DAMASCUS AS A SPIRITUAL ENERGY CENTRE. Part One.

Damascus (da-mas'-cus) is a word that symbolizes activity, alertness, in respect to Trade or Possessions. In other contexts it symbolizes: sack of blood or red sackcloth.
Damascus is symbolized as a Chief City of an empire settled in the World. In order to understand the sequence of events that relates the City of Damascus to the Spiritual World from the Past to the Future, it is necessary to read, study and meditate the Word of God in relation to it, written in stages, one by one, throughout the Scripture.
ACTS 9:  The Conversion of Paul:     Meanwhile Saul (Paul's name before the conversion) was still breathing threats to slaughter the Lord's Disciples. He had gone to the High Priest and asked for letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, that would authorize him to arrest and take to Jerusalem any Followers of The Way, men or women, that he could find. (1-2)
Suddenly, while Saul was traveling to Damascus and just before he reached the City, there came a Light from Heaven all around him. He fell to the ground, and then he heard a Voice saying, "Saul,
Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"  (3-4)
"Who are You, Lord?" he asked, and the Voice answered, "I am Jesus, and you are persecuting Me. Get up now and go into the City, and you will be told what you have to do."  (5-6)
The men traveling with Saul stood there, before reaching the City of Damascus, speechless, for though the men heard the Voice they could see no one.  (7)
Saul got up from the ground, but even with his eyes wide open he could see nothing at all, and the men had to lead him into Damascus by hand.  (8)
For Three(3) Days Saul was without his sight, and took neither food nor drink. A disciple called Ananias who lived in Damascus had a Vision in which he heard the Lord say to him, "Ananias!"
When Ananias replied, "Here I am, Lord," the Lord said, "You must go to Straight Street and ask at the House of Judas for someone called Saul, who comes from Tarsus. At this moment he is praying, having had a Vision of a man called Ananias coming in and laying hands on him to give him back his sight."

When Ananias heard that, he said, "Lord, several people have told me about this man and all the harm he has been doing to Your saints in Jerusalem. This man has only come here because he holds a warrant from the chief priests to arrest everybody who Invokes Your Name."  (9-14)
The Lord replied, "You must go all the same, because this man is My chosen instrument to bring My Name before pagans and pagan kings and before the people of Israel; I Myself will show him how much he himself must suffer for My Name."  (15-16)
Then Ananias went. He entered the House, and at once laid his hands on Saul and said, "Brother Saul, I have been sent by the Lord Jesus Who appeared to you on your way here so that you may recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Immediately it was as though scales fell away from Saul's eyes and he could see again. So he was baptized there and then, after taking some food he regained his strength.  (17-19)
After he had spent only a few Days with the Disciples in Damascus, he began preach-ing in the synagogues, "JESUS is the SON of GOD." All his hearers were amazed. "Surely,"they said, "this is the man who organized the attack in Jerusalem against the people who Invoke This Name, and who came here for the sole purpose of arresting them to have them tried by the chief priests?"
Saul's Power increased steadily, and he was able to throw the Jewish colony at Damascus into complete confusion by the way he demonstrated that JESUS was the CHRIST.  (20-23)
Some Time passed, and the Jews worked out a plot to kill him, but news of it reached Saul. To make sure of killing him they kept watch on the Gates day and night, but when it was dark the Disciples took him and let him down from the top of the Wall, lowering him in a basket. When he got to Jerusalem he tried to join the Disciples, but they were all afraid of him: they could not believe he was really a disciple. Barnabas, however, took charge of him, introduced him to the Apostles, and explained How the Lord had appeared to Saul and spoken to him on his journey, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus In the Name of Jesus. Saul now started to go around with them in Jerusalem, preaching fearlessly In the Name of the Lord. But after he had spoken to the Hellenists, and argued with them, they became determined to kill him. When the Brothers knew, they took him to Caesarea, and sent him off from there to Tarsus (Saul's birthplace).

YIN-YANG CONCEPT.

Yin-Yang (dualism) is one of the dominant concepts shared by different schools throughout history of Chinese philosophy. The most enduring interpretation is related to the concept of Qi (Chi=vital energy).
According to this interpretation, Yin-Yang is seen as Qi operating in the universe.
The earliest characters for Yin-Yang (dualism) are found in inscriptions made on oracle skeletal remains of various animals used in ancient China at least as early as the 14th BC. In this inscriptions, Yin-Yang are descriptions of natural phenomena such as weather conditions, and the movements of the sun. The sunlight during the day is Yang and lack of sunlight at night is Yin. Yang refers to height, brightness and the South side of a Mountain, and Yin refers to a closed door, darkness and the South bank of a River and the North side of a Mountain. This sun-based daily pattern led to a conceptual claim: Yang is movement (Dong) and Yin is rest (Ji'Ing).
It was believed that there were 6 heavenly influences (Qi), which upon descending produced the 5 tastes, going forth in the 5 colors, and were verified in the 5 notes; but when they were in excess, they produced the 6 diseases. Those 6 influences were denominated: Yin, Yang, Wind, Rain, Darkness, and Brightness. In their separation, they formed the 4 seasons; in their order, they formed the 5 elements, When any of them were in excess, they ensured calamity. An excess of the Yin (negative) led to diseases of cold; and excess of the Yang (positive), to diseases of heat.
Despite the differences in the interpretation, application, and appropriation of Yin-Yang (dualism), three basic themes underlie the concept: 1)Yin-Yang as the coherent fabric of nature and mind, exhibited in all existence, 2) Yin-Yang as interaction (Ji'Ao) between the waxing and waning of the cosmic and human realms, and 3) Yin-Yang as a process of harmonization ensuring a constant, dynamic balance of all things.
Yin in its highest form is freezing while Yang in its highest form is boiling. The chilliness comes from heaven while the warmness comes from the earth. The interaction of these two opposites establishes harmony, so it gives birth to things.
Yin-Yang is complementary, emblematic of valuable equality rooted in the unified, dynamic, and harmonized structure of the cosmos.
Yin-Yang schools of teaching existed already during the "Spring and Autumn" (770-481BC) and "Warring States"(403-221BC) periods. Alongside with this Yin-Yang school, 5 others known from the same periods (Kong-Fusian, Mohist, Legalist, Fatalist, and Daoist) defines the theory of the study as "the investigation of the art (Shu) of Yin-Yang." The study focused on omens of luck and explored the patterns of the 4 seasons, and methods of prediction and astronomy. Just as the Confucians (Ru-Jia) arose from the ranks of Ru-Shi (scholar-gentlemen) who excelled at ritual and music), those of the Yin-Yang school came from the Fang-Shi (recipe-gentleman) who specialized in various numerological disciplines known as Shu-Shu (number-arts). This discipline included astronomy (Tian'Wen), calendar-keeping (Li-Pu), Five Faces correlative theory (Wu'Xing), Tortoise-shell interpretation (Zhu-Guai), fortune-telling (Za'Zha) and face-reading (Xing'Fa).
By the Han dynasty (202BC-220CE), Yin-Yang (dualism) was associated with"Five Faces"(Wu'Xing) correlative cosmology. According to the "Great Plan,"a chapter of the "Classic of Documents" (Shu'Jing), Wu'Xing refers to material substances that have certain functional attributes: Water is said to soak and descend; Fire is said to blaze and ascend; Wood is said to curve or be straight; Metal is said to obey and change; Earth is said to take seeds and give crops. Wu'Xing is used as a set of numerological classifiers and explains the configuration of change on various scales. The Yin-Yang/ Wu'Xing teaching -an early Chinese attempt in the direction of working out metaphysics and cosmology- was a fusion of these two conceptual schemes applied to astronomy and the mantic arts.
In the Tai Xuan (The Great Dark Mystery), writen by Yan Xion, his chief philosophical writing, the term Xuan describes dark, black, mysterious, profound, abstruse or hidden. The writer, however, used the term Xuan to refer to the hidden fountainhead or initial state, out of which things emerge and the mysterious process through which they unfold. The Tai Xuan, then, is based on an evolving sequence of figures that, when taken together, map out the cycles of transformation underlying all things. Each figure-image- circumstance is articulated through an evolving series of statements that describes and appraises the unfolding of the situation and the meaning of the image.
Yang Xiong, a prolific yet reclusive court poet, his writings and tragic life spanned the collapse of the Han dynasty (202BC-9CE) and the brief and catastrophic usurpation of the throne by the imperial regent Wang Mang (9-23CE). He is best known for his assertion that human nature originally is neither good nor depraved but rather comes into existence as a mixture of both. As a social critic and classical scholar, he is considered to be the chief representative of the Old Text School of Kong-Zi'anism.
Another book of the same author is "Words to Live By"(Fa Yan). The Fa Yan focus on the perennial Kong-Zi (Confucian) theme of self-cultivation while emphasizing the importance of learning, friendship, role models, rites and music, the natural tendencies, the human virtues, the value of the classics, the princely person, the sage, ruling, filial responsibility, and so forth. Also we can find discussion of concepts and themes usually associated with the way (Dao), potency (De), spontaneity (Zi'Ran), non-coercive action (Wu'Wei), minimizing desire, the vanity of the desires of wealth, office and renown, and the challenges of surviving and maintaining one's integrity in a time of disorder.

THE TEMPLE OF CONFUCIUS.

