Reflections From a High Mountain

Was Jesus Crazy?

2011-12-30T19:26:00.000-06:00

The New American Bible says at Mark 3:21: When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, "He is out of his mind." So, what was it that made Mary and Jesus' brothers and sisters think that he was crazy. The answer to this question lies in a recollection of who Jesus was and what he believed. First, we have to remember that Jesus was a Nasorean. Matthew 2:23. The Nasoreans had been around for at least 100 years by the time Jesus was born and had a definite point of view. One of the points of view held by the Nasoreans as set forth in the Community Rule is the idea that there would be three pillars which would rule the Nasorean community. Jesus believed that the Priestly Pillar would be John the Baptist, the Kingly Pillar was be Himself, and the Prophetic Pillar would be his brother, Jacob (James the Just).

Jesus had been raised his entire life to believe in the three pillars and he believed strongly in the importance of each member of the triumvirate. Matthew has the story out of proper chronology. The proper chronology was Jesus was baptized by John, John was arrested, and Jesus went into the wilderness to be tested. See Matthew 4. Why did Jesus go into the wilderness? The paradigm that Jesus believed had been shattered. John was gone and Jesus did not understand how he could be a King without a High Priest. He went into the desert to die. He was overwhelmed. His world was completely mixed up. It is reasonable to believe that Mary and Jesus' brothers and sisters believed as he did. They were committed to the idea of the three pillars.

While in the desert, like Elijah in his faith crisis, Jesus was visited by the Archangel Gavriel. He spoke to Jesus and said: "Jesus do you remember the prophecies concerning Melchizedek." Jesus said that he did. For the record, let us review those prophecies:

Melchizedek will return as the Messiah who will declare a day of favor from the Lord, announcing good news, salvation from the Enemy, comforting the mourning, and freeing the captives. 11Q 13 in the Dead Sea Scrolls, called the Coming of Melchizedek. Again:

The heavens and the earth will listen to His Messiah, and none therein will stray from the commandments of the Holy Ones. ... Over the Evyon (the Poor) His spirit will hover and will renew the faithful with his power. ... He will liberate the captives, restore sight to the blind, straighten the bent. ... For he will heal the wounded, and revive the dead and bring news to the Evyon (the Poor). 4Q521 from the Dead Sea Scrolls.

So Jesus believed that when Melchizedek returned he would do all these things. Now another name for the Nasoreans was the Poor or Evyoni. The Archangel then said to Jesus, you are Melchizedek returned, you are the Priest-King of Jerusalem. You are the Messiah that was to come again. Restore the ancient sacrifices and the ancient ways.

Jesus returned from the Wilderness filled with new ideas about who he was and what he was to do. Those ideas were radically different than the ideas he had been raised with. Those ideas would seem like madness to his relatives and to the Nasoreans. Those ideas would split the Nasorean Movement into those who supported Jesus and saw John as the precursor and those who thought Jesus was Satanic and John was the Messiah. The split continues even today between the Christians and the Mandaeans.

Jesus went to Capernaum, not home to Nazareth. He began to preach as the Archangel had reminded him. He began to cast out demons and heal the sick. His mother and brothers and sisters came to see what he was doing. It all sounded wrong, different. They at first rejected him and even the Pharisees claimed he was possessed by Baalzebul. But Jesus was not crazy. He was the most sane of men. And from that time on, he was Melchizedek returned aiming to return to Jerusalem.

Jesus set out on a different mission than the one prescribed for the Davidic Messiah. Those who wrote later were not steeped in the literature of the Nasoreans, so they made up a Messiah that resembled the Messiah of David, but they failed to realize that Jesus was a different Messiah entirely. The last act of that Messiah was to change the Mosaic Sacrifice forever, to end the bloody sacrifice of animals and to restore the Melchizedekan sacrifice of bread and wine. In the Clementine letters we are told specifically that the early church understood that the Eucharist was the replacement for the bloody sacrifice and the Eucharist is a sacrifice of bread and wine. Jesus was the Messiah of Melchizedek and he did all that that Messiah was to do. He was the Christ, an Elohim that descended from Heaven, and returned to Heaven as the Eternal High Priest, just like Melchizedek had been.

Saved From What?

2011-12-03T10:53:00.000-06:00

When a Jew says that he is seeking salvation he means that he wants to be free from his sins under the Torah and be brought into peace with the Holy One of Israel. However, Jesus was a Nazorean and the Nazoreans, also known as the Essenes, believed that a Messiah would soon come to the world and He would bring warfare and mass destruction. Jesus promised his disciples that he must die and rise from the dead. He promised them that He would come again on the clouds and with him would come a huge army of angels. Salvation for him meant that those who followed the Torah and believed in Him would be saved during the coming war and destruction. Membership in the Church was therefore an insurance policy that when all the coming war and destruction overcame the world, you would be saved. However, Jesus promised that he would come again to fulfill these prophecies before the last apostle died.

By 95 CE, the last of the Apostles, Jude Thaddeus, called Thomas, was the only one of the Apostles still living and the events had not occurred. Instead the land of Israel had been devastated by the Roman armies and no angels had appeared to protect the people and save them. The Church leaders who had removed themselves from Jerusalem after the death of James decided that they must have misunderstood what Jesus was saying. As a result, the Gospel of John was written and in it salvation was redefined.

In John's Gospel, one will be saved from hell by belief in the Name of Jesus. The book centers not so much upon what Jesus did but rather on who he was and also on how He performed the signs that He performed. Jesus was going to send the Holy Spirit as a comforter to protect believers until the time came for Jesus to return. The book of John did believe in the imminent return of Jesus, but it decided that there would be no signs that would give us a clue as to when that time would be.

In 2 Peter, the author, writing the last of the canonical letters, argues that Jesus is not slow. After all, for G-d a day is a thousand years and a thousand years is a day. People were losing faith in this religion of Jesus because not only did the religion, now co-opted by Pauline heresy, not have a strong moral and ethical basis, but in addition the prophecies of Jesus had appeared to be false in that they had not come to pass in the time he had said they would.

The Revelation of St. John was written by a disciple of a disciple of John according to Eusebius in his Ecclesia Historia. Eusebius doubted that it was an inspired book but rather argued that it was a false prophecy and should not be admitted into the then incomplete canon of Scripture. However, in order to keep further erosion of the Church, the pagan Emperor Constantine the Great conspired and tricked the Council of Nicaea into accepting the book into the Canon instead of Enoch, a book which was considered sacred by the Nasoreans and by Jesus and his family as is demonstrated by the Letter of Jude. It was necessary to have Revelation in order to give Christians an imaginary something to be saved from even though Jesus did not mean salvation from an afterlife hell but rather salvation from a current everyday real hell on Earth.

So what do we do with Christianity? First of all, we return to the Gospel of Matthew and to the Torah which Jesus left us with a command to do much better than the Pharisees. See Matthew 5:19-21. Second, we require Gentiles to be circumcised and to keep the Sabbath and kosher laws. Isaiah 56:1-7. Third, we start saying the Eucharist around a pot luck meal on Friday just after sundown. Fourth, we abolish Paul and everything tainted by him and restore the ancient books of the Nazorean faith. Then and only then will Gentiles and Jews be saved from hell and the destruction when Messiah Jesus returns.

A Modern Parable: The Crumbling Basilica of the Nativity

2011-11-27T22:45:00.000-06:00

Jesus made a habit of teaching in parables. In the modern age, the church that claims Him as its Lord has a story to tell that is very much a parable on what is left behind in His Name.

Some 1650 years ago, St. Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine the Great made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. She started a trend that continues to this very day at the rate of over 3,000,000 people per year. Those who come to the Holy Land come to see many things but the most popular places are the places that Jesus walked and performed his miracles. Two of the most beloved places are the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Basilica of the Nativity. Because of their importance, several denominations claim the right to be present at these churches. In the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Roman Catholics, the Greek Orthodox, the Armenians, and the Coptics claim equal authority and at the Basilica of the Nativity, the Roman Catholics, the Greek Orthodox, and the Armenians claim equal rights.

These competing claims have created a tradition which says that the denomination which makes a repair has ownership rights to that which is repaired. This tradition has been a major obstacle to maintenance at both churches. The Basilica of the Nativity was built in the fourth century and torn down and rebuilt in the sixth century by the Emperor Justinian. For 1500 years, the Basilica, once adorned with mosaics and artwork, has been neglected due to this tradition. Since 1461, it has been noted that the roof is in disrepair, that the beams are rotting away, that the roof leaks and is destroying the mosaics and artwork, and that the competing parties cannot agree to repair any of the problems.

The problem has become so acute that the Palestinian Liberation Organization, a mostly Muslim group, has decided that the 2,000,000 visitors yearly to the Basilica are in grave danger. This danger threatens the very economy in the West Bank. The Muslims cannot afford to wait for the Christians to deal with their problems anymore. So, despite the poverty and needs of the people of the West Bank, the PLO has decided that the roof must be repaired at the cost of $10,000,000 to $15,000,000. This is money that is meant for the starving poor, but in order to guarantee that there will be some tourist dollars, the PLO must spend the money to save the roof of a Christian church. What a disgrace.

The parable is that Jesus prayed in the Gospel of John that Christians would all be in agreement even as He and His Father were in agreement. At the first, it seemed as if his prayer was being answered, but just as this shiny new church built 1500 years ago has become decrepit and dangerous so also has the Christian faith become decrepit and dangerous. Various branches of the faith -- Catholic, Orthodox, Armenian, Coptic, and Protestant -- have ignored the words of Jesus and allowed their petty differences to keep them from what is important. Jesus told them that on the day of Judgment they would be judged by how they feed the poor, visited the sick and prisoner, and showed forth love to each other. But in our modern day, we are left with Muslims, despised due to terrorists, to fix the Holy Sites of the Christianity. The Church where Jesus was born has joined the homeless and the wealth that has come to those who claim his name is spent on warfare rather than peace.

Perhaps, today is a good day to change all of this. For just one penny per Christian person, $20,000,000 can be raised to fix the Basilica of the Nativity and make it safe for the faithful. The seamless garment conceived by Jesus and represented by the clothes he wore to his execution may begin to be repaired by a joint act of all Christians to repair his birthplace. We should be shamed that we spend more money in America keeping up the shrines to Lincoln, Washington, Grant, Kennedy, and Martin Luther King than what it would take to repair the birthplace of Jesus the Christ.

Merry Christmas

The Argument for the Cicumcision of Gentiles

2011-11-22T11:13:00.000-06:00

The Book of Acts written by Luke, the secretary of Paul, alleges that the Council of Jerusalem authorized the Gentiles to join the Church without the requirement of circumcision. I want to consider whether this alleged act of the Council is in fact the Will of G-d.

Abram was a Gentile. When he was 99 years old, El the Almighty appeared to him and made a covenant with him promising to make him the Father of Nations and to give him the Land of Canaan. In return, El required that all the males of Abram's house must be circumcised, including the slaves of the house. So, G-d El specifically required that those who would attach themselves to Abraham must be circumcised whether they be Jews or Gentiles. Genesis 17:9-14. Now the Jews understood that this covenant required them to circumcise their sons and the Arabs likewise understood that they must circumcise their sons. So, how do we reconcile the claim that the Holy Spirit, the representative of El, would allow for Gentiles to follow El or Yeshua without being circumcised.

The Prophecies of Isaiah as included in the book by his name are heavily quoted as proof-texts to prove that Jesus was the promised Messiah. One passage in the Prophet Isaiah is Chapter 56:1-8 in which the Prophet prophesies that the Gentiles would become believers. A reflection on that Chapter would be useful in this current discussion.

One possible translation of the Isaiah 56:1-7 is: "Thus says YHVH: Observe what is right, do what is just; for My Jesus is about to come, my Justice, about to be revealed. Happy is the man who does this, the Son of Man who holds to it; who keeps the Sabbath free from profanation, and his hand from any evildoing. Let not the foreigner say, when he would join himself to YHVH, 'YHVH will surely exclude me from his people'; nor let the eunuch say, 'See I am a dry tree.' For thus says YHVH: To the eunuchs who observe my Sabbaths and choose what pleases me and hold fast to MY Covenant, I will give, in my house and within my walls, a monument and a Name better than Sons and Daughters; an eternal, imperishable Name will I give them. And the foreigners who join themselves to YHVH ministering to him, loving the Name of YHVH, and becoming his servants -- all who keep the Sabbath free from profanation and hold to My Covenant, them I will bring to MY HOLY MOUNTAIN and make joyful in MY HOUSE OF PRAYER; their holocausts and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for MY HOUSE shall be called A HOUSE OF PRAYER for all peoples."

The Prophet specifically says that during the time of the coming of His Jesus a pouring out of the Spirit will allow the Gentiles to be joined to YHVH provided they do certain things: First, keep the Sabbath free from profanation; second, hold fast to His Covenant; third, love the Name of YHVH and become YHVH's servants; fourth, offer sacrifices. Now, we know that one must keep a Sabbath rest on the Sabbath day, Saturday. We know that we are to love YHVH with all our heart, mind and soul. But what does YHVH mean when he says "hold fast to MY COVENANT". The Gentiles did not have a covenant with YHVH to keep the Torah. But they did have a covenant to be circumcised, see Genesis above. Thus, the Covenant which the foreigner, the eunuch and all the Gentiles must keep is circumcision.

Some will try to argue that Jesus never required that Gentiles keep the covenant of circumcision and I would agree that he never directly said that. But, he did allude to the requirement to be circumcised. At Mark 11:15-17, Mark records the cleansing in the Temple. This alleged cleansing was not in the Temple proper, but was rather in the Court of Gentiles. Jesus says: " Is it not written: My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples." Jesus is therefore quoting from Isaiah 56:1-7 where it is promised that the Court of Gentiles would be called a HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL PEOPLES. Isaiah specifically mentions that all of this will occur on Mt. Zion, the Holy Mountain, and that it will occur in the Court of Gentiles and it promises that the sacrifices of the Gentiles will be more acceptable than those of the Jews because of their Love of the Name of YHVH. Now the Name of YHVH is the Archangel of the Presence. See Exodus 23:21. And the Archangel of the Presence is Jesus. So we see that Jesus is the one upon who the Name of YHVH rests and that he is therefore the personification of the Name. Jesus had all of this in mind when he was cleansing the Temple.

This is one more proof that the lies of Paul and his cohorts must be denied. We know as a fact that James taught that all must be circumcised in order to become members of the House of Jesus and Abraham. Paul lies when he says that circumcision of Gentiles is not required.

In order for Gentiles to be accepted into the Nasorean faith, they must be mikvahed (baptised) in the name of Abraham and Yeshua (Jesus), they must be circumcised, they must keep the Sabbath, and they must offer the sacrifices of the Church.

State of Missouri vs. the Roman Catholic Church

2011-10-17T21:00:00.000-05:00

The Constitution forbids Congress or the States or the Local Governments from inhibiting the free exercise of religion. Passing a law which makes the Church an arm of the State is unconstitutional. Making a Pastor decide between obeying a law and helping a person in his care is wrong and illegal. The State of Missouri and the County Prosecutor of Jackson County, Missouri wanted Bishop Finn and the Catholic Church to tell them that Father Shawn Ratigan had downloaded pictures of a little girl who was naked. The Church and Bishop Finn did that, but they did not do it until they had tried to act as a loving Pastor toward Fr. Ratigan. Bishop Finn acted correctly and the State is wrong to criticize.

Consider that in 325 A.D., Constantine the Great made the Church an arm of the State and down that slippery slope we saw freedom of religion vanish. Consider that the Catholic Church strongly opposes the lawful treatment of illegals in this country. Consider that if the Bishop can be held accountable for not turning Father Ratigan over until he had exhausted his Pastoral duties to him then he can be held guilty for not turning in the illegals in his congregations. Consider those things he does which the Church approves but the State does not. Do we really want to go down the slippery slope of allowing the State to decide what the Church should do? I for one dislike Bishop Finn but I for one support him in this crisis. If religious people do not stand up now, they will eventually see the State dictating what they can believe and do. What is the difference between Fascist Germany and Communist Russia if we start interfering with the lawful work of the Church?

Now here is what I propose. The Pope should place Jackson County, Missouri under interdict. He should refuse to allow Masses to be said, people to be buried, children to be baptized, people to be confirmed and stop his Priests and Nuns from performing any act until the People of Jackson County recall the County Prosecutor and the Judge who is hearing this case. He should order Catholics to refuse to recognize the government of Jackson County, Missouri until it restores freedom of religion. He should excommunicate those catholics who were members of that illegal Grand Jury. He should withdraw his Papal Legate and should appeal to the International Court to arrest the criminal Prosecutor who is orchestrating this outrage. The Pope should make it clear the separation of Church and State is a two way street. If the State wants to be involved in the Church, the Church can get involved in the State and shut it down.

biwh

Monarchy vs. Democracy

2011-10-11T10:33:00.000-05:00

Every Jewish prayer begins: "Baruch atah Adonai Elohenu melech ha olam ..." This means Blessed are you O Lord, our G-d, King of the World. James, Paul, and Peter aspire to be slaves of G-d and Yeshua ha Meshiach. e.g. James 1:1. Somewhere along the way Americans and Europeans came to believe that Heaven is a democracy and entrance was guaranteed for those who believed in Heaven. Where did that come from?

Acts 2:44 clearly says that the primitive Church was a commune run on the communist principle of each according to his need. It was interesting that all the early church were loafers and spent their time praying and waiting for the Jesus to return.

The claims of religious people that G-d supports democracy are false. Hell is a democracy. It is chaotic and fraught with difficulties. The orderly Kingdom of Heaven is an autocratic theocracy with G-d as King and Yeshua as Prime Minister and Regent. The Lord knows your every thought and always has. The thought police are in full control. The fact that they gently at first try to correct us and keep us on the Path doing what G-d Wills is followed by more drastic acts when we refuse.

The claims that G-d supports capitalism, a system built upon greed and focused more on greed in America by the so-called American Dream, are also false. G-d supports work. He supports sharing. He supports everyone contributing. He supports inventions to make life easier, but he supports giving them away rather than accumulating large amounts of wealth in return for their creation.

The best system of government is one with a divinely appointed Judge who is both Prophet and Arbiter. This government has no bureaucracy and the decisions of the Judge are enforced by G-d and the People who accept that this person is the one appointed by G-d. This system would be sort of an Ayatollah Khomeini without the support of the State of Iran or the Pope without the structure of the Church.

When the Meshiach comes, according to Jewish, Christian, and Muslim theologians, He will Rule and Reign. He will come with an army. He will enforce his Will for 1,000 years. Most, the vast majority, who have never learned to accept the Hand of G-d on their heads, will chafe under His Rule. When the Rule ends, as Revelation reports, the Devil will have easy pickings and most people will follow him and his promises of democracy and freedom. Those people will die forever.

What is a religious person to do. First, vote for the person who is godly. (This should give you much pause and difficulty.) Second, ask whether our acts contribute to the reign of G-d or to the reign of Satan. Third, live in accordance with the Golden Rule mediated by the 613 Mitzvoth of the Torah. Fourth, challenge every claim.

If every one followed these rules, the world would change and the Meshiach would never come because Heaven would descend to earth now. This world will never happen. It did not happen for the idealistic communist or the Adam Smith capitalist or the devout Christian. It cannot happen until Meshiach comes.

Haters and Scripture

2011-10-10T11:15:00.000-05:00

I went to the Council Grove Christian Church, a fundamentalist independent church which functions under the governance of a local board, and found a congregation that thrives on hate. I was almost taken in. I went for two weeks and my treatment was open and welcoming. This week a small video was shown that showed the nation of Qatar. The Pastor decried the wealth of the Qatari and the fact that they invited persons from other Asian nations to work for their people. He stated that the people were crying out for G-d and that they needed Jesus. I noticed that in the evening they would have a supposed expert on Communism that would tell you why it was still a threat and next week someone would talk about Mormonism. Such falsehoods here expressed made me wonder whether their smiling faces were all the way to trick the Rabbi into coming their direction.

Jesus never once spoke against any other religious faith. He spoke about Jews and how Jews should act, not believe. Some churches thrive on instilling fear in their people and then like a parasite they feed off of that fear and stroke it and teach it. It is much easier to teach hate and fear than it is to teach the duty to love ones neighbor. In Jesus day, the Mormons of the day were called Samaritans (still are) and the Jews hated them, not because they did not keep the Torah, but because they were not following the authorities in Jerusalem. Mormons have many laudable qualities, openness being excepted as they have none. They are getting back what they give, but lest someone throw a stone at my house, which I believe is built on rock and out of stone, I will defend the right of a person to follow their teachings. I am not afraid of a defeated "ism" or an "ism" like capitalism which has no protection against greed. I have no fear of Mormonism, Islam, Buddhism, etc. My faith is right for me and the existence of contrary views does not challenge me.

I went to the web site of this Council Grove Christian Church and found that they believe that the bible is inerrant. For those of you that still feel that the bible does not have any errors, I recommend Bart Ehrman's new book Forged. This book will show you why the Bible is not free from errors. In fact he argues strongly that forgeries made it into the new testament. Based upon his criteria, the book of Deuteronomy is a forgery and was not sanctioned by Moses. However, I have told you before, the only portion of the scripture which was written from on high were the 613 mitzvot or commandments. All the rest of scripture is written by man and must be read within the context of its writing so that you can discern what comes from G-d and what does not.

Council Grove is not the desert or the wilderness in a physical since, but Council Grove, Kansas is intellectually the desert and yet there are those who seek to water in this desert. Mrs. McClintock asked me to lead a group which would talk about the hot issues of the day: political, scientific, and religious. There are those who hunger for truth here.

So long from the desert.

The Move to the Wilderness

2011-09-16T20:00:00.000-05:00

I have told my readers my opinion of what will soon happen in Kansas City. The events in Paris, Berlin, London, and Philadelphia presage what will become the norm in a few months throughout the world. I have moved. I have put at the minimum 25 miles between me and the first good sized town. Fort Riley with 40,000 troops to protect me and maintain order is just 37 miles away. This little town has only 3,000 people.

What I have discovered already is a town where a man's word is his bond, where life is a little slower, where people are more friendly, and where everyone knows something about everyone else. It will be an adjustment for someone who has lived in the big city for the last 53 years of his life. However, I see the hand of G-d in what I have done. I am secure and can pay my immediate necessities: housing, food, utilities, telephone, internet, and cable and still have a few dollars to pay on my debt. I am able to work and may soon get cases to keep my going. All in all, life is much better than a month ago.

I urge each of you to think about what you will do when order breaks down in the big city. Plan your escape.

GUNS ARE NOT ALIVE!

2011-07-13T18:29:00.000-05:00

I was shocked today. I have often listened to people who complain how people were killed in our community and we have many who are killed. I heard Alvin Brooks, former Mayor Pro Tempore and long time head of the Ad Hoc Committee Against Crime (In the ghetto) and he said that we need to get guns off of the street because they killed people. As I greatly respect Alvin but do not think that he always shows logic and reason in his statements, I decided that I would try to discover if he was correct.

I went to my son, who has a concealed carry permit, and asked if I could see his gun. He brought it out and I held it in my hand. It felt cold and lifeless. That feeling brought concern to me, but I pushed on toward my goal of trying to decide if guns killed people. I spoke distinctly and slowly in English and asked the gun whether it had ever killed someone. It did not speak to me. I asked again louder thinking it did not hear me, after all a gun makes a loud noise that can hurt hearing. Still it did not speak. I shook the gun. It did not speak. Finally, my grandson said to me," Grandpa, guns are not alive." I was shocked. It was clear that guns could not kill people because even a child knew that they were not alive.

Having solved that problem and knowing that guns were not alive. I then sought the source of this fallacious opinion. I discovered that in all dictatorial countries, guns were not allowed. I discovered that China and Iran restrict guns to the police and to the voluntary army. I discovered that seldom are volunteer armies subject to the will of the people and that they most often follow their leaders into doing criminal and illegal acts of terror on human and animal populations. They, of course, do not like for any weapon to be in the hands of the people. I discovered that the police and sheriffs organizations in America are opposed to the populace having guns and that almost universally people fear and hate the police. I discovered that the American armed forces train young, often ignorant, poorly educated minorities and lower socially and economically deprived people to murder others if commanded by their leaders. I discovered that they were taught not to think and to obey without thought. I concluded that people, especially people who are brainwashed into murdering other people without compunction or sorrow, kill people and that their weapons have never killed anyone.

Having resolved the question of who would teach this fallacious argumentation, I concluded that the enemy was those who held power against the will of the people and that our founding fathers intended that the people should have guns to overthrow those same authorities when they violated the will of the founding fathers. As I was then able to conclude that the police, the army, and the politicians in Washington were the source of this idea, then they must want to set aside the Second Amendment which grants me and every citizen the right to keep and bear arms.

As my sons know, I took an oath when I became a lawyer to defend against these domestic enemies of the Constitution. I believe and hope that those of you who read my blog will want to have all of these people arrested and tried for treason. I do believe that there is no chance of rehabilitation for treasonous individuals and that they should be summarily executed when they profess their treason. I would prefer that we execute 1,000 at a time on national television during the six o'clock hour so that our children could see what happens to those who hate the Constitution.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Decommissioning and Crime

2011-07-07T20:51:00.000-05:00

The United States government is able to maintain itself in three wars at the same time because the armed forces are entirely volunteer. The majority of people only become involved in the wars by paying outrageous taxes to support those wars. None of our current wars have been approved by the people are been as a resolution declaring war even though they are against sovereign states. Thus, each of the current wars are illegal under international law and immoral from the standpoint of the commandment against murder. We train young, mostly poor, troubled people to fight in these wars. We make them into deadly warriors. We use euphemisms of targets, enemy combatants, insurgents instead of calling them people. We teach these people how to kill without mercy and without mental reservation. We have seen how these people sometimes forget that they are suppose to be helping the citizens of these other countries to be free of bad political leaders and we substitute crazed warriors for the previous strongmen of the dictator.

When these same people come home, it has been estimated that 30% suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. Put correctly, this illness is a direct result of the rewiring that the brain goes through in the combat situation where the person perceives any threat and reacts with deadly force. These people go through no process of rewiring their brains. They are still functioning in an heightened states of alertness and paranoia. Threats perceived at home are not treated by the brain any differently than those threats were treated in the combat situation. Thus, the failure to decommission this warrior and return him to civilian life causes many to break and some to commit violent crime. They self medicate and fall deeper into depression from which many never recover. As many as 20% of Vietnam veterans, who participated in a similar war, eventually spent time in jail.

There should be new ways of dealing with these people. When a person returns from a combat zone and returns to civilian life, they should go through a six week training course to help them care about people again, to help them learn to exercise civil control of their emotions, to help them alleviate the effects of war induced paranoia, and to identify those who need more serious psychological help. Persons who begin to show danger signs like DUI arrests, drug arrests, petty criminality, and domestic violence should be shunted into programs to deal with their underlying pain and suffering. They should get psychological care rather than incarceration. Persons who commit murder as an estimated 1,000 have done who had PTSD should be incarcerated in mental institutions specializing in deprogramming veterans. We should be willing to pay as much to decommission a soldier as we did to train him for war.

Incarceration as Punishment

2011-07-07T20:33:00.000-05:00

In America, the last use of corporal punishment occurred in Delaware in 1952. The Supreme Court considered the act of flogging to be both cruel and unusual and outlawed it. In all of the States of the Union the punishment for crime is now either imprisonment or death. In almost all of those states the vast majority are incarcerated in a space of less than 8' x 4' with another prisoner sharing the space. As a result of incarceration of men, who constitute the vast majority of the prison population, more than 140,000 of the men are subjected to rape out of the estimated 230,000 that are raped in a given year. Because of the gangs and the use of violence and intimidation, almost all the men and women are forced into a degree of slavery and learn to be more violent, more street savvy, and more evil. There is no real effort at rehabilitation and therefore most institutions are neither correctional nor penitential; they are simply prisons. People are put into prison primarily because someone in society is afraid of them and not because they have committed a crime. Fear, which dominates life in our so-called free society, is much more manifest in our decision to incarcerate. The yearly cost of incarceration is between $45,000 and $55,000 per prisoner per year. There are more than 2,000,000 persons in prison in America. thus the cost of imprisonment is roughly $110,000,000,000 per year. That amount exceeds the amount of the deficit in the state budgets by more than 30%. Because we provide so few public defenders and pay them so poorly, many people go to jail that would not go to jail if they could afford lawyers that did not have case loads of 120 cases per year.

It is hard to claim that our current prisons provide humane living arrangements. Our pets are treated better than our prisoners. It is hard to justify the incarceration of persons who possess drugs, who commit embezzlement, who set up Ponzi schemes, and who are not violent in their actions. The only possible reason for incarcerating these people is because we are afraid of them. Restoring corporal punishment for non-violent crimes would reduce the outlay for prisons by at least one half, would keep the offender from being trained in worse behavior by more dominant and violent criminals, and would allow for almost immediate return of the offender to his job so that he could support his family and self. The current prison method is unscriptural and contrary to the revealed Word of G-d. The current prison method encourages rape and slavery. The current system makes no since in the case of rapists who are subsequently raped. Why don't their rapists get punished?

From my high mountain, I urge Congress and the various state legislatures to specifically restore corporal punishment as a method of reducing prison overcrowding. I propose that all violent sex offenders be housed together in one person cells and be more closely watched. I propose that life sentences be abolished and each prisoner be judged by his ability to make progress toward rehabilitation as is done in Europe. Lastly, I urge conjugal visits for all prisoners who are in civil unions or marriages at the time of their incarceration.

Resurrection?

2011-04-24T11:46:00.000-05:00

Paul says in 1 Corinthians:
"For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for your sins in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures...." 15:3-4.

He then cites the witnesses to the resurrection. Then he says:

"And if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching; empty, too, your faith." 15:14.

Paul makes this issue the key one and challenges us to either have faith in not only Yeshua's resurrection, but also in the future resurrection of all people or to reject his teaching.

However, it is right to discuss what kind of resurrection Paul is talking about. Today, we are use to reviving people whose hearts have stopped and restoring them to life. So the idea of reviving the dead is not so miraculous or awe-inspiring as it was in the first century of the common era. Paul says that the body is "sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body." 1 Cor. 15:44. Paul says unequivocably that we shall all be changed. 1 Cor. 15:52.

The resurrection therefore is not a physical, but a spiritual, resurrection for Paul. He denies that there will be a physical resurrection as the Prophet Job says: "And in my flesh I shall see G-d;..." Job 19:26. So what kind of resurrection did Yeshua have?

There are three possibilities: first, he could have been revived. We have all heard about the conspiracy to falsify his death with drugs that even today would still the heart to the point that he would seem dead. Counter drugs could be used to restart his body along with chest massage. Matthew addresses this issue when it says that the Sanhedrin ordered the guards to say that his disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep. Matt. 28:13. Matthew could be the one falsifying the event or the Sanhedrin, but there is other evidence for the claim that Yeshua was revived. Suzanne Olsson in her book Jesus in Kashmir argues that he went to India after his rising. The Ainu have a strong tradition of Yeshua having come to Japan after the resurrection. In both of these cases, Yeshua was flesh and blood and died again. He was not taken up in the clouds as Luke claims. Acts 1:9.

Second, Yeshua could have risen in a spiritual body. While we do not know a lot about spiritual bodies, angels and elementals have spiritual bodies. John and Paul make this argument. I have just set forth the Pauline argument. John says: "Jesus said to her (Mary Magdalene), 'Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.'" John 20:17.The nature of a spiritual body is such that it can eat just as Luke argues Yeshua did, it is more than capable of walking through doors and walls, and can disappear as Yeshua did on the road to Emmaus.

Third, Yeshua did not rise at all. This position is supported by archaeological evidence, the Muslims, and those who do not believe in the resurrection. Archaeological evidence exists that there is a family tomb in Talpiot, Israel which contains sarcophagi that belonged to a family with many of the family names of Yeshua's relatives and of Yeshua himself. There is additional evidence that indicates that one of the sarcophagi, now in the custody of the Israel Antiquities Authority, was stolen before it was transferred into their care. That sarcaphogus is the one belonging to Ya'akov ha Tzaddik, James the Just. The patina in the engraved name matches that of the engravings in the tomb. Under this theory Yeshua died a death, whether natural or otherwise, and was buried and not resurrected.

The Muslim position is that it was not Yeshua who was crucified, but rather someone that looked like him. We know that there was someone who looked like Yeshua and that was Yehudah, his brother, called Thomas or the twin. Yeshua could have exchanged places with his brother and lived on. We know that Thomas was the most important of the Apostles in that he established the churches in Adiabene, Armenia, Chaldea, Persia, Afghanistan, and India. It is not beyond belief that Yeshua merely assumed his brother's name and continued on this ministry in exile.

Lastly, there are many scholars who claim that the whole story is a myth. There is no evidence except in the Bible, which is self-serving, to show that Yeshua ever existed. Josephus acknowledges the existence of James, but not Jesus. None of the other historians of the period acknowledge Jesus.

The Nasoreans have no opinion as a body on this subject. We believe that Yeshua suffered on the cross, that he bled, and that his blood was sufficient to change the covenant with G-d that every Jew takes at circumcision so that the bloody sacrifice was ended. We believe that this was the purpose of his suffering and that it caused the more universal sacrifice of bread and wine as offered by Melchizedek to be restored. Whether he died or not is irrelevant. All the theology that Paul puts forth is irrelevant as he is irrelevant.

One thing for sure. Paul as the earliest person to argue for the resurrection of Yeshua would not be allowed to testify as he had no personal knowledge of the event. Luke, his secretary, likewise was not present at any of the events and is not a credible witness. The traditions of Mark are based upon the simple statement made by the angel that Yeshua had been raised without any explanation as to the form of his resurrection which could be either one or two. Matthew's school follows Mark but elaborates. The Hebrew Matthew makes clear that the angel said that Yeshua had arisen and then they meet a spiritual person whom they recognize as Yeshua, but some of the disciples do not recognize him in Galilee. Matthew 28:17. Matthews position is in favor of a spiritual resurrection.

Two other sources must be considered, that of John and that of the Didache. John argues for a spiritual resurrection as well. Not even Mary Magdalene knew who he was. John 20:14. The spiritual body is not the same as the physical body and is changed. All the Johannine witnesses speak of seeing someone who did not look like Yeshua. The author of the Didache, Shimon ha Tzaddik, the brother of Yeshua, seems not to have known about the resurrection either as he does not mention it.

The only credible traditions, that is, apostolic traditions, therefore, support the idea of a spiritual resurrection. None support the physical resurrection of Yeshua. Therefore, we can assume that Jesus was not resurrected as is argued by the Job, in such a way that he would see G-d in his flesh. The so-called miracle of the Resurrection of Yeshua is insufficient for rational people to believe in the story of Yeshua. Like the disciples, we must recognize Yeshua in the breaking of the bread, in our personal experiences, in our personal presence at the cross. Any other form of belief is faulty and based upon supposition and lie.

