Behemoth is the term in the Hebrew language for 'a great beast,' representing loyalty, integrity, majesty and dignity, making altogether a single beast of gigantic proportions mentioned in the Scriptures and the representation of mind power and be parallel to the Leviathan sea monster. Metaphorically, both names have come to be used to represent the power of an extremely large and powerful entities and its dualism in their acting forces, but both rooted in the power of the flesh.
In the Book of Job, chapter 40, God speak to Job in this way:"Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?"The representation of Job as a righteous being is being replaced by the word 'faultfinder,'
and, since the Hebrew word 'Behemoth' represent 'majesty and dignity' in the flesh then Job's faultiness acquired from the original sin is equalized with 'Behemoth' as a 'faultfinder.'
Then God says to the spirit of faultiness in Job,"Are you trying to prove that I an unjust -to put Me in the wrong and yourself in the right? Are you as strong as I am? Can your voice thunder as loud as mine? If so, stand up in your honor and pride; clothe yourself with majesty and glory.
God is making a symbolic meaning of the power invested in humankind when He made them. God clothed man with majesty and glory but not rooted in the flesh instead it was rooted in His divine Spirit. When the human mind became corrupted by the original sin it was transformed in the symbolic way of Behemoth a powerful faultfinder beast representing the majesty and glory of man in the flesh.
God then tells Job to redirect his overflowing anger rooted in the flesh to bring down all the greedy and the wicked that corrupt the way of the righteous, meaning to restore in his mind the spiritual loyalty and integrity that comes from God, instead of arguing or questioning God's ways, "Look at those who are proud; pour out your anger and humble them. Yes, look at them and bring them down; crush the wicked where they stand. Bury them all in the ground; bind them in the world of the dead. Then I will be the first to praise you and admit that you won the victory yourself."
Then God gives to Job the description of Behemoth's garments, "Look at the monster Be'Hemoth, which I created as I created you. He eats grass like an ox, but his strength is in his loins, and his power in the muscles of his belly. He makes his tail stand up and be stiff like a cedar; the sinews of his thighs are knit together making them strong. His bones are tubes of bronze, his limbs like bars of iron. He is the first of the works of God; let Him who made Be'Hemoth bring near His Sword!"
Only God can defeat the monster because He was his creator. He came together with the divine spirit that God put in man and was clothed with divine loyalty, integrity, majesty and glory.
Then Death rob that divine nature and transformed it in sin, guilt, greed, and wickedness.
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Friday, August 5, 2016
THE PERSONIFICATION OF DEATH.
Death as a personified force it has been imagined in many different ways. The most popular depiction of it as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe and clothed in a black cloak arose in 14th century England.
In some mythologies, Death comes to collect the soul of the deceased to the afterlife, without having control over when or how the victim dies.
Mot was the personification of Death to the Canaanites. He was considered a son of the king of the gods. El, was the supreme god, the Father of mankind and all creatures. El also fathered many gods, most importantly Hadad, Yam, and Mot, each sharing similar attributes to the Greco-Roman gods: Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades respectively. As recorded on the clay tablets of Ugarit, El is the husband of the feminine force Ash-Erah.
The Phoenicians also worshipped Death under the name 'Mot' and a version of Mot later became Maweth, the devil or angel of Death in Judaism.
Alexander the Great is reputed to have found an entrance to Eden in an area of Africa near the equator, governed only by women, but was unable to enter.
According to the Hebrew Scriptures, Death came into the world as a consequence of Adam's sin. The first human couple were expelled from the idyllic Garden of Eden, after they ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, and to prevent them eating from the Tree of Life and gainning immortality. The path back is guarded by a Cherub with a flaming sword (Gen.3).
The prophet Ezekiel described the idyllic Garden of Eden as full of precious stones and stones of fire (Ez.28), situated at the very centre of the world, and being of enormous dimension, and everything on this earth had its form engraved in it. It was divided into a lower earthly garden and an upper, heavenly one. Adam and Eve lived in the lower garden which contained beautiful fruit trees. The upper one was full of spiritual delights, where the soul of the righteous went after Death to hear God expound the Truth. The Garden was only a small part of Eden, the main part of it no human eye has ever seen.
When souls depart this life, each individual determine by his/her actions the place they will have in eternity. Those who are especially holy, being free from the power of the Angel of Death, die from the effect of the serpent's poison which contaminated Eve and her progeny.
Death itself is viewed as part of the Creation, as God was referring to Death when he declared that the World was very good, since it was the byproduct formed after the war of the elements that occur in the spiritual world, and a way to filter the souls of the good ones passing into the Garden of Eden through the Cave of Mach-Pelah where they were greeted by the Patriarchs, and being called alive even after death, because they were death to the pleasures of this world but alive to eternity, while the wicked are dead even while still living in the material world.
The Angel of Death is one of the angels whose specific task is to end human life. The Angel of death is covered with eyes, so that those who see him gape in amazement, and a drop of poison from his sword falls into their open mouthes.
When someone dies, therefore, all water in the house should be poured away in case poison from the angel's sword fell into it. This symbolizes that all negative energies that were among the people surrounding him has to be cleansed leaving the individual's soul purified from it, finding peace in his/her heart.
The odor of Paradise wafts from the Garden of Eden, and helps neutralize the pungent breath issuing from the mouth of the Leviathan.
During the 2nd coming of the Messiah, the way to Eden will be revealed, and people will discover wonderful plants and trees. The Messiah himself will be the only one able to read the Truth from the Book of Life, which is written in a fire of many colors.
In some mythologies, Death comes to collect the soul of the deceased to the afterlife, without having control over when or how the victim dies.
