One of the important things to keep in mind when studying or reading any ancient document, inspired or not, is that the transmission of the information or historical narrative was in oral form, or storytelling. Unlike in modern times, content was probably more valuable than chronology as the teaching and reenactments of these stories had a significant affect upon the people, as well as their social, religious, cultural development and history. The past and present are as one unbreakable chain of iron and sinewy flesh to maintain an ethnic identity that will never be extinguished. So, in a broad overview of the Jeremiah scroll (book) it is worth noting that the events make more sense if arranged out of the normal order and read within a certain sequence that seems to capture the flow of the story better. This is of course, not a perfect organizational work but approximates a best guess as far as within the Biblical structure of the narrative.
Jeremiah 1: 1
The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. The word of the LORD came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
Jeremiah 3: 18
In those days the house of Judah will join the house of Israel, and together they will come from a northern land (??) to the land I gave to your forefathers as an inheritance (Cp. 16: 15).
Jeremiah 20: 1
The priest Pashhur son of Immer, the chief officer in the temple of the LORD.
Jeremiah 21: 1
The LORD spoke his word to Jeremiah when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur son of Malkijah, and the priest Zephaniah son of Masseiah, to Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 22: 18, 24
Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah. Jehoiachin son of Jehoiachim king of Judah.
Jeremiah 23: 3
I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture.
Jeremiah 24: 1
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took Jehoiakin (son of King Jehoiakim of Judah), the princes of Judah, the skilled workers, and the builders from Jerusalem into captivity and brought them to Babylon
Jeremiah 25: 1, 8
The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Therefore the LORD Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, I will summon all the people of the north (Babylon/Iraq) and My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon (Cp. 27: 6).”
Jeremiah 26: 1
Early in the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah.
Jeremiah 35: 1, 3-4, 6
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD during the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah. So I went to get Jaazaniah and his brothers, and all his sons-the entire family of the Recabites. I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the rooms of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God. It was next to the room of the officials which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper. Our father Jonadab son of Recab.
Jeremiah 36: 1, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 22, 26
In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah the word came to Jeremiah from the LORD. Baruch son of Neriah. In the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah. Gemariah son of Shaphan the secretary. Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan. Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemiah, Elnathan son of Achor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah and all the other officials. Jehudi son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi. It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment. Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet.
Jeremiah 45: 1a
This is what Jeremiah the prophet told Baruch son of Neriah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, after Baruch had written on a scroll the words Jeremiah was then dictating.
Jeremiah 46: 2, 13-14a, 25a
Concerning Egypt: This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah. This is the message the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to attack Egypt: Announce this in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol: proclaim it also in Memphis and Tahpanhes. The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to bring punishment on Amon god of Thebes, on Pharaoh, on Egypt and her gods and kings, and on those who rely on Pharaoh.
Jeremiah 37: 1, 3, 5, 7, 13, 15
Zedekiah son of Josiah was made king of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. He reigned in place of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim. King Zedekiah, however, sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah with the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah the prophet with this message: “Please pray to the LORD our God for us.” Pharaoh’s army had marched out of Egypt, and when the Babylonians who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they withdrew from Jerusalem. This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: “Pharaoh’s army, which has marched out to support you will go back to its own land, to Egypt. But when he (Jeremiah) reached the Benjamin gate, the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, arrested him and said, “You are deserting to the Babylonians.” They were angry with Jeremiah and had him beaten and imprisoned in the house of Jonathan the secretary, which they had made into a prison.
NOTE: Zedekiah was Jehoiachin’s uncle (Cp. 2 Chronicles 9-10).
Jeremiah 27: 1
Early in the reign of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah.
Jeremiah 38: 16, 7, 19
Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah. So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. But Ebed-Melech, a Cushite, an official in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have gone over to the Babylonians, for the Babylonians may hand me over to them and they will mistreat me.
Jeremiah 26: 24
Ahikam, son of Shaphat.
Jeremiah 28: 1
In the fifth month of the same year, the fourth year, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azur, who was from Gibeon.
Jeremiah 29: 10, 21, 24
This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.” Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Masseiah. Shemaiah the Nehelamite.
Jeremiah 30: 3
The days are coming, declares the LORD, “When I will bring back my people Israel from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their forefathers to possess (Cp. 31: 23).”
Jeremiah 52: 27b-30
So Judah went into captivity, away from her land. This is the number of the people Nebuchadnezzar carried into exile. In the seventh year [of Zedekiah] 3,023 Jews: In Nebuchadnezzar’s eighteenth year, 832 people from Jerusalem. In his twenty-third year, 745 Jews were taken into exile by Nebuzaradan the commander of the imperial guard. There were 4,600 people in all.
