The Book of Nahum is a complete and finishes poem celebrating the Fall of Nineveh, the capital city of Israel's ancient and oppressive enemy, the Assyrians. The preparation for the destruction and the vivid description of the ruins is seen as the Judgment of God upon a cruel and arrogant nation.
Nahum's name means "comforter" and he was from the Town of El-Kosh. He was a very nationalistic Hebrew, living amongst the El-Koshites in peace. His writing could be taken as prophecy or as history.
Nahum, using words from Moses, has shown what sort of being God is. He has painted God using words by which His Nature must be seen.
Nahum says, "The Lord God tolerates No Rivals; He Punishes those who oppose Him. In His Anger He Pays them back."
"The Lord does not easily become angry, but He is Powerful and never let the guilty go unpunished." "Where the Lord Walks, storms arise; the clouds are the dust raised by His feet!"
"He Commands the Sea, and it dries up! He makes the Rivers go dry."
"The Fields of Basham wither, Mount Carmel turns brown, and the flowers of Lebanon fade." "Mountains quake in the Presence of the Lord; hills melt Before Him. The earth shakes when the Lord appears; the World and all its people tremble."
"When He is Angry, who can survive? Who can survive His Terrible Fury?"
"He Pours out His Flaming Anger; rocks crumble to dust Before Him."
"The Lord is Good; He Protects His People in times of trouble; takes care of those who turn to Him."
"Like a great rushing Flood He completely destroys His Enemies; He sends to their death those who oppose Him." Nahum 1: 1-9
NATHAN : Nathan, the Prophet, served the Lord during the reign of King David, in which he figured prominently on 3 important occasions in David's life, and survived well into the reign of King Solomon. His actions are described in the Book of Samuel (2 Samuel 7:2-17, 12: 1-25), Kings, and Chronicles (1 Chronicles 17).
The first and most important encounter with Nathan occurs in 2 Samuel 7. Nathan was a court prophet. He announced to David the most wonderful statement of God's Covenant of Love for him, a Covenant for a Kingdom to time indefinite in David's line. The Lord promised David his name would be great, his people would have peace, and his son would build a House for God's Name. God then said, "I will be His Father, and He will be My Son." God went on to say that His Love would remain on David's House and Kingdom forever. This Message became the basis for Messianic expectation and became known as the Davidic Covenant.
The nature of the 2nd recorded encounter with Nathan occurs in 2 Samuel 12. It was not so pleasant. David had recently committed adultery with Bath'Sheba and had arranged the death of her husband, Uriah, the Hittite. Nathan was sent by the Lord to David to point out the magnitude of his sin and the divine penalty imposed because of it. Nathan, tactfully but forcefully, used an illustration in a way to maneuver David perception into expressing, unwittingly and without personal prejudice, his own judgment on such an act.
Nathan said, "A poor man had one ewe lamb. A rich man had great flocks of sheep. A traveler came to the rich man who prepared a meal for him. The rich man took the ewe lamb from the poor man rather than use one of his own for the meal."
David heard the story and said to Nathan: "As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die!" Then Nathan said to David, "You yourself are the man!"
God's judgment on David, pronounced by Nathan, was that his wives would be taken by someone else and the child of this union with Bath'Sheba would die. Also David's House (Dynasty) would find themselves continually at war.
David recognized the point of the Parable: in spite of all he had, he had taken the wife of a man who had so little. He then repented of his sin. The Lord forgave him, but the consequences of his sin meant that subsequently the child born to him and Bath'Sheba died. David and Bath'Sheba had another son who became Solomon. Nathan brought Word from the Lord that he should be called Jedid'Iah, meaning "Beloved of Jah" (Jehovah), because the Lord loved him. The House (Dynasty) of David, after Solomon found themselves continually at war.
The nature of the 3rd recorded encounter with Nathan occurs in 1 Kings 1 when David's life was right at the end. God had made it clear that Solomon was to inherit the throne from his father. When another of David's sons, Adonijah, tried to usurp the Throne, Nathan supported David.
He informed Bath'Sheba of the plot and advised her on how to ensure the right succession of the throne to her son Solomon. Nathan was called in by David and told to anoint Solomon king. Nathan did anointed him and it was proclaimed to the people.
The only other information we have about Nathan is found in 2 Chronicles 29 in which he, together with Gad, advised David on the proper deployment of the sound and positions of the musical instruments in connection with the sanctuary.
Nathan and Gad were the ones that God used to record the events of David's and Solomon's reigns in
1 Chronicles 29 and 2 Chronicles 9: 29, and the recorded information contained in the concluding chapters of 1 Samuel and all of 2 Samuel.
Saturday, January 21, 2017
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
MOSES FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD.
WHEN LIFE COMES TO AN END, HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE KNOWN? WHAT WORDS DO YOU WANT TO USE TO DESCRIBE YOUR LIFE? WHAT LEGACY DO YOU WANT TO LEAVE TO YOUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN?
The answer to those questions gives a succinct definition of who you are and depends upon what things are important to you.
Moses is described in many ways in the Scripture and he is called a "man of God." The greatest prophet that arose in Israel as a servant of the Lord. But one of the most interesting descriptions of Moses is that of a "friend of God." The Scripture says,"The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend." (Exodus 33:11). A friend of God is one who listens and obeys the Voice of God. Moses did not do all the talking, rather, he spent much time listening to God's Voice.
Very few people comes to God with a heart to get to know God better. The victorious man or woman of God is the one who is a friend of God, the one who has learned to listen, to communicate on an intimate level with God.
How could Moses fulfill his responsibilities as leader and responsible for nearly 3 million people, which he had to feed, clothe, house, and transport them, and simultaneously have enough time to be "a friend of God?"
Moses had a tent pitched outside the camp (living area of the multitudes of people). He went there and meet God. It was a place secluded enough to afford his intimate conversation with the One he loved. A friend of God will find a place and a time where he gets alone and listens to the heart of God. And God can trust him/her with deep secrets that comes from His Heart.
Jesus said to the 11 disciples in John15 (after Judas Iscariot left them), "You are my friends, if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead I have called you friends, for everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you." (15: 14-15) The implication is, that being called "friend" is an upgrade from being "servant."