Mot was the personification of Death to the Canaanites. He was considered a son of the king of the gods. El, was the supreme god, the Father of mankind and all creatures. El also fathered many gods, most importantly Hadad, Yam, and Mot, each sharing similar attributes to the Greco-Roman gods: Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades respectively. As recorded on the clay tablets of Ugarit, El is the husband of the feminine force Ash-Erah.
The Phoenicians also worshipped Death under the name 'Mot' and a version of Mot later became Maweth, the devil or angel of Death in Judaism.
Alexander the Great is reputed to have found an entrance to Eden in an area of Africa near the equator, governed only by women, but was unable to enter.
According to the Hebrew Scriptures, Death came into the world as a consequence of Adam's sin. The first human couple were expelled from the idyllic Garden of Eden, after they ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, and to prevent them eating from the Tree of Life and gainning immortality. The path back is guarded by a Cherub with a flaming sword (Gen.3).
The prophet Ezekiel described the idyllic Garden of Eden as full of precious stones and stones of fire (Ez.28), situated at the very centre of the world, and being of enormous dimension, and everything on this earth had its form engraved in it. It was divided into a lower earthly garden and an upper, heavenly one. Adam and Eve lived in the lower garden which contained beautiful fruit trees. The upper one was full of spiritual delights, where the soul of the righteous went after Death to hear God expound the Truth. The Garden was only a small part of Eden, the main part of it no human eye has ever seen.
When souls depart this life, each individual determine by his/her actions the place they will have in eternity. Those who are especially holy, being free from the power of the Angel of Death, die from the effect of the serpent's poison which contaminated Eve and her progeny.
Death itself is viewed as part of the Creation, as God was referring to Death when he declared that the World was very good, since it was the byproduct formed after the war of the elements that occur in the spiritual world, and a way to filter the souls of the good ones passing into the Garden of Eden through the Cave of Mach-Pelah where they were greeted by the Patriarchs, and being called alive even after death, because they were death to the pleasures of this world but alive to eternity, while the wicked are dead even while still living in the material world.
The Angel of Death is one of the angels whose specific task is to end human life. The Angel of death is covered with eyes, so that those who see him gape in amazement, and a drop of poison from his sword falls into their open mouthes.
When someone dies, therefore, all water in the house should be poured away in case poison from the angel's sword fell into it. This symbolizes that all negative energies that were among the people surrounding him has to be cleansed leaving the individual's soul purified from it, finding peace in his/her heart.
The odor of Paradise wafts from the Garden of Eden, and helps neutralize the pungent breath issuing from the mouth of the Leviathan.
During the 2nd coming of the Messiah, the way to Eden will be revealed, and people will discover wonderful plants and trees. The Messiah himself will be the only one able to read the Truth from the Book of Life, which is written in a fire of many colors.
Thursday, August 4, 2016
THE CAPSIAN CULTURE.
The Capsian Culture was a Mesolithic culture of the Maghreb (Sunset), which lasted from about 10,000 to 6,000 BCE. The start and ends dates of the Mesolithic vary by geographical region. The times vary greatly. Mesolithic peoples continued with intensive hunting while others were practicing the initial stages of domestication.
The Maghreb (Sunset) Region was usually defined as much or most of the region of North West Africa, West of Egypt. The traditional definition included the Atlas mountains and the coastal plains of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. Later, following the 1989 formation of the Arab Maghreb Union, included the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (Agabe) and the desert flat land of Western Sahara.
The ancient Capsian were concentrated mainly in modern Tunisia, and Algeria, with some sites attested in Southern Spain to Sicily. It is traditionally divided into two horizons, The Typical Capsian and the Upper Capsian. They represent variants of one tradition, the differences between them being both typological and technological.
During the period of time in which the culture developed, the environment of the Maghreb (Sunset) was open savanna with Mediterranean forests at higher altitudes. A savanna was a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy did not close. The open canopy allowed sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer of grassland.
Capsa (Gafsa), the capital of the South West Tunisia lends its name to the Mesolithic Capsian culture. With a population of 111,170, Gafsa is the 9th largest Tunisian city. The city lies 369 km / 229mi by road South West of Tunis.
Excavations at prehistoric sites in the area have yielded artifacts and skeletal remains associated with the Capsian culture. Nothing is known about ancient Capsian religion, but their burial methods suggests a belief in an afterlife. Decorative art is widely found at their sites, including figurative abstract rock art, and ochre is found coloring both tools and corpses. Ostrich eggshells were used to make beads and containers; seashells were used for necklaces.
The city of Capsa belonged to Jug-Ur-tha (160-104BC), King of Numidia, born in Cirta (modern-day Constantine) who deposited his treasures there. The people of Numidia were semi-nomadic and indistinguishable from other Libyans in North Africa. It was captured by Gaius Marius in 106 BC and destroyed, but later became a Roman colony, and was an important city of Roman Africa. Roman cisterns are still evident in the city ruins. The Vandals, an East Germanic Tribe who were first heard of in Southern Poland, but later moved, conquered the Roman city and ruled it until 477 CE.
The Berbers then occupied it, making it the capital of a Roman-Berber kingdom until subjected to Byzantium under Justinian I (527-565CE). He made Capsa the capital of the Province of Byzacena.
In 688 CE the city was conquered by the Arabs losing its importance.
The Maghreb (Sunset) Region was usually defined as much or most of the region of North West Africa, West of Egypt. The traditional definition included the Atlas mountains and the coastal plains of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. Later, following the 1989 formation of the Arab Maghreb Union, included the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (Agabe) and the desert flat land of Western Sahara.