Qufu city is best known as the birthplace and place of residence of Confucius (Kong-Fusi, or Kong-Zi). He founded Confucianism, a way of life propagated by him in the 6th-5th BC and followed by the Chinese people for more than millennia. Although transformed over time, it is still the substance of learning, the source of values, and the social code of the Chinese.
Qufu (Chu-Fou), conventional Ku-Fow city, is in the Northern coastal province Shan-Dong of China, lying across the Yellow Sea from the Korean peninsula.
Shan-Dong is China's second most populous province. The name Shan-Dong, meaning "East of Mountains," was first officially used during the Jin dynasty in the 12th century. Jinan, its capital city, lies in the Northern foothills of the Mount Tai massif, on the high ground just South of the Yellow River (Huang He). Well-watered from natural springs, the area was settled in early times. From the 8th BC it was the site of Li'Xia, a major city of the state of Qi, which flourished in the Zhou period (1046-256BC). Later, in the 2nd century BC, the town became the seat of Li'Cheng county in the commandering of Jinan. The Chinese name Jinan (South of the Ji) came from the Ji River, which formerly flowed along what is now the lower course of the Yellow River (Huang He). The seat of the commandery was shifted to the present city at the beginning of the 4th CE. Jinan remained an important centre of administration during the next 2 centuries under various names and also a major religious centre. When the Ming dynasty (1368-1644CE) created Shandong province, Jinan became its capital. Nearby Mount Tai, to the South, has long been one of China's greatest holy mountains, and from the 4th to the 7th CE many Buddhist cave temples were built in the hills South of the city capital.
Mount Tai, originally known as Dai-Zong or Dai-Shan is a well known mountain mass with several peaks along a South'West-North'East axis to the North of the city of Tai-An, also in the Shan-Dong province. Since Qin times (221-207 BC) it has also being known as Dong-Yue (Eastern Mountain), one of the 5 holy mountains of China, and has usually ranked as the first among them. The other 4 are: Mount Heng in Hunan province (South), Mount Hua in Shaan'Xi province (West), Mount Heng in Shanxi province (North), and Mount Song in Henan province (central).
Mount Tai was the site of historically important official state rituals. Two of the most spectacular of all ceremonies were: one called Feng, held on top of the Tai (offerings to heaven); and the other, called Chan, held on a lower hill (offerings to earth). The  rituals were believed to ensure a dynasty's fortunes. They were carried out at strange intervals -during the Xi (Western) Han dynasty (206BC-25CE) in 110, 106, 102, and 98BC; then by the Dong (East) Han dynasty (25-220CE) in 56CE; and by emperors of the Tang dynasty (618-907CE) in 666 and 725.
Mount Tai was believed to be home to powerful spirits for whom the rituals were performed in spring for a good harvest and in autumn to give thanks for a harvest completed. Since Tai was the chief ceremonial place for Eastern China, rites were also performed to seek protection from natural disasters.
Tai was also considered to be the centre of the Yang (male) principle, the source of life and that the spirits determined all human destiny and after death the souls of people returned to the mountain for judgment.
Confucius (Kong-Fusi, or Kong-Zi), born in Qufu, state of Lu, in 551BC, was China's most famous teacher, philosopher, and political theorist, whose ideas have influenced the civilization of East Asia. His father Kong He was an elderly commandant of the local Lu garrison. His grandfather had migrated the family from Song to Lu. The area was notionally controlled by the kings of Zhou but effectively independent under the local lords of Lu. His father died when he was 3 years old, and he was raised by his mother Yan Zheng-Zai in poverty. Later his mother died and at the age of 19 he married Qi'Guan, and a year later the couple had their first child, Kong Li. Later they had two daughters, one of them is thought to have died as a child. He was educated at schools for commoners, where he studied and learned the Six Arts: Rites, Music, Archery, Chariot-teering, Calligraphy, and Mathematics. Whoever excelled in these 6 arts were thought to have reached a state of perfection, a perfect gentleman.
The emphasis on Six Arts bred Confucian gentlemen who knew more than just canonical scholarship.
The classical interest practical scholarship invigorated Chinese mathematics, astronomy, and science. This tradition receded after the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368), when neo-Confucianism underscore the importance of the 4 Books "Analects" over the other arts and technical fields. At the schools for the sons of the state (Guozijian), law, math, caligraphy, equestrianism and archery were emphasized by the Ming Hong'Wu Emperor in addition to Confucian classics and also required in the Imperial level.
By the Qing dynasty, the Chinese specialists were not able to manage the lunar calendar accurately and the calendar was going out of phase with nature.  This was a great embarrassment to the Chinese court, as the adherence to the lunar calendar by the vassal states was a recognition of the sovereignty of the Chinese court over them. Western astronomical expertise then was welcomed as an aftermath of Chinese interest in astronomy and mathematics, partially formulated in the classical 6 Arts agenda.
Confucius, in the later part of his life, forsook his previous wanderings and returned to live at his birth place, Qufu, writing, editing, and teaching numerous disciples there until his death in 479BC.
The great Temple of Confucius in the Qufu town was built in 1724CE. Inside the large ceremonial hall of the temple is a large statue of him, surrounded by statues of his disciples. The temple itself stands within a larger oblong walled enclosure that covers about 49 acres (20 hectares), and around it the town expanded. Inside the enclosure is an extensive complex of temples, shrines, monuments, and pavilions.
The enclosure also contains a house that stands on the site of the one Confucius lived in, an ancient tree said to have been planted by him, and a well of water from which he drank.
Outside the temple enclosure is an elaborate complex of buildings that was the residence of Confucius's descendants, the Kong family. Through the centuries the Kong family were the guardians of the temple complex and the administrators of the town of Qufu. The 76th lineal descendant of Confucius lived in the town before World War II. Lying outside the North Gate of the temple enclosure is the Kong's family cemetery which contains the tomb of Confucius.

THE ANCIENT ARMENIANS.

Historically the name 'Armenian' designate a group of people, and was use by neighboring countries of ancient Armenia. The earliest attestations of the name 'Armenia' date around the 6th BC.
The Behistun Inscription, in Old Persian 'Bagastana,' meaning "the place of God," authored by Darius the Great, is a multilingual inscription and a large rock relief on a cliff at Mount Behistun, in Western Iran. Darius made a referral to "Ur-Ash-Tu"(in Babylonian) as 'Ar-Mina' (in Old Persian) and Harminuta (in Elamite). The inscription was made sometime between his coronation as king of the Persian Empire in the summer of 522 BC and his death in autumn of 486 BC. It begins with a brief description of Darius, including his ancestry and lineage. Late, he provides a lengthy sequence of events stating in detail that the rebellions, which had resulted from the deaths of Cyrus the Great and his son Cambyses II, (Darius fought 19 battles in a period of one year) throughout the empire, were orchestrated by several impostors and their co-conspirators. Each of them falsely proclaimed king-hood during the upheaval. Darius proclaimed the victory attributing his success to the grace of the highest spirit of worship, The Mighty Lord.
In Greek, 'Armenians' is attested from about the same time, perhaps the earliest reference being a fragment attributed to Heca'Taeus of Miletus (476 BC). Xenophon, a Greek general serving in some of the Persian expeditions, describes many aspects of Armenian village life and hospitality in around 401 BC. He relates that the people spoke a language that to his ear sounded like the Persian's language.
Armenians call themselves 'Hay.' The name has traditionally been derived from 'Hayk,' the legendary patriarch of the Armenians and a great-great-grandson of Noah, who, according to Moses of Chorene, a prominent Armenian historian, defeated the Babylonian king Bel in 2,492 BC and established his nation in the Ar'Arat region. Moses also wrote that the Word 'Armenian' originated from the name 'Arm-Enak' or 'Aram (descendant of Hayk).
From 4,000 to 1,000 BC, tools and trinkets of copper, bronze and iron were commonly produced in the ancient regions of the Armenians and traded in neighboring lands where those metals were less found.
The Armenian Plateau has been called the "Epicenter of the Iron Age,"since it is the location of the first appearance of Iron metallurgy in the late 2nd millennium BC. Throughout Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the Armenian Highlands was a heavily contested territory of the Iranian Parthian Empire, Sassanid Persian Empire, Byzantine Empire, and the Arab Caliphate. From the early modern era and on, the region came directly under Safavid Iranian rule. Heavily contested for centuries between Iranian Safavids and its arch-rival the Ottoman Empire with numerous wars over the Highlands comprising Western Armenia. The area was conquered by the Ottomans in the first half of the 17th century, while Eastern Armenia, forming another major part of the Highlands, stayed in Iranian hands up to the course of the 19th century, when it was ceded to Imperial Russia. During the latter final half of the 19th CE, the Ottoman held parts of the Armenian Highlands comprising Western Armenia now formed the boundary of the Ottoman sphere of influence and the Russia sphere of influence. The Armenian extermination was executed by the Ottomans trying to erase most of the evidence that they ever lived on the great highland called Armenian Plateau, to which the perpetrators soon assigned a new name "Eastern Anatolia." The dissolution of the Ottomans after World War I, it has been the boundary region of Turkey, Iran, and Soviet Union. And, from 1991, since the dissolution of Soviet Union, it is a boundary region of Armenia, parts of Georgia, and Azeibajan.
In the Book of Genesis, the mountains of Ar'Arat is the place where Noah's Ark came to rest after the Great Flood (Genesis 8). Scholars refer it to a general region, corresponding to Ancient Assyrian Ur'Artu (Old Persian Ar'Mina) the name of the kingdom which at the time controlled the Lake Van region. The Lake Van is the largest one in Turkey, it lies in the far East in the provinces of Van and Bitlis. It is a saline and extremely alkaline body of water, with a pH value between 9-12, characterized by high concentration of sodium carbonate.  It the most productive aquatic environment in the area.
Marco Polo (1254-1324) wrote about Noah's ark in his book, 'The Travels of Marco Polo' as follows : "In the heart of the Armenian mountain range, the mountain's peak is shaped like a cup, on which Noah's arch is said to have rested. The mountain is so broad and long that it takes more than two days to go around it. On the summit the snow lies so deep all the year round that no one can ever climb it; this snow never entirely melts, but new snow is forever falling on the old, so that the level rises.
In Armenian tradition, the specific summit where the Ark rested, is identified as Mount Masis, now known as Mount Ar'Arat, the highest peak of Armenian Highland, located in present-day Turkey.
The Armenian Highlands total area is about 400,000 square kilometers and is the central-most and highest of three land-locked plateaus, that together form the Northern sector of the Middle East.
The Highlands are reach in Water resources and most of it is in Eastern Turkey, and also includes North Western Iran, all of Armenia, Southern Georgia, and Western Azerbaijan. Its North Eastern parts are also known as Lesser Caucasus, which is a center of Armenian culture.
The Armenian Highlands have been the scene of great volcanic activity. Geologically recent volcanism on the area has resulted in large volcanic formations.  A series of massifs and tectonic movement has formed the 3 largest Lakes in the Highland, Lake Sevan, Lake Van, and Lake Urmia.
Armenians have had its presence in the Armenian Highland for over 4,000 years since the time when Hayk, the legendary patriarch and founder of the first Armenian nation, led them to victory over Bel of Babylon. Today, with a population of 3.5 million, they not only constitute an overwhelming majority in Armenia, but also in the disputed region of Ar'Tsakh, under control of ethnic Armenians separatists.

SALT AND THE DEAD SEA.