Moses said before he died: "The Lord came from Mount Sinai; He rose like the sun over Edom and shone on His People from Mount Paran. Ten thousand angels were with Him, a Flaming Fire at His Right Hand. The Lord loves His People and protects those who belong to Him. So we bow at His feet and Obey His Commands. People of Israel, no god is like Your God, riding in splendor across the sky, riding through the clouds to come to your aid. " (Deuteronomy 33)
Moses went up from the Plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Mount Pisgah East of Jericho, and there the Lord showed him the whole Land: the territory of Gilead as far North as the Town of Dan; the entire territory of Naphtali; the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh; the territory of Judah as far West as the Mediterranean Sea; the Southern part of Judah; and the Plain that reaches from Zoar to Jericho, the City of the Palm Trees. Then the Lord said to Moses, "This is the Land that I Promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob I would give to their descendants. I have let you see it, but I will not let you go there." So Moses died there in the land of Moab, as the Lord had said he would. The Lord buried him in a Valley in Moab, opposite the Town of Beth'Peor, but to this day no one knows the exact place of his burial. Moses was 120 years old when he died; he was as strong as ever, and his eyesight was still good. The People of Israel mourned for him for 30 days in the Plains of Moab.
No other Prophet has ever done miracles and wonders like those that the Lord sent Moses to perform against the king of Egypt, his officials, and the entire country. No other Prophet has been able to do the great and terrifying things that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. (Deuteronomy 34)
The answer to those questions gives a succinct definition of who you are and depends upon what things are important to you.
Moses is described in many ways in the Scripture and he is called a "man of God." The greatest prophet that arose in Israel as a servant of the Lord. But one of the most interesting descriptions of Moses is that of a "friend of God." The Scripture says,"The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend." (Exodus 33:11). A friend of God is one who listens and obeys the Voice of God. Moses did not do all the talking, rather, he spent much time listening to God's Voice.
Very few people comes to God with a heart to get to know God better. The victorious man or woman of God is the one who is a friend of God, the one who has learned to listen, to communicate on an intimate level with God.
How could Moses fulfill his responsibilities as leader and responsible for nearly 3 million people, which he had to feed, clothe, house, and transport them, and simultaneously have enough time to be "a friend of God?"
Moses had a tent pitched outside the camp (living area of the multitudes of people). He went there and meet God. It was a place secluded enough to afford his intimate conversation with the One he loved. A friend of God will find a place and a time where he gets alone and listens to the heart of God. And God can trust him/her with deep secrets that comes from His Heart.
Jesus said to the 11 disciples in John15 (after Judas Iscariot left them), "You are my friends, if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead I have called you friends, for everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you." (15: 14-15) The implication is, that being called "friend" is an upgrade from being "servant."
Moses said before he died: "The Lord came from Mount Sinai; He rose like the sun over Edom and shone on His People from Mount Paran. Ten thousand angels were with Him, a Flaming Fire at His Right Hand. The Lord loves His People and protects those who belong to Him. So we bow at His feet and Obey His Commands. People of Israel, no god is like Your God, riding in splendor across the sky, riding through the clouds to come to your aid. " (Deuteronomy 33)
Moses went up from the Plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Mount Pisgah East of Jericho, and there the Lord showed him the whole Land: the territory of Gilead as far North as the Town of Dan; the entire territory of Naphtali; the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh; the territory of Judah as far West as the Mediterranean Sea; the Southern part of Judah; and the Plain that reaches from Zoar to Jericho, the City of the Palm Trees. Then the Lord said to Moses, "This is the Land that I Promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob I would give to their descendants. I have let you see it, but I will not let you go there." So Moses died there in the land of Moab, as the Lord had said he would. The Lord buried him in a Valley in Moab, opposite the Town of Beth'Peor, but to this day no one knows the exact place of his burial. Moses was 120 years old when he died; he was as strong as ever, and his eyesight was still good. The People of Israel mourned for him for 30 days in the Plains of Moab.
No other Prophet has ever done miracles and wonders like those that the Lord sent Moses to perform against the king of Egypt, his officials, and the entire country. No other Prophet has been able to do the great and terrifying things that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. (Deuteronomy 34)
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
THE PROPHETIC MESSAGE OF MICAH.
Micah was a man who spent many years in faithful service to God. He lived in dangerous and significant times. Fast-moving events were foreboding doom for the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Moral corruption and idolatry had gone to seed in both of them, and these brought to the nation destruction from Assyria. God raised up Micah to warn His people strongly of what He was bringing upon them.
Jeremiah 26: 18,19 refers directly to Micah's words: "Zion will be plowed up as a mere field, and Jerusalem herself will become mere heaps of ruins.(Micah 3:12) This prophecy was accurately fulfilled when the king of Babylon razed Jerusalem, so as to cause ruin. (2 Chronicles 36:19) A similar prophecy about Samaria, that it would become a heap of ruins of the field, was likewise fulfilled (Micah 1:6,7) . Samaria was ruined by the Assyrians when they took the Northern kingdom of Israel into captivity (2 Kings 17: 5,6) It was later conquered by Alexander the Great and suffered devastation by the Jews under John Hyrcanus I. Of this last destruction of Samaria, the city was almost demolish, attempting to efface all proofs that a fortified city had ever stood on the hill.
Micah was a bold man, able to tell the rulers of his nation the following words, "Listen, you rulers of Israel! You are suppose to be concerned about Justice, yet you hate what is good and love what is evil. You skin my people alive and tear the flesh off their bones. You eat my people up. You strip off their skin, break their bones, and chop them up like meat for the pot. The time is coming when you will cry out to the Lord, but He will not listen to your prayers, for you have done evil." (Micah 3: 1-4)
Micah was also a humble man, one giving all credit for his powerful utterances to God, by whose Spirit he spoke. He said: "My people are deceived by prophets who promise Peace to those who pay them, but threaten war for those who don't. To these prophets the Lord says, 'Prophets, your day is almost over, the sun is going down on you. Because you mislead My people, you will have no more prophetic visions, and you will not be able to predict anything.' Those who predict the future will be disgraced by their failure. They will all be humiliated because God does not answer them. But as for me, the Lord fills me with His Spirit and Power, and gives me a sense of Justice and the courage to tell the people of Israel what their sins are." (Micah 3: 5-8)
As is true for many of the prophets, very little is said concerning Micah himself in his book; it is the message that embrace its importance. The name Micah is a shortened form of Michael (meaning, "Who is Like God?"). Micah served as prophet during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, which made him a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah and Josea. The exact period of his prophetic work is uncertain. Micah was a rural prophet from the Village of Mores-Heth in the fertile She-Phelah, South West of Jerusalem. His familiarity with rural life is shown in the kind of illustrations he used to explain the points of his declarations.