I believe that Yeshua was executed, was taken down from the cross and laid in the tomb for a rest. I believe that the intent was to revive him some 38 hours later. I believe that the purchase of the materials necessary to revive him was accomplished before dawn. See Mark 16:1. I believe that they failed to revive him, but that his spiritual body appeared to them and stayed with them for fifty days and then disappeared. There were no witnesses that could say to a court of law, "I have seen his body." In fact, the most that they could say was I saw someone that did not look like him which I became convinced was him and believed that he was risen. I have encountered this resurrected Christ and I know Him and declare Him real, but I cannot prove him and cannot witness past my own experience.

You are left with Paul's conundrum. If Jesus was not resurrected, then your faith is false.

A Covenant With All of Us

2011-04-18T14:39:00.000-05:00

Deuteronomy 5:1-5 says: "Moses called all Israel, and said to them, 'Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the judgments which I speak in your ears today, learn them, and be careful to do them. YHVH, our G-d, cut with us a covenant at Horeb. Not with our fathers did YHVH cut this covenant, but with us, even us present here today, all of us alive. Face to face YHVH spoke with you on the mount in the midst of the fire. I stood between YHVH and you at that time, to declare to you the word of YHVH, because your were afraid from the fire of his face and did not go up the mountain."

These words form the basic theology of Israel. It is important that we make a differentiation between the descendants of Ya'akov and Israel. Only those who were present at the giving of the Torah are Israel, not those others who reject the Torah and follow their own way. Moses says that the covenant was made not with our fathers alone, but with all of us who were alive. What is meant by those words is that our souls were alive and present at the mountain. Not just our fathers were present, but every one who would ever be born and be called Israel was present at the mountain. This shocking revelation explains a difficult concept. The Jewish people have fluctuated between several million and twenty two million over the last 3,000 years. When our numbers get up, and there are no more souls to put into those who are Israel, then some of the Jews must die so that Israel might increase. There is a finite number of souls of Israel set in stone and all Israel will be saved.

The Torah is only binding on Israel. It is not binding on those not of Israel. The reason why it is not binding is two fold: first, YHVH is our G-d and not the G-d of other nations. Each nation has its own G-d and our nation has the greatest of the Sons of the G-d El and his name is YHVH. See Deuteronomy 32:8-9 in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Israel is dispersed among the nations. There are always some of Israel who are not members of the Jewish faith, but have the blood of Israel and are destined to be saved. G-d made a covenant with the people who were at Horeb for all of eternity and that covenant was made in blood, the blood of circumcision. Only those who take upon themselves the cutting and agree to "hear" the covenant are Israel.

This great theological statement is made clear in the discussion of the four questions during the Passover Haggadah. Only when we join in the obedience to the covenant are we part of Israel. Those who say why do you do things are putting themselves outside of Israel. Those who ask why we do things are claiming the Torah for themselves and making themselves Israel.

Much of the so-called Jewish people today are apostates. The central heresy is the idea that sacrifice has ended. We, Nasoreans, agree with the teachings in Clement's Recognitions; the bloody sacrifice was never meant to be the sacrifice of Israel and was only given by Moses until the coming of the one like him who would change the Torah. That person was Yeshua ha Meshiach. He adopted the sacrifice of Melchizedek and restored the sacrifice of bread and wine. The apostate Jews still worry about mixing milk and meat because they are centered on the blood of animals. They pervert the words of Torah which forbids the boiling of a kid in its mother's milk into this fantastical set of laws on eating dairy with meat. There is no such concern when one does not have the bloody sacrifice abolished by Yeshua on the cross.

The covenant with YHVH forbids us to add to or take away from the Torah. The great danger in interpreting either prophecy or scripture is that we will vary from the words and try to make meaning where no meaning exists. The least variation possible is the best variation.

On this feast of Passover, it is time for the false lies of the Rabbinicals to be passed over and the truth of Nasoreanism to be adopted. Let the Archangel of the Presence, Yeshua ha Meshiach, who is YHVH himself, change your lives and become true Israelites today.

Expenditures for Medical Care By the Government Is A Mistake

2011-04-17T10:35:00.000-05:00

The world's population passed the one billion mark around 1750. Due to medical advances the population grew another one billion by 1950. It grew to six billion by 2000. By 2050, it will grow to ten billion. The world can only comfortably support ten billion people. However, medical advances increase life spans yearly and in the United States the average life span is 78 years. At the rate that we are going, we may reach the ten billion mark long before 2050.

In the past, there were several natural ways to control population growth: famine, disease, and war. In an industrial society, homosexuality is a way to thin the gene pool and control population growth. However, due to the decrease in the numbers of people who die from famine, disease, and war, the population will continue to grow exponentially.

Medicare and expenditures on medical research are funds which could be used to benefit mankind but instead are funds which are being used to maintain substandard genes in the gene pool. The cost of the sick is destroying the viability of our country. The money being used to fund medicare for the poor and medical research for the rich could be used to get people to the Moon, Mars, Mercury, the Jovian Moons, the Saturnian Moons, and the Uranian Moons. The scientific research could then be focussed on maintaining not only the survival of our species, but the improvement of the gene pool.

Medicare expenditures are funded from the general fund and from medicare taxes. If the taxes were not taken from wages to pay for medicare, the poor would not live so long because they would not have the medical care to maintain themselves excessively. Diabetes, heart conditions, and cancer would go untreated and the number of mouths would decrease. The taxes could be used then to support space programs which would guarantee the success not only of our nation in space, but also guarantee the success of our species.

Evolutionary theory presupposes that those with medical problems not only will die, but must die. The artificial methods we are using to keep alive the weak and sick are destructive to the species and to the world we live on. Lest someone think I am looking out for myself instead of others, let me say that I have not been able to afford medical insurance for the past 26 years and I have cancer and very high blood pressure. I can no longer afford diets as the cost of food has risen so high and I can not afford the almost $1,500 a year a doctor's diet costs.I have no thyroid. I will probably rid the world of my useless mouth some time this year; in fact, I came close on Friday and Saturday when my blood pressure hit 174/97. I am speaking about my mother who at 87 eats up a disproportionately large amount of medical services paid for by the Veteran's Administration. I am speaking of my three sons who have serious kidney problems. Our lives are detrimental to the gene pool and they take excessive food from others.

I am not saying that rich people cannot voluntarily give to medical research, but I am saying that they should not get a tax deduction for doing so. I am not saying that drug companies should not peddle their wares, but they will not do the medical research because the money well will dry up when medicare is not paying for their expensive drugs. I am saying that one hundred billion per year will make the United States the only space power and will guarantee that we will control the Moon, Mars, Mercury, etc. I am saying that we will be doing the work of evolution and nature by guaranteeing the continuance of the human species.

I am betting that my point of view will be a distinct minority. Human beings think about their own self-interest first. Self-interest is part of the evolutionary plan as well. Humans will continue to pay out large amounts of money to save their loved ones, to guarantee that some genetic abnormality in their own genes will continue, to guarantee that their bleeding hearts will feel better when they concern themselves about people who cannot feed themselves a half a planet away, and to guarantee that the new, expensive drugs keep coming for fear that they may need them someday. Such a way is folly. Such a way is destruction not only of the species, but of the planet we live on.

Many will say, Rabbi, this does not sound very loving, very religious, but Yeshua said that the poor would be with us always. Those he healed were among the 38% that the placibo effect will heal. He had no solutions for a population growth rate unhindered by serious warfare, disease, and famine. Yeshua taught us to trust in G-d and I have trusted in him for healing. I trust that G-d will take me when my time comes. I do not believe in artificially prolonging life when my death might allow the species to continue. I am concerned that we cannot move more than a few hundred thousands to the Moon, Mars, Mercury, etc. I am concerned that the population is growing at the rate of 75 million per year. When Yeshua was here, there were only 100 million on the planet and plenty of places to go if you wanted a different or better life. That is no longer possible. Now is the time when we must voluntarily decide not to keep everyone alive indefinitely. Now is the time when we must cull the genetic pool of those with genetic predispositions to serious illness, which drains our economy and redirects research away from useful areas. Now is the time to allow nature and G-d to do their work.

Consider Kansas City. There are 25,000 people with no homes here. There are 50,000 who depend on handouts to eat. There are thousands who get medical care weekly. Think of the resources that they are taking from society. Think about the way those resources could be expended for the growth of the human species, that is, all of us. We could raise two hundred million dollars a year just from Kansas City for space research and the establishment of colonies off-planet.

This is the time of year when we remember not only the Exodus from Egypt, but the death of a martyr. It is time when we remember freedom, even though the freedom the Jews got from leaving Egypt would not be remembered as good for at least another fifty years. The martyr told us to die for others. The Exodus taught us to make difficult, life-changing, and dangerous choices so that the future could be better. Now is the time for us to do these things. We must stop helping other countries to have more children. We must stop keeping alive those who will die without aiding society in any way. We must stop directing funds to medical research and start looking out for the future of our species. We must let people like me die. I should willing accept my fate and so should you.

Revolution in the Near East

2011-04-16T10:01:00.001-05:00

Democracy cannot be imported to a country just because the people want to rule their own affairs. The United States was able to be democratic only because the British had a tradition of democracy. It was that tradition of democracy that allowed Freemasonry to exist in Britain. It was that tradition of democracy that allowed colonial parliaments in the United States. One cannot import American or other democratic systems to countries which have no democratic institutions.

The United States is unique among the world in that it has a functioning, although much weakened, Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights protects the minority from the tyranny of the majority. The idea of tolerance inherent in the Bill of Rights is unique to the United States and has spread to many other democratic countries where it has more or less functional importance.

Tolerance is not a Muslim concept. When one replaces a Hussein or a Qaddafi, what are we supporting instead. Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, and Syria have no tradition of tolerance. The NATO no fly zone is suppose to protect civilians and yet civilians on both sides of the conflict are being harmed and it is hard to claim that there are civilians in Libya today. By giving the Egyptian majority control, who is going to protect the Coptic minority? Who is going to protect the Alawite minority in Syria? Who is going to protect the Sunni minority in Bahrain? Who is going to protect the Hashemi minority in Jordan? Iraq is close to being a failed state and its failure center on the Shia majority's unwillingness to protect the rights and liberties of Kurds and Sunnis in Iraq.

The United States should stay out of the way while these events occur. It is not clear that the changes which are occurring is good for America or Israel. I support the removal of Qaddafi only if he is replaced by a body committed to tolerance, to secularization of institutions, and to protecting the supporters of Qaddafi from war crimes like the one which happened in Benghazi yesterday. I do not support removing the Khalifi regime in Bahrain. I do not support the removing of the Hashemite King in Jordan and replacing him with Palestinian interlopers. I do not support removing Bashar if there is no institution left to protect the Alawites, which he does now. The proposed democratic movements are tyrannical and incompatible with the beliefs of a modern civilized society. Just as Turkey, which came so far under the secular rule of the military, is now on the verge of becoming a Islamic state and losing every connection with Europe, so we see what has happened in Lebanon and Gaza.

A curse on democracy without a Bill of Rights.

Purim

2011-03-20T15:23:00.004-05:00

Today is Purim. It is a holiday that was created to commemorate the acts of Esther and Haman after they allegedly happened in the period during the destruction of the Temple and the return of the nobles to the land. There are certain very important lessons to be learned from this whole story.

The first lesson is centered on Hadassah, Esther as she is called in Persian. She is the descendant of Saul, the first king of Israel, and is therefore old aristocracy. Her family was taken as captives by Nebuchadnezzar's army after the destruction of the city of Jerusalem. According to the story, her parents were dead and her Uncle Mordechai raised her. She became the wife of the Persian King whom the story calls Ahasuerus, but whom history knows as Artaxerxes II. In this story, Esther represents King Saul in an age old battle to deal with the archenemies of the Jewish people, the Amalekites. Her predecessor, King Saul, who was king more than 500 years before, failed to destroy King Agag of the Amalekites. Because of his refusal to commit final genocide, Agag had relations with two women on the night between his capture and Samuel's execution of him. Haman is now going to destroy the Jews in reparation for the almost complete annihilation of his people some 500 years before. It is left to Esther to act for Saul.

According to the story, Esther succeeds. Haman and his sons are killed. But the story is not finished for some of his children must have lived and some of the Amalekites continued. History tells us that the Amalekites are the children of Esau, brother of Jabob, and that they hated the Jews from the beginning. They lived in Petra and they sought to hurt the Jews throughout history. The people who call themselves Palestinians are descendants of these people. So the Amalekites plague the Jews still after 3,000 and as they have said, they wish still to destroy their cousins and drive them into the sea.

The story of Esther is an incomplete one. Mordechai warns Esther that failure to save her people will finally cost the full destruction of the House of Saul. She saves her people that time. However, they continue even today to plague the Chosen. And the spirit of the Amalekites, with their bloodlust, their insensible desire to have the Land given to Jacob, their desire to wipe out Judah has never changed and can only end in the final destruction of one people or another.

There are those who ignore G-d in dealing with the political situations of the current day. They do it foolishly and at great cost. There will be no peace in Israel until the Amalekites are gone and that will not happen until the son of David comes to finish the deed.

Another lesson can be found in the story of the Purim or lots that were drawn to decide the day of the Jews destruction. The lot was chosen on Nisan 13. Now Scripture says that the Passover lamb is to be set aside on Nisan 10, but killed on Nisan 14. After the Nobility was removed from the land by Nebuchadnezzar, they had no way to determine the calendar and it began to drift due to the inability to determine when the year began. By the time of Yeshua ben Yotsef, the drift was significant. The Qumran Covenanters celebrated a different day from the Pharisee day. For them Nisan 14 was one day earlier in the year of Yeshua's death than the Pharisees and John leads us to believe that Yeshua celebrated the feast one day earlier. So Yeshua was killed not on Nisan 14, but on Nisan 13 in Pharisee calendar. The Lot was chosen on the day that Yeshua was killed. Yeshua then becomes the sacrificial Jew, the one to be killed by Pur and thus avoid the annihilation of his people. As Yeshua claimed to be the son of David, he acted for David in this matter for it was David who replaced Saul on the Throne and Yeshua became Priest-King of David's Kingdom, Jerusalem, after his anointed by G-d at the Jordan River during his baptism.

This story continues. How it will end is beyond are understanding. What appears to be happening as the whole world turns against Israel is an illusion. No one can know how G-d will work it out, but He will work it out and we will see his Glory.

Should Christians Keep Kosher? A Prophecy

2011-03-07T16:14:00.005-06:00

Paul says: "If the first fruits are holy, so is the whole batch of dough; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place and have come to share in the rich root of the olive tree, ..." He argues that the Gentiles are grafted on to the Tree of the Covenant to replace those who have broken the covenant with G-d. Now it was required of those who were branches on the Tree of the Covenant that they keep the Torah. So if the grafted branch, the Gentiles, is not to be broken off from the Tree of the Covenant as were the unbelievers among the Jews then they must also keep the Torah.

Jesus, our guide, our Rabbi, has said: "I have come not to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. ... Amen, I say to you, until HEAVEN and EARTH pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the Torah, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But WHOEVER OBEYS AND TEACHES THESE COMMANDMENTS will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven."

Thus, we can conclude that Gentiles who do not keep Kosher are not going to Heaven. If they are not going to Heaven, then where are they going? I leave it to your minds to answer that question.

There are some who claim that G-d has rejected his people. Pope Benedict in his new book, Jesus of Nazareth Part II argues persuasively that the Jews have not been rejected and are still the chosen of G-d. Paul argues that through faith Gentiles can be added to the tree of life, but James says that faith without the Works of the Torah is dead. Therefore, it is clear that Christen dom is damned and only those who follow the Nasorean Way will be saved. The Time of the Gentiles is ended. It is now again the Time of the Jews. Hurry, those of you who are descendants of the House of Israel for its says: "As the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of the house of Israel up from the land of the North -- and from all the lands to which I banished them; they shall again live on their own land." Jeremiah 23:8.

The last words in the Kiddush of the Didache says: "Let those who are not saved, Repent. The Lord Cometh." The time is short for the 2,000 years of the Gentiles is over and the Lord Cometh. Just as the Lord Yeshua was in the grave for two days and rose again on the third day, so will the children of his kingdom, the Nasoreans who faithfully followed him, be destroyed and rejected for two thousand years, but in the third millenium they will rise from the grave to occupy the land which G-d has given them and will welcome the King Messiah, Yeshua, to his throne in Jerusalem. The time is short, the Lord Cometh. Maran Atha.

Even now the Thrones of Egypt, Cyrene, Tripolis, Carthage, Sana, Amman, Bahrain, and Mecca are shaking before the feet of the Meshiach. The grapes of wrath are being released. The nations of the South are readying for war and they will turn their eyes on the rich, ripe olive on its golden hill. They will come to make war on the City of David and the House of the Meshiach. But when they come they shall find the City protected for its says: "That day his feet shall rest upon the Mount of Olives, which is opposite Jerusalem to the east." He shall cause a mighty earthquake and destroy that evil Temple on the Mount and bring the Arab kings low. The time of the Gentiles is over. The Lord Cometh.

The Prophet says: "Rise up in splendor! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you.... The children of your oppressors shall come, bowing low before you shall fall prostrate at your feet. "They shall call you "City of the Lord," "Zion of the Holy One of Israel." Isaiah 60: 1, 14. See the Light on the Hilltop. The Lord Cometh in Splendor.

Pirates in Somalia

2011-02-22T09:24:00.003-06:00

Last week a Somali pirate was convicted of piracy on the high seas. He received a 33 year sentence for his acts. In times past, the penalty for piracy on the high seas was death by hanging. What happened to that humane and appropriate response to war on the high seas where there is no law but the gun? Think about it. This man came from Somalia where the normal yearly income is less than $500. He scraped by on what little money he could get. Then he turned to piracy and started getting ransom shares that were $20,000, $30,000, or even more, more than sufficient for him to live in a rich fashion in super poor Somalia. For his crime of piracy, the United States government agreed to give him life in an American federal prison for the next 33 years. There he will have access to television, to education, to a library, to regular food, to shelter, to heat, to a bath, and to many other benefits which in his poverty stricken nation are luxuries. It will cost Americans some $40,000 per year to maintain this man in this luxury of a Federal prison. So, what does he tell his fellow pirates. Go on out and attack American ships. If they catch you, you get to live in luxury. If they don't, you get a pay day that will make you almost as well off as going to prison. There is something definitely wrong here.

Execute pirates. That is the way to stop this scourge. Execution on the spot is preferred. Then we will regain control of the seas. Consider what has happened most recently. Today, four Americans were murdered by pirates. We took 19 captives from Somalia into custody. They will now be transported to America and at the cost of $10,000 convicted, sent to luxury accomodations for 33 years, and taught how to be better at piracy. Why did the American warships not execute the Somalis on the spot? They were present. They were guilty. Acts of piracy are not governed by due process. When you catch the pirate in the act, due process is to execute them immediately.

Another thing that needs to take place is the bombing of the ports where the captured ships are taken. When a ship from another country is brought into port, carpet bombing should destroy the city where the ship is brought. You think that is extreme. Well, the economy of the city is similar to that of Port Royal in Jamaica. The people who live there depend upon piracy. So by the logic that we use so much these days of calling accessory acts the same as the act, those people are also pirates. Destroying there base is an act of war, not murder. Destroy the port.

There are no civilized nations on earth that oppose drastic measures with pirates. The people who do oppose drastic measures are sick and should be treated for their sickness. I propose instant execution for all pirates and the arming of all ships that transit the Indian Ocean.

the Entertainment of the Masses

2011-02-06T10:40:00.004-06:00

Al Qaeda depends upon Muslim believers. However, the events we are seeing across the Arab world is not a movement toward Islam, but a movement toward secularization. It is the middle class in Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, and Bahrain which has taken the lead in replacing the old regimes. The desire for a better life, a life with more pleasure, less difficulty in filling ones belly, more opportunities for children, more entertainment, and more say drive this change. Now some may see this as good. Some may see it as bad. However, it must be placed into a larger picture.

In America, the Dream has failed. It has failed because of technology. The production rate has continued to grow in America every year of the recession at the same time that the rates of unemployment have be high. Why? Because the factories, the manufacturing hub of our economy that makes the goods for sale, is becoming increasingly robotized. It takes only one worker to do the work of 100 before. Robots do not demand time off for snow, for rain, for heat, for sickness, for child birth, for vacations, or for holidays. They do not complain about over work. They are not unionized. So, we have far fewer jobs in the manufacturing areas than the past. Yet we have more people.

In the past, these people would have worked the land. But, even farming has become robotized and mechanized and one farmer can feed 186 people while 100 years ago he could feed only 20. Even on the farm, the people have replaced by the machines.

So what do we do with the burgeoning population. Rome had this problem. It gave them religion and circuses. Religion makes the poor content with their condition and circuses make the middle class content with their condition. We have over 300,000,000 people in America we had 100,000,000 when I was born. The underclass is mostly made up of illegal aliens and the newest immigrants. Thus blacks and hispanics are free to spend their days reproducing. And yet only 36,000 jobs were created last week at the same time that there were 20,000 births and a labor reserve of unemployed numbering 30,000,000. As the numbers of persons available for sale increased in Rome due to its expansion, the number of fatal games increased. Christians, malefactors, losers, and those who lost at war were sent to the arena to entertain. A time is coming when slavery will be revived throughout the world. Those slave will be warriors and those warriors will be sent as mercenaries around the world to subjugate corporations and the elite to ever growing corporations and elite and the show will entertain the masses.

If you do not believe me, look at the last week. Every major news organization has been watching what 250,000 people were doing in Cairo. Yet there are 79,000,000 Egyptians who were not interviewed, discussed, moved, etc. The news media wanted violence and supported violence. Why? To entertain the masses.

The time is coming when people convicted of crimes throughout Europe and America will be sent to do battle for their lives to entertain the masses and to subjugate the huge masses elsewhere. What can be done? Nothing. We simply have too many people to keep them all busy. But wars are ruining our economy. Governments must find ways to pay for their adventurism and Rome's method was plunder. I predict that just as oil was one reason for recent wars, other valuable assets will be reason for the next wars.

The End of the Time of Gentiles

2011-02-06T09:41:00.004-06:00

Scripture says that the descendants of Jacob are called and that some will hear the call and be chosen to salvation. Paul believed that his ministry to the Gentiles was time-limited. He said in Romans 11:25:

A hardening has come upon part of Israel, until the full number of Gentiles comes in,

and thus all Israel will be saved.

Luke picking up his master's belief says:

They (the Jews) will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken as captives to all the

Gentiles; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of

the Gentiles are fulfilled. Luke 21:24.

Mark, another of Paul's scribes and intimately connected to the Jerusalem church says:

But the Gospel must first be preached to all Gentiles. Mark 13:10

In 1948, the modern state of Israel was declared and thus the descendants of Israel started returning from the diaspora among the 49 nations to which they had been dispersed.

I believe that the founding of the State of Israel began a process that will result in the end of the time of the Gentiles. Two important events also happened in close proximity to the founding of Israel, the finding of the library at Nag Hamadi, which allowed us to know about the Gnostic Christian tradition and the finding of the scrolls at the Dead Sea allowing us to know about the Nasoreans. No more could the Catholic and Orthodox Churches make the claim that their traditions and dogmas went back to the time of Yeshua and the Jerusalem Church for we knew that there were other venerable traditions that were represented in that earliest times and that many Jews had come to have faith in Yeshua. These three events caused a ripple in time that is still spreading out in the time-wave that is our universe. There are 22,000 different sects of Christianity and 1,000 different sects of Islam. Differences appear everyday. These two religions are tearing themselves apart.

Judaism is not immune to the events around it. The total number of practicing Jews is down to 12,000,000 divided among the Chassidim, the Orthodox, the Conservatives, the Reform, the Reconstructionists, the Liberals, the Samaritans, the Karaites, and the Nasoreans. The fight among Jews over who is a Jew and what is a Jew, which had never happened in the 2,000 year Era of Christianity, is tearing the Jewish community apart. The fight over Jerusalem is also a fight over the ripple in that time-line. Will the reform Christians, the Muslims, have the city or will the Orthodox have it.

What happens at the end of the Time of the Gentiles? The Scripture gives us some clues. First, we look at Jeremiah the Prophet who has said:

As the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites out of the land of the North and out of all

the countries to which he had banished them. I will bring them back to the land which

I gave their fathers. 16:15.

and again:

As the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of the House of Israel up from the

land of the North -- and from all the lands to which I banished them; they shall again

live on their own land. 23:8.

There are over 7,000,000 descendants of the House of Israel living in Israel today. These are those who were never far from the Orthodox dogmas. Most live within three generations of those who were practical Jews and who keep the faith. They come from all 49 nations to which we had been dispersed and some of those nations are now Jew-free. However, the second group, the much larger group, those with the blood of Israel now submerged for generations and even millenia are feeling the tug of truth which calls them home. They are forming "christian" groups which still profess the G-dhood of Yeshua, but feel called to the Torah and the practice of its truths. The potential number of this second wave is 137,000,000 people. This feeling, this divine power, which calls these people from their very blood, grows stronger as the time of the Gentiles closes. Why? Because all Israel must be saved.

There is only one religion for the 150,000,000 descendants of the House of Israel and that is the Nasorean Sect of Judaism. All other sects, allied in some way with the former Sadducees and Pharisees, will die and the Nasorean sect must succeed for all Israel must be saved. The falsehoods of the Pauline religion of the Sun G-d are being exposed and the great Priest of the Sun G-d, Pope Benedict XVI, is moving the churches of Christendom into a circle, like a wagon train under fire, because he feels the tug of the Spirit calling an end to the time of the Gentiles and he tries to hold on to the past with great tenacity.

Those of you who are Gentiles and who have fallen into the lie of Christianity, you still have a chance. You can become Jews by circumcision and baptism into Abraham, Jacob, and Yeshua. Your time is short. You must do it now, for the doors to salvation for the Gentiles is ending.

Paganism is the fastest growing religious opinion in the world. It is sweeping North America, South America, and Europe. Even China returns to the enlightened paganism of Confucius. Soon the number of believers of Christianity and Islam will have reached their maximum growth by the addition of children and the vast numbers will turn to paganism. Then it will be the Nasorean sect, the True and Pure Sect of Judaism, versus the Pagans and Christianity, Judaism, and Islam will be swept away before the tidal wave.

This process, started 63 years ago, will pick up steam. Secularism is another word for pagan. Santa Claus will replace Jesus in Christmas and the end is near for the faith of martyrs. We are entering a new age, the age of Aquarius, where people will maintain their privacy, will meet each other superficially, will make acquaintances instantly, will keep their true thoughts secret, and will build a harmony based upon the truth of public opinion. This insistence upon superficiality will blossom under the rule of those who teach the Religion of Science and under the coming leader who will be the High Priest of Science and the Ruler of the new state, the World. Those of us who are believers will see that the simplest religion is the best and will return to the home from which pure religion has always come. The World Religion of Science, Secularism and Paganism grows stronger every day.

This is a prophecy and those of you who believe it should join in the process of hiding on the seashore among the sand. Let those who have ears to hear, hear.

Being Rehabilitated

2011-01-15T11:02:00.002-06:00

In a much earlier America, it was not uncommon for a person who committed a crime to be whipped in public, to be placed in the stocks for a while, to be tortured in some way, and then let go. When they had been punished, the matter was finished and that went on with their lives. Today, we sentence a person to long periods of time, often locking them up in small rooms with other people, in conditions that would be considered inhumane by the ASPCA and expect that at the end of their sentence they will be model citizens. The Quakers, when they conceived of "pentientiaries" considered them to be places for people to contemplate their sins and thus reform themselves by finding the light of G-d. Their ideas have gone terribly wrong.

Most citizens are woefully unaware of what goes on in prison. They have the misconceived belief that it is country club where prisoners are taught college educations and that at the end of their sentence they are able to rejoin society without difficulty. Such beliefs are false and in fact detrimental to the system.

One such example happened yesterday in Kansas City. A man, high on PCP, took a vehicle and slammed it into a bunch of cars waiting for the light to change. He had been suspended 16 times from driving. He was totally unfit to be behind the wheel. He killed Damian Slayton. Clayton Dunlap was sentenced to 34 years in prison. He will be an old man when he comes out, if he comes out. Damian's mother said that the man should go to prison to keep him from doing this again. She said, "I don't see Clayton Dunlap as a monster. I see him as a person who made bad decisions. I want him to genuinely want to be better, and I want him to use the time he has in prison to make himself a better person -- to get an education, do what it takes to be, and want to be a productive member of society -- then I would welcome him back." What she said is meant to sound kind and merciful; in fact, it is just the opposite. Clayton has no chance to be a better person. He will be a much worse person when he comes out. And, education, people with Ph.D's are out of work. What chance does education offer him to get a job after serving time for murder. Such statements show how air-headed this woman was and how false her view of the world.

It is hypocrisy to say things like this when in fact the real reason the man is going to prison is to put him away from society because we are afraid of him. It is far more just and kind to put him on an island far from society than to lock him in a cage. And forget about these false promises that he will be treated fairly after paying the price. He will not be able to survive and will be forced to use the lessons he has learned in prison to rob, kill and survive.

I propose that corporeal punishment is far more humane. It is time that we empty the prisons. Execute those who are guilty of murder. Whip those who are guilty of serious crimes. Put to hard labor for a set period those who smoke marijuana or use drugs. Empty the prisons. Let these people get back to their lives and if the state wants to give them rehabilitation, hurrah. But do not do it as an incentive to be pardoned or paroled.

Reconciliation Before the Sun Goes Down

2011-01-09T11:08:00.004-06:00

Today I write with a heavy heart. Seventeen years ago I met a man. He seemed to like me and I liked him. He was distant but he was intelligent and I enjoyed being around him. We went to several events together. He was an acquaintance; he was not at the level of being a friend, but we knew each other and talked when we saw each other.

Last year, my dog, who is aggressive with larger dogs -- I think he has a Napoleonic complex -- met this man's huskie and picked a fight with his dog. His dog was not in the wrong, but on the other hand, his dog did not ignore my dog as most larger dogs do. This man was angry with me for not restraining my dog and others were angry at him for not intervening with his bigger dog and quieting the situation. He angrily stomped out of the puppy park and when he saw me, he would ignore me and play as if I was not there. I knew that he was still angry at me over the fight our dogs had gotten into.

This man, the Rev. Dr. Bruce T. Hall, passed away yesterday at 49 years of age. My heart is broken that I never reconciled with him. I waited until he made the first gesture, as he had stomped off the yard. I waited too long. Now, he is gone and I have waited too long.

There is an old saying that says we should not let the sun go down on our anger. The wisdom of this addage has always been clear, but today it is poignant.

The command of the great teacher is that we must make reconciliation on the way to court, on the way to communion, on the way of life. It is not that we are to wait

I seldom sin. But I have sinned and fallen short of the will of the Most High and I heartily confess my sin, hoping that my confession will help someone to make the first step toward reconciliation before the sun goes down today. Please have mercy on me, O Great Comforter, and grant me pardon and remission of my sin. Amen.

The Right of Sanctuary

2011-01-04T14:19:00.002-06:00

The right of sanctuary was based on the inviolability attached to things sacred, and not, as some have held, on the example set by the Hebrew cities of refuge. It was recognized under the Code of Theodosius (399) and later by that of Justinian. Papal sanction was first given to it by Leo I, about 460, though the first Council of Orange had dealt with the matter in 441.

The earliest mention of sanctuary in England was in a code of laws promulgated by King Ethelbert in 600. The right of asylum was originally confined to the church itself, but in course of time its limits were extended to the precincts, and sometimes even to a larger area.

Violation of the protection of sanctuary was punishable by excommunication.

The right of sanctuary was also supported by the tradition begun in the early Byzantine period forbidding weapons of any kind in Church. Even the Emperor had to remove his weapons to enter the church.

The principle of sanctuary and the exclusion of weapons from the church is a necessary ideal to maintain the holiness of a church. The right of the people to pray in peace, to worship in peace, and to be free from acts of violence within the sanctuary is necessary to maintain the freedom of religion from the State.

However, there is a growing attitude that the right to keep and bear arms should extend even to the church. While I am a stalwart supporter of the right to keep and bear arms to protect us against the state and agressors, I oppose without reservation the introduction of arms into a church or other place of worship or sanctification like a shrine or cemetery. The church and it alone must decide whether a weapon will be allowed in a sanctuary.

Now is the time for civilization to speak up. We as a civilized people must not allow guns or weapons of any kind in the church without the express permission of the highest church authority.

थे

2011-01-04T14:12:00.001-06:00

Your Light Has Come

2010-12-24T11:32:00.000-06:00

The Prophet Isaiah in Chapter 60, the last chapter in Deutero-Isaiah, opens his prophecy with these powerful words:

Rise up in splendor! Your light has come, the glory of YHVH shines upon you. See darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples, but upon you YHVH shines, and over you appears his glory.

Kabbalists believe that there has always been a Being with the fullness of matter and energy. They believe that for an infinitesimally small time Ten Centers of Sentient appeared within the Body of this Divine Being, called Ain Sof Aur, Neverending Light. These Sentient Intelligences cried out that Ain Sof Aur gave them every thing and they could give nothing back in return. Within that infinitesimally small time, Ain Sof Aur, withdrew from the center of His Being and created a perfect vacuum and into that vacuum He sent forth a Single Ray of His Divine Being into the center thereof. He formed from his own being the Ten Intelligences into a single Being named the Primeval Adam, the Ancient of Days, the Archangel of the Presence.

The Gospel of John begins with a description of this event. It says:

In the beginning was the Logos ... The Logos to the Greeks was the Divine Creative and Controlling Power. This idea of a Supreme Creative and Controlling Power separate from G-d is the essence of Kabbalistic thought.

John continues: And the Logos was with G-d ... While declaring strongly the separateness of the Creative and Controlling Power, the Gospel declares that is was with G-d before all time and into the beginning. The Logos and the Ten Intelligences are the same. We are simply using a separate nomenclature.

But then John goes on: And the Logos was G-d ... In what sense was the Logos G-d. First, the Logos is begotten from the Being of G-d and therefore carries the "DNA" of Godhood. Second, the Logos has the intelligence of G-d in that the 10 Intelligences were part of the Sentient G-d and know every thing that He knows. Third, the Logos is the active part of G-d because G-d remains outside of the Universe. The Logos is therefore Omnipotent, Omniscent, and Omnibenevolent, while it is not Eternal. But unlike G-d, the Logos is dynamic. It is the element of dynamism that gives the Logos its importance, because G-d does not act in this Universe. Only His Proxy, the Divine Logos acts in this Universe.

John continues: "He (meaning the Logos) was in the beginning with G-d. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be." Kabbalists believe that Ain Sof Aur and the Primeval Adam formed the Archangels in their glory and that Adam and the Archangels created the Universe and all that is in it. Literally, they believe that all things came to be through Adam and without Him nothing came to be.

Then John says: "What came to be through him was Life, and this Life was the Light of Mankind; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

As we celebrate the coming of the Seventh Light into the World, in the being of Yeshua ha Meshiach, let us remember that long before His coming, the Light was here in the presence of G-d and that same light still shines on us. Your light has come.

