NOAH, Son of Lamech, and 10th in line from Adam through Seth, was born 126 years after Adam's death. When his father named Noah he said:"This one will bring us comfort from our work and from the pain of our hands resulting from the ground which God has cursed."(Genesis 5:28-31)
The story of Noah, from Genesis 5 to 9, was written by Moses not as an entertainment for children, but as part of the divine purpose that God planned for humanity before the Creation of the World. Moses was not the only one to tell the story. The story of Noah is more than a 1000 years older than the Scripture. And the story of the "Great Deluge" has been told not only by the Hebrews, Christians, Sumerians, and Hindus, but also by the Greeks, the Mayans, the Incas, the Ojibwa, the Muisca, and from people of many cultures, on many continents, and many eras.
Moses, a man who stood face to face with God, wrote the history of Noah to teach important sacred science to those who wish to have the experiences he had. The value of the story is much deeper than the one interpreted as evidence that it happen physically in a literal interpretation. To get the real meaning, one must know how to perceive the immaterial world and find the mystical hiding in the literal way. In short, the story explains how divinity, seeing the degeneration of humanity, decides to destroy all living things, save the few who are pure, build an Ark (boat) in which Noah's family is taken plus two of every animal, within which they survive a Worldwide Flood.
The story of Noah has a prologue laying the groundwork that tells how Noah became distinctive; a main narrative recording the Ark and the Covenant that reveals how that distinctiveness showed; and an epilogue of declining and death that records that he was not distinctive enough.
The Scripture is allegorical and symbolic. They are not literal documentation of history, although some of the figures, personages, and characters described in it did exist. Nevertheless, their depiction within the Scripture has meant to serve as a representation of spiritual principles that any individual or group seeks to develop within themselves as part of the path that leads to complete development.
Noah was the 1st Patriarch of the post-Flood society. During his lifetime false religion rose up among those under the leadership of Nimrod, through their rebellious attempt to build a tower with its top in the Heavens for fear that they might be scattered over all the surface of the earth. Noah lived 350 years after the Flood, dying about 2 years before the birth of Abraham. Noah saw God's Judgment on the builders of the Tower of Babel, and the scattering of those rebellious ones over the face of the earth. Noah and Shem, were not involved in the Tower building and do not suffer confusion of their language, and continue to speak man's original language, which God gave to Adam.
Genesis 6 contains the 1st reference to Noah and what was happening in his time in relation to what people's beliefs were: When people had spread all over the World, and daughters were being born, some of the heavenly beings saw that these young women were beautiful, so they took the ones they liked. Then the Lord said, "I will not allow people to live forever; they are mortal. From now on they will live no longer than 120 years." In those days, and even later, there were giants on the earth who were descendants of human women and the heavenly beings. They were the great heroes and famous men of long ago. When the Lord saw how wicked everyone on earth was and how evil their thoughts were all the time, He was sorry that He had ever made them and put them on the earth. He was so filled with regret that he said, "I will wipe out these people I have created, and also the animals and the birds, because I am sorry that I made any of them." But the Lord was pleased with Noah.
These Verses admits that every human being, all alike are wicked, they are the cause of Divine Grief, and the objects of an eradicating Judgment. The Prophets Isaiah, Ezekiel, our High Priest Jesus Christ, and the apostles Peter, Paul, Matthew, and Lucas, all spoke of God's servant Noah as a symbolic way. Noah's Days are shown to be prophetic of the "Presence of the Son of Man" and a future "Day of Judgment and of Destruction of the ungodly men."God, in sparing Noah and his family when He destroyed the wicked World, was setting a pattern for the ungodly on the things to come.
2 Peter 3 says, "My dear friends, ... in the Last Days some people will appear whose lives are controlled by their own lusts. They will make fun of you and will ask, 'He Promised to Come, didn't He? Where is He? Our ancestors have already died, but everything is still the same as it was since the Creation of the World!' They purposely ignore the Fact that long ago God gave a Command, and the Heavens and Earth were created. The Earth was formed out of Water and by Water, and it was also by Water, the Water of the Flood, that the Old World was destroyed. But the Heavens and the Earth that now exist are being preserved by the same Command of God, in order to be destroyed by Fire ... the Day when godless people will be judge and destroyed. But do not forget one thing, there is no difference in the Lord's sight between one day and a thousand years; to Him the two are the same."
2 Peter 2 says, "False Prophets appeared in the past among the people, and in the same way False Teachers will appear ... they will bring destructive, untrue doctrines, and will deny the Master who redeemed them, and so they will bring upon themselves sudden destruction. Even so, many will follow their immoral ways; and because of what they do, others will speak evil of the Way of Truth. In their greed these False Teachers will make a profit out of telling you made-up stories. For a long time now their Judge has been ready, and their Destroyer has been wide awake! God did not spare the angels who sinned, but threw them into Hell, where they are kept chained in darkness, waiting for the Day of Judgment. God did not spare the ancient World, but brought the Flood on the World of godless people; the only one He saved were Noah, who preached Righteousness, and 7 other people.
