Friday, January 31, 2020

ON INTERMARRIAGE


  Do not fret… this commentary is not racially-centered at all, but is about spiritual intermarriage. There are two types of marriage: (1) Holy Matrimony, and (2) civil union. The latter is a union between two persons, and the former between three; it is a triangulation between a male, female, and God. Let it be said that same-sex marriage is a civil union, and according to scripture is unholy matrimony. Examine what Jesus said about matrimony:

And he (Jesus) answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. (Mat 19:4-6)

  Jesus defined Holy Matrimony as only between male and female, but more importantly what God has joined together. That holy union take two separate persons, unites them as one spiritual “flesh,” and in a union which was generated by God. Yes, Holy Matrimony is part of the genesis of mankind, and was ordained in the beginning. Satan, God’s Adversary, does all that he can to prevent Holy Matrimony. Any other type confirms his authority.
  The flesh of personkind is one. We are all Adam-kind. Mankind’s spirit, though, is of two kinds: holy and the unholy, or better said – the righteous and the iniquitous. Holy Matrimony must be between two righteous people who vow to God that they will be faithful to Him, and each other. Those of the same spirit often have different appearances of their flesh. It is righteous for beautiful righteous people to marry hideous righteous people. Likewise, for skin color, physical features, and all else except unlike spirits. The righteous and unrighteous are of two different kinds, and God, in His wisdom, does not allow procreation between two kinds. Only mankind can choose to do that!
  Neither does God have a problem with the unrighteous marrying the unrighteous. He does, however, take issue with unrighteousness in either spouse of the righteous. Nowhere in scripture does God forbid pagans to marry pagans. (Pagans are non-Judeo-Christians.) God’s standards are for His people, and His people are known by obedience to His standards.
  Adam and Eve were created married, and were of the same flesh: “And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man” (Gen 2:22). (Actually, the original Hebrew seems to indicate it was flesh from the chest rather than a rib.) That makes sense because they were part of each other and of one flesh.
  Marriage remained that way until Noah’s time, as is written, “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose” (Gen 6:1-2). Unholy matrimony was then established before the flood, and was one cause for the destruction of the world. Keep that in mind; that marriage outside like faiths is destructive to the world – the same as it was in Noah’s time!
  From the Book of the Secrets of Enoch, it was explained that righteous men from Seth’s line intermarried with unrighteousness daughters of Cain’s line. Why was Cain’s children unrighteous? In the Books of Adam and Eve, all females who were available for marriage were Cain’s twin and Abel’s twin. Cain killed Abel, then Seth was born. Righteous Seth married the twin of righteous Abel (Aklidia). They were not of the same flesh, but marriage made that so.
  On the other hand, Cain married his own flesh - his twin, Luluwa. Thus, unrighteous Cain created an unrighteous line. Hence, intermarriage between Seth’s descendants and Cains was unrighteous, and is the event which caused he destruction of the world - intermarriage between people of faith with those with no or pagan faiths.
  Now jump ahead to the Abrahamic Covenant. Part three of the three-part Covenant with Abraham is presented as follows:

I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. (Gen 17:2-4), and “By myself have I sworn”, saith the Lord, “for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” (Gen 22:16-18)

  Abraham was blessed by his trust in God, and the blessing was to be the prosperity and longevity of his descendants. Those who lacked faith and intermarried, despite the blessing, were rejecting the Covenant and rejecting God. Abraham’s line must be kept intact for God to fulfill His promise to Abraham. God destroyed the Hebrews many times, but He always left a remnant to fulfill his pledge to Abraham.
  A remnant went to Egypt and grew to 600,000 males between twenty and fifty years old, plus the families of them. Egypt was God keeping His Covenant, and even appended it with the Mosaic Covenant: “Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation” (Exod 19:6). The Hebrews would grow, but the condition of the prosperity was that they be a holy nation, then the Finger of God wrote the “Ten Words” of Jesus to define holiness. The Hebrews were to be holy for the Covenant to be for valid. Intermarriage with pagans was the deal-breaker for God. Intermarriage made a holy people unholy.
  The Hebrews remained pure, and God kept part two of the three-part Abrahamic Covenant. He built the Kingdom of David for His people. Only part one of the Covenant remained to be filled – the promise of a Savior to bliss His people. That part was eventually fulfilled to the remnant when Jesus came, and the beatitudes are God’s blessings for bliss in Heaven. Then to finalized the Covenant, Jesus died for the Jews and Gentiles who were also eventually chosen. When Jesus, said, “It is finished” (John 19:3) as he died, what was he insinuating? That his deal with Abraham had been fulfilled! His ministry and death blissed all God’s righteous people, the remnant that would keep the faith of Abraham (Rom 4:16).
  However, soon after David died, the Kingdom was split in two because of harlotry with other gods. Intermarriage with pagans caused the Hebrews to break the Covenant with Abraham. Assyria was designated by God to destroy the pagan land of Israel, leaving only the remnant in Judah (the Jews). Israel in Jesus’s time was made up of hybrids, and were unclean to holy Jews. That hybrid nation was Samaria.
  Next, the Jews in Judah did likewise. The remnant became even less. With only a few righteous Jews left who had not followed the practices of Israel – intermarriage and other gods besides God – God sent Babylon to destroy Judah, their farcical religion, and to carry a remnant off to Babylon for their safe-keeping. Indubitably, that was for them to learn their lesson in righteous living.
  In the next exodus, a remnant of people were let go to Jerusalem by King Cyrus. The mixed-race remaining in that land disrupted those building the temple until the work was halted after a short time. God had provided the foundation (The Foundation Stone), but the Jews built another foundation contrary to God’s wish. After a few years, God provided another remnant, led by the scribe Ezra and the civil governor, Nehemiah. They were anointed to restore (regenerate) God’s House similar to the way it was before, but much less excellent. That would be reserved for God’s true “Mansion” in Heaven (John 14:2).
  Now examine what had occurred with the first exodus of the Jews from Persia:


KEY VERSES: The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abomination (Ezra 9:1)… They have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands (Ezra 9:2)… Give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever (Ezra 9:12)… e have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel. Now therefore make confession unto the Lord God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives. (Ezra 10:10-11).