Micah in 2: 11-13 says, "These people want the kind of prophet who goes around full of lies and deceit and says, 'I prophesy that wine and liquor will flow for you.' But I will gather you together, all you people of Israel that are left. I will bring you together like sheep returning to the fold. Like a pasture full of sheep, your land will once again be filled with many people.' "
Mica in 4: 8 says, "And you, Jerusalem, where God, like a shepherd from His lookout tower, watches over His people, will once again be the capital of the kingdom that was yours."
Micah in 6: 12-16 says, "You rich people that exploit the poor, all of you are liars. So I have already begun your ruin and destruction because of your sins. You will eat, but not be satisfied -in fact you will still be hungry. You will carry things off, but you will not be able to save them; anything do you save I will destroy in war. You will sow grain, but not harvest the crop. You will press oil from olives, but never get to use it. You will make wine, but never drink it. This will happen because you have followed the evil practices ... ".
Micah in 7: 1-4 says, "It is hopeless! I am like a hungry person who finds no fruit left on the trees and no grapes on the wines. All the grapes and all the tasty figs have been picked. There is not an honest person left in the land, no one loyal to God. Everyone is waiting for a chance to commit murder. Everyone hunts down their own people. They are all experts at doing evil. Officials and judges ask for bribes. The influential people tell them what they want, and so they scheme together. Even the best and most honest of them are as worthless as weeds."
Micah in 7: 14-17 says, "Be a shepherd to Your people, Lord, the people You have chosen. Although they live apart in the wilderness, there is fertile land around them. Let them go and feed in the rich pastures ... as they did long ago. Work miracles for us, Lord, as You did in the days when You brought us out of Egypt. The nations will see this and be frustrated in spite of all their strength. In dismay they will close their mouths and cover their ears. They will crawl in the dust like snakes; they will come from their fortresses, trembling and afraid. They will turn in fear to the Lord our God."
Micah's outstanding prophecy is the one which foretells the birthplace of the Messiah, the ruler in Israel "whose origin is from early times". He will come out of Beth-Lehem Ephrathah. He will rule as a shepherd in the strength of God, and be great, not just in Israel, but as far as the ends of the earth.
(Micah 5: 2-4).
Jeremiah 26: 18,19 refers directly to Micah's words: "Zion will be plowed up as a mere field, and Jerusalem herself will become mere heaps of ruins.(Micah 3:12) This prophecy was accurately fulfilled when the king of Babylon razed Jerusalem, so as to cause ruin. (2 Chronicles 36:19) A similar prophecy about Samaria, that it would become a heap of ruins of the field, was likewise fulfilled (Micah 1:6,7) . Samaria was ruined by the Assyrians when they took the Northern kingdom of Israel into captivity (2 Kings 17: 5,6) It was later conquered by Alexander the Great and suffered devastation by the Jews under John Hyrcanus I. Of this last destruction of Samaria, the city was almost demolish, attempting to efface all proofs that a fortified city had ever stood on the hill.
Micah was a bold man, able to tell the rulers of his nation the following words, "Listen, you rulers of Israel! You are suppose to be concerned about Justice, yet you hate what is good and love what is evil. You skin my people alive and tear the flesh off their bones. You eat my people up. You strip off their skin, break their bones, and chop them up like meat for the pot. The time is coming when you will cry out to the Lord, but He will not listen to your prayers, for you have done evil." (Micah 3: 1-4)
Micah was also a humble man, one giving all credit for his powerful utterances to God, by whose Spirit he spoke. He said: "My people are deceived by prophets who promise Peace to those who pay them, but threaten war for those who don't. To these prophets the Lord says, 'Prophets, your day is almost over, the sun is going down on you. Because you mislead My people, you will have no more prophetic visions, and you will not be able to predict anything.' Those who predict the future will be disgraced by their failure. They will all be humiliated because God does not answer them. But as for me, the Lord fills me with His Spirit and Power, and gives me a sense of Justice and the courage to tell the people of Israel what their sins are." (Micah 3: 5-8)
As is true for many of the prophets, very little is said concerning Micah himself in his book; it is the message that embrace its importance. The name Micah is a shortened form of Michael (meaning, "Who is Like God?"). Micah served as prophet during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, which made him a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah and Josea. The exact period of his prophetic work is uncertain. Micah was a rural prophet from the Village of Mores-Heth in the fertile She-Phelah, South West of Jerusalem. His familiarity with rural life is shown in the kind of illustrations he used to explain the points of his declarations.
Micah in 2: 11-13 says, "These people want the kind of prophet who goes around full of lies and deceit and says, 'I prophesy that wine and liquor will flow for you.' But I will gather you together, all you people of Israel that are left. I will bring you together like sheep returning to the fold. Like a pasture full of sheep, your land will once again be filled with many people.' "
Mica in 4: 8 says, "And you, Jerusalem, where God, like a shepherd from His lookout tower, watches over His people, will once again be the capital of the kingdom that was yours."
Micah in 6: 12-16 says, "You rich people that exploit the poor, all of you are liars. So I have already begun your ruin and destruction because of your sins. You will eat, but not be satisfied -in fact you will still be hungry. You will carry things off, but you will not be able to save them; anything do you save I will destroy in war. You will sow grain, but not harvest the crop. You will press oil from olives, but never get to use it. You will make wine, but never drink it. This will happen because you have followed the evil practices ... ".
Micah in 7: 1-4 says, "It is hopeless! I am like a hungry person who finds no fruit left on the trees and no grapes on the wines. All the grapes and all the tasty figs have been picked. There is not an honest person left in the land, no one loyal to God. Everyone is waiting for a chance to commit murder. Everyone hunts down their own people. They are all experts at doing evil. Officials and judges ask for bribes. The influential people tell them what they want, and so they scheme together. Even the best and most honest of them are as worthless as weeds."
Micah in 7: 14-17 says, "Be a shepherd to Your people, Lord, the people You have chosen. Although they live apart in the wilderness, there is fertile land around them. Let them go and feed in the rich pastures ... as they did long ago. Work miracles for us, Lord, as You did in the days when You brought us out of Egypt. The nations will see this and be frustrated in spite of all their strength. In dismay they will close their mouths and cover their ears. They will crawl in the dust like snakes; they will come from their fortresses, trembling and afraid. They will turn in fear to the Lord our God."
