Jordan; they fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and you took possession of their land, and destroyed them before you. Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel; and he sent and invited Balaam; therefore he blessed you; so I delivered you out of his hand. And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the men of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Per'izzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Gir'gashites, the Hivites, and the Jeb'usites; and I gave them into your hand. And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your sword or by your sword or by your bow. I gave you a Land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you dwell therein; you eat the fruit of the vineyards and olive-yards which you did not plant.' 'Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in Sincerity and in Faithfulness; put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if you be unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose Land you dwell; but as for me (Joshua) and my house, we will serve the Lord.'
In the texts, Baal, also called Aliyan, meaning "the one who prevails," is referred to as "Prince"(Zabul),
"Lord of the Earth,"and the "Rider of the Clouds." This harmonizes with its symbolic representation as holding a club in his right hand and a stylized lightning flash with a spearhead in his left. He is also depicted as wearing a helmet with horns, suggesting an intimate connection with the bull, a symbol of fertility.
The changes of the seasons and the resulting effects were thought to come in cycles because of the never-ending conflicts between the gods. The cessation of the rains and the dying of vegetation were attributed to the triumph of the god Mot (death and aridity) over Baal (rain and fertility), compelling Baal to withdraw into the depths of the earth.
The beginning of the rainy season indicated that Baal had awakened to life. It was made possible by the triumph of Baal's sister Anath over Mot, allowing her brother Baal to return to his throne. The mating of Baal with his wife, Ashtoreth, ensured fertility for the coming year.
The farming and cattle-raising was thought that their engaging in a prescribed ritual, supernatural forces would help to stimulate their gods to action according to the pattern enacted at their religious festivals and was necessary to ensure productive crops and herds in the coming year and to avert droughts, locust plagues, and so forth. Baal's coming to life again and to be enthroned and mated with his consort, then, was celebrated with licentious fertility rites, marked by sexual orgies of unrestrained debauchery.
In the Scriptures, the Hebrew word Ba'al is employed with reference to:
1) A husband as owner of his wife. -Genesis 19 and 20: ... The Lord rained on Sodom and Gomor'Rah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven; and He overthrew those cities, and all the Valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. But Lot's wife behind him looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. (Luke 17: .. on the day when Lot went out from Sodom fire and sulphur rained from heaven and destroyed them all ..) ... From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, "She is my sister." And Abim'elech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abim'elech in a dream by night, and said to him, "Behold, you are a dead man, because of the woman whom you have taken; for she is a man's wife." Now Abim'elech had not approached her; so he said, "Lord, will You slay an innocent people? Did he not himself say to me, 'She is my sister? And she herself said, 'He is my brother.' In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this." Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart,and it was I who kept you from sinning against me; therefore I did not let you touch her. Now then restore the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you, and all that are yours."
2) Landowners. -Joshua 24: Joshua gathered all the Tribes of Israel to Shechem, and summoned the elders, the heads, the judges, and the officers of Israel; and they presented themselves before God. And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, "Your fathers lived of old beyond the Eu-phra'tes, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. I gave him Isaac; and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. And I gave Esau the hill country of Se'ir to possess, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. And I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt with what I did in the midst of it; and afterwards I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. And when they cried to the Lord, he put Darkness between you and the Egyptians, and made the sea come upon them and cover them; and your eyes saw what I did to Egypt; and you lived in the wilderness a long time. (Luke 17 .. Abraham said, 'Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Laz'arus in like manner evil things; but now Laz'arus is comforted here, and you (rich man) are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there [Hades] to us [Abraham's bosom]).' 'Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the other of the Jordan; they fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and you took possession of their land, and destroyed them before you. Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel; and he sent and invited Balaam; therefore he blessed you; so I delivered you out of his hand. And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the men of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Per'izzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Gir'gashites, the Hivites, and the Jeb'usites; and I gave them into your hand. And I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out before you, the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your sword or by your sword or by your bow. I gave you a Land on which you had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you dwell therein; you eat the fruit of the vineyards and olive-yards which you did not plant.' 'Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in Sincerity and in Faithfulness; put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if you be unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose Land you dwell; but as for me (Joshua) and my house, we will serve the Lord.'
Friday, June 10, 2016
INVISIBLE AND WICKED SPIRITS.
A person can be captive, controlled, influenced, and mistreated by these invisible bullies, wicked spirits.
Men, women, and children were their victims. Sometimes the agony is compounded when many demons gain possession of a person at the same time. When the demon is expelled, the person returns to a normal, sane state of mind.
In Bible times demonized persons were afflicted in various ways by these spirits. Some were dumb, some blind, some acted like lunatics, and some possessed superhuman strength.
There is a difference between demon possession and ordinary physical sickness and disease, for Jesus cured both types of disorders.
In Mark 2, the Scripture describes both situations: (32-34)"That Evening, at Sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered together about the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him."