"God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, destroying them with Fire, and made them an example of what will happen to the godless. He rescued Lot, a good man, who was distressed by the immoral conduct of lawless people. The good man lived among them, and day after day he suffered agony as he saw and heard their evil actions. And so the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials and how to keep the wicked under punishment for the Day of Judgment, especially those who follow their filthy bodily lusts and despise God's Authority."
Matthew 24 makes a description of the World to which the Lord Jesus will one day return:
"No one knows when that Day and Hour will come -neither the angels in Heaven nor the Son; the Father alone knows."
"The coming of the Son of Man will be like what happened in the Time of Noah."
"In the days before the Flood people ate and drank, men and women married, up to the very day Noah went into the boat; yet they did not realize what was happening until the Flood came and swept them all away."
"That is how it will be when the Son of Man comes." "At that time 2 men will be working in a Field: one will be taken away, the other will be left behind. Two women will be at a mill grinding meal: one will be taken away the other will be left behind. Watch out, then, because you do not know what Day your Lord will come (36-42). "
Lucas 17 says, Some Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. Jesus answered: "The Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen. No one will say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!'; because the Kingdom of God is within you."
"There will be those who will say to you, 'Look, over there!' or, 'Look, over here!' But do not go out looking for it. As the Lightning flashes across the sky and lights it up from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in His Day."
"But first He must ... be rejected by the people of This Day. As it was in the Time of Noah so shall it be in the Days of the Son of Man."
"Everybody kept on eating and drinking, and men and women married, up to the very Day Noah went into the boat and the Flood came and killed them all."
"It will be as it was in the Time of Lot. Everybody kept on eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. On the day Lot left Sodom, Fire and Sulphur rained down from Heaven and killed them all."
"That is how it will be on the Day the Son of Man is revealed."
Sunday, January 22, 2017
Saturday, January 21, 2017
NAHUM AND NATHAN TEACHINGS.
The Book of Nahum is a complete and finishes poem celebrating the Fall of Nineveh, the capital city of Israel's ancient and oppressive enemy, the Assyrians. The preparation for the destruction and the vivid description of the ruins is seen as the Judgment of God upon a cruel and arrogant nation.
Nahum's name means "comforter" and he was from the Town of El-Kosh. He was a very nationalistic Hebrew, living amongst the El-Koshites in peace. His writing could be taken as prophecy or as history.
Nahum, using words from Moses, has shown what sort of being God is. He has painted God using words by which His Nature must be seen.
Nahum says, "The Lord God tolerates No Rivals; He Punishes those who oppose Him. In His Anger He Pays them back."
"The Lord does not easily become angry, but He is Powerful and never let the guilty go unpunished." "Where the Lord Walks, storms arise; the clouds are the dust raised by His feet!"
"He Commands the Sea, and it dries up! He makes the Rivers go dry."
"The Fields of Basham wither, Mount Carmel turns brown, and the flowers of Lebanon fade." "Mountains quake in the Presence of the Lord; hills melt Before Him. The earth shakes when the Lord appears; the World and all its people tremble."
"When He is Angry, who can survive? Who can survive His Terrible Fury?"
"He Pours out His Flaming Anger; rocks crumble to dust Before Him."
"The Lord is Good; He Protects His People in times of trouble; takes care of those who turn to Him."
"Like a great rushing Flood He completely destroys His Enemies; He sends to their death those who oppose Him." Nahum 1: 1-9
NATHAN : Nathan, the Prophet, served the Lord during the reign of King David, in which he figured prominently on 3 important occasions in David's life, and survived well into the reign of King Solomon. His actions are described in the Book of Samuel (2 Samuel 7:2-17, 12: 1-25), Kings, and Chronicles (1 Chronicles 17).
The first and most important encounter with Nathan occurs in 2 Samuel 7. Nathan was a court prophet. He announced to David the most wonderful statement of God's Covenant of Love for him, a Covenant for a Kingdom to time indefinite in David's line. The Lord promised David his name would be great, his people would have peace, and his son would build a House for God's Name. God then said, "I will be His Father, and He will be My Son." God went on to say that His Love would remain on David's House and Kingdom forever. This Message became the basis for Messianic expectation and became known as the Davidic Covenant.
The nature of the 2nd recorded encounter with Nathan occurs in 2 Samuel 12. It was not so pleasant. David had recently committed adultery with Bath'Sheba and had arranged the death of her husband, Uriah, the Hittite. Nathan was sent by the Lord to David to point out the magnitude of his sin and the divine penalty imposed because of it. Nathan, tactfully but forcefully, used an illustration in a way to maneuver David perception into expressing, unwittingly and without personal prejudice, his own judgment on such an act.