Salt is a necessity of life, as a mineral it was used extensively since ancient times as seasoning, preservative, disinfectant, ceremonial offerings, unit of exchange, etc.
The Scripture contains numerous references to salt. In various contexts, it is used metaphorically to signify permanence, loyalty, fidelity, usefulness, value, and purification. All of them thought to be eternal characteristics of the spiritual heart.
The Hebrew people harvested salt by pouring salt water into pits and letting the water evaporate until only salt was left. In 2 Chronicles 13, King Abijah referred to God's Covenant Promise to David that He will not lack a man to seat on Israel's throne as a Salt Covenant -that is a Covenant that can never be broken. Salt, in this case, is a sacred blessing because of the fact that it is a necessity of life.
The fate of Lot's wife, being turned into a pillar of salt, is reflected as a punishment for disobeying the angels' warning, after she looked back at Sodom (Genesis 19). She was deemed unworthy to be saved. A pillar of salt named "Lot's wife" is located near the Dead Sea at Mount Sodom in Israel.
The main source of salt in Scriptural times was the area of the Dead Sea.
The Jordan Rift Valley also called the Syro-African Depression, is geographically, an elongated depression located in modern-day Israel, Jordan, and Palestine.
The region includes the entire length of the Jordan River -from its sources, through the Hula Valley, the Korazim block, the Sea of Galilee, the Lower Jordan Valley, all the way to the Dead Sea- and then continues through the Arabian depression, the Gulf of Aqaba whose shore-lines it incorporates, until finally reaching the Red Sea proper at the Straits of Tiran, the narrow sea passages between the Sinai and Arabian peninsulas.
The Rift was formed many millions of years ago when the Arabian Plate moved Northward and then Eastward away from Africa. Later, the land between the Mediterranean and the Rift rose so that the sea water stopped flooding the area. Thus, the long lagoon became a landlocked Lake.
The Dead Sea now is receding at an alarming rate because of diversion of incoming water from the Jordan River to the North.  Multiples canals and pipelines proposed to reduce its recession, instead of helping, it had begun causing mayor problems. The drop rate now is 1 meter / 3 feet per year. As the water level decreases, the characteristics of the Sea and surrounding region will substantially change.
The Dead Sea, a salt Lake bordered by the Jordan to the East and Israel and Palestine to the West, lies in the Jordan Rift Valley, and its main tributary is the Jordan River. The face of the ridge is constantly changing as weather interacts with the rock salt,
The Lake surface and shores are 430.5 meters / 1,412 feet below sea level. Being the Earth's lowest elevation on land, the Lake is 304 meters / 997 feet deep, the deepest hyper-saline Lake in the World. And with a salinity of 342g/kg, or 34.2% (2011), it is 9.6 times as salty as the ocean and one of the World's saltiest bodies of Water. Being 50 kilometers / 31 miles long and 15 kilometers / 9 miles wide at its widest point, the Lake's salinity makes for a harsh environment in which plants and animals cannot flourish. The density of the water is 1.24 kg/litre, which makes swimming similar to floating.
In Ezekiel 47, is another Scriptural example that highlights that life in the Spirit is being replaced in our bodies made of salty water in the same way Fresh Water enters into the Salty Water of the Dead Sea and gradually replaces it into Fresh Water that brings life :
The Scripture says, "The man led me back to 'the entrance of the Temple.' Water was coming out from 'under the entrance' and flowing East, the direction the Temple faced. Water was flowing down from 'under the South part' of the Temple 'past the South side of the altar.'"  (Ezekiel 47: 1)
"The man then took me 'out of the Temple area' by way of the 'North Gate' and led me around 'to the Gate that faces East.' A small Stream of Water was flowing out at the 'South side of the Gate.' With his measuring rod the man measured 560 yards downstream to the East and told me to wade through the stream there. The water came only to my ankles. Then he measured another 560 yards, and the water came up to my knees. Another 560 yards farther down, the water was up to my waist. He measured 560 yards more, and there the Stream was so deep I could not wade through it. It was too deep to cross except by swimming. He said to me, "Mortal man, note all this carefully." (Ezekiel 47: 2-6)
Then the man took me back to the Riverbank, and when I got there, I saw that 'there were very many trees' on each bank. He said to me, "This Water flows through the Land 'to the East' and 'down into the Jordan Valley' and 'to the Dead Sea.'    When the Water flows into the Dead Sea, it replaces the Salt Water of that sea with Fresh Water. Wherever the Stream flows, there will be all kinds of animals and fish. The Stream will make the Water of the Dead Sea fresh, and wherever it flows, it will bring Life.
From the Springs of Engedi all the way to the Springs of Eneglaim, there will be fishermen on the shore of the Sea, and they will spread out their nets there to dry. There will be as many different kinds of fish there as there are in the Mediterranean Sea. But the Water in the marshes and ponds along the shore will not be made fresh. They will remain there as a Source of Salt. (Ezekiel 47: 7-11)
On each bank of the Stream all kinds of trees will grow to provide food. Their leaves will never wither, and they will never stop bearing fruit. They will have fresh fruit every month, because they are watered by the Stream that flows 'from the Temple.' The trees will provide food and their leaves will be used for healing people.  (Ezekiel 47: 12)

THE TALE OF KOSCHEI THE DEATHLESS.

The characters of Russian fairy tales inhabit in a particular Magical Kingdom where they never get bored. They are eternally engaged in all kind of trials and tribulations. The strange world of the living dead is separated from the world of the truly dead by a River of Fire. Sometimes the two worlds are separated by other boundaries, but the importance is that there is a boundary, a line over which all must pass to enter that world of the truly dead. The hero crosses to that other side over the fiery River but somehow returns to his world by the action of magical powers.
The character Koschei is an evil immortal man who menaces young women with his magic.
Ivan, one of the most common Russian names, is the main hero of Russian fairy tales. The most famous folktale featuring Ivan as the protagonist is "Prince Ivan, the Firebird and the Grey Wolf."
He is always portrayed as either the 3rd son of a peasant family or the 3rd son of a king, and his friends and foes are often mythic figures.
In the Tale, Ivan has 3 sisters, the first sister is Princess Marya, the second is Princess Olga, the third is Princess Anna. After his parents died and the sisters got married to three wizards, he decided to leave his home in search for his sisters.
On the way, Ivan meets Marya Morevna, a beautiful warrior princess, and gets married to her, and both went to live in a castle. After a while the warrior princess announces she is going to go to war and tells his husband, Ivan, not to open the door of the dungeon in the castle they live in while she will be away.
Ivan, overcome by the desire to know what the dungeon holds, he opens the door soon after her departure and finds the evil immortal man, Koschei, chained and enmaciated.
The evil man, Koschei, asks Ivan to bring him some water; Ivan does so. After Koschei drinks twelve buckets of water, his magic powers return to him, then he tears his chains and disappears.
Soon after, Ivan finds out that the evil man took his wife, Marya Morevna away, he chases Koschei. When he faces him for the first time, Koschei tells Ivan to let him go, but Ivan doesn't give in, and the evil man kills Ivan, cuts his body in pieces, puts his remains into a barrel and throws it into the sea.
Ivan, then, is revived by his sisters' husbands, powerful wizards, who can transform themselves into birds of prey. The wizards tell him that Koschei has a magic horse and suggest Ivan to get one too by going to Baba Yaga, otherwise he won't be able to defeat Koschei.
Baba Yaga is a supernatural being who appears as a deformed witch. She flies around in a mortar, wields a pestle, and dwells deep in the forest in a hut usually described as standing on chicken legs. This Baba Yaga is a benevolent one, the gift giver and adviser. She shows Ivan the path and from now on he knows where to go. She first has to tests Ivan's nerve and courage, and if he proves to be worthy, she will hand to him the magical horse.
After Ivan stands all of Yaga's tests and gets the horse, he fights with the evil Koschei, kills him and burns his body. Marya Morevna, his wife returns to Ivan, and they celebrate his victory with his sisters and their husbands.

THE RUSSIAN FAIRY TALES.

Russian folklore takes its roots in the beliefs of the ancient Slavs. They were called 'Sporoi' in olden times. Procopius, an Eastern Roman writer, derived the name from the Greek word 'Ottelpw' meaning "I scatter grain," because they populated the land with scattered settlements. Prior to becoming known to the Roman world, they were part of the many multi-ethnic confederacies of Eurasia, a combined continental landmass of Europe and Asia.
The word 'Slovenim' is usually considered a derivation from 'Slovo,' originally denoting "people who speaks the same language," (people who understand each other), in contrast to the Slavic word 'nemb' denoting German people that means "silent, mute people."
The present day Slavs are a group of people who speaks various Slavic languages of the Balto-Slavic language group. They are classified in East Slavs (Russia, Ukrainians, Bela-Russians), West Slavs (Poles, Czechs, Slovaks), and South Slavs (Serbs, Bulgarians, Croats, Bosnians, Slovenes, Macedonians, and Montenegrins).
The Russian Fairy Tales is a collection of writings, collected by Alexander Afanasyev and published by him between 1855 and 1863. Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev (July11,1826-October23,1871), a Russian Slavist published nearly 600 folktales and fairytales -one of the largest folk-tale collection in the world. He studied law at the University of Moscow, in which he attended the lectures of Konstantin Kavelin (historian, jurist, sociologist, liberalist) and Timofey Granovsky (he felt that Western history was superior to that of his own and became the 1st to deliver courses on medieval history of Western Europe). Alexander was appointed as librarian in the Archives of Moscow and stayed there for 13 years, and was dismissed in that year because of the scandal provoked by his publishing of the 'Russian
Popular Religious Legends,' which were a ferocious satire of the Orthodox clergy. He was very immersed in Old Russian and Slav traditions and stories, an area of study that did not exist at the time. His first mythological articles were: The Wizards and Witches, Sorcery in Ancient Russia, Legends about the Buyand Island, and were treated as a mine information for the study of more ancient legends.
In such an interpretation, he regarded the fairy tale 'Vasilisa the Beautiful' as depicting the conflict between the sunlight (Vasilisa), the storm (her stepmother), and dark clouds (her stepsisters). His works provides copious information, evidence, documents, and passages of the old chronicles that relates to ancient Slavic cultures, history and tradition, as well as other Indo-European languages, folklore and legends, in particular Germanic traditions since he knew to perfection German as well as Slav ancient languages.
Prior to Afanasyev's works in the 1850s, only a few attempts had ever been made to record or study the beliefs of peasant Russia. Though written Church Slavonic had existed since the 10th century, it was used solely by the church for written works. It was not until the 18th and 19th centuries that a sizable body of secular literature developed. Thus, Afanasyev's collections made a very high valuable contribution to the dissemination of Russian culture and folk belief. The influence of these tales can be seen in the works of many writers and composers, notably Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (Sadko, The Snow Maiden) and Igor Stravinsky (The Firebird, Petrushka, and L'Histoire du soldat).
Some of the tales written by Afanasyev are:
The Death of Koschei the Immortal,
Vasilissa the Beautiful,
Vasilisa The Priest Daughter,
Father Frost,
Sister Alenushka, Brother Ivanushka,
The Frog Princess,
Vasilii the Unlucky,
The White Duck,
The Princess Who Never Smiled,
The Wicked Sisters,
The 12 Dancing Princesses,
The Magic Swan Geese,
The Feather of Finist the Falcon,
Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire Bird, and the Gray Wolf,
The Sea King and Vasilisa the Wise,
The Bold Knight, the Apples of Youth, and the Water of Life,
Go I Know Not Whither and Fetch I Know Not What.
The Golden Slipper,
The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa,
The Wise Little Girl,
The Armless Maiden,
The Giant Turnip.