The ancient Capsian were concentrated mainly in modern Tunisia, and Algeria, with some sites attested in Southern Spain to Sicily. It is traditionally divided into two horizons, The Typical Capsian and the Upper Capsian. They represent variants of one tradition, the differences between them being both typological and technological.
During the period of time in which the culture developed, the environment of the Maghreb (Sunset) was open savanna with Mediterranean forests at higher altitudes. A savanna was a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy did not close. The open canopy allowed sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer of grassland.
Capsa (Gafsa), the capital of the South West Tunisia lends its name to the Mesolithic Capsian culture. With a population of 111,170, Gafsa is the 9th largest Tunisian city. The city lies 369 km / 229mi by road South West of Tunis.
Excavations at prehistoric sites in the area have yielded artifacts and skeletal remains associated with the Capsian culture. Nothing is known about ancient Capsian religion, but their burial methods suggests a belief in an afterlife. Decorative art is widely found at their sites, including figurative abstract rock art, and ochre is found coloring both tools and corpses. Ostrich eggshells were used to make beads and containers; seashells were used for necklaces.
The city of Capsa belonged to Jug-Ur-tha (160-104BC), King of Numidia, born in Cirta (modern-day Constantine) who deposited his treasures there. The people of Numidia were semi-nomadic and indistinguishable from other Libyans in North Africa. It was captured by Gaius Marius in 106 BC and destroyed, but later became a Roman colony, and was an important city of Roman Africa. Roman cisterns are still evident in the city ruins. The Vandals, an East Germanic Tribe who were first heard of in Southern Poland, but later moved, conquered the Roman city and ruled it until 477 CE.
The Berbers then occupied it, making it the capital of a Roman-Berber kingdom until subjected to Byzantium under Justinian I (527-565CE). He made Capsa the capital of the Province of Byzacena.
In 688 CE the city was conquered by the Arabs losing its importance.
Monday, August 1, 2016
EMPE-DOC-LES AND HIS SUPERNATURAL THEORIES.
Empedocles was a Greek citizen of Agri-Gentum, a Greek city founded on a plateau overlooking the Sea, with 2 nearby rivers, and a ridge to the North offering a degree of natural fortification, in the southern coast of Sicily, the largest island in the Central Mediterranean Sea. It grew rapidly, becoming one of the richest and most famous leading cities of Magna Graecia during the golden age of ancient Greece with a population estimated in the range 200,000-800,000 before 406 BC. Sicily is separated from the Italian peninsula by the narrow Strait of Messina. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Edna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, currently 3,329m/10,922ft high, and one of the most active in the world. The earliest evidence of human activity on the island dates from as early as 12,000 BC.
The Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, to the North East of mainland Sicily form a volcanic complex, and include Stromboli that is a small island off the North coast of Sicily. The 3 volcanoes: Vulcano, Vulcanero and Lipari are still active. As an example of how the work of the elements were a philosophical theme in the past we present the myth about Vulcano.
Vulcano (Greek: Thermessa=Source of Heat) is located about 25 km North of Sicily: 21km2/8 sq mi in area, 499m/1,637ft above sea level. It appeared in the Greek myths as the private workshop of Hephaestus, an Olympian God, protector of the blacksmiths. He owned another two at Etna and Olympus. Similarly the Romans believed that Vulcano was the chimney of the god Vulcan's workshop and therefore named the island after him. The island had grown due to his periodic and supernatural clearing of cinders and ashes from his forge. The earthquakes that either preceded or accompanied the explosions of ash were considered to be due to Vulcan making weapons for Mars and his armies to wage his supernatural wars. Then the island use was mainly for raw materials, harvesting wood and mining alum and sulfur, being the principal activity on the island until the end of the 19th century. When the Bour-Bon rule collapsed in 1860 a British man bought the Northern part of the island, built a villa, reopened the local mines and planted vineyards for a sweet variety of grapes to make wine. He lived in Vulcano until the last and major eruption in 1888. It lasted two years, by which time he sold his property to the locals and never returned to the island. The villa is still intact.
Empe-doc-les' philosophy is best known for originating the Cosmos-Genetic Theory of the Four Classical Elements. The 4 elements were simple, eternal and unalterable and a change in any of them was the consequence of their mixture and separation. The existence of moving powers were also responsible for its mixture and separation. The 4 elements, in the beginning, were eternally brought into union. At their best in their originally state, they were able to coexist in a condition of rest in the form of a sphere. They existed together in their purity, without mixture and separation, and the united power of Love predominated in the sphere. The separating power of Strife guarded the extreme edges of the sphere. Since that time, Strife gained little by little more sway and the bond which kept the pure elementary substances together was dissolved. Then they were transformed into the world of phenomena we see today, full of contrasts and oppositions, operated by both Love and Strife. Then Empedocles assumed the existence of a cyclical universe whereby the elements return and prepare the formation of the sphere for the next period in the universe.
He is credited with the first comprehensive theory of light and vision. He put forward the idea that we see objects because light streams out of our eyes and touches them. Knowledge was explained by the principle that the elements (fire, air, water, earth) in the things outside us are perceived by the corresponding elements in ourselves. Our whole body is full of pores and hence respiration takes place over the whole frame. In the organs of sense these pores are specially adapted to receive the environmental messages which are continually rising from bodies around us; and in this way perception is explained. Thus in vision, certain particles go forth from the eye to meet similar particles given forth from the object, and the resultant contact constituted the personal vision. Perception was not merely a passive reflection of external objects.