Micah's outstanding prophecy is the one which foretells the birthplace of the Messiah, the ruler in Israel "whose origin is from early times". He will come out of Beth-Lehem Ephrathah. He will rule as a shepherd in the strength of God, and be great, not just in Israel, but as far as the ends of the earth.
(Micah 5: 2-4).
Monday, January 2, 2017
THE 4 RACES IN THE BOOK OF GATES.
The Book of the Gates is an ancient Egyptian funerary text that were used, usually to help the spirit of the concerned person to be preserved in the Afterlife.
In the Book of Gates the 4 races of the World are depicted in procession entering the next World. They were: Libyan (Them'Ehu), Nubian (Neh'Esu), Asiatic (Aamu), and Egypthian (Reth).
-LIBYAN is referred to the West region of the Nile River. Its people were ancestors of the modern Berbers. Berbers occupied the area for thousands of years before the beginning of human records.
For the Egyptians, Libya was the Land of the Spirits. Homer, the blind Greek writer, called Libya, in his Odyssey, "Lotus-Eaters." A race of people, leaving on an island dominated by Lotus plants. The fruits and flowers of the plant were narcotic, causing the people to sleep in peaceful apathy (lack of feeling, emotion, interest and concern), lacking the sense of purpose, worth, or meaning in their life.
Odysseus narrated the experience as follows, "... I sent 2 of my company to see what manner of men the people of that place might be, and they had a 3rd man under them. The Lotus-eaters did not harm them, but gave the Lotus to eat, which was so delicious that those who ate it was left off caring about home, and did not even want to go back and say what happened to them, but were for staying and munching Lotus with the Lotus-Eaters, without thinking further of their return. Nevertheless, though they wept bitterly I forced them back to the ships."
-NUBIA is referred to a region along the Nile River in what is today Northern Sudan and Southern Egypt. The Nuba Mountains mark the Southern border of the desert land and the Northern limit of good soils washed down by the Nile. The Nuba people resided in one of the most remote inaccessible places in all Sudan, the foothills of the Nuba Mountains in Central Sudan. The area was considered a place of refuge, bringing people together of many different tongues and backgrounds who were fleeing oppressive governments and slave traders. Egyptians referred to Nubia as Ta-Seti or "the Land of the Bow," since Nubians were known to be expert archers. Nubia was 1st mentioned in the Old Kingdom accounts of trade missions. Nubians and early Egyptians used related royal symbols. From Aswan, right above the 1st Cataract, the Southern Limit of Egyptian control at the time, Egyptians imported gold, incense, ebony, copper, ivory, and exotic animals from tropical Africa through Nubia. As trade between Egypt and Nubia increased, so did wealth and stability. By the 6th Dynasty, Nubia was divided into a series of small kingdoms. Ancient Egypt conquered Nubian territory in various eras, and incorporated parts of the area into its provinces. The Nubians in turn were to conquer Egypt. However, relations between them showed peaceful cultural interchange.
-ASIATIC (AAMU) refers to the East, or "the rising of the Sun in the East" or the point where the Sun rises. The populations share customs and a very long history. The people from the East were known for its disposition to work with stones and ability in the battle ground by the use of certain ways of combat.
The Asian were known as the people of the Yellow River, which flows West to East, opposite to the flow of the Nile River.
-EGYPTIAN (RETH) were known for its rules of existence and its own model of justice. They settled the norms through its heroes, human or divine and centralized the view that they themselves were gods.
The divinity himself reigned through his son, the absolute king, his incarnation and representative on earth. The priesthood of Ammon attained the most tremendous power by the measure of wealth and its successful conquest of the ones they considered heretics. The temples of Ammon in Thebes became the largest in the World.The word Egyptian means "dark colored" referring to the muddy soil of their land. In the Bible the Egyptians are referred to as "Sons of Ham" or "Children of Ham."
Noah, son of Lamech, 9th descendant in Adam's genealogy, was the central human character of the Flood story. Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japhet.
Noah's story is an account of humanity's depraved condition before the Flood that concludes the list of Adam's descendants, emphasizing the increasing pervasiveness of sin. This ingredient is paralleled in the account of Noah and his sons after the Flood. The depraved behavior of Ham, one of his own sons, shows again how easy humans fall into the wickedness of sin, and through the other sons, how human mind creates by themselves a system of rules trying to avoid the power of such wickedness. GOD's intervention shows that humans by themselves are too weak to face that wicked power, and only through HIM humans are able to overcome it.
In the Book of Gates the 4 races of the World are depicted in procession entering the next World. They were: Libyan (Them'Ehu), Nubian (Neh'Esu), Asiatic (Aamu), and Egypthian (Reth).
-LIBYAN is referred to the West region of the Nile River. Its people were ancestors of the modern Berbers. Berbers occupied the area for thousands of years before the beginning of human records.
For the Egyptians, Libya was the Land of the Spirits. Homer, the blind Greek writer, called Libya, in his Odyssey, "Lotus-Eaters." A race of people, leaving on an island dominated by Lotus plants. The fruits and flowers of the plant were narcotic, causing the people to sleep in peaceful apathy (lack of feeling, emotion, interest and concern), lacking the sense of purpose, worth, or meaning in their life.
Odysseus narrated the experience as follows, "... I sent 2 of my company to see what manner of men the people of that place might be, and they had a 3rd man under them. The Lotus-eaters did not harm them, but gave the Lotus to eat, which was so delicious that those who ate it was left off caring about home, and did not even want to go back and say what happened to them, but were for staying and munching Lotus with the Lotus-Eaters, without thinking further of their return. Nevertheless, though they wept bitterly I forced them back to the ships."
-NUBIA is referred to a region along the Nile River in what is today Northern Sudan and Southern Egypt. The Nuba Mountains mark the Southern border of the desert land and the Northern limit of good soils washed down by the Nile. The Nuba people resided in one of the most remote inaccessible places in all Sudan, the foothills of the Nuba Mountains in Central Sudan. The area was considered a place of refuge, bringing people together of many different tongues and backgrounds who were fleeing oppressive governments and slave traders. Egyptians referred to Nubia as Ta-Seti or "the Land of the Bow," since Nubians were known to be expert archers. Nubia was 1st mentioned in the Old Kingdom accounts of trade missions. Nubians and early Egyptians used related royal symbols. From Aswan, right above the 1st Cataract, the Southern Limit of Egyptian control at the time, Egyptians imported gold, incense, ebony, copper, ivory, and exotic animals from tropical Africa through Nubia. As trade between Egypt and Nubia increased, so did wealth and stability. By the 6th Dynasty, Nubia was divided into a series of small kingdoms. Ancient Egypt conquered Nubian territory in various eras, and incorporated parts of the area into its provinces. The Nubians in turn were to conquer Egypt. However, relations between them showed peaceful cultural interchange.