THE 8 IMMORTALS IN CHINESE MYTHOLOGY.

The 8 immortals are a group of legendary gentlemen which became immortals by means of practicing the Taoist art (living in harmony with nature). The path to immortality includes achieving physical and spiritual harmony through meditation, diet, exercise, breath, control, and the use of herbs.
According to the myth, they lived on a group of 5 islands in the Bohai Sea, which included Penglai Mountain-Island in Eastern China, which only they could traverse due to the "weak water" which would not support ships.
The Bohai Sea, also known as Bohai Gulf, is the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea and Korea Bay on the coast of North-Eastern and North China. It is approximately 78,000 sq km/30,116 sq mi. in area and its proximity to Beijing, the capital of China, makes it one of the busiest sea-ways in the World. Until the early 20th century, the area was often called Gulf of Pech-Zhili. Zhili, due to the historic provinces Zhili and Bei-Zhili, in the area surrounding Beijing. There are few important oil reserves in the vicinity of the gulf.
-The 8 immortals are examples of how all can obtain immortality. They were admitted to eternal life as a reward for their acts on earth and bearing gifts to the Old Man of the South Pole, the god of longevity.
The Old Man is the Taoist deification of Canopus, the brightest star of the constellation Carina. The star is essentially bright when seen with the naked eye.
Most of the immortals were common folks who attracted the attention of the gods through suffering unjust treatment without complaint, and gave more to others than themselves. The names of the 8 immortals are: He Xian'gu, Cao Guojiu, Li Tieguai, Lan Caihe, Lu Dongbin, Han Xian'zi, Zhang Guolao, Zhong'li Quan. We are giving a description of some of them.
He Xian'gu, for example, is the only female among the Eight, At birth, she had 6 long hairs on the crown of her head. When she was about 14 or 15, a divine personage appeared to her in a dream and instructed her to eat powdered mica (crystals found scarcely in Europe but in large quantities in Africa and South America) so that her body might become more ethereal than physical mater and immune to death. She did as instructed, vowed to remain a virgin, and gradually decreased her food intake. One day during the Jing-Long era (707-710 CE) in the reign of Emperor Zhong'Zong of the Tang dynasty, she ascended to the sky in broad daylight and became an immortal. She is depicted holding a lotus flower, and sometimes with the musical instrument known as "sheng," or a "feng'huang," to accompany her.
-Cao Guojiu is another example, and is believed to be a descendant of Cao Bin, a general of the early Song dynasty, and a younger brother of Empress Cao, the wife of Emperor Ren'Zong. As none of the emperor's sons survived their father, he designated a younger male relative, who later became Emperor Ying'Zong as his successor. As such, Cao could not have been a maternal uncle of the emperor, so his "Imperial Uncle" status seemed ambiguous. However, as the Chinese character "Jiu,"which means "maternal uncle,"can also means "wife's brother,"the latter meaning applied to Cao. He was the "Imperial Brother-in-Law" of Emperor Ren'Zong rather than an "Imperial (maternal) Uncle" of any Song dynasty emperor. Cao's younger brother, Cao Jing'Zhi, abused his relationship with the imperial family by bulling others and engaging in corrupt practices. Cao tried to persuade his brother to change his ways but he did not listen. In the meantime, Cao also used his family fortune to help the poor and tried to make up for his brother's misdeeds. One day, Cao Jing'Zhi was accused by other officials in the imperial court of corruption and abuse of power. Cao felt so ashamed and disappointed by his brother's misconduct that he gave up his official career and went to the countryside to lead a reclusive life. During this time, he met the immortals Zhong'li Quan and Lu Dong'bin, who taught him Taoist magical arts. After many years of practice and cultivation, Cao himself also became an immortal. He is often depicted dressed in official robes and holding a jade tablet or castanets. He is also regarded as the patron deity of acting and theatre.
-Li Tieguai is sometimes described as irascible and ill-tempered, but also benevolent to the poor, sick, and the needy, whose suffering he alleviates with special medicine from his gourd. Among the 8, Li Tieguai was one of the most popular, and was depicted as a man leaning on a crutch and holding a gourd. The gourd had spirals of smoke ascend from it, denoting his power of setting his spirit free from his body. He was a very handsome man. On one occasion, his spirit travelled to the sky to meet other immortals. He had told his apprentice, Li Qing, to wait for 7 days for his spirit to return. If he did not return by then, Li Qing was to burn the body because that meant that he had become an immortal; but after 6 1/2 days Li Qing had to go to his mother's home to see her one last time before she died. Li Qing thus cremated Li Tieguai's body. On his way to his mother he passed by a dying beggar and did not have time to bury him. Upon returning, Li Tieguai's spirit found that his body had been cremated and had to enter the only body available at the time, the corpse of a homeless beggar who had just died of starvation. The beggar, unfortunately, had a long and pointed head, large ears with one large brass earring, a woolly and disheveled beard and hair. Laozi appeared and gave him a medicine gourd that never emptied. Li then brought his apprentice's mother back to life using the liquid from his gourd. Li Qing was then dismissed as his apprentice, after being given a small pill and being told he would work hard enough to become an immortal himself. This turned out to be true. Laozi also used the bottle to make him an iron crutch that would never rust nor break. he then told Li that he was ready to join the immortals. From then on, Li was tasked with curing the sick and he travelled to many lands and could be found wherever the sick lay dying or the poor were persecuted.
Li's characteristic emblems are the gourd bottle and also his iron crutch. A vapor cloud emanates from the gourd, and within it is the sage's soul (Hun); which may be depicted as a formless shape or as a miniature double of his bodily self.
-Lan Caihe's character, is another example. The person's age and sex is not clearly defined. It is usually depicted as a boy or girl dressed in ambiguous clothing and carrying a bamboo flower basket and/or a pair of castanets. Lan Caihe is said to have been in a drunken stupor when they left the human world by riding on a celestial swan or crane. One legend says that they became an immortal with the help of Sun Wu'Kong (a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices), who transferred 500 years of magical powers to them.
-Lu Dong'Bin, real name is Lu Yan, with Yan being the given name. Dong'bin is his courtesy name. When he was born, a fragance allegedly flled the room. He had been very intelligent since childhood and had many academic achievements. He is the most widely known and considered to be one of the earliest masters of the traditional internal alchemy (neidan). The legend says that one night when he was in the ancient capital of Chang'An, he dozed off as his yellow millet was cooking in a hotel. He dreamed that he took the top-level civil service exam and excelled, and thus was awarded a prestigious office and soon promoted to the position of vice minister. He then married thae daughter of a prosperous household and had a son and a daughter. He was promoted again and again, and finally became the prime minister. However, his success and luck attracted jealousy of others, so he was accused of crimes that caused him to lose his office. His wife then betrayed him, his children were killed by bandits, and he lost all his wealth. As he was dying on the street in the dream, he woke up. Although in the dream, 18 years has passed, the whole dream actually happened in the time it took his millet to cook. The characters from his dream were actually played by Zhong'Li Quan in order to make him realize that one should not put too much importance on transient glory and success. As a result, Lu went went with Zhong'Li to discover and cultivate the Tao. The exact age of Lu Yan when this incident occurred varies in the tellings, form 20-40 years of age.
Lu was tested 10 times before Zhong'Li took him as a disciple: 1) One day Lu came back from work and found out that his loved one was dying; without sadness or remorse, he started to prepare the dress and coffin necessary for burial, but later his loved one revived and lived on. Lu was still without sadness or joyous feeling. 2) Lu was selling goods at a marked and there came a buyer to bargain with him. After agreeing on the price, Lu handed him the stuff but the buyer refused to pay in full and then walked away. Lu would not argue and let him walk away. 3) On the 1st day of the lunar calendar, Lu met with a beggar. After giving him some money, the beggar kept asking for more and threw vulgar words at him. Lu left the scene with a smile. 4) Lu was once a shepherd. During his tenure a hungry tiger was eyeing the goats under his care. Lu protected the goats by sending them down to the hillside and stood in front of the tiger. The hungry tiger was awed to see this and left without hurting Lu.
5) Lu was studying at a small hut on a mountain when a beautiful woman came by and asked if she could stay there for the night since she was lost. That night, this beautiful lady was flirting and tried to get Lu to have sex with her, but Lu was untouched by such temptation. 6) One day Lu came back to his house and saw that he had been burglarized and lost all his belongings. Without becoming angry he started to work on his farm. As he dug into the ground he found countless pieces of gold. He uncovered the earth without taking a single piece of the gold. 7) Lu bought some bronze utensils at a market. Upon returning home he realized that all the utensils were made of gold and he immediately returned them to the seller. 8) A crazy Taoist was selling medicine on the street, telling people that his magic potion would have one of two outcomes: either the drinker would die on the spot, or the drinker would become immortal. No one would dare to try, except Lu, who bought and tried the potion. Nothing happened to him. 9) A river was elevated due to heavy rain. Lu and other passengers were on a boat crossing the river. Before reaching the middle of the journey, the weather deteriorated, and most of the passengers except Lu became worried. Lu took it in his stride and never worried about life and death!
10) Lu was alone at home and suddenly weird things happened. Ghosts and monsters were killing each other and wanted to do the same to Lu. Showing no sense of fear, Lu kept on doing his chores without paying attention to them. Another group of devils with blood all over them tried to take Lu's life away by saying to Lu that he owed his previous life to them since in past life Lu took his life. Without any fear Lu said "go ahead and take my life since I took yours in past life, this is fair and square!"All of a sudden the sky turned blue and those ghosts and devils disappeared. Zhong'Li Quan (his teacher and mentor) was looking and laughing at him while these events were happening.
The 10 tests proved that Lu was a pure and dignified person and his master was very satisfied and happy to take Lu to Nan'San'Her'Ling to pass his secret to life and subsequent formed a Zhong-Lu Golden Dan school of Taoism. But Lu was not too fond of the secret and instead changed his formula for inner peace and benefits more human beings. This is his major contribution.
Lu is depicted in art as being dressed as a scholar, clever man with a genuine desire to help people obtain wisdom and to learn the Tao. and he often bears a sword on his back that dispel evil spirits.