Nathan said, "A poor man had one ewe lamb. A rich man had great flocks of sheep. A traveler came to the rich man who prepared a meal for him. The rich man took the ewe lamb from the poor man rather than use one of his own for the meal."
David heard the story and said to Nathan: "As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die!" Then Nathan said to David, "You yourself are the man!"
God's judgment on David, pronounced by Nathan, was that his wives would be taken by someone else and the child of this union with Bath'Sheba would die. Also David's House (Dynasty) would find themselves continually at war.
David recognized the point of the Parable: in spite of all he had, he had taken the wife of a man who had so little. He then repented of his sin. The Lord forgave him, but the consequences of his sin meant that subsequently the child born to him and Bath'Sheba died. David and Bath'Sheba had another son who became Solomon. Nathan brought Word from the Lord that he should be called Jedid'Iah, meaning "Beloved of Jah" (Jehovah), because the Lord loved him. The House (Dynasty) of David, after Solomon found themselves continually at war.
The nature of the 3rd recorded encounter with Nathan occurs in 1 Kings 1 when David's life was right at the end. God had made it clear that Solomon was to inherit the throne from his father. When another of David's sons, Adonijah, tried to usurp the Throne, Nathan supported David.
He informed Bath'Sheba of the plot and advised her on how to ensure the right succession of the throne to her son Solomon. Nathan was called in by David and told to anoint Solomon king. Nathan did anointed him and it was proclaimed to the people.
The only other information we have about Nathan is found in 2 Chronicles 29 in which he, together with Gad, advised David on the proper deployment of the sound and positions of the musical instruments in connection with the sanctuary.
Nathan and Gad were the ones that God used to record the events of David's and Solomon's reigns in
1 Chronicles 29 and 2 Chronicles 9: 29, and the recorded information contained in the concluding chapters of 1 Samuel and all of 2 Samuel.
Nahum's name means "comforter" and he was from the Town of El-Kosh. He was a very nationalistic Hebrew, living amongst the El-Koshites in peace. His writing could be taken as prophecy or as history.
Nahum, using words from Moses, has shown what sort of being God is. He has painted God using words by which His Nature must be seen.
Nahum says, "The Lord God tolerates No Rivals; He Punishes those who oppose Him. In His Anger He Pays them back."
"The Lord does not easily become angry, but He is Powerful and never let the guilty go unpunished." "Where the Lord Walks, storms arise; the clouds are the dust raised by His feet!"
"He Commands the Sea, and it dries up! He makes the Rivers go dry."
"The Fields of Basham wither, Mount Carmel turns brown, and the flowers of Lebanon fade." "Mountains quake in the Presence of the Lord; hills melt Before Him. The earth shakes when the Lord appears; the World and all its people tremble."
"When He is Angry, who can survive? Who can survive His Terrible Fury?"
"He Pours out His Flaming Anger; rocks crumble to dust Before Him."
"The Lord is Good; He Protects His People in times of trouble; takes care of those who turn to Him."
"Like a great rushing Flood He completely destroys His Enemies; He sends to their death those who oppose Him." Nahum 1: 1-9
NATHAN : Nathan, the Prophet, served the Lord during the reign of King David, in which he figured prominently on 3 important occasions in David's life, and survived well into the reign of King Solomon. His actions are described in the Book of Samuel (2 Samuel 7:2-17, 12: 1-25), Kings, and Chronicles (1 Chronicles 17).
The first and most important encounter with Nathan occurs in 2 Samuel 7. Nathan was a court prophet. He announced to David the most wonderful statement of God's Covenant of Love for him, a Covenant for a Kingdom to time indefinite in David's line. The Lord promised David his name would be great, his people would have peace, and his son would build a House for God's Name. God then said, "I will be His Father, and He will be My Son." God went on to say that His Love would remain on David's House and Kingdom forever. This Message became the basis for Messianic expectation and became known as the Davidic Covenant.
The nature of the 2nd recorded encounter with Nathan occurs in 2 Samuel 12. It was not so pleasant. David had recently committed adultery with Bath'Sheba and had arranged the death of her husband, Uriah, the Hittite. Nathan was sent by the Lord to David to point out the magnitude of his sin and the divine penalty imposed because of it. Nathan, tactfully but forcefully, used an illustration in a way to maneuver David perception into expressing, unwittingly and without personal prejudice, his own judgment on such an act.
Nathan said, "A poor man had one ewe lamb. A rich man had great flocks of sheep. A traveler came to the rich man who prepared a meal for him. The rich man took the ewe lamb from the poor man rather than use one of his own for the meal."
David heard the story and said to Nathan: "As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die!" Then Nathan said to David, "You yourself are the man!"
God's judgment on David, pronounced by Nathan, was that his wives would be taken by someone else and the child of this union with Bath'Sheba would die. Also David's House (Dynasty) would find themselves continually at war.