-ASIATIC (AAMU) refers to the East, or "the rising of the Sun in the East" or the point where the Sun rises. The populations share customs and a very long history. The people from the East were known for its disposition to work with stones and ability in the battle ground by the use of certain ways of combat.
The Asian were known as the people of the Yellow River, which flows West to East, opposite to the flow of the Nile River.
-EGYPTIAN (RETH) were known for its rules of existence and its own model of justice. They settled the norms through its heroes, human or divine and centralized the view that they themselves were gods.
The divinity himself reigned through his son, the absolute king, his incarnation and representative on earth. The priesthood of Ammon attained the most tremendous power by the measure of wealth and its successful conquest of the ones they considered heretics. The temples of Ammon in Thebes became the largest in the World.The word Egyptian means "dark colored" referring to the muddy soil of their land. In the Bible the Egyptians are referred to as "Sons of Ham" or "Children of Ham."
Noah, son of Lamech, 9th descendant in Adam's genealogy, was the central human character of the Flood story. Noah fathered Shem, Ham, and Japhet.
Noah's story is an account of humanity's depraved condition before the Flood that concludes the list of Adam's descendants, emphasizing the increasing pervasiveness of sin. This ingredient is paralleled in the account of Noah and his sons after the Flood. The depraved behavior of Ham, one of his own sons, shows again how easy humans fall into the wickedness of sin, and through the other sons, how human mind creates by themselves a system of rules trying to avoid the power of such wickedness. GOD's intervention shows that humans by themselves are too weak to face that wicked power, and only through HIM humans are able to overcome it.
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
THE STRANGE CITY OF ALEPPO.
Allepo, in Syria is an ancient metropolis, and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the World, noted for its commercial and military proficiency. The city has scarcely been touched by archaeologists, since the modern city occupies its ancient site been inhabited as a city from around 5,000 BC. The city appears in historical records as an important city much earlier than Damascus.
The 1rst written record of Allepo comes from the Ebla tablets, a collection of as many as 1,800 complete clay tablets, 4,700 fragments and many thousand minor chips, found in the palace archives of the ancient city of Ebla, a major trade center. She was responsible for the development of a sophisticated trade network system between city-states in Northern Syria. The system grouped the region into a commercial community. The names of the kings holding power were enlisted, also royal ordinances, edicts, and treaties. The literary texts included hymns and rituals, epics and proverbs.
The archive was kept in orderly fashion in two small rooms off a large audience hall with a raised platform often for dignified occupancy at one end; one repository contained only bureaucratic economic records on characteristic round tablets, the other, larger room held literacy texts, including pedagogical texts for teaching young scribes. Many of the tablets had not previously been baked, but when all were preserved by the fire that destroyed the palace, their storage method served to fire them almost as thoroughly as if in a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produced temperatures sufficient to complete the process involved in the chemical changes. The tablets also were stored upright in partly recessed wooden shelves, rectos facing outward, leaning backwards at an angle so that the first few words of the text, employed as an identified label of each tablet could be seen at a glance, and separated from one another by fragments of baked clay. The burning shelving pancaked -collapsing in place and preserving the order of the tablets.
Two languages appeared on the tablets, a Sumerian and a previously unknown language that used logograms as a phonetic representation of the locally spoken Ebla language. They provided a wealth information on Syria and Canaan, including the 1st known references to the "Canaanites," "Ugarit," and "Lebanon." A main focus appeared to be the economic records, inventories recording Ebla's commercial and political relations with other Levantine cities and logs of the city's import and export activities.
The application of the Ebla texts to specific places and people mentioned in the Scripture confirm the existence of Abraham, David, Sodom and Gomorrah, among other Scriptural references.
Allepo was known as Khalpe, Khalibon, and to the Greeks and Romans as Beroea. During the Crusades the name Alep was used. The original name, Halab, has survived as the current Arabic name of the city. It is of obscure origin. Its meaning is "iron" or "copper" in Amorite language. The area served as a major source of these metals in antiquity. In the Aramaic language the word Halaba, which is the translation of the word Halab, means "white," refering to the color of soil and marble abundant in the area. The modern-day Arabic nickname of the city, Ash-Shahbaa, which means "the white-colored," also derives from the famous white marble of Allepo.
The Allepo Codex or Crown of Allepo is a medieval bound manuscript of the Hebrew Scripture that refers to the Law of Redemption from imprisonment in which Israel has fallen. The codex was written in the city of Tiberias in Northern Israel. The Karaite Jewish community of Jerusalem purchased the Codex. During the 1st Crusade, the synagogue was plundered and the Codex was transferred to Egypt, whose Jews paid a high price for its ransom. The Codex was preserved at the synagogue in Old Cairo until one descendant of Maimonides (Sephardic Jewish philosopher) brought it to Allepo, Syria. The Codex remained in Syria for 500 years until rioters enraged by the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine burned down the synagogue where the Codex was kept. It disappeared until news about the surviving Codex surfaced saying that it was smuggled into Israel and presented to the president of the state. It was found that parts of the Codex had been lost. The Allepo Codex, then was entrusted to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
When the translation of the Codex was complete, it followed the Tiberian textual tradition in the order of its books, which also matches the later tradition of Sephardi Scriptural manuscripts. The Torah appears in the same order found in most printed Hebrew Scripture, but the order for the books for Ketuvim differs markedly. The Ketuvim is the 3rd and final section of the Hebrew Scripture named Tanakh, after the Instruction (Torah) and Prophets (Nevi'im). In English translations of the Hebrew Scripture, this section is usually entitled "Writings." I and II Chronicles form one book, along with Ezra and Nehemiah which form a single unit entitled "Ezra-Nehemiah."