The Gospel of Mark makes an explanation at the beginning of it of what it is written in Isaiah the prophet, saying, "Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare The Way; the Voice of one crying in the Wilderness: 'Prepare The Way of the Lord, make His Paths straight."
Then the Scripture mentions that "God's Spirit immediately drove Him out into the Wilderness (He was baptized and the heavens opened and the Spirit descended upon Him), and He was in the Wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him."
After John the Baptist's arrest, He came into Galilee, preaching with authority the Gospel of God, and saying, "The Time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the Gospel." Then when He was passing along the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen in their souls. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men. They left their nets and followed Him. Going a little farther, He saw James the son of Zeb'edee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately He called them. They left their father's boat with his father in the boat and the hired servants, and followed Him. Then they went into Caper' Na-Um; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the Synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at His Teaching, for He Taught them as One Who Has Authority, and not as the scribes.
And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, "What have You to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know Who You Are, the Holy One of God." But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him." And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.
Immediately He left the synagogue, and entered the House of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever, and immediately they told Him of her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the Fever Left Her; and she served them.
In the morning, a great while before day, He rose and went out to a Lonely Place, and there He prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued Him, and they found Him and said to Him, "Every one is searching for You." He said to them, "Let us go on the Next Towns, that I may Preach There also; for that is Why I Came Out. " And He went throughout all Galilee, Preaching in their Synagogues and Casting Out Demons.
Then, as a teaching about what happens in the spiritual realm when we disobey the Word of the Lord, a leper came to him beseeching Him, and kneeling said to Him, "If You will, You can make me clean." Moved with Pity, He stretched out His Hand and Touched him, and said to him, "I will," "Be clean."
And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.
Since God's spiritual children share in flesh and blood, Jesus himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through Death He might destroy him who has the power of Death, that is, the Devil, and deliver all those who through Fear of Death were subject to lifelong bondage. Jesus is concerned with the descendants of Abraham, the Father of Faith, therefore He had to be like His brethren in every respect, so that He might become a Merciful and Faithful High Priest in the Service of God, to make expiation for the sins of the people. For because He himself has suffered and been tempted, He is able to help those who are tempted. (Hebrew 2).
Jesus' greatest miracles were in the setting of possessed persons being freed from captivity to the demons. They were powerless against Him. But not everyone felt His demon-expelling work as a freedom since they wanted to be bound by it. That is the case of the Pharisees. They accused Him of being in league with he ruler of the demons, Bel-Zebub, whereas in reality, Jesus pointed out they themselves were the offspring of the Devil. (Matt. 9; 12; Mark 3; Luke 11; John 7; 8).
Jesus knew from where His Mastery of the demons originated, and He openly confessed that it was by God's Power and Holy Spirit. (Matt. 12; Luke 8; 11).
Jesus also gave authority over the demons to His Twelve apostles, and later to the Seventy that He sent out, so that in the name of Jesus they too were able to cure the demon-possessed. (Matt. 10; Mark 3; Luke 9). After the death of Jesus, the apostles continued to have this power. Paul dispossessed a demon of divination from a slave girl much to the anger of her money-loving owners. (Acts 16). But when certain impostors, the Seven Sons of priest Sceba, attempted to do this in the name of "Jesus whom Paul preaches," the demon-possessed man seized and severely mauled and stripped the Seven of them naked. (Acts 19).
"Be watchful," then, and "put on the complete suit of armor from God that you may be able to stand firm against the machinations of the Devil" and his demons. (1 Peter 5; Eph. 6).
Men, women, and children were their victims. Sometimes the agony is compounded when many demons gain possession of a person at the same time. When the demon is expelled, the person returns to a normal, sane state of mind.
In Bible times demonized persons were afflicted in various ways by these spirits. Some were dumb, some blind, some acted like lunatics, and some possessed superhuman strength.
There is a difference between demon possession and ordinary physical sickness and disease, for Jesus cured both types of disorders.
In Mark 2, the Scripture describes both situations: (32-34)"That Evening, at Sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was gathered together about the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him."
The Gospel of Mark makes an explanation at the beginning of it of what it is written in Isaiah the prophet, saying, "Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare The Way; the Voice of one crying in the Wilderness: 'Prepare The Way of the Lord, make His Paths straight."
Then the Scripture mentions that "God's Spirit immediately drove Him out into the Wilderness (He was baptized and the heavens opened and the Spirit descended upon Him), and He was in the Wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and He was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him."
After John the Baptist's arrest, He came into Galilee, preaching with authority the Gospel of God, and saying, "The Time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the Gospel." Then when He was passing along the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen in their souls. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men. They left their nets and followed Him. Going a little farther, He saw James the son of Zeb'edee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately He called them. They left their father's boat with his father in the boat and the hired servants, and followed Him. Then they went into Caper' Na-Um; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the Synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at His Teaching, for He Taught them as One Who Has Authority, and not as the scribes.
And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, "What have You to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know Who You Are, the Holy One of God." But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him." And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.