  The righteous obeyed God through the words of Ezra, and the Temple for God was rebuilt. What changed things? The remnant of the Jews kept the Covenant of Abraham. That Covenant remains to this day, but only Jews and Muslims keep the Abrahamic Covenant. The faith of Abraham, as I have shown, is for everyone who trusts in God. It was Holy Matrimony then and it is now!
  From the 7th to the 14th century, Islamic pagans defiled the Temple, Jerusalem, and the Kingdom of David; then proceeded on into Europe where their caliphate was stopped by Charles Martel at the Battle of Tours. At that time, the Holy Roman Empire was born. A “new Jerusalem” was founded until it too was corrupted. What seems to be everyday events is scripture being fulfilled. It is also the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant.
  The Third Reich (An Unholy Roman Empire) was allowed by God. Why was that? Because the outcome was an exodus from the diaspora all over the world to the nation of Israel in 1948. According to the Covenant, a remnant had to return for it to be fulfilled. God did that with a “crooked stick” much like Nebuchadnezzar and Nebopolazzar.  During all those thousands of years, God kept a faithful remnant free from pagan intermarriage to this day, and will continue to do so. However, Satan will continue to create unholy matrimony in an attempt to destroy the Covenant. If the institution of marriage is destroyed, that would void the Covenant.
  Satan has a plan as well. The dissension that we see every day is fulfillment of the Devil’s plan. Why does God allow immigration from the Islamic nations? Because when they marry, they keep the Abrahamic Covenant, but mistakenly believe it is of Ishmael’s line from whom they claim descendance.
  For them to marry “devils” – non-Muslims – the “devils” must convert to Islam. Each day that immigration of the Muslims is allowed, the remnant of righteous people is reduced, until just as in Babylon – the Devil will own America. Bliss, under Jesus, is God’s Plan written in the Abrahamic Covenant, but Muslims believe it is their plan. Isa (their Jesus) will come back to continue with their prophet’s plan. Personally, I believe that is a return of the “serpent” Judas-Iscariot under a pseudonym that they believe is Isa. In other words, Islam and Sharia Law will be the religion and government at the time of the Great Tribulation. There will be another “Battle of Tours” but it will be the “Battle of Armageddon.” Only Islam with its heathen socialist allies will have enough blood to shed to flood the ground to the height of a horse’s shoulders!
  Christians should never marry with unconverted Muslims. That is unholy matrimony for which they shall be punished. It’s a deal-breaker for God, because it is how Satan attempts to win our land as his. Neither should matrimony be between Christians and other pagans or atheists because those too are cases of unholy matrimony. Holy Matrimony is so sacred to God that only He can put it asunder. (And He did that for the Jews who trusted Ezra). When people spiritually intermarry, they become the “gods.” That is heretical to God!

Arabs at Auschwitz (credit: popchassid - Elad Nehorai)

Thursday, January 30, 2020

A GREAT AND TERRIBLE DAY




  Jesus IS JHWH (Yahweh); forty-eight times Jesus said, “I AM.” That he, Jesus, IS God. God Created, God shall Recreate, and God shall destroy what cannot be made “very good” again. God came for two occasions: to save and to allow the unsavable to perish. Each person decides their own fate, and Jesus sits on his throne in heaven to thresh out the good grain from the chaff, so to speak. The standards for reward and punishment are his, and they are just metrics.
  So that mankind knows the standards for reward, Jesus, “the finger” of God, wrote those standards on stone for perpetuity. They are the conditions of the Covenant of Grace; how to love mankind, and as such, are the prescriptions for eternal “health.” Those who do not take to heart what is prescribed, shall die of a heart condition. Jesus came to circumcise the dead flesh from the hearts of all men as original sin made all hearts corrupted.
  Jesus uses the sword of the Word to excise that deadness of the heart. He does it quickly and with an “anesthetic” given with grace. Some do not see the need for the circumcision of the leprous flesh, and others not only know that they need Divine Surgery, but welcome the “Good Doctor” into their hearts to regenerate it.
  Those who choose not to or fail to welcome the “Doctor” shall die by complications. They have curable iniquity within their hearts, but fail to be healed.
  God came in the flesh to heal; so that the “Doctor” will be allowed into the “operating room.” When Jesus came, it was a great day for those who would be healed, and a terrible day for those who would not be!

Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. (Mat 13:13-16)

  The first step in making the day a great day is recognizing God. Who is Jesus not? He is not John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, not any of the other patriarchs or prophets. Who IS Jesus? Peter answered it rightly; you are the promised Messiah, the very Son of the Living God. Jesus had said, “I AM.” Peter said I AM IS THAT I AM. He verified Jesus as the very Flesh of God! Why would they wonder if Jesus was Elijah or some other person? The prophet Malachi saw that great and terrible day hundreds of years before:

KEY VERSES: For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts. Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord (Mal 4:1-5)

  The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord is Judgment Day, but the “day” commenced when Jesus came. He was the evidence of what was coming. Malachi used the same Hebrew word “yowm” that was used in Genesis 1:1 for “day.” Both, I believe, mean the period of those processes. The process of generating the heaven and the earth took a certain amount of time, and the destruction, or cleansing process, of the Heaven and the Earth will also be for a certain period. And “day” in both passages are the events or processes. God generated the heaven and earth in a yown, and He will degenerate it in a yown. It may be that a yown for generating and a yown for degenerating is not of the same time duration.
  It makes sense to read about the terrible yown: “And I (John) saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea” (Rev 21:1). That terrible day is the day of the Lord, and by the way, it will be a great day for Christians because they will survive the fire, as Noah’s family did the flood in his yown. 
  The first destruction of the Earth took forty days (yown). There is no reason to believe that the Heaven and Earth will be destroyed in one day, but one yown – a period in time. That pertains to the generation of the heaven and earth as well. The Word of God said, “yown.”  I believe that with all my heart!  Translators called that “day” – I call it  “period in time” or era. Strong’s Dictionary agrees with that thought. (I realize that “day” is imbedded in our minds by tradition, but the Hebrew is the textus receptus for the Old Testament, not the king’s English! I believe that “day” is the proper translation for things related to the revolution of the sun, and forty-days were forty twenty-four hour periods for that process.)
  It seems from Malachi, that Judgment “Day” (yown) commences with Jesus, since he brought up the subject of Elijah who Jews thought was Jesus. Why would they even think that? Because Elijah never died, but was swept up in a whirlwind. Elijah revealed himself on the Mount of Transfiguration. Why would God whirlwind him back? So that the Jews (the four apostles) could see that Jesus is not Elijah!
  “Judgment Day” – that great and terrible yowm (Joel 2:31) was a period in time. It may be twenty-four hours or thousands of thousands of years! The Great Day of the Lord commenced in the age of Pisces, which was about year “0.” It seems that Jesus was born March 20, 6 B.C. Therefore, the Christian Era (yowm) is the length of the Zodiac sign Pisces (hence the fish symbol for Christ). It ends with the Age (yowm) of Aquarius. The Day of Christ is the Piscean Era, and the Day of the Antichrist is the Aquarian Era, or yowm.
 The era of the Antichrist ends with his destruction, and the cleansing of the earth by fire. Zodiac eras last for 2160 years based on the Earth’s precession. If the Christian era commenced in time “0” then it ends in 2160. If the Age of Aquarius is the Antichristian Era, then it can be expected that the heaven and earth will be destroyed before the year 4320. Since God will “surprise” Christians, the Age of the Antichrist may not last as long as the age of Christ. It seems that if astrologers are correct, then 2160 is when the Antichrist comes. Some suggest that he is already here and arrived as early as 1994. We may already be in the yowm of the Antichrist! Christians, to escape perishing with him, should be prepared as if it is tomorrow. Depending on the knowledge (calculations) of men is foolishness.
  The heaven and the earth could right now be in the process of destruction, but on a micro-level so small that the destruction remains unseen. Revelation indicates that not only will the Heaven and Earth shall perish, but the elements as well. With that said, God would recreate with new particles and antiparticles which do not decay! Perhaps the original particles had no half-life in that they were to be forever, and that God’s New Creation, the particles therein will have no half-life as they won’t decay!
  That makes sense because mankind was created immortal, and their carbon footprint had no half-life because decay was unknown prior to original sin. Time is measured by decay, and if there was no decay in the world as created, then time could not be measured!
  The fear of any person is forever perishing, whatever they claim! God wants that none should perish. Even Malachi realized that men feared perishing, and forewarned the Jews of that. Jesus came that we not perish, and the Jews rejected that. When the time of the Terrible Day comes, many Jews (144,000) will recognize that Jesus was not Elijah, and the great and terrible day has arrived!

