Nahum 1
We are walking in today: Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought Part 5
Witness mighty throughout the Bible: H3581 koach---strength, produce
power, might
Exo 32:11 And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, H3581 and with a mighty hand?
The Torah testifies...............
Deu 4:37 And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power H3581 out of Egypt;
The prophets proclaim..................
Dan 8:24 And his power H3581 shall be mighty, but not by his own power: H3581 and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
The writings bear witness...........................
Ecc 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; H3581 for there is no work, nor device, nor
knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
Zec 4:6
Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, H3581 but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
THE DYNAMIC CHARACTER OF THE HEBREW WORLD
In the Hebrew world, according to Boman, things do not have the immovable fixity and inflexibility that they have for us, but they are changeable and in motion. He then cites some examples of this in Scripture: Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff. (Isa. 41:15)
Even stones and rock are movable and externally alterable: Job. 14:18—
And surely the mountain falling cometh to nought, and the rock is removed out of his place. In comparison with [The Most High's] immovability, even the fixity of the earth is nothing at all:
Ps. 18:7—Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
Ps. 114:4—The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs.
Nah. 1:5—The mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein. Such hyperbolic images cannot be explained by natural phenomona…This hyperbole has two familiar roots, the Hebrews’ distinctly-personal kind of thinking and their faith in the omnipotent God:
Ps. 46:2ff—Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof…
The LORD of hosts is with us; the Isa. 54:10—
The Most High of Jacob is our refuge. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee. We shall see as we progress with this study that the Hebrews’ dynamic view of life, including those aspects of it which the Western mindset tends to view as static, stationary or at rest overlaps into their view of the the Most High Himself. Suffice it to say here, the Hebrews’ view of the Creator is less parochial and boxed into a limited human scope of things. Their view of the Divine is more open and expansive. Instead of trying to confine Him to limited human definitions and descriptions they focus their efforts on pursuing Him and the character and qualities that determine His makeup. The understanding of the world around them, including God, is to pursue life and the Most High to the fullest, rather than spending time passively trying to define Him. In the pursuit comes the understanding and comes the relationship between the Divine and humanity.
WESTERN PASSIVITY COMPARED WITH THE ENERGETIC AND DESCRIPTIVE HEBREW PEOPLE
“Through modern invention and outright apathy, our present Western world has grown more and more passive. We have developed a TV-obsessed, entertainment-prone, and spectator-minded generation which seems to be largely content to watch life rather than live it” (Wilson, p. 136). This is not only an apt description of American cultural life, but of the American Christian church, as well, which, sadly, has, to a large degree, become a mirror image of the surrounding secular culture. The typical church service in the First American Church, in Anytown, America has become a spectator sport with chairs (or pews) arranged theater-style facing a stage where often paid professional performers titillate emotions and the tickle ears of their fans for an hour or two on Sunday morning. The churchgoers, on having received their weekly dose or fix of religion-entertainment return afterwards to their secular prayerless, biblically illiterate and evangelizingless lives to exist, by in large, as spiritual “couch potatoes.” Wilson continues, “By contrast, the Hebrew were largely an energetic, robust, and, at times, even turbulent people. They were primarily outdoor folk,—farmers, fishermen, tradesmen —who lived life to the full. For them, truth was not so much an idea to be contemplated as an experience to be lived, a deed to be done. The biblical writers often use vocabulary which is highly colorful, dynamic, and action-centered. They tell the story of a people on the move, a people who approached living with boldness, drive, and expectation…Israel followed a ‘The Most High-on-the-move,’ and they were ‘his movable treasure’ (Ex. 19:5)” Wilson quoting Martin Luther goes one to say that Luther saw within the Hebrew Bible a “special energy” in its vocabulary. “In his struggle to translate the Hebrew Bible into German, Luther discovered in the sixteenth century what many Hebraists of the twentieth century have recently come to affirm with him: it is impossible to convey so much so briefly in any other language.” Luther said, “In it [the Hebrew language] we hear the Most High speak…”
“Laziness, inertia, or passivity were hardly marks of the Hebrews’ lifestyle. Rather, the Hebrews were mainly a doing and feeling people…‘Hebrew may be called primarily a language of senses. The words originally expressed concrete or material things and movements or actions which struck the senses or started the emotions. Only secondarily and in metaphor could they be used to denote abstract or metaphysical ideas.’ The Bible contains many Hebraisms in which abstract thoughts or immaterial conceptions are conveyed through material or physical terminology” (Wilson, p. 137). Wilson then cites a number of such examples:
— look is to lift up the eyes (Gen. 22:4)
— be angry is to burn in one’s nostrils (Ex. 4:14)
— disclose something or reveal something is to unstop one’s ears (Ruth 4:4)
— have no compassion is hard heartedness (1 Sam. 6:6)
— stubborn is stiff-necked (2 Chr. 30:8; Acts 7:51)
— get ready or brace yourself is gird up your loins (Jer. 1:17)
— to be determined to go is set one’s face to go (Jer. 42:15, 17; Lk. 9:51)
In addition, the Hebrews often refer to the Most High by the use of anthropomorphisms (i.e., representations of God with human attributes). The ‘living’ and ‘active’ the Most High of the Hebrews is thus never reduced to mere impersonal abstraction. For instance, the Ten Commandments are said to be ‘inscribed by the finger of the Most High’ (Ex. 31:18). The prophet Isaiah states, ‘Surely the arm of [the Most High] is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull too hear’ (Isa. 59:1). And again, a well-known proverb states, ‘The eyes of [the Most High] are everywhere’ (Prov. 15:3)”
NON-BEING IN HEBREW THOUGHT
“True being for the Hebrews is the word dabhar, which comprises all Hebraic realities: word, deed, and concrete object. Non-being, nothing (no-thing), is signified correspondingly by ‘not-word’, lo-debhar. For the Hebrews, non-being, nothingness (no-thingness) also has a certain existence which in practical life is tangible and unsavoury. ‘Mere words’ (Heb.: words of the lip) are empty and vain and, therefore, pernicious and dangerous (2 Ki. 18:20; Prov. 14:23). The lying words of the false prophets are negative quantity in content, yet have a disastrously seductive strength. The prophet Mecaiah ben Imlah had heard how the soothsaying spirit offered himself in [the Most High’s] council to be a lying spirit in the mouth of Ahab’s prophets so that they prophesied a pure negativity (1 Ki. 22:21ff). A lie for the Hebrew is not as it is for us, a non-agreement with the truth; for example, he would not impute lying to the midwives (Ex. 1:19), something that the text abundantly confirms. For him the lie is the internal decay and destruction of the word: sheqer is the opposite of tsedheq (Ps. 52:5). That which is powerless, empty, and vain is a lie: a spring which gives no water lies (Isa. 58:11). For this reason, it is just as clear that the God of Israel does not lie (1 Sam/ 15:29) as it is that idols are lies (Jer. 10:14). Lies and falsehood are also called shaw whose basic meaning is that which is empty, or which has no content and is futile, a mirage, a nullity” (Boman, p. 56) Boman goes on to explain that Hebrew has many expressions for nullity such as a puff of win, a breath, a phantom, a deception and a false opinion (ibid.). Examples of this in Scripture are:
Ps. 62:9—Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.
Ec. 5:16— And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit
“The Greeks and the Hebrews are united in the idea that non-being is something dreadful; being, however, is a genuine reality and true good, regardless of whether being is thought of as eternally resting conforming to the Greek kind or in eternal motion conforming to the Hebrew kind” (Boman, p. 57-58). In addition, the word of the Most High was not only nor even primarily an expression of thought; it was a mighty and dynamic force (Boman, p. 58). Examples of this in Holy Scripture are: Jer. 23:2—Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
Isa. 55:10ff—For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Ps. 33:6,9—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.
“Dabhar is dynamic both objectively and linguistically; it comes from the verb dabhar…and simply means to speak. The basic meaning is to be behind and drive forward, hence to let words follow one another, or even better to drive forward that which is behind; the verb thus portrays somehow the functions of speaking. Dabhar means not only word but also deed. Abraham’s servant recounted to Isaac all the words that he had done (Gen. 24:66); the rest of Solomon’s words, and everything that he did, and his wisdom are recorded in the book of the words of Solomon (1 Ki. 11:41). The word is the highest and noblest function of man and is, for that reason identical with his action. Word and deed are thus not two different meaning of dabhar, but the deed is the consequence of the basic meaning inhering dabhar” (Boman, p. 66). For the Israelite, if deeds did not follow a man’s word then his word was considered a false, lying empty, counterfeit or a lying word, for it did not possess the inner strength and truth for accomplishment, but it accomplished instead something evil…Since the word is connected with its accomplishment, dabhar could be translated effective word”
As we can see from this discussion of the Hebrew word dabhar the Israelite mind was more concerned with the substance or quality of something, rather than the appearance or, in the case of words, simply the sound issuing forth from one’s mouth. Similar to this concept is the Hebrew word for faith (emunah), which not only means belief as in mental ascent, but also means faithfulness, or the actions following the mouth’s confession to belief in something. For example, there are far too many nominal Christians who have at some time in their life pronounced the words, “I believe in Jesus Christ and accept him as my Lord and Savior” (as per Rom. 10:9-10) as if these words were merely some magical mantra or formula which when pronounced guarantee one’s eternal security regardless of subsequent lifestyle and actions. Hebraically, such a concept of pronouncing a word without following it up with actions makes the word null, void and meaningless. This is the concept that the writers of Scripture had when they penned such popular Christian salvation passages as Romans 10:9-10. To not understand the proper meaning of the words of Holy Scripture Hebraically can result in false teachings going forth leading to false conversions leading to many people thinking they are spiritually saved when in reality they are the walking damned!