In the Allepo Codex, the order of the Hebrew Scripture (Ketuvim) is: Books of Chronicles, Psalms, Book of Job, Book of Proverbs, Book of Ruth, Song of Songs 3:11 to the end; all of Ecclesiastes, Book of Lamentations, Book of Esther, Book of Daniel, and Book of Ezra-Nehemiah.
Such a long history is attributed to Allepo because of its strategic location as a trading center midway between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia, now modern Iraq. The city's significance in human history has been its location at one end of the Silk Road, which passed through Central Asia and Mesopotamia.
For centuries, Allepo has been the Syrian region's largest city and the Ottoman's Empire's 3rd largest, after Constantinopla and Cairo. It has also been Syria's largest city and also one of the largest cities in the Levant before the advent of the Syrian Civil War. Since the Battle of Allepo that started in 2012, the city has suffered massive destruction and it is the worst-hit city in the civil conflict.
The 1rst written record of Allepo comes from the Ebla tablets, a collection of as many as 1,800 complete clay tablets, 4,700 fragments and many thousand minor chips, found in the palace archives of the ancient city of Ebla, a major trade center. She was responsible for the development of a sophisticated trade network system between city-states in Northern Syria. The system grouped the region into a commercial community. The names of the kings holding power were enlisted, also royal ordinances, edicts, and treaties. The literary texts included hymns and rituals, epics and proverbs.
The archive was kept in orderly fashion in two small rooms off a large audience hall with a raised platform often for dignified occupancy at one end; one repository contained only bureaucratic economic records on characteristic round tablets, the other, larger room held literacy texts, including pedagogical texts for teaching young scribes. Many of the tablets had not previously been baked, but when all were preserved by the fire that destroyed the palace, their storage method served to fire them almost as thoroughly as if in a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produced temperatures sufficient to complete the process involved in the chemical changes. The tablets also were stored upright in partly recessed wooden shelves, rectos facing outward, leaning backwards at an angle so that the first few words of the text, employed as an identified label of each tablet could be seen at a glance, and separated from one another by fragments of baked clay. The burning shelving pancaked -collapsing in place and preserving the order of the tablets.
Two languages appeared on the tablets, a Sumerian and a previously unknown language that used logograms as a phonetic representation of the locally spoken Ebla language. They provided a wealth information on Syria and Canaan, including the 1st known references to the "Canaanites," "Ugarit," and "Lebanon." A main focus appeared to be the economic records, inventories recording Ebla's commercial and political relations with other Levantine cities and logs of the city's import and export activities.
The application of the Ebla texts to specific places and people mentioned in the Scripture confirm the existence of Abraham, David, Sodom and Gomorrah, among other Scriptural references.
Allepo was known as Khalpe, Khalibon, and to the Greeks and Romans as Beroea. During the Crusades the name Alep was used. The original name, Halab, has survived as the current Arabic name of the city. It is of obscure origin. Its meaning is "iron" or "copper" in Amorite language. The area served as a major source of these metals in antiquity. In the Aramaic language the word Halaba, which is the translation of the word Halab, means "white," refering to the color of soil and marble abundant in the area. The modern-day Arabic nickname of the city, Ash-Shahbaa, which means "the white-colored," also derives from the famous white marble of Allepo.
The Allepo Codex or Crown of Allepo is a medieval bound manuscript of the Hebrew Scripture that refers to the Law of Redemption from imprisonment in which Israel has fallen. The codex was written in the city of Tiberias in Northern Israel. The Karaite Jewish community of Jerusalem purchased the Codex. During the 1st Crusade, the synagogue was plundered and the Codex was transferred to Egypt, whose Jews paid a high price for its ransom. The Codex was preserved at the synagogue in Old Cairo until one descendant of Maimonides (Sephardic Jewish philosopher) brought it to Allepo, Syria. The Codex remained in Syria for 500 years until rioters enraged by the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine burned down the synagogue where the Codex was kept. It disappeared until news about the surviving Codex surfaced saying that it was smuggled into Israel and presented to the president of the state. It was found that parts of the Codex had been lost. The Allepo Codex, then was entrusted to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
When the translation of the Codex was complete, it followed the Tiberian textual tradition in the order of its books, which also matches the later tradition of Sephardi Scriptural manuscripts. The Torah appears in the same order found in most printed Hebrew Scripture, but the order for the books for Ketuvim differs markedly. The Ketuvim is the 3rd and final section of the Hebrew Scripture named Tanakh, after the Instruction (Torah) and Prophets (Nevi'im). In English translations of the Hebrew Scripture, this section is usually entitled "Writings." I and II Chronicles form one book, along with Ezra and Nehemiah which form a single unit entitled "Ezra-Nehemiah."
In the Allepo Codex, the order of the Hebrew Scripture (Ketuvim) is: Books of Chronicles, Psalms, Book of Job, Book of Proverbs, Book of Ruth, Song of Songs 3:11 to the end; all of Ecclesiastes, Book of Lamentations, Book of Esther, Book of Daniel, and Book of Ezra-Nehemiah.
Such a long history is attributed to Allepo because of its strategic location as a trading center midway between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia, now modern Iraq. The city's significance in human history has been its location at one end of the Silk Road, which passed through Central Asia and Mesopotamia.
For centuries, Allepo has been the Syrian region's largest city and the Ottoman's Empire's 3rd largest, after Constantinopla and Cairo. It has also been Syria's largest city and also one of the largest cities in the Levant before the advent of the Syrian Civil War. Since the Battle of Allepo that started in 2012, the city has suffered massive destruction and it is the worst-hit city in the civil conflict.
Sunday, December 11, 2016
PAUL, A WARRIOR OF THE LAW.
This Jewish Pharisee is first encountered in the Book of Acts under his Hebrew name Saul (Acts 7).
He was born in Tarsus in Cilicia which was in Asia Minor (modern Turkey), and raised inside the home of a very devout Jewish family from the Tribe of Benjamin. Paul's father was a Jew but must have been given Roman citizenship, for paul later made use of the fact he was a Roman citizen by birth and therefore had the right to be tried under the Roman rights. (Acts 22).
According to the Jewish way of life, every teacher, including the highly educated religious leaders, were expected to have a trade to work at. Paul had also been taught a craft by his father. He was a tent maker (Acts 18), and from time to time mention is made of how he worked to support himself. (1Cor.4; 2Thess.3; etc). There is ample evidence in these and other passages that Paul worked as much as he could, only because he did not want to be a burden or impose any burden on those among whom he wished to proclaim an absolutely "Free Gospel."(1 Cor.9). He propably sought to avoid being regarded as just another roaming teacher, given the way that traveling teachers and philosophers did in his time, often expecting people to support them with food and finances.