Image result for picture of atomic explosion"
Nuclear Explosion (Wikipedia)

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

REVEALING ESTHER: HER COMING OUT BANQUET



  The Book of Esther is the most overlooked story because in history, Esther was lost. There are no records of either Queen Vashti nor Queen Esther. Why would that be? As I pointed out yesterday, perhaps Vashti was not a “queen” in the royal sense, but in the flesh only. For Esther, she disappeared in history, becoming invisible to all but the discerning. The Book of Esther is not really about Esther. There is a hidden message in that story. Was Esther and Vashti real or were they constructs to transmit a message to the Jews from God? Theologians disagree on whether Esther and Vashti were real, or similes used for another reason.
  King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) was a real Persian King; why would the other people in the story not be? Perhaps history just has not caught up with reality, or two queens were lost to history by God’s Divine Plan! Both Vashti and Esther served their purposes, and all people need to know about them has been written.
  The end of the story was the Feast of Purim. Purim is plural for “lot,” thus is “lots.” The feast is to be done forever in remembrance of Mordecai’s service to the Jews.  Nowhere in the story were lots cast except in the hearts of the king and his subjects. They either cast their lot with Mordecai the Jew or Haman the Agagite. The latter people were the mortal enemies of the Jews. Agag was the king of the Amalekites – a people from the line of Esau the Edomite. Edomites had always been adversaries of the Jews, hence Haman was a type of Adversary, and by that I mean a type of Satan.
  Mordecai was Esther’s older cousin who, apparently, she considered her “uncle” in that he was her guardian. The root Hebrew word for his name means comes from Marduk, “chief God of Babylon.” As such, Mordecai is a type of supreme God, specifically a type of Jesus, as is concealed in the story. None of the characters in the story can be completely paralleled with New Testament people, but that’s what typology is all about. God used Old Testament stories to reveal Christ to the Jews. I believe the story of Esther is canon written to foretell Christ, grace, and salvation.
  Let’s consider grace first, as always should be done. Xerxes was not even a good king of Persia, but this ordinary man in an extraordinary position set the stage for a lesson about the coming Messiah. God again used a “crooked stick” to straighten out the people.  The non-descript King Ahasuerus is a type of King (Yahweh) in this story.  The name Ahasuerus means, “'king of all male; Hero among Kings.” [1] It seems that he was known as “king of Kings.” Of course, THE king of Kings is God!
  Ahasuerus, in the story, is always gracious to Queen Esther. She is his star. Stars in scripture are angels of God. The name, “Esther,” means “star.” This particular “angel”, or “Messenger,” perhaps represents the Holy Spirit of God. In fact, Esther is the spiritual and moral guide to King Ahasuerus who provides the grace for Esther to do her holy work.
  That work is persuading the pagans to be like the Jews, and protecting the Jews from their adversaries. The Holy Spirit does the same for Christians. Esther is the “Comforter” of the Jews. Don’t let her gender be of concern. As was discussed yesterday, it is possible that Vashti’s gender was of no consequence in the story, and neither is Esther’s. Again, this is not really about Esther, but about the Holy Trinity and salvation, or at least safety. That Esther disappeared corresponds with the Holy Spirit being invisible. I hope that’s not stretching the analogy too far!
  As the conscience of the king, examine what Esther told the him: “’The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman.’ Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen.” The “Satan” Haman was revealed for who he is – another beast. He was symbolic of the Serpent, Judas Iscariot, and THE Beast - the Antichrist. Like Satan, Haman knew the king, did not love him, but did fear the king and his “spirit,” Esther.
  Esther had not revealed her identity to any of the people. She remained an unknown and unseen Jewess (Esth 2:10). However, the king appreciated her beauty. That strikes of the identity of the Holy Spirit. The King made Esther Queen and granted her petition:

And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre. Then said the king unto her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request? it shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom. (Esth 5:2-3)

  The king and Esther became one by marriage and position. They, together, surely represent 2/3 of the godhead – the Father and Holy Spirit. Who, then, represents Jesus? Mordecai – “the chief God” who made himself known by standing at the Gate at the King’s Palace continually. He took on the role that Jesus did. This is so obvious that it should require no explanation, but below it is:

So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself? And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king delighteth to honour, let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head: and let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour. (Esth 6:6-9)

  Those verses describe Jesus’s future entry into Jerusalem on his own equestrian ride. Mordecai became vizer, and was second only to the king. Just as with Jesus, when the people saw Mordecai, they saw King Ahasuerus. Hence, all three “persons” of the Holy Trinity have been typed.
  Haman issued the decree to kill all the Jews in the known world at that time. The bad news was spread by Haman’s evil “demons’ much like an early pony express. They went to and fro throughout the world wreaking havoc on the Jews. The analogy there is “the law of sin” which is mentioned several times in the New Testament. Once Esther did her “comforting,” Mordecai issued the good news that Jews all over the land would be saved; they would not perish as the adversary had endeavored to do (ala John 3:16). The safety of the Jews in an evil land is a foreshadowing of what Jesus would do years later.
  Under Haman, the people tormented the Jews, and Haman tormented Mordecai, just as Satan would torment Jesus with the temptations of Christ, and Judas would torment Jesus unto death. Under Mordecai, the tormentors suffered destruction by the tormented. It is believed (see yesterday’s commentary) that the saints in Heaven will either direct the dead to Heaven, or by default, leave them for Hell to swallow. The Jews who were saved are representative of God’s peculiar chosen people who are the saints.
After the Jewish people were saved, the Earth became a type of Heaven for them, as is written:

So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, What shall be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour? Now Haman thought in his heart, To whom would the king delight to do honour more than to myself?  And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king delighteth to honour, let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head: And let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour. (Esth 8:15-17)

  Their peril in the Earth was as bliss in Heaven. Jesus said to pray for that, did he not? “In Earth as in Heaven.” Mordecai became the king’s most noble “prince” just as the Jesus was the Father’s “Prince” who would become King at the transfiguration.
  Whereas Haman decreed the law of sin as the adversary of Mordecai, Mordecai decreed the Law of God to the world. Then good messengers, representative of angels, spread the good news all over the land, and the people were joyous, and even Gentiles were added to their numbers.  The story ended correctly: The good “guy” won and saved the day. Mordecai and Esther knew who did that. Mordecai died but his spirit lived on in Esther. She is no longer with him, but “Esther” is always there!
  Right now, if it is convenient, I suggest reading the short Book of Esther, and ask yourself, “What has this got to do with Jesus?” I merely skimmed over the many messages which I discerned from the Holy Spirit about salvation. You see, Esther is still with us, and speaks volumes if we only listen to “her” words. Nowhere in that Book is God mentioned, but as the reader should understand, the Book is all about the three “persons” of God! As one of the least read books of the Bible, the message from Esther is one of the most profound.


[1] All the name meanings are from Etymology Online and Wikipedia for those names. Picture from pininterest posted by Jeanne M.

William Hatherell

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

GENDER ROLE CONFUSION AND RADICAL FEMINISM


  Feminism started with equal pay for equal work. That is not a bad idea, and few will argue with that at the present. However, radical women did not stop there; they not only wanted to be paid as men, but viewed as men, and now they seem to want to be as gods. Whatever “rule” that radical women make, they demand it be the law. Radical feminism has also invaded the Church.
  Let’s call that type of extremism, “radical feminism” although it is no longer radical but prevalent. Rational feminist notions of fairness are not included in this commentary.  This commentary also uses God’s Word as evidence. Of course, radical feminists cannot accept God’s Word because they must refute it to maintain their self-view. I maintained that they have become “like God” (Gen 3:4) because their ideology supersedes the Doctrine of Christ. Rejecting God’s precepts elevates the women and diminishes God; that is opposite of rebirth (John 3:5). Radical Feminism, therefore, is a re-death; a repeat of Eve’s sin.
  The first act of radical feminism was Eve’s communing with the Evil One. Why was that wrong? Adam and Eve were to have dominion over the animals (Gen 1:28), but Eve allowed the Serpent to have dominion over her. Eve was created to be Adam’s helper (Gen 2:18). Eve approached the Serpent before Adam. She didn’t help Adam, but diminished him.
  What should Eve had done at a minimum? Allow Adam to confront the Serpent. Adam named the beasts; he knew them, but Eve did not. She didn’t ask, “Why are you speaking, snake?” or even, “Who made you ruler of God’s tree?” As such, Eve was the first true radical feminist (for a short interval), and was also the first woman.  She was of man, but not man. That was her place. Radical feminism has taken on the notion that they are like men. Why else for the support of lesbianism and androgyny, let alone transgenderism. Those are all ideas of normalcy for radical feminists. From whom do they obtain such foolish notions? From the Wisdom Tree – what Jews call the Tree of Knowledge. The problem with Eve was that she already knew “good,” but the Serpent added “evil” to her body of knowledge.
  Radical feminists support the notion of how they esteem themselves by Lilith. In scripture, Lilith (lilītu) is called a “screech owl” or “night creature,” (depending on version) for lack of a better word (Isa 34:18).  Ancient Jewish mystics “created” two Creation stories from Genesis chapters one and two. Of course, one is a summary, and two is the detail, for one Creation, as scripture often is repeated in the Torah.
  Mankind created Lilith. She was a rebellious “she-devil” who tried to rule over Adam, and because he would not let her, she became independent of his authority and left. Isaiah wrote that “she found her rest” (ibid). I submit that she did not because Lilith to this day stirs up trouble, even though she does not really exist. Jill Hammer writes, “Lilith is often envisioned as a dangerous demon of the night, who is sexually wanton, and who steals babies in the darkness” (Lilith; Lady Flying in Darkness). Thus, fictional Lilith is the epitome of radical feminism and is the goddess of abortion. She was the first fictional feminist, and the very idea of “feminism” is fictional. The word “feminist” is oxymoronic in that radical feminism is women trying to be as men!

KEY VERSES: Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command brought by his eunuchs; therefore the king was furious, and his anger burned within him (1:12). “What shall we do to Queen Vashti, according to law, because she did not obey the command of King Ahasuerus brought to her by the eunuchs” (1:15)? For the queen’s behavior will become known to all women, so that they will despise their husbands in their eyes, when they report, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought in before him, but she did not come.’ This very day the noble ladies of Persia and Media will say to all the king’s officials that they have heard of the behavior of the queen. Thus there will be excessive contempt and wrath (1:17-18)… that Vashti shall come no more before King Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she (1:19b). He will make is proclaimed throughout all his empire… “all wives will honor their husbands, both great and small” (1:20b), (and) that each man should be master in his own house (1:21b). (Esth 1)