By comparison to the Hebrew word dabhar (to speak), the Greek word logos (to speak) means to gather or arrange in an orderly manner. It means to speak, reckon, think. The deepest meaning and focus of logos is neither the function, articulateness nor the dynamics of the speaking , but rather the ordered and reasonableness of the content, according to Boman. Therefore, logos expresses the mental function that is highest according to Greek understanding. “As we have seen, dabhar performs the same service for the Israelites; therefore, these two words teach us what the two peoples considered primary and essential in mental life: on the one side the dynamic, masterful, energetic—on the other side the ordered, moderate, thought out, calculated, meaningful, rational.”
We see, therefore, that the word word is, so to speak, the point of intersection between two entirely different ways of conceiving the highest mental life, a fact that can be pointed up by means to the following diagram:
“When therefore, the Fourth Evangelist [John, in chapter one] pronounces the word logos at the beginning of his Gospel, the many different profound meanings of dabhar as well as logos harmonize into a beautiful and mysterious unity for him as well as for is Greek-speaking readers familiar with the Old Testament in the same way as the sound of several church bells rung simultaneously the Evangelist [John] speaks three times of the eternal being of the logos (v. 1f.), undoubtedly it is the Greek spirit which is breathing upon us, for it is characteristic of the Hebrews that their words effect and of the Greeks that the word is.”
I would, at this point, add into this discussion some observations that I hope the reader will find cogent and interesting. Hebraically, the land of Israel is considered to be at the center of the earth. Geographically it lies at the intersection and crossroads of the three main continents of the ancient world. The Most High placed Israel there so that it would be a light and an example of righteousness to the nations. Prior to and during the time of Yahusha the Hebrew and Greek cultures were vying (and at times warring) with each other for supremacy over the hearts, minds and land of the Jews. When the long awaited Messiah arrived on the scene, it was not only his mission for his disciples to evangelize Jerusalem and Judea, but also Samaria and the rest of the world, which at that time was Greek in culture and language. Yahusha came not only to establish the mechanics by which this evangelism could be accomplished (via a body of followers or believers in him and in his mission), but it was his purpose to reconcile through himself both the Jews and the (Greek) Gentiles. This was done through his Person at the stake, and his followers subsequently took the message of the stake everywhere.
Hebrew as we are seeing and will see proven more fully below was a language whose primary purpose was to aid a people in approaching their Creator. It was a the Most High-centered language spoken by a the Most High-centered and the Most High-intoxicated Hebrew people. Its core and essence was vertical in nature and could be represented by a vertical line extending from earth to heaven. Conversely, Greek was a language of science, of describing the world, of facts and reason. It was primarily humanistic in nature and can be characterized by a horizontal line parallel to the surface of the earth. THE WORD, which is exactly what Yahshua the Messiah was (the Word of Elohim made flesh, the Word of Life).
Yahusha, the WORD of Elohim came to reconcile both the Hebrew and the Greek worlds in Himself. This was accomplished as Yahusha hung on the cross suspended between heaven and earth—between the horizontal and vertical planes of earthly and heavenly dimensions of existence. Prior to His crucifixion He talked about being lifted up (crucified) (Jn. 3:14; 8:28) and that through Him the reconciliation of heaven and earth would occur (Jn. 12:32). Through the vertical post (which represents the salvation of the Jews that Yahusha talked about in Jn. 4:22) of the cross which points heavenward the rest of the world—the Gentile Greeks—(representing the earthly or horizontal plane of humanity) would be reconciled to the Father—all this through the person of Yahusha the Maschiach who hung at the focal point of nexus of the both planes.
This relates to the last letter of the Hebrew alephbet which is the letter tav which in its original paleo-Hebrew pictographic form is in the shape of a cross and pictographically and anciently signified a sign, a seal or a covenant. The letter tav in the shape of a cross going back to the creation of man and to the first spoken language that the Most High gave to man at the Garden of Eden, namely Hebrew, was a prophetic picture way back then (long before the pagan sun-worshippers misappropriated the cross and perverted it into a pagan symbol of idolatry) of the reconciliation of the world through the Hebrew people, the Hebrew Scriptures and the Hebrew Maschiach, Yahusha.
Now let’s us follow this analogy one step further. The vertical post (representing the Hebrew part) can exist without the horizontal cross arm (representing the Greek part), but the horizontal cannot exist without the supporting vertical post without falling to the ground. Similarly, the branches need the tree trunk to support it. The tree trunk can live without the branches, but not vice versa. Speaking of this very fact, Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles states this in Romans 11:18. Speaking to the Gentiles he says, “Thou bearest not the root, but the root bearest thee.” As the Jewish vertical part of the cross points the way to the Most High Elohim, the Jews will lead the way to God for they have the true concept of God and as Yashuah said in John 4:22 to the Gentile Samaritan woman, “Salvation is of the Jews.” This was born out by the fact that not only was the Savior himself a Jew, but all the original believers in the first century were Jewish and they formed the foundation for the Body of Messiah to which non-Jewish believers were subsequently added. And who did Yahshua choose to carry this message of the cross, the reconciling of the vertical and the horizontal, the Hebrew and the Greek? Who carried the Word of the Most High outward from Jerusalem—the center of the earth? It was Paul, a Greek-speaking, Roman citizen, diaspora, orthodox, pharisaical Jewish rabbi. Who better to understand both the Greek and the Hebrew sides and to bring them together? To help make one new man in Maschiach.
Shema Selah what is the mind that you have is it the mind of Maschiach, Yahusha?? https://youtu.be/mF56Zc1eu68
The Divine destiny connection, the chain that links us together.
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Friday, February 14, 2020
Blacks in the Bible, Going Back To Our Genesis! Part 4
Deuteronomy 28 & 30
We are walking in today: Weekend Meditation--Blacks in the Bible, Going Back To Our Genesis! Part 4
Witness power throughout the Bible: H3027 yad-- strength, power
In the 2001 Oxford Encyclopedia, egyptologist, Stuart Tyson Smith wrote :
“Any characterization of race of the ancient Egyptians depends on modern cultural definitions, not on scientific study. Thus, by modern American standards it is reasonable to characterize the Egyptians as ‘black’, while acknowledging the scientific evidence for the physical diversity of Africans.”
Based off how the Ancient Egyptians portrayed themselves through art, it is clear that they were a black African race. Ancient Greek and Roman travelers and historians, who lived during that time said that the Egyptians were black as well. An ancient Greek historian named Herodotus (400 B.C.), who is known as the “Father of History “, wrote about Ancient Egypt when he traveled there.
“ I myself guessed their Egyptian origin not only because the Colchians are dark-skinned and curly-haired (which does not count for much by itself , because these features are common in others too) but more importantly because Colchians, Egyptians and Ethiopians are the only peoples in the world who practise circumcision and who have always done so.”
In a nutshell he is saying that Egyptians had dark skin and curly hair. More importantly, he is saying that those three dark races above were the only race to practice circumcision. Circumcision is a Hebrew custom.
Below is what the French artist and historian, Vivant Denon, drew when he saw the Sphinx of Giza (before the nose was knocked off) around 1798. Note the African features.
In 1782 a French philosopher and historian named, Count Constantine de Volney, visited Egypt and said this:
“All the Egyptians,” wrote de Volney, “have a bloated face, puffed-up eyes, flat nose, thick lips — in a word, the true face of the mulatto. I was tempted to attribute it to the climate, but when I visited the Sphinx, its appearance gave me the key to the riddle. On seeing that head, typically Negro in all its features.”
In 2012, the Laboratory called DNA Tribes,released the DNA results of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and Pharaoh Tutankhamen. They lived around 1300 and 1400 B.C. The results showed that they had the same DNA as people from Great Lakes and the Southern Africa( Near Uganda.)This is DNA evidence showing that the Ancient Egyptians were black African people.
The pictures on the tombs and statues show that the Ancient Egyptians looked like Black Africans, African Americans or Black People. The eye witness accounts of ancient European travelers, show that the ancient Egyptians were black people. As mentioned earlier, the biblical evidence shows that Moses and Paul looked nearly identical to the Egyptians, thus confirming that Moses and Paul, were “so called black people”.
The roots of racism against blacks and Native Americans/Latinos, can be found in the Torah. In the 28th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy, of the Torah, it describes how if the Israelites broke certain commandments, Most High would allow numerous curses to come upon them. The Torah states that these curses would be a sign upon the Israelites and their descendants forever. This means that the curses help us identify those who are Israelites are today. What are some of the curses that would identify the Israelites?
“And the LORD shall bring you into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spoke to you, You shall see it no more again: and there you shall be sold to your enemies for slaves and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you” ( Deuteronomy 28:68).
Some theologians,such as the 18th century, English biblical scholar, John Gill(1697) believe that the Egypt being referred to in this passage is not literal Egypt. The truth is that, Egypt symbolizes slavery, or the house of bondage in this passage. In the book of Revelations one of the prophecies during the end times says “And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.” (11:9) The significance of this passage is that it shows that in the Bible, Egypt also has a spiritual meaning and not literal meaning.