THE POWER OF THE HABS'BURG HOUSE.

The House of Habs'Burg , also called the House of Austria, was the most influential and outstanding royal houses of Europe.
The House takes its name from a castle built in the 1020s by Count Radbot (one of the progenitors  of the Habs'Burgs) of Klett'Gau, in the canton of Aargau.
Klett'Gau is the centre of a historical region that stretches across the Swiss border into the  cantons (divisions of an upper part of a shield, less than a quarter of its whole area) of Aar'Gau, Schaff'Hausen, and Zurich.
The area was part of the Baden wine region, the longest one, approximately 400km/250mi  reaching from the border of Fraken in the North to Lake Constance in the South, on the Eastern bank of Rhine. Much of it is on the Rhine rift, a linear zone with down faulted depression, about 350km/220mi long and on average 50km/31mi wide, between Basel in the South and the cities of Frank'Furt/Wies'Baden in the North. The region has a long ancient history of winemaking but neither color nor quality of the earliest wines is known.
In 496CE the Alamanni tribes were defeated by King Clovis I, incorporating them into France, and governed by several duces who were dependent on the Frankish kings. The Germanic people gradually became strongly allied with the Catholic Church, partly facilitated by the selling of prestige of the Christian Roman Empire.
By 700 CE, England and France were officially declared Christians, and by 1100 CE Germanic non-Christians ceased to have political influence in Scandinavia.
In 876CE Erzingen (part of the wine region) is mentioned in a deed of Swabian possession held by the Rhein-Au Abbey of Benedictin origin. The foundation of this Abbey, on a strategically sheltered bend of the Rhine, took place in about 778CE. The abbeys in general received generous endowments and privileges from Roman emperors and later kings and queens. The range of social status and degrees of responsibility of titled persons varied greatly at this point, from the humble to the very elated one.
From the time of Charlesmagne, officials appointed in ecclesiastical territories were not under the control of his counts, instead they belonged to a different scenario of power assigned to the churches and it was not suppose to act for itself in worldly affairs. They were free to act themselves, by virtue of their ecclesiastical status, from the secular government of the local count.
In the 1020s when the castle-fortress was built by count Radbot of Klett'Gau, chosing to name it as "fortress Habs-Burg," a community had already developed around the fortress. Then Rha, a daughter of Frederick, Duke of Lower Lorraine, and Werner, his brother, Bishop of Strasburg, each donated a portion of land to build a monastery, and a colony of monks from the the nearby Einsiedeln Abbey were transplanted there in 1027. The Muri Abbey, near to today Basel, Switzerland was then built up entirely by monks of the Third Order, Benedictines that descended from the Einsiedeln Abbey.
The Muri Abbey flourished for over 8 centuries, and now it is currently established as Muri-Gries in South Tyrol and was formerly part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.
The Habs'Burgs gathered a dynastic momentum through the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries. A series of crown's marriages enabled the family to vastly expand its domains to include Burgundy, Spain and its colonial empire, Bohemia, Hungary and other territories.  The Muri Abbey has been a favored burial place of the House of Habs'Burg.
The Einsiedeln Village mentioned before from which the monks were transplanted, is in the canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. The abbey was territorial and therefore, not part of a diocese. It was dedicated to the Lady of Hermits, the title being derived from the circumstances of its foundation, for it is said that the first inhabitant of the region was Meinrad, the Hermit. He was educated at the abbey school of Reich-enau Island, in Lake Constance, where he became a monk and was ordained a priest. After some years at Reich-enau, and at a dependent monastery on Lake Zurich, he embraced an hermitical life and established his hermitage on the slopes of the mountain of Etzel on the South side of the Lake at an modest elevation of 1,098m/3,602ft. He died on January 21, 861 CE, at the hands of two robbers who thought that the hermit had some precious treasures. The next 80 years the place was never without one or more hermits emulating Meinrad's example. One of them, named Ebehard, previously Provost of Strassburg, erected a monastery and church there in 934CE. According to a legend, it says the church was consecrated by Christ himself assisted by the 4 Evangelists, Peter, and Gregory the Great. The story was confirmed by Pope Leo VIII and ratified by many of his successors, the last ratification being by Pope Pius VI in 1793 CE. The church has been many times rebuilt and its library contains nearly 250,000 volumes and many priceless manuscripts.
By 1276Ce, Count Radbot's 7th generation descendant Rudolph of Habs'Burg had moved the power base of the family from the Castle-Fortress in the canton of Aar'Gau to the Duchy of Austria. Rudolph had become King of Germany in 1273CE, and the dynasty of the House of Harbs'Burg was truly entrenched in 1276CE when Rudolph became ruler of Austria, which the Habs'Burg ruled until 1918.
In the 16th century, the family separated into senior and junior branches and settled their mutual claims in the secret treaty of Onate. The Senior Habs'Burg Spanish branch ended upon the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700CE and was replaced by the House of Borbon. The remaining Austrian branch became extinct in the male line in 1740CE with the death of Charles VI, and completely with the death of his eldest daughter Maria Theresa of Austria in 1780CE. It was succeeded by the Vaude'Mont branch of the House of Lorraine. The new successor House styled itself formally as the House of Habs'Burg-Lorraine until its extinction in 1918CE.

DOMITIAN AND THE ILLUSION OF POWER.

Domitian (Titus Flavius Caesar Domitianus Augustus) (24 October 51-18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96 CE. He was born in Rome, the youngest son of Titus Flavius Vespasianus - commonly known as Vespasian- and Flavia Dimitilla Major. He had an older sister, Domitilla the Younger, and brother, also named Titus Flavius Vespasianus.
Decades of Civil Wars in the 1st century CE contributed greatly to the demise of the old aristocracy of Rome, and a new Italian nobility gradually replaced in prominence during the early part of 1st CE.
The Flavians, rose from obscurity to prominence in just 4 generations, under the emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty (first 5 emperors -Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero- or the family to which they belonged). The name derives from the 2 main branches of the family: gens Julia (Julii Caesarea) and gens Claudia (Claudii Nerones).
Domitian's great-grandfather, Titus Flavius Petro, had served as a centurion under Pompey during Caesar's civil war. He ended in disgrace when he fled the battlefield at Pharsalus in 48 CE. Then he managed to go up the ladder again by marrying Tertulla, whose fortune secured the future of his son Titus Flavius Sabinus I (Domitian's grandfather).
Sabinus I amassed further wealth and equestrian status through his services as Tax collector in Asia and banker in Helvetia (modern Switzerland). He married Vespasia Polla allying the Flavian family to the more prestigious gens Vespasia, ensuring again the elevation of his sons Titus Flavius Sabinus II and Vespasian to senatorial ranks.
Vespasian pursued a successful political and military career. He gained early renown by participating in the Roman invasion of Britain in 43 CE, a gradual process, under Emperor Claudius. In common with other regions on the edge of the empire, Britain had enjoyed diplomatic and trading links with the Romans in the century since Julius Caesar's expeditions in 55 and 54 BC, and Roman economic and cultural influence was a significant part of the British late pre-Roman Iron Age, especially in the South. Vespasian fell into disrepute under the emperors Caligula (37-41 CE) and Nero (54-68).
On June 9, 68 CE, Nero committed suicide due to the growing opposition of the Senate and the army, and with him the Julio-Claudian dynasty came to an end. Chaos ensued, leading to a year of brutal civil war known as the Year of the 4 Emperors. The most 4 influential generals in the Roman Empire -Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian- successively aimed for imperial power. The news reached Vespasian as he was preparing to besiege the city of Jerusalem. Simultaneously the Senate had declared Galba, then governor of Hispania Tarraconensis (modern Northern Spain), as Emperor of Rome. Rather than continue with the plan, he decided to await further orders and send Titus to greet Galba. Before reaching Italy, Titus learnt that Galba had been murdered and replaced by Otto, then governor of Lusitania (modern Portugal). Vitellius and his armies in Germania had risen in revolt and prepared to march on Rome, with intent on overthrowing Otho. Titus abandoned the journey to Rome and rejoined his father in Judaea.
Vespasian, with 4 legions at his disposal (nearly 80,000 soldiers), and his position in Judaea, posed as a great Flavian threat. Judaea position had the advantage of being nearest to the vital Egypt, which controlled the grain supply to Rome. Vespasian's brother Titus Flavius Sabinus II, as city prefect, commanded the entire city garrison of Rome. Otho was defeated by Vitellius.
On July 1st, 69 CE, Vespasian took matters into his hand using the armies in Judaea and Egypt to make them declare him the new emperor of Rome. He entered into an alliance with Gaius Licinius Mucianus, governor of Syria, against Vitellius. A strong force drawn from Judaea and Syria legions marched on Rome, leaving Titus in charge of ending the Jewish rebellion. Under Vespasian and Titus, non-Flavians were virtually excluded from important public offices. Real power was concentrated in the hands of Flavian faction; the weakened Senate only maintained the facade of democracy.
Because Titus acted as co-emperor with his father, no changes in policy occurred when Vespasian died on June 23, 79 CE. Titus assured Domitian, his brother, that full partnership would soon be his, but neither tribune power nor imperial any kind was conferred upon Domitian during his reign. Because of this, Domitian openly plotted against Titus' life.
Two major disasters struck during 79 and 80 CE. Mount Vesuvius, a volcano (now in modern day Italy), erupted on August 24, 79 CE, in one of the most catastrophic volcanic eruptions in European history. It spewed forth a deadly cloud of tephra and gases to a height of 33 km/21 mi, ejecting molten rock, pulverized pumice and hot ash at the rate of 1.5 million tons per second (100,000 times the thermal energy of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki bombings). Romans settlements around were obliterated and buried underneath, the best knowing being Pompeii and Herculaneum. The following year, a fire broke out in Rome that lasted 3 days, destroying a number of important public buildings. Consequently, Titus spent much of his reign coordinating relief efforts and restoring damaged property.
On September 13, 81 CE, after barely two years in office, Titus unexpectedly died of fever during a trip to the Sabine territories (Central Apennines). The Sabines were divided into 2 groups after the founding of Rome. The group closer to Rome transplanted itself to the new city and united the pre-exixting citizenry, beginning a new ancestral heritage that was latinized. The 2nd group remained in its tribal state, warred against Rome, and after losing were assimilated into the Roman Republic. The Sabines, specifically, are mentioned in the Scripture as the original tribe of Abraham in Ur of the Chaldees.
During his brother's final days, Domitian displayed little sympathy to him, considering that Domitian grew without seen him since the age of 7. Also his mother and sister died early, meaning that a significant part of his adolescence was spent in the absence of his near relatives. By the age of 18 nearly all of his closest relatives had died.It is obvious that his personality lacked the natural charisma of his brother and father, and he was prone to suspicious feelings and displayed an odd sense of humor. As he grew older, he preferred a solitude way of life.
Domitian, then, was more involved in making an image for himself. He was proclaimed emperor of Rome on September 13, 81 CE, granting Him tribune power, the office of Pontifex Maximus, and the titles of Augustus (venerable) and Pater Patriae (father of the country).
Later, Domitian self-proclaimed himself "Lord and God," exercising absolute political power. He believed that the emperor divine role has to encompass every aspect of daily life, guiding the Romans as cultural and moral authority. He was determined to govern the Empire conscientiously and scrupulously. He became personally involve in all branches of the administration. Edicts were issued governing the smallest details of everyday life and law, while taxation and public rights were rigidly enforced. His suspicious nature and exacting standards maintained historically low corruption among provincial governors and elected officials. Those senators he deemed unworthy were expelled and in the distribution of public offices he rarely favored family members.
The Domitian's autocracy was further highlighted by the fact that, more than any emperor since Tiberius, he spent significant periods of time away from the capital. The seat of power was wherever the Emperor was. He toured the European provinces extensively.  And for his personal use he was active in constructing many monumental buildings including Villa Domitian, a vast and sumptuous palace 20km outside Rome in the Alban Hills.
Domitian firmly believed in the traditional Roman religion and personally saw to it that ancient customs and morals were observed throughout his reign. In order to justify the divine nature of the Flavian rule, Domitian emphasized connections with the chief deity Jupiter. He did an impressive restoration of the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill. The goddess he worshipped the most zealously, however, was
Minerva. Not only did he keep a personal shrine dedicated to her in his bedroom, he made her to appear on his coinage in 4 different attested reverse types.
Foreign religions were tolerated as they did not interfere with public order, or could be assimilated with the traditional Roman religion. The worship of Egyptian deities in particular flourished under Flavian dynasty. Jews and Christians were heavily persecuted toward the end of his reign. He exiled the apostle John at the Isle of Patmus, in the Aegean Sea, in 95 CE. Inside a cave the apostle received a Word of prophecy (Revelation) about the New World to come from the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
Domitian was assassinated on September 18, 96 CE in a conspiracy by court officials. The Senate rejoiced and immediately following Nerva's accession as Emperor, passed "damnatio memoriae on his memory. His coins and statues were melted, his arches were torn down and his name was erased from all public records. The people of Rome met the news of Domitian's death with indiference, but the army was much grieved. Dissatisfaction continued to loom over Nerva's reign, and ultimately erupted into a crisis in October 97 CE. Members of the Praetorian Guard laid siege to the Imperial Palace and took Nerva hostage. He was forced to submit to their demands, agreeing to hand over those responsible for Domitian's death and even giving a speech thanking the rebellious Praetorians. The responsible assassins were sought out and killed. Nerva was unharmed in this assault, but his authority was damaged beyond repair. Shortly thereafter he announced the adoption of Trajan as his successor, and with this decision he abdicated.