Immediately He left the synagogue, and entered the House of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever, and immediately they told Him of her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the Fever Left Her; and she served them.
In the morning, a great while before day, He rose and went out to a Lonely Place, and there He prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued Him, and they found Him and said to Him, "Every one is searching for You." He said to them, "Let us go on the Next Towns, that I may Preach There also; for that is Why I Came Out. " And He went throughout all Galilee, Preaching in their Synagogues and Casting Out Demons.
Then, as a teaching about what happens in the spiritual realm when we disobey the Word of the Lord, a leper came to him beseeching Him, and kneeling said to Him, "If You will, You can make me clean." Moved with Pity, He stretched out His Hand and Touched him, and said to him, "I will," "Be clean."
And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.
Since God's spiritual children share in flesh and blood, Jesus himself likewise partook of the same nature, that through Death He might destroy him who has the power of Death, that is, the Devil, and deliver all those who through Fear of Death were subject to lifelong bondage. Jesus is concerned with the descendants of Abraham, the Father of Faith, therefore He had to be like His brethren in every respect, so that He might become a Merciful and Faithful High Priest in the Service of God, to make expiation for the sins of the people. For because He himself has suffered and been tempted, He is able to help those who are tempted. (Hebrew 2).
Jesus' greatest miracles were in the setting of possessed persons being freed from captivity to the demons. They were powerless against Him. But not everyone felt His demon-expelling work as a freedom since they wanted to be bound by it. That is the case of the Pharisees. They accused Him of being in league with he ruler of the demons, Bel-Zebub, whereas in reality, Jesus pointed out they themselves were the offspring of the Devil. (Matt. 9; 12; Mark 3; Luke 11; John 7; 8).
Jesus knew from where His Mastery of the demons originated, and He openly confessed that it was by God's Power and Holy Spirit. (Matt. 12; Luke 8; 11).
Jesus also gave authority over the demons to His Twelve apostles, and later to the Seventy that He sent out, so that in the name of Jesus they too were able to cure the demon-possessed. (Matt. 10; Mark 3; Luke 9). After the death of Jesus, the apostles continued to have this power. Paul dispossessed a demon of divination from a slave girl much to the anger of her money-loving owners. (Acts 16). But when certain impostors, the Seven Sons of priest Sceba, attempted to do this in the name of "Jesus whom Paul preaches," the demon-possessed man seized and severely mauled and stripped the Seven of them naked. (Acts 19).
"Be watchful," then, and "put on the complete suit of armor from God that you may be able to stand firm against the machinations of the Devil" and his demons. (1 Peter 5; Eph. 6).
DISEASES AND TREATMENT REFERRED TO IN THE SCRIPTURES.
The Scriptures frequently refer to illness, an unhealthy condition of the spiritual body or the mind, or the state of being of an individual figuratively diseased.
The Bible was written primarily as a Book of Spiritual instruction that each individual choose to follow and be obedient to it. As a result, a healthy state of being was developed. A strong spiritual force was acquired from the knowledge of it, and only maintained as long as obedience from a sincere heart opened the door to it. Then such a glory and dominion of it was formed as a protective spiritual power against to any attacks of the dark forces in pursuit of such power.
Spiritual maladies or other forms of sickness used by these dark power were overcome by such protective power because it was based on obedience to spiritual decrees, commands, and rules dictated by the Creator in His divine Book.
Significantly, the Book shows how to overcome those negative forces in the hands of elemental spirits, which its goal is to corrupt as much as they can, the well being of a healthy spiritual body. By using the element of weakness, they attack the individual and find a way to pollute its soul becoming vulnerable to the attack and bring sickness to its body, losing the glory and dominion placed in it, and become slaves to the acting force that those spirits implant over the sick body.
Disease, then, is treated as a concomitant of the imperfection resulting in death. That is the reason why death was passed on to the human race by the disobedience of Adam (Gen.3; Rom 5), and show how Satan, the enemy of God, made us slaves of our own imperfections, blocking our freedom to choose God, against our vulnerability to the power of the flesh in which the power of darkness is the acting force.
Illness, then, is generally the natural consequence of the attack of these elemental spirits from the dark side to human imperfection and claim the possession of their souls, resulting in Satan's dominion and control of the World, that was made for the spiritual man, created as an acting force and receipient of the Honor and Glory of God. As the Scriptures shows how God, acting by His Divine Love, developed a Divine Plan to rescue His People by only demanding a sincere heart in obedience to His Law, was able to restore His Divine Power again in the human heart and through Him and His Glory made them powerful enough to overcome sickness and spiritual wars. For example: -In Genesis 12, God directly touched Pharaoh and his household with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.
-In Exodus 9, God was responsible for the boils with blisters that broke out on man and beast during the sixth blow He inflicted upon ancient Egypt. -In Numbers 12, He struck presumptuous Miriam with leprosy. -In 2 Samuel 12, dealt a blow to the illegitimate child of David and Bath-Sheba so that it took sick and eventually died. -In 2 Samuel 24, God gave a pestilence in Israel in David's day. All these acts of God were in upholding His Name and Law, and for the protection, liberation, and fatherly discipline of his chosen people.