Empe-doc-les noted the limitation and narrowness of human perceptions. We see only a part, but it fancy and make us believe that we grasped the whole. Then the senses were not able to lead the individual to Truth. Thought and Reflection must be taken from the insight to look at the thing on every side. It is our responsibility to lead our soul to a higher level, while laying bare the roots that make the elements so different in displaying the identity that exist between what seem unconnected parts of the universe.
Empedocles knew about the corporeality of Air able to resist liquid. He attempted to explain the phenomena by means of an elaborated analogy with the water clock (clepsydra), an ancient device for transmitting liquids from one vessel to another. Although a simple wine skin sufficed to demonstrate a partial vacuum, in principle, more advanced suction pumps were developed in Roman Pompeii.
Empe-doc-les believed in the transmigration of the soul, that souls can be moved in between humans, animals and even plants. All living things, according to him, belonged to the same spiritual realm. Plants and animals were links in a chain where humans were a link too. He urged a vegetarian lifestyle, since the body of animals were the dwelling places of punished souls. Wise people, who have learned the secret of life, were next to the divine, and their souls were free from the cycle of transmigration, and able to rest in happiness for eternity.
A legend was recorded that Empedocles died by being taken or carried up into the sky by a volcanic eruption from Mount Edna in Sicily, so that the people would believe his body had vanished and his soul turned into an immortal entity. However, the volcano threw back one of his bronze sandals, revealing that he survived the fate and continues his life on the Moon by being fed on dew.
In 2006, a massive underwater volcano off the coast of Sicily was named Empedocles.
The Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, to the North East of mainland Sicily form a volcanic complex, and include Stromboli that is a small island off the North coast of Sicily. The 3 volcanoes: Vulcano, Vulcanero and Lipari are still active. As an example of how the work of the elements were a philosophical theme in the past we present the myth about Vulcano.
Vulcano (Greek: Thermessa=Source of Heat) is located about 25 km North of Sicily: 21km2/8 sq mi in area, 499m/1,637ft above sea level. It appeared in the Greek myths as the private workshop of Hephaestus, an Olympian God, protector of the blacksmiths. He owned another two at Etna and Olympus. Similarly the Romans believed that Vulcano was the chimney of the god Vulcan's workshop and therefore named the island after him. The island had grown due to his periodic and supernatural clearing of cinders and ashes from his forge. The earthquakes that either preceded or accompanied the explosions of ash were considered to be due to Vulcan making weapons for Mars and his armies to wage his supernatural wars. Then the island use was mainly for raw materials, harvesting wood and mining alum and sulfur, being the principal activity on the island until the end of the 19th century. When the Bour-Bon rule collapsed in 1860 a British man bought the Northern part of the island, built a villa, reopened the local mines and planted vineyards for a sweet variety of grapes to make wine. He lived in Vulcano until the last and major eruption in 1888. It lasted two years, by which time he sold his property to the locals and never returned to the island. The villa is still intact.
Empe-doc-les' philosophy is best known for originating the Cosmos-Genetic Theory of the Four Classical Elements. The 4 elements were simple, eternal and unalterable and a change in any of them was the consequence of their mixture and separation. The existence of moving powers were also responsible for its mixture and separation. The 4 elements, in the beginning, were eternally brought into union. At their best in their originally state, they were able to coexist in a condition of rest in the form of a sphere. They existed together in their purity, without mixture and separation, and the united power of Love predominated in the sphere. The separating power of Strife guarded the extreme edges of the sphere. Since that time, Strife gained little by little more sway and the bond which kept the pure elementary substances together was dissolved. Then they were transformed into the world of phenomena we see today, full of contrasts and oppositions, operated by both Love and Strife. Then Empedocles assumed the existence of a cyclical universe whereby the elements return and prepare the formation of the sphere for the next period in the universe.
He is credited with the first comprehensive theory of light and vision. He put forward the idea that we see objects because light streams out of our eyes and touches them. Knowledge was explained by the principle that the elements (fire, air, water, earth) in the things outside us are perceived by the corresponding elements in ourselves. Our whole body is full of pores and hence respiration takes place over the whole frame. In the organs of sense these pores are specially adapted to receive the environmental messages which are continually rising from bodies around us; and in this way perception is explained. Thus in vision, certain particles go forth from the eye to meet similar particles given forth from the object, and the resultant contact constituted the personal vision. Perception was not merely a passive reflection of external objects.
Empe-doc-les noted the limitation and narrowness of human perceptions. We see only a part, but it fancy and make us believe that we grasped the whole. Then the senses were not able to lead the individual to Truth. Thought and Reflection must be taken from the insight to look at the thing on every side. It is our responsibility to lead our soul to a higher level, while laying bare the roots that make the elements so different in displaying the identity that exist between what seem unconnected parts of the universe.
Empedocles knew about the corporeality of Air able to resist liquid. He attempted to explain the phenomena by means of an elaborated analogy with the water clock (clepsydra), an ancient device for transmitting liquids from one vessel to another. Although a simple wine skin sufficed to demonstrate a partial vacuum, in principle, more advanced suction pumps were developed in Roman Pompeii.
Empe-doc-les believed in the transmigration of the soul, that souls can be moved in between humans, animals and even plants. All living things, according to him, belonged to the same spiritual realm. Plants and animals were links in a chain where humans were a link too. He urged a vegetarian lifestyle, since the body of animals were the dwelling places of punished souls. Wise people, who have learned the secret of life, were next to the divine, and their souls were free from the cycle of transmigration, and able to rest in happiness for eternity.