David recognized the point of the Parable: in spite of all he had, he had taken the wife of a man who had so little. He then repented of his sin. The Lord forgave him, but the consequences of his sin meant that subsequently the child born to him and Bath'Sheba died. David and Bath'Sheba had another son who became Solomon. Nathan brought Word from the Lord that he should be called Jedid'Iah, meaning "Beloved of Jah" (Jehovah), because the Lord loved him. The House (Dynasty) of David, after Solomon found themselves continually at war.
The nature of the 3rd recorded encounter with Nathan occurs in 1 Kings 1 when David's life was right at the end. God had made it clear that Solomon was to inherit the throne from his father. When another of David's sons, Adonijah, tried to usurp the Throne, Nathan supported David.
He informed Bath'Sheba of the plot and advised her on how to ensure the right succession of the throne to her son Solomon. Nathan was called in by David and told to anoint Solomon king. Nathan did anointed him and it was proclaimed to the people.
The only other information we have about Nathan is found in 2 Chronicles 29 in which he, together with Gad, advised David on the proper deployment of the sound and positions of the musical instruments in connection with the sanctuary.
Nathan and Gad were the ones that God used to record the events of David's and Solomon's reigns in
1 Chronicles 29 and 2 Chronicles 9: 29, and the recorded information contained in the concluding chapters of 1 Samuel and all of 2 Samuel.
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
MOSES FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD.
WHEN LIFE COMES TO AN END, HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE KNOWN? WHAT WORDS DO YOU WANT TO USE TO DESCRIBE YOUR LIFE? WHAT LEGACY DO YOU WANT TO LEAVE TO YOUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN?
The answer to those questions gives a succinct definition of who you are and depends upon what things are important to you.
Moses is described in many ways in the Scripture and he is called a "man of God." The greatest prophet that arose in Israel as a servant of the Lord. But one of the most interesting descriptions of Moses is that of a "friend of God." The Scripture says,"The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend." (Exodus 33:11). A friend of God is one who listens and obeys the Voice of God. Moses did not do all the talking, rather, he spent much time listening to God's Voice.
Very few people comes to God with a heart to get to know God better. The victorious man or woman of God is the one who is a friend of God, the one who has learned to listen, to communicate on an intimate level with God.
How could Moses fulfill his responsibilities as leader and responsible for nearly 3 million people, which he had to feed, clothe, house, and transport them, and simultaneously have enough time to be "a friend of God?"
Moses had a tent pitched outside the camp (living area of the multitudes of people). He went there and meet God. It was a place secluded enough to afford his intimate conversation with the One he loved. A friend of God will find a place and a time where he gets alone and listens to the heart of God. And God can trust him/her with deep secrets that comes from His Heart.
Jesus said to the 11 disciples in John15 (after Judas Iscariot left them), "You are my friends, if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead I have called you friends, for everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you." (15: 14-15) The implication is, that being called "friend" is an upgrade from being "servant."
Moses said before he died: "The Lord came from Mount Sinai; He rose like the sun over Edom and shone on His People from Mount Paran. Ten thousand angels were with Him, a Flaming Fire at His Right Hand. The Lord loves His People and protects those who belong to Him. So we bow at His feet and Obey His Commands. People of Israel, no god is like Your God, riding in splendor across the sky, riding through the clouds to come to your aid. " (Deuteronomy 33)
Moses went up from the Plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Mount Pisgah East of Jericho, and there the Lord showed him the whole Land: the territory of Gilead as far North as the Town of Dan; the entire territory of Naphtali; the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh; the territory of Judah as far West as the Mediterranean Sea; the Southern part of Judah; and the Plain that reaches from Zoar to Jericho, the City of the Palm Trees. Then the Lord said to Moses, "This is the Land that I Promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob I would give to their descendants. I have let you see it, but I will not let you go there." So Moses died there in the land of Moab, as the Lord had said he would. The Lord buried him in a Valley in Moab, opposite the Town of Beth'Peor, but to this day no one knows the exact place of his burial. Moses was 120 years old when he died; he was as strong as ever, and his eyesight was still good. The People of Israel mourned for him for 30 days in the Plains of Moab.
No other Prophet has ever done miracles and wonders like those that the Lord sent Moses to perform against the king of Egypt, his officials, and the entire country. No other Prophet has been able to do the great and terrifying things that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. (Deuteronomy 34)
The answer to those questions gives a succinct definition of who you are and depends upon what things are important to you.
Moses is described in many ways in the Scripture and he is called a "man of God." The greatest prophet that arose in Israel as a servant of the Lord. But one of the most interesting descriptions of Moses is that of a "friend of God." The Scripture says,"The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend." (Exodus 33:11). A friend of God is one who listens and obeys the Voice of God. Moses did not do all the talking, rather, he spent much time listening to God's Voice.
Very few people comes to God with a heart to get to know God better. The victorious man or woman of God is the one who is a friend of God, the one who has learned to listen, to communicate on an intimate level with God.