According to most theologians, in this passage, the word buy, means redeem or save them. In other words this curse says that the Jews would go into slavery, by ships, where they would be sold and nobody would redeem them. This curse fell upon black people during the Atlantic Slave Trade. During the Atlantic Slave Trade, it is estimated that a total of about 12 million Africans were scattered to the United States and Latin America. This also happened to Native Americans who were sold into slavery and shipped to Europe.
“Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof” (Deuteronomy 28:30).
“Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand” (Deuteronomy 28:32).
“Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity” (Deuteronomy 28:41).
These passages apply to the Atlantic Slave Trade, in which the wives of African men were raped by many European owners. It also describes how the children of black men and women were sold away into slavery as well. Many black families were torn apart during slavery. This also happened to Native Americans/Latinos.
“The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed always” (Deuteronomy 28:33).
This passage means that the Israelites would labor in a nation, and that the country they were in would get wealthy off the labor. The passages also says that the Israelites would not enjoy the fruits of their labor. It also mentions that the Israelites would always be persecuted. Are blacks, Native Americans and Latinos still being persecuted today? The countries that participated in the Atlantic slave trade and slavery, got rich off the free labor of blacks. Blacks did not receive reparations, but many slave owners did. Globally, blacks are socially, politically, and economically at the bottom of society.
“The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;” (Deuteronomy 28:49)
An eagle is one of America’s main symbols.
“So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the LORD your the Most High by keeping His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you” (Deuteronomy 28:46).
“They shall become a sign and a wonder on you and your descendants forever” (Deuteronomy 28:47).
This passage shows that the curses would be a sign and wonder on the Israelites, and their descendants forever. The trials and tribulations of the Africans that were kidnapped and forced into the Atlantic Slave Trade, as well as their descendants, match up with the curses listed from the Torah. Native Americans and Latinos fit these curses as well. The history and present condition of the Israelites may seem very tragic but the future for them is very promising.
In the book of Acts it says
“And the Most High spoke on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years” (7:6).
This passage helps show that “Egypt” is a symbol for oppression and not literal Egypt. Some theologians say that this 400 years of bondage does not apply to the time the Israelites spent in literal Egypt. This is due to the fact that the Israelites only spent 210 years in Egypt.
The passage above, about the 400 years of slavery and mistreatment can only apply to American Slavery. The Israelites sold to America during the Atlantic Slave Trade have been in America for almost 400 years. The first Africans to arrive in America during slavery was in 1619. Next year, 2019, will mark 400 years of Africans being in America. In the next line of this passage, it says
“And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said the Most High: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place” (7:7).
This passage describes how after the Israelites are in bondage for 400 years, the Most High will judge the nation that mistreated the Israelites. In this context, judge means punish. After 400 years of America mistreating the Israelites or so called African Americans, America will be punished by God’s divine wrath and then the Israelites, will be freed from their captivity and will return to their homeland, Israel. After learning this I thought “400 years? Native Americans have been in America longer than that.”
I later learned that the Hebrew Nation consisted of two Kingdoms. The Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah. These two kingdoms became divided. In the book of Zechariah one of the prophecies was that the Kingdom of Judah would be saved first. (12:7) This would explain the 1619–2019 timeline that is mentioned for African Americans. African Americans are from the Kingdom of Judah. Below is a map of Africa before it was altered. Notice how on the same territory labeled the Slave Coast,( where the Africans would be stolen and sold into slavery), it is also labeled the Kingdom of Juda. Wherever the Israelites went they tried to hold on to their names.
Only the Most High knows if the 400 year prophecy relates to African Americans being enslaved and mistreated 400 years in America. Either way we do know they will return to Israel with wealth, once they turn back to God and accept Yahusha as their messiah.
“1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy the Most High hath driven thee,
2 And shalt return unto the Lord thy the Most High, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
3 That then the Lord thy the Most High will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.
4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy the Most High gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
5 And the Lord thy the Most High will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.
6 And the Lord thy the Most High will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
7 And the Lord thy the Most High will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.
8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the Lord, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.
9 And the Lord thy the Most High will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:
10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy the Most High, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.” (Deuteronomy 30:1)
Here is quick follow up on how the Israelites would try to hold on to their Hebrew names. Below are records of the names of the Israelites who were sold into slavery in the Americas. Notice how most on these particular slave records shown, end in “Yah”. Yah is Hebrew for the Most High. This confirms the 2 Chronicles 7:14.
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
Now it makes sense as to why slave owners changed the names of the Israelites once we arrived in America.
So now that we know we are Israelites, what now? How will this get us out of the condition of oppression and mistreatment in America?
There has to be a national, spiritual re-awakening. This means, the masses of the so called blacks, Native Americans and Latinos , have to accept their true identity as Israelites, turn back to the Most High, the Bible, and accept Yahusha.
We are walking in today: Weekend Meditation--Blacks in the Bible, Going Back To Our Genesis! Part 4
Witness power throughout the Bible: H3027 yad-- strength, power
Gen 31:29 It is in the power of my hand H3027 to do you hurt: but the the Most High of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying, Take thou heed that thou speak not to Jacob either good or bad.
The Torah testifies...............
Deu 32:36 For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power H3027 is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.
The prophets proclaim..................
Neh 1:10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. H3027
The writings bear witness...........................
2 Ki 19:26 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, H3027 they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops,
and as corn blasted before it be grown up.
Isa 47:14 Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power H3027 of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
Welcome to this study as we take a look back through scripture, history and science to find where do black people fit into this whole thing! We are being awakened and returned to our origins and the primary principles of our ancestors, which we can trace through the scriptures and confirm in history and science! What an awesome time this is! 400 years is up and now we are fully returning to what we received at Mt. Sinai, the covenant and the covenant keeper the Most High has restored and redeemed His bride!
The Torah testifies...............
Deu 32:36 For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power H3027 is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.
The prophets proclaim..................
Neh 1:10 Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand. H3027
The writings bear witness...........................
2 Ki 19:26 Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, H3027 they were dismayed and confounded; they were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops,
and as corn blasted before it be grown up.
Isa 47:14 Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power H3027 of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.
Welcome to this study as we take a look back through scripture, history and science to find where do black people fit into this whole thing! We are being awakened and returned to our origins and the primary principles of our ancestors, which we can trace through the scriptures and confirm in history and science! What an awesome time this is! 400 years is up and now we are fully returning to what we received at Mt. Sinai, the covenant and the covenant keeper the Most High has restored and redeemed His bride!
In the 2001 Oxford Encyclopedia, egyptologist, Stuart Tyson Smith wrote :
“Any characterization of race of the ancient Egyptians depends on modern cultural definitions, not on scientific study. Thus, by modern American standards it is reasonable to characterize the Egyptians as ‘black’, while acknowledging the scientific evidence for the physical diversity of Africans.”
Based off how the Ancient Egyptians portrayed themselves through art, it is clear that they were a black African race. Ancient Greek and Roman travelers and historians, who lived during that time said that the Egyptians were black as well. An ancient Greek historian named Herodotus (400 B.C.), who is known as the “Father of History “, wrote about Ancient Egypt when he traveled there.
“ I myself guessed their Egyptian origin not only because the Colchians are dark-skinned and curly-haired (which does not count for much by itself , because these features are common in others too) but more importantly because Colchians, Egyptians and Ethiopians are the only peoples in the world who practise circumcision and who have always done so.”
In a nutshell he is saying that Egyptians had dark skin and curly hair. More importantly, he is saying that those three dark races above were the only race to practice circumcision. Circumcision is a Hebrew custom.
Below is what the French artist and historian, Vivant Denon, drew when he saw the Sphinx of Giza (before the nose was knocked off) around 1798. Note the African features.
In 1782 a French philosopher and historian named, Count Constantine de Volney, visited Egypt and said this:
“All the Egyptians,” wrote de Volney, “have a bloated face, puffed-up eyes, flat nose, thick lips — in a word, the true face of the mulatto. I was tempted to attribute it to the climate, but when I visited the Sphinx, its appearance gave me the key to the riddle. On seeing that head, typically Negro in all its features.”
In 2012, the Laboratory called DNA Tribes,released the DNA results of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and Pharaoh Tutankhamen. They lived around 1300 and 1400 B.C. The results showed that they had the same DNA as people from Great Lakes and the Southern Africa( Near Uganda.)This is DNA evidence showing that the Ancient Egyptians were black African people.
The pictures on the tombs and statues show that the Ancient Egyptians looked like Black Africans, African Americans or Black People. The eye witness accounts of ancient European travelers, show that the ancient Egyptians were black people. As mentioned earlier, the biblical evidence shows that Moses and Paul looked nearly identical to the Egyptians, thus confirming that Moses and Paul, were “so called black people”.
The roots of racism against blacks and Native Americans/Latinos, can be found in the Torah. In the 28th chapter of the book of Deuteronomy, of the Torah, it describes how if the Israelites broke certain commandments, Most High would allow numerous curses to come upon them. The Torah states that these curses would be a sign upon the Israelites and their descendants forever. This means that the curses help us identify those who are Israelites are today. What are some of the curses that would identify the Israelites?
“And the LORD shall bring you into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spoke to you, You shall see it no more again: and there you shall be sold to your enemies for slaves and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you” ( Deuteronomy 28:68).