A legend was recorded that Empedocles died by being taken or carried up into the sky by a volcanic eruption from Mount Edna in Sicily, so that the people would believe his body had vanished and his soul turned into an immortal entity. However, the volcano threw back one of his bronze sandals, revealing that he survived the fate and continues his life on the Moon by being fed on dew.
In 2006, a massive underwater volcano off the coast of Sicily was named Empedocles.
AARON, THE SUPERNATURAL HIGH PRIEST.
In the Hebrew Scriptures and the Koran, Aaron is the older brother of Moses and his spokesman because Moses was slow of speech, and of a slow tongue (Exodus 6 and 4)).
Unlike Moses, who grew up in the Egyptian royal court, Aaron and his elder sister Miriam remained with their kinsmen in the Eastern border-land of Egypt, Goshen.
The Land of Goshen is named in the Scriptures as the place in Egypt given to the Hebrews by the pharaoh of Joseph (Genesis 45), and the land from which they later left Egypt at the time of the Exodus. The sons of Jacob, living in Hebron, a city in the South West Bank south of Jerusalem, nestled in the Judaean Mountains at 930 m/3,050 ft above sea level, experienced a severe famine that lasted 7 years. Since Egypt was the only kingdom able to supply goods, at the 2nd year of famine, they were invited to live in the Land of Goshem.
The Land of Goshem was located in the Eastern Delta of the Nile, and is described as the best land in Egypt, suitable for both crops and livestock. No wonder why Moses was slow of spiritual speech, and of a slow tongue, since he grew inside the Egyptian court. Aaron's upbringing was different, he connected himself with pure nature in which the power of God was felt in its maximum level and the language developed by Aaron and his family were, most of the time, supernatural. They learned the way of the Hebrews and respected the Law of God.
The Nile Delta, a land-form that forms from deposition of sediment carried by the Nile as the flow leaves its mouth and spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea, was a perfect place for Aaron and his people to grow. It was and still is one of the world's largest river deltas and a rich agricultural region. People have lived in the Delta region for thousands of years, and it has been intensively farmed for at least the last five thousand years.
After the death of Joseph and those of his generation, the following generations of the sons of Jacob grew and became populous in number. The Egyptians feared potential integration or takeover, so they enslaved them and took away their sacred rights. Approximately 430 years later, Moses was called to lead the sons of Jacob out of Egypt. They pitched at 41 locations crossing the Nile Delta, to the last being the Plains of Moab.
Part of the Law of God that Moses received from Him at Mount Sinai granted Aaron the priesthood for himself and his male descendants, and Aaron became the first High Priest of the Israelites, and an Old Testament type of Christ. When crowned with a tiara Aaron represented the highest authority in Earth able to mediate between God and humankind, and when wearing a mitre, the maximum authority inside the priesthood. The elaborate Old Testament description of his vestments give us the idea of the power invested in him as the mediator of the human race. One of his attributes as a High Priest is a censer, because he alone could offer incense in the Holy of Hollies.
The Holy of Hollies was the most sacred area in the Tabernacle and in the Temple where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. It could only be entered by the High Priest once a year, to offer incense during the ritual of atonement, the reconciliation of man and God. Between the High Priest and God no intermediaries existed to effect the ritual of atonement. As the Hebrew Scriptures puts it: "Happy are you, Israel. Before Whom do you cleanse yourself and Who is it Who cleanses you? It is your Father in Heaven."
The miraculous flowering of Aaron's rod (his other supernatural attribute) was the divine indication of the exclusive right of his tribe to the privileges of priesthood. Aaron and the head of each of the other tribes of Israel laid their staffs in the Ark of the Covenant. Aaron's rod blossomed and produced ripe almonds, a sign that the Tribe of Levi, of which he was the leader, had been divinely chosen for the office by God. (Numbers 17).
Unlike Moses, who grew up in the Egyptian royal court, Aaron and his elder sister Miriam remained with their kinsmen in the Eastern border-land of Egypt, Goshen.
The Land of Goshen is named in the Scriptures as the place in Egypt given to the Hebrews by the pharaoh of Joseph (Genesis 45), and the land from which they later left Egypt at the time of the Exodus. The sons of Jacob, living in Hebron, a city in the South West Bank south of Jerusalem, nestled in the Judaean Mountains at 930 m/3,050 ft above sea level, experienced a severe famine that lasted 7 years. Since Egypt was the only kingdom able to supply goods, at the 2nd year of famine, they were invited to live in the Land of Goshem.
The Land of Goshem was located in the Eastern Delta of the Nile, and is described as the best land in Egypt, suitable for both crops and livestock. No wonder why Moses was slow of spiritual speech, and of a slow tongue, since he grew inside the Egyptian court. Aaron's upbringing was different, he connected himself with pure nature in which the power of God was felt in its maximum level and the language developed by Aaron and his family were, most of the time, supernatural. They learned the way of the Hebrews and respected the Law of God.
The Nile Delta, a land-form that forms from deposition of sediment carried by the Nile as the flow leaves its mouth and spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea, was a perfect place for Aaron and his people to grow. It was and still is one of the world's largest river deltas and a rich agricultural region. People have lived in the Delta region for thousands of years, and it has been intensively farmed for at least the last five thousand years.
After the death of Joseph and those of his generation, the following generations of the sons of Jacob grew and became populous in number. The Egyptians feared potential integration or takeover, so they enslaved them and took away their sacred rights. Approximately 430 years later, Moses was called to lead the sons of Jacob out of Egypt. They pitched at 41 locations crossing the Nile Delta, to the last being the Plains of Moab.