  Compliant Esther (compliant to God’s Law) replaced independent minded Queen Vashti who diminished the king and elevated herself! King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) dismissed his rebellious queen and chose one who would assist him in ruling, which Esther did. Her attitude, though, was godly whereas Vashti’s was defiant of the king. Esther became the wife of Xerxes as Eve eventually became the helper to Adam. Vashti’s attitude was as “the lady of the night” and perhaps her doppleganger was as well – the demon Lilith.
  Vashti means “beautiful woman” (Abarim Publications). Of course, if Lilith was a demon, created in the beginning, as Eve, she would have at first been “very good.” She would have been a compliant angel until she rebelled with Lucifer. Modern women are overly concerned with beauty, and they even allow themselves to be exploited as beautiful women. Feminists seem to take no issue with advertisers making them rich “queens” for their beauty! Vashti was known for her beauty, to such an extent that the king wanted to show her off to his court. One account (Wikipedia) says that,  “the angel Gabriel came and ‘fixed a tail on her.’" That may mean that she had an appendage like a man’s. Perhaps she was acting the part of an androgynous man, or may have been a transsexual. There is no mention in extant history of a “Queen Vashti.” Perhaps she was not really a “queen” but a tranny of the court. Is that notion so ridiculous when we see them flaunting their aberrations to this day?
  Vashti is another icon of the radical feminists. Why? Because she refused to comply with her husband’s wishes and his authority as king. All that Xerxes wanted to do is to show-off her beauty, and she even refused to do that. It seems that since she disappeared from history that she went the way of Lilith!
  As the key verses show, Vashti broke the law of the Medes and Persians as well as God’s precepts. Obedience of women to men has always been natural and Judeo-Christian precepts. Of course, wicked men often used women as servants and slaves, and not helpers as they were designed to be, but that was a consequence of original sin. That does not make it right, and Christian men will honor the original Plan invoked by God!
  It was pointed out to the king that if that rebellion went without consequences, “The queen’s behavior will become known to all women, so that they will despise their husbands in their eyes.” That is what has happened. The right to vote was acceptable and honorable. The genders were to help each other in the decision-making. Equal pay is acceptable because it helps the finances of the family. However, how does abortion assist the man” How does lesbianism help the man? and How does transgenderism help anyone? Radical feminism is not helping at all; it even hinders God, normalcy, and the family. It is behavior much as in the days of Moses which will come with the Apocalypse (Luke 17:26)!
  What hurt the most was the command that, “All wives will honor their husbands, both great and small.” That was to be the law of the Medes and Persians, but that too was God’s idea in the first place. Some examples from scripture to support that follows:

An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones. (Prov 12:4; NKJV)
Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands… (1 Pet 3:1-22)
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. (Col 3:18)
An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. (Prov 31:10-12)
And so train the young women to love their husbands and children. (Tit 2:4)

  Where, within all those passages, does it transmit the message for women to be the same as or dominate the men? Of course, the answer is, “nowhere.” Adam allowed Eve to dominate. As such, Adam was the first “meninist,” or wus. After God punished the two by assigning their roles, their gender roles were quite well defined. (See Gen 3). Women are meant to be women, give birth, nourish, and complement the husband, and Adam (man) was to do the hard work. The two together are to be a team with God as Captain! The male is the principle gender and the woman his helper… but God is their Comforter. Holy matrimony is between male and female, and if Vashti was a transgender man, then the marriage was not meant to be. Neither was it meant to be since she acted the part of the man. Vashti, if nothing else, had a case of gender-role confusion and was an early radical feminist!
  Christian men and women must know their roles and be those. Men are to be men, and women real women. All those other gender-confused roles are ungodly and abominable. There shall be a consequence for rejecting God’s Plan for us.

(The use of the following picture is meant only to show the affects of radical feminism, and is not to imply anything as to sexuality or life-style.)

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Rachel Maddow (credit: pininterest)

Monday, January 27, 2020

KEEPERS OF THE GATES


KEY VERSE: The Korahites, were in charge of the work of the service, gatekeepers of the tabernacle. Their fathers had been keepers of the entrance to the camp of the Lord. And Phinehas the son of Eleazar had been the officer over them in time past; the Lord was with him. Zechariah the son of Meshelemiah was [e]keeper of the door of the tabernacle of meeting. (1 Chron 9:19b-21)

  “The camp of the Lord” was tabernacle life. Before, I have compared tabernacle worship with the trees of the Garden of Eden (https://kentuckyherrin.blogspot.com/2020/01/feast-of-tabernacles.html). In summary, tabernacle worship were those Hebrews in tents who looked toward the central tent in their midst wherein they saw the Glory of God. In Garden “worship” there were trees encircling the Tree of Life in their midst, which is a simile for God in their midst. The fathers of the Korahites had been “keepers to the entrance to the Lord’s camp.” Tabernacle worship is similar to portable Garden worship with men as the “trees,” and the Glory of God shined rather than stood in the midst of the portable Garden.
  The priests guarded the tabernacle, allowing no one in but the high priest, but only after ritual cleansing. It seems that scripture here refers to the priests. However, the ultimate guardians of the tabernacle were cherubim on its curtain, and two cherubim on the Ark of God, one on either side of the Mercy Seat where God “sat.” The Korahites, therefore, had a vocational and spiritual connection symbolized by statues of cherubim, which in turn, represented the angelic cherubim that guarded the entrance to the Garden of Eden, as is written, “He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life” (Gen 3:24).
  Whereas cherubim guarded the Garden on the east side, cherubim and their Levitical priests guarded the tabernacle. Several passages in scripture indicates that the Tabernacle of God always faced eastward. Hence, the priests and the figures of cherubim would guard the tabernacle on the east side just as the cherubim did the Garden of Eden.
  The Korahites, the specific one Zechariah, guarded (on the east side) the Temple door. There was one main gate to the Garden Paradise on the east side of the Garden which cherubim guarded. It seems that represents the straight gate to Heaven and is along the narrow Way (Mat 7:13-14). Therefore, it is assumed that the heavenly Paradise has one entry gate and one path leading to it, just as the Garden! (St. Christopher does not guard it, but I will show that all saints do!)
  The Korahites were the keepers of the keys to the Temple, as is proposed in the following:

For in this trusted office were four chief gatekeepers; they were Levites. And they had charge over the chambers and treasuries of the house of God. And they lodged all around the house of God because they had the responsibility, and they were in charge of opening it every morning. (1 Chron 9:26-27)

  Korah may be the same place as in present-day Iraq on the Euphrates River. That is significant for that may be the exact place where the cherubim kept the entrance at the Garden. Scripture points toward the Kingdom of David as the Garden of Eden. Eden represents, perhaps, the entire landmass which scientists call “Pangea” that existed prior to continental drift. If so, then the Garden, if it was the Kingdom of David, would be eastward in Eden just as scripture says (Gen 2:8). The Euphrates was the eastward boundary of the Kingdom of David which God promised to Abraham as “the land of milk and honey.” Obviously, that describes a paradise. Enoch used the same two descriptions of the Third Heaven itself (Secrets of Enoch)!
  Thus, the Kingdom of David, must be the location of the Garden of Eden, and the Euphrates was the eastward “fence.” Korah would then be the location of the gate to the Garden of Eden, and Korah on the Euphrates fits that description perfectly; it being at the east entrance to the God’s Kingdom on Earth.
  There were keys to the Temple for it was opened and closed, and a type of key to both the Garden and the Tabernacle of God. The holders of the keys were cherubim, priests, and Korahites, respectively for the Garden, the Tabernacle of God, and the Temple. Likewise, there are keys to Heaven to keep the undeserving out:

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.  (Mat 16:18-20)