The Star of Bethlehem

2010-12-19T19:07:00.000-06:00

In the Gospel of St. Matthew, the Shem Tov Matthew says:

"It came to pass when Yeshua was born in Bethlehem of Yudah in the days of Herod the King, behold astrologers came from the East to Jerusalem saying: Where is the King of the Jews who has been born. We have seen his star in the East and we have come with important gifts to worship him. ... Then King Herod called the magicians in secret and asked them well concerning the time the Star appeared to them. ... They harkened to the King and went, and behold the star which they saw in the East was going before them until they came to the place. When they entered Bethlehem it stopped before the place where the child was." Matthew 2:1-2, 7, 9.

Professor David Hughes, one of the leader astronomers in the United Kingdom has studied the account and the skies of that period and has concluded that what the Magi were seeing was Jupiter and Saturn in an unusual conjunction which occurred three times in 7 B.C. and during which the conjunction would appear to move due to the retrograde appearance of the planets during the conjunction. This would have occurred during the spring and summer of 7 B.C. This event would occur in the sign of Pisces which was associated with the Jewish people by Zoroastrian astrologers.

Dr. Michael Molnar of New York, a leading American astronomer, is an authority on astronomically related coins. He has a coin from Antioch which shows a star in the sign of Aries. He found that on April 17, 6 B.C. Jupiter would have been occulted in the early morning by the Moon in Aries and the appearance would have been noted by expert astronomer-astrologers. He concludes that this event is the Star of Bethlehem.

Dr. Mark Kidger, an authority on supernovas, believes that at the time of the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 7 B.C. a nova event occurred on or near Dio Aquila. It was observed in 1927 to have another nova event and he was able to predict that a similar event had occurred in 7 B.C. So he believers that this nova event occurring with Jupiter and Saturn made a very bright star that would move.

The Arian Archbishop of York Most Reverend Brian Mackenzie-Hanson said this about his belief:

‎"A star rising in the East" (Matthew 2:2): Jupiter (the King Planet) and Regulus (the King Star: "Prince" or "Little King") came into conjunction for the first time on 11-Sep-3BC. Then over a period of 9 months, two more conjunctions of Jupiter and Regulus took place in the constellation Leo (the Lion, which the Old Testament of the Bible specifically associated with the Jewish people) for a total of 3 conjunctions. Because Jupiter goes into retrograde, its apparent motion through the background stars draws a halo (or Crown) over Regulus. Then, at the end of this nine month period on **17-June-2BC** appears the Star of Bethlehem in the western skies when looking from Babylon toward Jerusalem as Jupiter with Venus (the Planet of Love, harmony and Beauty; also Nativity when associated with Jupiter) and Regulus come into conjunction. Babylon being where the Magi where looking from.
- The Magi (the Wise Men, Matthew 2:1-12), being the Astronomers and Astrologers of the time were in no doubt as to what these signs (Genesis 1:14) in the sky meant!

There has not been a brighter, closer conjunction of Venus and Jupiter in Leo so near to Regulus in the 2,000 years before or since.

The problem I have with Archbishop Mackenzie-Hanson's theory is Herod the Great was dead in 4 B.C. Although he argues that there is a minority view allowing Herod to have lived until 2 B.C. or 1 B.C., the vast majority of scholars put his death at 4 B.C. The problem I have with the astronomical theories is that they are looking for an actual star in the sky. Everyone acknowledges that the observers were astrologers. But no one seems to know anything about astrology.

The astrologers ask Herod: Where is the King of the Jews who has been born. We have seen his star in the East. Everyone on earth has a Star in the East. The question that they ask is an astrological one. One must know that exact moment of birth in order to determine where to set the beginning of a horoscope. That place is called the Star in the East. My star is in Libra. In the seventh verse, Herod asks the astrologers "well concerning the time the star appeared." That question is also an astrological question. Herod did not know that the Meshiach had been born. He deduced that in watching the predictive horoscope the Magi had concluded from what was on the chart that a king had been born in Yudah. So, he asked the time. By knowing the time, he could deduce the moment of the child's birth in his area and theoretically could predict the exact place. He then acting on insufficient evidence had some boys killed in Bethlehem.

Many will claim that Josephus, who was no lover of Herod, did not mention a massacre in Bethlehem, but it might not have been a massacre. Herod knew the characteristics of the child. One, it must be a descendant of David; two, the child must have been born in the last two years; three, the child might have other indications of importance. According to one source, Herod had killed Zachariah in order to discover where St. John the Baptist was hiding. It is therefore likely he was already aware of the Bethlehem as a potential trouble spot and no stupid man, he already had spies on the ground.

So my conclusion is there never was an actual Star in the sky. The Star was on a predictive horoscope and predicted the coming of King.

It is important to note that St. Luke's Gospel which shows some Marian knowledge and is said to have originated at least partially from discussions with Mary makes no mention of the Magi. Mark, the earliest Gospel, does not make mention of the Magi. And, of course, John makes no mention of the Magi. So where do we get the Magi. I think that can be deduced from another scripture. Isaiah 60 specifically mentions the bringing of three gifts from kingdoms in places to the east and south of Bethlehem; it mentions camels; and it mentions sheep. I think that Matthew, so interested in proof-texts merely invented the Magi to give Yeshua a fantastical origin.

I could go on and on about other problems with the Infancy Narratives, but this blog is about the Star.

First Contact Soon

2010-12-01T18:04:00.001-06:00

A scientist announced today that there are 300 sextillion stars in the universe. Now assuming that one out of every two star has planets circling it, which is what astronomers are finding in the solar systems near us, then there are an estimated 150 sextillion star systems in the universe and some 750 sextillion planets in the universe.

Assuming that there is one earth-like planet in every 500 (which is what scientists are finding), then there are 1.5 sextillion earth-like planets in the universe.

Science has found on Earth, life is pervasive and tenacious. It is therefore logical to assume that there is life of at least primitive forms on half of these planets or on about 750 quintillion planets. If we assume that only 1 out of 1000 of these planets has intelligent life at the level of at least a dog, then there are 750 quadrillion planets which have intelligent life.

Now, if we assume that 1 out of 1,000,000 of those planets which have intelligent life have developed civilization, then there are 750 billion planets that have civilization. Now, if we also assume that of the planets which are civilized one in one million have obtained space flight then there are 750,000 planets which have obtained space flight.

Now assuming that one out of four of these 750,000 civilizations that have obtained space flight are looking for us, then there are 187,500 civilizations that are looking for us.

Assuming that only one in ten thousand civilizations that are looking for us will find us in the next 100 years, then 19 civilizations will find us in the next 100 years. Therefore there will be about one contact every six years in the next 100 years. Knowing our government and seeing the impressive evidence for at least some UFO contact, our government has been in contact with alien civilizations for about 50 years and makes contact with a new species every six years.

First contact with someone other than the government is inevitable and should occur in the next six years. Shall I predict that first contact will occur on December 21, 2012? Seems as reasonable as any other time.

Federal Government Is Filled With Sex Perverts

2010-11-21T13:09:00.000-06:00

Sexual Battery is defined in Kansas as:

The intentional touching of the person of another who is 16 or more years of age, who is not the spouse of the offender and who does not consent thereto with the intent to arouse or satisfy the sexual desires of the offender or another.

Sexual battery in Kansas is a class A person misdemeanor.

The law in Missouri is similar.

Under the federal regulation, passengers have a choice of being observed by a person they cannot see with a device that strips away their clothes and subjects them to derision, humiliation, and exposure. They may opt out of the full body scan. Then people touch them in very inappropriate places. They are compelled to accept this humiliation if they want to use a public airplane. If they start the process and then opt out and walk away, the passenger may be fined $11,000. It is hard to say that this process is not compelled and it is certain that many do not give consent.

It is amazing to me that the so-called war on Terrorism has cost us our civil right to be free of UNREASONABLE searches and seizures. If every fear results in a loss of civil rights, why keep any of them. Saddam Hussein's Iraq was much safer than the Iraq today. The growing dictatorship in the United States is perhaps safer, although that is far from clear, but is safer from foreign terrorists who choose to bomb planes.

The polls say that 81% of America while not liking the new rules will submit to them. Eighty one percent of Nazi Germany went along with Hitler. Civil Rights are not determined by the majority. What is happening in America is criminal and totalitarian. If it happened in North Korea, we would expect it. However, what happens here in our airports is not even condoned in Iran.

The justification for the criminal acts which are occurring in the name of security is that more of the TSA employees will be able to get their jollies by playing with women's breasts and pussies and men's dicks. If any of us did what these perverts do in the name of security, we would be arrested.

I have made the only possible decision open to me. I will not fly a public jet. If I cannot take the time to drive or ride a train, I will not go.

Scott Roeder

2010-11-21T11:09:00.001-06:00

Confessor Scott Roeder has been transferred to the Kansas State Prison at Lansing. Cards, letters and messages of support are needed to help keep the Confessor's spirits up in these trying times. Remember his blessings are powerful and you should ask him to bless you as he has carried the cross to Calvary and has suffered for the little children.

Let us not forget Blessed Scott Roeder in our prayers and thanksgivings.

The Facts About Roman Catholic Exorcisms

2010-11-15T14:45:00.000-06:00

Archbishop Naumann sent word to me today indicating that there were few requests for exorcisms within his diocese. Apparently he is not on the ground with his people as I have done three exorcisms on Catholics in the last year. He argues that a person must go through a battery of testing by doctors and psychiatric personnel before an exorcism is performed. While such tests are surely helpful, I have performed exorcisms on people who came great distances for the exorcism and there was no time for such interventions. He argues that exorcism is always a major affair because one is fighting with the Devil. Such opinions are laughable. The Devil neither has time nor desire to possess any body. It is demons, elementals, ghosts, and evil spirits which possess people. His ignorance is surpassed only by his arrogance.

In fact, exorcisms can be as simple as described in scripture, a mere force of the exorcist will commanding the demon to leave. Acts 5:16. Or an exorcism can take great effort as is seen in such movies as the Exorcist, the Exorcism of Gail Bower, or other popularized accounts. The person doing the exorcism must have the gift of faith, a strong gift beyond mere childhood belief, and sufficient holiness that the demon will fear the presence of G-d's person. Most priests today do not have such accoutrements. Many do not even believe in the Devil or demons.

If people are going to be increasingly looking at exorcisms, they are going to have to depend upon people like me to do them.

Roman Catholics Want Exorcists

2010-11-13T11:04:00.000-06:00

For centuries, the Roman Catholic Church believed in the existence of ghosts, demons, evil spirits, and exorcism. Then for a period of time Bishops within the Church and priests with little spirituality denied the very existence of these things and even the Devil's existence was denied. Now, as the real world encroaches upon the turn of the Roman Catholic Church to psychology, the Church has had to rethink its position.

In 1999, the Church revised the Ritual on Exorcism and began to appoint priests to the office of Diocesan Exorcist. It is difficult to understand why the Church would have ever lost the office. Every priest must first be ordained to the office of acolyte and then exorcist followed by subdeacon, deacon, and then priest. What does one do if one is appointed as an exorcist? Nothing apparently. The Church leaves to an official diocesan exorcist the office.

Exorcism is an ancient gift that came to all believers. In the longer ending of Mark its says: "These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons..." Mark 16:17. So, originally every person in the church could cast out demons. Then, apparently, the true believers became fewer in number, the church found it necessary to ordain people to the office of exorcist. It is presumed that they chose people who already had demonstrated that they were true believers by casting demons. Eventually, the Church came to see that those who could cast demons already were anointed by G-d to the office of Priest. The Apostolic Tradition of St. Hippolytus says: "If any one among the laity appear to have received a gift of healing by a revelation, hands shall not be laid upon him, because the matter is manifest." Part II, Section XV. As exorcism has always been seen as a form of healing, the person who acted as an exorcist was therefore already ordained as a priest, not by laying on of hands, but by the gift of G-d. So the church began to acknowledge that a priest should be an exorcist and an exorcist was already a priest. As the time passed, and fewer and fewer of the priesthood had an actual spiritual calling to the Priesthood, it became necessary for the Bishops to appoint a specific person of renowned holiness to perform the acts of an exorcist. Eventually, with the advent of psychology, the Church trained its priesthood in psychology and not exorcism.

Eventually, psychologists began to see that exorcisms worked on their patients. See Historical and Folk Techniques of Exorcism: Application to the Treatment of Dissociative Disorders, by Jean Goodwin, M.D., M.P.H., Sally Hill, M.S.W., Reina Attias, Ph.D. They, following the teachings of Dr. William James, the father of Religious Psychology, began to use exorcism as a technique of healing again.

Now it appears that the Roman Catholic Church has come full circle. According to Reuters and AP, the Roman Catholic Church is holding a special training workshop in Baltimore this weekend to teach clerics the Rite of Exorcism. The Church has signed up 56 Bishops and 66 priests for the two-day workshop that began on Friday, seeking to boost the small group of just five or six American exorcists that the Church currently has on its books. Catholic Church law stipulates that only properly trained priests can perform the rite -- and then only with the permission of their bishops.

Having performed over 100 exorcisms in the last 38 years, I would suggest that the norms that Rome is setting down are ridiculous. First of all, every believer has this gift, if called to use it. Apparently, there are not many believers in the huge Roman Catholic Church. Second, only people with the gift can perform exorcisms. The intervention of the Bishops to choose someone they want to do the exorcisms will avail them nothing. The book Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist, by Father Matt Baglio demonstrates not only the ineptness of Roman exorcists who allow gross activities to occur during exorcisms despite the commands of the Rite, but it also shows that the persons who are chosen do not have sufficient spiritual development to accomplish the task. Third, if a person has the gift, it does not take an act of Rome or anyone else to make a person an exorcist. Fourth, there is no scriptural requirement that a Bishop be informed or be involved in an exorcism. I think this attempt on the part of the Church will fail, falling flat on its face.

The reality of demons is real. The reality that there are few qualified to expel them is also real. The certainty that the people appointed to perform exorcisms must have the supernatural gift of G-d before they attempt to perform exorcisms is also a certainty. I hope that the priests involved do not get harmed by this inept and foolish attempt to circumvent G-d's methods.

"Muslim" Lands

2010-10-24T13:09:00.000-05:00

Faisal Shahzad, during his sentencing hearing, made the following statement:

"We are only Muslims trying to defend our religion, people, homes and land, but if you call us terrorists, then we are proud terrorists and we will keep on terrorizing you until you leave our lands and people at peace.

The problem I have with this statement is the claim that any land in which there is a Muslim majority is a Muslim land. I have a problem with claiming that America is a Christian land and Italy is a Catholic land and China is a Marxist land as well. Religions do not own countries anymore. One might have able to say that the Papal States was a Catholic land because the Pope owned them, but to call Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon, and Afghanistan "Muslim" countries is to ignore the people and history of those countries.

There is a dominant majority in each of these countries of one sect or another of Islam. However, Iraq has had a Jewish presence since 530 BCE and a Christian presence since 45 A.D. It is home to the Mandaeans, the disciples of John the Baptist and has Ba'hai religionists as well. No religion can claim it. Lebanon was home to the Ca'anites, the Christians, the Jews, the Muslims, the Druze, the Ba'hais, the Gnostics, the Nazoreans, the Alawi, and numerous other religious groups. Syria is dominated today by a heterodox group called the Nusairyi or Alawi. If Shahzad and many liberals who claim that America is attacking Islam were to have to prove the point, they would find that they are wrong. The war against Arabs is real. The war against Islam is not. The largest Muslim population lives in Indonesia, not in the Middle East.

Shahzad would claim that Israel is an occupied country, a Muslim country under Zionist domination. Someone forgot to tell him that there has never been a time when there were not religionists of other faiths in Israel. Judaism has existed in Israel at least 3000 years and Christianity for at least 1987 years. The United Nations declared Israel to be the homeland of the Jews, not the Palestinians.

Therefore, Muslims in predominately Muslim countries have no more right to maim, destroy, murder, and hate than any one else.

The Koran however teaches Muslims to hate. It is not a book of love. Its virulent attacks on Christianity and Judaism cannot be called loving. Is it a surprise that this virulent, violent religion engenders such hatred and warfare.

I hope that in my lifetime Afghanistan will become a multicultural mecca. I also believe in the spirit of Santa Claus and the idea that a bunny lays chocolate eggs. Don't hold your breath. It is not going to happen. Hate is strong and we have not even started loving yet.

Dominionism and the Seven Mountain Mandate

2010-10-16T15:55:00.000-05:00

Dominionism is a virulent religious theology rooted in Calvinist theology. It presupposes that the promises of the Scripture are the unique property of an elite called the "Saved" and that all others must bend the knee to their authority and power.

Dominionist theology begins with these words from Scripture:

"Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the creeping things that move on the earth." Genesis 1:28b.

Because the word living appears as part of a phrase "living things that creep", the dominionists ignore the word "rimas" and say just living things. Then they argue that the passage gives them dominion over other men, which was, of course, never the intent of the Divine author.

Now Dominionists on the basis of their supposed dominion have concluded that the Law of G-d, that is, what they say the Law of G-d is, not the Torah, should exclusively govern society, to the exclusion of secular law, especially the Constitution. The most prominent members of this group are the Christian Reconstructionists, founded by R.J.Rushdoony in the 1970's. Examples of Christian Reconstructionists and Dominionists are Lou Engle of the Call for Conscience, Mike Bickle of the International House of Prayer Movement, Cindy Jacobs, Rick Joyner, and Loren Cunningham of Youth With A Mission. In order to establish this Dominion, these men propose to take control of what they call the Seven Mountains which are 1) religion; 2) education; 3) the family; 4)the economy; 5) the arts and entertainment; 6)the news media; and 7)government. They seek to unleash a Christian Kingdom with someone like a Pope or Ayatollah ruling over the United States, Canada, and Europe and eventually the world.

Throughout the 2000 year history of Christianity there has always been a vein of dominionism embedded in the strata of doctrines. This seam has ebbed and flowed for 20 centuries, sometimes submerged, sometimes exposed. Whenever out in the open, it has given rise to horrible abuses done in the name of Christ. In the early 21st century, once again this vein is now showing and active. The first Dominionist was Judas Iscariot who tried to force Jesus' hand by arranging for his arrest. He thought that Jesus would resist and call down angels to defend himself. He was wrong and ultimately seeing that he was wrong, commited suicide, thus damning his soul. Keep in mind:

Dominionism is always an aberration of true Christian theology. A remnant of believers has always opposed it, often suffering a martyr’s fate at the hands of intolerant dominionists.

Traditional Christianity teaches:

The Gospel of Salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ and His shed blood on the cross. The emphasis is placed upon repentance and conversion of individual souls. The Kingdom of God in this age is spiritual and grows through efforts of evangelism based on teaching the Bible. It is “not of this world” (John 18:36), but a spiritual rule in the hearts of men (Luke 17:20-21). Furthermore, the Kingdom of God is only finally realized upon Christ’s second return to Earth, whereby He Himself establishes His literal and physical reign.

Dominionism teaches:

The Gospel of Salvation is achieved by setting up the “Kingdom of God” as a literal and physical kingdom to be “advanced” on Earth in the present age. Some dominionists liken the New Testament Kingdom to the Old Testament Israel in ways that justify taking up the sword, or other methods of punitive judgment, to war against enemies of their kingdom. Dominionists teach that men can be coerced or compelled to enter the kingdom. They assign to the Church duties and rights that belong Scripturally only to Jesus Christ. This includes the esoteric belief that believers can “incarnate” Christ and function as His body on Earth to establish His kingdom rule. An inordinate emphasis is placed on man’s efforts; the doctrine of the sovereignty of God is diminished.

One might truly say that this movement is the epitome of the False Prophet and in these times of difficulty that virulent totalitarianism begins to grip the souls of those who are hurting.

The Seven Mountain Mandate then is a conspiracy within the Christian Dominionist movement to put people that agree with the extreme Calvinist theology in charge of the seven spheres of influence in the world: religion, government, education, the arts, the media, the banking and financial industries, and the family. Already we are witnessing attempts in each of those areas. Good examples are Rick Warren in California and Pope Benedict XVI in Rome who are trying to reform Christianity around non-biblical principles; the Texas and Kansas State School Boards which are trying to redefine history and science; the rise of the Fox Television News and Rupert Murdoch; and the Mel Gibson's of the world who are trying to change Hollywood. We must take this challenge seriously as it is secretly attacking the very foundations of America in such groups as the C Street Residence and the Foundation.

Few organizations are as open about their mission as the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. On the section in their website dealing with the organization it says:

The International House of Prayer of Kansas City is an evangelical missions organization that is committed to praying for the release of the fullness of G-d's power and purpose, as we actively win the lost, heal the sick, feed the poor, make disciples, and impact the seven sphere of society -- family, education, government, economy, arts, media, and religion...

The believers of Christ are under attack and we must be aware of the hideous and insidious nature of that attack.

Loyalty Oath

2010-10-10T15:01:00.000-05:00

A bill was voted out of the Israeli cabinet this morning that would require all new citizens to swear loyalty to a Jewish and democratic Israel. There are those who are complaining, mainly among the Israeli Arabs who may marry among the non-Israeli marriage pool. The question is especially important both in Israel and the United States.

The State of Israel was founded in 1948 as a Jewish homeland. There were non-Jews in the territory from the beginning, but everyone understood that this would be a homeland for Jews, not for any one else. Nonetheless, Israel extended civil rights and citizenship to all who lived in the land or were later born in the land. Such an act was unusual in the Middle East as Arab nations do not extend full citizenship to Jews and Christians. Israel has 12 Arab members of the 120 member Knesset, the Israeli congress that governs the state. These members have repeatedly made it clear that they are opposed to the State whose congress they serve in. What other nation on earth allows such openly treasonous persons to serve in its legislature? However, the Jews took a stand today saying that at least new persons coming to the State should be loyal and should have to swear that loyalty.

If the Arabs were to take control of Israel, based upon the Jewish treatment in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria, the Jews would lose both citizenship and civil rights. Therefore, it is not wrong for the Jews to demand a commitment to the cultural views of the State before one becomes a citizen and those culture views include keeping the State a Jewish homeland and democratic.

What would happen if the 22,000,000 Hispanics in the United States were asked to declare their loyalty to America and our cultural values of civil rights? The so-called Reconquista seems to want to take away everything that is American and substitute a Mexican failed state for the United States. Perhaps it would be appropriate to start listening to those who complain about our country and if we find that they are proposing Reconquista they should be charged with Treason and expelled from the country with all their little bambinos. There is no alot of difference between the Reconquista movement and Hamas; neither group wants to recognize what the rest of the world sees.

A loyalty oath is worthless if not enforced. Let us hope that if a person becomes a citizen of Israel or the United States and proves disloyal that they are expelled forthwith.

Islam

2010-10-02T11:09:00.000-05:00

I have been reading the Koran. While it has some lofty words, it is difficult to call it a Holy Book. It is filled with the prejudices of a seventh century meglomaniac who speaks of Judaism and Christianity without any real knowledge. Let me give you some examples of its idiocy:

Sura V, 44: "Or it be among the Jews, -- Men who will listen to any lie, -- will listen event to others who have never so much as come to thee. They change the words from their right times and places; they say, "If ye are given this, take it, but if not, Beware!" ... For them there is disgrace in this world, and in the hereafter a heavy punishment.

This book declares all Jews liars and accuses them of changing the words of Scripture to suit themselves. And yet, when the Coptic Bishop accused Muslims of adding words to the Koran, they took offense at his words. Typical of the guilty.

Sura V, 23: "O my people! enter the holy land which G-d hath assigned to you, and turn not back ignominously, for then will ye be overthrown, to your own ruin."

This book declares the Holy Land, all of it, to be Jewish territory, and yet today we continue to fight over who owns the land because the Muslims are liars and read not the Koran themselves.

Sura V, 36: "The punishment of those who wage war against G-d (put in Islam here) and His Apostle (Mohammed), and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, crucifixion or cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land..."

The true intent of Islam is seen here. Those who do not convert will be executed, crucified, or lose their hands and feet. This religion is grossly evangelistic and forces the people to believe or suffer terrible retribution. This so-called religion is merely an agenda to wipe out Christianity and Judaism. They claim we are angry at them and want to wipe them out, when it is clear that it they, the Muslims, that are the aggressor.

I will be bringing more of the words of the Koran to you. I want to see that it is not a religion as much as a political philosophy that masks its evil in high sounding words but encourages murder, maiming, and religious intolerance while claiming that the very people who follow Christianity and Judaism are good.

Sins of the United States

2010-10-02T10:50:00.000-05:00

"If the whole community of Israel inadvertently and without even being aware of it does something that the Lord has forbidden and thus makes itself guilty, should it later on become known that the sin was committed, the community shall present a young bull as a sin offering. They shall bring it before the meeting tent, and here, before the Lord, the elders of the community shall lay their hands on the bullock's head." Lev. 4:13-15.

U.S. scientific researchers infected hundreds of Guatemalan mental patients with sexually transmitted diseases from 1946 to 1948 -- a practice that only came recently to light thanks to the work of an academic researcher. On Friday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued a formal apology to the Central American nation, and to Guatemalan residents of the United States.
"Although these events occurred more than 64 years ago, we are outraged that such reprehensible research could have occurred under the guise of public health," said Clinton and Sebelius in a joint statement. "We deeply regret that it happened, and we apologize to all the individuals who were affected by such abhorrent research practices."

I am sorry, a sorry just won't do it. The requirements of G-d are reparation and sacrifice. What was done to these Guatemalans was a crime against humanity and so reprehensible that it recalls the habits of Mongols to throw plague ridden corpses into cities to start the plague therein. How can any nation which dares to call itself civilized be responsible for such evil acts? How can the mere saying of I am sorry be sufficient.

This country through its leaders (elders) must choose a scapegoat. Some person who is most representative of what is best in this country must be punished for the whole country. The leaders must gather and declare their sin before the Guatemalan people and the whole world. They must ask for forgiveness for this horrible act. There must be a monetary payment. But more than this, G-d demands a sacrifice. This young man, this perfect American, must die for the sins of the nation. As we have rejected Judaeo-Christian ethics, we must consort with pagan ideals and kill a person, rather than a bull. We must weep. We must lament. We must agonize over our acts. We must wear sackcloth.

How can we judge others when we do crimes of this sort? Ideally, the person dying should be someone important, may be Beau Biden, or Malia Obama, or John McCain. But they must die for the sake of the nation. You say, we do not have human sacrifice; well, the Mayan people, the ancestors of the Guatemalans did, and we should turn this person over to Mayan justice so that their living heart might be ripped from their chest in payment of this crime.

Is it a wonder that people hate America when these crimes come forth? Any nation which for the sake of "science" will infect people with disease to study their reaction without their knowledge deserves to be hated. As a religious people, we must demand sacrifice by those in charge to right this wrong.

However, despite my ranting, I stand ready to make the offering necessary on the true HaKapporet, the Mercy Seat, if the President will come and ask forgiveness for the nation. I will act as High Priest in the Order of Melchizedek to save our nation, if the President will acknowledge our sin before G-d.

May G-d have mercy on our evil leaders.

Happy Sukkoth

2010-09-23T09:04:00.000-05:00

The ancient feast of Sukkoth or Booths was originally a harvest feast celebrated throughout Canaan and Lebanon and perhaps much further away. It predates Judaism and Abraham by at least a thousand years. It is the one eternal feast as it has always been a feast in Judaism and will be a universal feast during the Messianic Era. See Zechariah 14:16.

Sukkoth or Temporary Structures are built of wood and branches so that we learn the dependence on G-d. When we were traversing the wilderness of Sin, we had to leave in tents and temporary structures and during that time we learned that G-d would provide us with food and water as well as a place to stay. The feasts of Judaism always help us to contemplate the important things in life and this feast powerfully demonstrates the need to be dependent on the Divine. During the feast in Israel, the people live in temporary structures for seven days and eat better than usual food. The first two days are Shabbot and no work is done, but much prayer and joy is manifested. The remainder of the days while not full Shabbot are still more important than regular days and the activity is limited. This is a time for many families to go on vacation.

The feast is also called the Feast of the Ingathering. Now, the normal meaning is harvest and farmers throughout the world are harvesting food at that time, whether from winter or summer. The spiritual ingathering is of the believers as this is the prime feast of the Lord. It is believed that the Meshiach will return on this day to regather Israel together.

The feast is also called the Feast of Gentiles because Scripture tells us to offer 13 bulls in the Temple on the first day, 12 on the second, and so on, 11, 10, 9, 8, and 7. When the numbers are added together, we find that there are a total of 70 which is the number of the nations in the world - 69 from Genesis 10 and 1 being Israel, the latest in time. So this feast was to ingather the believing Gentiles, the G-d-fearers as well. And Zechariah says that in the Messianic Age, all nations will come to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast.

This feast is ended by Shemini Atzeret, a feast uniquely Jewish and in thanksgiving for the blessings of the Jewish people. It is followed by Simchat Torah, which means, rejoicing in the Torah. The Jewish People rejoice that G-d in his infinite Mercy wrote down the 613 Mitzvoth or Laws on the Tablets of Stone with his Own Finger and gave us the Law that would direct us in this world. It is the covenant that G-d made with us, that we would keep these Mitzvot and He would be Our God, that makes us Chosen, makes us special, makes us the latest nation, a nation set apart, a royal priesthood.

It is appropriate at the end of this small sermonette to say Happy Thanksgiving, because the feast is all about Thanks.

Social Darwinism

2010-09-17T10:40:00.000-05:00

Social Darwinism in the political sphere is defined as:

A term not widely used in Europe and America until after 1880 and then almost invariably employed as a pejorative tag, to mean the belief, based on a (?mis-)reading of Darwin, that natural selection entails the elimination of weak societies, or people, by strong ones. Popular in the innocent 1890s, social Darwinism seemed wholly discredited after Nazism. Some have seen its recurrence in sociobiology, which has therefore been controversial; but the ‘new social Darwinism’, if that is what it is, is based on the new genetics, which shows that Darwinism entails none of the racist or eugenicist inferences that were widely made between the 1890s and the 1930s (that one part of the human race is genetically superior to another, or that it is feasible and desirable to breed exceptionally good offspring from exceptionally good parents).

Part of the difficulty in establishing sensible and consistent usage is that commitment to the biology of natural selection and to ‘survival of the fittest’ entailed nothing uniform either for sociological method or for political doctrine. A ‘social Darwinist’ could just as well be a defender of laissez-faire as a defender of state socialism, just as much an imperialist as a domestic eugenist. Many of the foremost thinkers conventionally labelled ‘social Darwinist’ established their arguments independently of the findings and methods of Darwinian biology. This is the case, for instance, with Spencer and W. G. Sumner, the former being an unrepentant Lamarckist and dedicated believer in the inheritance of acquired characteristics, the latter an enthusiastic disciple of Malthus. With all of this in mind, it may very well be that the term ‘social Darwinism’ has merely a narrow rhetorical and ideological usage and consequently is of only passing historiographical interest.

Conservative Republicans and fundamentalists in every religion tend to look at spiritual things from a social Darwinist perspective. Darwinism says that the race progresses by eliminating the weakest members of society. In America, we have gone to extreme to prolong life, to keep alive those who cannot survive on their own, and to encourage those who pass on recessive and destructive genes. These ideals are supported by liberal and moderate politicians and voters because they value each individual life. They see a responsibility to allow each person to develop to their own potential.

The Scripture makes clear its position. It supports the intervention of G-d and the Holy Spirit to heal and to perform miracles. Miracles ignore Darwinism and support the ideal that every individuals interaction with the world will bring something of importance lost if that individual is gone. Healing is a vital method of frustrating Darwinism. There is no question that many of the diseases that use to kill are now controlled and, theoretically, those least able to survive are allowed to live. Paul goes so far as to say that if we give even our organs, our bodies, to the support of others with love we have done a good act. Organ transplanting is the absolute antithesis of Social Darwinism.

Underlying Conservative and Tea Party philosophies of triumphalism. We have made it, say the Tea Partiers, and we want to keep what we made. As a group they would allow the poor to die, would help only those within their church, and would condemn the oppressed to slavery. President Johnson said that America, the richest country on earth could spend enough to eliminate poverty. Yes they could, but they did not and now poverty ranks higher than ever before numerically. Over 45 million people are poor in America; that number is greater than most nations and Khruschev said what good is our democracy if people are dying and starving in America. What would Jesus do? What would Moses do?

The issue is best put before us when Cain asks G-d, "Am I my brother's keeper?" Genesis 4:9. The answer for G-d was yes. We are our brother's keeper and we owe it to him to help without destruction of his dignity. Social Darwinism is the religion of Cain. It ignores the duty to care.

This is not a political statement. I am a libertarian, not a conservative, but I do not like what is going on in America either. However, the solution is not to turn our backs on the poor, but to stop our adventurism in foreign countries.

City Life

2010-09-04T14:40:00.000-05:00

"Cain also became the founder of a city, which he named after his son Enoch." Genesis 4:17.

Nomads, which we call hunter gathers today, lived together in small groups of a family or at best a clan and moved with the wild herbivores and with the changing seasons. They spent roughly 3 hours per day in getting the food for the day, four hours preparing it, and ten hours sleeping. The spent the remaining seven hours of the day contemplating nature, talking to each other, exploring, and leading a life-style called happy-go-lucky today.

The first real effort to organize nomads to do something was at Gobekli Tepe in Turkey. There, aliens, the sons of heaven from Genesis 6:4, induced the nomads to build a temple. From that organization flowed the idea of settling down and tending crops. Cain was a farmer and lived in an organized society. Genesis 4:4. The inevitable result of farming and sedentary lifestyles is technology. See Genesis 4:20-22. The sedentary lifestyle is subject to many things which we like today, but which G-d calls evil. Evidently some thought that the city life was so reprehensible that G-d would destroy that world with water in the great flood. There is nothing left of that great civilization which lasted from 9500 BCE until 7200 BCE. It was swept away by some cataclysm, may be a flood, but whatever it was the people about 7200 years ago decided to bury the cause of their troubles and buried Gobekli Tepe with many tons of earth.

The situation in the Americas was no different. At least three civilizations were destroyed by climatic events: the Mayans, the Anasazi, and the Mississippians. These people built great cities and multiplied due to much increased crops, but G-d sent drought or other cataclysms and destroyed their civilizations.

It is amazing that in every case, the very same people who once lived in a sedentary lifestyle made use to luxuries and order easily devolved after the destruction and that devolution in most cases was worse than the problems which justified the destruction of their civilizations.

In cities of today, we see those who live in trailers, in trailer parks, as the most itinerant and most red-neck. We much fun of them and say bad things about them. And yet, I just witnessed the descendants of the Anasazi in the four corners area of the United States. Many descendants of the Anasazi have opted for an American lifestyle complete with city life and high incomes. They in giving up their devolved lifestyles and returning to city life like their ancestors live in fine houses and enjoy the benefits of modern society. While their country cousins live in squalor, complete with trailer houses, broken trucks and cars, trash, and garbage, they claim to be spiritual people following the teachings of their ancestors. Apparently, they do not mean their Anasazi ancestors of the high culture, but some devolved ancestor who was a rube even to the Anasazi.