JEREMIAH AND HIS MISSION.

The prophet Jeremiah warned God's people of the catastrophe that was to fall upon the nation of Israel because of their idolatry and sin. In Revelation 10, this catastrophe is mentioned in this way:
"Then I saw another mighty angel coming down out of heaven. He was wrapped in a cloud and had a rainbow around his head, his face was like the sun, and his legs were like columns of fire." (1)
"He had a small scroll open in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and called out in a loud voice that sounded like a roar of lions." (2-3)
"After he had called out, the 7 Thunders answered with a roar. As soon as they spoke, I was about to write. But I heard a voice speak from heaven, 'Keep secret what the 7 Thunders have said; do not write it down!" (4)
"Then the angel that I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and took a vow in the Name of God, who lives forever and ever, Who created heaven, earth, and the sea, and everything in them." (5-6)
"The angel said: 'There will be no more delay! But when the 7th angel blows his trumpet, then God will accomplish His Secret Plan, as He announced to His servants, the prophets." (7)
The catastrophe that was to fall upon the nation came true with the Fall of Jerusalem, the destruction of the city and the Temple and the exile of many of its people, including its king.
Jeremiah was a very sensitive man who deeply loved the nation of Israel, and who hated to have to pronounce judgment upon them.
Revelation 11 says: "I was given a stick that looked like a measuring rod, and was told, 'Go and measure the Temple of God and the altar, and count those who are worshiping in the Temple. But do not measure the outer courts, because they have been given to the heathen, who will trample on the Holy City for 42 months. I will send my 2 Witnesses dressed in sackcloth, and they will proclaim God's message during those 1,260 days (30 days each month)."  (Revelation 11: 1-3)
The Lord spoke to Jeremiah in this way: "I chose you before I gave you life, and before you were born I selected you to be a prophet to the nations."  (Jeremiah 1: 4-5)
Jeremiah answered: "Sovereign Lord, I do not know how to speak; I am too young."
But the Lord said to Jeremiah: "Do not say that you are too young, but go to the people I send you to, and tell them everything I command you to say. Do not be afraid of them, for I will be with you to protect you. I, the Lord, have spoken!"   (Jeremiah 1: 6-8)
Then the Lord reached out, touched Jeremiah's lips and said to him: "Listen, I am giving you the Words you must speak. Today I give you authority over nations and kingdoms to uproot and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."   (Jeremiah 1: 9-10)
Revelation 11 continue to describe the nature of the 2 Witnesses sent by God to warn His people:
"The 2 Witnesses are the 2 Olive Trees and the 2 Lamps that stand before the Lord of the Earth. If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes out of their mouths and destroys their enemies; and in this way whoever tries to harm them will be killed. They have authority also over the Springs of Water, to turn them into blood; they have authority also to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish."  (Revelation 11: 4-6)
"When they finish proclaiming their message, the Beast that comes up out of the Abyss will fight against them. The Beast will defeat them and kill them, and their bodies will lie in the street of the Great City, where their Lord was crucified. The symbolic name of that city is Sodom, or Egypt. People from all nations, tribes, languages, and races will look at their bodies for 3 1/2 days and will not allow them to be buried."   (Revelation 11: 7-9)
"The people of the earth will be happy because of the death of these 2 Witnesses. They will celebrate and send presents to each other, because those 2 prophets brought much suffering upon the whole human race."   (Revelation 11: 10)
"After 3 1/2 days a life-giving breath came from God and entered into the 2 prophets, and they stood up and all who saw them were terrified."   (Revelation 11: 11)
"Then the 2 prophets heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them: 'Come up here!' As their enemies watched, they went up into heaven in a cloud. At that very moment there was a violent earthquake; a 10th of the City was destroyed, and 7,000 people were killed. The rest of the people were terrified and praised the greatness of the God of Heaven."
In many passages of his book, Jeremiah's speak with deep emotion about the things he is suppose to suffer because of the God's calling to him to be His prophet. The Word of the Lord was like Fire in his heart - he could not keep it back.
Jeremiah message points out the New Covenant that God's people would keep without a teacher to remind them, because it would be written on their hearts.

ARARAT, THE MOUNTAIN.

Ararat is a snow-capped dormant compound volcano in the extreme East of Turkey. It consists of 2 major volcanic cones: Greater Ararat, the highest peak in Turkey and the Armenian Plateau with an elevation of 5,137m /16,854ft; and Little Ararat, with an elevation of 3,896m/12,782ft. The Ararat massif is about 40 km/25mi in diameter.
In the Book of Genesis, the Mountains of Ararat, is the place where Noah's Ark came to rest after the Great Flood. Since the Scripture give its teachings in co-relation with the 3 levels of existence (physical, mental, spiritual) and free of time frames, meaning past, present, and future form an unity, the Ararat, represents the old and the new Covenant as One, between Man and God.
In the Armenian tradition and Western Christianity, based on Jerome's reading of Josephus, the specific summit in the physical World of the "Mountains of Ararat" where Noah's Ark landed is identified as Mount Masis, now known as Mount Ararat.
In Syrian traditin, as well as in Quranic tradition, the mountain is identified with Mount Judi in what is today Sirnak Province, South Eastern Anatolia Region, Turkey. During the Middle Ages, this tradition has eclipsed the earlier association with Mount Judi in Eastern Christianity (Syrian Christianity), and the Mount Judi tradition is now mostly confined to the Islamic view of Noah, known to them as a prophet and apostle of God. Noah's mission was to save a wicked World, plunged in depravity and sin, with the duty of preaching to God's people, to abandon idolatry, and to worship only the One Creator and to live righteous lives.
The Scripture in Revelation 10 and 11 explain the meaning of the Ark in co-relation with the elements that symbolize 'life' :
"Then I saw another mighty angel coming down out of heaven. He was wrapped in a cloud and had a rainbow around his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like columns of fire." 10:1
"He had a small scroll open in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and called out in a loud voice that sounded like the roar of lions." 10: 2-3
"After he had called out, the 7 Thunders answered with a roar." As soon as they spoke, I was about to write. But I heard a voice speak from heaven, "Keep secret what the 7 Thunders have said; do not write it down!"  10: 4
Then the angel that I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and took a vow in the Name of God, who lives forever and ever, Who created heaven, earth, and the sea, and everything in them. The angel said, "There will be no more delay! But when the 7th angel blows his trumpet, then God will accomplish His Secret Plan, as He announced to His servants, the prophets."5-7
.. Then the 7th angel blew his trumpet and there were loud voices in heaven saying, "The power to rule over the World belongs now to our Lord and His Messiah, and He will rule forever and ever!" 11:15
Then the 24 elders who sit on their thrones in front of God threw themselves face downward and worshiped God, saying: "Lord God Almighty, the One Who Is and Who Was! We thank You that You have taken Your Great Power and have begun To Rule!"  "The heathen were filled with rage, because the time for Your Anger has come, the time for the dead to be judged. The time has come to reward Your servants, the prophets and all Your people, all who have reverence for You, great and small alike.
The time has come to destroy those who destroy the earth!" 11: 16-18.
God's Temple in Heaven was opened,  and THE COVENANT BOX was seen there. Then there were flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. 11:19

THE BOOK OF PSALMS.