Part of the Law of God that Moses received from Him at Mount Sinai granted Aaron the priesthood for himself and his male descendants, and Aaron became the first High Priest of the Israelites, and an Old Testament type of Christ. When crowned with a tiara Aaron represented the highest authority in Earth able to mediate between God and humankind, and when wearing a mitre, the maximum authority inside the priesthood. The elaborate Old Testament description of his vestments give us the idea of the power invested in him as the mediator of the human race. One of his attributes as a High Priest is a censer, because he alone could offer incense in the Holy of Hollies.
The Holy of Hollies was the most sacred area in the Tabernacle and in the Temple where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. It could only be entered by the High Priest once a year, to offer incense during the ritual of atonement, the reconciliation of man and God. Between the High Priest and God no intermediaries existed to effect the ritual of atonement. As the Hebrew Scriptures puts it: "Happy are you, Israel. Before Whom do you cleanse yourself and Who is it Who cleanses you? It is your Father in Heaven."
The miraculous flowering of Aaron's rod (his other supernatural attribute) was the divine indication of the exclusive right of his tribe to the privileges of priesthood. Aaron and the head of each of the other tribes of Israel laid their staffs in the Ark of the Covenant. Aaron's rod blossomed and produced ripe almonds, a sign that the Tribe of Levi, of which he was the leader, had been divinely chosen for the office by God. (Numbers 17).
Sunday, July 31, 2016
THE URIM AND THUMMIM.
The Urim and Thummim are mysterious objects, possibly oracular stones, which were carried in the breastplate of the High Priest and used to divine the will of God.
It is thought that they represented contrasting ideas like light and darkness, yes and no, life and death, etc. They were shaken, or drawn out of the ephod. If each showed the same side, the answer was auspicious or inauspicious, according to the designation of each side, if different, no answer was forthcoming.
Thummim is a word derived from the consonantal root 't-m-n' meaning 'innocent,' while Urim derive from a root meaning 'light.' In consequence, the translation of the words, by taking them allegorically, mean 'Revelation of the Truth.'
In 1Samuel 14 is regarded as the key to understanding the meaning of the words. The passage describes an attempt to identify a sinner via divination, by repeatedly splitting the people in two groups and identifying which group contains the sinner. This imply that the purpose of the Urim and Thummim was an ordeal to confirm or deny suspected guilt. If the Urim was selected it meant guilt, while selection of the Thummim would mean innocent. In order for the Urim and Thummim to give an answer, it was first necessary for it to be loud enough for the individual to stand facing the fully dresses high priest, and vocalize the question briefly and in a simple way, though it wasn't necessary for it to be loud.
A passage of the Book of Samuel mentions 3 methods of divine communication: Dreams, Prophets, and the Urim and Thummim. They had to rest within the breastplate of the high preast mediating between God and mankind.
Dreams and Prophets are also mentioned copiously in Assyrian and Babylonian literature, and such literature also mentions 'Tablets of Destiny.' They also had to rest on the breast of deities mediating between the other gods or entities and mankind in order to function. Marduk was said to have put his seal on the 'Tablets of Destiny,' and came into use when the fate of a king or nation was concerned.
The 1st reference to Urim and Thummim in the Scriptures is the description in the Book of Exodus concerning the high priest's vestments. The chronological earliest passage mentioning them is in the Book of Hosea, one of the Books of the Hebrew Bible, where it is implied, by reference to the Ephod, that Urim and Thummim were fundamental elements in the Israelite faith.
Hosea was a prophet during a dark and melancholic era of Israel's history, the Northern Kingdom's decline and fall in the 8th BC. The apostasy of people was rampant, having turned away from God in order to serve other entities. The kings, their aristocratic supporters, and the priests had led the people away from the Law of God. Other sins followed, including homicide, perjury, theft, and sexual sin.
Hosea declared that unless they repent of these gross scenario of sins, God will allow their nation to be destroyed, and the people be taken into captivity by Assyria. God's unending love towards his people and His agony towards Israel's betrayal is expressed in this prophesy. It is summed up in this verse: "I have been the Lord your God ever since the land of Egypt; you know no God but Me, and besides Me there is no Saviour." (Hosea 13).
In a passage from the the Book of Ezra which overlaps with the Book of Nehemiah, it is mentioned that individuals who were unable to prove, after the Babylonian captivity had ended, that they were descended from the priesthood before the captivity began, were required to wait until divine priests in possession of Urim and Thummim were discovered. In that specific way it is understood that the divine priest could use again the Urim and Thummim to determine God's will this particular situation, because the heart of the priest works in direct and divine connection with the will of God.
With the coming of Christ, the representation of the Urim and Thummim was taken by Him. He is now the divine connection and we as his followers need to be in constant connection with his divine heart and mind.
In 1 Samuel 28 it is stated that a definite answer was not always obtainable, so it is not so simple to gain a divine connection, and do not take the understanding that the connection is like a simple tossing of two stones in the ground and gaining it.
It is thought that they represented contrasting ideas like light and darkness, yes and no, life and death, etc. They were shaken, or drawn out of the ephod. If each showed the same side, the answer was auspicious or inauspicious, according to the designation of each side, if different, no answer was forthcoming.
Thummim is a word derived from the consonantal root 't-m-n' meaning 'innocent,' while Urim derive from a root meaning 'light.' In consequence, the translation of the words, by taking them allegorically, mean 'Revelation of the Truth.'
In 1Samuel 14 is regarded as the key to understanding the meaning of the words. The passage describes an attempt to identify a sinner via divination, by repeatedly splitting the people in two groups and identifying which group contains the sinner. This imply that the purpose of the Urim and Thummim was an ordeal to confirm or deny suspected guilt. If the Urim was selected it meant guilt, while selection of the Thummim would mean innocent. In order for the Urim and Thummim to give an answer, it was first necessary for it to be loud enough for the individual to stand facing the fully dresses high priest, and vocalize the question briefly and in a simple way, though it wasn't necessary for it to be loud.