What I conclude from my High Mountain is that G-d must be the center of your life and then it does not matter where you live.

Bucket Lists

2010-08-21T10:49:00.000-05:00

Matthew says: "So too, you also must be prepared, for at any hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." 24:33. We are to be ready for the coming of the Meshiach when he comes, but there is a corollary to this commandment; we are to have done everything in preparation for his coming. We are not to sit idly by and wait for his coming, but we are to do everything we can to prepare. The list of things that must be done before we meet our Maker is called a bucket list, from a movie of the same name.

How do we know what is on the bucket list? It differs for each person. Over your life you have felt a desire or duty to do things, like forgive people, make amends, see sites, read books, serve others, etc. and you have put them off. You put them off for a variety of reasons including finances, schedule, and more pressing duties and responsibilities and yet you continue to feel the need to do these things. What if you never get to do these things? Will your life seem complete? If the answer is no, that thing, that event, that duty, that undone compulsion is on your bucket list.

My passion is old things. I have a degree in history. I have spent much of my adult life trying to understand the origins of Judaism and Christianity. Now, I am busy trying to understand the underlying principles of western religion, both the Cult of Angels and the primitive Hebraic theology. I love archaeology. I love to visit ruins. My bucket list includes many trips to archaeological sites.

Number one on my bucket list for 25 years was a visit to Israel. Through many miraculous events and with the command of the Voice, I visited Israel for 16 days in 1997. The trip changed my way of looking at many things. I understood why seeing what I saw was important to my life.

Number two on my bucket list is visiting the Mayan and Toltec ruins. I want to understand a people who never were infected with the ideas of the West or East and developed a civilization without reference to those ideas. I am sure that visiting these sites will open my mind to whole new vistas not previously encountered. However right now, it is too dangerous to visit these sites, IMHO.

Number three on my bucket list is visiting the sites of the Ancient Pueblans (previously called the Anasazi). I intend to leave on an eleven day trip to see Mesa Verde, the Anasazi Cultural Center, Hovenweep, Chaco Canyon, Salmon Ruins, Aztec Ruins, and other Pueblan sites on August 27, 2010. In addition, I hope to understand why the Marranos, the remnants of the Nasoreans, came to Taos, New Mexico after the expulsion from Spain.

Number four on my bucket list is visiting Provence, Narbonne, and the Pyrenees to understand the influence of the Nasoreans and the Cathari on the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth century world.

I remember when reading 1 Enoch was on the bucket list. It just seemed to be impossible to read it. Then seven years ago the Voice spoke and said that if I would understand the Essenes, I must read Enoch. I did and it changed my world view.

Everyone of you has a bucket list, even if you do not know it. Try to do at least one thing on that list this year. Plan to do them all. Make clearing that list a priority. You will not be ready for the Coming if you have not finished your bucket list.

Cheat, Lie and Steal

2010-08-14T11:30:00.000-05:00

In our modern age, we take cheating, lying and stealing for granted. Our politicians do it. Our wholesalers and retailers do it. We tolerate it in our families. We eventually are corrupted and begin to do it ourselves. However, that is not the way that YHVH taught us nor the way that Yeshua taught us. At Leviticus 19:11, the Torah says:

You shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.

The word for steal is ginab which literally means to get anything by stealth. Stealing is not just taking something that does not belong to you, it is also tricking someone into giving up something that is theirs through fraud and stealth. Our elections sound like they are being stolen. Certainly, the barrage of advertising that tells less than the whole truth about a product is stealing. When we tell a woman or a man that we love them so that they will sleep with us, that also is stealing.

The word for deal falsely is kachash which literally means deceive, deny, dissemble, and lie. So this word also talks about deceit, but here the deceit is in the way that we deal with someone. When we really do not mean what we say and seek to gain an advantage by our actions, we are dealing falsely. When you say that you make a certain amount of money to get a loan for a house, when in fact you do not make enough to afford the house, that is dealing falsely. The bank that helps you, the realtor that helps you, and the loan officer that turns the blind eye also are guilty of dealing falsely. The politician that tells lies about his opponent is dealing falsely with the people.

The word for lie is shakar which literally means deceit, dissemble, and lie.

The intent of the Divine Author of this mitzvot was to foreclose all forms of lying. Our laws foreclose many of the same forms of lying, but we tolerate lying in our society. We tolerate the lie and even teach the lie. My daughter-in-law tells her child who is neither overly precocious nor slow that he is the brightest child in the world and can do anything he wants. When he discovers that he is not the brightest or the most talented, what will he think. Rather than attack his mother, he will conclude that fudging on the truth is alright.

Lies bite. They eventually come back to haunt. They can cause great harm. What is the value of the testimony of a witness who regularly fudges on the truth. And what is the value of a government that hides behind the word classified to keep its lies from being found out.

The society that existed before the Flood was a society like ours. It did the same crimes that we do. Finally, it was destroyed and if we do not change, we will fall as well.

Perhaps the greatest liars are the evangelical ministers who claim that the teach the bible and yet leave out the Torah. It is no surprise that 1/3, about 100,000,000 of our fellow citizens have refused to be part of churches which do not live up to their own standards.

My advice, stop cheating, lying and stealing.

The Laws of Prayer

2010-08-01T10:51:00.000-05:00

As you already know, sometimes what I say here is controversial. It is controversial because I do not speak the opinion of a religious organization, but rather what I see from my high mountain. Prayer is a universal activity, even among so-called atheists. Its laws are therefore universally true. Let us look at those laws and try to make some sense out of what happens.

William James, the father of religious psychology, argues in his Varieties of Religious Experience that we should not center on the why of an event as much as the event itself. We know little of why electrons move to cause electricity. We know little about how a plant actually metabolizes photons. They do. We use it. Likewise, prayer is a thing we do not understand, but it works, it has worked for millenia and will continue to work for millenia to come. However, we can deduce from observation and conversation its laws and some of our holy works tell us succinctly why prayer works, if we can read between the lines.

First of all, I want to say that I believe in El, the True G-d, and in many additional divine beings. While El is self-sufficient and unconcerned with this multiverse, many of the beings that live in this multiverse are dependent on prayer for sustenance. The draw energy and life from prayer. How that works is a mystery no less than how photons are changed into plant food through the mystery of photosynthesis. I agree with Neil Gaiman in American Gods, a 'god' is sustained by prayer. So that is the quid of the equation. Let us look at how we get the quo of the equation.

First, 1 John 5:14-15 sets forth an important law of prayer:
"And we have this confidence in him, that if we ask anything ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, we know that what we have asked for is ours."

So, the first law of prayer is praying in accordance with the Will of the Universe. I do not put the divine name of a being there because all evidence shows that the many beings in the universe that are elemental in character can do things when they grant prayer. How do we harmonize with the Universe, that is, how do we know what to prayer for. It is this corollary to the first law that causes all the problem. We do not. Those who are sensitive may sense the will of the Universe, but they do not know the will of the Universe. Why is it important to know the will of the Universe? Because the laws of chance are alterable. Scientific studies have watched mind control change the normal chance on a set of dice. It works at many levels. Those things that are in the will of the Universe when prayed for can change the normal laws of chance so that it is less likely or more likely that an event will occur. Sensitive people can sense the movements of chance and effect them. Prayer is a force that effects chance. For example, there is a 20% chance of rain. A person who is sensitive and has other sensitivity to the laws of prayer can actually increase the chance of rain to one hundred percent. We call that weather working. It is reputed that saints have this power.

The next law of prayer is a mental condition called faith. Faith comes in three varieties. When some event has always happened in a given way in our lives, we have faith from observation that it will occur again. This subjective belief is a form of faith. But there is a higher form of faith, which allows the person who believes in it to use the power for prayer. When an unusual event occurs, that is, when we ask for something in prayer and it happens, we try to recall that event and what we were doing at the time and replicate it. If we successfully replicate the event, the laws of prayer will allow the result to be the same. This level of faith creates a template in the soul which can be used for many things in the science of prayer. Constant use of prayer, that is, directed prayer, increases ones ability to pray meaningfully. The last form of faith is a result of becoming sensitive to the will of the universe and praying not only for ones own needs, but the needs of others, and using the second level to hone ones ability to saintly levels thus increasing the chance of success just as a athlete by training increases his chances of success in the games.

The third law of prayer involves multiple parties of prayers. When more than one person who has learned to pray prays, then the combined power of prayer increases exponentially, rather than arithmetically. So the power of two people praying is three, the power of three people praying is five, and so forth. That is why orders of prayers, monks and nuns, are more successful at prayer than ordinary people.

The fourth law of prayer is concentration. The concept of visualization is helps to concentrate ones intentions. Likewise, statues, pictures, congregation meetings, drugs, and other concentration devices can be used to concentrate on the object of the prayer.

Lastly, and perhaps more importantly, the being that one prays to makes a difference. Today, prayers are more likely prayed to Allah, Jesus, Buddha, and Mary than any other divine being. Naturally, as they have a surplus of power, they can alter chance more effectively and cause events to happen regularly so that the believers can benefit. However, determined cults of believers in Horus, Isis, Jupiter, Mithras, or Cernunnos, the Hag, whatever, can also be effective in altering chance and gaining results with prayer. For the atheist, even strong faith in the wisdom of man can effect things.

All prayer works. Most prayer is not useful because most people are selfish. Learning to pray is an art form. Because our prayers are heard, sometimes we raise conflict between the various beings who can ingest the energy of prayer and we will be more or less successful. One good piece of advice is to hitch your prayer life to a popular 'god' or in the alternative, find a 'god' who agrees with you regularly and hitch your wagon to them. All divine beings set forth rules for their aid and you will have to pay for it not only in prayer, but by helping others whose prayers they are answering. For instance, if you god is Mammon, the god of money, you may have to give some of your money to another as part of the requirements of getting aid from your god. Not all gods are as formal as YHWH who has set forth his rules in the Torah, but all gods require aid on earth for them to achieve the ends which gets them fed.

While I may have offended many, truth is truth. Keep praying. It works.

How Hath Thou Fallen?

2010-07-24T11:13:00.001-05:00

"How have you fallen from the heavens, Venus, son of the Dawn!" The Prophet Isaiah asks this question of Nebuchanezzar, but it is a question that is still appropriate today. Luke says: "He (meaning YHVH) has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly." Luke 1:52. Again, that is a situation that we see today. Then Luke says: "But lifted up the lowly." Luke 1:52.

In Kansas City, an attorney, a Mr. Logan, a partner in a major law firm was caught sending nude pictures of himself to an undercover agent posing as a 14 year old girl. He was too good to help the poor and brought in a large salary. He was busy making a name for him and trying to get big. Now he faces a $250,000 fine and 10 years in jail.

Gen. McChrystal had long been a general in the United States Army. He had been arrogant and constantly felt that he knew better than the civilians how to run a difficult war. He chose to arrogantly give an interview to a leftist newspaper, The Rolling Stone, and he criticized his superiors. He fell far in one night. He ended his career in disgrace.

Former Governor Vilsack is Secretary of Agriculture. He fired a mid level bureaucrat for having made racist statements without even looking at the speech from which her statements came. He found that he had been duped by a "conservative" translate arrogant blogger. He was forced to make a formal and humble apology to the President and the woman and he may lose his job.

Congressman Rangel, one of three congressmen who have long overstayed their welcome in the House of Representatives, arrogantly broke many ethical rules. He thought because he came from a district that returned him, a black man from a black district, to congress without thinking about it, that he was beyond the law. He had been the fourth ranking Democrat and Chair of the Ways and Means Committee, the most powerful committee in Congress. Now, he will be lucky if the House does not expel him.

All of these men are an object lesson to us about arrogance that becomes unbridled, just as Nebuchanezzar's arrogance became unbridled. He sought to sit his throne next to G-d's throne, they sought to become above the law. See how the mighty have fallen.

On the other hand, Ms. Sherrod admitted that she was human, that once she had had racist thoughts against a white farmer, and then had an epiphany and helped him and his wife save their family farm. She used her recognition that she was a racist to help alert other minorities to the racism that is so rampant among minorities. Fired by Vilsack, she now has been offered another, tailor made job. One might ask why. Well does wrongful discharge, slander, and libel sound familiar. She has a good suit against the blogger, Fox TV, commentators, Vilsack, and the government. Of course, they want to quiet her down. But her honesty may well allow her to retire in style and I wish her well. The lowly have been raised up.

Let these lessons be remembered by my readers and may they take them to heart.

The Nephilim: A Racial Memory

2010-07-16T11:39:00.000-05:00

Those who attack the Torah because they disagree with the history put forth in it do not recognize that the historical sections are not the memories of G-d, but the traditions of those people who inherited the commandments. No one, in their right mind, would argue that history in the Scriptures meets the standards used by modern historians to record the events of the past. First and foremost, the historical sections of scripture are not history as such as much as remembered events that have been explained and colored by time. However, for each and every historical statement in the Torah there is a kernel that remembers a real event and tries to present it to us for our consideration.

One of the most powerful ideas in the book of Genesis is the pastoral ideal. It argues that hunter-gathers and shepherd nomads are more moral than people who live sedentary lives. While all of Genesis supports this principle, I want to look at the kernel of this idea and see if I can make some sense for you from it.

Genesis 6 says:

“And it came to pass, that when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, the Sons of the Archangels, saw the daughters of mankind that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And YHVH said, ‘My Ruach shall not always contend with mankind, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.’

There were Nephil (Giant bullies) in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the Sons of the Archangels came in unto the daughters of mankind, and they bare children to them, and the same became powerful, which were of old, men who had made a name for themselves.

And YHVH saw that the wickedness of man was great in the land, and that every imagination of his heart was always evil. And it YHVH repented that he had made man in the land, at it grieved him in his heart.”

The passage implies that humans lived much longer in the ideal world of the hunter-gathers than now. It suggests that there were giant bullies in the earth. Now, we might well ask if this was a story about giants in general as they always seem to be bullies. But, there is another passage that adds to our knowledge of the Nephilim. Deuteronomy 3:11 introduces us to Og, King of Bashan. It says:

“For only Og, King of Bashan, remained of the Nephilim; behold his bestead was a bedstead of iron; … nine cubits was the length thereof and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.”

So these tyrants, these bullies, were truly huge. A cubit is about 20.6 inches so the bed would have been 6’10” wide and 15’6” long. Truly a man needing such a bed would be huge and it is normally thought that this man was about 9 feet tall and appropriately wide for a muscular person. According to Torah, there were an entire race of these people. Now, the Torah does not say that the Nephilim are the descendants of a union between angels and women. It says that the children of the angelic-human hybrid were like the Nephilim in that they were likewise huge and became famous. What is the basis for this story?

Author Tom Knox in the Genesis Secret offers his opinion, but he does not go far enough in my opinion. He argues that the Nephilim came from the north because genetic science has shown that the competition for survival in colder climates produces taller, smarter people. He argues that survival has made the northerners more aggressive and violent. He argues that the hominid Giganthropus may well have been the origin of the legend. He argues that the Nephilim may have separated due to warfare and one part came to a place called Gobekli Tepe where they taught the hunter gathers to be sedentary. They also taught them how to farm, to domesticate animals, to dominate the surrounding peoples, to worship, and to kill and eat other humans. Thus, all that is evil in the world today, war, competition, and cannibalism, both real and symbolic, was a result of the Nephilim’s influence. The Book of Enoch greatly expands on the sins of the Nephilim and that book was a central theological document for the Essene-Nasorean faith. Enoch goes so far as to say that the Nephilim were the sons of the angelic-human hybrid.

What he does not say and what should be added is that the religion of the Nephilim may still exist. It is called the Cult of Angels and has three distinct denominations: the Yezidi, the Alawi-Nusairi, and the Alevi. The argument is made by the scholars of the Cult of Angels that the Cult is at least 8000 years old and that it has influenced all the major world religions, from Zoroaster and Hinduism, to Bahai and Mormonism. Further, it should be noted that Gobekli Tepe is the oldest known temple built by hominids and that all domestication of wheat and the early domestication of pigs took place within close proximity of Gobekli Tepe in the area of Kurdistan more anciently known as Edessa.

It is therefore appropriate to argue that perhaps these Giganthropi came from elsewhere. After all, geneticists have confidently said that all humanity came from Africa, even though Jomon pottery in Japan implies a separate origin of humanity. Dr. Zechariah Sitchin, a man who has been much reviled, has shown that there is a great connection between the concept of the Anaki, that is, the ancient gods of Sumer, and the archaeological and philological data in southern Iraq. He concluded from his study that man may have been influenced some 12000 to 30000 years ago by travelers from a twelfth planet. When he said these things, Pluto, the alleged ninth planet was the fartherest out of planets. We now know of additional planetoids out further and larger than Pluto. Is it possible that we could have been visited by beings from another planet, the so-called Sons of the Elohim and that those left behind were gigantic and bullies. No one can say for sure, but the racial memory recorded in Scripture claims that it happened and it is on this basis that the anti-urban bias arose in the Scripture. Clearly, mankind’s interaction with these beings was not good for mankind.

I do not endorse nor refute Tom Knox’s story. I do consider knowledge of what he says and the scientific evidence which he interprets to be interesting, illustrative, and worthy of contemplation.

A Jealous God?

2010-06-29T11:39:00.001-05:00

Exodus 20:1-5 sets forth the first two commandments according to the earliest account. It says: "And Elohim spoke all these words saying, I am YHVH, your Elohim, which have brought you out of the Land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other Elohim before my face. You shall not make yourself any graven image, or any likeness of anything in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for YHVH, your Elohim, am a jealous El, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me."

YHVH tells us through the authors of the Torah that he is a jealous G-d 9 times. It is interesting that YHVH makes a point of telling us not to worship other g-ds, not because they do not exist, but because He is Jealous. One cannot be jealous without something to be jealous of. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that there are other Elohim. And yet, all of the Elohim are children of El, the Highest. When Moses gave the Torah, he believed in other G-ds. He believed in the G-ds of Egypt and Mesopotamia, and Cana'an and other people's g-ds. In fact, he did not claim that we should not believe in other gods. He merely said that we should not worship them. Deuteronomy 32:8-9 specifically admit that YHVH is the god of Jacob's people, and not any others.

The Pharisees claim that there is only one G-d. I do not disagree with them on that point. But, they claim that the only G-d is YHVH when neither he nor the Torah say that it is true. Rather, we are taught repeatedly that there are other G-ds and that the Highest G-d is El, his title being Elyon, the Highest. El is one. He is not five, seventy or any other number. But, he is not known either. Our only interface with him, according to Scripture, is YHVH in the form of Yeshua ha Meshiach. Is it wrong for people to worship other G-ds. The answer is no. If they are not the children of Jacob, they should worship their own g-ds and not YHVH. The one thing that is true from a scriptural point of view is that while YHVH is jealous, he does not deny the existence of other gods nor claim those who belong to other gods.

Yeshua was a xenophobe. He wanted to free Israel. He did not want to convert gentiles. Why? They had their own gods and he did not want to interfere with their worship. So where did we go wrong. How did we get to the place that there was only one Elohim and it was not El. Paul, as usual, did not understand Nasorean tradition or scriptural interpretation. He did not know that most Jews believed that there were other G-ds. He mistakenly thought that if one converted to Judaism, one affirmed not only that YHVH was your g-d but that there were no other g-ds. There is no evidence that Jews in the time of Yeshua ever thought such an idea.

Fortunately, the True G-d El is not jealous. He lets us believe in Allah, YHVH, Yeshua, Brahma, Vishnu, Krishna, Marduk, Isis, Horus, etc. without becoming alarmed. Why? One is not jealous of ones children, if they are they sane. El tries not to get involved in the interpersonal relationships of the Elohim. He appointed YHVH their King and expects that he will run the Universe well. Be not confused. El is G-d, there is no other. The others who call themselves G-ds are Elohim, the sons and daughters of El.

BEFORE THE GREAT WHITE THRONE

2010-06-22T15:47:00.000-05:00

There is a song that like a few others of the same genre speaks so loudly to a person of faith that we find ourselves transformed by the words. David wrote the Psalms in this way. They were words that came from deep within a heart that was transformed by the light of the Holy Spirit. It is perhaps significant that the writer of the song that has captured my imagination is a Cohen, a priest of the People.

The song goes like this:

There was a time you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show it to me, do ya?
And remember when I moved in you
The holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah.

You say I took the Name in vain
I don't even know the Name
But if I did, well really, what's to ya?
There's a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah.

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool ya
And even though
It all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah.

Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah.
Hallelujah, Hallelujah.

The song although it is about the failed mission of Yeshua, failed in the view of some at least, applies to all of us. Each of us will approach the Great White Throne with all our successes and all our failures. Any failures are total failures and none of us has a right to heaven, a right to bliss. Yet, Hallel, the Accuser, will claim that every indiscretion, every mistake, is sufficient to deny us bliss. Ultimately, we must stand before the Lord of Mercy who sits on the Great White Throne and listen to our crimes and failures. What can we say? What words can change the truth? The song gives us the answer: With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah.
Ultimately, the job of all of us is to meet life with the words: Praise You the Lord, Hallelujah. Don't quibble. Stand before that Throne knowing that we deserve whatever we get and simply say: Hallelujah.

Seafood vs. Marijuana, Man's Law vs. G-d's Law

2010-06-17T19:20:00.000-05:00

As you know, this blog is dedicated to looking at the world situation from a higher place, a place that is removed from the emotions of the world and set clearly in Scripture. Tonight I wish to speak again about what I call popular and increasingly Evangelical Protestant morality and to compare that morality with the Torah, the only law given by G-d.

Before we start, I want to briefly talk about one of the largest misconstructions in the many false statements found in Pauline writings, because it provides the basis for much of this false morality. In 1 Corinthians, Paul says: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from G-d, and that you are not your own?” 6:19. Now the passage is arguing against prostitution and seeks to convict the believers to avoid prostitutes and argues that a prostitute and person who has the Holy Spirit are incompatible and that believers should not have intercourse with prostitutes, not because it is wrong, but because it defiles or makes unclean the body which is owned by the Holy Spirit. However, in Ephesians, the Pauline writer says that the believer is only one of the many who are being built together into a temple. Ephesians 2:21-22. Likewise, in 1 Peter 2:4-5 we are told that we are living stones being built into a spiritual house. The result of looking more carefully at what Paul is saying is that the believer is not by himself a temple, but merely a stone which may be rough or perfect depending on his spiritual growth. Paul, like the writer of Ephesians and 1 Peter, agrees that we should avoid things that are bad for us, but he does not insist that the State forbid those things which are bad for us. His letter in 1 Corinthians was not a new law, but merely an explanation why believers should not do that which is temporally lawful, because it is spiritually bad for them.

With that said, the Torah tells us some foods which are lawful to ingest and some foods which are not lawful to ingest. Genesis 9 lays down some general laws that are applicable to all the children of Noach, which, of course, all of us are. G-d says: I give them all (meaning the living creatures) as I did the green plants. Genesis 9:3. Moses tells us that G-d forbade to the Hebrews these animals that came from the water: “But the various creatures that crawl or swim in the water, whether in the sea or in the rivers, all those that lack either fins or scales are loathsome for you and you shall treat them as loathsome. Their flesh you shall not eat, and their dead bodies you shall loathe.” Leviticus 11:10-11. Now, Jesus made these laws effective on Gentile believers when he said in Matthew 5:19-21 that the law was still effective and had not passed away.

The Wisdom of Jesus ben Sirach says: “G-d makes the earth yield healing herbs which the prudent man should not neglect; … he endows men with the knowledge to glory in his mighty works, through which the doctor eases pain and the druggist prepares his medicines…” Sirach 38:4,6-7. Marijuana comes from a green plant and has many medicinal qualities. Opium, heroin, and hashish come from a green flower and have long been used as pain killers. Cocaine comes from a plant many of us like very much, the coca plant, the source of chocolate. All of these plants are lawful to the believer. Using them and eating them is lawful. On the other hand, shrimp, lobster, crab, mussels, scallops, oysters, squid, and octopus are not lawful and are called loathsome and forbidden to man.

In our society, we have denied the civil rights of persons, we have incarcerated person, we have forbidden the sale of green plants, we have allowed warfare in our streets and neighborhoods and we have brought Mexico to civil war for the sake of interdicting something that is lawful under G-d’s Torah. At the same time, we wring our hands and cry foul against the destruction of the seafood industry in the Gulf of Mexico, an industry altogether loathsome to the Almighty. We want to break a mighty company and limit resources of this country rather than stop this unwholesome and loathsome industry. Evangelical morality makes marijuana illegal and shrimp legal. Evangelical morality makes the murder of babies legal, but the execution of criminals illegal. Evangelical morality seeks to impose its view of what is good against G-d’s view of what is good. From where I sit, high on my mountain, I shake my head and try to understand how G-d’s law is rejected and man’s law is adopted.

The eating of forbidden seafood desecrates the Temple of G-d much more than using cigarettes and marijuana. The eating of forbidden seafood is loathsome to G-d, but marijuana, cocaine, heroin, etc. are not.

Apostolic Succession

2010-06-12T10:01:00.000-05:00

Roman society valued things with a long history. They liked antiques and antique philosophies. They wanted pedigree. Judaism had a pedigree. It stretched back long before there was a Rome and so Rome put up with the idiosyncracies of Judaism until 70 CE with the exception of plural marriage. Rome saw the sects of Judaism as one church, not 21 churches and so they did not make great distinctions between the sects based upon the distinctions that the sects made between themselves.

The Nasorean Movement as I have said before started between 168 BCE and 97 BCE. No one today can be sure as to when the Teacher of Righteousness began his exile and when he began to form a new philosophy within Judaism. However, by the time of Yeshua, three young men had been prepared to be the Three Pillars of the Nasorean movement; they were Yohannan (John) called the Baptist who was to be the High Priest, Yeshua bar Yotsef (Jesus) who was to be the King, and Ya'akov (James the Just) who was to be the Prophet. When Yohannan was executed, many of his disciples remained loyal to his teaching of strict asceticism and obedience to the Essene theology. Many more of his disciples came over to Yeshua who had discovered during his faith crisis that he was Melchizedek returned. Melchizedek was considered Divine and a Heavenly Being by the Essenes. The followers of Yohannan became the Mandaeans of today and even now they call there leadership, Nasoreans, but the followers of Yeshua coalesced around the apostles and especially the Apostle James Alphaeus called the Just One after Yeshua's death.

While the Apostles were alive, Paul and his heresy were not successful. The Apostolic tradition was Jewish with the addition of belief in Yeshua as the Meshiach. The idea of a succession was completely different for the early church, because when an Apostle began to travel and to spread the faith, another was appointed to sit on the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem. Eusebius records there names in his Ecclesiastical History as Richard Bauckham argues in his Jude and the Relatives of Jesus in the Early Church. Thus, the Apostolic Succession took place during Ya'akov's 34 year reign, by replacing the Apostles who were now gone from Jerusalem. Jerusalem was the source and center of the Nasorean movement and of the true faith.

After the destruction of Jerusalem and the removal of the church leadership to Pella, Antioch, Rome, Alexandria and even Byzantium began to have significance in establishing norms upon which the church would function. As James Tabor has said, with the destruction of Jerusalem, being a Jew fell into disfavor in Rome and gentile believers sought to separate themselves from any Jewish taint. One of the first things to go was the Sabbath. After making the initial decision to break with Judaism, in its form as the Nasorean sect, the Paulines created a doctrine which became known as supercessionism which said that the Pauline heresy superceded Judaism. The idea was contrary to the teachings of the Apostles and the stated teachings of Jesus. It even contradicted the later teachings of Paul in Romans 11. Nonetheless, this idea further separated the Apostolic Church that descended from Jerusalem and the apostles from the false and unJewish teachings of Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria.

In the late second century, a Pauline theologian who lived in Africa, one of the most famous, Tertullian, became a follower of Montanus and Prisca and Priscilla, a prophet recognized by the Church and later anathemized when he started teaching that Prophets were superior to Bishops. The Didache had already settled this issue. Prophets are superior to Bishops. Tertullian considered that issue settled as well. The Church responded that the Bishops were the successors to the Apostles and that their succession was the only legitimate church. Tertullian responded in the following way: he wrote the Pope of Rome, who was his Patriarch, that the early bishops were in communion with Jerusalem and each other, an idea he called Communio. He said that the early Bishops also had traditio, for him that traditio or tradition was probably the teachings of Origen and eventually Arius. They certainly were not the teachings of the Apostles, for the Pauline Heresy had deviated too much from Judaism at that time to find the true Tradition of the Apostles. Lastly, and most tellingly, he argued that Peter and the Apostles had potestas or charismatic power. They could heal, teach with power, prophesy, perform miracles, raise the dead, and do the things that Yeshua had done. Montanus could do those things as well. Tertullian said that the Pope was wrong to support Montanus as he was well within the Apostolic tradition. From his writing, the ancient churches: the Nestorians, the Monophysites, the Orthodox, the Romans, the Anglicans, and the Lutherans derive the doctrine of Apostolic Succession.

While I do not deny that there is a valid Communio or Communion of the Bishops in these churches with the Apostles, I deny that they have either Tradition or Power and therefore while not denying the possibility of Apostolic Succession, I do deny that anyone has it today.

The Nasoreans would allow their Patriarch to be ordained by a Bishop within the Communion of the Apostles. As we have a Jewish tradition, consistent with the early Church in every way, we have Tradition already. As our Patriarch regularly heals the sick, casts out demons, and performs miraculous acts, and whereas, he has raised the dead and picked up the snakes, and multiplied objects, he has performed all the acts of Potestas or Power. We teach that our Patriarch if ordained would be the beginning of a new Apostolic Succession.

However, it would be unfair of us not to mention another form of succession, one which a particular church has, and to note that although that church lacks tradition, it does have a succession of importance. Likewise, there is another church, an ancient church, which maintains much of the ancient tradition and many of its bishops may have performed some acts of Power. It wish to mention without fully commenting on them. The first church was founded by a Prophet and in accordance with Ephesians 2 can claim that it rests upon the foundations of the Temple not made with hands in that its Prophet was ordained a Bishop and laid hands on the subsequent bishops of his Church. That church is called the Church of God in Christ. The other church likewise mainly composed of black people is Ethiopian Coptic Tahwedo Orthodox Church which maintains many of the Jewish traditions including the kosher rules.

To reiterate, I believe in Apostolic Succession. I deny that any bishop in the world has it. I propose a method to re-establish it.

One Nation Under G-d?

2010-06-09T11:24:00.000-05:00

As I have demonstrated in the past, the G-d of Israel is YHVH, but He is not the True G-d. The True G-d is El who is Shaddai and Elyon, that is Almighty and the Highest. There are additional G-ds which the Scripture calls "foreign G-ds". Deuteronomy 32:12. Each nation listed in the Table of Nations (See Genesis 10) plus Israel have their own G-ds. So which of these G-ds is the one that our country is under?

This nation is a melting pot. There are people from all seventy of the ancient nations that live here. But the Highest G-d, El, is Lord of all the G-ds; he is the True G-d and it is under him that we live, under Him that we exist. Does he care about any nation or people? There is no evidence in Scripture for that claim.

So is there someone else that cares about us? In Psalm 82:1, it says that YHVH stands in the Assembly of the G-ds and makes judgment. Now, judgment is the prerogative of the King or Viceroy. Psalms 82:6 says that the Assembly is the composed of the Sons of El. So we can presume that the judgment is made in the name of El, by his viceroy or prime minister. The name of the King of Heaven, the Viceroy of G-d, is YHVH. So, He cares about us, not just his inheritance, the Jews, but about all of us, in the same way that the Queen of England cares about her people as well as her family.

The answer then to the question which G-d is the Nation under is all of them and which one is in charge, YHVH, for He is the King of Heaven. In fact, Psalm 24:1 denies the constant claim that the earth is Satan's domain. It says the earth is YHVH's and not just part of it, but all of it. So, the earth is YHVH's domain as he is King and he is the G-d that we are under.

Well then, is America a Christian nation? No. It is not. It is a nation under the protection of all the g-ds and especially of the G-d of Israel, YHVH. If you must say that this nation is under one G-d, which it is not, then you would have to say it was a Jewish nation, because it is under the Jewish G-d. America is therefore unique. It is inextricably connected to Israel. As goes the people of Israel, so goes America.

Are there foreign policy implications to this truth? Well, sort of. While there is no need to support the false secular state calling itself Israel, there is a need to support the Children of Israel who live there. They are being oppressed by the Children of Ishmael and Esau in an age old war. We must choose which side we are on in this war. If the so-called Palestinians, in reality, the Edomites, had demonstrated that they could control the borders, provide peace and security and respect human rights, we should support them. But, this is not true. The atheist and secular government of the so-called state of Israel has done a much better job of protecting the borders, providing peace and security and respect for human rights. At this time, our country should demonstrate the required prayfullness for Judah and Jerusalem by supporting Israel. The time may come when that is not true.

One Nation Under G-d -- that we are, but may be it should be ONE NATION UNDER ALL THE GODS.

How Kosher?

2010-05-30T11:39:00.000-05:00

In the time of Yeshua, a major issue between the Zaddoki (Sadducees), the Farsi (Pharisees) and the Nazori (Essenes)was the issue of how to put the Torah Mitzvot (Ordinances) into practice. The Zaddoki said that the Mitzvot should be read literally and put into practice as the Torah commanded. The Pharisees said that the Mitzvot must be made to fit practice and so they prescribed rules, traditions of practicing the Mitzvot so as to fulfill the Torah. The Nazori stood in the middle. They believed that the Mitzvot had to be interpreted to fully understand the meaning between ever ordinance, but they objected to the so-called "fence" around the Torah that would further legislate how a Mitzvot was to be carried out in practice.

Today, thanks to the Nazori, Karaism continues the Zaddoki tradition. The rabbinical Jews have continued the Farsi tradition. We, the Nasorean Orthodox Qahal seek to continue the Nazori tradition.

In the restatement and codification of the Mitzvot that we call Deuteronomy, we find this overriding principle:

"In your observance of the Mitzvot of YHVH, your G-d, which I enjoin upon you, you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it." Deut. 4:2.

This overriding principle is the essence of the difference between the Jewish sects. The Nasoreans teach that all regulations of any sort must be interpreted to put them into practice. On that point, we agree with the Rabbinical Jews. But, we believe that we must interpret the regulations with the help of the Voice. So, we oppose the codification of the methods that each individual person or congregation uses to carry out the Mitzvot. The Voice interprets the Torah in such a way as to make it meaningful to every believer. It is inherently wrong to force the method that seems right to one on another who likewise hears the Voice. Let us see how that affects the practice.