Ezra 2: 1, 2b, 64a
Now these are the people of the province who came up from the captivity of the exiles, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken captive to Babylon (they returned to Jerusalem and Judah, each to his own town). The list of the men of the people of Israel: The whole company numbered 42, 360.
NOTE: Jeremiah chapter 52 says that 4,600 people went into Babylonian captivity and 70 years later somewhere around seven times or more that number of the men returned back to the region of Jerusalem and Judea [as recorded in Nehemiah and Ezra]. The numbers of men add up to 29,818 and with the servants, singers and animals the total is 45,491. In Nehemiah chapter 7, the number of the men of Israel adds up to 31,089 (Cp. Nehemiah. 7: 6-62). If you include the servants, singers and animals the number rises to 46, 807 instead of what is given in the Biblical record (Cp. Nehemiah 7: 66-69).
2 Chronicles 24: 14-16
He (Nebuchadnezzar) captured all Jerusalem, all of the generals, all the soldiers (10,000 prisoners), and all the craftsmen and smiths. Only the poorest people of the land were left. He took the king’s mother, wives, eunuchs, and the leading citizens of the land from Jerusalem as captives to Babylon. The king of Babylon brought all 7,000 of the prominent landowners, 1,000 craftsmen and smiths, and all the men who could fight in war as captives to Babylon.
NOTE: Since there were 10,000 prisoners total, subtracting 7,000 of the prominent landowners and 1,000 craftsmen and smiths would only leave roughly 2,000 remaining of the population from Jerusalem and Judea taken captive to Babylon (including, the king’s mother, wives and royal family, court officials and nobles, eunuchs, and the leading citizens, all of the generals and soldiers who could still fight).
Jeremiah 39: 1-7, 9-10
In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army and laid siege to it. And on the ninth day of the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, the city wall was broken through. When Zedekiah king of Judah and all the soldiers saw them, they fled; they left the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls, and headed toward the Arabah. But the Babylonian army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They captured him and took him to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him. There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes and also killed all the nobles of Judah. Then he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard carried into exile to Babylon the people who remained in the city, along with those who had gone over to him, and the rest of the people. But Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard left behind in the land of Judah some of the poor people, who owned nothing; and at that time he gave them vineyards and fields.
NOTE: The fall of Jerusalem is repeated again, almost word-for-word in Chapter 52.
Jeremiah 32: 1, 7, 12
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah said, “The word of the LORD came to me: Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.’” Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah (Masseiah??).
Jeremiah 39: 11-14
Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given these orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard: Take him and look after him; don’t harm him but do for him whatever he asks (why??). So Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard, Nebushazban a chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer a high official and all the other officers of the king of Babylon sent and had Jeremiah taken out of the courtyard of the guard. They turned him over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him back to his house. So he remained among his own people.
NOTE: Why would the King of Babylon be concerned about the welfare of a Jewish prophet?
Jeremiah 40: 1a, 5, 8, 11-12
The word came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan, commander of the imperial guard had released him at Ramah. Nebuzaradan added, “Go back to Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the towns of Judah, and live with him among the people, or go anywhere else you please. They came to Gedaliah at Mizpah-Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Eohal the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, and their men. When all the Jews in Moab, Ammon, Edom and all the other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as governor over them. They all came back to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, from all the countries where they had been scattered. And they harvested an abundance of wine and summer fruit.
NOTE: Are these last two verses the partial or complete fulfillment of Jeremiah 16: 15; 23: 3; 29: 10; 30: 3 and 31: 23?
Jeremiah 40: 14, 15b
Baalis king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael son of Nethaniah to take your life. Why should he take your life and cause all the Jews who are gathered around you to be scattered and the remnant in Judah to perish?
Jeremiah 41: 1-4
In the seventh month Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood and had been one of the king’s officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam at Mizpah. While they were eating together there, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, killing the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land. Ishmael also killed all the Jews who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Babylonian soldiers who were there. The day after Gedaliah’s assassination before anyone knew about it, eighty men who had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes and cut themselves came from Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria, bringing grain offerings and incense with them to the house of the LORD [at Mizpah].
Jeremiah 42: 1
Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah.
Jeremiah 52: 31-34
In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Evil-Merodach became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin king of Judah and freed him from prison on the twenty-fifth day of the eleventh month. He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king’s table. Day by day the king of Babylon gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance as long as he lived, till the day of his death.
NOTE: Why did Evil-Merodach treat Jehoiachin so well?