Some theologians,such as the 18th century, English biblical scholar, John Gill(1697) believe that the Egypt being referred to in this passage is not literal Egypt. The truth is that, Egypt symbolizes slavery, or the house of bondage in this passage. In the book of Revelations one of the prophecies during the end times says “And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.” (11:9) The significance of this passage is that it shows that in the Bible, Egypt also has a spiritual meaning and not literal meaning.
According to most theologians, in this passage, the word buy, means redeem or save them. In other words this curse says that the Jews would go into slavery, by ships, where they would be sold and nobody would redeem them. This curse fell upon black people during the Atlantic Slave Trade. During the Atlantic Slave Trade, it is estimated that a total of about 12 million Africans were scattered to the United States and Latin America. This also happened to Native Americans who were sold into slavery and shipped to Europe.
“Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof” (Deuteronomy 28:30).
“Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand” (Deuteronomy 28:32).
“Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity” (Deuteronomy 28:41).
These passages apply to the Atlantic Slave Trade, in which the wives of African men were raped by many European owners. It also describes how the children of black men and women were sold away into slavery as well. Many black families were torn apart during slavery. This also happened to Native Americans/Latinos.
“The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed always” (Deuteronomy 28:33).
This passage means that the Israelites would labor in a nation, and that the country they were in would get wealthy off the labor. The passages also says that the Israelites would not enjoy the fruits of their labor. It also mentions that the Israelites would always be persecuted. Are blacks, Native Americans and Latinos still being persecuted today? The countries that participated in the Atlantic slave trade and slavery, got rich off the free labor of blacks. Blacks did not receive reparations, but many slave owners did. Globally, blacks are socially, politically, and economically at the bottom of society.
“The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;” (Deuteronomy 28:49)
An eagle is one of America’s main symbols.
“So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the LORD your the Most High by keeping His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you” (Deuteronomy 28:46).
“They shall become a sign and a wonder on you and your descendants forever” (Deuteronomy 28:47).
This passage shows that the curses would be a sign and wonder on the Israelites, and their descendants forever. The trials and tribulations of the Africans that were kidnapped and forced into the Atlantic Slave Trade, as well as their descendants, match up with the curses listed from the Torah. Native Americans and Latinos fit these curses as well. The history and present condition of the Israelites may seem very tragic but the future for them is very promising.
In the book of Acts it says
“And the Most High spoke on this wise, That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years” (7:6).
This passage helps show that “Egypt” is a symbol for oppression and not literal Egypt. Some theologians say that this 400 years of bondage does not apply to the time the Israelites spent in literal Egypt. This is due to the fact that the Israelites only spent 210 years in Egypt.
The passage above, about the 400 years of slavery and mistreatment can only apply to American Slavery. The Israelites sold to America during the Atlantic Slave Trade have been in America for almost 400 years. The first Africans to arrive in America during slavery was in 1619. Next year, 2019, will mark 400 years of Africans being in America. In the next line of this passage, it says
“And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said the Most High: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place” (7:7).
This passage describes how after the Israelites are in bondage for 400 years, the Most High will judge the nation that mistreated the Israelites. In this context, judge means punish. After 400 years of America mistreating the Israelites or so called African Americans, America will be punished by God’s divine wrath and then the Israelites, will be freed from their captivity and will return to their homeland, Israel. After learning this I thought “400 years? Native Americans have been in America longer than that.”
I later learned that the Hebrew Nation consisted of two Kingdoms. The Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah. These two kingdoms became divided. In the book of Zechariah one of the prophecies was that the Kingdom of Judah would be saved first. (12:7) This would explain the 1619–2019 timeline that is mentioned for African Americans. African Americans are from the Kingdom of Judah. Below is a map of Africa before it was altered. Notice how on the same territory labeled the Slave Coast,( where the Africans would be stolen and sold into slavery), it is also labeled the Kingdom of Juda. Wherever the Israelites went they tried to hold on to their names.
Only the Most High knows if the 400 year prophecy relates to African Americans being enslaved and mistreated 400 years in America. Either way we do know they will return to Israel with wealth, once they turn back to God and accept Yahusha as their messiah.
“1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy the Most High hath driven thee,
2 And shalt return unto the Lord thy the Most High, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
3 That then the Lord thy the Most High will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.
4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy the Most High gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
5 And the Lord thy the Most High will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.
6 And the Lord thy the Most High will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
7 And the Lord thy the Most High will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.
8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the Lord, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.
9 And the Lord thy the Most High will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:
10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy the Most High, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.” (Deuteronomy 30:1)
Here is quick follow up on how the Israelites would try to hold on to their Hebrew names. Below are records of the names of the Israelites who were sold into slavery in the Americas. Notice how most on these particular slave records shown, end in “Yah”. Yah is Hebrew for the Most High. This confirms the 2 Chronicles 7:14.
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
Now it makes sense as to why slave owners changed the names of the Israelites once we arrived in America.
So now that we know we are Israelites, what now? How will this get us out of the condition of oppression and mistreatment in America?
There has to be a national, spiritual re-awakening. This means, the masses of the so called blacks, Native Americans and Latinos , have to accept their true identity as Israelites, turn back to the Most High, the Bible, and accept Yahusha.
Shema selah SHEMA ISRAEL!! AWAKE AWAKE KING AND QUEENS!! ROYAL FAMILY RISE UP AND RETURN!!! https://youtu.be/DpMtNSwKETM
Wednesday, February 12, 2020
Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought Part 4
2 Corinthians chapter 11
We are walking in today: Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought Part 4
Witness deceive throughout the Bible: H6601 pathah --to be enticed, be deceived; to persuade, seduce
The Torah testifies...............
Deu 11:16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, H6601 and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
The prophets proclaim..................
2 Sa 3:25 Thou knowest Abner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive H6601 thee, and to know thy going out and thy coming in, and to know all that thou doest.
The writings bear witness...........................
Pro 24:28 Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive H6601 not with thy lips.
Jer 29:8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the Most High of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.
ATHENS OR JERUSALEM?
We are walking in today: Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought Part 4
Witness deceive throughout the Bible: H6601 pathah --to be enticed, be deceived; to persuade, seduce
The Torah testifies...............
Deu 11:16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, H6601 and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
The prophets proclaim..................
2 Sa 3:25 Thou knowest Abner the son of Ner, that he came to deceive H6601 thee, and to know thy going out and thy coming in, and to know all that thou doest.
The writings bear witness...........................
Pro 24:28 Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive H6601 not with thy lips.
Jer 29:8 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the Most High of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.
ATHENS OR JERUSALEM?
Scholar Marvin Wilson asks the following question, “What is the inner world of biblical thought? What is the cultural mind-set of the authors of Holy Writ? Are we to understand the Bible chiefly through the eyes of Hellenism (Greek thought and culture) or through the eyes of Judaism (Hebrew thought and culture)? Obviously, the last question focuses on the New Testament. Most scholars affirm an essentially strong Jewish background to Gospel studies and to the life and teachings of Yahusha. But scholars debate widely the background of the writings of Paul, ‘apostle to the Gentiles’ (Rom. 11:13)” (Our Father Abraham—Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdman’s Publishing Co., 1989, p. 5). Wilson continues, “Indeed, today convincing evidence challenges the earlier widespread belief that Paul’s writings bear the distinctive mark of Platonism. In sum, contemporary Christians have strong reasons to question any approach to Paul which finds the primary roots of his theology in Hellenism, Gnosticism, or mystery religion. “Paul upheld the goodness of the Jewish tradition of Torah. Indeed, Paul ‘came to understand the Christian life as patterned after that of Judaism: it was for him not the antithesis but the full flowering of that Faith.’ This meant for Paul, Diaspora Jew that he was, a deep rooting in the Hebrew Scriptures and rabbinic thought. Paul was proud of being a Jew (2 Cor. 11:22), in his words, ‘a Hebrew of Hebrews...a Pharisee’ (Phil. 3:5). As in the case of ancient Israel, so with Paul, the Most High channeled ‘His word thought by Hebrew minds...’” “If one is to interpret the teaching of Paul—and, indeed, all of Scripture—correctly, one must understand his background and the context in which he wrote. Krister Stendahl has wisely observed that ‘the task of biblical studies, even of biblical theology is to describe, to relive and relate, in terms of presuppositions of the period of the texts, what they meant to their authors and their contemporaries.’...[Paul’s] inner world of the spirit reflects primarily his Hebrew heritage, fed from sources which originally flowed from Jerusalem. So at the core, Paul’s theology was essentially Hebraic...” (Wilson, p. 8). As Wilson states, we can establish that “the authors in both the Old and New Testaments, find their primary orientation in the Semitic culture of the East,” and that Christianity does not derive from pagan, Hellenistic sources, or from speculative world-views, and neither is it a syncretistic religion deeply rooted in mystery cults, Gnostic sects, naturalistic philosophies, or polytheistic thought. Rather, the Christian faith is divinely revealed and is securely anchored in the Hebrew Bible —the [Torah], Prophets, and Writings. The Most High breathed his word into the minds of the biblical authors within a Jewish cultural environment. Consequently, for us, in the most succinct terms, ‘to ignore Hebraic ways of thinks is to subvert [a proper biblical] understanding.’ We must, therefore, focus on the language and thought-patterns found in the Scripture so that we are able to penetrate the mind of the Hebrew people. When we enter their civilization and view it through their eyes, we find that the contour of their thought is vibrant, rich, and colorful. It has its own nuances and features” (Wilson, p. 135). Thorlief Boman affirms Wilson’s assertions above and adds, “As the New Testament writings show, [Yahusha and the Apostles] were firmly rooted in the Old Testament and lived in its world of images. Shortly after the death of the Founder, however, the new religious community’s centre of gravity shifted into the Greek-speaking Hellenistic world, and after the year 70 [when the Temple was destroyed], the community was severed finally from its motherland: Christianity has been the religion of Europeans ever since. It is significant, however, that despite their absolute authority the words of Yahusha were preserved by the Church only in the Greek language. Not only are these two languages essentially different, but so too are the kinds of images and thinking involved in them. This distinction goes very deeply into the psychic life; the Jews themselves defined their spiritual predisposition as anti-Hellenic. Once this point is properly understood, it must be granted completely” (Hebrew Thought Compared With Greek, London, SCM Press Ltd., 1960, p. 17).