Paul was so zealous for the Law of God that he traveled to Jerusalem in his early teenage years, to study the Law under a famous teacher called Gamaliel. Paul later spoke to Jewish leaders of that time: "Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers an was just as zealous for God as any of you are today." (Acts 22).
Paul, now being a highly educated religious person that received a careful instruction in the Jewish law at a very early age, also having been taught to be fluent in Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, and having such a universally acceptable trade that let him travel widely without any financial problem, decided to join the Pharisees.
The Pharisees were one of the 3 Jewish groups, along with the Saducees and Essenes, that were on scene when Paul was growing up. The name was applied to a movement which grew out of the Maccabean era composed of religious leaders and students of the Law who tried to create an elaborate system of oral legislation and interpretation of the Scripture to enable the faithful Jew to obey and apply God's commandments, ordinances and statutes in every area of life. Originally pious reformers, they were generally well-respected by the less zealous Jews. They viewed Rome as an illegitimate, oppressive government which blocked Israel from receiving her divinely ordained blessing of freedom and peace in their land. Later the Talmudic tradition described 7 classes of Pharisees, according to the motivation for their behavior, and only one of the seven is said to act out of Love.
Paul is referred to as a "young man" at the time of Stephen's stoning, and, for a spiritual reason, he is first noted in Acts, watching people's clothing as the crowds stoned Stephen to death for his faith and commitment to Christ, and his desire to promote the Good News. Saul was there, and because of his adherence to the Mosaic Law, he was seen as one giving approval to Stephen's death. (Acts 7).
Stephen was deeply involved in the whole church growth movement, particularly in the expansion of the church from Jerusalem to Antioch (Acts 6-12). His message was accompanied by forceful demonstrations of the power of God which enabled him to perform "great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. His message also arouse opposition from conservative Jewish sources who were suspicious of the new Christian movement and jealous of Stephen's evident "wisdom of the Spirit." They instigated a campaign to convict Stephen of serious charges of blasphemy against Moses and against God. Mobilizing the crowd against him by utilizing the evidence of false witnesses, they secured his arrest by twisting his glowing testimony for Christ into something sinister and hostile to Mosaic authority.
Stephen's speech to the council is a remarkable review of Jewish history and a bold defense of the Chriatian Faith before his accusers.
He was born in Tarsus in Cilicia which was in Asia Minor (modern Turkey), and raised inside the home of a very devout Jewish family from the Tribe of Benjamin. Paul's father was a Jew but must have been given Roman citizenship, for paul later made use of the fact he was a Roman citizen by birth and therefore had the right to be tried under the Roman rights. (Acts 22).
According to the Jewish way of life, every teacher, including the highly educated religious leaders, were expected to have a trade to work at. Paul had also been taught a craft by his father. He was a tent maker (Acts 18), and from time to time mention is made of how he worked to support himself. (1Cor.4; 2Thess.3; etc). There is ample evidence in these and other passages that Paul worked as much as he could, only because he did not want to be a burden or impose any burden on those among whom he wished to proclaim an absolutely "Free Gospel."(1 Cor.9). He propably sought to avoid being regarded as just another roaming teacher, given the way that traveling teachers and philosophers did in his time, often expecting people to support them with food and finances.
Paul was so zealous for the Law of God that he traveled to Jerusalem in his early teenage years, to study the Law under a famous teacher called Gamaliel. Paul later spoke to Jewish leaders of that time: "Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers an was just as zealous for God as any of you are today." (Acts 22).
Paul, now being a highly educated religious person that received a careful instruction in the Jewish law at a very early age, also having been taught to be fluent in Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, and having such a universally acceptable trade that let him travel widely without any financial problem, decided to join the Pharisees.
The Pharisees were one of the 3 Jewish groups, along with the Saducees and Essenes, that were on scene when Paul was growing up. The name was applied to a movement which grew out of the Maccabean era composed of religious leaders and students of the Law who tried to create an elaborate system of oral legislation and interpretation of the Scripture to enable the faithful Jew to obey and apply God's commandments, ordinances and statutes in every area of life. Originally pious reformers, they were generally well-respected by the less zealous Jews. They viewed Rome as an illegitimate, oppressive government which blocked Israel from receiving her divinely ordained blessing of freedom and peace in their land. Later the Talmudic tradition described 7 classes of Pharisees, according to the motivation for their behavior, and only one of the seven is said to act out of Love.
Paul is referred to as a "young man" at the time of Stephen's stoning, and, for a spiritual reason, he is first noted in Acts, watching people's clothing as the crowds stoned Stephen to death for his faith and commitment to Christ, and his desire to promote the Good News. Saul was there, and because of his adherence to the Mosaic Law, he was seen as one giving approval to Stephen's death. (Acts 7).
Stephen was deeply involved in the whole church growth movement, particularly in the expansion of the church from Jerusalem to Antioch (Acts 6-12). His message was accompanied by forceful demonstrations of the power of God which enabled him to perform "great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. His message also arouse opposition from conservative Jewish sources who were suspicious of the new Christian movement and jealous of Stephen's evident "wisdom of the Spirit." They instigated a campaign to convict Stephen of serious charges of blasphemy against Moses and against God. Mobilizing the crowd against him by utilizing the evidence of false witnesses, they secured his arrest by twisting his glowing testimony for Christ into something sinister and hostile to Mosaic authority.
Stephen's speech to the council is a remarkable review of Jewish history and a bold defense of the Chriatian Faith before his accusers.
Saturday, December 10, 2016
WHO WAS JOHN THE BAPTIST? Part Two.
While the whole multitude were praying outside at the Hour of the Incense, Zechariah received the rare privilege of offering the incense inside the Temple in Jerusalem, as an act that symbolized the prayers of God's people about the hope that God would bring salvation to them. While performing this duty, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of the incense, announcing that his prayers were going to be answered.
Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel and fear fell upon him. He was terrified. The angel foretold him that Elizabeth would have a son, to be named John, who would be great in the sight of the Lord as the forerunner of Jesus Christ. Zechariah's lack of faith made him doubt about the angel's prophecy, and because of it the angel Gabriel rendered him unable to speak until the baby's birth.