By God's permission, Satan struck Job with a malignant boil from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. (Job 2). This allowed Job to stand as an example for God's people in the matter of keeping integrity. Job was later healed by God and his life was extended 140 years for his faithfulness. (Job 42).
Demons are sometimes responsible for infirmities. The Scriptures differentiate between normal maladies and those caused by demon possession. In Matthew 12, a demon-possessed blind and dumb man was cured by Jesus Christ, showing that a believer can fall in that state of being when the Word of the Lord is taught in a twisted way by False Prophets, making them vulnerables to demon-possession due to his own blindness and foolishness. Failure to obey God's Word in the spiritual sense of it, lead to illness and even death in the spiritual realm.
The Bible was written primarily as a Book of Spiritual instruction that each individual choose to follow and be obedient to it. As a result, a healthy state of being was developed. A strong spiritual force was acquired from the knowledge of it, and only maintained as long as obedience from a sincere heart opened the door to it. Then such a glory and dominion of it was formed as a protective spiritual power against to any attacks of the dark forces in pursuit of such power.
Spiritual maladies or other forms of sickness used by these dark power were overcome by such protective power because it was based on obedience to spiritual decrees, commands, and rules dictated by the Creator in His divine Book.
Significantly, the Book shows how to overcome those negative forces in the hands of elemental spirits, which its goal is to corrupt as much as they can, the well being of a healthy spiritual body. By using the element of weakness, they attack the individual and find a way to pollute its soul becoming vulnerable to the attack and bring sickness to its body, losing the glory and dominion placed in it, and become slaves to the acting force that those spirits implant over the sick body.
Disease, then, is treated as a concomitant of the imperfection resulting in death. That is the reason why death was passed on to the human race by the disobedience of Adam (Gen.3; Rom 5), and show how Satan, the enemy of God, made us slaves of our own imperfections, blocking our freedom to choose God, against our vulnerability to the power of the flesh in which the power of darkness is the acting force.
Illness, then, is generally the natural consequence of the attack of these elemental spirits from the dark side to human imperfection and claim the possession of their souls, resulting in Satan's dominion and control of the World, that was made for the spiritual man, created as an acting force and receipient of the Honor and Glory of God. As the Scriptures shows how God, acting by His Divine Love, developed a Divine Plan to rescue His People by only demanding a sincere heart in obedience to His Law, was able to restore His Divine Power again in the human heart and through Him and His Glory made them powerful enough to overcome sickness and spiritual wars. For example: -In Genesis 12, God directly touched Pharaoh and his household with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife.
-In Exodus 9, God was responsible for the boils with blisters that broke out on man and beast during the sixth blow He inflicted upon ancient Egypt. -In Numbers 12, He struck presumptuous Miriam with leprosy. -In 2 Samuel 12, dealt a blow to the illegitimate child of David and Bath-Sheba so that it took sick and eventually died. -In 2 Samuel 24, God gave a pestilence in Israel in David's day. All these acts of God were in upholding His Name and Law, and for the protection, liberation, and fatherly discipline of his chosen people.
By God's permission, Satan struck Job with a malignant boil from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. (Job 2). This allowed Job to stand as an example for God's people in the matter of keeping integrity. Job was later healed by God and his life was extended 140 years for his faithfulness. (Job 42).
Demons are sometimes responsible for infirmities. The Scriptures differentiate between normal maladies and those caused by demon possession. In Matthew 12, a demon-possessed blind and dumb man was cured by Jesus Christ, showing that a believer can fall in that state of being when the Word of the Lord is taught in a twisted way by False Prophets, making them vulnerables to demon-possession due to his own blindness and foolishness. Failure to obey God's Word in the spiritual sense of it, lead to illness and even death in the spiritual realm.
Monday, June 6, 2016
PHILIP THE APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST.
In the Gospels the name Philip for a follower of Jesus, one of the earliest disciples among the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, occurs only in the lists of names of the twelve disciples/apostles. In each instance Philip is presented in fifth position.
In the Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Philip is mentioned by name solely, and, in the Gospel of John alone gives some detailed information about him. Philip plays a narrative role in chapters 1, 6, 12, and 14.
Philip is said to be from Beth-Saida, on the North Shore of Galilee, the same hometown as Peter and Andrew, and is connected with Greeks seeking Jesus. The existence of this apostle and evangelist is 'known" by both the author and the readers of the Gospel of John.
Upon hearing Jesus' invitation, "Be my follower," Philip did much as Andrew had done the day before. Andrew had searched out his brother Peter (Simon) and brought him to Jesus, and Philip now did this with Nathanael (Bartholomew), saying:"We have found the One of Whom Moses in the Law, and the Prophets wrote, Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth ... . Come and see."(John 1).