HEBREW THINKING IS DYNAMIC; GREEK IS STATIC
“If Hebrew thinking it is to be characterized, it is obvious first to call it dynamic, vigorous, passionate, and sometimes quite explosive in kind; correspondingly Greek thinking is static [harmonic or resting], peaceful, moderate...” (Boman, p. 27). This is evidenced in the syntax of the Hebrew sentence compared with that of the Greek (and other western languages). “The action-centered life-style of the Hebrews (which we will address more fully later) is often reflected in Hebrew sentence structure. The English language usually places the noun or subject firs in the clause, the verb or action-word: for example, The king judged. In the narrative of biblical Hebrew, however, the order is normally the reverse. That is, the verb most often comes first in the clause, then the noun; thus, He judged, the king” (Wilson, 137). Boman says, “The verbs especially, whose basic meaning always expresses a movement or an activity, reveal the dynamic variety of the Hebrew’s thinking” (Boman, p. 28). He goes on to explain that even Hebrew verbs which express a position like sitting or lying is done by a verb which expresses movement (ibid.). Therefore the verb, the action word forms the basis of Hebrew thinking and even those verbs which Westerners might consider to be stationary or positional in nature, to the Jewish mind, or not. As we shall understand more fully as we progress, for the Hebrew everything is in transition, moving toward something and is in process. “Motion and standing are not opposites as they are for us, but they are so closely related to on another that together they can form a unity. Movement is carried through to a standstill, or seen from the other side, standing is viewed as the result of rising or a placing” (Boman, p. 29). “It is characteristic of Hebrew and the other Semitic languages that all of these verbs designate first of all the ‘becoming’ of the conditions and qualities in question. It is really more correct to say that we are dealing here with neither a ‘being’ nor a ‘becoming’ but with a dynamic third possibility, therefore more an ‘effecting’ as in the case of the verb lighten which means not only to be bright or become bright but also to make light effective, i.e. illuminate” Boman concludes a study of various Hebrew verbs by saying, “Our analysis of the Hebrew verbs that express standing, sitting, lying,, etc., teaches us that motionless and fixed being is for the Hebrews a nonentity; it does not exist for them. Only being which stands in inner relations with something active and moving is reality to them...only movement (motion) has reality. To the extent that is concerned Hebrew thinking at all, static being as a predicate is a motion that has passed over into repose” (Boman, p. 31).
Shema Selah who has beguiled you to think outside of your character?? Dear Hebrew brother and Hebrew sister? Return to the Most High and turn away from the Greek mindset that the world has given you! https://youtu.be/nxPjfQpKdtE
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought Part 3
Psalms 119:1-9
We are walking in today: Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought Part 3
Witness think throughout the Bible: H2142 zä·kar'-- call to mind, to cause to be remembered, keep in remembrance, to mention, to record
Jeremiah 23:27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.
The Torah testifies...............
Gen 40:14 But think H2142 on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention H2142 of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house:
The prophets proclaim..................
Neh 5:19 Think H2142 upon me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.
The writings bear witness...........................
Job 35:2 Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God's?
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
PLATO - THE BEGINNING OF THE END
As we begin to enter the "Hellenistic" era of the evolution of Western thought, we come to the basic fork in the road. Socrates' most famous student is going to take Greek philosophy to it's most respected heights. Socrates was not adept at winning friends and influencing his enemies. Actually, up to this time, Greek thinking was rather tame and friendly with Scriptural thinking. But Plato is about to take it to a new level. This is where we will spend some time revealing what we really mean when we speak of Greek thought.
Plato lived from 428-348 B.C. Most history books and encyclopedias credit Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle for being the most influential people in Western history. Their philosophical views sprang forth from Homer's great mythical heroes. This led to the ultimate philosophical goal of excellence which led to the various social structures of Greek life. Plato, of course, was a member of the social elite. This was part of the background of his most powerful contribution to religious thought, the dualism of man. Plato taught that man consisted of two parts, the "soul" and the "flesh". He taught that only the soul was good and good is what all men seek. The flesh was evil and could do no good. The body was only one passing phase of our cosmic existence. Only the soul was involved in the future, and only the soul could do any good, so what the body did was virtually irrelevant. The people who were able to grasp this concept were in the highest class called the "guardians". These were the educated class which were trained to live in shared houses, to eat in the same mess halls, their children were to be raised as a group in a common environment by special caretakers (public schools). Only this ruling class possessed the knowledge to determine policies and make decisions determining who is allowed to mate with whom to produce the best children, with intellectual excellence as the goal. Plato brought to the world the nation of "thinkers". Knowledge was the key to everything. This, we will see, led to the era of Gnosticism which continues today under other names. Multitudes of mystery cults would come forth from this philosophy. Life was intellectualized, and only for the initiated. Life became abstract, metaphysical conceptions. This is why I am personally very skeptical of turning simple commands of God into abstract concepts. Why? Because one cannot prove or disprove these concepts. This is why the students of Plato would argue for days in the great theaters with no results. They would stand by themselves in empty theaters and argue against fictitious opponents with imaginary audiences. These great debates were designed to cause our minds to conceive the demiurge, or ultimate mind, around us and to ignore the realities of the world we live in.
The demiurge was the dualistic god that created the world. He was the cruel god of battles and bloody sacrifices. The world was cruel and could not have been created by a "good" god, since all matter is evil. So this cruel demiurge sent a son called the logos who was the good god. The Tanakh (Old Testament) was a cruel book of laws, judgment, and death. The New Testament was the result of the incarnation of the god of the gods, the mind of the gods, called the logos. We will get into much more detail on this later. This demiurge, literally worker of the people, was whimsical and could change his mind or desires at any time. He would require certain demands on his creation at any time and withdraw them at any time. Laws and commands were spontaneous. The whole idea of the one God was no different than the images of all the gods. They were always subject to limitations and foresight. And, of course, god was only interested in the invisible, spiritual world as the physical world was evil. When the body performed an evil act it was simply seen as the natural thing for an evil, material body to do. This thinking would eventually lead to some of the same kind of behavior we see today. Quoting Plato from his Symposium:
"I believe that the greatest good for a youth is to have a worthy lover from early on and, for a lover, to have a worthy beloved. The values that men need who want to live lives of excellence lifelong are better instilled by love than by their relatives or offices or wealth or anything else ..."
In the Greek social life of his time, homosexuality was common love. Greeks, by this period, found it natural for an older man to be sexually aroused by the physical beauty of a boy. Physical immorality was not to possess eternity, only the soul.
Plato also began the era of the sophists. These philosophers continued in Plato's teaching that matters of the physical are matters of human relativism. Matters of family, government, education, customs, or law, were all relative because they were all outside of the soulish area. Truth was determined by persuasiveness. Whoever had the best argument was the purveyor of truth. Truth was determined by man's own will. Since the gods were to be worshiped and revered and had no instructions for man, man was left to determine them for himself. Therefore, some things were good and some were bad, some things were good and bad at the same time. When potential governors would debate, the same subjects would be argued year after year, for there was no absolute. Sound familiar? Plato introduced the world to many philosophies that shaped the world we live in today. He would soon produce another student who would be the most influential man in Alexander the Great's life. We will discuss this man in our next lesson.
Shema Selah now that we have learned how we have been taught to think with a Greek thought--let us quickly return to the Hebraic Mind and our Hebrew speaking God, the Most High!!
https://youtu.be/QIS-NY7_fCI
We are walking in today: Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought Part 3
Witness think throughout the Bible: H2142 zä·kar'-- call to mind, to cause to be remembered, keep in remembrance, to mention, to record
Jeremiah 23:27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.
The Torah testifies...............
Gen 40:14 But think H2142 on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention H2142 of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house:
The prophets proclaim..................
Neh 5:19 Think H2142 upon me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.
The writings bear witness...........................
Job 35:2 Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God's?
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
PLATO - THE BEGINNING OF THE END
As we begin to enter the "Hellenistic" era of the evolution of Western thought, we come to the basic fork in the road. Socrates' most famous student is going to take Greek philosophy to it's most respected heights. Socrates was not adept at winning friends and influencing his enemies. Actually, up to this time, Greek thinking was rather tame and friendly with Scriptural thinking. But Plato is about to take it to a new level. This is where we will spend some time revealing what we really mean when we speak of Greek thought.