CONCLUSION: The prophesy of Jeremiah, along with references from the books of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah details the last days of rebellious Jerusalem/Judah before they were chastised by God through being led captive into Babylon. The temple was ransacked and then set on fire, and the city wall was broken down. The Hebrews, Jews or children of Israel lost their national identity as their sister land of Israel was carried into Assyrian captivity earlier. Nevertheless, God promised to bring them back into the land after seventy years, and as biblical numerical goes, this number would correspond to a cycle of completion; and so it was. This was the last time that Israel was driven from the land and this experience must have make quite an impact because it transformed the people into what they are today, and their greatest contribution to the world is the preservation of the sacred writings that have reshaped the world.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
March 15, 2013
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Friday, March 15, 2013
The Angel of Jehovah
In any standard reading of the Bible there are quite a few curious narrative depictions of supernatural events, unusual circumstances, or heroic individuals but one of the two great mysteries, starting way back in the Old Testament book of Genesis is the identity of the Angel of the LORD [Elohim/Yahveh]. This being has the authority of God and even God warns Moses that this one has the divine Name in Him and to obey His voice because He would not pardon their rebellions. There are times when God will say something and the next time it will be the Angel of the LORD speaking with the same authority, and not as the familiar angelic messengers from heaven that we are most familiar with, like Michael or Gabriel.
Besides a few unnamed ones here and there, such as the one who lost the wrestling match to Jacob in his dream or the Celestial Watchers who pronounced Heaven’s judgment against King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whereby he would take on the nature of a beast of the field for a time because of his pride, until he humbled himself before God and recognized that He alone is sovereign and ruled in the kingdom of men (Cp. Daniel 4: 13-17). Among the scholarly circles and fundamental theological teaching in the Christian Church the Angel of the LORD is believed to be one of the pre-incarnate appearances (“theophany’s”) of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament period. That sounds quite plausible and there are certainly a few textual passages that seem to suggest just the very point, except the first chapter of Hebrews, which is included at the end of this study. Be that as it may, it is still a fascinating and at a the same time baffling point to fully understand.
Genesis 16: 7a, 9-10
The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert. The angel of the LORD told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel added, “I will increase your descendants that they be too numerous to count.”
Genesis 22: 2, 9-12
Then God said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay your hand on the boy,” He said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son.”
Exodus 3: 1-6
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight-why the bush does not burn up.” When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am!” “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”
Exodus 23: 20-22a
“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to Him and listen to what He says. Do not rebel against Him; He will not forgive your rebellion, since My name is in Him. If you listen carefully to what He says and do all that I say. . .”
NOTE: The name of God revealed to Moses was ‘Ehyeh’ (Exodus 3: 14) or the derivative, “Yah” (Psalms 68: 4; 83: 18).
Numbers 22: 20, 31, 34-35
That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.” Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned; I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.” The angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
Deuteronomy 23: 5
Nevertheless, the LORD your God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing unto you because the LORD your God loved you.
Joshua 5: 13-15
Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or our enemies?” “Neither,” He replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my LORD have for His servant?” The commander of the LORD’S army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
Revelations 22: 8, 9a, 9b
And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship [do reverence] before the feet of the Angel, which showed me these things. Then He said to me, “See that you do it not; worship God (Revelations 19: 10; Colossians 2: 18).”
Judges 2: 1, 2b
The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to your forefathers. I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. Yet you have disobeyed Me. Why have you done this?’ ”
Judges 6: 19-23
Gideon went in, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them to him under the oak. The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock consuming the meat and bread. The angel of the LORD disappeared. When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, “Ah, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!” But the LORD said to him, “”Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”
Judges 13: 15-20, 21b-23
Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you.” The angel of the LORD replied, “Even though you detain Me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD.” (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the LORD). Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor You when Your word comes true?” He replied, “Why do you ask My name? It is beyond understanding [ineffable].” Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. And the LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven (the sky), the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. Manoah realized it was the angel of the LORD. “We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God.”
Exodus 33: 20
But God said, “You cannot see My face, for no man shall see Me and live!”
Hebrews 1: 2-5
In these last days [God] has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. Who being the brightness of His glory and the very image of His substance, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Being made so much better than the angels, He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels did He ever say, You are My Son, today I have begotten You? And again, I shall be a Father to Him and He shall be a Son to Me? And when He again brings the Firstborn into the world, He says, “And let all the angels of God [Elohim] worship Him.”