Zechariah and his barren wife whom were well advanced in years, had led lives devoted to the commandments, statutes and ordinances of God, and had their home in the hill-country South of Jerusalem.
According to the Gospel of Luke, the birth of John took place 6 months before the birth of Jesus and by giving a child to Zechariah and Elizabeth the final stages of redemption would be set in motion. Soon after the child was born, at the time of his circumcision, Zechariah was suddenly released from the lack of speak, and under the power of the Spirit, gave praise to God for bringing salvation to his people.
John is presented as a preacher of repentance reflecting a separation from the sinful ways in which the nation was wrapped and forming a new Israel. John spoke harshly to those leaders whose behavior was reprehensible and who thought they had nothing to fear simply because they were descendants of Abraham. Yet even to them John preached repentance and the promise of forgiveness and restoration.
John himself understood and made clear that his preaching of the baptism of repentance were meant to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord: "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come One who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."Matthew3.
Jesus submitted himself to John's baptism, as the one called to bear the sufferings of His people, at which time a voice from heaven and the descent of the holy Spirit made clear that Jesus was the One for whom the way was being prepared.
John the Baptist's role in announcing the coming of the Messiah is emphasized especially by the Gospel of John (1:19-43). When John the Baptist was questioned whether he himself was the Messiah, he strongly denied it and instead pointed people to Jesus, whom he described as "the Lamb of God," who takes away the sin of the World." Later in the same Gospel he is reported to have said regarding Jesus, "He must become greater; I must become less. John 3. The public appearing of the Lord, for whom he had prepared the way, marked the concluding stage of John the Baptist's ministry.
Quite soon after Jesus was baptized, John was put in prison because he had rebuked Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee and Perea. (Matt.4;Mark1;Luke3). Some time later, news of Jesus' growing ministry reached John, who proceeded to send 2 of his own disciples to Jesus with this question:"Are You the One who was to come, or should we expect someone else!"(Matt11;Luke7). John may have expected the Messiah to take up the axe already laid at the root of the tree and bring Judgment on the wicked. Since Jesus was doing nothing of the sort, John may have needed some reassurance or at least some clarification of the Messiah's role.
Jesus' response was in effect to point out how the Messianic works prophesied in Isaiah 61 were now being fulfilled. Jesus took the opportunity to speak about the significance of John the Baptist.
Jesus indicated that John was not a delicate or easily intimidated man, nor was he someone interested in courting the good graces of powerful people. On the contrary, John was a prophet and his ministry had greater significance than that of the other prophets, for he was the Elijah promised in Malachi 3.
It was in this context that Jesus made the remarkable comment: "Among those born on women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." The point is that John who had announced the coming of the Kingdom, did not experienced it because he belonged to an earlier agreement. On the other hand, those who receive the good news of the Messiah, and thus participate by Faith in the blessings He brings, belong to a new different agreement that belongs to a different age.
Jesus' Words have an eschatological meaning, that is, they refer to the end-time fulfillment of the Old Testament promises in the person of the Messiah. Jesus said:"From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John."(Matt 11). Since that time, the Good News of the Kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.
Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel and fear fell upon him. He was terrified. The angel foretold him that Elizabeth would have a son, to be named John, who would be great in the sight of the Lord as the forerunner of Jesus Christ. Zechariah's lack of faith made him doubt about the angel's prophecy, and because of it the angel Gabriel rendered him unable to speak until the baby's birth.
Zechariah and his barren wife whom were well advanced in years, had led lives devoted to the commandments, statutes and ordinances of God, and had their home in the hill-country South of Jerusalem.
According to the Gospel of Luke, the birth of John took place 6 months before the birth of Jesus and by giving a child to Zechariah and Elizabeth the final stages of redemption would be set in motion. Soon after the child was born, at the time of his circumcision, Zechariah was suddenly released from the lack of speak, and under the power of the Spirit, gave praise to God for bringing salvation to his people.
John is presented as a preacher of repentance reflecting a separation from the sinful ways in which the nation was wrapped and forming a new Israel. John spoke harshly to those leaders whose behavior was reprehensible and who thought they had nothing to fear simply because they were descendants of Abraham. Yet even to them John preached repentance and the promise of forgiveness and restoration.
John himself understood and made clear that his preaching of the baptism of repentance were meant to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord: "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come One who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."Matthew3.
Jesus submitted himself to John's baptism, as the one called to bear the sufferings of His people, at which time a voice from heaven and the descent of the holy Spirit made clear that Jesus was the One for whom the way was being prepared.
John the Baptist's role in announcing the coming of the Messiah is emphasized especially by the Gospel of John (1:19-43). When John the Baptist was questioned whether he himself was the Messiah, he strongly denied it and instead pointed people to Jesus, whom he described as "the Lamb of God," who takes away the sin of the World." Later in the same Gospel he is reported to have said regarding Jesus, "He must become greater; I must become less. John 3. The public appearing of the Lord, for whom he had prepared the way, marked the concluding stage of John the Baptist's ministry.
Quite soon after Jesus was baptized, John was put in prison because he had rebuked Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee and Perea. (Matt.4;Mark1;Luke3). Some time later, news of Jesus' growing ministry reached John, who proceeded to send 2 of his own disciples to Jesus with this question:"Are You the One who was to come, or should we expect someone else!"(Matt11;Luke7). John may have expected the Messiah to take up the axe already laid at the root of the tree and bring Judgment on the wicked. Since Jesus was doing nothing of the sort, John may have needed some reassurance or at least some clarification of the Messiah's role.
Jesus' response was in effect to point out how the Messianic works prophesied in Isaiah 61 were now being fulfilled. Jesus took the opportunity to speak about the significance of John the Baptist.
Jesus indicated that John was not a delicate or easily intimidated man, nor was he someone interested in courting the good graces of powerful people. On the contrary, John was a prophet and his ministry had greater significance than that of the other prophets, for he was the Elijah promised in Malachi 3.
It was in this context that Jesus made the remarkable comment: "Among those born on women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he." The point is that John who had announced the coming of the Kingdom, did not experienced it because he belonged to an earlier agreement. On the other hand, those who receive the good news of the Messiah, and thus participate by Faith in the blessings He brings, belong to a new different agreement that belongs to a different age.
Jesus' Words have an eschatological meaning, that is, they refer to the end-time fulfillment of the Old Testament promises in the person of the Messiah. Jesus said:"From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John."(Matt 11). Since that time, the Good News of the Kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.
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