Plato lived from 428-348 B.C. Most history books and encyclopedias credit Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle for being the most influential people in Western history. Their philosophical views sprang forth from Homer's great mythical heroes. This led to the ultimate philosophical goal of excellence which led to the various social structures of Greek life. Plato, of course, was a member of the social elite. This was part of the background of his most powerful contribution to religious thought, the dualism of man. Plato taught that man consisted of two parts, the "soul" and the "flesh". He taught that only the soul was good and good is what all men seek. The flesh was evil and could do no good. The body was only one passing phase of our cosmic existence. Only the soul was involved in the future, and only the soul could do any good, so what the body did was virtually irrelevant. The people who were able to grasp this concept were in the highest class called the "guardians". These were the educated class which were trained to live in shared houses, to eat in the same mess halls, their children were to be raised as a group in a common environment by special caretakers (public schools). Only this ruling class possessed the knowledge to determine policies and make decisions determining who is allowed to mate with whom to produce the best children, with intellectual excellence as the goal. Plato brought to the world the nation of "thinkers". Knowledge was the key to everything. This, we will see, led to the era of Gnosticism which continues today under other names. Multitudes of mystery cults would come forth from this philosophy. Life was intellectualized, and only for the initiated. Life became abstract, metaphysical conceptions. This is why I am personally very skeptical of turning simple commands of God into abstract concepts. Why? Because one cannot prove or disprove these concepts. This is why the students of Plato would argue for days in the great theaters with no results. They would stand by themselves in empty theaters and argue against fictitious opponents with imaginary audiences. These great debates were designed to cause our minds to conceive the demiurge, or ultimate mind, around us and to ignore the realities of the world we live in.
The demiurge was the dualistic god that created the world. He was the cruel god of battles and bloody sacrifices. The world was cruel and could not have been created by a "good" god, since all matter is evil. So this cruel demiurge sent a son called the logos who was the good god. The Tanakh (Old Testament) was a cruel book of laws, judgment, and death. The New Testament was the result of the incarnation of the god of the gods, the mind of the gods, called the logos. We will get into much more detail on this later. This demiurge, literally worker of the people, was whimsical and could change his mind or desires at any time. He would require certain demands on his creation at any time and withdraw them at any time. Laws and commands were spontaneous. The whole idea of the one God was no different than the images of all the gods. They were always subject to limitations and foresight. And, of course, god was only interested in the invisible, spiritual world as the physical world was evil. When the body performed an evil act it was simply seen as the natural thing for an evil, material body to do. This thinking would eventually lead to some of the same kind of behavior we see today. Quoting Plato from his Symposium:
"I believe that the greatest good for a youth is to have a worthy lover from early on and, for a lover, to have a worthy beloved. The values that men need who want to live lives of excellence lifelong are better instilled by love than by their relatives or offices or wealth or anything else ..."
In the Greek social life of his time, homosexuality was common love. Greeks, by this period, found it natural for an older man to be sexually aroused by the physical beauty of a boy. Physical immorality was not to possess eternity, only the soul.
Plato also began the era of the sophists. These philosophers continued in Plato's teaching that matters of the physical are matters of human relativism. Matters of family, government, education, customs, or law, were all relative because they were all outside of the soulish area. Truth was determined by persuasiveness. Whoever had the best argument was the purveyor of truth. Truth was determined by man's own will. Since the gods were to be worshiped and revered and had no instructions for man, man was left to determine them for himself. Therefore, some things were good and some were bad, some things were good and bad at the same time. When potential governors would debate, the same subjects would be argued year after year, for there was no absolute. Sound familiar? Plato introduced the world to many philosophies that shaped the world we live in today. He would soon produce another student who would be the most influential man in Alexander the Great's life. We will discuss this man in our next lesson.
Shema Selah now that we have learned how we have been taught to think with a Greek thought--let us quickly return to the Hebraic Mind and our Hebrew speaking God, the Most High!!
https://youtu.be/QIS-NY7_fCI
Friday, February 7, 2020
Weekend Meditation--Blacks in the Bible, Going Back To Our Genesis!
Deuteronomy 28
We are walking in today: Weekend Meditation--Blacks in the Bible, Going Back To Our Genesis!
Witness beginning throughout the Bible: 7225 re'shiyth--first, beginning
We are walking in today: Weekend Meditation--Blacks in the Bible, Going Back To Our Genesis!
Witness beginning throughout the Bible: 7225 re'shiyth--first, beginning
Gen 1:1 In the beginning H7225 God created the heaven and the earth.
The Torah testifies...............
Deu 11:12 A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning H7225 of the year even unto the end of the year.
The prophets proclaim..................
Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, H7225 and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
The writings bear witness...........................
Psa 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning H7225 of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.
Pro 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning H7225 of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The Torah testifies...............
Deu 11:12 A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning H7225 of the year even unto the end of the year.
The prophets proclaim..................
Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, H7225 and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
The writings bear witness...........................
Psa 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning H7225 of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.
Pro 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning H7225 of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Welcome to this study as we take a look back through scripture, history and science to find where do black people fit into this whole thing! We are being awakened and returned to our origins and the primary principles of our ancestors, which we can trace through the scriptures and confirm in history and science! What an awesome time this is! 400 years is up and now we are fully returning to what we received at Mt. Sinai, the covenant and the covenant keeper the Most High has restored and redeemed His bride!!
The ancestors of so-called black people did indeed live mainly along the coast of West, Central , and Southern Africa. That was before they were stolen and shipped to America. Our ancestors migrated there, after being exiled from Israel.
All of the biblical evidence, DNA evidence, historical evidence, Anthropological evidence, and Archaeological evidence, proves that black people are the Israelites. Reclaiming our identity, heritage, and culture is the ONLY solution to the problems we as African Americans, and Native Americans/Latinos face. I promise you will see soon why this is the case.
The name, Israelites, have become synonymous with “Hebrews” or “Jews”. Today most people associate Israelites, “Hebrews”, and “Jewish People” ,with the Europeans who call themselves Jewish. DNA evidence shows that most European Jewish people, are not Israelites by blood, and have no genetic connection to the land Israel. This is why they are called Jew-ish, meaning not the original or true Jews. To some this may sound offensive, but it is simply the truth. This was proven by research.
In 2001, Dr. Ariella Oppenheim and her team at Tel Aviv University released their study which found that the European Jew-ish people were mainly from Khazaria, a Caucasus country which is now called Kazakhstan, Georgia, and other names. The Khazarians converted from pagan religions to talmudic Judaism after the 8th century. In 2012, Dr. Eran Elhaik, (who is Jew-ish,) and his team at the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School, conducted a study, and found that 90 percent of European Jew-ish people do not have ancestry from Israel.
Thousands of years ago, before our heritage, language, and identity of so called African Americans were stripped from them, we were known as Jews. “African American”, “Negro”, and “Black”, are the names that Europeans gave so-called “black people.” The evidence will show that Israel is our true homeland. “Jew-ish” people are Europeans that converted to Judaism and have no genetic connection to the land of Israel. Jews, Israelites, or Hebrews are the people who are genetically from Israel.
The origin of the Israelites, is based in the bible. The story goes as following: The Most High chose the nation of Israel as his chosen people and established a covenant with them.
“For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy The Most High: the Lord thy The Most High hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth”( Deuteronomy 7:6).
The Most High told the Israelites that he would bless them if they obeyed him and if they didn’t he would allow a list of curses (as seen in Deuteronomy 28), to fall upon them. The Israelites rejected The Most High and eventually rejected the Maschiach named Yeshua. Yahushua was an Israelite and from the tribe of Judah. This is the same tribe African Americans are from, as you will learn later on in the article. If Yahushua was of the same tribe and race as so called black people, it means that he was what modern day society would call, a “black man.” The fact that the Israelites and Yahushua were black, should not be surprising when you find out that the first man created by The Most High in the Bible , named Adam, was a black man. The National Geographic released a documentary called “The Search For Adam”. Using Forensic and DNA evidence, the scientists concluded that the facial reconstruction below is what Adam looked like. He clearly looks like what modern day society would call, a black man.
In terms of Yahushua, nowhere in the Bible does it describe Yahushua as being white with blonde hair and blue eyes. This was a tool of white supremacy. If you were on a mission to conquer a people, what other way to keep a people inferior and enslaved, than to convince them that their slave owners were the same race as humanity’s Lord and Savior. Initially, Yahushua was sent by The Most High to save only the Israelites, but they rejected him. Due to this rebellion against The Most High, the curses fell upon the Israelites. They were exiled out of Israel, fled to West Africa, then were eventually sold into slavery all through out the Americas.
The ancestors of so-called black people did indeed live mainly along the coast of West, Central , and Southern Africa. That was before they were stolen and shipped to America. Our ancestors migrated there, after being exiled from Israel.
All of the biblical evidence, DNA evidence, historical evidence, Anthropological evidence, and Archaeological evidence, proves that black people are the Israelites. Reclaiming our identity, heritage, and culture is the ONLY solution to the problems we as African Americans, and Native Americans/Latinos face. I promise you will see soon why this is the case.
The name, Israelites, have become synonymous with “Hebrews” or “Jews”. Today most people associate Israelites, “Hebrews”, and “Jewish People” ,with the Europeans who call themselves Jewish. DNA evidence shows that most European Jewish people, are not Israelites by blood, and have no genetic connection to the land Israel. This is why they are called Jew-ish, meaning not the original or true Jews. To some this may sound offensive, but it is simply the truth. This was proven by research.