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
March 15, 2013
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
Besides a few unnamed ones here and there, such as the one who lost the wrestling match to Jacob in his dream or the Celestial Watchers who pronounced Heaven’s judgment against King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whereby he would take on the nature of a beast of the field for a time because of his pride, until he humbled himself before God and recognized that He alone is sovereign and ruled in the kingdom of men (Cp. Daniel 4: 13-17). Among the scholarly circles and fundamental theological teaching in the Christian Church the Angel of the LORD is believed to be one of the pre-incarnate appearances (“theophany’s”) of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament period. That sounds quite plausible and there are certainly a few textual passages that seem to suggest just the very point, except the first chapter of Hebrews, which is included at the end of this study. Be that as it may, it is still a fascinating and at a the same time baffling point to fully understand.
Genesis 16: 7a, 9-10
The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert. The angel of the LORD told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel added, “I will increase your descendants that they be too numerous to count.”
Genesis 22: 2, 9-12
Then God said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. “Do not lay your hand on the boy,” He said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son.”
Exodus 3: 1-6
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight-why the bush does not burn up.” When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am!” “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”
Exodus 23: 20-22a
“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to Him and listen to what He says. Do not rebel against Him; He will not forgive your rebellion, since My name is in Him. If you listen carefully to what He says and do all that I say. . .”
NOTE: The name of God revealed to Moses was ‘Ehyeh’ (Exodus 3: 14) or the derivative, “Yah” (Psalms 68: 4; 83: 18).
Numbers 22: 20, 31, 34-35
That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.” Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned; I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.” The angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
Deuteronomy 23: 5
Nevertheless, the LORD your God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing unto you because the LORD your God loved you.
Joshua 5: 13-15
Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or our enemies?” “Neither,” He replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my LORD have for His servant?” The commander of the LORD’S army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
Revelations 22: 8, 9a, 9b
And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship [do reverence] before the feet of the Angel, which showed me these things. Then He said to me, “See that you do it not; worship God (Revelations 19: 10; Colossians 2: 18).”
Judges 2: 1, 2b
The angel of the LORD went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land that I swore to your forefathers. I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you. Yet you have disobeyed Me. Why have you done this?’ ”
Judges 6: 19-23
Gideon went in, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them to him under the oak. The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock consuming the meat and bread. The angel of the LORD disappeared. When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he exclaimed, “Ah, Sovereign LORD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!” But the LORD said to him, “”Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”
Judges 13: 15-20, 21b-23
Manoah said to the angel of the LORD, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat for you.” The angel of the LORD replied, “Even though you detain Me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD.” (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the LORD). Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the LORD, “What is your name, so that we may honor You when Your word comes true?” He replied, “Why do you ask My name? It is beyond understanding [ineffable].” Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock to the LORD. And the LORD did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: As the flame blazed up from the altar toward heaven (the sky), the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground. Manoah realized it was the angel of the LORD. “We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God.”
Exodus 33: 20
But God said, “You cannot see My face, for no man shall see Me and live!”
Hebrews 1: 2-5
In these last days [God] has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. Who being the brightness of His glory and the very image of His substance, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. Being made so much better than the angels, He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels did He ever say, You are My Son, today I have begotten You? And again, I shall be a Father to Him and He shall be a Son to Me? And when He again brings the Firstborn into the world, He says, “And let all the angels of God [Elohim] worship Him.”
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
March 15, 2013
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
A tale of two Old Testament cities
Although this is not a Dicken's classic the narratives do contain a bit of irony.It seems the gay rights debate will be the defining issue of this country for many decades to follow, eclipsing even that of the Civil Rights legislation of the 1960’s. This controversy won’t go away and several Christian denominations have split over openly gay clergy or other involvement in church functions. To those believers who have attended bible classes or worship services, even infrequently, have either read or heard preachers quote the book of Genesis in the Old Testament about God destroying Sodom and the surrounding cities or towns. Progressive Churches that are more about acceptance, being non-judgmental and welcoming say there is another side to this event that is rarely mentioned instead of demonizing and condemning same-sexual relationships. What the focus of this study is in the way of contrast, that is, two different outcomes from essentially the same types of behaviors and no explanationn offered as to the outpouring of divine wrath in one case, and in another, silence.Some passage rereads are in the following:
Genesis 19: 1-8a’
The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house.” You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go your way early in the morning.” “No.” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.” But he insisted so strongly [that the strange visitors not stay there] that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom-both young and old-surrounded the house. They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we can have sex with them.” Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said, “No, my friends don’t do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who are virgins. Let me bring them out to you and you can do what you like with them, but don’t do anything to these men.”
NOTE: Most, if not all the time the real emphasis of the story starts at verse 4 and nothing is hardly thought about verses 1 through 3.