  There is some tricky grammar there. Of course, “Jesus the Christ” refers to the Rock (the Cornerstone) on which the Church was built, but also Calvary and Peter; in fact, all the apostles and even the prophets (Ephes 2:20). To whom will Jesus give the keys of Heaven? It seems Peter, but it is all the Christians in the Church. Why them? They are the royal priests (1 Pet 2:9) who have the Levitical duty to guard entry to Heaven.
  I’m not big on after-death experiences, but I recently heard a testimony from a preacher who was killed in a collision with a semi-tractor. He claims that an angel saved him from perishing. If so, then it was certainly a divine miracle. Do miracles still exist? The forthcoming rapture of the Church proves that it does. If you’ll remember, there was a young girl (Jairus’s daughter) who died in scripture. When Jesus came to her, she returned to life, and at that moment, her spirit returned to her. (Mark 5:21-43). That preacher had the same spiritual experience as the young girl.
  In his testimony, the preacher spoke of people who he had known who came to escort him toward, and then away, from Heaven. Apparently, if that is true, his glorified Christian friends did have the keys to Heaven!
  By default, people of God also hold the keys to Hell. It seems that Christians replaced the cherubim in responsibility; as the priests did, and so will the royal priests. God told John the Revelator, ““Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” (Rev 17b-18). God would use Christian royal priests to guard Heaven, and open Hell.
  Christians will be much like the angelic cherubim of the Garden of Eden, and much as the Korahites of the Temple.
  “Positive Christianity” hates to admit it, but there is a Hell, and God holds the keys to it, and glorified Christians hold the keys to that gate as well.
  Names mean things in the Bible. Korah, Moses’s adversary, was sent to the bottomless pit as an opponent to the Aaronic or Levitical priesthood. Therein (Exod 4:16;7-1), Aaron is symbolic of Jesus and Korah, Satan. Like his namesake before him, Korahites not only guarded the Temple, but the gate to Hell as well!
  The Temples of God were built on the Foundation Stone that is now beneath the Dome of the Rock. On that “rock” the Church was built, and Korahites guarded it. However, beneath the stone on which the Church was built, right beneath the Holy of Holies, is what Jews believe is the abyss to Hell, ironically beneath the threshing stone that David bought from Ornan (Arunnah – a form of Aaron)! The priestly Korahites had the keys to both Heaven, represented by the Temple, and Hell, represented by the abyss right there on the same spot where Adam was created, according to Jewish writings.
  Today, the Foundation Stone is guarded by Muslims and their “Temple” is the dome above it. Only Muslims can enter into it. Beneath that rock is the Well of Souls, where dead souls fall into Hell below. People of the Quran now guard the entry to the Foundation of Solomon’s Temple as well as to Hell. The people of the Quran (Muslims) are now the Korahites, and ironically in Arabic “Korah” is spelled “Qarun.” Don’t tell me that God is not omniscient! Korahites will indeed guard the foundation of the Temple until it is torn down, the Rock consecrated, and the Third Temple is built.
  It is alleged that Mohammad ascended to Heaven on the Foundation Stone. As the access (celestial axis), it seems to me that Mohammad did not ascend into Heaven as Jesus did, but descended into Hell as the earlier Qarun (Korah) did in Moses’s time. Note that the Quran speaks of Kohar as Qarun, and that he exists to them as well, and is representative of Satan as Aaron’s and Moses’s adversary. The Islamic religion is Anti-christianity, and Isa (their “Jesus” – Judas Iscariot) is surely the Antichrist. It is they that are the “devils” but accuse Christians of that, as cunning people often do!

Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem
Dome of the Rock (credit Britannica)

Sunday, January 26, 2020

MEN, LAMBS, AND LIONS


KEY VERSES:
Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel… Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live forever. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. Then was the king exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God. (Dan 6:16-23)

The Jew Daniel had become a high ranking “governor” in the Persian kingdom. Out of spite, because of jealousy, the lesser officials staged a cunning plan: They tricked King Darius into signing an irrevocable statute that was sure to “impeach” governor Daniel… permanently:  None were allowed to call on their God. The cunning snakes didn’t truly care about other religions of whom Persians were tolerant, but only the religion of Daniel. (That sounds much like those who persecute Christians to this day, and is an historical device as old as the Serpent himself!)
  Daniel was faithful to petition God thrice daily. Righteous people call such a “petition” praying. Despite Darius’s law, which he was duped into signing, Daniel still petitioned his God and broke the law of the Medes and Persians. His statutes came from God, and held precedence above the law of the land. Any righteous person, to be saved, must honor God by placing His Law above the laws of men.

  Allow me to deviate for a moment. Those Christians who ignore God’s Laws in favor of America’s civil laws would be eaten by lions, and indeed, someday may be eaten by ravenous wolves (Mat 7:15). When Christians turn their heads to God’s Will, and vote for people and parties who espouse abortion, same-sex marriage, radical feminism, legalized theft through godless socialism, and the like; they are elevating the “gods,” who are mere men, over the One True God. They do their will rather than God’s Will, and it is God’s Will which is to be done on Earth as in Heaven.
  Why would Christians vote for “beasts” that would result in themselves being eaten by wolves? For economic prosperity! One of the main points of the Bible is that prosperity is not in the land of milk and honey, but the realm of God. Essentially, anyone who places personal benefit over God’s Will have chosen their master. I submit that Christians cannot do the law of the land when God’s Law differs. If that was not true, God would have allowed Daniel to perish to the lions!