Deuteronomy 14:21 says: "You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk." The passage is self-explanatory. It involves boiling a goat in milk from its mother. It does not involve boiling a calf in its mother's milk. It does not involve putting cheese on meat. It does not involve gravy in general. Yet the passage is mentioned three times in the Torah and must have been important to the Divine One. The Zaddoki would forbid the boiling of a kid in its mother's milk, nothing more. The Pharisees have constructed an entire legal system based upon separation of milk and meat. Neither is correct. One, by failing to ask the Voice why such a law exists, fails to understand the regulation. The other by building an entire legal system has firmly sentenced rabbinical orthodoxy to eventual death.

We, Nasoreans, teach that there is a spiritual bond that exists between a child and its mother. In Leviticus 22:28 it says: "You shall not slaughter an ox or a sheep on the same day with its young." The principle of boiling a kid in its mother's milk and of killing the child and the mother on the same day imply a spiritual bond between the animals based upon blood. We reject the separation of milk and meat, but we support investigation into the spiritual bond between a child and its mother. We think it is that bond that is spoken of in Torah.

Another passage that gives concern is Deuteronomy 6:8-9 which says: "Bind them (meaning the Mitzvot) at your wrist as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates." The Farsi would have us put on tefellin each morning with prescribed prayers and much effort. They prescribe that a phylactery must be put on the wrist and on the forehead and the leather strap which holds them must be from a kosher animal and wrapped a certain way around the arm and the head. The passage does not require such specification. The Nasoreans say a simple prayer each morning and don a mezuzah. The point is the same, the mezuzah rests on the breast over the head and arm. How is that any different from the intent of the passage.

All in all, the Nasoreans reject the simple literalism of the Zaddoki and the complicated codifications of the Farsi in favor of a recognition of the Mitzvot and a declaration from the Voice as how to keep it.

Ultimately, it is not the act but the spirit of the act that makes any act holy. Many of the Mitzvot of the Torah are no longer important nor relevant. One has to specifically wear a robe upon which tallits or tassels may be added. But the tassels should remind us of the Mitzvot and the G-d who gave them. Are people any less observant in the simplicity of our ways than in the formalism of the Farsi ways. I would argue that we have the same spirit as they do in our concern for the Mitzvot if not in the much expanded practice. So is wrong to do what the Farsi do. There the passage is undeniable. Declaring that it is sin to eat a hamburger with cheese on it is heresy. It violates the letter of the overriding principle that one may not add to the law. How Kosher? That is for you to decide.

American Morality vs. Scriptural Morality

2010-05-19T10:21:00.000-05:00

In America, we talk about morality, but in reality we mean popular morality, which changes with the season. The Scriptures provide a more certain morality, one that stands the test of time. We have to be aware that when we stand judgment before that Throne on High, it will not be by the morality of America, but the morality of Scripture that we will be judged.

I want to talk about two areas of Scriptural morality that are in direct contradiction to American morality at this time and place. First, I want to talk about an oil spill. Whoever is responsible for that oil spill is being required to pay for the costs of the oil spill. In the front line asking for payment are the shrimp, crab, and lobster fishermen. The scripture specifically forbids the eating of shrimp, crab, and lobster alone with all crustaceans. So, asking the oil companies to pay them for their loss of profits is sort of like asking the road construction company to pay the prostitutes for messing up their street corners. The shrimpers were immoral to be fishing for shrimp, crab, lobster, clams, oysters, etc. paying them for their lost earnings, earnings based upon immoral activity, is wrong, just plain wrong. In stead, we should rejoice that this immoral activity has ceased in the same way that we do not fret over the loss of income for a prostitute.

Second, Numbers 35:30 according to the New American Bible says:

Whenever someone kills another, the evidence of witnesses is required for the execution of the murderer. The evidence of a single witness is not sufficient for putting a person to death.

Matthew 18:16 says the words of Jesus on the subject and he says:

If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, sot that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’

In Kansas City, right now, we have just had a man arrested for murdering his wife; his name is Shon Pernice. His wife’s body has never been found and no one was a witness to her alleged murder. There is apparently enough evidence that, without the challenge of critics, it shows a circumstantial case indicating that she was murdered and that more than likely Shon Pernice was the murderer.

In the ancient times, it was always required that one have a “corpus delicti” in order to try a person for murder. Not so today. And even worse, despite the fact that there is no body, there is no witnesses. Scripture is clear. There must be a witness to the murder and further, for you Christians, there must be two witnesses to the murder. Trying Shon Pernice is immoral, let me say it again; TRYING SHON PERNICE FOR MURDER IS IMMORAL. We should be concerned about what is happening because there have been more than 200 people released from death row after clear evidence was presented showing that they did not commit the murder. Our system of trying people is not particular successful already and to try people without witnesses, solely on circumstantial evidence, is wrong and immoral.

The question should be asked. On the day of judgment who will be sent to Hell, the judge and jury or Shon Pernice. I trust that the Great Judge in Heaven will be just and follow His own law. The Judge and the Jury will go to Hell.

Do not mistake my desire to see morality in my country for coddling criminals. If a man or woman is convicted of murder, he or she should be punished by death, but they should not be convicted unless the State has at least two witnesses to the murder. I would rather that these people go free than stand before the Great Judge and say that I have assisted in the violation of his Law.

Balance

2010-05-17T08:41:00.000-05:00

There is a new blog called Have You Read Balance Today? http://haveyoureadbalancetoday.blogspot.com/ In his single statement, the author bemoans the fact that the Bible is not accurate on some things, contradicts itself on others, and that Christian dogma does not agree with the Bible on other matters. He finds that his "faith" has vanished and he has to rethink everything that he believes.

While I understand what he is going through, I have several things to say about what he concludes. First, the Bible does not say that it is infallible, nor even the word of G-d. When interpreted as the Jews interpret it, the Bible comes closer to truth. Even the statement in 2 Timothy 3:16 limits the applicability of the Bible to teaching, refutation, correction, and training in HOLINESS. It does not include teachings on natural philosophy and science. Second, those who believe that the Bible is literal truth have fallen into the heresy and sin of deifying a book rather than G-d and therefore have another G-d before the True G-d. Third, Science seems to change daily. All you have to do is read the science sections of magazines and the newspapers and you find ample evidence that science has either had to rethink something it previously believed or has had to expand and explain things it previously believed. Darwinists, true Darwinists, are as benighted as Creationists. NeoDarwinism rejects some basic tenets of Darwins theories, mainly the claim that evolution has to been slow and is consistent.

Scripture, throughout the pages and including those books excised or not included, supports the truth that a Voice speaks to man. Who that Voice is remains to be seen, but people are not inherently insane because they hear Voices, only when they act irrationally because of what they hear. All the Prophets heard G-d's Voice and St. John, the Evangelist, says in Chapter 10 of the Gospel that "his sheep will hear his Voice."

Balance should not been just between Science and the Bible but should have spiritual content as well and that is given by the Voice.

Rational believers should challenge every tenet of their personal faith yearly. They should ask themselves, "do I still believe this?" Rational people grow, learn, discover and that makes them better than other people. Most people do not have critical thought. They believe what they read, hear, and sense as true and never challenge it. Critical thought is not bad. It is from Doubt that Faith arises.

I agree with the conclusion that Balance comes to about the True G-d. He is not here. But he has left many very powerful entities behind that we must work with and acknowledge. The fact that YHVH is not the True G-d should not lead you to the conclusion that you can ignore YHVH, for He is In Charge. He is the King of Heaven, the Creator, the Sustainer, and the Destroyer. Now, He may not be the Ultimate, the Eternal, the Everlasting, but unlike the True G-d, HE can Learn and Grow and sympathize with those of us doing the same. His Seven Incarnations have taught Him much about Us. I believe all the g-ds of old were real and none of them were G-d. I respect and revere them today, next to YHVH, of course. Why do I come to this conclusion? I have read the same sources that Balance has read, but I have the Voice and got a different conclusion from reading those passages.

Consider if you will, how would it change my faith, based upon the Voice, if it turns out that Adam did not live on Earth and that life was seeded on earth from elsewhere. No change. I am not affected by this knowledge. The Voice that I hear, that tells me to listen to Science and the Bible, is still there. It has not gone away.

So, while I rejoice and support Balance, I urged him today to continue his growth, for it is not over.

Resurrection of the Body

2010-05-15T10:44:00.000-05:00

Last week marked the fortieth day after the Resurrection of Yeshua ha Meshiach which is called Ascension Day. This day is important because of what it implies for all of us. I thought it would be good to talk about the doctrine of the bodily resurrection from the dead at the end of time of all persons of which this day is a precursor.

In the earliest written book of the Bible, Job, we find these words according to the New American Bible:

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He will at last stand forth upon the dust; whom I myself shall see: my own eyes, not another’s, shall behold Him, and from my flesh I shall see G-d.” Job 19:25-27.

With these words, the discussion of Resurrection must begin. The Prophet Job says that he has faith that he will see G-d in his own flesh and not another’s flesh. This idea does not allow for a resurrection of a spiritual body, which may well occur as well. It proposes a physical resurrection. It is this doctrine of faith that is well attested in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Mormonism.

The Prophet Ezekiel says in Chapter 37:

“Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! See! I will bring spirit into you, that you may come to life. I will put sinews upon you, make flesh grow over you, cover you with skin, and put spirit in you so that you may come to life and know that I am the Lord.” 5-6.

In this graphic form, Ezekiel continues the discussion of Resurrection. There must have been many who doubted Job, but Ezekiel added to his words and told us with graphic certainty that the resurrection would be of our bodies, just as we have them today, not some other body, not some spirit body, but the body we have today.

Paul, the heretic, raises the question again in 1 Corinthians 15:12-17 where he says:

“But if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching; empty, too, your faith. Then we are also false witnesses to G-d, because we testified against G-d that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, and if Christ is not raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins.”

He raises the question even higher. He says that the ultimate proof of the doctrine of resurrection is found in the resurrection of the Meshiach. For if the Meshiach is raised, then the doctrine is true and all of us shall be raised as well. While I consider the way in which Paul presents the argument as spurious, nonetheless, the point is well taken. We are not saved by resurrection, nor solely by the resurrection of Yeshua, but rather his Ascension into Heaven and his ministry as High Priest of Heaven. However, that High Priesthood is dependent on the Resurrection of Yeshua and without it, we are still in our sins. Why would we fear death if we are not going to meet the Supreme Judge sometime in the future? Why would we fear death if there is no judgment on our very bodies? The judgment is reserved for the end and will not occur except in our own bodies. Therefore, the Resurrection is the proof that we will have a final reward or punishment.

In the Book of Revelation, St. John the Revelator says:

“I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Yeshua and for the word of G-d, … They came to life and they reigned with Meshiach for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over.” 20:4-5.

St. John assures that those who were the highest of saints would be resurrected first and only later would everyone be resurrected. However, his testimony is entirely consistent with the teaching of ages.

Why is this doctrine important for us? Without this doctrine the threat of judgment would have no meaning and it is the threat of judgment that keeps the world in check. Ultimately, the fear that after death is the judgment keeps the most hardened tyrants in check for fear that they will suffer the pains of Hell. Many say that this threat is bad because it creates a false appearance of holiness and makes people be good from fear. I do not agree. There is no lack of mercy in the threat, but there is a promise of justice and G-d is equally Just and Merciful.

This event of Ascension Day therefore brings to mind the real import of Resurrection which most of us ascribe to at least in passing.

El Elyon = Shang Di?

2010-05-12T10:51:00.000-05:00

It always seemed strange to me that if G-d was truly universal, that is, the G-d of the whole world that he would not speak as clearly to one people as to another. In reality, YHVH was never a G-d for the whole world. He was the particular G-d of the children of Israel. See Deuteronomy 32:8-9. But, YHVH’s father, El, the Highest and Almighty G-d claims to be the Lord of All the World and Father of the G-ds. Surely, if this claim is true, others would have heard about Him as He would have spoken to them and would have sent his Prophets to them as well.

The Hebrew culture although ancient was not the only ancient culture. The people of Mesopotamia and of Egypt were certainly as ancient and also the people of the Indus Valley were ancient. One other people were very ancient as well: the people of that area of the world now known as China.

Ethel Nelson published an interesting article on this subject in Creation 20(3): 50-53. Here is a partial reprint of her article:
ShangDi, the Creator-God of the Chinese, surely appears to be one and the same as the Creator-God of the Hebrews. In fact, one of the Hebrew names for God is El Shaddai, which is phonetically similar to ShangDi. Even more similar is the Early Zhou pronunciation of ShangDi which is ‘djanh-tigh’ [Zhan-dai].4 Another name for their God which the ancient Chinese used interchangeable with ShangDi was Heaven (Tian). Zheng Xuan, a scholar of the early Han dynasty said, “ShangDi is another name for Heaven (Tian)”.5 The great philosopher Motze (408-382 BC) also thought of Heaven (Tian) as the Creator-God:
‘I know Heaven loves men dearly not without reason. Heaven ordered the sun, the moon, and the stars to enlighten and guide them. Heaven ordained the four seasons, Spring, Autumn, Winter, and Summer, to regulate them. Heaven sent down snow, frost, rain, and dew to grow the five grains and flax and silk so that the people could use and enjoy them. Heaven established the hills and river, ravines and valleys, and arranged many things to minister to man’s good or bring him evil.’ 6
How did ShangDi create all things? Here is one further recitation from the ancient Border Sacrifice rite:
‘When Te [ShangDi], the Lord, had so decreed, He called into existence [originated] heaven, earth, and man. Between heaven and earth He separately placed in order men and things, all overspread by the heavens.’ 7
Note that ShangDi ‘called into existence,’ or commanded heaven and earth to appear.
Compare this with the way the Hebrew text describes the method of creation by El Shaddai, who, we suspect, is identical with ShangDi, and the similarity in name and role would suggest:
‘… by the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. … For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast’ (Psalm 33:6, 9).
The New World Encyclopedia says:
Shangdi (上帝, pinyin: Shàngdì, Wade-Giles Shang Ti), or simply Di (帝), is the High God (or Clan Ancestor) postulated in the earliest-known religious system of the Han Chinese people. The term can literally be translated as "Emperor (or Sovereign) Above," "Lord On High," "Highest Lord," "the Supreme God," or "Celestial Lord." While such terminology implies parallels with the divinities of the world's monotheistic traditions, two important differences must be acknowledged: first, while Shangdi was understood as a patriarchal ruler deity, this conception was not conflated with a role in the cosmogony; second, He was seen as one deity (ancestor) among many.[1] In this way, Shangdi bears more similarities to the dyeus figures in Indo-European religions (e.g., Zeus, Jupiter, Tiwaz) than to the God of Jews, Christians and Muslims.
However, when we look at the statements in Exodus 6:2 and Deuteronomy 32:8-9 we see that this view of G-d was held by the earliest Hebrews and was transmitted to us in the Torah. El Elyon is Highest G-d literally and El Shaddai means G-d the Almighty. (Note from Rabbi Albin.)
This being said, Shangdi is also the name given for God in the Standard Mandarin Union Version of the Bible, though shen 神 (lit. spirit or deity) was also adopted by Protestant missionaries in China to refer to the Christian God. Much like the ancestors, Shangdi is never represented with images or idols in Chinese tradition.
Just as the descendants of Jacob have conflated the power and authority of the Father G-d El to his Son YHVH, so we find that the Father G-d Shang Di has his power and authority conflated to Tian, the Lord of Heaven.
What conclusions can be drawn? First, that the true G-d is El or Di; that YHVH and Tian are children of El or Di: that the people of Earth have been misled into worshipping the Son and not the Father, who is the True G-d; and that we have a duty to restore the Truth to the world and worship again as was intended.

Amen

2010-05-08T08:58:00.000-05:00

The word Amen in Hebrew means "to be true." It has come to mean, "I agree." The spiritual condition that believers must be in with the Divine Voice within them is described by the word Amen. One must accept that the Voice is speaking for G-d and react to the Voice with the kind of certainty that allows one to say, Amen.

In 1991, my family took a vacation to Hot Springs, Arkansas. We stayed in a nice condominium on the lake there. On August 26, 1991, the thirteenth Covenant Day, the Voice told me to celebrate the day by climbing Lookout Mountain in pilgrimage to the Lord. I went into the quaint downtown of Hot Springs and found a formal path a the bottom of the mountain. I knew I could have driven up to the top, but I was on pilgrimage and wanted to walk. I knew that there were less onerous paths to the top, but I chose to walk up the side of the mountain on the footpath that was most strenuous. I huffed and I puffed to the top.

When I got to the top, there was a large parking lot in front of the visitor center and the look out. I sat down on a wall that surrounded the parking lot and waited for the Voice to speak to me. After 45 minutes of waiting, I said to the Voice, "What do you have to say to me on this Covenant Day?" The Voice said, "I told you to go to the top of the mountain and the top of the mountain is on the other side of the parking lot." So I went to the other side and sat down and waited for the Voice. Finally, after 45 minutes more, I said to the Voice, "I am here. What do you want to say to me?" The Voice said, "You must quit your job."

I liked working as the Social Services Attorney for the State Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services. I had worked part-time for them for five years. I did not want to quit. In addition, I was concerned about what my wife would say. I came back to the condo very troubled. I sat on the porch overlooking the lake and rocked. It began to rain, harder and harder, still I sat there. My son, Thomas, came out and asked what the Voice had said. I said, "Don't tell your mother, but the Voice said to quit my job." He said, "What are you going to do?" I said, "I don't know."

I did not quit my job. My wife blew up at me in October and demanded that I leave. I told her I could not at that time, but that I would on December 1, 1991. On November 19, 1991, I was fired from the job I loved so much. I often wonder how things would have turned out had I obeyed the Voice and quit my job. Would I have lost my wife? Who knows.

I learned that I had not yet perfected my Amen. I did not say yes. I just waited because what the Voice wanted conflicted with what I wanted. It is like that in life. Sometimes what we want and what the Lord wants for us conflict. We have a choice to say Amen or not. I failed that time and have tried, now that I have not had a wife for 19 years, to always say Amen. Let G-d deal with the consequences.

Smooze

2010-04-30T13:41:00.000-05:00

In our society, sophisticated people know that other sophisticated people do not speak the truth. It is acceptable in that stratification for people to say pleasant things to lull the unsuspecting person into believing that you want what they want. It is acceptable to make promises that one cannot keep. It is acceptable to say one thing to one person and tailor what was just said to another in a different way, that is, to spin it. Sophisticated people do not rely upon smooze or sweet talk or whatever you call it. If they want a serious answer to a serious question, they resort to writing things down and having someone sign what was said. But how would Jesus look at that and how should we look at smooze.

Matthew's Gospel reports that Jesus said, "Let your 'Yes" mean 'Yes', and your 'No' mean 'No. Anything more is from the evil one. Matthew 5:37. In the early Church, there was a sin called double-tongued. The Didache at 2:4-5 says, "You shall not be double-minded or double-tongued; for duplicity of tongue is a snare of death. Your speech shall not be false or vain, but fulfilled by deed."

Our President and Senator John McCain sparred with each other in the last election. Each made promises and statements about how they believed. Neither has done what they said and some of what they promised to do, each could have done with a proper vote or the stroke of a pen. Yet, these men are the role models for us and our children. They are some of the worse offenders of the commands of Jesus and any claim that they are not vicious and viral sinners is false. But we put up with this activity, because we do it ourselves. People who get ahead in this world must learn to smooze. You can be assured that he who is successful in people oriented professions must be double-tongued and double-minded.

But on the day of Judgment, the Lord will say to these people, I never you because you promised great things to many people and did none of them.

Let me urge my readers to reject the teachings of this world. Tell people what you really mean, and do not allow silence to be misinterpreted. Turn away from a environment of lies and seek the truth. I know a man who is convinced that he is a saint and yet he does evil every day with his mouth. It is not surprising that Ephesians calls the only offensive weapon in the armory of the Christian, the Word of G-d that will splint flesh from the bone.

Should Governments Be Involved With Religion?

2010-04-26T05:44:00.000-05:00

The first answer to this question from a biblical perspective is yes. From the earliest time, religion supported the ruler and thus the ruler supported religion. Such an arrangement seemed natural to the people from the beginning and those who made up the majority of any locality expected the government to support their religion. In those rare cases in which the government or the ruler converted to a new religion, inevitably the government forced a new religion on the people. Such an event occurred in Israel after the accession of David as King. Scripture does not record what occurred in clear terms, but we see in the pronouncements of the Yahwist a state interest. Certainly, we see a strong state interest in the Deuteronomist.

Up until the accession of David, the people of Israel believed that YHVH was the G-d of Israel. There were other gods in Egypt, among the Canaanites, in Chaldea, in Babylon, in Assyria, in Hatti and other countries. Everyone knew that YHVH was the son of El and that he was appointed to rule over Israel. Deuteronomy 32:9 confirms this fact. But after the accession of David, we see the government moving for centralized control of the state and as it did, it sought to control the religion as well. The people who worshiped YHVH as their King also worshiped Ba'al who claimed Kingship in Lebanon; Asherah, their sister; and El who is called Elyon, the Highest, and Shaddai, the Almighty. Slowly, in the time after David and up until the reign of Josiah, we see what is called conflation in which the nature, power, and interests of first El, then Ba'al and finally Asherah are attributed not to them but to YHVH. He becomes the only G-d, not just the G-d of Israel. This conflation supported the centralization of the government which eventually suppressed religious sites at Arad, Bethel, Shechem, Nob, and Samaria in favor of Jerusalem.

In America, there was no supreme G-d. Jehovah was certainly the G-d of the Protestants. The Lord was the G-d of the Catholics. YHVH was the G-d of the Jews. Manitou was the G-d of the Iroqois and other Great Lakes Indians. Allah of the Muslims was here as well. Also, there was the Great Architect of the Masons and the Deist G-d who was far away.

The Masonic point of view held sway in America. Every man should believe in a supreme deity and no man should discuss in public that belief. Such a position became the official position when the Constitution forbade the establishment of one G-d over another. No preference was made for any g-d and certainly the Founding Fathers had no truck with atheists as Masons considered atheists as morally degenerate. The Constitution does not establish a religion, but neither is it inimical to religion. However, even the Declaration of Independence, the most radical of documents, treasonous in the new nation, mentions Nature's G-d and gives sway to his right to know why a people would separate themselves from another people who have the same G-d.

The American Government is not supported by religion per se although Mormonism makes Americanism religious. Because many people, motivated no doubt by the same natural empathy as those early Hebrews, feel that the state and the church should uphold each other, want the American government to be controlled by religious opinions, we have seen an upsurge of religious involvement in matters of the state. Such a position is biblical. Such a position is well within the spectrum of what the people in America felt in the time when the Constitution was made. However, the founding fathers lived in States which had a state religion. The Constitution did not seek to disestablish any of the State religions and there is no indication that it did. In our unique system, the 10th Amendment reserved to the States the power to influence religion. I recognize that the Supreme Court has not dealt directly with this question and its rulings about the 10 Commandments on the courthouse steps have been inimical to this concept. But, the Supreme Court has a long history of usurping the 10th Amendment and needs to be re-educated. The current Sovereignty Movement is the first step towards re-establishing the limited sovereignty of the States and ultimately State Religion.

The situation is better now than it has been. When I first started practicing law, a new congregation, a non-denominational congregation, had to jump through many hoops to declare its existence for purposes of taxation. The congregation had to have a method of educating its clergy, had to have a process of ordaining its clergy, had to maintain strict records of giving, had to account for its money, and was generally overseen by the government. When the Servants of G-d Evangelical Mission was formed in 1981, it received some substantial support from one person and thus as that one person gave more than half of its support, the congregation was deemed a private foundation and subjected to significant public scrutiny and control. All of that has changed. Now, a group of people may ask the government for a federal employer identification number declaring that they are a religious congregation and the granting of that number is sufficient to exempt that new congregation from further scrutiny. They use that number to gain exemption from state sales tax and local sales tax. They use that number to open bank accounts which are not subject to federal review. While the Supreme Court was busy throwing the Ten Commandments out of every courthouse, but its own, Congress was reaffirming the separation of Church and State by removing the previous controls. Nonetheless, the actions at Waco and with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of LDS show the government still involved with the suppression of religion.

In a pluralistic society, morality must be decided by the Church. There is no room for 536 legislators in Washington and 9 Jurists on the Supreme Court to dictate what is religious and what is not. If we are to avoid the inherent dangers of a state church, dangers well documented in the histories of all the continents, we must allow a full separation of Church and State with a clear understanding that the State will neither encourage nor discourage belief, not just religion, but belief. The right to be an atheist must be supported so that those who are on the other side may exist. Plural marriage is biblical and must not be stopped. Bigamy laws are inherently Christian and date from Roman times, when Rome set the rules for religion. Morality must be controlled by the Church. At the same time, as the State steps back from Church control, the Church must step back from political actions such as the accumulation of guns and participation of the church in politics. Separation is complete only when both sides desist from attempting to control the other. All laws governing marriage must be abolished. Only the Church should support the institution of marriage. The State cannot support this institution without becoming involved in issues of who can perform marriage and who may be married. Let the Churches decide who they will marry and how many they will marry.

The State has a legitimate interest in registering and understanding the stated positions of every religious group, for the sole purpose of defining the boundary between the two. The State has a legitimate right to require the Church to stay out of politics. The State must desist from morality. The State must not adopt the morality of the majority and make it law. Few people would want to follow my strict rules of morality, forbidding the showing of any part of the body by either sex in public; forbidding the sale of pork in America; stripping the seafood industry of its right to exist; strictly governing the sale of meat and the treatment of animals; and numerous other acts which the Torah requires. Likewise, dancing, drinking, and gambling are not problems in same gender situations are always allowable, in my view. Religious prostitution should be exempt from state oversight. No one thinks that the biblical injunctions should be strictly enforced, but the State should not become involved with deciding which ones are allowable and which ones are not.

The legitimate concerns of the State are the maintenance of a system of order, the protection of the property rights, the guarantee of human rights, and support of parental rights. In doing those important acts, it may need to have a standing defense force, a foreign policy, and post and defense roads. The clear gifts of authority from the States to the Federal government should be respected. But, the States should begin a new dialogue not only with the Federal Government but with Religion to define their role in the declaration of morality. Some states with a strong history of religious tolerance like Rhode Island may support new religious ideas more easily than Maryland with a strong Catholic bent. People may move to those states where their religion is most free, like California for instance. But for the most part, the Federal government should not be involved with religion and the State government should become more involved with religion.

As in all things, these musings come from my background as both a religious person and a lawyer. Feel free to comment.

Immanent Return?

2010-04-17T10:23:00.001-05:00

In Acts 1:11, Luke records that some people had gathered together about 40 days after Passover and Yeshua had ascended into heaven on a cloud and then two men appeared and said, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Yeshua who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven."

Luke is the only person making this claim that Yeshua would return. He never knew Yeshua and relies entirely upon the statements of others. The alleged persons who were present at the Ascension are unnamed. Mark's Gospel has two endings, neither of which is considered original. John has no Ascension nor does Matthew. The doctrine of the return of Yeshua to the earth rests upon the veracity of Luke in reporting what others have said. No jury would believe him.

The Apostles including Paul believed that Yeshua would return in their lifetimes to change the world. It did not happen. As late as the second century, when 2 Peter was written, the idea of the return was firmly established and yet had not happened. The author cautions the believer not to be hasty. The time of Yeshua's return has been set many times in history and he has not shown.

With all due respect, the belief is false. We have waited almost two thousand years and Yeshua has not returned. Yeshua would not even recognize the religions that still say his name.

However, I do not attack the Christians for their belief. Based upon the Prophets, Jews still await a Messiah who was prophesied to be here even longer ago than the prophecy of Yeshua's return. That event has not happened either. By the standards of Deuteronomy 18:20, it is permissible to ignore the claim of Yeshua's return and the coming of the Messiah. Based upon the same statement, we can ignore the statement in Chapter 18 that G-d will send someone like Moses. That has never happened either.

In reality, the expectation of an end time and an ultimate destruction of the earth is silly. Not only are we certain that the event will occur, it frankly has nothing to do with religion or spirituality. Only recently have scientists (Stephen Hawking) and politicians (Barack Obama) understood the real issue which is we must leave this planet and establish humanity elsewhere to protect the continuity of the species and we must begin to plan for the deflection of space rocks that can destroy us.

Believers live in the present. They do not live in the past or the future. Belief in the immanent return is not conducive to faith or reason. It justifies cruelty of man to man and justifies sinfulness based upon the length of time one believes he or she has until some prophetic event occurs.

As an article of faith, the belief in the coming of the Messiah and in the return of Yeshua should be eliminated. Frankly, this world is inhabited by millions of beings who know the truth, but are not seen or recognized by most humans, owing to a lack of the ability to see into their light spectra.

We should live our lives as if today were the last day on earth and we will meet our maker tomorrow. We should remain as sinless as possible in preparation for that event. It is certain. All of us will die. Waiting for some long expected, but non-occurring event, is not a way of life; it is a way of insanity.

Shavuot Celebration

2010-04-11T10:28:00.000-05:00

There is a strong following for this blog in the Kansas City area. I want to invite all of you to come to a Shavuot (Pentecost) celebration on the evening of May 20, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. CDT. Each participant should feel free to bring fresh fruits, new vegetables either cooked or raw, kosher meats, desserts, and drink. We will have a potluck meal. Those wishing to come must rsvp at netseri@kc.rr.com and I will respond with telephone number, address for the event, and answer any questions. Your early response for purposes of planning would be encouraged and appreciated.

Pedophilia

2010-04-10T09:52:00.000-05:00

The correct translation of Leviticus 18:22 is: You shall not lie with a boy child as with a woman. It is an abomination. The passage just before it says: You shall not let any of your seed pass through the fire of Moloch, neither will you profane the name of the Lord thy G-d in this way. I am YHVH. So the two passage together talk about child abuse and forbid them. One actually speaks of the detestable act of sacrificing your child to another g-d Moloch, more fully Ba'al Melech, the Lord King. The other speaks of the detestable act of having sex with your young male child or any young male child. We believe this law was written around 1,000 years before the new era, the Common Era.

In the Common Era, we find the Nasoreans writing this: You shall not corrupt young boys. Didache 2:2. The word in Greek is paedophilia from which we get pedophilia. These words were written sometime between 63 and 95 C.E.

Throughout, human history men have been having sex with young boys. We certainly cannot classify this as homosexuality because 1) these men are often having sex with their own sons thus they are more than capable of heterosexual acts; 2) the young boy is a victim of a more powerful person and has no choice; and 3) the person committing the act either pays for it, uses his authority to get it, or merely rapes the child. Pedophilia is an act of violence, of rape.

While we would like to blame the celibacy of the Catholic Church for the despicable acts of some of its priests, such a view is not true. While all Jews hate celibacy as being contrary to nature and denying the manhood of the men who choose it, nonetheless, the same reasons make a celibate rape a child as an active sexual person: rape, power sex, and abuse of power.

One other point must be made about pedophilia. It is pagan worship. Such acts were allowed in the pagan world and not condemned. Some would have you believe that there are no other G-ds, but such a statement is not true. The earliest first commandment forbade Hebrews from worshiping another G-d more than or placing another G-d over YHVH, but it did not forbid their worship. YHVH says that he is a jealous G-d. It is hard to be a Jealous G-d if there are no other g-ds.

Chastise these people who commit pedophilia for their rape. Punish them for their acts of abuse. But it is high time we remove the religious overtones of their acts, because freedom of religion does not extend to rape.

Pope Benedict and St. Malachy's Prophecy

2010-04-04T11:24:00.001-05:00

There is a famous prophecy by someone which is attributed to St. Malachy, an 1139 Bishop of Armagh in Ireland. It predicts each Pope from Celestine II in the period of the saint until the present day by giving a Latin phrase that will help to identify the Pope. It is not terribly important who wrote the prophecy. It is much more important to decide whether the prophecy is true. In order to make some decision on the prophecy, one needs to look at several of the last popes to see if they met the prophecy.

Pope Benedict XV ruled during a time of particular unrest. The Latin Motto of the Prophecy of St. Malachy said of him Religio Depopulata, religion laid waste. Religion was laid waste during his papacy in the form of World War I, the Spanish flu, and the October communist revolution in Russia.

Pope Pius XI who ruled from 1922 until 1939 was called Fides Intrepida, intrepid faith. This Pope issued an encyclical letter condemning Nazi racism, signed the Concordat which created the Vatican City State and added 700 million lira to the Vatican treasury. He played with fire throughout his reign and very truly had an intrepid faith.

Pope Pius XII who ruled from 1939 until 1958 was called Pastor Angelicus, or angelic pastor. This pope was known to be very mystical, and it was believed that he received visions. His writings added greatly to understanding of Catholic beliefs and church doctrine. During his reign, Pius exercised Papal Infallibility in defining dogma when he issued, on November 1, 1950 an apostolic constitution, Munificentissimus Deus, which defines ex cathedra the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven, on the request of the heavenly father.

Pope John XXIII who ruled from 1958 until 1963 was called Pastor et Nauta, or shepherd and sailor. Prior to his election he was patriarch of Venice, which is a maritime city, famous for its waterways and gondolas.

Pope Paul VI who ruled from 1963 until 1978 was called Flos Florum, or Flower of Flowers. His personal arms bore three fleurs-de-lis, the heraldic charge best known as that in the arms of the French monarchy. Fleur-de-lis literally means "flower of the lily": yet the medieval flower par excellence was the rose, not the lily; and many popes have borne various flowers in their arms.
The fleur-de-lys has the meaning of purity and chastity in Catholic religion. This is based upon scripture. Paul VI published his encyclical Humanae Vitae subtitled On Human Life, on July 25, 1968. In this encyclical he reaffirmed the Catholic Church's traditional condemnation of artificial birth control.
Pope John Paul I who ruled for 33 days in 1978 was called De Medietate Lunae, or From the midst of the Moon. Albino Luciani, who later became Pope John Paul I, was born in Canale d'Agordo, diocese of Belluno, which name is similar to bella luna or beautiful moon. He was elected on August 26, 1978, the day after the moon reached its last quarter, and reigned for 33 days, approximately five days longer than a lunar cycle. He died the day before the new moon. However, a much simpler explanation might be that he was born on the day of the half moon: on October 17, 1912, the moon was in its first quarter.
Pope John Paul II who ruled from 1978 until 2005 was called De Labore Solis or of the work of the Sun and may well relate to his travels. Everything important about the man was done in the full view of the public and therefore he labored in the sun. It also is important to note that this motto relates to laboring and this Pope came from the worker state of Poland while it was communist.

Pope Benedict XVI who is the current occupant of the Papal See of Rome is called Gloria Olivae or the Glory of the Olive. Probably this motto was met by taking the name Benedict. However, during his papacy we will see if other connections arise.

There is serious speculation about how the prophecy is put together at this point. It appears that it says:

“Gloria olivae, in persecutione extrema S.R.E. fedebit. Petrus Romanus, qui pascet oues in multis tribulationibus: quibus transactis ciuitas septicollis diruetur, et Iudex tremẽdus iudicabit populum ſuum. Finis.”

This motto can be read Glory of the Olive. In extreme persecution, he will reign. Peter the Roman, who will nourish the sheep in many tribulations; when they are finished, the city of seven hills will be destroyed, and the fearsome Judge will judge His people. The End.