Now, let’s look at another example that is almost identical but the results are far from what one would have expected.
Judges 19: 11-18
When they were near Jebus and the day was almost gone, the servant said to his master, “Come, let us stop at this city of the Jebusites and spend the night.” His master replied, No. we won’t go into an alien city, whose people are not Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah.” He added, “Come, let us try to reach Gibeah or Ramah and spend the night in one of those places.” So they went on, and the sun set as they neared Gibeah in Benjamin. There they stopped to spend the night. They went and sat in the city square, but no one took them into his home for the night. That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was living in Gibeah (the men of the place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the fields. When he looked and saw the travelers in the city square, the old man asked, “Where are you going? Where did you come from?” He answered, “We are on our way from Bethlehem in Judah to a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim where I live. I have been to Bethlehem in Judah and now I am going to the house of the LORD. No one has taken me into his house.
Judges 19: 20, 22-24
“You are welcome at my house,” the old man said. Let me supply whatever you need. Only don’t spend the night in the square.” While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the city (Gibeah) surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house so that we can have sex with him [the man had a servant so it would be ‘them,’ wouldn’t it??]. The owner of the house went outside and said to them, “No, my friends don’t be so vile (wicked). Since this man is my guest, don’t do this disgraceful thing. Look, here is my virgin daughter, and his concubine. I will bring them out to you now, and you can use them and do to them whatever you wish. But to this man, don’t do such a disgraceful thing.”
NOTE: In this instance there was no divine wrath of fire and brimstone leveled on these people of the covenant (“Benjamites”) as opposed to Sodom and the other surrounding cities.
Ezekiel 16: 49-50
Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and the needy [or strangers at the gate??]. They were haughty and did detestable things before Me.
CONCLUSION: There you have it. Some liberal and progressive Bible scholars believe that the sins of the Sodomites was not sexual in nature but rather one of lacking to show hospitality and respect to the strangers who sat in the town square all night, but is this really plausible? Both the texts of Genesis and Judges depict almost verbatim the same event, but the response from on High was surprising different; silence in the case of the latter. Not only that, but in the Genesis account why was Lot so insistent on his unexpected guests not spending the night at the town square, and certainly the inhabitants of Sodom should not have been hostile toward one of their neighbor’s [although an alien resident] practicing hospitality; just like the old man of Gibeah in the book of Judges? The inhabitants of Sodom deemed Lot’s interventionist part to be some kind of judgment or moral superiority which was met with resistance and threats of harm to him and doubtless his family, too. It’s like they could do whatever they wanted with impunity, without fear of the consequences, and that is what being ‘haughty’ is. So, whether the alternative emphasis will dissuade anyone from changing their view about homosexuality is not under consideration in this study, but rather to reintroduce it in a different light and let the reader decide what the right answer is for them.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
March 10, 2013
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
Genesis 19: 1-8a’
The two angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. “My lords,” he said, “please turn aside to your servant’s house.” You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go your way early in the morning.” “No.” they answered, “we will spend the night in the square.” But he insisted so strongly [that the strange visitors not stay there] that they did go with him and entered his house. He prepared a meal for them, baking bread without yeast, and they ate. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom-both young and old-surrounded the house. They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we can have sex with them.” Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him and said, “No, my friends don’t do this wicked thing. Look, I have two daughters who are virgins. Let me bring them out to you and you can do what you like with them, but don’t do anything to these men.”
NOTE: Most, if not all the time the real emphasis of the story starts at verse 4 and nothing is hardly thought about verses 1 through 3.
Now, let’s look at another example that is almost identical but the results are far from what one would have expected.
Judges 19: 11-18
When they were near Jebus and the day was almost gone, the servant said to his master, “Come, let us stop at this city of the Jebusites and spend the night.” His master replied, No. we won’t go into an alien city, whose people are not Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah.” He added, “Come, let us try to reach Gibeah or Ramah and spend the night in one of those places.” So they went on, and the sun set as they neared Gibeah in Benjamin. There they stopped to spend the night. They went and sat in the city square, but no one took them into his home for the night. That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was living in Gibeah (the men of the place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the fields. When he looked and saw the travelers in the city square, the old man asked, “Where are you going? Where did you come from?” He answered, “We are on our way from Bethlehem in Judah to a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim where I live. I have been to Bethlehem in Judah and now I am going to the house of the LORD. No one has taken me into his house.