In 2001, Dr. Ariella Oppenheim and her team at Tel Aviv University released their study which found that the European Jew-ish people were mainly from Khazaria, a Caucasus country which is now called Kazakhstan, Georgia, and other names. The Khazarians converted from pagan religions to talmudic Judaism after the 8th century. In 2012, Dr. Eran Elhaik, (who is Jew-ish,) and his team at the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School, conducted a study, and found that 90 percent of European Jew-ish people do not have ancestry from Israel.
Thousands of years ago, before our heritage, language, and identity of so called African Americans were stripped from them, we were known as Jews. “African American”, “Negro”, and “Black”, are the names that Europeans gave so-called “black people.” The evidence will show that Israel is our true homeland. “Jew-ish” people are Europeans that converted to Judaism and have no genetic connection to the land of Israel. Jews, Israelites, or Hebrews are the people who are genetically from Israel.
The origin of the Israelites, is based in the bible. The story goes as following: The Most High chose the nation of Israel as his chosen people and established a covenant with them.
“For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy The Most High: the Lord thy The Most High hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth”( Deuteronomy 7:6).
The Most High told the Israelites that he would bless them if they obeyed him and if they didn’t he would allow a list of curses (as seen in Deuteronomy 28), to fall upon them. The Israelites rejected The Most High and eventually rejected the Maschiach named Yeshua. Yahushua was an Israelite and from the tribe of Judah. This is the same tribe African Americans are from, as you will learn later on in the article. If Yahushua was of the same tribe and race as so called black people, it means that he was what modern day society would call, a “black man.” The fact that the Israelites and Yahushua were black, should not be surprising when you find out that the first man created by The Most High in the Bible , named Adam, was a black man. The National Geographic released a documentary called “The Search For Adam”. Using Forensic and DNA evidence, the scientists concluded that the facial reconstruction below is what Adam looked like. He clearly looks like what modern day society would call, a black man.
In terms of Yahushua, nowhere in the Bible does it describe Yahushua as being white with blonde hair and blue eyes. This was a tool of white supremacy. If you were on a mission to conquer a people, what other way to keep a people inferior and enslaved, than to convince them that their slave owners were the same race as humanity’s Lord and Savior. Initially, Yahushua was sent by The Most High to save only the Israelites, but they rejected him. Due to this rebellion against The Most High, the curses fell upon the Israelites. They were exiled out of Israel, fled to West Africa, then were eventually sold into slavery all through out the Americas.
Shema Selah All praises to Yah who is opening our understanding to who we are in HIM!! https://youtu.be/a8FC2wVCy-8
Thursday, February 6, 2020
Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought part 2
1 Corinthians 1
We are walking in today: Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought part 2
Witness renown throughout the Bible: H8034 shem--name, reputation, fame, glory
The Torah testifies...............
Num 16:2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: H8034
The prophets proclaim..................
Eze 39:13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown H8034 the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.
The writings bear witness...........................
*****
Eze 16:14 And thy renown H8034 went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.
THE INFLUENCE OF HOMER
The New Testament makes several references to Grecians and what had become commonly known as Hellenism. What is Hellenism and what influence did Hellenism have on the culture of Yeshua''s time? The term "Hellenistic" was invented in the nineteenth century to designate the period of Greek and Near Eastern history from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. to the death of Cleopatra VII, the last Macedonian ruler of Egypt, in 30 B.C.
The early Hellenistic period saw the emergence of a new form of relationship, compounded from Macedonian and Near Eastern traditions, which became the dominant political, religious, and social structure in the eastern Mediterranean after Alexander's death. The "Helen" of Hellenism comes from the writings of a blind poet by the name of Homer. Most Greek scholars are not convinced that this man actually lived, but for someone who may not have existed, he certainly was very influential in the shaping of Greek art, science, philosophy, religion, and social justice. His alleged writings were called "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey". These were epics set in the 12th century B.C. about a war between Greece and the city of Troy. This is where the Trojans come from. This is not a course on Greek history, but we need to get the background of where Greek thinking comes from. It did not burst onto the scene with Alexander. There was a gradual process that spring-boarded the influence of Greek thinking onto the known world at that time. The retrospective story of the Trojan War that the Iliad tells symbolizes the aims of this society as reflected in the literature of a later age. The heroes of Homer's poem sail far from their homes in Greece to attack the citadel of the Trojans in western Anatolia. Their announced mission is to rescue Helen, the Greek queen whom the son of the king of Troy had lured away from her husband. This is essentially where the term "Hellenism" comes from. Most of the anti-Biblical, pagan cultures we are familiar with, Greek, Babylonian, Persian, etc., have a woman or Goddess-type mother that represents that culture. Isis, Astarte, Ishtar, or Gaia are some examples. Greek culture was no different. However, this way of thinking has a background, as well. The background of Hellenism is from Egypt, no less. Some nineteenth century scholars wish to downplay or deny any significant cultural influence of the Near East on Greece, but that was plainly not the ancient Greek view of the question. Greek intellectuals of the historical period claimed that Greeks owed a great deal to the older civilization of Egypt, in particular, to religion and art. Recent research agrees with this ancient opinion. Greek sculptors in the Archaic Age chiseled their statues according to a set of proportions established by Egyptian artists. Greek mythology, the stories that Greeks told themselves about their deepest origins and their relations to the gods, was infused with stories and motifs of Near Eastern origin. The clearest evidence of the deep influence of Egyptian culture on Greek culture is the store of seminal religious ideas that flowed from Egypt to Greece. Rather than looking for a nonexistent origin of Greek identity, we will identify, as many as possible, the various sources of cultural influence that flowed together over a long period of time to produce the Greek culture we find recorded in the New Testament times. "Hellenistic" also conveys the idea that a mixed, cosmopolitan form of social and cultural life combining Hellenic (i.e. Greek) traditions with indigenous traditions emerged in the eastern Mediterranean region in the aftermath of Alexander's conquests. This provides some of the background for the term "Grecian", or 'Hellenist', as applied to many Jews at the time of Yeshua'. These were a mix of Hebrew ethnicity with Greek world views. The very nature of the ways of the nations in Scripture is a mixture of various ideas and views of how to live life. The Greek perspective provides us with a background as to the nature of a god or gods that desire to be worshiped, entertained, adored, and revered, but not necessarily obeyed. In Greek mythology, the gods were to be revered and celebrated, but the intellect was to guide man in this life. This is precisely why Sha'ul (Paul) tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:22 that the Jews require a sign but the Greeks seek wisdom. The Greeks are also known for their philosophy. We will discuss Aristotle and others later. The poet Homer's poems set the stage for the creative writing of the Greek myths of ancient gods and goddesses. This would provide the background for the ultimate mind of all the gods called the logos. This logos, as we will learn later, is a mixture of religious concepts from several cultural sources, which are generally represented scripturally by Jezebel, Babylon, the queen of heaven, and many other names which will be mentioned as we go. The nature or essence of Greek philosophy will be studied in detail later on in this course. Right now we are trying to establish the fact that this philosophy made a major impact on the thinking process of the populations that Sha'ul encountered, and that this influence has stayed with the church for two thousand years. The following is a quote from the book "Alexander the Great" by N. G. L. Hammond. Mr. Hammond is considered to be the foremost expert on ancient Macedonian history. Macedonia is the ancient name of the kingdom of the Balkan peninsula, which generally covers the area of Greece, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria.
"In 342 B. C. Philip [Alexanders' father] hired Aristotle at a handsome salary to teach ‘philosophy', which embraced both practical and theoretical knowledge. Lessons and seminars were held usually in the open air in the sanctuary of the Nymphs near Mieza, a beautiful place with natural grottos in the limestone, which was visited by sightseers in Plutarch's day and still is so visited. The influence of Aristotle on Alexander was profound. Alexander accepted as correct Aristotle's views on cosmology, geography, botany, zoology and medicine and therefore took scientists with his army to Asia, and he was fascinated by Aristotle's lectures on logic, metaphysics, the nature of poetry, and the essence of politics. Above all he learned from Aristotle to put faith in the intellect. In their personal relationship the boy's admiration developed into a deep affection, and they shared a special interest in establishing the text of "The Iliad"."
Homer was the major influence of Aristotle. It was Homer who introduced, at least from the view of literature, the whole idea of mythology and hero worship. This lies at the core of Greek society. The era called the dark age of Greece (900-700 B.C.) was the beginning of the construction of gymnasiums. These were Greek arenas that housed athletic games, with great crowds cheering the participants and the gods, particularly Zeus. The gymnasium was a place where nude athletes would appease the gods by their great feats. The word gymnos is the Greek word for naked. This period also began the great city-state called the polis, which was designed to confine the social elite. These cities were erected to honor the gods. Within these city-states, smaller arenas, later called theaters, were erected. Theaters began with the Greeks, and were intended to host two particular events. At the beginning, they were primarily used to provide a place for the production of comedies and later, Greek tragedies. But by the later Archaic age, these were used to host the great philosophers and their famous debates. These debates were originally created to provide a place for the great thinkers and intellects to have a place to out-intellectualize each other. These places would soon produce Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
THE ATHENIAN HISTORY
We have now come to what is known as the Athenian age in the aftermath of the Peloponnesian War around the 4th century B.C. This episode in Greek history produced the famous Socrates. According to most current encyclopedias, Socrates was the most influential thinker in the Western world. Socrates, although he wrote nothing of his own, was the progenitor of the philosophy that man's evil actions are caused by ignorance. He developed, what is called today, the Socratic method. This is called inductive reasoning - that is, by reasoning from particular facts to a general idea. In theory this seems logical, but all the reasoning depended upon what was considered a fact. Life was based upon thoughts and ideas to be debated. Many of the testimonies of his students attested to the fact that there were rarely any conclusions drawn, but everyone looked forward to the next debate. Socrates lived in poverty and disdained material possessions. He believed that no one knowingly did evil. Although Socrates was a thorn in the flesh of conventional Greek thinking, he none the less separated himself from any instructions of the gods and taught to rely on, after careful scrutiny, our own moral intellect to lead a happy life. Socrates, like many before him, sought wisdom no matter where it came from. Every culture had a part to play in the collective mind so long as moral knowledge was the goal.