How could Moses fulfill his responsibilities as leader and responsible for nearly 3 million people, which he had to feed, clothe, house, and transport them, and simultaneously have enough time to be "a friend of God?"
Moses had a tent pitched outside the camp (living area of the multitudes of people). He went there and meet God. It was a place secluded enough to afford his intimate conversation with the One he loved. A friend of God will find a place and a time where he gets alone and listens to the heart of God. And God can trust him/her with deep secrets that comes from His Heart.
Jesus said to the 11 disciples in John15 (after Judas Iscariot left them), "You are my friends, if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead I have called you friends, for everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you." (15: 14-15) The implication is, that being called "friend" is an upgrade from being "servant."
Moses said before he died: "The Lord came from Mount Sinai; He rose like the sun over Edom and shone on His People from Mount Paran. Ten thousand angels were with Him, a Flaming Fire at His Right Hand. The Lord loves His People and protects those who belong to Him. So we bow at His feet and Obey His Commands. People of Israel, no god is like Your God, riding in splendor across the sky, riding through the clouds to come to your aid. " (Deuteronomy 33)
Moses went up from the Plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Mount Pisgah East of Jericho, and there the Lord showed him the whole Land: the territory of Gilead as far North as the Town of Dan; the entire territory of Naphtali; the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh; the territory of Judah as far West as the Mediterranean Sea; the Southern part of Judah; and the Plain that reaches from Zoar to Jericho, the City of the Palm Trees. Then the Lord said to Moses, "This is the Land that I Promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob I would give to their descendants. I have let you see it, but I will not let you go there." So Moses died there in the land of Moab, as the Lord had said he would. The Lord buried him in a Valley in Moab, opposite the Town of Beth'Peor, but to this day no one knows the exact place of his burial. Moses was 120 years old when he died; he was as strong as ever, and his eyesight was still good. The People of Israel mourned for him for 30 days in the Plains of Moab.
No other Prophet has ever done miracles and wonders like those that the Lord sent Moses to perform against the king of Egypt, his officials, and the entire country. No other Prophet has been able to do the great and terrifying things that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. (Deuteronomy 34)
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
THE PROPHETIC MESSAGE OF MICAH.
Micah was a man who spent many years in faithful service to God. He lived in dangerous and significant times. Fast-moving events were foreboding doom for the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Moral corruption and idolatry had gone to seed in both of them, and these brought to the nation destruction from Assyria. God raised up Micah to warn His people strongly of what He was bringing upon them.
Jeremiah 26: 18,19 refers directly to Micah's words: "Zion will be plowed up as a mere field, and Jerusalem herself will become mere heaps of ruins.(Micah 3:12) This prophecy was accurately fulfilled when the king of Babylon razed Jerusalem, so as to cause ruin. (2 Chronicles 36:19) A similar prophecy about Samaria, that it would become a heap of ruins of the field, was likewise fulfilled (Micah 1:6,7) . Samaria was ruined by the Assyrians when they took the Northern kingdom of Israel into captivity (2 Kings 17: 5,6) It was later conquered by Alexander the Great and suffered devastation by the Jews under John Hyrcanus I. Of this last destruction of Samaria, the city was almost demolish, attempting to efface all proofs that a fortified city had ever stood on the hill.
Micah was a bold man, able to tell the rulers of his nation the following words, "Listen, you rulers of Israel! You are suppose to be concerned about Justice, yet you hate what is good and love what is evil. You skin my people alive and tear the flesh off their bones. You eat my people up. You strip off their skin, break their bones, and chop them up like meat for the pot. The time is coming when you will cry out to the Lord, but He will not listen to your prayers, for you have done evil." (Micah 3: 1-4)
Micah was also a humble man, one giving all credit for his powerful utterances to God, by whose Spirit he spoke. He said: "My people are deceived by prophets who promise Peace to those who pay them, but threaten war for those who don't. To these prophets the Lord says, 'Prophets, your day is almost over, the sun is going down on you. Because you mislead My people, you will have no more prophetic visions, and you will not be able to predict anything.' Those who predict the future will be disgraced by their failure. They will all be humiliated because God does not answer them. But as for me, the Lord fills me with His Spirit and Power, and gives me a sense of Justice and the courage to tell the people of Israel what their sins are." (Micah 3: 5-8)
As is true for many of the prophets, very little is said concerning Micah himself in his book; it is the message that embrace its importance. The name Micah is a shortened form of Michael (meaning, "Who is Like God?"). Micah served as prophet during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, which made him a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah and Josea. The exact period of his prophetic work is uncertain. Micah was a rural prophet from the Village of Mores-Heth in the fertile She-Phelah, South West of Jerusalem. His familiarity with rural life is shown in the kind of illustrations he used to explain the points of his declarations.