The title in Hebrew means "Praise" or "Book of Praises." The title in Greek suggests the idea of an instrumental accompaniment. It is the Book of Worship. It is the Hymn Book of the Temple.
Many writers contributed one or more Psalms. David, "the sweet psalmist of Israel," has 73 psalms assigned to him.
Psalm 2 is ascribed to him in Acts 4 in this way: Peter and John were still speaking to the people when some priests, the officer in charge of the Temple guards, and some Sadducees arrived. They were annoyed because the two apostles were teaching the people that JESUS HAD RISEN FROM DEATH which proved that THE DEATH WILL RISE TO LIFE. So they arrested them and put them in jail until the next day, since it was already late. But many who heard THE MESSAGE believed; and the number grew to about 5,000.
The next day the Jewish leaders, the elders, and the teachers of the Law gathered IN JERUSALEM. They met with the High Priest Annas and with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and the others who belonged to the High Priest's family. They made the apostles stand before them and asked them, "How did you do this? What POWER do you have or WHOSE NAME DID YOU USE?"
Peter, full of the HOLY SPIRIT, ANSWERED them, "Leaders of the people and elders: if we are being questioned today about the GOOD DEED DONE to the LAME MAN and how he was HEALED, then YOU SHOULD ALL KNOW, and all the people of Israel should know, that this MAN STANDS HERE before you COMPLETELY WELL THROUGH the POWER of the NAME of JESUS CHRIST of Nazareth -WHOM YOU CRUCIFIED and WHOM GOD RAISED from death. JESUS is THE ONE of whom the Scripture says, 'The STONE that you the builders DESPISED turned out to be THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL.' Salvation is to be found through HIM ALONE; in all the World THERE IS NO ONE ELSE WHOM GOD HAS GIVEN WHO CAN SAVE US." ... So they told them to leave the Council room, and then they started discussing among themselves. "What shall we do with these men?" they asked. "Everyone IN JERUSALEM KNOWS that THIS EXTRAORDINARY MIRACLE has been performed by them, and we cannot deny it. But to keep this matter from spreading any further among the people, let us warn these men never again to speak to anyone IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST." ... But Peter and John answered them, :You yourselves judge which is RIGHT IN GOD'S SIGHT -to obey you or TO OBEY GOD. For we cannot stop speaking of what WE OURSELVES HAVE SEEN and HEARD." ... The Council saw that it was impossible to punish them, because the PEOPLE WERE ALL PRAISING GOD FOR WHAT HAD HAPPENED. The MAN on whom this MIRACLE of HEALING had been performed was over 40 years old.
As soon as Peter and John were set free, they returned to their group and told them what the Chief Priests and the Elders had said. When the BELIEVERS heard it, they ALL JOINED TOGETHER in PRAYER TO GOD: "MASTER and CREATOR of Heaven, Earth, and Sea, and all that is in them! By means of the HOLY SPIRIT you SPOKE THROUGH our ancestor David, your servant, when he said, 'Why were the Gentiles furious; why did people make useless plots? The kings of the earth prepared themselves, and the rulers met together against the Lord and His Messiah.'  For indeed Herrod and Pontius Pilate met together in THIS CITY with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against JESUS your Holy Servant, whom You made Messiah. They gathered to do everything that YOU BY YOUR POWER AND WILL had already decided would happen. And now, LORD, take notice of the threats they have made, and allow us, your servants, to speak YOUR MESSAGE WITH ALL BOLDNESS. Reach out YOUR HAND TO HEAL, and GRANT that WONDERS and MIRACLES MAY BE PERFORMED THROUGH THE NAME of Your Holy Servant JESUS." When they finished praying, the place where they were meeting was shaken. They were all filled with the HOLY SPIRIT and BEGAN TO PROCLAIM GOD'S MESSAGE with boldness. The group of BELIEVERS WAS ONE IN MIND AND HEART.  ... 4:1-32
The Book of Psalms has to be loved because its comforting and joyful words leads the believer to the place where worship flows. It has the words that expresses our deepest and strongest emotions, no matter what the circumstances. Reading its words will turn sighing into singing and trouble into triumph.
The Book of Psalms are pure praise, inspired by then BREATH OF GOD. As long as we have breath we are told to praise the LORD. It unlock mysteries and parables of a WISE MESSENGER. It contains the WISDOM OF GOD. We have the keychain with master keys to unlock GOD's storehouse of wisdom and revelation. It is the harp (anointed worship) that releases divine secrets.
We have to read carefully as Psalm 49:4 says: "I will break open mysteries with MY MUSIC and MY SONG will release riddles solved."

THE CITY OF PALMYRA

PALMYRA is an ancient city in South central Syria, 210km/130mi North East of Damascus.
The name Palmyra, meaning "City of Palm trees," was conferred upon the city by its Roman rulers in the 1st century CE; Tadmur, Tadmor, or Tudmur, the pre-Semitic name of the site is also in use.
The city of Palmyra is mentioned in tablets dating from as early as the 19th century BC. It attained prominence in the 3rd century BC when a road through it became one of the main routes of East-West trade.
The city of Palmyra was built on an oasis lying approximately halfway between the Mediterranean Sea (West) and the Euphrates River (East), and it helped connect the Roman World with Mesopotamia and the East.
The language of Palmyra was Aramaic, a Semitic language that was originally spoken by the ancient Middle Eastern people known as Arameans. It was most closely to Hebrew, Syriac, and Phoenician and was written in a script derived from the Phoenician alphabet. By the 8th century BC Aramaic had become accepted by the Assyrians as a 2nd language. The mass deportations of people by the Assyrians and the use of Aramaic as a means of communication between populations speaking vernaculars (lingua franca) by Babylonian merchants served to spread the language, so that in the 7th and 6th centuries BC it gradually supplanted Akkadian as the lingua franca of the Middle East. Aramaic subsequently became the official language of the Achaemenian Persian dynasty (539-330BC) though after the conquests of Alexander the Great, Greek displaced Aramaic as the official language throughout the former Persian empire.
Aramaic dialects survived into Roman times, however, particularly in Palestine and Syria. Aramaic had replaced Hebrew as the language of the Jews as early as the 6th century BC. Certain portions of the Scripture (Daniel and Ezra) are written in Aramaic, as are the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds.
Among the Jews, Aramaic was used by the common people, while Hebrew remained as the language of religion and government and of the upper class.
JESUS and the Apostles are believed to have spoken Aramaic, and Aramaic-language translation of the Scripture circulated in their time. In the early centuries CE, Aramaic divided into East and West varieties. West Aramaic dialects include Nabataean (formerly spoken in parts of Arabia), Palmyrene (spoken in Palmyra), Palestinian-Christian, and Judeo-Aramaic. West Aramaic is still spoken in a small number of villages in Lebanon. Aramaic continued in wide use until about 650CE, when it was supplanted by Arabic.
The Palmyrene Aramaic contained two systems of writings -a monumental script and a Mesopotamian cursive that reflected the city's position between East and West. The great bilingual inscription known as the Tariff of Palmyra and the inscriptions carved below the statues of the great caravan leaders reveal information on the organization and nature of Palmyra's trade. The Palmyrenes exchanged goods with India via the Persian Gulf route and also with such cities as Coptos on the Nile River, Rome, and Doura-Europus in Syria.
The city of Palmyra, although autonomous for much of its history, came under Roman control by the time of the emperor Tiberius (14-37CE). After visiting the city (129CE), the emperor declared it "free city"(civitas libera), and it was later granted by the emperor Carcalla the title of "colonia," with exemption from taxes. The city thus prospered, and the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE were the great age of Palmyra and its extensive trading activities, despite obstacles that interrupted caravan trade with the East and also in the face of instability around the Roman-controlled Mediterranean.
When the Sasanids, an ancient Iranian dynasty evolved by Ar'Dashir I in years of conquest (208-224 CE), overthrew the Parthians, they created an empire that was constantly changing in size as it reacted to Rome and Byzantium to the West and to the Kushans and Hephthalites to the East.  They supplanted the Parthians in Persia and Southern Mesopotamia (227CE) and the road to the Persian Gulf was soon closed to Palmyrene trade. At the time of Shapur (241-272CE), the empire stretched from Sog'Diana and Iberia (Georgia) in the North to the Mazun region of Arabia in the South; in the East it extended to the Indus River and in the West to the Upper Tigris and Euphrates River Valleys.
A revival of Iranian nationalism took place under Sasanian rule. Zoroastrianism became the state religion, and a various times followers of other ideologies suffered official persecution. The government was centralized, with provincial officials directly responsible to the throne, and roads, city buildings, and even agriculture were financed by the government. Architecture took grandiose proportions, such as the palaces at Ctesiphon, Firuzabad and Sarvestan. The most striking relics of Sasanian art are its rock sculptures carved on abrupt limestone cliffs. Also its metalwork and gem engraving became highly sophisticated.
The Romans were force to set up the personal rule of the family of Septimius Oda'Enathus at Palmyra.
He was appointed governor of Syria Phoenice by the emperor Valerian (253-260CE), but it was apparently his son, the emperor Galli'Enus, who conferred on Oda'Enathus the title of "governor of all the east"(corrector totius Orientis). Both Oda'Enathus and his eldest son were assassinated at the command of Oda'Enathus' 2nd  wife, Zenobia, who took control of the city and became an effective leader. Under her rule, the armies of Palmyra conquered most of Anatolia (Asia Minor) in 270CE, and the city declared its independence from Rome. The Roman emperor Aurelian, however, regained the city in 272CE and razed Palmyra the following year.
The city of Palmyra remained the chief station on the 'strata Diocletiana,' a paved road that linked Damascus to the Euphrates, but in 634CE it was taken by Khalid ibn al-Walid in the name of the 1st Muslim caliph, Abu Bakr. After that, its importance as a trading centre gradually declined.
The principal deity of the Arameans of Palmyra was Bol (equivalent to Baal). Bol soon became known as Bel by assimilation to the Babylonian god Bel-Marduk. Both gods presided over the movements of the stars. The people associated Bel with the sun and moon gods, Yarhivol and Aglibol, respectively.
Another heavenly triad formed around the Phoenician god Baal Shamen, the "lord of heaven," more or less identical with Hadad, West Semitic god of storms, thunder and rain, the consort of the goddess Atargatis. He was represented as a bearded deity, often holding a club and thunderbolt and wearing a horned headdress. The Bull was its symbolic animal as of the Hittite deity Tehub, who was identical with him.
The ruins at Palmyra clearly reveal the network plan of the ancient city. Along the principal East-West street, a double portico is ornamented with 3 nymphs, usually associated with fertile, growing things. To the South are the agora, an open space that served as a meeting ground, the Senate House, and the theatre.
In May 2015 the group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant took control of Palmyra. In March 2016 the Syrian army retook Palmyra with support from Russia and Iranian forces. The city fell back into ISIL's control in December 2016 while Syrian government forces and their allies were fighting rebels in Aleppo. ISIL fighters destroyed ancient monuments and aerial photographs showed that the theatre had been significantly damaged and the Tetrapylon -a square monument consisting of 4 groupings of 4 columns each- had been demolished.