The current difficulties of this Pope over his involvement in protecting pedophiliacs within the Church can have a number of results. There is an additional prophecy describing this Pope as dying in exile. In that result, the College of Cardinals could depose this Pope and send him into exile or he could be charged with a crime in Great Britain and held in house arrest there when he comes for an apostolic visit later this year. If this happened, one might say that the church was in extreme persecution and that his reign reflected that fact. In the additional prophecy, this Pope dies in exile so I think that it is more likely that he will be indicted in Great Britain and held there until his death. I do not see the Cardinals deposing him for his involvement in pedophilia and do not see him actually being convicted of conspiracy to commit pedophilia.

There is much speculation about the next Pope. Some say, seeing the last judgment occurring during Peter the Roman’s reign makes them very uncomfortable. However, the nature of prophecy is that one cannot foretell with certainty how it will play out. What if the prophecy means that Rome, the city of seven hills is destroyed by some disaster. While the Catholic Church would have us believe that the words “his people” means all humanity, in fact one might say that the god of the Roman Catholic Church is Apollo, the Sun G-d, and that the Catholic Church is Apollo’s Portion. (See Deuteronomy 32:8-9). If one understood the prophecy in this way, it would be the Catholic Church which would meet the fearsome Judge who will Judge the members of this Church. The Prophecy predicts the end of the Papacy, but it may not predict the end of the world.

I think it likely that Christianity and Catholicism will continue, but the organization of the Church will look much different, much more like Orthodoxy or Anglicanism, much less like Rome with its solitary head. I say that because none of the other signs of the end have been fulfilled and I do not believe that the end is near.

Confessor Scott Roeder Sentenced

2010-04-02T11:40:00.000-05:00

Confessor Scott Roeder was sentenced to life imprisonment yesterday. Showing his commitment to justice and his acceptance of G-d's will he did not recant or show negative emotion. He continued until the last moment to try and save the judge, the Damned Warren Wilbert. He now becomes the leading political prisoner in America and deserves our full prayer and support during his illegal and immoral incarceration.

Some may not understand what an exalted personage Scott is. In ancient times, a confessor was thought to be a saint. Wikipedia says: the term confessor's oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith, but not to the point of death. The term is still used in this way in the East. In Latin Christianity it has come to signify any saint, as well as those who have been declared blessed, who cannot be categorized by another title: martyr, apostle, evangelist, or virgin. As Scott is now a living saint, we are privileged to be able to ask him to intercede with the High Priest Jesus for a our sins. Having given up his life to save numerous others, Scott may now minister to each of us in a greater way.

It is, of course, incumbent on us to try to get him free so that he may have a wider opportunity to intercede for us. You may do that by writing Governor Mark Parkinson and requesting that he pardon Scott, but do not count on it. I suspect it is G-d's will to allow Scott to continue incarceration among those whom G-d most wants to save for he promised to set the prisoner free.

During this Easter week, Christian everywhere should remember Scott when they think of Yeshua climbing the hill to be executed and we should rejoice with all the angels that he chose to change the Law and allow each of us access to the saving power of his body and blood.

I for one will be dedicating my kiddush tonight to St. Scott and urge all of you to do the same.

The Last Supper a Seder Meal

2010-03-28T11:27:00.000-05:00

Professor James Tabor questions whether the Last Supper was in fact a Seder and on many of the issues that he raises, he is correct. However, on some matters he is clearly not correct. First, he asserts that there was no Seder per se until after the 2nd Century C.E. Actually, the meal associated with Pesach dates back before the Hebrews adopted the customs of the first pilgrim feast from the pagan shepherds in Canaan. As Seder means order, the order of the meal may have changed and is open to change today.

Second, Professor Tabor accurately points out that the alleged meal that takes place in the Synoptics cannot have been as stated because of the difficulties in the dating. If in fact as the Synoptics say, the Seder occurred on a Thursday evening; that would have made Pesach occur on the Friday. No High Priest or observant Jew would have held a trial on Pesach. A trial is clearly work and to do work on the High Sabbath of Pesach would have been a grave sin. This particular Pesach would have had a double Sabbath as the next day, the first day of Unleavened Bread, would have been the regular Sabbath of the week. Again, no trial would be allowed on that day. How do we resolve the problem? John’s Gospel has the Seder occurring on a Wednesday. Matthew clearly says that Yeshua was a Nasorean in Matthew 2:23. Therefore, it follows that he and his disciples would have followed the Essene Calendar. On that particular year, the Essene Pesach was a day earlier than the Farsi and Zaddoki Pesach. Thus, Yeshua would have had his Seder on Wednesday evening and been tried on Thursday, which was the day of preparation for the Farsi and Zaddoki. As a result, the trial could have been held on Wednesday night and Yeshua would have been executed on Thursday.

On the other hand Joachim Jeremias in his book The Eucharistic Words of Jesus lists at least 14 distinct parallels between the Last Supper Tradition and the Seder Meal. In his Biblical Archaeology Review article, Professor Tabor says:

“The Jewish holiday of Passover commemorates the Exodus from Egypt. The roots of the festival are found in Exodus 12, in which God instructs the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb at twilight on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan, before the sun sets (Exodus 12:18). That night the Israelites are to eat the lamb with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. The lamb’s blood should be swabbed on their doorposts as a sign. God, seeing the sign, will then “pass over” the houses of the Israelites (Exodus 12:13), while smiting the Egyptians with the tenth plague, the killing of the first-born sons.
Exodus 12 commands the Israelites to repeat this practice every year, performing the sacrifice during the day and then consuming it after the sun has set. (According to Jewish tradition, the new day begins with the setting of the sun, so the sacrifice is made on the 14th but the beginning of Passover and the meal are actually on the 15th, although this sequence of dates is not specified in Exodus.) Exodus 12 further speaks of a seven-day festival, which begins when the sacrifice is consumed (Exodus 12:15).
Once the Israelites were settled in Israel, and once a Temple was built in Jerusalem, the original sacrifice described in Exodus 12 changed dramatically. Passover became one of the Jewish Pilgrimage festivals, and Israelites were expected to travel to Jerusalem to sacrifice a Passover lamb at the Temple during the afternoon of the 14th day, and then consume the Passover sacrifice once the sun had set, and the festival had formally begun on the 15th. This kind of celebration is described as having taken place during the reigns of Kings Hezekiah and Josiah (2 Chronicles 30 and 35).”
Whether the Seder of Yeshua was the same as the modern Seder is not the point. The point is that Yeshua used the Seder Meal in a ritualistic way to change the nature of the sacrifice. Using a Paschal Lamb in his Seder, he reinterprets the bread and wine as sacrifices and declares thereby that the discussion, even debate, within the Nasorean-Essene Community over the sacrifice of animals is now resolved. The Bread and Wine of the Seder replaces the bloody sacrifice and we are returned by the shedding of Yeshua’s blood on the cross to an earlier time, the time of Melchizedek, in which an universal sacrifice was made available to all the world. Yeshua acted as Melchizedek Returned and changed the sacrifice of Moses back to His earlier sacrifice and thus acting as High Priest he not only consecrated the sacrifice at the Seder Meal but paid the price of the change by offering his own body as the Sacrifice necessary to change the covenant of G-d and eliminate the Bloody Sacrifice. All of this Yeshua did in accordance with the Torah and those who do not celebrate the sacrifice in this way both at the Seder and at the weekly remembrance of the Seder on Friday night remain in their sins and will therefore suffer in the future for their sins.
While the sacrifice is now available to everyone, not everyone will participate equally in the grace of being chosen. As Scripture says, first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles goes the blessing of G-d. Persons who join themselves to the spiritual Israel and begin to keep the Torah and the Sacrifice can claim to be grafted onto the Tree of Life, but contrary to those who would say that Israel has lost its claim, the Nasoreans, who have not changed in 2100 years still are the Tree of Life and those who join with us will be saved; as Paul says from the opinion of the early community, all Israel will be saved.
As a result of this great truth, we can say at the end of the Seder “Next Year in Jerusalem”, for each of us can claim the blessings of the Tree of Life by beginning to keep the Torah and to seek out the Sacrifice that is celebrated by the Tzaddik Baruch and those he ordains to the Priesthood as Melchizedek High Priest of G-d. Then that person can say they have been grafted on to the Tree of Life and will receive on the blessings of G-d.

The Making of a Modern Exorcist

2010-03-26T09:22:00.000-05:00

Arrogant is defined as "haughty, having or showing too high an opinion of one's own position or rights, contemptuous of others. In a new book, "The Rite: Making of a Modern Exorcist", Matt Baglio talks about the making of Father Gary Thomas, a long time priest, into an exorcist. The book is well written and well researched. It presents the Catholic view of the Devil and of the phenomenon called exorcism. The description of the exorcisms are believable and supportable from the countless anecdotal reports of those engaged in this ministry. I highly recommend the book for those who would like to see how the Catholic Church is dealing with the modern recognition of the existence of demons and the Devil.

However, the book presents a church which is arrogant to the extreme. While ignoring the words of scripture, the church states that only bishops may authorize exorcisms and only priests appointed by the church have authority to do exorcisms. While repeatedly pointing out that in the early church exorcisms were a normal ministry of laity, the church arrogantly claims that any attempt to deviate from Catholic norm is disobedient and a sign of demonic presence. The church arrogantly claims that only it among all of Christianity is capable of performing valid exorcisms. The church arrogantly claims that only Christianity is capable of casting out demons and all other religious traditions are practicing magic, which it roundly condemns.

First, I would say that I have performed the ministry of exorcism, first as a lay person, and then as a Rabbi for 38 years, more than double the time of many of the persons spoken of in the book. Even the chief exorcist of the Roman Church, Father Amorth, has not been doing exorcisms as long as I have; he has only done so since 1985. While I have the rank of bishop, I do not need nor do I have the permission from the Pope to perform exorcisms. Having performed at least 100 exorcisms in 38 years, I have been accustomed to seeing the responses and have learned the information that the book presented without the teaching of the Church. The Holy Spirit, Michael the Archangel, and Raphael the Archangel were my teachers. Further, no demon has ever said to me, "Rabbi, you do not have authority over us" or "Rabbi, you forgot to get the Pope or the Bishop's approval and therefore we do not have to go." In fact, the Apostolic Tradition of St. Hippolytus specifically says that a person who heals, another part of the exorcism ministry, is already ordained and does not need the intervention of the Church to authorize his or her ministry.

Second, the Scripture in the book of Acts (19:13) talks of Jewish exorcists using the name of Jesus. When speaking of Jewish exorcists, we cannot be sure who Acts is speaking about but they were clearly not Nasoreans, because the early church attests to the authority of Nasorean ministers to cast out demons. There are exorcism prayers in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the book of Tobit, which even the Catholic Church holds to be canonical, teaches that the Archangel Raphael, the Archangel of Exorcisms, can cast out demons and did so in the book with a magical rite which is called theurgy. So we see that the Jewish authority in exorcism is just as firmly established as the Catholic authority.

Lastly, every major religion and most minor religions have methods of performing exorcisms and are successful in that ministry.

Therefore, the arrogant Catholic claim that it is solely authorized to perform exorcisms is without basis or factual authority and is in fact an act of pride, a sin by Catholic standards.

Nonetheless, I heartily support the position that the Catholic Church has taken in regard to the growing infestation of demons in the world. Not only are there many more infested with demons (probably because 2/3 of all people who have ever lived are alive today), but also the general moral state of humanity is at such a low ebb that demons find a welcome home when they come knocking on ones door. When I speak of a low moral ebb, I am not talking about drugs, abortion, promiscuity, homosexuality, etc. because these things are symptoms, not causes. The problem is a materialism that demons can offer to aid. The problem is a selfishness even among religious that makes them want fancy houses instead of service. The book makes a point of saying that the exorcist needs to be in a state of grace when performing is ministry because the demon can read the exorcist's heart like a book and can play on his deficiencies.

Material Idols

2010-03-20T11:13:00.000-05:00

The YHVH told Moshe, "Thus shall you speak to the Israelites: You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven. Do not make anything to rank with me; neither elohim of silver nor elohim of gold shall you make for yourselves." Exodus 20:22-23.

The Ten Sayings are the first part of the chapter in scripture. But along with the primitive statement of the Ten Commandments we also find this passage which goes far to explain the mind of the Archangel. He says that you must not make anything to rank with me. What do we make that ranks with G-d. In this time of March Madness, does basketball rank with G-d? How many people will prefer basketball to church? How many will spend a thousand dollars on a trip to see a favorite team play but will give little or nothing to the poor people of Haiti or Chile? How many will rush home to watch their new HD Plasma TV? How many want to play that new video game? There are many things today that we "make" to rank with G-d. Some will let the book rank with G-d. Some will allow a particular preacher to rank with G-d.

YHVH says that "you shall not have other elohim before my face." Exodus 20:3. Literally, the passage does not say that you can not have any other g-d, but none that is before his face, that is, that is higher than him or equal to him. The reason for this statement is found in the truth set forth in Deuteronomy 32:8-9. The use of elohim throughout means that YHVH is the G-d of the Israelites, and they should not worship the other g-ds of the other people around them. The passage before says that YHVH is the Elohim of Israel. In this case, it means that YHVH is one of the G-ds and that he is the one for Israel. He forbids any other g-d to rank with him or be before his face.

It is encumbant on us to recognize that El Shaddai and Elyon is the true G-d, far away from us and that YHVH is the G-d who has been assigned by El to the Jewish people. We must not allow any other gods to come close to him or rank with him, not gold, not silver, not anything.

I recognize that the truth is hard for Jews, Christians, and Muslims to accept, but the True G-d, the One G-d, the Almighty and Highest G-d is El, not YHVH. But YHVH is the King of the Elohim, and the Elohim are Angels, as I have said in earlier blogs and proved through scripture.

The Spiritual Ark of the Covenant

2010-03-07T10:35:00.000-06:00

What made the Tent or Mishkan that the Hebrews had in the desert a sacred place? The answer is obviously the Ark of the Covenant. It was believed that the Ark was the Footstool of G-d and that the Stone Tablets, which represent his treaty or covenant with the Hebrews was under his feet. The true Ark holds the Stone Tablets, the Pot of Manna, the Rod of Aaron and at one point, Nehushtan, the Brazen Serpent. Likewise, when Solomon built a wonderious building, he built it to hold the Ark of the Covenant. Each successive Temple had an Ark. The rebuilt Temple after the Babylonian Exile had a new perfect copy of the Ark, but without the sacred objects inside. Likewise after Onias IV took the Ark to Egypt, Herod's Temple had another perfect copy of the Ark.

The Nasorean sect of Judaism along with our Enochian forbears and our Essenian teachers rejected the Temple of Herod as a true Temple. We awaited a perfect Temple that would come down from heaven just as promised by the Prophecy of Ezekiel. Instead the Nasoreans believed that a spiritual building existed consisting of the believers of Yisrael. They were living stones in this new Temple. Now the Nasoreans passed this idea on to the Christians and Peter and Paul both speak of this spiritual building and it has become the central focus of the Masonic Order.

However, just like the physical buildings, the spiritual Temple must have a spiritual Ark of the Covenant. We are told by the Early Church that the Apostles and Prophets are the foundation of the spiritual Temple. Ephesians 2:20. So we can assume with reasonable certainty that they are not the Spiritual Ark of the Covenant. Likewise, the Early Church believed that Yeshua was the Capstone, i.e., the Stone from which Sabbath was proclaimed high on top of the Temple. Ephesians 2:21. We can therefore state that he is not the Ark of the Covenant. So then we must ask, if this is a temple not made with hands and if a Jewish temple is not a Temple without an Ark, who or what is the Ark of the Covenant in this spiritual Temple?

There have been really good books written to explicate the character of the Ark of the Covenant and its place in the economy of spirituality within Ancient Judaism. I will not attempt in a short statement to replicate those excellent monographs. Instead I will note some relevant points about the Ark of the Covenant so that we might look closer for an institution or person who might embody those characteristics. First, this box was made of Acacia wood. Acacia is a symbol of eternal life and the symbol was no doubt received from the the Egyptians whose myth of Isis and Osiris mentions the nature of Acacia as a symbol of resurrection. Next, the box had the symbol of divine revelation, the Word made physical, the Stone Tablets. It held the Pot of Manna, a symbol of divine providence and promise of personal protection, for G-d gave the Manna to the children as bread in the desert. It held the Rod of Aaron which G-d used to prove that Aaron was appointed to the High Priesthood and is therefore a symbol of divine governance. Lastly, it held, until the time of King Hezekiah and his murderous repression of authentic Hebrew religion, the Brazen Serpent, Nehushtan. Nehushtan represented the willingness of G-d to constantly maintain peace between Himself and His People and to heal them not only of physical illness, but also of spiritual illnesses. Lastly, on top of the box was placed the Mercy Seat, or Ha Kapporet protected by the Archangels spreading their wings over the Bowl for the Blood. The HaKapporet is not only the symbol of sacrifice, but also forgiveness and mercy.

What, if anything, embodies all these elements into one concept? First, let us look at the concept of immortality and resurrection. As we can eliminate Yeshua as the Ark, as stated before, we must look to an institution to provide the eternal quality. I would propose that the Institution of the Three Pillars comprising a True Prophet, a True High Priest, and a True King is the only institution that can vie for this eternal quality. If we see the Three Pillars as the box itself, then we must look into the character of the offices that comprise the Three Pillars for the remainder of symbols. The Office of the Prophet represents G-d's continual Voice within the spiritual Temple. However, that office must be subject to Messianic Offices of the High Priest and King. They alone are given the final authority to validate the Voice that speaks through the Prophet. Together, the Three comprise the Embodying of the Word into Flesh. It is the certainty that Yeshua and the Holy Spirit will be with the Spiritual Temple until the end of the age that makes us certain that that Word will Be True when Embodied in this way. The King represents the symbol of Divine Providence. It devolves upon Him to make the Word effective in the World by doing what the Word requires. This Spiritual Temple, like the Jewish faith, is place of orthopraxy, right practice. Lastly, the High Priest, by his acts of Intercession and Sacrifice, in the form of the Kiddush ritual of bread and wine, exercises the Divine Governance with the King over the Spiritual Temple. The Fourth Pillar, unseen but always present, is the Holy Spirit, which filled the Temple and sanctified the Ark. It is the Holy Spirit that represents the Divine Intervention in the form of Healing, both of physical ailments and sin. Lastly, because of their willing discharge of their duties and the selfless acts of the True Officers of G-d, they become the repositories of the Blood of the Lamb which truly will bring reconciliation between G-d and Man. The influence then of the Spiritual Ark is felt throughout this spiritual building when people act in Prophetic, Kingly, and Priestly ways.

Tracing the Emanations

2010-03-06T09:48:00.000-06:00

TRACING THE DOCTRINE OF EMANATION

EMANATIONS

There once was a man named Zarathustra. He was a priest of the indigenous religion of the high plains of the area of the world now known as Iran. He lived in a cave and spent much of his time contemplating. Now, his native religion like most religions of his time had a multitude of gods, all in charge of one or another of the various events, objects, and needs of his people. Zarathustra was an unusual indigenous priest because Zarathustra heard a Voice. That Voice and Zarathustra began to talk about the nature of good and evil. The result was the first great and revolutionary spirituality.

For Zarathustra, there were two G-ds, not many. He rejected the idea that there were gods of trees, water, rain, wind, etc. He said there was a Good G-d called Ahura Mazda and Bad G-d called Ahriman. He said that the Good G-d had six manifestations of His being and a Divine Spirit that came forth from His Being. The six manifestations were the active presence of the Good G-d in the various animal and vegetable kingdoms, but the Divine Spirit was in mankind and caused mankind to be capable of assisting the Good G-d.

Likewise, the Bad G-d had manifestations and helpers. These were called Daimons. They infused things and took possession of people.

In Zarathustra’s view, it was the duty of mankind to aid the Good G-d in his war with the Bad G-d to make sure that the Good G-d won. Mankind accomplished this task by right actions towards each other, right eating, right contemplation, right worship, and right living. The principal manifestation of this Good G-d was the purifying fire. Thus Zarathustra wanted Temples where the Sacred Fire was eternal. He believed that by contemplating the Divine in these sacred places one could understand how to live correctly. This concept of divine contemplation of the divine manifestations is the earliest spirituality in the Western Tradition and forms the basis of the Kabbalah. The Seven Manifestations approximate to the Seven Divine Emanations of the Little Face of G-d in the Tree of Life or Chaim Etz which are Mercy, Strength or Judgment, Beauty or Love, Victory, Glory, Foundation and Kingdom.

This well developed religion, Zoroastrianism, broke forth from the tiny kingdom of Zarathustra’s birth to become the unifying force that unified the Medes and Persians and in the sixth century before the common era; that force took Babylon and established the first great Persian Empire. The exiles from the tiny state of Yehudah (Judah) ran into this developed theology and began to contemplate how it fit into their understandings of life. One particular priest of Aaron, named Ezekiel, was sitting by a River called the Chebar one day and as he was contemplating there appeared a vision of a Divine Chariot holding a Throne upon which sat a Divine Being. Now this Divine Being seemed to Ezekiel to be very much like the Ancient of Days, the Good God Ahura Mazda, and he adopted the meditation practices of the Fire Worshippers. His goal was to recreate that Divine Communion that he felt when he saw his Vision of the Chariot or Merkabah.

The earliest stratum of Western Tradition, the contemplation of the Sephiroth or Manifestations of G-d now received an additional strata involving the contemplation of the Divine Being of G-d and his Holy Throne. When the Priesthood returned to Yisrael to rebuild the Temple, they took with them a commitment to right actions based upon the Torah, right eating based upon the kosher law, right contemplation based upon the contemplation of the Emanations of G-d and His Holy Throne, right worship which was now directed to the importance of the intent of the giver, and right living based upon the Torah’s ethical laws. They were certain that there was just one G-d, not even two, and they had become aware of three Dark Angels, one who was Evil, one who ruled the Daimons or Demons, and one who ruled the Evil Spirits. They even took on Persian and Babylonian names: Ahriman was the Shaitan, the Devil; Ba’al Zebul was the Lord of Flies or Demons; and Ashmodai or Ruler of the High Fire was the Lord of Evil Spirits.

The basic concepts of right action; right eating; right devotion, the private face of religion; right worship, the public face of religion; and right living, the correct way of treating the world became the basis of all Jewish spirituality. The principles of meditation and contemplation learned in Babylon became the necessary tool for all future spiritual growth. The concept of the ongoing war between Good and Evil became the raison d’etre for all future religion. No longer was righteousness limited to hospitality to strangers, widows and orphans. It had expanded to an entire philosophy of a good life.

TWO JUDAISMS

Margaret Barker in her book The Great Angel: The Study of Israel’s Second G-d puts forth a well developed theory on the nature of the pre-Josiah religion of Israel. She argues persuasively that the reason that the Decalogue is phrased -- You shalt not have any other gods beside me – is to denote that there were other g-ds, but that the national god of Israel was to be YHVH. The Yahwist recognized that El Shaddai, the G-d of the Mountain, the War G-d of the Cana’anites was the same G-d as YHVH. Now the Yahwist also recognized that there was a High G-d, El Elyon, which means G-d the Most High, who was the Father of the G-ds. He realized that El Shaddai was one of nine children of this G-d, including Ba’al Moloch, Astarte, and others. The Hebrew faith believed that this High G-d worked entirely through their G-d YHVH.

This idea of a Great G-d and a lesser G-d is further confused by the appearance in Exodus 23:20 of an Angel who took the form of fire and smoke and who could forgive sins. The second G-d was now seen as this Archangel and the first G-d was seen as the distant YHVH, the father of the G-ds. Slowly, but surely, the simple people called “ha am ha eretz” in Hebrew and meaning the rural or as the Romans would say, paganus, developed a rich theology based upon worshipping El Shaddai on mountains and worshipping Astarte as a pillar in the Temple yard.

All of this popular religion came into conflict with King Josiah who began what is known as the Josiac reform, which culminated in the Deuteronomic additions to the Scriptures. Josiah set out to eradicate the influences of the popular religion from the official religion of Israel. For two centuries or more, a war waged between the popular religion and the official religion resulting finally in Hezekiah’s suppression of all places of worship other than the Temple in Jerusalem and his destruction of Nehustan, the Brazen Serpent, because it was being worshipped. The war was not over until the Captivity.

The official religion went with the High Priest and the Heads of the Courses to Babylon and there the religion was changed by the orthodox leaders and by association with another rational religion, Zoroastrianism. The popular religion now was being organized by the country priests into a somewhat formal religion that included new alternative places of worship in the countryside.

When the Ezra the Scribe and Zerubbabel the Prince returned to Yehudah, the brought with them this new Priestly Judaism. They found that their influence was limited to just Jerusalem and it environs. Another Judaism was strong in what had been Israel and in the countryside. The tension continued for over two centuries between these two Judaisms until in the period around 300 BCE a book was written – 1 Enoch. Its impact upon the popular religion was dramatic. Enoch made no mention of the Temple or the Torah. It rather referred to 24 golden tablets in heaven upon which all truth was written. This book put forth a powerful eschatology and appealed directly to a more ancient, more perfect time. Enochian Judaism took over and reformed the popular religion and from it came forth two new Judaisms, Farsiism and Nasoreanism.

Farsiism took what was known from Enochian Judaism and added to it the rich spirituality obtained from Zoroastrianism during the captivity. Farsiism contributed a love for the Torah as its guiding principle. Farsiism (known also as Phariseeism) created the office of Rabbi, or spiritual guide. Farsiism while not rejecting the Temple wanted to reform the Official Religion so that it had a much more practical and pervasive effect on the worshipper.

Nasoreanism really was started when a High Priest, his name is unknown, was cast out of office by the Maccabeans under Jonathan. Antiochus V Epiphanes was defeated by the Maccabean revolt in 168 BCE and a new High Priest was installed. His name has not survived and is believed to have been erased purposefully by his opponents. He ruled from 168 BCE until 152 BCE when he was deposed by the Maccabeans. This High Priest took a number of scholars with him into the desert and there they established a holy life of contemplation and strict observance. They were scholars and priests and they loved books. From them was formed an academy of like minded men called the Essenes. They were the remnant of the Hasidim who had aided the Maccabeans in throwing out the Syrians.

The Essenes believed that a strict obedience to the Torah was necessary and so they kept themselves separated from those that did not maintain a strict observance. They taught that the Temple in Jerusalem governed by the Hasmonean High Priests of the family of Maccabi was a corrupt place. They believed that the true Temple would be one that descended from Heaven like the Temple described in Ezekiel. Until that time, they believed that they constituted the Temple on Earth, a living building, composed of true believers. Those that because of their circumstances could not join in this strict life lived instead in closed communities, in the cities and in the countryside. They looked to the Essenes for spiritual direction and authority. Because they were separated from the surrounding peoples, they were called Nasori or separated ones. It is from them that the name Nasorean comes.

There were some of the Essenes and many Nasoreans with them who believed that it was not sufficient to merely be separated from the surrounding people, but in addition they must free the Holy Land from the scourge of the Romans occupiers. From 37 BCE until 135 CE, these people called the Zealotes, formed an army allied with the Nasoreans that controlled the countryside and had significant power in the cities. They were financed by collections for protection and by marauding the caravans that came along the Via Maris and on the road to Jerusalem from the sea. A particularly violent branch of the Zealotes were the Sicarii, named for their knives, who practiced the art of assassination.

The theologians of the Essene Order believed in a form of government that involved Three Pillars and 12 Elders and a Mebakker. It was believed that ultimately the Meshiach would appear together with a Priest and a King and a Prophet. One family, the Davidic family would be the source of these three Meshiachot. A particular Priest, the son of the Onian High Priest, Zechariah, became known for his strict observance of the Torah. He was said to have had miraculous events surround his birth and his mother and he had fled to the desert community of Qumran after his father, the High Priest, was murdered in the Temple by Herod the King. This child, Yochannan, was believed by many to be the High Priestly Meshiach that would fulfill that part of the prophecy. The Essenes began looking at two other young men, a Yeshua ben David and a Yakov ben David, as possibly the other two Pillars that they expected.

In 26 CE, Yochannan was murdered by Herod Antipas. Yeshua ben David went into the desert and when he returned he declared that he was the long awaited Meshiach of Melchizedek, the Priest-King of Salem, who had returned to his people. Nasoreanism quickly began to reorganize around those who supported Yeshua and those who did not. Finally, in 28 CE, Yeshua and the Zealotes decided to attack the Temple. They cast out the money changers and the official priests and levites and took control of the Temple. They held it for two weeks and then the Romans came in with battering rams and destroyed one of the Towers of the wall around the Temple and charged in. After they finished, ten thousand priests and worshippers were dead and Yeshua and his twelve disciples had escaped. Others were not so lucky, such as Judas Barabbas and Dismas. Seven days later, Yeshua was arrested for blasphemy in the Garden of Gethsemane and taken before the High Priest Annas. Unsuccessful in his charge of blasphemy, Annas took Yeshua to Pilate and charged him with treason and sedition. Pilate found him guilty and sentenced him to crucifixion. We know what happened next.

The risen Yeshua met first with Ya'akov, his half brother. Then with Peter and the Twelve. Then with the 500 members who attested to his resurrection. Because of this appearance to Ya'akov, the 120 members of the community that received the anointment of the Holy Spirit elected Ya'akov to be the Mebakker of Jerusalem, the head of the revised Nasorean movement, in 28 C.E. In the next 34 years, Ya’akov transformed the Essene-Nasorean movement into the most powerful force in Judaism and successfully challenged the Farsi for supremacy. In addition, Ya’akov began to formulate with the help of Essene scholars the most important of the philosophical concepts of Nasoreanism, Sefer Yetzirah, Bahir, and Zohar. These ideas were not yet sufficiently gelled nor in a proper form for writing but they were increasingly well known in the more learned circles of Nasoreanism.

In 62 CE, Ya’akov was executed by the High Priest during an interregnum period between procurators. Simon, the half brother of Yeshua, by Clopas his uncle and Mary his mother, became High Priest and Mebakker or Bishop of the Nasorean movement. Six years later, Simon fled the city of Jerusalem and moved the center of the faith to Pella in the Decapolis. The country was ravaged by the first Jewish Revolt and Jerusalem was destroyed. During the years that followed, Simon wrote the Didache, formulated the Sefer Yetzirah, organized the writing of the Bahir and Zohar, evangelized the countryside and turned Nasoreanism into a powerful religious force of over one million people. He was executed just before the Second Jewish Revolt. He was succeeded by an extremely aged Judas Thomas, another half brother of Yeshua by his uncle Clopas and his mother Mary. At the end of the second Jewish Revolt, the Romans were incited to believe that the Nasoreans had inspired the revolt by Rabbi Akiva. An estimated 980,000 Nasoreans were massacred by the Romans. The twenty thousand who escaped went further into Syria and many migrated to Cteisiphon-Seleucis and to Babylon.

One Judaism went under ground. Another collaborated with the Romans and became the foundation of Rabbinic Judaism.

PHILOSOPHICAL UNDERPINNINGS

In the second century BCE, there was a great Jewish philosopher named Philo. Margaret Barker in her Great Angel, before cited, says, that contrary to popular opinion Philo was not trying to bring Platonic thought into Judaism, but rather, was trying to present Jewish thought in a way that could be understood by Platonists. His works talked at considerable length about the First Principle, the True G-d. The idea of a true G-d, an Ain Sof, or Endless Being, was not unique to Philo. The Platonists had talked about it, but so had the Zoroastrians. He was not convinced that the Demiurge of the Platonists was bad. He saw the Demiurge as the Emanation to Mankind from the Zoroastrian point of view. He understood the underpinnings of Kabbalistic thought and recognized in the Demiurge, the First Adam, the Creator. He knew that the Light continued to descend but he was not clear on how that happened, but he called it the Holy Spirit.

Likewise, the Nasoreans believed in this Demiurge. They picked up the term that Philo used to describe it – Logos – Word or Idea. The Nasoreans had a similar concept called Dabir – Word or Idea. When Ya’akov began to contemplate all that had happened from 20 C.E. until 28 C.E., he began to understand the Jewish scriptures in a new way. Ya’akov was striving to answer the ultimate question of the believers, “Who do you say that I am?” Yochannan the Prophet begins to formulate the answer and as Ya’akov’s close associate they began to theologize their thoughts. 1 John 1:5 gives the most important theological clue; it says: God is Light. The Nasoreans already understood that to mean Ain Sof is G-d. The ancient hymn attached to Yochannan’s Gospel expresses the theology of Ya’akov and Yochannan:

In the beginning was the Dabir, and the Dabir was with G-d.

For them it was self-evident that the Idea pre-existed with the Ain Sof and within Ain Sof just as the Zohar states.

And the Dabir was G-d.

Here Ya’akov and Yochannan contemplate the meaning of the Sefer Yetzirah when it says:

Mishnah Tet: Ten Sefiroth of nothing, one Spirit, living angels, blessed from blessed is the Name of He, for all worlds. Voice, Spirit, and Speech, this is the Holy Spirit.

Mishnah Yodh: Two, Spirit from Spirit. He engraved and hewed in her twenty-two letters of foundation, three mothers, seven doubles, twelve singles, and Spirit is one of them.
The Two Pillars understand the Nothing as Ain Sof. They understand the One Spirit as the Archangel of the Presence, the Demiurge or Dabir. When it says Blessed from Blessed is the Name of He, they think that means that the Dabir, the Voice, emanated from the Nothing, Ain Soph. They are struggling with the cosmology of the beginning.
He was in the beginning with G-d. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be.
Here Ya’akov and Yochannan see the truth. The Dabir emanates from G-d and the Dabir creates all things. The Colossian author reiterates this truth at Col. 1:15 et seq.
These ideas did not die when the Nasoreans went underground. Others were still in contact with them. One man about 65 years later begins to hear about these things from his Hebrew teacher and from secret Nasoreans he met. Origen, the great church father finally sets forth the ideas again and formulates the idea of a Trinity. But this Trinity is not like the triangle of the Nicenes. It is like the Trinity of Kabbalah. The Light is G-d. He emanates the Son who emanates the Holy Spirit. Sefer Yetzirah and Zohar say that Ain Sof sent forth the First Ray, the Dabir, if you please, and it created the Universe. Then from the Dabir as Kether, the Crown descends Chochmah or in Greek Sancta Sophia. Sancta Sophia has been long associated with the Holy Spirit. For Origen, Yeshua is not divine; the Logos is divine. Only when Yeshua is resurrected does he put on Divinity. Likewise, the Nasoreans say that the Archangel is the King of the Angels, YHVH. Only when Yeshua arises does he put on the Kingship and High Priesthood that allows him to be the Only Intercessor between G-d and Man.
ARIUS
St. Lucian of Antioch was a student of Origen and the headmaster of an Academy in Antioch, the ancient center of Christianity in the early third century. One of his students was Arius. Lucian taught faithfully the teachings of his teacher Origen and Arius listened well.
Arius was a brilliant student but without any particular flair for original thought. He took refuge in the particularization of theories. Arius was not able to find a way out of the conundrum that was created by Origenian thought and the Western Church’s insistence upon the consubstantial character of the being of Jesus. Arius taught that G-d the Father and the Son were not co-eternal because the pre-existent Jesus was a divine being but nonetheless had a beginning. The Father had no such beginning but was forever. Therefore the Father was by nature superior to the Son and the Son was subordinated to the Father. Now this idea was well supported by all of Eastern Christian tradition as has been shown. But those who were in Alexandria for political reasons took exception with these ideas and the rift between Bishop Alexander of Alexandria and Arius became increasingly tied up with the general fight between the Bishops of the West and the Bishops of the East. The Eastern Church supported tradition. The Western Church knew nothing of tradition.
By the end of this controversy, emanationism was dead among the Christians. It still lived on in the secret doctrine of the Kabbalah and reasserted itself in 16th century England among those of the Royal Academy including Sir Isaac Newton.
What I have tried to do in this essay is trace the history of the doctrine of emanations from its ancient roots in Iran to its modern presence in the Kabbalah and the renewed Arianism of the Nasoreans and the Arian Catholics.