Micah in 2: 11-13 says, "These people want the kind of prophet who goes around full of lies and deceit and says, 'I prophesy that wine and liquor will flow for you.' But I will gather you together, all you people of Israel that are left. I will bring you together like sheep returning to the fold. Like a pasture full of sheep, your land will once again be filled with many people.' "
Mica in 4: 8 says, "And you, Jerusalem, where God, like a shepherd from His lookout tower, watches over His people, will once again be the capital of the kingdom that was yours."
Micah in 6: 12-16 says, "You rich people that exploit the poor, all of you are liars. So I have already begun your ruin and destruction because of your sins. You will eat, but not be satisfied -in fact you will still be hungry. You will carry things off, but you will not be able to save them; anything do you save I will destroy in war. You will sow grain, but not harvest the crop. You will press oil from olives, but never get to use it. You will make wine, but never drink it. This will happen because you have followed the evil practices ... ".
Micah in 7: 1-4 says, "It is hopeless! I am like a hungry person who finds no fruit left on the trees and no grapes on the wines. All the grapes and all the tasty figs have been picked. There is not an honest person left in the land, no one loyal to God. Everyone is waiting for a chance to commit murder. Everyone hunts down their own people. They are all experts at doing evil. Officials and judges ask for bribes. The influential people tell them what they want, and so they scheme together. Even the best and most honest of them are as worthless as weeds."
Micah in 7: 14-17 says, "Be a shepherd to Your people, Lord, the people You have chosen. Although they live apart in the wilderness, there is fertile land around them. Let them go and feed in the rich pastures ... as they did long ago. Work miracles for us, Lord, as You did in the days when You brought us out of Egypt. The nations will see this and be frustrated in spite of all their strength. In dismay they will close their mouths and cover their ears. They will crawl in the dust like snakes; they will come from their fortresses, trembling and afraid. They will turn in fear to the Lord our God."
Micah's outstanding prophecy is the one which foretells the birthplace of the Messiah, the ruler in Israel "whose origin is from early times". He will come out of Beth-Lehem Ephrathah. He will rule as a shepherd in the strength of God, and be great, not just in Israel, but as far as the ends of the earth.
(Micah 5: 2-4).
Jeremiah 26: 18,19 refers directly to Micah's words: "Zion will be plowed up as a mere field, and Jerusalem herself will become mere heaps of ruins.(Micah 3:12) This prophecy was accurately fulfilled when the king of Babylon razed Jerusalem, so as to cause ruin. (2 Chronicles 36:19) A similar prophecy about Samaria, that it would become a heap of ruins of the field, was likewise fulfilled (Micah 1:6,7) . Samaria was ruined by the Assyrians when they took the Northern kingdom of Israel into captivity (2 Kings 17: 5,6) It was later conquered by Alexander the Great and suffered devastation by the Jews under John Hyrcanus I. Of this last destruction of Samaria, the city was almost demolish, attempting to efface all proofs that a fortified city had ever stood on the hill.
Micah was a bold man, able to tell the rulers of his nation the following words, "Listen, you rulers of Israel! You are suppose to be concerned about Justice, yet you hate what is good and love what is evil. You skin my people alive and tear the flesh off their bones. You eat my people up. You strip off their skin, break their bones, and chop them up like meat for the pot. The time is coming when you will cry out to the Lord, but He will not listen to your prayers, for you have done evil." (Micah 3: 1-4)
Micah was also a humble man, one giving all credit for his powerful utterances to God, by whose Spirit he spoke. He said: "My people are deceived by prophets who promise Peace to those who pay them, but threaten war for those who don't. To these prophets the Lord says, 'Prophets, your day is almost over, the sun is going down on you. Because you mislead My people, you will have no more prophetic visions, and you will not be able to predict anything.' Those who predict the future will be disgraced by their failure. They will all be humiliated because God does not answer them. But as for me, the Lord fills me with His Spirit and Power, and gives me a sense of Justice and the courage to tell the people of Israel what their sins are." (Micah 3: 5-8)
As is true for many of the prophets, very little is said concerning Micah himself in his book; it is the message that embrace its importance. The name Micah is a shortened form of Michael (meaning, "Who is Like God?"). Micah served as prophet during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, which made him a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah and Josea. The exact period of his prophetic work is uncertain. Micah was a rural prophet from the Village of Mores-Heth in the fertile She-Phelah, South West of Jerusalem. His familiarity with rural life is shown in the kind of illustrations he used to explain the points of his declarations.
Micah in 2: 11-13 says, "These people want the kind of prophet who goes around full of lies and deceit and says, 'I prophesy that wine and liquor will flow for you.' But I will gather you together, all you people of Israel that are left. I will bring you together like sheep returning to the fold. Like a pasture full of sheep, your land will once again be filled with many people.' "
Mica in 4: 8 says, "And you, Jerusalem, where God, like a shepherd from His lookout tower, watches over His people, will once again be the capital of the kingdom that was yours."