The statement that "Jesus found Philip" indicate prior acquaintance between the two of them, as do Philip's words to Nathanael, inasmuch as Philip gave Jesus' name, the interrelation with Moses in the body of the Law, and the Prophets' writings, his family in the flesh, and his residence. Any other connection between Philip and Nathanael is not stated, but in the Biblical lists they are usually placed together, Acts chapter 1, being the exception.
Ostensibly the name Philip is introduced in the Acts, chapter 6, without being identify as an apostle, because of Luke's theme that in the earliest period of the Christian Church, the twelve remained in Jerusalem (Acts 8). Such a narrative strategy on Luke's part would be directly comparable to his denial of the title "apostle"to Paul (except Acts 14) in deference to his personal conception that only the Twelve were apostles.
As an evangelist and missionary, together with Stephen, Philip was among the seven "certified men ... full of spirit and wisdom" chosen for the impartial daily distribution of food among the Greek-and- Hebrew-speaking Christians in Jerusalem. (Acts 6). The accounts of Philip's activity (as also that of Stephen) after this special service ended confirms the high spiritual quality of the men forming this chosen administrative body, for Philip did a work similar to the later effected by the apostle Paul.
When the persecution scattered all except the apostles, who remained in Jerusalem, Philip went to Samaria and there declared the Good News of the Kingdom and with the power of the Holy Spirit, cast out demons and cured the paralyzed and lame. Overjoyed, multitudes accepted the Good News and were baptized, including a certain Simon who had been practicing magical arts. (Acts 8). So when the apostles "heard that Samaria had accepted the Word of God, they dispatched Peter and John to them," that these baptized believers might receive the free gift of the Holy Spirit.
Philip was then led by God's Spirit to meet the Ethiopian eunuch on the Road of Gaza, and there, in a short time, this "man in power under Candace queen of the Ethiopians" put faith in Jesus and asked Philip to baptize him. From there, in the Spirit, he made his way to Ashdod and on to Caesarea, "declaring the Good News to all the cities" along the Way, doing the work of an evangelizer. (Acts 21).
It was in this International Crossroads of Caesarea some twenty years later that Philip was found still active in the Ministry, and still known for having been "one of the seven men" selected by the apostles.
As reported by Luke, when he and Paul stayed in Philip's home for a time, "this man (Philip) had four daughters, virgins, that prophesied."
On the occasion of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem five days before Passover on 33 CE (Mark 11)
some Greeks wanted to see Jesus. They requested Philip to introduce them. He first conferred with Andrew, and together they presented the petition to Jesus for his consideration. (Mark 13; John 12).
This circumspect is reflected in Philip's response to Jesus' question about feeding the multitude, and even in his request (made after Peter's and Thomas' rather blunt questions) that Jesus show them the Father, "and it is enough for us."(John 6; 13; 37). His tactful manner stands in contrast to Peter's directness and bluntness, and thus the brief accounts involving Philip reveal some of the variety of personality to be found among Jesus' chosen apostles.
Because of his close association with Nathanael (Bartholomew) and with the sons of Zebedee, Philip may have been one of the two unidentified disciples who were on the shore of the Sea of Galilee when the resurrected Jesus appeared. (John 21).
A fragmentary apocryphal work from the 4th or 5th CE, in Greek, Syriac, and Latin, reports 15 acts and the martyrdom of Philip. The apostle raises the dead, heals the blind men with divine words, converses with the animals, makes the earth swallow 7000 men, and smiles while hanged upside down by his pierced ankles and thighs. He preaches a severe chastity, and his nature metamorphoses from beastly to mild.
A Gospel discovered in 1945 at Nag Ham-Madi, and despite its textual complexities, it remains alluring predominantly because of its discussion of Christian sacramentalism. It lists five sacraments including Baptism, Chrism, Eucharist, Redemption, and the Bridal Chamber, and discusses the last of these in some detail. Among other things it is also unique in its use of the term "Christian."
In the Gospel accounts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Philip is mentioned by name solely, and, in the Gospel of John alone gives some detailed information about him. Philip plays a narrative role in chapters 1, 6, 12, and 14.
Philip is said to be from Beth-Saida, on the North Shore of Galilee, the same hometown as Peter and Andrew, and is connected with Greeks seeking Jesus. The existence of this apostle and evangelist is 'known" by both the author and the readers of the Gospel of John.
Upon hearing Jesus' invitation, "Be my follower," Philip did much as Andrew had done the day before. Andrew had searched out his brother Peter (Simon) and brought him to Jesus, and Philip now did this with Nathanael (Bartholomew), saying:"We have found the One of Whom Moses in the Law, and the Prophets wrote, Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth ... . Come and see."(John 1).