  Now back to the subject at hand: What message was relayed in the story of Daniel in the lions’ den?
  Daniel was without fault as he was accustomed to doing what God Willed rather than what the king and the people willed. As such, Daniel suffered persecution. His fate should have been destruction. Because the lions were untamed vicious beats, his death was certain, and he was all but dead. Only King Darius was concerned that a good man would die. No one else cared, and they looked forward to Daniel’s death.
  Daniel was the “lamb” to be sacrificed to the lions. There was no way that Daniel, on his own, could overcome the lions, but Daniel went into the den anyway because he knew that God would keep him safe.
  Daniel, as the sacrificial lamb, is symbolic of the Lamb of God, who is known as Jesus (John 1:29). Whereas Daniel was “excellent,” the Lamb of God Is perfect. Daniel is a type of Christ, and he was to be the sacrifice.
  Who were the lions? They were akin to those who betrayed Jesus. Those were the Pharisees (religious heretics), scribes (lawyers), and the deceived mob. Pontius Pilate was merely the gate-keeper.
  Who represented Judas Iscariot? The cunning governors. Daniel was their competitor, and it was them who were the beasts, more so than the lions. It was they that should have been thrown to the lions!
  In the case of the cross, it was Judas who was the thief. He had been stealing what belonged to God, and even took the reward for delivering the Lamb to the “lions.” Judas should have been on Calvary, but it was Jesus there instead of them. That was also the case with Daniel. The governors were the lost sheep, not Daniel who was the scape-goat for their own treachery. As both lost sheep and vicious lions, the governors’ characteristics were two-fold; they were what seems to be spiritually bi-polar, much like Judas was. Judas surely loved Jesus in that he followed him, but he loved money more. In the case of the governors, they didn’t hate Daniel, but preferred their own power over his life. Prosperity and power are often more influential in the hearts of lost men than respect for life!
  Daniel was a governor. Implied is that those he governed were governed using God’s Law over the laws of men. Jesus made that claim; he came not to do away with the Law, but to fulfill it. Hence, Jesus honored the Law of the land of Judea, but did so with love. Essentially, that was how Daniel ruled.
  The baddest (sic)  “lion” who ravished Jesus was the chief priest, and the most vicious were the scribes and Pharisees.  Jesus told Pilate that those who delivered him had the greater sin. The governors were symbolic of those with the greater sin who desired to throw Daniel to the lions. Jesus seemed to die by the hands of his “lions,” and like Daniel, he spent one night in the den of “lions.” The next morning Daniel was found alive. With Jesus, after a night with the lions, he was still safely “asleep” in his grave.
  Whereas Daniel came out unscathed because God protected him, Jesus was found mauled by the lions. Daniel was alive and well, and had never suffered. God had tamed the lions to preserve his life. On the other hand, Jesus suffered death, but God saved him! Because he shed his blood and living waters gushed from him, everyone can be saved from THE vicious Beast – Satan.
  Jesus died that Daniel need not! It was by trusting the Word (Jesus) that saved Daniel. It’s the same trust that will save all Christians from ravenous wolves or even the pretend “lion.” Why? Because Jesus is the real “Lion” and he tames the untamable!
  Darius represented Pontius Pilate. Both were chief civil governors of their land. Pilate washed his hands of Jesus’s crucifixion; he was merely obeying the law and did what he had to do. Well, the same goes for Darius. He provided the lamb for the lions, just as Pilate provided THE Lamb to the Beasts who desired his blood. He merely obeyed his own law.
  In the story of Daniel, Daniel credited God with shutting the lions’ mouths. God domesticated the lions to save an excellent but imperfect man.
  Now let’s switch symbolism for a moment. Daniel was like Jesus, but he was not Jesus! Because he was a man of God, the lions were domesticated, just as they had been back in the Garden Paradise. Hence, Daniel was more like Adam before he sinned, because in the Garden, Adam was safe from harm as he had dominion over the beasts.
  How could Daniel be both symbolic of Jesus and Adam? Because Adam, before original sin, was the image of Jesus, and in latter times, Jesus was the image of Adam. Jesus is a type of Adam as well… Adam when he was excellent, before he too became a mere “beast.”
  The nature of animals is important in Christology. In the Garden of Eden, they were tame. Like Adam, they too were herbivores. Adam had dominion over them! It is assumed that when Adam was cast out of Paradise, that some animals were as well, for his use. It makes sense that some animals were saved from perishing just as with Adam. Why so? Because in the heavenly Paradise, the lion will lie down with the lamb.

And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (Isa 35:8-10)

  Since animals do not have souls, then, the animals in Heaven should be the same animals that Adam loved! The ones who left the Garden became vicious and turned on their master. Since that time, mankind has had to fight for dominance over the animals. With Daniel, God placed him in the same esteem as Adam. He had dominion over the beasts!
  Daniel spent one night in the lions’ den, and he rested peacefully. He overcame death because God protected him. God pacified the lions, and Daniel came out alive, although reasonable people must admit that he should have been dead! John 3:16 says that “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” “Whosoever” that night was Daniel. Why did God save him? Because he trusted God, and should not perish!
  Rational people should believe that evil people be penalized. Mankind deserves death for murdering God. We weren’t there, but when people sin, it is hating God, and that is as murder (1 John 3:15). Those who think that they are good are accomplices to killing God; albeit mankind failed even that task. God suffered death, but is still alive in Heaven, where he both loves and judges.
  Daniel was judged worthy of living because he refused to bow to the king. Christians are considered worthy of living if we bow to the Supreme King! He protected Daniel, who should have died, because he was merely excellent and not perfect. Most Christians are far from excellent, and are more deserving of death than Daniel, yet we too should not perish! Daniel also represents faithful Christians! There is much typology in the story of Daniel’s salvation.
  Whereas, Daniel spent one peaceful night in the den with a sealed door, Jesus spent three peaceful nights, also asleep, in Joseph’s den. Like Daniel in the lions’ den, Jesus too was sealed in the Lions’ den, according to scripture, which was his own tomb:

And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. (Rev 5:5)

  As is written therein, Jesus is THE Lion of Judah just as Daniel was the son of Judah. Whereas the lions were outside Jesus’s den, they were inside with Daniel. God will take care of the lions for us whether they be within or without.  Some of us are attacked by lions from the outside, and others from the inside. Either way, God will take care of the lions, wherever they are, when people trust in Him!
  While Daniel was in the lions’ den, his soul was protected therein as well. God’s Holy Spirit was with him in his time of trouble, and there was no trouble; there was nothing but peace! With Jesus, his flesh was in the “den” where the lions could not get to him, but all the while his Holy Ghost was overcoming the pretender to Lion King. The Holy Ghost was delivering all the sins of mankind to the Beast himself. The walls of the tomb kept his body from harm from the beasts who despised him, but all the while, the Holy Ghost was doing his business unperturbed.
  After one day, Daniel came from the grave unharmed with not a wound. After three days, Jesus came from his grave with the evidence of his battle with the lions as his scars were showing. Jesus was maimed, scarred, and murdered by the beasts so that Daniel and Christians should not be!
  During the Christian era, the Romans fed Christians to the lions. It seemed that they died, but those Christians who were killed by lions in the public arena are yet alive in Heaven. Their flesh which was mauled by lions, will someday be made “entirely good” (Gen 1:31) again; the regeneration which is called “glorification.”
  I don’t care for the weak translation that God created everything “very good.” He created it “entirely good” (Strong’s Dictionary). Daniel was “excellent.” That is not entirely, but very good.
  Daniel in the lions’ den was in Paradise like Adam’s. Isaiah described heavenly Paradise in the following manner:

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord. (Isa 65:25)