Micah in 6: 12-16 says, "You rich people that exploit the poor, all of you are liars. So I have already begun your ruin and destruction because of your sins. You will eat, but not be satisfied -in fact you will still be hungry. You will carry things off, but you will not be able to save them; anything do you save I will destroy in war. You will sow grain, but not harvest the crop. You will press oil from olives, but never get to use it. You will make wine, but never drink it. This will happen because you have followed the evil practices ... ".
Micah in 7: 1-4 says, "It is hopeless! I am like a hungry person who finds no fruit left on the trees and no grapes on the wines. All the grapes and all the tasty figs have been picked. There is not an honest person left in the land, no one loyal to God. Everyone is waiting for a chance to commit murder. Everyone hunts down their own people. They are all experts at doing evil. Officials and judges ask for bribes. The influential people tell them what they want, and so they scheme together. Even the best and most honest of them are as worthless as weeds."
Micah in 7: 14-17 says, "Be a shepherd to Your people, Lord, the people You have chosen. Although they live apart in the wilderness, there is fertile land around them. Let them go and feed in the rich pastures ... as they did long ago. Work miracles for us, Lord, as You did in the days when You brought us out of Egypt. The nations will see this and be frustrated in spite of all their strength. In dismay they will close their mouths and cover their ears. They will crawl in the dust like snakes; they will come from their fortresses, trembling and afraid. They will turn in fear to the Lord our God."
Micah's outstanding prophecy is the one which foretells the birthplace of the Messiah, the ruler in Israel "whose origin is from early times". He will come out of Beth-Lehem Ephrathah. He will rule as a shepherd in the strength of God, and be great, not just in Israel, but as far as the ends of the earth.
(Micah 5: 2-4).
Monday, January 2, 2017
THE 4 RACES IN THE BOOK OF GATES.
The Book of the Gates is an ancient Egyptian funerary text that were used, usually to help the spirit of the concerned person to be preserved in the Afterlife.
In the Book of Gates the 4 races of the World are depicted in procession entering the next World. They were: Libyan (Them'Ehu), Nubian (Neh'Esu), Asiatic (Aamu), and Egypthian (Reth).
-LIBYAN is referred to the West region of the Nile River. Its people were ancestors of the modern Berbers. Berbers occupied the area for thousands of years before the beginning of human records.
For the Egyptians, Libya was the Land of the Spirits. Homer, the blind Greek writer, called Libya, in his Odyssey, "Lotus-Eaters." A race of people, leaving on an island dominated by Lotus plants. The fruits and flowers of the plant were narcotic, causing the people to sleep in peaceful apathy (lack of feeling, emotion, interest and concern), lacking the sense of purpose, worth, or meaning in their life.
Odysseus narrated the experience as follows, "... I sent 2 of my company to see what manner of men the people of that place might be, and they had a 3rd man under them. The Lotus-eaters did not harm them, but gave the Lotus to eat, which was so delicious that those who ate it was left off caring about home, and did not even want to go back and say what happened to them, but were for staying and munching Lotus with the Lotus-Eaters, without thinking further of their return. Nevertheless, though they wept bitterly I forced them back to the ships."
-NUBIA is referred to a region along the Nile River in what is today Northern Sudan and Southern Egypt. The Nuba Mountains mark the Southern border of the desert land and the Northern limit of good soils washed down by the Nile. The Nuba people resided in one of the most remote inaccessible places in all Sudan, the foothills of the Nuba Mountains in Central Sudan. The area was considered a place of refuge, bringing people together of many different tongues and backgrounds who were fleeing oppressive governments and slave traders. Egyptians referred to Nubia as Ta-Seti or "the Land of the Bow," since Nubians were known to be expert archers. Nubia was 1st mentioned in the Old Kingdom accounts of trade missions. Nubians and early Egyptians used related royal symbols. From Aswan, right above the 1st Cataract, the Southern Limit of Egyptian control at the time, Egyptians imported gold, incense, ebony, copper, ivory, and exotic animals from tropical Africa through Nubia. As trade between Egypt and Nubia increased, so did wealth and stability. By the 6th Dynasty, Nubia was divided into a series of small kingdoms. Ancient Egypt conquered Nubian territory in various eras, and incorporated parts of the area into its provinces. The Nubians in turn were to conquer Egypt. However, relations between them showed peaceful cultural interchange.
-ASIATIC (AAMU) refers to the East, or "the rising of the Sun in the East" or the point where the Sun rises. The populations share customs and a very long history. The people from the East were known for its disposition to work with stones and ability in the battle ground by the use of certain ways of combat.
The Asian were known as the people of the Yellow River, which flows West to East, opposite to the flow of the Nile River.
-EGYPTIAN (RETH) were known for its rules of existence and its own model of justice. They settled the norms through its heroes, human or divine and centralized the view that they themselves were gods.