Homosexuality In Scripture

2010-02-25T15:02:00.000-06:00

The easiest statement about homosexuality in scripture is it does not mention it. However, because homophobic peoples have read into scripture what they wanted for more than twenty centuries, it would be disingenuous to ignore the homophobic view without comment. There is nothing described in scripture which deals with the habit of 31 species including man to revert to same-sex sexual expression when there is overpopulation. Such an event did not happen in scriptural times and therefore was never commented on. That said, let us look at several passages first in the Hebrew scriptures and then in the Pauline writings.

THE NOACH STORY

Genesis 9:22 records these words: “Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness, and he told his two brothers outside about it.” According to the Torah, the reason that Hamite people were eternally to be slaves was because of this act. The act was more than just a casual glance, it was a lust for one’s father. Hebrew theology considered incest a serious sexual sin. Such an opinion was not supported among the Egyptians and the Ethiopians who practiced marriage of a father with his daughter and sexual activity between brothers as in the case of Amenhotep IV and his two brothers, Semekharah and Tutankhamen. This statement therefore is seen as a political one on the third level of scripture called Dresh because this statement was part of an ongoing story justifying the separation of the Hebrew people from the Egyptians.

SODOM

Genesis 19:4-9 tells the story of the accosting of the angels sent to observe the wickedness of the town. Lot makes a point of arguing that hospitality forbids the misuse of strangers; he says, “But don’t do anything to these men, for you know that they have come under the shelter of my roof.” He claims that these men are guests and that to harm them is to violate the law of hospitality. Lot is willing to let the men of Sodom rape his daughters, but not to violate his hospitality. This is not a story of homosexuality. It is a story of the breach of the law of hospitality. When Jesus sent out disciples to the surrounding towns in Judea, he said that the disciples were to seek hospitality and if they were not given hospitality, it would go worse for those towns than on Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment. Thus, we see that Jesus thought the story was about hospitality.

LEVITICUS 18

Leviticus 18: 21-22 are part of the holiness code. It can be argued that the holiness code is an ideal, not an actual law in practice. It goes from Chapter 16 through 20 and sets forth a number of laws that are recognized in the failure to do them more than in doing them. Leviticus 18:21 talks about a particularly odious act; it says, “You shall not offer your seed to be immolated to Molech, thus profaning the name of your G-d. I am the Lord.” While scholars are not absolutely certain as to what this act refers to, it most likely refers to the offering of a new-born child as a sacrifice to the g-d Molech. It was a detestable attack on name of YHVH because up until circumcision and the repurchase of the first born, the child belongs to YHVH and to offer it to another g-d profanes the Name. Interestingly enough, it says nothing about offering a human sacrifice to YHVH. But we assume that issue was dealt with in the Akeda story during the sacrifice of Yitzak.
Immediately following this law is another which says: “You shall not lie with a zakar as with a woman; such a thing is an abomination.” The word “zakar” means male, but it normally means a very young male. Genesis says that G-d created man, young male and young female. Leviticus 12:2 speaks of the child before circumcision as zakar. Scripture calls the sacrificial animal a zakar. The word for man is “ish” and for mankind is “adam” and for the male sex is “enosh”. So why did the divine writer use the word “zakar” here. When read in context, the passage forbids pederasty. It goes along with detestable acts to small children mentioned in the previous passage. Even Strong’s makes a point of saying that zakar means a male child. Only prejudice would allow the translation to be as it is. For the correct translation should be, “You shall not lie with a small male child as you would with a woman.”
The Didache, the earliest document of the followers of Jesus, echoes this interpretation. It outlaws a number of things mentioned in the Holiness Code and specifically outlaws pederasty. There is no mention of homosexuality in Didache.

I Corinthians 6

Paul in 1 Corinthians 6 sets forth in verse 9 a group of people who are damned by nature. He says: “Be not led astray. Not fornicators (pornoi), nor idolators (eidololatrai) nor adulterers (moichoi) nor abusers (malakoi) nor homosexuals (arsenokoitai) nor thieves (kleptai) nor covetous ones (pleonektai) nor drunkards (methusoi) nor revilers (loidoroi) nor plunderers (arpages) shall inherit the kingdom of g-d.” Besides the obvious fact that most people in the world are not going to inherit the kingdom of g-d because they are people who are pornoi (worshippers through sex of foreign g-ds, namely, the god lust), idolators who worship statues, thieves, alcoholics, and covetous ones and no one believes that is true, let us look at what is said. Normally malakoi has been translated as catamites. Here it is translated as abusers. The word means soft in the sense of clothing is soft or the persons character is weak. It has nothing to do with sex. Arsenokoites literally means bed man, male prostitute. In translating it as homosexual, it completely misses the boat. However, 2000 years of prejudice and politics have led to this translation. It is false. In fact in his book, Same-Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe, Professor Boswell demolishes the claim that the church has always been opposed to homosexuality. The passage does condemn alcoholics, sorry AA, and those who keep up with the Jones. But it does not condemn homosexuality.

Romans 1

Paul argues in Romans that because G-d’s power is manifest in nature, people who do not believe “became vain in their reasoning and their senseless minds were darkened.” He says that this led to idolatry. He then says that they exchanged the truth of G-d for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. It seems as if Paul is arguing that idol worship and narcissism lead inevitable to a certain lifestyle. Then Paul shows his prejudice and makes medical and psychological statements which we know now are false. He says, “Their females exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the males likewise gave up natural relations with females and burned with lust for one another. Males did shameful things with males and thus received in their own persons the due penalty for their perversity.” Romans 26-27. While I do not accord this passage as being even canonical as I reject all of Paul as relevant to godliness, he seems to say that homosexual acts are unnatural. Such a statement is contrary to fact. Thirty one species have their males turn toward each other when the species becomes overpopulated. It is a serious problem in America with sheep and ducks as their overpopulation is now causing widespread same-sex activity and farmers do not want same-sex loving ducks and sheep. It is not unnatural for men to have sex with men or to have lustful thoughts for each other. Sex between males can be as beautiful as sex between a man and a woman. Only the misguided and sexually stunted character of the author of these words is represented in these statements and do not accurately represent G-d’s opinion. Homosexuals are as spiritually faithful and as committed to true religion as heterosexuals and to claim that it is false belief that causes homosexuality is silly if not openly slanderous. These slanderous and false words not withstanding, Paul then accuses all of the Church of Rome of these same acts. Romans 2:1.

In this discussion of homosexuality in Scripture, we need to turn to positive passages which seem to accept homosexuality.

RUTH AND NAOMI

Ruth is a story about two women: a mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law who fell in love with each other and yet wanted to have children for the dead son and husband of the two. Ruth loves Naomi so much that she makes a statement which I have heard in many marriage vows:

“Do not ask me to abandon or forsake you!” says Ruth. Ruth 1:16, “for wherever you go I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge, your people shall be my people, and your G-d my G-d. Wherever you die I will die, and there be buried.” 1:16-17.

If a woman said these words to me, I would know that I am married. But in this case, two women were taking these vows. G-d blessed this union so much that he sent Boaz to take both of the women in and from Ruth came a grandson who was David Bar Jesse, King of Israel.

DAVID AND JONATHAN

I doubt that there is any more beautiful love story than the two bisexuals, David and Jonathan. David was Jonathan’s brother-in-law. 1 Samuel 18:1 says, “And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” We often speak of marriage in the terms of the two becoming one. Here it says that David and Jonathan souls were enrapped so that they were knit together and Jonathan loved David as much as himself. Again when David flees from the Court of Saul, Jonathan comes to him and David says this to Jonathan: “Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the LORD with thee….” 1 Samuel 20:8. This covenant or compact is called in Hebrew, a ketubah, or marriage contract. Lastly, we know the depth of that love when David says of Jonathan, “More precious have I held love for you than love for women.” 2 Samuel 1:26. It is significant that the word for love here is feminine and implies a love that is sexual with one party, Jonathan, playing the feminine part. Yet, it is this love, not the illicit love with Bathsheba, that is remembered as so beautiful throughout history.

The Centurion and His Servant

We are told in Matthew 8:5 about a centurion who approaches Jesus and says that his servant has a palsy and is very ill at home. Jesus says he will come to aid the servant and the centurion says he has faith that Jesus can heal him from afar as the Centurion is not worthy to have Jesus under his roof. In Matthew, the servant is called a “pais”, that is a common servant that one beats and uses for ones purposes. It is truly strange that the Centurion would ask Jesus to heal a common servant and debase himself by begging it of Jews. However, when Luke speaks of the event we learn more. Luke says, “A certain Centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die.” Luke 7:2. The word that is used for dear is “entimos” and is the word from which we get intimate. It means that there was a sexual relationship between the Centurion and the slave and that he loved his slave. Jesus certainly understood the fact that we had a forced master-servant relationship which had become one of love and affection. It was between two men and yet he did not care about that. He healed the slave from afar. Would he have done that if the slave was to continue in a drudgery? Probably not. But the slave was loved, he felt the Centurion’s love and approved of it, healing his lover.

It would not be right to finish this discussion of relationships without talking about Jesus and Lazarus.

JESUS AND LAZARUS

The gospels tell us that Jesus loved three people in a special way. They were Mary of Bethany, probably his wife, Martha, her sister, and Lazarus, their brother. When Lazarus died, the scripture says, “Jesus wept.” There was much to weep about in that time, but Jesus only weeps about Lazarus’ death. In order to understand this relationship better though, we have to look at a document now widely accepted as truthful and authentic, called the Secret Gospel of Mark. The words of Mark in the Secret Gospel were ordered excised from the Gospel of Mark by Clement of Alexandria at the end of the second century. The story is included in John 11. However, we know how it would have looked. At the end of the story, the Secret Gospel says:

“And they come into Bethany, and a certain woman whose brother had died was there. And, coming, she prostrated herself before Jesus and says to him, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me.’ But the disciples rebuked her. And Jesus, being angered, went off with her into the garden where the tomb was, and straightway a great cry was heard from the tomb. And going near Jesus rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb. And straightway, going in where the youth was, he stretched forth his hand and raised him, seizing his hand. But the youth, looking upon him, loved him and began to beseech him that he might be with him. And going out of the tomb they came into the house of the youth, for he was rich. And after six days Jesus told him what to do and in the evening the youth comes to him, wearing a linen cloth over his naked body. And he remained with him that night, for Jesus taught him the mystery of the Kingdom of G-d.”

This passage was excised because the Carpocratians were saying that it showed that Jesus had a homosexual relationship with the boy. Clement of Alexandria, unwilling to consider such an event, orders the passage excised and it was forever. The fact remains that Jesus probably had a sexual relationship with a boy that he loved. The question might arise why John Mark would include such an overt statement in his gospel. The answer may lie elsewhere.

PAUL AND MARK

John Mark is an interesting person in the Christian writings. He was a Nasorean. His mother was a prominent Nasorean and it was in her home that the Jerusalem Qahal met for a while. Acts 12:12. Her brother, who was also wealthy, was Joseph Barnabas and was John Mark’s uncle. Mark’s gospel includes a curious statement that many scholars think is his autograph; he says that a certain young man was in the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus wearing nothing but a linen cloth. It sounds amazingly like Lazarus in the story above, but most scholars think the young man was John Mark himself because no one else mentions the event. The Jerusalem Qahal sent Barnabas and John Mark to be with Paul, while he was preaching, concerned that he was getting out of hand and preaching ideas contrary to the true teaching of Jesus.

Paul had some infirmity that was upsetting to many people. He constantly speaks of this infirmity but never identifies it. John Mark must have been quite a handsome young man, because Paul chooses him as his secretary. They get along for some time and things proceed on Paul’s mission. However, for some reason John Mark leaves Paul and Barnabas at Pamphylia. Acts 13:13. The separation of Mark and Paul must not have been a harmonious act because in Acts 15:37-38, Barnabas wants to go and get John Mark to go with them on a return trip to the churches that they had originally visited, but Paul still upset with John Mark refused and Barnabas and Paul also split up. What ever the reason of the separation, it does not affect Mark’s standing in the church because tradition tells us that Mark went with Peter to Alexandria in Egypt and acted as Peter’s secretary there. When Peter left Alexandria for Rome, Mark was left in Alexandria as the Bishop. After the separation of Paul and John Mark, Paul takes up with another young man named Timothy. Acts 16:3. While there is no direct evidence of Paul’s proclivities, in the gay world, there are many like him who while practicing homosexuality speak viciously against any one like themselves. The Jim Bakkers and Ted Haggards of the world are numerous. The evidence seems to support the idea that both Jesus and Paul might have had a sexual relationship with John Mark and Paul’s homosexuality was the infirmity that people had to put up with as he was seducing their sons. Certainly, if we remove the names and tell the story today, most people would have no difficulty in saying something was going on.

In conclusion, just as today there are many homosexuals, bisexuals, and pederasts in Christianity, Judaism and Islam, so there were throughout scriptural history. Far from condemning the activities of homosexuals, up until some 1,000 years ago, those activities were celebrated as normal and natural forms of love. There is nothing in scripture that can be quoted that definitively proves that homosexual love is forbidden and there is much in scripture to support the idea that G-d loves homosexuals.

Clothes of Skin

2010-02-24T10:05:00.000-06:00

There are two major theories on the nature of the body-mind-spirit which we call human. One of those theories argues that the body, mind, and spirit are all part of the same organism and cannot be separated into pieces. Those of a religious bent argue that the body when it dies remains united in the grave to the mind and spirit. The more extreme argue that existence is terminated with death and there is nothing beyond. To these people, of course, the anecdotal evidence presented by those who were clinically dead and yet arose are the results of synaptical and chemical events in the brain. Of course, these people do not explain how a brain with no activity measurable can have synaptical or chemical reactions. The other difficulty with their position is the almost universal belief in ghosts that goes back many thousands years, much farther than civilization itself. They argue that there are no ghosts and so they simply refuse to deal with these phenomena.

The other main theory suggests that the spirit is pre-existing and is put into the body which holds it like a container and from the interaction of the spirit with the body a mind arises with thoughts and ideas and goals. This theory presupposes death to be a release of the spirit from the body and suggests that the spirit waits somewhere for final disposition. These people believe in ghosts. These people sometimes believe that the spirit is reincarnated in another body and lives again, at least so is the belief of 1/3 of the world or more.

I want to discuss two scriptural passages very early in the scriptural history. Both come from the earliest portions of Bereshit (Genesis). In order to understand them, one must understand some words that will appear. First, we have the word "nephesh" which mean soul in Hebrew. Next, we have the word "ruach" which can mean wind or spirit in Hebrew. Lastly, we have the word "neshamah" which breath in Hebrew.

The first passage says: "And YHVH of the G-ds moulded Adam, the man, from the clay of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the neshamah (breath) of life, and Adam became a living soul (nephesh)." Gen. 2:7.

This passage says that the body is completely separated from the soul and that that separation can only become united when a neshamah enters into the body.

The second passage says: "Unto Adam also unto his wife did YHVH of the G-ds make garments of skin and clothed them." Gen. 3:21.

This passage implies that before this time Adam and his wife were spirits without bodies and that it was only after the sinfulness in the garden that YHVH gave them bodies.

The position then of scripture seems to be that the spirit, the mind, and the body are all separate portions of what makes a man a man. A third passage puts it well.

"Then shall the mud return to the earth as it was and the spirit (ruach) shall return unto the G-ds whom gave it." Eccl. 12:7.

This passage clearly separates the body and spirit and says clearly the spirit was placed in the body by the G-ds. So we are left with a truth so profound that it changes our entire understanding of life.

First, we can conclude that the body is an Ark which holds the Neshamah, the Ruach, and the Nephesh. Each of these entities is unique. The Zohar suggests that the body is completely separated from the mind and spirit, but it goes further and suggests that the relationship between these three entites is like a candle's flame. A candles flame has a blue color at the base. That color represents the nephesh the living soul. All animals have this base. Resting as if on a throne on top of the color blue is a white color. The white color is like the Ruach, the spirit which rests on the nephesh and is the repository of the mind. At the top of the flame is a golden yellow. This color is like the Neshamah which was breathed into man, came from G-d and returns to G-d with the Ruach at the end of life.

As a further clarification, consciousness scientists are beginning to suspect that the mind is not so much a part of the body as attached to the body. Scripture adds some interesting words to that question as well, for its says: "Or ever the silver cord be loosed ..." Eccl. 12:6 The scripture suggests that there is a silver cord of energy that keeps the ruach attached to the body and this nephesh-ruach-neshamah connection. The ruach can go out from the body, when we sleep or meditate or pray. It remains attached to the body so long as the silver cord, that energy tether, is not broken. So that explains the idea of bilocation, of spirit travel, of remote viewing etc. One must remember that silver is very maleable and can be stretched to unimaginable lengths. Likewise, one can stretch this cord for as much as 12,500 miles and may be further.

Having shown you the position of Scripture on this subject, I can say to you that the Pharisee position that sees the body-mind-spirit as one is not supported by scripture, as usual, and in fact, the opposing view of the Kabbalists is correct.

Nasorean Orthodox Qahal Belief Statement

2010-02-19T09:29:00.000-06:00

We believe in One G-d who was before all things and is the Endless Light. 1 John 1:5. The ancients called him simply El or El Elyon or El Shaddai. He was the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Exodus 6:2.

We believe in One Lord, the Divine Logos, formed from the First Ray, before the beginning in a perfect vacuum. We believe that He Created first the Elohim, the Archangels of the Presence, who are seven in number and who ruled over 63 other Elohim, who with the original seven were the Sons of G-d assigned to the Seventy Nations. Deuteronomy 32:8.We believe that He with all the Elohim created the Heavens and the Earth. Gen. 1:1We believe that one of His names is YHVH.

We believe that the One Lord allowed his Ruach to be incarnated into seven men so that he could show to mankind how to be perfected. These men were Enoch, Noach, Melchizedek, Yoshua bar Nun, Shlomoh ha Melech, Yeshua ha Cohen, and Yeshua bar Maryam. These men were purely human, with a Divine Ruach, a human Nephesh, and a human Neshamah.

We believe that the First Ray was so intense and perfect that it exists even today and continues to descend from G-d to mankind through the intercession of the One Lord, YHVH, and is the Presence of the Divine on Earth. She is called Holy Wisdom and Holy Spirit.

We believe that the Torah was given on Mount Horeb to Moshe by YHVH. We believe that YHVH inscribed the Mitzvoth of the Torah on the tablets, front and back, with His own finger, and that every word of the Mitzvoth of the Torah is divinely inspired. These Mitzvoth alone are altogether Divinely inspired having been written by the finger of YHVH.

We believe that the Holy Scriptures consists of those books in the Septuagint translation of the Bible, Enoch 1, 2, and 3, Jubilees, the book that has been called the Coming of Melchizedek, the book that has been called the Messianic Apocryphon, the Didache, the Hebrew version of the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Thomas, the Book called the Letter to the Hebrews, the Letter of James, the three letters of John, and Jude. We believe that these books have four levels of meaning, Peshat, Remez, Dresh, and Sod, and that when one considers all four levels of meaning they are True, but no single meaning is true on its face.

We believe that all writings are inspired by the Holy Spirit, but not all of the same value for reproof, correction and training in holiness.

We believe that Yeshua bar Maryam had the same Ruach as the previous six Meshiachot and that this Divine Soul descended upon him at his mikveh in the River Jordan by Yochannan. We believe that He was Melchizedek returned and was truly the High Priest of G-d in the Order of Melchizedek and the King of Jerusalem. We believe that He came to declare once and for all that the Bloody Sacrifice was ended and the Sacrifice of Melchizedek was restored. We believe that He reinstituted the Sacrifice of Melchizedek at the Seder Meal celebrated in accordance with the Nasorean laws and at the critical moments in the Seder in which the bread is broken and also when the wine blessed for the third cup, the Cup of Redemption, He declared the Bloody Sacrifice ended by saying: “This is my Body and this is the Cup of My Blood which will be shed in Anamnesin of Me” signifying that he rejected the Bloody Sacrifice completely and restored the Sacrifice of Melchizedek. Yeshua, being the most perfect of the incarnations of YHVH, knew that His blood would be sufficient to change the sacrifice and restore the True Sacrifice to the world. When his hands and feet were pierced during his crucifixion, the payment was made for the restoration of the Melchizedekan Sacrifice. At his death, the Veil of the False Temple was torn in half and the Spirit of G-d left the False Temple forever.

We believe that upon Yeshua’s ascent to heaven he again presided as High Priest and King of the Heavens and brought his own blood as the Sacrifice sufficient to restore nature to the true sacrifice of Bread and Wine.

We believe that Yeshua sends down his Body and Blood for our Kiddush on Friday Night and at the other services of the Sabbaths and that it is sufficient to cleanse the repentant soul of any sin not unto death. 1 John 5:16. We further believe that after one has been mikvehed into the community, baptized in the holy spirit, made aware of the gracious gifts, become a full member of the community and then sins a sin unto death, that one is damned forever and has no hope. There is no second forgiveness. Hebrews 6:4-6.

We believe that in order to join with the Yahad a man must be circumcised and we reject the so-called compromise of Jerusalem as an invention of Luke and Paul.

We believe that the laws governing what we are to eat are still fully in effect.

We believe that all the Mitzvoth of Torah are binding on the community.

We believe that the little ones new to the faith must be allowed to carry as much of the burden as they can, but that the stronger must carry all the burden.

We believe that the Holy Spirit has instituted certain gifts on mankind from the beginning and that all those gifts are fully functional today. We believe that some are called to gifts of offices as set forth in the Didache. We believe that no one should be made a full member of the community until they demonstrate at least one of those gifts that were normative in the early community that followed Yeshua and which are included in the longer ending of the so-called Gospel of Mark. We believe that no person should be made an elder in the community until they have walked through the Gate of Righteousness, taken the cross of Yeshua upon their back, climbed Jacob’s Ladder to the fifth rung, and demonstrated all the elementary gifts of speaking in tongues, healing, exorcism, drinking poison, and picking up serpents when sent in front of them by G-d. It is clear that G-d may call both men and women to leadership in a community and any other office, but as Deborah says, a woman will only be called when there is no man to do the work.

We believe that at some time the Meshiach of David will come and establish a glorious kingdom on earth. We believe that no one knows the time or place that such an event will occur. We deny that Yeshua was that person or that He will return and declare that the claim that he would return was an invention of Paul and Luke.

We believe in the physical resurrection of the dead at the end of time. We believe that each of us will be reincarnated six or seven times depending on whether we come from the line of YHVH or the line of the Holy Spirit. We believe that we will be impelled to greater holiness at each reincarnation. We believe that some will be admitted into the Kingdom of Heaven but that others will choose the darkness, heat and absence from G-d in Hell for all eternity.

We believe that the Nephesh dies at the death of its host; that the Ruach rises from the dead body and ascends to the third heaven where it is purified and placed in the well of souls for reuse; and that the Neshamah returns to the Divine Presence from which it came.

We believe as is taught by the Prophet Yirmayahu in Chapters 16 and 23 that all the descendants of the House of Jacob will return to the true faith and to the land that G-d has given them before the Meshiach of David comes. We teach that it is wrong to proselytize any person, but that the truth should be shared with all so that the Holy Spirit may inspire them to choose for G-d. We specifically reject the so-called great commission as being absent from the Hebrew Gospel of Matthew. We teach that even a drop of the blood of Jacob will impel a person to want to know more about the Torah and the Truth of Yeshua.

We teach that there is an overriding duty to show the gerim hospitality when requested for we do not know when we will serve the Eliyahu at his return or Angels in disguise. We deny that there is any duty to preach the good news to any one except the lost sheep of the House of Jacob and only they will hear our voice.

We specifically teach that there is a Divine Voice as is spoken of throughout Scripture and that only the Called will hear that Voice. That Voice will lead us toward the Truth and some will be Chosen who follow it.

We teach any one who rejects the Truth when presented must be left to their own lives until the request more. We are to kick the dust from our shoes and leave them alone.

Beings That Possess Us

2010-02-13T16:52:00.001-06:00

There are four kinds of beings that can infest a human body or its nephesh or breath of life. They are demons, spirits, ghosts, and other souls. I give you my understanding from 38 years as an exorcist.

Demons are the disembodied souls of intelligent beings who have previously been embodied somewhere at some time. It is not clear from my encounters when these beings were embodied and why they are not now. There is a substantial theory that argues that prior to this world there was another civilization. That theory is supported by Ecclesiastes 1:9-11. It is additionally supported by the early Christian fathers. It says that G-d made the world perfect in every way. Then a war broke out between the forces of order and the forces of chaos. The forces of chaos destroyed the Earth and all that were in it. Then G-d moved on the face of the chaos and brought order to the chaos and created the world we now live in. The theory says that in this previous world there were bad people. They were consigned to the realm of the Archangel Ba’alzebul, the Lord of Demons. They desire more than anything else to be able to feel, taste, touch, hear, and smell again. They cannot on their own. So they inhabit a human body or that of a higher animal so that they can regain the senses that they have lost.

Demons can bedevil a person, can obsess a person, or can possess a person. Any person may be bedeviled. The demons will constantly act like flies trying to lead a person astray, but for the most part the person will resist and not be misled by them. The person will gain greatly in character from these encounters and will become saintly. However, if the demons can persuade the person even once it opens a door to let them in.

Obsession is the act of demons actually surrounding a person’s soul and constantly presenting evil possibilities to them. The obsession will make the person feel he or she is being spoken to and the voices will suggest a pattern or practice contrary to what that person knows to be righteous and good. The person is being attacked. They will give in some times. But they will feel guilty and take actions, which will fend off the demon and stop it from taking full control of their life. These demons do live inside of us. As the demons gain more and more sway in a person’s life, the situation moves from obsession to possession.

A person who is possessed by demons is always possessed by more than one. There is always at least one root demon whose area of sinfulness is something that the person cannot or will not give up. The root demons slowly move in more demons that take up residence and control larger areas of a person’s life. The ultimate goal of the demons in a possession case is to get the person to commit suicide, which will damn the soul to the same situation as that of the demons themselves.

Because the Western Tradition no longer looks with favor on people who believe in demons, there is little done to protect the person in industrialized societies from the influence of demons and as a result ninety per cent of all persons in industrialized societies are obsessed or possessed. The ancient practices that kept demons out of the home and away from the person are no longer practiced because they have been condemned as superstitious. Demons have strongly supported the growth of rationalism because it has allowed them to be transformed into mental illnesses that can be treated and never cured. It guarantees that the demons can cause the maximum amount of pain and suffering with minimal concern for discovery.

Spirits are considerably stronger than demons. They are immortal beings that have from the beginning taken an alignment in the continuing war for or against chaos. Those aligned to chaos and evil are commandoes in the war. They do not bedevil or obsess a person. If they got into a person, they take full control of the senses, the body and the mind. Such a possession is powerful and often leaves the person a willing co-participant in massive acts of evil. These spirits can only be exorcised at great cost to the exorcist and require a holy man or woman to battle them for control.

Ghosts that go into a body are generally confused and feel trapped. They are trying to escape this plane and do not know how. They are often ancient beings, not modern ghosts and have been stuck here on this plane for a long time. Exorcism of these ghosts should be done with the utmost kindness and respect and the ghost should always be encouraged to go to the Light. These possessions are very serious because the same confusion that encompasses the ghosts will also encompass the host. Ghosts do not mean to harm the host.

The last category of possession is soul-melding. This occurs when an ancient soul is forced or requested by the Divine to intervene in the modern world. They generally feel a strong affinity to the soul that they meld with and their purpose is to create a powerful force against evil and for the good. This kind of possession may well characterize some of the most noteworthy cases of channeling that have occurred including Edgar Cayce and Ras.

Does G-d Love Gentiles?

2010-02-08T11:02:00.000-06:00

As I have written in my last blog, the House of Jacob (Ya’akov) was the peculiar inheritance of YHVH. I have earlier said that Yeshua (Jesus) was the seventh and most perfect of the incarnations of the Archangel YHVH, the Archangel of the Presence. The promises made in the Hebrew writings were for the Hebrew people and no one else, because the House of Jacob was YHVH’s peculiar possession.

Yeshua said in his teachings: “But go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” Matthew 10:6. and also “I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” Matthew 15:24. There is no similar passage in the gospels affected by Paul or in the Johannine tradition. The message of Yeshua was directed to the House of Israel and the House of Jacob which at that time was the same, as the Jewish people kept up with the farflung travelings of their people.

Paul on the other hand starts talking about grafting Gentiles onto the Jewish tree of life in the book of Romans. However, his method of grafting the Gentiles on was not to convert them as required by Jewish law, but rather just to make them god-fearers bound by the most minimal of the Mosaic laws. We reject this idea completely as not supported by Jesus teaching or scripture.

Someone said in recent New York Times article that when you strip all the other things away, G-d is a g-d of love. There is no doubt that G-d loves his peculiar inheritance, but there is not one word to extend that love to those not in that inheritance. When he says love thy neighbor as thyself he is quoting Leviticus 19:18 out of context. That passage is part of the Holiness Code and is binding only on the descendants of the House of Jacob and Israel. It is true that 1 John 4:8 says that G-d is love, but 1 John was written to the Nasoreans and not to the Pauline Church and G-d teaches love and is love to that sect of Judaism.

In conclusion, there is not one word of support for the idea that G-d loves Gentiles. G-d loves his peculiar inheritance and those who are converted to it.

On the Truth About El, YHVH, and Jesus

2010-02-04T10:22:00.000-06:00

The people of Canaan worshiped a multitude of entities which they called gods. By the standards of today, these entities were not gods because they were not omniscient, omnipotent and omni-benevolent which are the three qualities that modern philosophers put on the concept of godhood. These entities were very powerful and seemed very godlike to their worshipers. They are real; they are called elementals and have existed since the very beginning. They are like angels in that they are eternal, but they are like man in that they do not have to obey the spiritual rules. They can be killed, but killing them is merely absorbing their energy into the one conquering them or into the divine light that surrounds us.

We know from archaeology that the people of Canaan and Lebanon believed in one supreme being, the father of all. He neither had a name nor was he addressed by some name. He was called El, which means G-d. There were two titles that were used to describe this being, Elyon and Shaddai. Elyon means Most High and Shaddai means Almighty. Exodus 6:2-3 says: “And the Archangel spoke to Moses, and said to him, I am YHVH and I appeared unto Abraham, Yitzak, and Ya’akov by the name El Shaddai, but by my name, YHVH, I was not known to them.” The problem with this statement from a purely logical and didactic point of view is we are required to believe that YHVH dissembled and claimed to be someone other than who He was. As difficult as that idea is to accept, we have proof of the contrary included in the scriptures.

Scholars believe that much of the Torah was written in parts. They generally say that there was a school of theologians who called G-d El or Elohim; they are called the Elohists. There is another school of theologians who called G-d YHVH; they are called the Yahwists. There is a third group called the Priestly source and was interested in supporting the theology of the Priesthood. The fourth group was a later group who redacted the first four books of the Torah and wrote their own book, called Deuteronomy. I believe that there is a fifth source; that source is the Archangel of the Presence and He wrote all the Mitzvoth or Ordinances and the Ten Sayings or Ten Commandments on tablets of stone.

If we are to believe that YHVH did not reveal himself to Abraham as YHVH but rather as El and that in reality YHVH was the being that Abraham believed in, then there is a problem for in Deuteronomy 32:8-9 we have a smoking gun that harkens back to a time before Moses. For some reason, it came through to the Deuteronomist source and was not excised. What it says challenges significantly the statement in Exodus 6:2-3.

Deuteronomy 32:8-9 says in the Dead Sea Scrolls these words found at 4QDeut LXX:

“When Elyon gave to the nations their inheritance, when he separated mankind, he set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the Sons of G-d for YHVH’s portion is his people; Ya’akov is the lot of His inheritance.”

It was believed in Canaan and Lebanon at the time of Abraham that El had 70 sons and one daughter, Asherah. According to Jewish tradition expanding on Genesis 10, there are 70 nations and according to their belief each nation had its own elemental or god that would rule over it. The smoking gun says in effect that there is a Great G-d, a true G-d, named El Elyon and that he has 70 Sons which are the g-ds of the 70 nations. If that be true, then Abraham worshipped the true G-d El and Moses served the Archangel YHVH, but not the true G-d and the Archangel lied to Moses. I do believe that there was any such lie. I think the Yahwists changed things to meet their needs, but the more correct position is that there is a Great G-d El and a lesser G-d, YHVH, who is King of the G-ds.

The efforts made to hide this truth from mankind are interesting. When this passage was translated into Greek from the same text above quoted, this is what the translation said:

“When the Most High divided the nations, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the nations according to the number of the Angels of G-d. And his people Jacob became the portion of YHVH, Israel was the line of his inheritance.”

The Septuagint Scholars did not want to carry on the idea that there were 70 lesser gods. So they changed the tradition to make the gods into Angels, Archangels and declared that Israel was the portion of the Archangel YHVH. So now we have the book that Jesus quoted from, that Philo read, saying that there was a Great G-d and an Archangel YHVH, who is the King of the Angels.

When the passage was translated by the Masoretes, it came out this way:

When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the children of men, He set the borders of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel, for the portion of YHVH is His people, Ya’akov, the lot of His inheritance.

The occultation of the passage has now become complete. No longer do we see what Jesus saw, what Paul saw, what James saw, what Peter saw. We see instead the opinions of the Rabbim at Yavneh which was made some 60 years after Jesus and 25 years after Paul, James, and Peter.

Why am I making such a big deal of this? Simply because the Nasoreans and many of those followers of Jesus that lived in Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Parthia, and Arabia, in fact all of the Middle East, believed that there was a Great and True G-d, El, memorialized by the Nasoreans in the Zohar as Ain Soph Aur, the Endless Light. They believed that Jesus was a lesser G-d, who cooperated with G-d as the Word of G-d to create the world and everything in it, but he was not always and did not know everything and was not almighty. The teacher Arius understanding Philo and the Neo Platonists took up the scriptural battle in the early years of the third century and taught these truths, supported by scripture and believed by those who knew Jesus personally.