  Daniel was with the lions the same as lambs will lie with wolves in Heaven. Since Paradise is entirely good wherever it is, it is reasonable to assume that in the Garden of Eden, that wolves and lambs were docile to each other, and that lions ate straw as a young bull would. The lions in their den with Daniel had their desire for meat squelched by God. They became as young bulls; those kine who are content with hay. Daniel was in Paradise for a short time, safely protected inside the walls of the den, and dominant to the creatures.
  It should be obvious that the governors were condemning Daniel to a type of Hell where he would perish. Instead Jesus protected him as if he was in the paradise of the Garden again.
  When Christians are true to the Will of God, He puts around them a wall of safety until the real Beast and his demon beasts are dead.  A stone was laid at the mouth of the lions’ den to keep Daniel from escaping, and to keep from rescue. A stone was rolled over the mouth of Jesus’s tomb to keep the “beasts” from maiming him in death by stealing his body for more tribulation. They thought they were keeping a man posing to be dead from escaping as well! All the while, the purpose was to demonstrate to the Jews that Jesus can be maimed, but can never be killed, because His Father in Heaven protects him. Just as Daniel, Jesus emerged from the grave completely healthy but with scars to show his ordeal.
  Sometimes the comparisons must end, but the main points are that if Daniel and Jesus can escape eternal death, that all Christians can also have eternal life. Jesus trusted his Father, and Daniel his God. That is all that Christians need do. I pray each day that Jesus protect me from the “roaring” lion out to devour me (1 Pet 5:8).
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Daniel in Lions' Den: credit pininterest

Saturday, January 25, 2020

I SAW MY DOPPLEGANGER

  When people see themselves in a dream, that vision is called a doppelgänger. Doppelgängers look like the person who is dreaming, perhaps a ghostly twin, but they have a different side to them. Many consider them an evil personality. I saw my own doppelgänger in a dream just now (1:00 a.m. or so). He was not evil, but what I am, but don’t like about myself. He has a different personality than mine. I am loving, but my doppelgänger, if he is, hides it well.
My own doppelgänger and perhaps yours; is tired, unmotivated, thoughtless, self-focused, isolated, weak, apathetic, quick to anger, sure to be offended, more adventurous in the sinful world, and seems to be less loving. I don’t like who my doppelgänger is, but he is the part of me that I wish I was not. 
Psychologists, perhaps, would prefer alter-ego to doppelgänger. Maybe they are somewhat different. People don’t see their altar-ego, but I saw mine. Hence, he is a doppelgänger (double goer), whereas the altar-ego is another personality, usually unseen. My altar-ego revealed himself to me, and I was frightened of either (1) who I am, or (2) as others see me. I seldom see my doppelgänger, but apparently others see it more than me as my altar-ego (other self).
From a spiritual viewpoint, a doppelgänger is the natural man. It’s the personality that wants to do his own will. The natural man’s personality is exactly like I saw with my doppelgänger. When sinners are reborn, it is the natural man that is remolded into spiritual man. Rebirth is not instantaneous all the time. Just like real births, there is a gestation period before birth, and then growth afterwards. Satan endeavors to keep the natural man alive, and kill the spiritual man at the same time. That does not end until the person is dead. Satan never gives up. The Christian – the spiritual man – must defeat the natural man. He is not on his own, but has the Holy Ghost to comfort and assist.
“Comfort” means much more than “make comfortable,” but to “keep safe” until salvation comes at death. Oftentimes comfort is distress as a means of keeping safe. For instance, heat from a fire is quite uncomfortable, but it keeps us from danger. My doppelgänger stressed me out this morning. I saw me as others see me, and was not comfortable knowing that inside there is a person whom others don’t like and as a Christian neither do I! 
Throughout life, nobody should be comfortable with who they are until they are made entirely good as Adam was in the beginning. We can never reach perfection, but God credits for trying.  I bet that Adam’s altar-ego was extremely strong in his conflicts with Satan. Satan tried to restore who Adam was after he sinned, and God was in the process of creating a new man for himself. One personality of Adam wanted pleasure, indulgence, and control; whereas the new Adam wanted to be like Jesus. 
Those two conflicts are often presented by an angel in white on the right shoulder, and a devil in red on the left. Actually, they are both us, and both are in us. Seeing my own doppelgänger in a dream was horrifying. Is that how others see me? Is that how God sees me? I wasn’t doing evil; I wasn’t doing anything. I was merely asleep as someone tried to love me. When we sleep, we are not loving. Perhaps the “sleep” wasn’t what the doppelgänger was doing. Perhaps he pretended to be asleep so as not to love! I saw my doppelgänger, but still don’t understand him, but now am aware that something needs to change.
The doppelgänger is the old creature which should have been hanged from a tree when anyone first believes.. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (1 Cor 5:17). However, the Devil still reveals him at times as a reminder that he is the way you were. It is similar to Lot's wife looking back when Sodom was destroyed; it is implied that she still saw herself in Sodom, obviously with pleasure.
God's goal is for his new creatures to crucify their old personalities. Satan's goal is to keep showing the person his old self until he wants to be him or her again. Some doctrines don't accept it, but preferring the old self-god over God is apostasy. The new creature may give up the Christian identity for the evil one from before. If that happens, it's as if crucifying Jesus again (Heb 6:6). 
My own doppelgänger isn't real. I have never seen mine in person because he doesn't exist. However, I do see him in my dreams. I see what I used to be but it is no longer the present me. The choice is always there: to be a Christian or to be my doppelgänger. 
Before my dad died, I asked him, "When does the temptation end?" He responded, "It never ends." Until Christians die, the Devil will continue to display the old creature. Death puts that vision away once and for all, and finally Christians are saved.
Some say that Christians cannot sin because evil cannot exist in a spirit-filled person. That is true for Jesus. He never ever had sin within his soul because He is God! Pentecostal Christians are taught that they are filled with the Holy Ghost. The Greek word pimplemi also includes "supplied" and ":imbued." Is it not possible that "imbued" is a better adjective? In a video no longer on Youtube, I explained the difference between "filled" and "imbued" and likened imbument to a sponge. The soul, if imbued, is not filled or even saturated by the Holy Ghost, but he is present. How present depends on how righteous. 
The Holy Ghost does not come and go, but remains silent or reveals himself through discernment of the Word (Jesus). If a Christian does not commune with God, God remains disappointed and silent, but then the unholy spirit may influence more as the Holy Ghost mainatains silence. Just as with Job, the person cannot be killed, but Satan can display the old person. Then us, as Job, must choose which master to follow. Job preferred his re-born person although Satan endeavored his best to get him back!
The doppelgänger can only be crucified by the Christian himself. Of course, the Holy Ghost assists in hanging him on the tree, but the Christian must hammer the nails so to speak (pick up the cross for the hammering). Surely, if sinners can crucify Christ, they can crucify themselves, and are expected to, as it is written, "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin" (Rom 6:6).
Remember that I wrote that the old self (the doppelgänger) is not real, but a fantasy or  phantasm. Either he or she is imagination or a demon posing to be the old you. I go with the latter because deception is the way Satan works and his tools are demons. Either way, the doppelgänger is the Devil's way of constantly taunting those who are righteous. When Jesus was crucified, the old man, our doppelgängers, were crucified by his death. We must let go!



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doppleganger credit: Bored Panda