The statement that "Jesus found Philip" indicate prior acquaintance between the two of them, as do Philip's words to Nathanael, inasmuch as Philip gave Jesus' name, the interrelation with Moses in the body of the Law, and the Prophets' writings, his family in the flesh, and his residence. Any other connection between Philip and Nathanael is not stated, but in the Biblical lists they are usually placed together, Acts chapter 1, being the exception.
Ostensibly the name Philip is introduced in the Acts, chapter 6, without being identify as an apostle, because of Luke's theme that in the earliest period of the Christian Church, the twelve remained in Jerusalem (Acts 8). Such a narrative strategy on Luke's part would be directly comparable to his denial of the title "apostle"to Paul (except Acts 14) in deference to his personal conception that only the Twelve were apostles.
As an evangelist and missionary, together with Stephen, Philip was among the seven "certified men ... full of spirit and wisdom" chosen for the impartial daily distribution of food among the Greek-and- Hebrew-speaking Christians in Jerusalem. (Acts 6). The accounts of Philip's activity (as also that of Stephen) after this special service ended confirms the high spiritual quality of the men forming this chosen administrative body, for Philip did a work similar to the later effected by the apostle Paul.
When the persecution scattered all except the apostles, who remained in Jerusalem, Philip went to Samaria and there declared the Good News of the Kingdom and with the power of the Holy Spirit, cast out demons and cured the paralyzed and lame. Overjoyed, multitudes accepted the Good News and were baptized, including a certain Simon who had been practicing magical arts. (Acts 8). So when the apostles "heard that Samaria had accepted the Word of God, they dispatched Peter and John to them," that these baptized believers might receive the free gift of the Holy Spirit.
Philip was then led by God's Spirit to meet the Ethiopian eunuch on the Road of Gaza, and there, in a short time, this "man in power under Candace queen of the Ethiopians" put faith in Jesus and asked Philip to baptize him. From there, in the Spirit, he made his way to Ashdod and on to Caesarea, "declaring the Good News to all the cities" along the Way, doing the work of an evangelizer. (Acts 21).
It was in this International Crossroads of Caesarea some twenty years later that Philip was found still active in the Ministry, and still known for having been "one of the seven men" selected by the apostles.
As reported by Luke, when he and Paul stayed in Philip's home for a time, "this man (Philip) had four daughters, virgins, that prophesied."
On the occasion of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem five days before Passover on 33 CE (Mark 11)
some Greeks wanted to see Jesus. They requested Philip to introduce them. He first conferred with Andrew, and together they presented the petition to Jesus for his consideration. (Mark 13; John 12).
This circumspect is reflected in Philip's response to Jesus' question about feeding the multitude, and even in his request (made after Peter's and Thomas' rather blunt questions) that Jesus show them the Father, "and it is enough for us."(John 6; 13; 37). His tactful manner stands in contrast to Peter's directness and bluntness, and thus the brief accounts involving Philip reveal some of the variety of personality to be found among Jesus' chosen apostles.
Because of his close association with Nathanael (Bartholomew) and with the sons of Zebedee, Philip may have been one of the two unidentified disciples who were on the shore of the Sea of Galilee when the resurrected Jesus appeared. (John 21).
A fragmentary apocryphal work from the 4th or 5th CE, in Greek, Syriac, and Latin, reports 15 acts and the martyrdom of Philip. The apostle raises the dead, heals the blind men with divine words, converses with the animals, makes the earth swallow 7000 men, and smiles while hanged upside down by his pierced ankles and thighs. He preaches a severe chastity, and his nature metamorphoses from beastly to mild.
A Gospel discovered in 1945 at Nag Ham-Madi, and despite its textual complexities, it remains alluring predominantly because of its discussion of Christian sacramentalism. It lists five sacraments including Baptism, Chrism, Eucharist, Redemption, and the Bridal Chamber, and discusses the last of these in some detail. Among other things it is also unique in its use of the term "Christian."
Sunday, June 5, 2016
AARON, THE FIRST HIGH PRIEST.
Aaron (Aar'On) [Lofty, Enlightened], first Israelite High Priest, was born in Egypt to Am-Ram and Jochebed of the tribe of Levi, Aar'on's great-grandfather. Miriam was his elder sister and Moses was his younger brother by three years.
By a seven-day installation ceremony Aar-on was invested with his sacred duties by Moses as God's agent. The holiness of the office belonged to God and Aar-on was anointed in the manner described at Psalms 132 and could thereafter be called the "Messiah," that is, the "anointed one."He was not only placed over all the priesthood but was also divinely declared to be the one from whose line or house all future High Priests must come. He and his successors served as the chief officer under God the King.
In order to perform his duties the High Priest had to be married, and a second wife was always on standby in case his wife died and he could only marry an Israelite virgin, and not a widow, divorce or convert.
Aar'on was married to Eli-Sheba (E-li'she-ba) [God is an oath], daughter of Ammi-Nadah (Am-min'a-dab) [my kinsman is generous]. Her father was a son of Ram of the family of Hezron, tribe of Judah. He also was an ancestor of King Davis and of Jesus Christ. Eli-Sheba bore four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, to Aar-on. Her brother Nahshon was the chieftain of the sons of Judah during the wilderness trek.