Judges 19: 20, 22-24
“You are welcome at my house,” the old man said. Let me supply whatever you need. Only don’t spend the night in the square.” While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the city (Gibeah) surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who came to your house so that we can have sex with him [the man had a servant so it would be ‘them,’ wouldn’t it??]. The owner of the house went outside and said to them, “No, my friends don’t be so vile (wicked). Since this man is my guest, don’t do this disgraceful thing. Look, here is my virgin daughter, and his concubine. I will bring them out to you now, and you can use them and do to them whatever you wish. But to this man, don’t do such a disgraceful thing.”
NOTE: In this instance there was no divine wrath of fire and brimstone leveled on these people of the covenant (“Benjamites”) as opposed to Sodom and the other surrounding cities.
Ezekiel 16: 49-50
Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and the needy [or strangers at the gate??]. They were haughty and did detestable things before Me.
CONCLUSION: There you have it. Some liberal and progressive Bible scholars believe that the sins of the Sodomites was not sexual in nature but rather one of lacking to show hospitality and respect to the strangers who sat in the town square all night, but is this really plausible? Both the texts of Genesis and Judges depict almost verbatim the same event, but the response from on High was surprising different; silence in the case of the latter. Not only that, but in the Genesis account why was Lot so insistent on his unexpected guests not spending the night at the town square, and certainly the inhabitants of Sodom should not have been hostile toward one of their neighbor’s [although an alien resident] practicing hospitality; just like the old man of Gibeah in the book of Judges? The inhabitants of Sodom deemed Lot’s interventionist part to be some kind of judgment or moral superiority which was met with resistance and threats of harm to him and doubtless his family, too. It’s like they could do whatever they wanted with impunity, without fear of the consequences, and that is what being ‘haughty’ is. So, whether the alternative emphasis will dissuade anyone from changing their view about homosexuality is not under consideration in this study, but rather to reintroduce it in a different light and let the reader decide what the right answer is for them.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
March 10, 2013
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
Monday, March 11, 2013
The gospel according to the Church of Oprah
Oprah Winfrey has certainly received praise from her millions of followers but she gets criticized also. Probably the latest and ongoing controversy is the issue regarding her religious, oops, I mean, spiritual perspective. Some detractors feel that because of her public statements she should lose support from fans and corporate sponsors alike; but is this fair? This is America and a person is free to believe or not believe whatever they want to. Before summarizing a few of Miss O’s views the usual response is to line up several passages from the Bible to refute everything Oprah says, but that might not be necessary. Oprah claims that Jesus didn’t come to die on the cross for our sins but rather, to teach us “Christ Consciousness.” This term is not new and has been around for a long time, centuries before its popularity in America by the New Age Movement or Western-style Eastern mysticism. Jesus is seen as just another spiritual teacher in a long procession of others, dating back from millennia, who appeared on the scene to teach humanity some vital truth about reality, our purpose, social relationships, life and death, and about the Creator. Jesus wants us to attain this awareness within ‘ourselves’ and as I try to explain it to the best of my understanding, it’s like falling in love-you can’t put the feeling into words but you know it when you feel it. As Oprah says, “It’s what you come to know for yourself;” in other words, it’s your truth that is real, personal, and you don’t have to explain or prove it to someone else.
Another point she brings out is that God, or rather, knowing God is a ‘feeling’ experience and not a ‘believing’ experience. This statement would make any Christian cringe because “belief” is the foundation of our faith and it is the center from where we project ourselves into this world and social order that we are a part of. She continues, “Religion is all about a ‘believing experience’ then it’s truly not of God.” Oprah, I think, is trying to make too fine a distinction between the two twin pillars of believing and feeling and separating either one of them seems like a Mission Impossible. She does have a point that in some Christian circles there is an overabundance of stressing the word, “BELIEVE” without delineating what the response, expectation, and responsibilities are that go along with this choice. Oprah challenges the notion, or exclusivist proclamation that there is only ‘one’ way or path to God, but to her there are ‘many’ paths to God. Now, before the community of faith condemns her too harshly let’s take an inward look at ourselves before we pass judgment. I mean, how many Christian denominations are there with their own distinct religious literature, theology, liturgy that range anywhere from Hebraic Christians, Mormons, Pentecostals, Jehovah Witnesses, Baptists, Lutherans, Methodist, Quakers, Seventh-day Adventists, Salvation Army, affiliated and non-affiliated, ad infinitim; yet all of us claim to be serving and worshipping the same God and will be joining each other in Heaven, although we separate ourselves and do not fellowship one another while here on earth.