A passage of the Book of Samuel mentions 3 methods of divine communication: Dreams, Prophets, and the Urim and Thummim. They had to rest within the breastplate of the high preast mediating between God and mankind.
Dreams and Prophets are also mentioned copiously in Assyrian and Babylonian literature, and such literature also mentions 'Tablets of Destiny.' They also had to rest on the breast of deities mediating between the other gods or entities and mankind in order to function. Marduk was said to have put his seal on the 'Tablets of Destiny,' and came into use when the fate of a king or nation was concerned.
The 1st reference to Urim and Thummim in the Scriptures is the description in the Book of Exodus concerning the high priest's vestments. The chronological earliest passage mentioning them is in the Book of Hosea, one of the Books of the Hebrew Bible, where it is implied, by reference to the Ephod, that Urim and Thummim were fundamental elements in the Israelite faith.
Hosea was a prophet during a dark and melancholic era of Israel's history, the Northern Kingdom's decline and fall in the 8th BC. The apostasy of people was rampant, having turned away from God in order to serve other entities. The kings, their aristocratic supporters, and the priests had led the people away from the Law of God. Other sins followed, including homicide, perjury, theft, and sexual sin.
Hosea declared that unless they repent of these gross scenario of sins, God will allow their nation to be destroyed, and the people be taken into captivity by Assyria. God's unending love towards his people and His agony towards Israel's betrayal is expressed in this prophesy. It is summed up in this verse: "I have been the Lord your God ever since the land of Egypt; you know no God but Me, and besides Me there is no Saviour." (Hosea 13).
In a passage from the the Book of Ezra which overlaps with the Book of Nehemiah, it is mentioned that individuals who were unable to prove, after the Babylonian captivity had ended, that they were descended from the priesthood before the captivity began, were required to wait until divine priests in possession of Urim and Thummim were discovered. In that specific way it is understood that the divine priest could use again the Urim and Thummim to determine God's will this particular situation, because the heart of the priest works in direct and divine connection with the will of God.
With the coming of Christ, the representation of the Urim and Thummim was taken by Him. He is now the divine connection and we as his followers need to be in constant connection with his divine heart and mind.
In 1 Samuel 28 it is stated that a definite answer was not always obtainable, so it is not so simple to gain a divine connection, and do not take the understanding that the connection is like a simple tossing of two stones in the ground and gaining it.
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
HOW WE CAN CONNECT TO THE SPIRITUAL WORLD.
In order to achieve a safe communication with the Spirit of Truth we have to take care of or keep an eye in the steps we surely need to follow to become fully aware of our mission as Christians in the mundane world.
We have to follow the example of the apostle Paul that except for Jesus, no one influenced the development of the early Christianity more than him. He was the foremost apologist for the conversion of the unbelievers, and the most eloquent defender of the centrality of Jewish traditions, the meaning of the Scriptures, deity, morality, and Christian principles for his predominantly community churches. The 13 of the 27 Books in the New Testament attributed to Paul gives us an eloquent testimony to the importance he had for the movement of the church and the divine connection that it had with Jesus.
Paul was born in Tarsus, sojourned in many places, and died as a Jew. Tarsus, the place in which he entered to this mundane world, was a thriving cosmopolitan, urban gateway to eastern Mediterranean, a vibrant intellectual center, and a transportation hub of strategic importance.
Here, in Tarsus, Paul learned his first language, Greek, also was taught a trade, and receiving his schooling, in the way of the world that surrounded him. Paul was a very well learned man and creative thinker.
The steps that his spiritual life followed during his life time were very similar to the steps that Moses' life followed in his life. Both were committed to God's plan of redemption and salvation of the souls belonging to Him. Both acted as mediators to reconcile humanity with God's Laws. Humanity was alienated from God by sin, but, according to God's plan, He designed a spiritual bridge formed by harmonious relationship with Him and able to be reached by the ones who truly rested in His Truth.
Mediation, in principle, has to be directed in the person of Jesus Christ, God's incarnate Son, the only one who is properly qualified to mediate between God and humanity because he is both fully human and fully divine. He is the mediator and guarantor of a New Covenant, better than the Mosaic Covenant because it is founded upon his own blood from which each of us received a drop of it in our hearts.
As the anointed Messiah, he fulfills all 3 mediative offices of Prophet, Priest, and King in Him. God has spoken his final, living, and incarnated Word. By the atoning death of His incarnation Jesus became both High Priest and sacrifice forming the Way through the spiritual bridge that take us to the Gate of Heaven and opening the door that lead us into God's Presence.
He, who now rules in sincere believers' hearts and is seated at the Father's right hand, is the One who intercedes for us and will one day subjugate all His supernatural enemies and mediate God's universal Kingdom of Righteousness and Peace.
To take care of our spiritual heart and maintain a good communication with Jesus Christ our mediator and acquire knowledge about our spiritual surroundings and our Creator we need to follow these steps:
- Be knowledgeable with every aspect of the Word of God, as Paul was, and meditate very deep about its implications in our way of life specially in the enhancing of the spiritual principles that most of the time are weak in us because of the lack of understanding.
- As soon as we start mastering on it we will start passing the Gate of Time. We will feel like been in between sleeplessness and wakefulness. So we can remember something shown in this reality but specifically we are not being able to fully grasp the meaning of it.