The divinity himself reigned through his son, the absolute king, his incarnation and representative on earth. The priesthood of Ammon attained the most tremendous power by the measure of wealth and its successful conquest of the ones they considered heretics. The temples of Ammon in Thebes became the largest in the World.The word Egyptian means "dark colored" referring to the muddy soil of their land. In the Bible the Egyptians are referred to as "Sons of Ham" or "Children of Ham."
Noah, son of Lamech, 9th descendant in Adam's genealogy, was the central human character of the Flood story. Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japhet.
Noah's story is an account of humanity's depraved condition before the Flood that concludes the list of Adam's descendants, emphasizing the increasing pervasiveness of sin. This ingredient is paralleled in the account of Noah and his sons after the Flood. The depraved behavior of Ham, one of his own sons, shows again how easy humans fall into the wickedness of sin, and through the other sons, how human mind creates by themselves a system of rules trying to avoid the power of such wickedness. GOD's intervention shows that humans by themselves are too weak to face that wicked power, and only through HIM humans are able to overcome it.
In the Book of Gates the 4 races of the World are depicted in procession entering the next World. They were: Libyan (Them'Ehu), Nubian (Neh'Esu), Asiatic (Aamu), and Egypthian (Reth).
-LIBYAN is referred to the West region of the Nile River. Its people were ancestors of the modern Berbers. Berbers occupied the area for thousands of years before the beginning of human records.
For the Egyptians, Libya was the Land of the Spirits. Homer, the blind Greek writer, called Libya, in his Odyssey, "Lotus-Eaters." A race of people, leaving on an island dominated by Lotus plants. The fruits and flowers of the plant were narcotic, causing the people to sleep in peaceful apathy (lack of feeling, emotion, interest and concern), lacking the sense of purpose, worth, or meaning in their life.
Odysseus narrated the experience as follows, "... I sent 2 of my company to see what manner of men the people of that place might be, and they had a 3rd man under them. The Lotus-eaters did not harm them, but gave the Lotus to eat, which was so delicious that those who ate it was left off caring about home, and did not even want to go back and say what happened to them, but were for staying and munching Lotus with the Lotus-Eaters, without thinking further of their return. Nevertheless, though they wept bitterly I forced them back to the ships."
-NUBIA is referred to a region along the Nile River in what is today Northern Sudan and Southern Egypt. The Nuba Mountains mark the Southern border of the desert land and the Northern limit of good soils washed down by the Nile. The Nuba people resided in one of the most remote inaccessible places in all Sudan, the foothills of the Nuba Mountains in Central Sudan. The area was considered a place of refuge, bringing people together of many different tongues and backgrounds who were fleeing oppressive governments and slave traders. Egyptians referred to Nubia as Ta-Seti or "the Land of the Bow," since Nubians were known to be expert archers. Nubia was 1st mentioned in the Old Kingdom accounts of trade missions. Nubians and early Egyptians used related royal symbols. From Aswan, right above the 1st Cataract, the Southern Limit of Egyptian control at the time, Egyptians imported gold, incense, ebony, copper, ivory, and exotic animals from tropical Africa through Nubia. As trade between Egypt and Nubia increased, so did wealth and stability. By the 6th Dynasty, Nubia was divided into a series of small kingdoms. Ancient Egypt conquered Nubian territory in various eras, and incorporated parts of the area into its provinces. The Nubians in turn were to conquer Egypt. However, relations between them showed peaceful cultural interchange.
-ASIATIC (AAMU) refers to the East, or "the rising of the Sun in the East" or the point where the Sun rises. The populations share customs and a very long history. The people from the East were known for its disposition to work with stones and ability in the battle ground by the use of certain ways of combat.
The Asian were known as the people of the Yellow River, which flows West to East, opposite to the flow of the Nile River.
-EGYPTIAN (RETH) were known for its rules of existence and its own model of justice. They settled the norms through its heroes, human or divine and centralized the view that they themselves were gods.
The divinity himself reigned through his son, the absolute king, his incarnation and representative on earth. The priesthood of Ammon attained the most tremendous power by the measure of wealth and its successful conquest of the ones they considered heretics. The temples of Ammon in Thebes became the largest in the World.The word Egyptian means "dark colored" referring to the muddy soil of their land. In the Bible the Egyptians are referred to as "Sons of Ham" or "Children of Ham."
Noah, son of Lamech, 9th descendant in Adam's genealogy, was the central human character of the Flood story. Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japhet.
Noah's story is an account of humanity's depraved condition before the Flood that concludes the list of Adam's descendants, emphasizing the increasing pervasiveness of sin. This ingredient is paralleled in the account of Noah and his sons after the Flood. The depraved behavior of Ham, one of his own sons, shows again how easy humans fall into the wickedness of sin, and through the other sons, how human mind creates by themselves a system of rules trying to avoid the power of such wickedness. GOD's intervention shows that humans by themselves are too weak to face that wicked power, and only through HIM humans are able to overcome it.
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