Aar-on four sons were also installed as under-priests. Moses dressed Aar-on in beautiful garments of gold, blue, purple and scarlet materials, including shoulder pieces and a breast-piece that were encrusted with precious gems of varied colors. On his head was placed a turban of fine linen with a plate of pure gold on it engraved with the words "Holiness belongs to God."(Leviticus 8).
As High Priest, Aar-on was responsible for directing all features of worship at the tabernacle and supervising the work of the thousands of Levites engaged in its service. On the annual day of atonement he offered sin-offerings for the priesthood and Levites and for the People of Israel, and he alone was permitted to enter the Most Holy of the tabernacle with the sacrificial blood of the animals. (Lev. 16). The ritual was preceded by 10 days of penitencial rituals, and fasting on the 10th day of the month of Tishri. A scape goat bearing the sins of Israel was sent off to Azazel in the wilderness.
He was responsible to teach the nation the Word of God. (Lev.10; Deut. 24; Mal. 2).
Aar-on's devotion to pure worship was early put to the test by the death of his sons Nadab and Abihu, who suffered destruction by God by making profane use of their priestly positions. The record says:
"And Aaron kept silent." When he and his two surviving sons were instructed not to mourn over the dead transgressors, "they did according to Moses' word." (Lev. 10).
During nearly forty years Aar-on represented the 12 tribes before God in his capacity as High Priest. While in the wilderness, a serious rebellion broke out against the authority of Moses and Aar-on. It was led by a Levite named Korah, together with Dathan, Abiran, and On, of the tribe of Reuben, who complained against their leadership, God caused the earth to open beneath the tents of the rebels and their households, swallowing them up, while Korah and 250 of his coconspirators were destroyed by fire. (Num. 16). Murmuring broke out now on the part of the congregation against Moses and Aaron; and in the divine plague that ensued, Aar-on showed great faith and courage in obediently going out with his fire holder and making atonement for the people while "standing between the dead and the living," until the scourge was stopped.
God now directed that 12 rods, each representing one of the twelve tribes, be placed in the tabernacle, and the rod for the tribe of Levi was inscribed with Aar-on's name. On the following day Moses entered the tent of the Testimony and found that Aar-on's rod had budded, blossomed with flowers and bore ripe almonds. This established beyond denial God's choice of the Levite sons of Aar-on for priestly service and His authorization of Aar-on as High Priest. Thereafter, the right of Aar-on's house to the priesthood was never seriously challenged. The budded rod of Aar-on was placed in the Ark of the Covenant as a "sign to the sons of rebelliousness,"though it appears that after the death of these rebellious ones and the entry of the spiritual nation into the Land of Promise the rod was removed having served its purpose. (Num.17; Heb 9; 2 Chron. 5; 1 King 8).
The first mention of Aar-on occurs at Exodus chapter 4, owing to Moses' reluctance because he found it difficult to speak fluently, God assigned Aar-on to act as Moses' spokesman before Pharaoh, saying of Aar-on: "I do know that he can really speak." Aar-on went to meet Moses at Mount Sinai and was informed of the far-reaching proportions of the divinely outlined program of action involving Israel and Egypt, and the brothers then journeyed back to Egypt.
Aaron now began serving as "a mouth" to Moses, speaking for him to the older men of Israel and performing miraculous signs as proof of the divine origin of their messages. When the time came for their appearance at Pharaoh's court, and the 83 years old Aar-on, as Moses' spokesman, had to face up to that arrogant ruler. As God thereafter told Moses: "See, I have made you God to Pharaoh, and Aar-on your own brother will become your prophet."(Exodus 7). It was Aar-on who performed the first miraculous sign before Pharaoh and his magic-practicing priests; and, later, it was Aar-on who, at Moses' order, stretched forth Moses' rod and signaled the start of the 10 plagues. He continued to work in united coordination with Moses and in obedience to God during the succeeding plagues, until liberation finally came.
Aar-on's activity as spokesman for Moses evidently diminished during the forty years of the exodus travels since Moses appears to have done more of the speaking himself. The rod also returned to Moses' hands after the third plague, and at the battle of Amalek, Aar-on along with Hur, merely supported Moses' arms. (Exodus 9 and 17). However, God generally continued to associate them both when giving instruction, and the two are spoken of as acting and speaking together right up to the time of Aar-on's death. (Num. 20).
By a seven-day installation ceremony Aar-on was invested with his sacred duties by Moses as God's agent. The holiness of the office belonged to God and Aar-on was anointed in the manner described at Psalms 132 and could thereafter be called the "Messiah," that is, the "anointed one."He was not only placed over all the priesthood but was also divinely declared to be the one from whose line or house all future High Priests must come. He and his successors served as the chief officer under God the King.