- A continuous practice make the stage of sleeplessness decrease. When the conscious mind is not suppressed by sleep and is able to focus then we are able to receive the teaching of the truth and the spiritual meaning of the Word of God from the subconscious mind transported to the conscious mind and then be able to grasp and experience things that we never learned in order to improve the level of love in our own heart.
- When experiences become deep then the mental concentration is sustained as the state of spiritual somnolence is at its minimum. As soon as our mind is focused, the spiritual eye is activated. Then the conscious mind is not used to see through the spiritual eye so concentration comes and goes, like Peter's experience with Jesus when his spiritual eye was blocked by the human eye summoning Jesus about the purpose of His Death, in terms of conscious human understanding and sorrow. Gradually the spiritual mind gets familiar with this kind of visions and the mind focuses more in the understanding and is sustained in it. With practice we start considering ourselves a part of the experience shown in the Scripture rather than a mere observer.
- With this practice and doing so every day when we study the Word of God, the mind starts getting information that most people are unable to observe. The spiritual heart gets so energized that its desire focus in getting this type of knowledge by will. At this point all the spiritual senses become activated. We become free from both space and time. The spirit of knowledge and understanding is just right there.
- Then the complete annihilation of the material and carnal self takes place and we become detach from the mundane world even though we continue living in it but we are unconcerned about rewards or positions in it.
- We regain our soul individuality and we can back to our existence knowing what is our purpose of our life and the mission we have to accomplish before passing to the Afterlife.
We have to follow the example of the apostle Paul that except for Jesus, no one influenced the development of the early Christianity more than him. He was the foremost apologist for the conversion of the unbelievers, and the most eloquent defender of the centrality of Jewish traditions, the meaning of the Scriptures, deity, morality, and Christian principles for his predominantly community churches. The 13 of the 27 Books in the New Testament attributed to Paul gives us an eloquent testimony to the importance he had for the movement of the church and the divine connection that it had with Jesus.
Paul was born in Tarsus, sojourned in many places, and died as a Jew. Tarsus, the place in which he entered to this mundane world, was a thriving cosmopolitan, urban gateway to eastern Mediterranean, a vibrant intellectual center, and a transportation hub of strategic importance.
Here, in Tarsus, Paul learned his first language, Greek, also was taught a trade, and receiving his schooling, in the way of the world that surrounded him. Paul was a very well learned man and creative thinker.
The steps that his spiritual life followed during his life time were very similar to the steps that Moses' life followed in his life. Both were committed to God's plan of redemption and salvation of the souls belonging to Him. Both acted as mediators to reconcile humanity with God's Laws. Humanity was alienated from God by sin, but, according to God's plan, He designed a spiritual bridge formed by harmonious relationship with Him and able to be reached by the ones who truly rested in His Truth.
Mediation, in principle, has to be directed in the person of Jesus Christ, God's incarnate Son, the only one who is properly qualified to mediate between God and humanity because he is both fully human and fully divine. He is the mediator and guarantor of a New Covenant, better than the Mosaic Covenant because it is founded upon his own blood from which each of us received a drop of it in our hearts.
As the anointed Messiah, he fulfills all 3 mediative offices of Prophet, Priest, and King in Him. God has spoken his final, living, and incarnated Word. By the atoning death of His incarnation Jesus became both High Priest and sacrifice forming the Way through the spiritual bridge that take us to the Gate of Heaven and opening the door that lead us into God's Presence.
He, who now rules in sincere believers' hearts and is seated at the Father's right hand, is the One who intercedes for us and will one day subjugate all His supernatural enemies and mediate God's universal Kingdom of Righteousness and Peace.
To take care of our spiritual heart and maintain a good communication with Jesus Christ our mediator and acquire knowledge about our spiritual surroundings and our Creator we need to follow these steps:
- Be knowledgeable with every aspect of the Word of God, as Paul was, and meditate very deep about its implications in our way of life specially in the enhancing of the spiritual principles that most of the time are weak in us because of the lack of understanding.
- As soon as we start mastering on it we will start passing the Gate of Time. We will feel like been in between sleeplessness and wakefulness. So we can remember something shown in this reality but specifically we are not being able to fully grasp the meaning of it.
- A continuous practice make the stage of sleeplessness decrease. When the conscious mind is not suppressed by sleep and is able to focus then we are able to receive the teaching of the truth and the spiritual meaning of the Word of God from the subconscious mind transported to the conscious mind and then be able to grasp and experience things that we never learned in order to improve the level of love in our own heart.
- When experiences become deep then the mental concentration is sustained as the state of spiritual somnolence is at its minimum. As soon as our mind is focused, the spiritual eye is activated. Then the conscious mind is not used to see through the spiritual eye so concentration comes and goes, like Peter's experience with Jesus when his spiritual eye was blocked by the human eye summoning Jesus about the purpose of His Death, in terms of conscious human understanding and sorrow. Gradually the spiritual mind gets familiar with this kind of visions and the mind focuses more in the understanding and is sustained in it. With practice we start considering ourselves a part of the experience shown in the Scripture rather than a mere observer.
- With this practice and doing so every day when we study the Word of God, the mind starts getting information that most people are unable to observe. The spiritual heart gets so energized that its desire focus in getting this type of knowledge by will. At this point all the spiritual senses become activated. We become free from both space and time. The spirit of knowledge and understanding is just right there.
- Then the complete annihilation of the material and carnal self takes place and we become detach from the mundane world even though we continue living in it but we are unconcerned about rewards or positions in it.
- We regain our soul individuality and we can back to our existence knowing what is our purpose of our life and the mission we have to accomplish before passing to the Afterlife.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)