Getting back to the point about “Christ consciousness” an audience member said that to her it is having a deeper, inner connection to the ‘purpose’ that Jesus came to reveal, which is how to be fully human, as opposed to Him coming to die on the cross for sin. If one were to take such a position then Jesus, in fact, need not to have come at all because he didn’t reveal anything new. There were teachers of wisdom long before he came on the scene and have distilled much deeper, exquisite, esoteric and more practical teaching and knowledge than preserved in the gospels. The virtues of Eastern mysticism and Greek Philosophy are more profound than anywhere in the New Testament; so the three and one half year of Jesus’ ministry that culminated in His death just to perform a few miracles and astound mostly uneducated, simple working-class Galilean laborers and other peasants, would seem a great sacrifice if that was all there was to it. The audience member went on to say that if you don’t follow your spiritual calling, then you are lesser of a human. This is almost verbatim from Buddhism which says that a person’s goal in life is to find out what their work (“tikkun”) is in life to fulfill their purpose.
It seems “sin” is a word that makes people feel uncomfortable and it is much easier to simply exclude it from discussion. There are substitutes which men like Dr. Wayne Dyer and Eckhart Tolle like to use instead, like behavior resulting from having negative thoughts or something like that; and even God is presented as impersonal cosmic power, consciousness, or intelligence referred to as the “Source.” Al Gore once said, “We aren’t human beings having a spiritual experience but spiritual beings having a human experience.” To some of the Gnostics or spiritualists, Jesus Christ is a divine principle, concept, or idea that was made known but not so much a personal being; and the same thinking is applied to God as being-ness and without anthropological characteristics such as hearing, feeling, seeing, and so on. While it is true that the ‘spark’ of divinity resides within the human body to animate our physical life, innate moral capacity and sentience (“conscious awareness”), still we are flawed, imperfect, and broken in a spiritual sense compared to the perfectness and holy nature of God, our Father and Creator.
As a last point, at least on the merit of it, the most salient point is: “Man has made God in his own image-the eternal, infinite, unnamable was reduced to a mental ‘’idol’ that you had to believe in as God.” Enough cannot be written to counter the damaging psychological effect of European Renaissance religious imagery, iconography and art in portraying supernatural beings graven as images from man’s imagination, regardless of how ‘inspired’ the claims are, or out of the most pious devotion, reverence, and act of worship. It was not without good reason the prohibition in Exodus 20 was given by God regarding making images and idols of anything in heaven. There are even those who worship the angels as heavenly intermediaries between themselves and God and represent these beings in paintings, sculptures, and the like.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
March 10, 2013
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
Another point she brings out is that God, or rather, knowing God is a ‘feeling’ experience and not a ‘believing’ experience. This statement would make any Christian cringe because “belief” is the foundation of our faith and it is the center from where we project ourselves into this world and social order that we are a part of. She continues, “Religion is all about a ‘believing experience’ then it’s truly not of God.” Oprah, I think, is trying to make too fine a distinction between the two twin pillars of believing and feeling and separating either one of them seems like a Mission Impossible. She does have a point that in some Christian circles there is an overabundance of stressing the word, “BELIEVE” without delineating what the response, expectation, and responsibilities are that go along with this choice. Oprah challenges the notion, or exclusivist proclamation that there is only ‘one’ way or path to God, but to her there are ‘many’ paths to God. Now, before the community of faith condemns her too harshly let’s take an inward look at ourselves before we pass judgment. I mean, how many Christian denominations are there with their own distinct religious literature, theology, liturgy that range anywhere from Hebraic Christians, Mormons, Pentecostals, Jehovah Witnesses, Baptists, Lutherans, Methodist, Quakers, Seventh-day Adventists, Salvation Army, affiliated and non-affiliated, ad infinitim; yet all of us claim to be serving and worshipping the same God and will be joining each other in Heaven, although we separate ourselves and do not fellowship one another while here on earth.
Getting back to the point about “Christ consciousness” an audience member said that to her it is having a deeper, inner connection to the ‘purpose’ that Jesus came to reveal, which is how to be fully human, as opposed to Him coming to die on the cross for sin. If one were to take such a position then Jesus, in fact, need not to have come at all because he didn’t reveal anything new. There were teachers of wisdom long before he came on the scene and have distilled much deeper, exquisite, esoteric and more practical teaching and knowledge than preserved in the gospels. The virtues of Eastern mysticism and Greek Philosophy are more profound than anywhere in the New Testament; so the three and one half year of Jesus’ ministry that culminated in His death just to perform a few miracles and astound mostly uneducated, simple working-class Galilean laborers and other peasants, would seem a great sacrifice if that was all there was to it. The audience member went on to say that if you don’t follow your spiritual calling, then you are lesser of a human. This is almost verbatim from Buddhism which says that a person’s goal in life is to find out what their work (“tikkun”) is in life to fulfill their purpose.