In order to perform his duties the High Priest had to be married, and a second wife was always on standby in case his wife died and he could only marry an Israelite virgin, and not a widow, divorce or convert.
Aar'on was married to Eli-Sheba (E-li'she-ba) [God is an oath], daughter of Ammi-Nadah (Am-min'a-dab) [my kinsman is generous]. Her father was a son of Ram of the family of Hezron, tribe of Judah. He also was an ancestor of King Davis and of Jesus Christ. Eli-Sheba bore four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar, to Aar-on. Her brother Nahshon was the chieftain of the sons of Judah during the wilderness trek.
Aar-on four sons were also installed as under-priests. Moses dressed Aar-on in beautiful garments of gold, blue, purple and scarlet materials, including shoulder pieces and a breast-piece that were encrusted with precious gems of varied colors. On his head was placed a turban of fine linen with a plate of pure gold on it engraved with the words "Holiness belongs to God."(Leviticus 8).
As High Priest, Aar-on was responsible for directing all features of worship at the tabernacle and supervising the work of the thousands of Levites engaged in its service. On the annual day of atonement he offered sin-offerings for the priesthood and Levites and for the People of Israel, and he alone was permitted to enter the Most Holy of the tabernacle with the sacrificial blood of the animals. (Lev. 16). The ritual was preceded by 10 days of penitencial rituals, and fasting on the 10th day of the month of Tishri. A scape goat bearing the sins of Israel was sent off to Azazel in the wilderness.
He was responsible to teach the nation the Word of God. (Lev.10; Deut. 24; Mal. 2).
Aar-on's devotion to pure worship was early put to the test by the death of his sons Nadab and Abihu, who suffered destruction by God by making profane use of their priestly positions. The record says:
"And Aaron kept silent." When he and his two surviving sons were instructed not to mourn over the dead transgressors, "they did according to Moses' word." (Lev. 10).
During nearly forty years Aar-on represented the 12 tribes before God in his capacity as High Priest. While in the wilderness, a serious rebellion broke out against the authority of Moses and Aar-on. It was led by a Levite named Korah, together with Dathan, Abiran, and On, of the tribe of Reuben, who complained against their leadership, God caused the earth to open beneath the tents of the rebels and their households, swallowing them up, while Korah and 250 of his coconspirators were destroyed by fire. (Num. 16). Murmuring broke out now on the part of the congregation against Moses and Aaron; and in the divine plague that ensued, Aar-on showed great faith and courage in obediently going out with his fire holder and making atonement for the people while "standing between the dead and the living," until the scourge was stopped.
God now directed that 12 rods, each representing one of the twelve tribes, be placed in the tabernacle, and the rod for the tribe of Levi was inscribed with Aar-on's name. On the following day Moses entered the tent of the Testimony and found that Aar-on's rod had budded, blossomed with flowers and bore ripe almonds. This established beyond denial God's choice of the Levite sons of Aar-on for priestly service and His authorization of Aar-on as High Priest. Thereafter, the right of Aar-on's house to the priesthood was never seriously challenged. The budded rod of Aar-on was placed in the Ark of the Covenant as a "sign to the sons of rebelliousness,"though it appears that after the death of these rebellious ones and the entry of the spiritual nation into the Land of Promise the rod was removed having served its purpose. (Num.17; Heb 9; 2 Chron. 5; 1 King 8).
The first mention of Aar-on occurs at Exodus chapter 4, owing to Moses' reluctance because he found it difficult to speak fluently, God assigned Aar-on to act as Moses' spokesman before Pharaoh, saying of Aar-on: "I do know that he can really speak." Aar-on went to meet Moses at Mount Sinai and was informed of the far-reaching proportions of the divinely outlined program of action involving Israel and Egypt, and the brothers then journeyed back to Egypt.
Aaron now began serving as "a mouth" to Moses, speaking for him to the older men of Israel and performing miraculous signs as proof of the divine origin of their messages. When the time came for their appearance at Pharaoh's court, and the 83 years old Aar-on, as Moses' spokesman, had to face up to that arrogant ruler. As God thereafter told Moses: "See, I have made you God to Pharaoh, and Aar-on your own brother will become your prophet."(Exodus 7). It was Aar-on who performed the first miraculous sign before Pharaoh and his magic-practicing priests; and, later, it was Aar-on who, at Moses' order, stretched forth Moses' rod and signaled the start of the 10 plagues. He continued to work in united coordination with Moses and in obedience to God during the succeeding plagues, until liberation finally came.
Aar-on's activity as spokesman for Moses evidently diminished during the forty years of the exodus travels since Moses appears to have done more of the speaking himself. The rod also returned to Moses' hands after the third plague, and at the battle of Amalek, Aar-on along with Hur, merely supported Moses' arms. (Exodus 9 and 17). However, God generally continued to associate them both when giving instruction, and the two are spoken of as acting and speaking together right up to the time of Aar-on's death. (Num. 20).
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