WHO WAS DIODORUS SICULUS.

Diodorus Siculus of Sicily was a Greek historian. He is known for writing the "Universal History" much of which survives, between 60 and 30 BC.
According to his own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily (now called Agira). The ancient city of Sicily was ruled by Tyrants, on of whom, Agyris, was the most powerful ruler in the centre of Sicilia.
ATyrant was an absolute ruler unrestrained by law or person or one who has usurped legitimate sovereignty. Plato and Aristotle define a Tyrant as "one who rules without law, and uses extreme and cruel tactics against his own people as well as others."
Agyris was a contemporary of Dionysius the Elder, and with him succesfully resisted the Carthaginians forces when they invaded Agyrum in 392BC. Dionysius was a Greek Tyrant of Syracuse, in what is now Sicily, Southern Italy and made Syracuse the most powerful of the Western Greek colonies. He was regarded by the ancients as an example of the worst kind of despot-cruel, suspicious and vindictive. His victory over the democratic Syracuse represents the very worst of the mercenary-leader in its intention towards human lives. He was given 600 personal mercenaries to guard his person after faking an attack on his own life. With this backing him up he was able to increase this guard to 1,000 and gradually consolidated his power and established himself as a tyrant.
Agyris was not colonized by the Greeks until the Corinthian general Timoleon drove out the last Tyrant  in 339BC, settled 10,000 Greeks, according to Diodorus Siculus, a native of the city, and erected various splendid buildings that no traces remain as the modern city overlies the ancient one.
Diodorus' universal history was divided into 3 sections. The first 6 books recounts the history of the World from the Trojan War down to Alexander the Great. The last section, book XVII to the end, concerns historical events from successors os Alexander down to either 60BC or the beginning of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. He selected the name "Bibliotheca" in acknowledgement that he was assembling a composite work from many sources.
Diodorus' account of gold mining in Nubia, a region along the Nile River in Eastern Egypt, now Northern Sudan and Sothern Egypt, is one of the earliest extant texts on the topic, and describes in vivid detail the use of slave labor in terrible working conditions. The name Nubia is derived from that of the Noba people who settled the area in the area in the 4th century following the collapse of the kingdom of Meroe, given the name by the Persian king, Cambyses, in honor of his sister who was called by that name. Originally it was borne the ancient appellation Saba, named after its original founder. Seba was one of the sons of Cush.
Diodorus also gave an account of the Gauls (Celtic peoples): "The Gauls are terrifying in aspect and their voices are deep and altogether harsh; when they meet together converse with few words and in riddles, hinting darkly at things for the most part and using one word when they mean another; they like to talk in superlatives, to the end that they may extol themselves and depreciate all other men. They are also boasters and threateners and are fond of pompous languages, and yet they have sharp wits and are not without cleverness at learning."
Diodorus Siculus credits Heracles with the foundation of the sacred precincts (Temenos) or cultic land assigned as an official domain and marked off from common uses and dedicated to cultic rituals dedicated to the gods of the Greeks. The precincts of Iolaus and of Geryon, and the creation of a nearby  Lake are attested to him.  C.G. Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalist, relates the "Tenemos" to spellbinding or magic circle, which acts as a square space or safe spot where mental work can take place. This "Tenemos" ressembles among others a symmetrical garden with a fountain in the middle acting as a squared circle in which an encounter with the unconscious world can be protected from the unconscious content of forces trying to knock him down mentally and can safely be brought back into the light of consciousness. In this manner one can meet its own shadow, or soul, and know the nature of it and increase the mental power to control it in the outside world. In the case of the Greek mythology all their gods were already defeated by the pleasures of the mortal nature and needed to form a place in which they had at least the mental illusion of being in control of the World in which they inhabited.
In the mid 5th century, Agyrium was the 1rst Sicilian city to mint bronze coinage in the Greek fashion.
Heracles was the greatest of the Greek heroes, a paragon of masculinity, the ancestor of royal clans who claimed to be Heracleidae and champion of the Olympian order against chthonic monsters. He was the son of Zeus and Alcmene, the wife of Amphitryon. Alcmene was born to Electryon, the son of Perseus and Andromeda. Andromeda, mother of Alcmene, was the daughter of the Aethiopian king Cepheus and his wife Cassiopeia. When Cassiopeia's extreme quality in her personality of foolish pride and over-confidence led her to boast that Andromeda was more beautiful than the Nereids, Poseidon sent the sea monster Cetus to ravage Aethiopia as divine punishment. Andromeda was stripped and chained naked to a rock as a sacrifice to the monster, but she was saved from death by Perseus. Heracles became the foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson and half-brother of Perseus.
In Rome and the modern West, Heracles is known as Hercules, with whom Roman emperors, in particular Commodus and Maximian often identified themselves. Details of his cult were adapted to Rome as well.
A major factor in the life of Heracles is the hatred that the goddess Hera, wife of Zeus, had for him. There were many illegitimate offspring sired by Zeus, and Heracles was known as the greatest hero, son of the affair Zeus had with the mortal woman Alcmene. Zeus made love to her after disguising himself as her husband, Amphitryon, returning home early from war, his real husband returned later the same night and she became pregnant with both sons at the same time, a case of heteropaternal super fecundation, when a woman carries twins sired by different fathers. Heracles' very existence proved one of Zeus' many illicit affairs, and Hera often conspired against Zeus' mortal offspring as revenge for her husband's infidelities. His twin mortal brother was Iphicles, father of Heracles' charioteer Iolaus.
Iolaus was worshiped as a Theban divine hero and became the famous Heracles's nephew, and also for being one of the Argonauts. Through his daughter Leipephilene, he was considered to have fathered the mythic and historic line of the king of Corinth, ending with Telestes. He always acted as a companion of Heracles. He was popular regarded as Heracles' s lover, and the shrine to him in Thebes was a place where males couples worshiped and made vows. The Theban gymnasium was also named after him, and Iolaia, an athletic festival consisting on gymnastic and equestrian events, was held yearly in Thebas in his honor. The victors were crowned with garlands of myrtle, an evergreen shrub.
According to Diodorus Siculus, Iolaus was sent by Heracles in Sardinia (the 2nd largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily and before Cyprus, and one of the most ancient bodies of land in Europe) together with 9 of the sons that he had with the daughters of Thespius to colonize the island, giving rise to the people of Iolaensi. Iolaus and the Thespians were buried in Sardinia.
Thespius was the legendary founder and king of Thespiae, Boeotia (part of the region of ancient Central Greece, with its capital Livadeia, and its largest city Thebes). He was the son of Erechtheus, King of Athens, and Praxithea. His maternal grandparents were Phrasimus and Diogenia, the daughter of the River god Cephissus. He married Megamede and had 50 daughters together. The daughters are often called the Thespiades. All his daughters came of marrying age and Thespius desired grandchildren from the hero Heracles. When Heracles was assigned to kill a lion, Thespius offered his 50 daughters as a price. The hunt of the lion lasted 50 days, and during each night of the hunt Heracles slept with each of them, who in turn gave birth to one son.
Aristotle said that Sardinia had practiced the rite of incubation, which is the liberation ritual of people affected by nightmares and obsessions. These rituals included that the sufferers should sleep next to the tombs of heroes. Aristotle adds in his commentaries that the places where the corpses of the 9 sons were deposited and preserved became the famous oracles. The Iolians added a Temple to Heracles' Tomb, because they believed that he had freed Sardinia from many ills.
Geryon, in Greek mythology, was a fearsome giant who dwelt on the island Erytheia. According to Hesiod the giant had one body and 3 heads. In the Bibliotheke of Pseudo- Apollodorus, Heracles was required to travel to Erytheia, in order to obtain the Cattle of Geryon as his 10th Labor.
The name Erytheia was applied to an island close to the coast of Souther Hispania, which was the site of the original colony of Gades (modern Cadiz). On the way there , heracles crossed the Libyan desert and became so frustrated at the heat that he shot an arrow at Helios, the Sun. Helios, in admiration of his courage, gave him the golden chariot he used to sail across the sea from East to West each night. Heracles used it to reach Erytheia, a favorite motif of the vase-painters. Such a magical conveyance undercuts any geography for Erytheia, the red island of the sunset.
The Hesperides were the nymphs of evening and the golden light of sunset, who were the Daughters of the Evening or Nymphs of the West. They tended a blissful garden in a far Western corner of the World, located near the Atlas mountains in North Africa at the edge of the encircling Oceanus, the World-Ocean. By ancient Roman times, the garden of Hesperides had lost its archaic place in religion, but it was revived in Renaissance poetry. The name Heslerides means the evening star (Venus) and having a shared root with the English word "West."They are sometimes portrayed as the evening daughters of Night (Nyx) either alone, or with Darkness (Erebus). Nevertheless, among the names given to them, they were either 3, 4, or 7 Hesperides and Erytheia was one of them. The island was known as the seat of Geryon, who was overcome by Heracles. The garden of the Hesperides is Hera's orchard in the West, where either a single apple tree or a grove grows, producing golden apples that grant immortality when eaten. The trees were planted from the fruited branches that Gaia gave to Hera as a wedding gift when Hera accepted Zeus. The Hesperides were given the task of tending to the grove, but occasionally picked apples from it themselves. Not trusting them, Hera also placed in the garden a never-sleeping, hundred-headed dragon named Ladon as an additional safeguard. In the myth of the Judgment of Paris, it was from the garden that Eris, goddess of discord, obtained the Apple of Discord, which led to the Trojan War. Heracles was the only person to steal the apples, other than Perseus, although Athena later returned the apples to their rightful place in the garden.

THE SPIRIT OF NOAH.

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."