It seems “sin” is a word that makes people feel uncomfortable and it is much easier to simply exclude it from discussion. There are substitutes which men like Dr. Wayne Dyer and Eckhart Tolle like to use instead, like behavior resulting from having negative thoughts or something like that; and even God is presented as impersonal cosmic power, consciousness, or intelligence referred to as the “Source.” Al Gore once said, “We aren’t human beings having a spiritual experience but spiritual beings having a human experience.” To some of the Gnostics or spiritualists, Jesus Christ is a divine principle, concept, or idea that was made known but not so much a personal being; and the same thinking is applied to God as being-ness and without anthropological characteristics such as hearing, feeling, seeing, and so on. While it is true that the ‘spark’ of divinity resides within the human body to animate our physical life, innate moral capacity and sentience (“conscious awareness”), still we are flawed, imperfect, and broken in a spiritual sense compared to the perfectness and holy nature of God, our Father and Creator.
As a last point, at least on the merit of it, the most salient point is: “Man has made God in his own image-the eternal, infinite, unnamable was reduced to a mental ‘’idol’ that you had to believe in as God.” Enough cannot be written to counter the damaging psychological effect of European Renaissance religious imagery, iconography and art in portraying supernatural beings graven as images from man’s imagination, regardless of how ‘inspired’ the claims are, or out of the most pious devotion, reverence, and act of worship. It was not without good reason the prohibition in Exodus 20 was given by God regarding making images and idols of anything in heaven. There are even those who worship the angels as heavenly intermediaries between themselves and God and represent these beings in paintings, sculptures, and the like.
Robert Randle
776 Commerce St. #B-11
Tacoma, WA 98402
March 10, 2013
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Is Mystery Babylon Rome or Jerusalem?
The
traditional interpretation among the Protestant Christian theology in the book
of Revelation is that “Mystery Babylon” or the “Great Harlot” of chapter 17
refers to the Roman Catholic Church, but that might just be more of Reformation
Movement bias than critical exegesis. While it cannot be denied from an
Ecclesiastical and secular historical standpoint that Christians were martyred
in the Roman coliseums and elsewhere, was this European city portrayed in the
Revelation of John’s narrative? Now it could very well be that it is of
importance and included as a crucial piece in the unfolding Eschatological
events, but one cannot forget Jerusalem, either. In fact, it seems that the
‘holy city’ is a better fit to the puzzle than Rome. As far as the color purple
is concerned, it was just a sign of wealth and used in the parable of the Rich
Man and Lazarus (Cp. Luke 16: 17-31).
The golden cup that is mentioned in Revelation
17 can be found in Jeremiah 51
where Babylon was a golden cup in the hand of the LORD, instead of the cup used
by the Pope during the “Eucharist” or holy communion. Also, as far as harlotry
or prostitution is concerned, the prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel strongly
and graphically (in some instances) condemn the practices and infidelity of
Samaria (Israel) and Jerusalem.
Revelation
11: 8
Luke
13: 33b
NOTE: Was Jesus crucified in Vatican City, Rome or outside Jerusalem?
Isaiah
3: 8a, 9
Jeremiah
23: 14b
Revelation
14: 6-7
NOTE: It is doubtful that the author
would have been amazed about the city of Rome but Jerusalem, on the other hand,
now that would have been quite a shock.
Revelation
18: 10, 20, 22, 22b, 23a, 24
NOTE: Jeremiah 25: 3-11 refers to Jerusalem being led into Babylonian
captivity and about the voices of the bride and bridegroom, light of the lamp,
and the sound of millstones.
Matthew
23: 35, 37a
Luke
11: 47-51a
Jeremiah
22: 8
Lamentations
2: 15
CONCLUSION: Outside of the
‘great city’ of Nineveh mentioned several times in the book of Jonah (Cp. Jonah
1: 2; 3: 2; and 4: 11). Jerusalem
seems to be the best candidate and not papal Rome. Although these examples may
be far from conclusive in the minds of some, yet the information seems to strongly
suggest that John was in shock and awe that the beloved city of the great King
and that has the name of God recorded in it could be portrayed so horribly. Be
that as it may, this is not a condemnation of those religious Jews who
faithfully serve their God but rather the secular, militaristic and political
Israelis (“Edomites”) whose interests are not spiritual, but rather to be an
integral part of a global consortium (government or council) that wants to rule the world.
Robert Randle
Tacoma, WA 98402
March 9, 2013
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
NOTE: Was Jesus crucified in Vatican City, Rome or outside Jerusalem?
Tacoma, WA 98402
March 9, 2013
robertrandle51@yahoo.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)