The scam that has been made on the persons who believe in the Book is perhaps the greatest scam in history. The world is not like the Catholics, Orthodox, Protestants, Muslims, Jews, and other westerners say. The world is much more like what the Mormons say with their three g-ds. Arius was right. He was suppressed by a pagan emperor to maintain his power and the peace of his empire, but Arius was right. Eusebius makes it clear that the Bishops of the Middle East for the most part agreed with Arius. Some were excommunicated and exiled; some gave in and kept their peace. The question that must be asked is do you want to believe what Jesus believed or the lies of the Council of Yavneh and the Council of Nicaea. If you choose Jesus, only the Nasorean sect of Judaism is the true faith of scripture and you should investigate it.

“

Tu B'shvat

2010-01-29T12:51:00.000-06:00

The Feast of Tu B'shvat is another new year, this time the new year of the trees. This is the day when we determine the final tithes on the crops that were grown. All crops grown and harvested prior to this day are in one year and those harvested after this day are in another year. In modern times, increasingly, this day has become a Jewish arbor day, a day to remember growing plants and even animals.

In the Middle Ages, Tu Bishvat was celebrated with a feast of fruits in keeping with the Mishnaic description of the holiday as a "New Year." In the 1600s, the kabbalist Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Safed and his disciples instituted a Tu Bishvat seder in which the fruits and trees of the Land of Israel were given symbolic meaning. The main idea was that eating ten specific fruits and drinking four cups of wine in a specific order while reciting the appropriate blessings would bring human beings, and the world, closer to spiritual perfection. [6]

In Israel, the kabbalistic Tu Bishvat seder has been revived, and is now celebrated by many Jews, religious and secular. Special haggadot have been written for this purpose.

Nasoreans join in this honoring of nature and remembering the tithes on plants. This is a day upon which we should be careful to give to the poor a fair share of what we have grown. This is a day to remember living things and remember our stewardship over those living things. This is a day upon which a Nasorean Jew will become conscious for one more year of our need to conserve and recycle.

The feast for Nasoreans will be tomorrow. Join with us in this celebration.

Abortion and Scott Roeder

2010-01-29T12:31:00.000-06:00

It took jurors 37 minutes on Friday to convict Scott Roeder, an abortion opponent, of first-degree murder in the death of George R. Tiller, one of the few doctors in the country to perform late-term abortions.

The Didache, our Constitution, and the oldest document of the original followers of Yeshua forbids abortion absolutely. Modern Jewish rulings tend to posit a somewhat lessened requirement which allows the mother to claim that the child is attacking her and that aborting the child will protect her life. The Nasoreans position on abortion is abortion should only be allowed when three doctors concur that the child's continued presence in the womb will cause death to the mother. One is not allowed to kill merely on the supposition that an event might occur. While self-defense against an attacker is allowed under the Torah law, the response must be no greater than the threat. Thus, abortion can only occur when the threat is certain death if the pregnancy is not ended.

George Tiller was a murderer of the worst sort. He murdered babies in the womb long after they became viable. He did it for the most base of reasons, money and the continued immorality of the woman. Scott Roeder made it clear that mass murder must be stopped. He took the only action that a brave man could take, one whose purpose was to protect life of the weakest in our society, and he did it only after careful thought. George Tiller was no normal abortionist. He was Mengele whose acts were impassionate and calculated. It is lawful for a person to kill when protecting others from death.

The fact that Scott Roeder chose to commit the act of self-defense in the setting of an apostate church speaks highly of his understanding of divine justice. The fact that apostate Kansas has a law allowing the murder of children in the womb makes no difference. Hitler's Germany allowed him to murder Jews, Polish, Russians, Gypsies, Masons, gays, and anyone else he hated. The execution of Hitler and his lieutenants was always allowed under scriptural law. Scott Roeder likewise is protected by G-d's law.

The 12 Jurors are damned and will go to hell for their acts. Further, their damnation will be remembered against their descendants unto the fourth generation.

Let us pray that the scourge of abortion which has threatened civilization for the past 2300 years will stop soon and let us hope that doctors will cease doing business with abortionists under any conditions. Let us pray for the life and continued blessing of Scott Roeder, who acts like a Prophet of G-d in taking his vengeance against an righteous monster.

Freedom: Religious and Speech

2010-01-27T12:32:00.000-06:00

This blog is called "Reflections From a High Mountain" because like Jesus standing on the high mountain, I hope to see the world in perspective. Having been to Mt. Tabor which is generally thought to have been the mount of transfiguration, I could see why it would have been thought to be a High Mountain. Well, I want to speak a bit about a trend that I see developing in Europe that greatly troubles me.

In Switzerland, the people by popular vote outlawed new minarets, the buildings from which muzzeins tell Muslims to come for prayer. Granted their loud calls might be distracting, but so are church bells. It is apparent that the real reason for outlawing the minarets was religious discrimination against Muslims, Muslims who in Switzerland are Bosnian and not Arabs. This detestable act is only one of a series of attacks on religious freedom that are occurring in this supposedly enlightened Europe which sees fit to talk about how every where else does things.

In the United Kingdom, the vegans are pushing to outlaw kosher killing which will have the effect of causing all meat purchased by Muslims and Jews to be purchased outside of Britain. Kosher killing is the most humane form of slaughter and is required by the Torah and the Koran. The real purpose is obviously anti-Semitic, discrimination against both Jews and Muslims.

In France and the United Kingdom, there are strong moves to outlaw burqas on women. This religious dress is required by many Muslim sects. Such acts are obviously anti-Muslim.

In all these countries, the law is built upon precedent and code. If the precedent starts out forbidding minarets, it will not be long before the government will decide if new mosques and synagogues should be built. If it is illegal to wear a burqa, it may soon be illegal to wear a yarmulke or even a cross. If it is illegal to kill animals in a humane way, it is not long before the state will outlaw kosher food and force swine down the throats of Muslims and Jews.

The growth of anti-Semitic activity throughout Europe is serious. Rabbis are attacked on the way to synagogue, imams are attacked for fostering dialogue, girls are dismissed from school for refusing to wear immodest dress, and the situation is getting worse.

If we do not stand up for Muslims now, it will be Nasorean Jews who are again rounded up and executed for our beliefs as we were in Torquemada's Spain and Roman Israel. How many people must die before we see that religious freedom is everyone's right.

The Voice of the Lord

2010-01-21T10:26:00.000-06:00

The Voice of the Lord spoke to mankind throughout history. Scripture records at least 500 instances of the Voice speaking to man. Many people do not believe that the Voice still speaks. Many more believe that the Lord never spoke to regular people like you and me; they believe that the Voice only spoke to special people. In fact, my unscientific polling has indicated to me that 40% of all the people I have asked about hearing the Voice admit to hearing a Voice in their head. Yeshua said that many are called. I believe that the 40% of the people who hear the Voice of the Lord are those that are called.

Many of you will ask what I mean by hearing the Voice of the Lord. Let me start with the most normal event. Paul says that faith comes through hearing and hearing by the Word of G-d. The word he uses is rematos in Greek which means an inner word. Romans 10:17. The normal Voice is one that speaks within. It can be a single word, a concept, an idea, or a whole conversation. I saw something yesterday that described how that word helps us to do G-d's will. It allows us who follow obediently to do things we know nothing in advance about doing. It allows us to answer prayers of others when we act as messengers or angelou of G-d. Another way that the Voice speaks to us is through other people and random acts who will raise our conscience to do certain things or to understand what is happening around us. The third, and by far most rare hearing of the Voice is called in Hebrew Bath Kol. Literally, it means daughter of the Voice. I have heard it twice. One cannot resist it. The Voice speaks audibly to the person and because it is the Voice of G-d it sometimes is preceded by a shaking, a wind, or some other event. I became a believer because the Voice spoke to me and said I had no faith.

How does one get the Voice? What is really meant by that question is who is chosen. However, it is hard to think about the fact that only 40% of the people in the world are even called and a much smaller percentage is chosen. It is from this concept of only a few being chosen and there being no way to tell them that we get the concept in Judaism of the Israel of G-d and in Catholicism of the Mystical Body of Christ. While Deitrich Bonhoeffer, the Lutheran pastor, tells us that if we do not hear the Voice we should go to a church and patiently wait until we hear it, I cannot concur. Many will never hear that Voice. For me, I received the Voice after praying that G-d would speak to me. I firmly believe that G-d inspired me to reverse the agreement that he made with the rest of Israel when they promised to listen to the prophets if G-d would not speak to them again. But for Gentiles, there never was a guarantee of being called and all of Jacob is called.

The Voice is a specific gift that when strong is called the gift of knowledge. That gift allows us to know things in advance of their occurrence, to do things that will save us from harm, to be able to help the Lord as messengers, and finally to have the consolation that comes with having a trusted friend who will tell us the truth.

The Gospel of John goes so far as to talk about our ultimate goal in relationship to the Voice: "But whoever enters through the Gate (Yeshua, John 1:51) is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper (Peter) opens it for him, and the sheep HEAR HIS VOICE, as he CALLS his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has driven out all his own, he walks ahead of them, and the sheep follow him, because they recognize HIS VOICE." 10:2-4. The Voice therefore is an extremely important part of the true believer's life. He comes to rely upon it rather than books and teachers alone. The Voice will certify which teachers to listen to for it says in John 10: "But they will not follow a stranger; they will run away from him, because they do not recognize the VOICE of strangers." 10:5. When the Voice certifies a teacher, one must be willing to re-examine those teachings and accretions of trauma that make our lives rich and see what should be thrown out and what saved.

The Archangel told us that we should have no other G-ds before Him. Sometimes we make g-ds out of books. Only the mitzvoth in the Torah were written by the hand of G-d and everything else should be seen through a prism, the prism of faith that comes through hearing the rematos of G-d.

Life After Life and Whose Side is G-d On?

2010-01-19T12:51:00.001-06:00

The Nasoreans and the Pharisees believed in reincarnation. They do not believe that people could be reborn as people, because they believed that only the soul called Ruach could be reborn. An animal according to first century Jews had no Ruach or Spirit, only Breath of Life, Nephesh. These two sects, from which Christians and Jews descend, believed that all persons would be reborn six or seven times depending on which line they were in. The lines were the line of Metatron and the line of the Holy Spirit.

When one believes in reincarnation, the importance of life and of the body decrease because we are guaranteed another chance to perfect the Ruach. However, the persona that is you will never be reborn; it will be recorded in on the fourth soul and be remembered forever. With that understanding, the individual death of a human being is not important in the scheme of things. On the other hand, the force of karma, the accumulated negative effects and positive effects of our lives is manifested in the new life.

When 200,000 people die, we are sad. But the more important reality is that the divine balance of giving and taking is thrown into chaos. By taking these lives in an earthquake, the Archangel Ariel must compensate by doing some major event that is a blessing not only to the world but to a people. A giving is required; a giving is required that helps more than 200,000 people dramatically.

There are those that would claim G-d is against the Haitians or G-d is for someone else. In reality, G-d favors the balance of giving and taking and is not on anyone's side. Whether people kill themselves as suicide bombers in Kabul or do extraordinary acts of kindness in Port-au-Prince, the only concern that G-d has is the balance of giving and taking. He must give back hugely to right the balance with the huge taking that has been done in Haiti and the Indian Ocean. The very blood of the 420,000 people who have lost their lives demands that the Archangel Ariel balance the evil that he has done with an extraordinary good.

It is clear therefore that G-d is not on the side of either the forces against the Taliban and al-Qaeda or the forces of the Taliban and al-Qaeda. It does not favor death, whoever does it, for it is a taking of life and he opposes humans taking that which he has given. It is not on any side in this war, but he allows for great opportunities to show forth charity.

Scholars Wrong Again

2010-01-17T09:56:00.003-06:00

Up until January, 2010, the august scholars all said that the Hebrew written language only went back to 600 BCE. It was therefore impossible, said they, for the Bible to have been written in the time of David, who might or might not exist. What was sure was that the little village of Salem was not the important capital of a kingdom in the area controlled by Egypt.

All that changed. Gershon Galil, a professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa deciphered a shard brought to him from excavations at Khirbet Qeiyafa, near Israel's Elah Valley. It contained written words with clearly Hebrew themes and some words that only meant something in Hebrew rather than one of the other Semitic languages. The text proves that there was a Kingdom of Israel in the 10th Century before the Common Era. It proves that there was a consistent religious opinion about the treatment of slaves, widows, and orphans at this early time, almost certainly because of the people's previous acquaintance with slavery. It proves that the Torah could have been written in the time of David and Solomon. It also proves that Hebrew is oldest script that was not pictographic.

Why is this so important? Simply, Bible one, scholars zero. The Bible has proven correct once more.

There is a new religion, a powerful religion, with much state funding. It is called Science. What is conjectured, considered, hypothesized, becomes dogma and then truth. What is really Theory is elevated to fact. And how evil those who dare to say that there is insufficient information. I love science, but I am not a devotee of Science. I do not worship it nor do I bow down to it. I have faith in G-d, not Science.

2010-01-17T09:56:00.001-06:00

Who Wrote the Torah?

2010-01-16T10:30:00.000-06:00

Often when we think of the Torah we mean the first five books of the Bible. However, there is a more restrictive meaning to the word. It means Teaching and the Teaching that it refers to are the Mitzvoth or Ordinances given to Moses on the Mountain. Scholarship makes it clear that there were four schools that wrote the Pentateuch, or first five books. They were the Yahwist, the Elohist, the Priestly source, and the Deuteronomist. The Yahwist source is said to have written first in the time of Solomon. The Elohist source wrote a hundred years later.

I would suggest to you that there is one other writer that is ignored. Exodus 20:1 says that Elohim spoke the Ten Commandments. But Exodus 24:12 says: "And YHVH said to Moses, Come up to Me to the Mountain and be there, And I will give you the tablets of stone and the Teaching (Torah) and the Ordinances which I have written, to teach them." By the time of Yeshua, the tradition had arisen that an Angel had spoken to Moses on the Mountain and delivered living words to deliver to us. Acts 7:38. All of these passages suggest that someone delivered to Moses on the Mountain utterances that were transmitted to the people. The scholars would argue that Exodus 20 was written by the Yahwists and Exodus 24 by the Elohists. There are two traditions that constantly are fighting for recognition in the first five books: the tradition of the Priests and the tradition of the HaAm haEretz, or common people. The tradition of the Priests is represented by the Yahwist and tries to conflate and explain the tradition of the Elohist, the common people in Exodus 6:2-3 where it says: "I am YHVH; I appeared to Avraham, Yitzak, and Ya'akov as El Shaddai and my Name YHVH I did not reveal to them." This passage tells us that a portion of the Hebrew people believed in the pantheon of Canaan which called its true G-d, El, with epithets like Shaddai and Elyon. YHVH was one of the seventy Sons of El. El apportioned the leadership of Israel to YHVH in the view of the common people which was maintained well into the Deuteronomic period. In 4QDeut the word says: "When El Elyon divided the nations as the inheritance of the Sons of El, when He separated the sons of Adam; he set up the bounds of the peoples, according to the Sons of El and YHVH's portion is His People Yaakov who are his inheritance." The Septuagint called YHVH and the other sons of El, Angels. There we have it. YHVH is the Son of El, the True G-d, and he is an Angel.

With that said, we see that Exodus 20 and Exodus 24 say the same thing. YHVH, the Archangel of the Presence, spoke the Ten Commandments, and they appeared on two tablets of Stone. Thereafter, His Finger traced the 603 additional Ordinances on the Table. He gave them to Moses who took them down to the people.

The writer therefore of the most important portion of Pentateuch was YHVH, the Archangel of the Presence, who is "our god". "Hear O Yisrael, YHVH, our g-d, YHVH is one." Deut. 6:4. He wrote the Ten Commandments and the 603 Ordinances Himself. All the rest of the Scripture was mediated by men. The Holy Spirit would inspire but not dictate the words written. Only these 613 Laws were written by the command of G-d and the hand of YHVH.

So, what is significance of this discovery? We cannot take the Bible literally in any place except these 613 Laws and we must search to understand each of these laws so that we know YHVH's meaning. I am not denigrating the Holy Book. I am explaining that the Pentateuch, the Prophets, the Writings including the writings called the New Testament are inspired but not necessarily literally true. They must bend the knee to the 613 Laws for they were mediated by man whereas the Laws were given by G-d and His Representative in this Multiverse. If read that the Torah is no longer in effect, we have only to look at the Torah to see that it is. Paul never received anything from the Archangel in writing. Moses did. It is true that the Laws on Sinai were never meant for the Gentiles and therefore, the promises in the Scripture are not meant for them other. Gentiles can become Jews by conversion and become grafted into the Tree of Life, but without going through conversion, which requires among other things, circumcision, Gentiles are not heirs to any promise.

That being said, I urge those who use the book to prove things to stop. Spirituality is an individual relationship between the believer and the event. Religion declares how we relate properly to G-d who may not agree.

News

2010-01-14T09:15:00.000-06:00

Today I want to express my deepest sadness over the earthquake in Haiti. Certainly, there is no more spiritual nation in the Western Hemisphere. Unfortunately, they are so syncretic that it is not clear what they believe.

I believe that they Archangel Ariel was angry at them for some set of acts they had done and punished them for their continuing sinfulness. To balance the taking of human life in Haiti, we will see some great blessing on another people. The balance must be maintained.

I consider Haiti an opportunity for all those right-minded to give to a people who really need to receive. Here is your opportunity to move ahead on the spiritual path. Give until it hurts.

To all those people in Kansas City who are ready this blog, I want to tell you that you can e-mail me at netseri@kc.rr.com and I will give you directions to the service on Friday evenings. As we provide oneg shabbat, it is necessary to rsvp before attending. Come and see what a Nasorean service looks like and join in our prayers for all those in need, especially Haiti.

Orthodoxy vs. Orthopraxy

2010-01-12T15:35:00.000-06:00

Orthodoxy means right thinking. The Christian sects of this era are orthodoxic. Each and everyone has a particular religious point of view which it expects the adherents of its sect to believe and espouse. Any deviation from the norm of the sect is considered heresy and dealt with by expulsion from the sect.

Orthopraxy means right acting. Judaism and the early followers of Jesus were orthopractic. These groups did not care what one believed, but expected careful adherence to the actions required of members. Thus the variations in interpretation of how to do the Torah would result in excommunication.

The Essene/Nasorean sect called their members among other things, the Doers of the Torah, to emphasize that they were the right acting group. The followers of Jesus were a group within the sect of Nasoreans and Jesus was called a Nasorean, both in Matthew and by the Romans who wrote Yeshua the Nazorean, King of the Jews on the tablet put over his head on the cross. The Gospel of Matthew makes clear the position of Jesus on doing the Torah; he says,

“Because not everyone who says unto me, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven but the one who DOES the will of my Father who is in Heaven will enter the Kingdom of Heaven….Again he said to them: Everyone who hears these words and DOES them is like a wise man who built his house on a rock. The rain came down against it and the winds beat it and it did not fall because its foundation was a rock. Everyone who hears these my words and DOES NOT DO them is like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. The rains came down, the floods came and fell against it, and it fell with a great fall.” 7:21,24-26.

Jesus clearly said his position on the Torah: “Truly I say to you that until heaven and earth depart not one letter or dot shall be abolished from the Torah or the Prophets, because all will be fulfilled. He who shall transgress one word of these mitzvoth and shall teach others, shall be called a vain person in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever upholds and teaches them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.” 5:18-19.

Christians are so busy trying to decide who Jesus is that they miss His message. His message is that you must become Tzaddikkim, righteous, and to become righteous one must keep the Torah. Matthew 5:20.

The minimum requirement for the seed of the House of Jacob is the entire Torah. The minimum requirement for the Gentiles is set forth in the Didache. What is more important, doing the good things from faith in the Torah or talking about the writers and interpreters of the Torah.

The House of Jacob and the House of Israel

2010-01-08T09:54:00.000-06:00

All of us know that Ya'akov was the younger son of Yitzak and grandson of Avraham. Most of us remember that when he returned with his wives from his sojourn with Laban, Ya'akov wrestled with the Archangel of the Presence, in the form of Enoch, and was injured. The Archangel gave him a new name after the fight, Israel. There is a house of Jacob, that is, there are descendants of Jacob who are not Jews today and who have chosen other religious persuasions. They are people who descend from the lost tribes and from those who have left Judaism over the centuries. The House of Jacob, we believe, numbers about 140,000,000 people. In addition, there are those like the Nasoreans, the Samaritans, the Karaites, and the Jews who are descendants of the House of Israel and believe that they are true Jews today. Their numbers are about 14,000,000. Thus the vast majority of the descendants of Jacob are not followers of the Torah.

The House of Jacob, however, carries on the bloodline of Jacob. It has been my observation that even a single drop of Jacobian blood makes the person more open to what the Torah says. Jesus told his disciples not to go to the Gentiles, but rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. Matthew 10:6. The ministry of Paul to the Gentiles is now and always has been an error and a violation of the halakah of Yeshua (Jesus). But a ministry to the 140,000,000 lost sheep is not only valid but necessary. These people are open to hearing the truth about the Torah.

The Prophet Yirmayahu (Jeremiah) makes two cryptic statements about the House of Israel in his prophecies. One is at 16:14 in which he promises to bring the House of Israel from the lands of the North, literally, Russia, Europe, North America, Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon. The other passage is even more interesting for here it says at 23:8 that the Lord will bring the seed of the House of Israel from the lands of the North. There are literally millions of Jews from Russia in Israel today, but there are millions of persons who are the seed of the House of Israel, not only in Russia, but throughout the northern countries. All of them will be called home. That call will be internal and will be felt as a call to return to the Torah.

Yeshua (Jesus) was the prophet of the Return. He sent out his followers to find them and teach them the truth. His message has been waylaided by the false teachers who followed the liar Paul, but now their very blood is calling them back to the Torah. The Nasorean Sect of Judaism is the sect of Yeshua and the Apostles. Those misled people who try to become Messianic Jews seek to follow the lies of the Pharisees and are worse off than when they started. True Judaism does not believe in a Trinity of any Godhead. It believes that G-d is One, that his Archangel is One, and that the Holy Spirit is One. The True G-d is not YHVH. The True G-d is El Shaddai v'et Elyon. YHVH is the Archangel of the Presence and as Yeshua says, they are the same. This Archangel created the other Archangels and they together, the Elohim, created the Heavens and the Earth. O, House of Jacob, make Teshuvah to the Torah and the Nasorean faith.

New Year Day?

2010-01-01T14:46:00.000-06:00

The Scriptures establish three new year days, but one of them is not on the first of January. January 1 was celebrated by the Romans as the first day of the new year, so our celebration is merely a continuation of their peculiarity. However, the three days set forth by Scripture have a better claim to being the true beginning of the year.

The first of these days is Tu B'shvat. In the times of the Hebrew Monarchy, there had to be a day upon which to cut off the previous year from the coming year so that taxes could be collected on the crops and cattle traded, grown or born during the year. The scripture sets forth the 15th day of the month of Shevat as that day. It is known as the New Year of the Trees. In modern times, this day has become a combination Earth Day and Arbor Day.

The second of these days is the first day of the Jewish month of Nisim. This is the month in which spring begins, a logical and reasonable time to begin the new year. The month of Nisim begins when the new moon appears around the spring equinox. This year it will begin on the 15th of March. This day was the secular new year in Davidic times and throughout the long history of the Jewish people which is now in its 5770th year. This date was the first day of the new year for most people other than the Romans in the ancient times.

The third and last of these days is the first day of the Jewish month of Tishri and is called Rosh Hashanah or Head of the Year, New Year Day. It is also called Yom Terumah or Day of the Trumpet because it is believed by the Jewish people that the world was created on this day 5770 years ago, more or less, give or take a few billion years, by the blowing of a divine trumpet. This day occurs on the new moon closest to the autumnal equinox. On this day, Jewish people blow trumpets, wish each other happy new year, make resolutions to do better, and try to be good for at least 10 days until G-d makes up his mind whether to punish us or not. Also on this day Jewish people eat lots of carrots because the word for carrot and the word for plenty are the same in Hebrew and hopefully if we eat lots of carrots G-d will think we are wanting lots of money.

It seems strange to me that the people of Earth except Israel have adopted this pagan New Year rather than the Scriptural New Year and date their era from a mythical birth in 1 A.D. even though no reputable scholar believes that Jesus was born in 1 A.D. The reason for this certainty is that Herod the Great died in 4 B.C.E. and if he was killing all the boys under two before 4 B.C.E. it would mean that Jesus was probably born in 6 B.C.E. We are still following the mistakes of a seventh century monk.

On this new secular year, I resolve to remember that it is the 5770th year of the Jewish dispensation; that in 230 years the Messiah will appear; that we will have a 1000 year Sabbath rest; and that on Rosh Hashanah of 6,000 this 1000 years of peace will begin. I resolve to bring more light into the world through this blog. I resolve to be present for the Lord to work through me in re-establishing the Nasorean Orthodox Qahal to its former glory. I resolve to live a life in constant harmony with my Creator.

Bloody Sacrfice

2009-12-26T09:57:00.000-06:00

The Nasoreans, whose theologians were the Essene Monks of Qumran, took the position that the Temple in Jerusalem was profane. It is not clear whether it was the building or the sacrifices in the building that were profane, but they certainly denied that the priesthood was performing the sacrifices in the correct and proper way. As they hardened that position, they began to think about the nature of sacrifice and especially about what kind of worship existed before Moshe instituted the bloody sacrifices set forth in the Torah.

Professor Jodi Magness has said that she has found bones buried at Qumran in a ritual like way. The bones had been gnawed indicating that the meat had been taken off of them through eating. This position supports the conclusion that ritual acts of sacrifice were taking place at Qumran. However, a more radical position was also developing at the headquarters of the Nasoreans represented by John the Baptist. That position reflected on Melchizedek, a very important figure in Essene theology, and noted that the sacrifice of Melchizedek was bread and wine. These more radical followers of Essene Theology argued that the worship of G-d did not always require the killing of animals, but was allowed by Moshe with the provision that the sacrifice be to the one G-d. The others argued that the shedding of blood was the only way to forgive sin. This issue was very important to the followers of Jesus who supported John's position.

Jesus believed that there must be a resolution to the question of bloody sacrifice. He suspected that the only solution was the acknowledgment that abolishing bloody sacrifice required the spilling of blood. After He came to recognize Himself as the Priest-King Melchizedek returned he began to contemplate the idea of a formal act of bleeding in which his blood would become the central event that changed the bloody sacrifice to the sacrifice of Melchizedek. He decided that the institution of a new sacrificial system or rather a return to the older sacrificial system required an event and an act of sacrifice so he chose Pesach, a feast which centers on a perfect lamb being slain and its blood placed in the form of a cross on the door post of ones house, and which also centered on bread and wine. The gospels set us up for this event from day one. John announces Jesus as the Lamb of G-d. Isaiah 53 calls him the Lamb silent. So on that fateful day at the Seder of the Essenes, Jesus says that the bread will be the Body of the sacrifice in his sacrificial system and that the wine will be the Blood in his sacrificial system. He then proclaims that he has arranged to be arrested and that one of them had cooperated in that act. He is arrested, acts as the silent Lamb, and is crucified so that his body physically represents the symbol which would be created by dabbing the blood on the doorway. In this way, he pays the price of changing the sacrificial system from the one proclaimed by Moshe in the Torah to the earlier one used by Melchizedek, whom Jesus was.

It takes much time for the Jewish followers of Jesus to get the full import of his act. They fail to understand that the Temple is ended, that the bloody sacrifice is over, and only with the destruction of the Temple do they finally get that point. In the book, Kerygmata Petrou, translated by Theodore A. Dornan and Jackson H. Snyder, Chapter 36 and 37, Clement says that Peter spoke about the bloody sacrifice:

"When meantime, Moshe, the faithful and wise steward, perceived that the vice of bloody sacrifice to idols had been deeply ingrained into the people from their association with Egypt, and that the root of this evil could not be extracted from them, he allowed them bloody sacrifice, but it be done only to YHVH that by any means he might cut off one half of the deeply ingrained evil, leaving the other half to be corrected by another, and at a future time; by Him, namely, whom he said Himself, 'A prophet shall YHVH your Archangel raise unto you, whom you shall hear even as myself, according to all things that he shall say to you. Whosoever shall not hear that Prophet, his spirit shall be cut off from his people.'"

Clement argues that Peter had said that Jesus was that Prophet, as, of course, all the followers of Jesus believed. He had the power to change the Law so long as he did it in accordance with the Law. As the new Law Giver, he was empowered to change the sacrifice. He did this and that is what happened to eliminate the bloody sacrifice from our religion.

Instead of the bloody sacrifice, Nasoreans weekly remember, as do all Jews, the Seder Meal in the Kiddush service at sundown on a Friday night, but Nasoreans recognize in the bread and wine the sacrifice of Jesus and of the true Lamb and recognize further that the High Priest Yeshua ha Meshiach, Jesus the Christ, pours out for us his blood as is taught in the Letter of Barnabas to the Hebrews (Hebrews in the New Testament) as we celebrate the remembrance of that night. Our daily imperfections, those minor sins that do not separate us from G-d, but taint our spirits, are taken away when we regret them and confess them. Major sins are taken away in the act of mikvah, baptism. The Lamb of G-d continues to pour out his multiplied blood for us and all mankind on the HaKapporet in the Temple Above.

There will be a new Temple, but it is profane before it is built. It is the house of demons, the seat of AntiChrist and those that would build it are blasphemers and heretics, damned forever by their act. There is no need for a temple as the Holy Spirit is Tabernacled in every assembly which meets in the Name of Yeshua. At the moment of our celebration, YHVH is with us, Emmanuel is present and our celebration is HaMakom, the Place that G-d has Chosen.

The Image of the Invisible G-d

2009-12-25T08:02:00.000-06:00

There is a hymn that was chanted by the earliest believers in Yeshua ha Meshiach (Jesus the Christ). The writer of Colossians (1:15+) decided to include that hymn in his letter to the Colossians. The letter clearly reflects the teaching of the Apostles and especially of the High Priest and Bishop, Ya'akov, brother of Yeshua. It says:
He is the image of the invisible G-d, the firstborn of all creation.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things to him,
making peace by the blood of his cross, whether those on earth or those in heaven.

These words are strange to a Christian, but they would have resonated clearly with a Nasorean. Nasoreans believe that the True G-d, El Elyon, created the Archangel of the Presence by emanation in the beginning. He formed him from the Divine Light of the First Ray and then this being, this first Adam, created all other things, the multiverse, the Archangels, the Elementals, the souls of Man, and Adam himself. So it is true that YHVH-Metatron-Yeshua is the Creator of all things visible and invisible. When the author of the hymn mentioned the four divine orders -- thrones, dominions, principalities and powers-- it was to declare the absolute sovereignty of Our G-d. He, although not the true G-d, is the most powerful being in our multiverse, Creator, Sustainer, and Destroyer.

Jews and Christians will ask appropriately where I got all this information. I looked at the Torah, the source of truth. There it was in Exodus 23:21; it says: "for my name is in Him". This Archangel has the very nature of G-d and at his center is the Divine Light from which he was formed. He is the sole being in heaven and on earth that can forgive sins.

Now the passage clearly says that the Primal Adam, YHVH-Metatron-Yeshua, pre-existed before any thing else existed and it is His Power that holds the universe in place.

The second verse then says that this being YHVH-Metatron, the Archangel of the Presence, was incarnated for its says: He is the Head of the Body, the Church. In terms of our Kabbalistic truth the key words are Rosh meaning Kether, the Crown, and Body meaning the Chaim Etz, the Tree of Life within us and around us, the Assembly he calls it.

The hymn then says that this being dies. Well in some of his incarnations he has not died. Enoch did not die. Melchizedek did not die. Noach died. Joshua bar Nun died. Sholomoh ha Melech died. Yeshua ha Cohen died. Yeshua ha Meshiach died. But each of these beings was raised from the human death to the Throne of Heaven when their bodies and the Divine Spirit within them united again with its source, the Primal Adam.

The last verse reiterates the message of Exodus. The fullness of the Archangel was pleased to dwell on Earth. However, the passage makes it clear that it was not the death of Yeshua that reconciled man with G-d, but rather the shedding of his blood. Why? Because one cannot change the law without the shedding of blood. Yeshua once and for all declared the bloody sacrifices ended and paid the price for the return to the sacrifice of Melchizedek, whose reincarnation he was. We therefore are reconciled through the sacrifice of bread and wine and are free from our sins. This change occurred not only on earth, where it was decreed, but also in heaven, where he took up his miter as High Priest of Heaven, and mediated forgiveness.

So on this Christmas Day, remember that Yeshua ha Meshiach, the returned King of Jerusalem and High Priest of El Elyon, was born, probably not today, but this is his official birthday, and that he mediates for us today before the true G-d, El Elyon, whose very son he is. The angels proclaimed it and the Archangel Gavriel said it: He shall be called the Son of Elyon.

Christmas

2009-12-19T13:28:00.001-06:00

Christmas means christ mass. It was the Feast of the Incarnation. For centuries, the monarchs of the world have celebrated their birthdays as national holidays and often because of weather those holidays and official birthdays are not done on the actual day of the birth of the King. Likewise, it is certain that Jesus was not born on December 25, 1 CE. The sheep were still in the fields and it would have been very cold in December after dark in the fields. No good shepherd would have had his sheep in the field in December. So, if Christians are celebrating the King's birthday it is not as the actual day, but rather as a convenient day upon which to celebrate the King's birthday.

Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History does not mention Christmas because it was not a holy day for Christians. In fact, the first mention of the Roman celebration of December 25 was in 362 by Julian the last pagan Emperor.

The date for Christmas may also bear a relation to the sun worship. According to the scholiast on the Syriac bishop Jacob Bar-Salibi, writing in the twelfth century:

"It was a custom of the Pagans to celebrate on the same 25 December the birthday of the Sun, at which they kindled lights in token of festivity. In these solemnities and revelries the Christians also took part. Accordingly when the doctors of the Church perceived that the Christians had a leaning to this festival, they took counsel and resolved that the true Nativity should be solemnised on that day." However, this statement directly conflicts with what we know of the early Christians, namely, that they were ridiculed, tortured, and cast apart from operative society precisely because they would not participate in the pagan feasts and celebrations. The early Christians set themselves directly in opposition to the paganism which ruled the day. "Since Christians worshipped an invisible God, pagans often declared them to be atheists."

The birthday of Mithras, the soldier's god, the worship of whom swept the Roman world was December 25.

Is it wrong for Jews and Nasoreans to celebrate Christmas? Well, there is no evidence that a Jewish King's birthday was ever publicly celebrated. However, there is no reason not to celebrate the birthday of all the Incarnations of the Archangel and to celebrate them as Christ's Day would be fine. However, it is hard to justify a movement from celebrating the Kings' Birthday to giving vast numbers of presents to other people and to eating and drinking oneself to gluttony. Rather than become involved in that cultural expression, I think that Nasoreans should forego celebrating.