Shema Selah we have to determine who's mindset we are thinking with!!! Return to the Hebraic language, culture and understanding of your Hebrew speaking God, the Most High! https://youtu.be/ilobG0nKS2k
We are walking in today: Hebrew Mind versus Greek Thought part 2
Witness renown throughout the Bible: H8034 shem--name, reputation, fame, glory
Dan 9:15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, H8034 as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
The Torah testifies...............
Num 16:2 And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: H8034
The prophets proclaim..................
Eze 39:13 Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown H8034 the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD.
The writings bear witness...........................
*****
Eze 16:14 And thy renown H8034 went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.
THE INFLUENCE OF HOMER
The New Testament makes several references to Grecians and what had become commonly known as Hellenism. What is Hellenism and what influence did Hellenism have on the culture of Yeshua''s time? The term "Hellenistic" was invented in the nineteenth century to designate the period of Greek and Near Eastern history from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. to the death of Cleopatra VII, the last Macedonian ruler of Egypt, in 30 B.C.
The early Hellenistic period saw the emergence of a new form of relationship, compounded from Macedonian and Near Eastern traditions, which became the dominant political, religious, and social structure in the eastern Mediterranean after Alexander's death. The "Helen" of Hellenism comes from the writings of a blind poet by the name of Homer. Most Greek scholars are not convinced that this man actually lived, but for someone who may not have existed, he certainly was very influential in the shaping of Greek art, science, philosophy, religion, and social justice. His alleged writings were called "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey". These were epics set in the 12th century B.C. about a war between Greece and the city of Troy. This is where the Trojans come from. This is not a course on Greek history, but we need to get the background of where Greek thinking comes from. It did not burst onto the scene with Alexander. There was a gradual process that spring-boarded the influence of Greek thinking onto the known world at that time. The retrospective story of the Trojan War that the Iliad tells symbolizes the aims of this society as reflected in the literature of a later age. The heroes of Homer's poem sail far from their homes in Greece to attack the citadel of the Trojans in western Anatolia. Their announced mission is to rescue Helen, the Greek queen whom the son of the king of Troy had lured away from her husband. This is essentially where the term "Hellenism" comes from. Most of the anti-Biblical, pagan cultures we are familiar with, Greek, Babylonian, Persian, etc., have a woman or Goddess-type mother that represents that culture. Isis, Astarte, Ishtar, or Gaia are some examples. Greek culture was no different. However, this way of thinking has a background, as well. The background of Hellenism is from Egypt, no less. Some nineteenth century scholars wish to downplay or deny any significant cultural influence of the Near East on Greece, but that was plainly not the ancient Greek view of the question. Greek intellectuals of the historical period claimed that Greeks owed a great deal to the older civilization of Egypt, in particular, to religion and art. Recent research agrees with this ancient opinion. Greek sculptors in the Archaic Age chiseled their statues according to a set of proportions established by Egyptian artists. Greek mythology, the stories that Greeks told themselves about their deepest origins and their relations to the gods, was infused with stories and motifs of Near Eastern origin. The clearest evidence of the deep influence of Egyptian culture on Greek culture is the store of seminal religious ideas that flowed from Egypt to Greece. Rather than looking for a nonexistent origin of Greek identity, we will identify, as many as possible, the various sources of cultural influence that flowed together over a long period of time to produce the Greek culture we find recorded in the New Testament times. "Hellenistic" also conveys the idea that a mixed, cosmopolitan form of social and cultural life combining Hellenic (i.e. Greek) traditions with indigenous traditions emerged in the eastern Mediterranean region in the aftermath of Alexander's conquests. This provides some of the background for the term "Grecian", or 'Hellenist', as applied to many Jews at the time of Yeshua'. These were a mix of Hebrew ethnicity with Greek world views. The very nature of the ways of the nations in Scripture is a mixture of various ideas and views of how to live life. The Greek perspective provides us with a background as to the nature of a god or gods that desire to be worshiped, entertained, adored, and revered, but not necessarily obeyed. In Greek mythology, the gods were to be revered and celebrated, but the intellect was to guide man in this life. This is precisely why Sha'ul (Paul) tells us in 1 Corinthians 1:22 that the Jews require a sign but the Greeks seek wisdom. The Greeks are also known for their philosophy. We will discuss Aristotle and others later. The poet Homer's poems set the stage for the creative writing of the Greek myths of ancient gods and goddesses. This would provide the background for the ultimate mind of all the gods called the logos. This logos, as we will learn later, is a mixture of religious concepts from several cultural sources, which are generally represented scripturally by Jezebel, Babylon, the queen of heaven, and many other names which will be mentioned as we go. The nature or essence of Greek philosophy will be studied in detail later on in this course. Right now we are trying to establish the fact that this philosophy made a major impact on the thinking process of the populations that Sha'ul encountered, and that this influence has stayed with the church for two thousand years. The following is a quote from the book "Alexander the Great" by N. G. L. Hammond. Mr. Hammond is considered to be the foremost expert on ancient Macedonian history. Macedonia is the ancient name of the kingdom of the Balkan peninsula, which generally covers the area of Greece, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria.
"In 342 B. C. Philip [Alexanders' father] hired Aristotle at a handsome salary to teach ‘philosophy', which embraced both practical and theoretical knowledge. Lessons and seminars were held usually in the open air in the sanctuary of the Nymphs near Mieza, a beautiful place with natural grottos in the limestone, which was visited by sightseers in Plutarch's day and still is so visited. The influence of Aristotle on Alexander was profound. Alexander accepted as correct Aristotle's views on cosmology, geography, botany, zoology and medicine and therefore took scientists with his army to Asia, and he was fascinated by Aristotle's lectures on logic, metaphysics, the nature of poetry, and the essence of politics. Above all he learned from Aristotle to put faith in the intellect. In their personal relationship the boy's admiration developed into a deep affection, and they shared a special interest in establishing the text of "The Iliad"."
Homer was the major influence of Aristotle. It was Homer who introduced, at least from the view of literature, the whole idea of mythology and hero worship. This lies at the core of Greek society. The era called the dark age of Greece (900-700 B.C.) was the beginning of the construction of gymnasiums. These were Greek arenas that housed athletic games, with great crowds cheering the participants and the gods, particularly Zeus. The gymnasium was a place where nude athletes would appease the gods by their great feats. The word gymnos is the Greek word for naked. This period also began the great city-state called the polis, which was designed to confine the social elite. These cities were erected to honor the gods. Within these city-states, smaller arenas, later called theaters, were erected. Theaters began with the Greeks, and were intended to host two particular events. At the beginning, they were primarily used to provide a place for the production of comedies and later, Greek tragedies. But by the later Archaic age, these were used to host the great philosophers and their famous debates. These debates were originally created to provide a place for the great thinkers and intellects to have a place to out-intellectualize each other. These places would soon produce Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
THE ATHENIAN HISTORY
We have now come to what is known as the Athenian age in the aftermath of the Peloponnesian War around the 4th century B.C. This episode in Greek history produced the famous Socrates. According to most current encyclopedias, Socrates was the most influential thinker in the Western world. Socrates, although he wrote nothing of his own, was the progenitor of the philosophy that man's evil actions are caused by ignorance. He developed, what is called today, the Socratic method. This is called inductive reasoning - that is, by reasoning from particular facts to a general idea. In theory this seems logical, but all the reasoning depended upon what was considered a fact. Life was based upon thoughts and ideas to be debated. Many of the testimonies of his students attested to the fact that there were rarely any conclusions drawn, but everyone looked forward to the next debate. Socrates lived in poverty and disdained material possessions. He believed that no one knowingly did evil. Although Socrates was a thorn in the flesh of conventional Greek thinking, he none the less separated himself from any instructions of the gods and taught to rely on, after careful scrutiny, our own moral intellect to lead a happy life. Socrates, like many before him, sought wisdom no matter where it came from. Every culture had a part to play in the collective mind so long as moral knowledge was the goal.
Shema Selah we have to determine who's mindset we are thinking with!!! Return to the Hebraic language, culture and understanding of your Hebrew speaking God, the Most High! https://youtu.be/ilobG0nKS2k
Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Hebrew Mind vs. Greek Thought part 1
Philippians 2
We are walking in today: Hebrew Mind vs. Greek Thought part 1
Witness word throughout the Bible: H561 'emer--utterance, speech, word, saying, promise,
command
Bere'shiyt (Genesis) 1:1
In the beginning 'Elohiym created the heavens and the earth...
From the start we see that 'Elohiym separated. In the beginning He separates mass from spirit, visible from invisible. He then goes on to separate night from day, light from darkness, waters from waters, earth from seas, the greater light from the lesser light, beasts from humans, man from woman. In Bere'shiyt 2:9 He places two different and distinct trees in the garden. In Bere'shiyt 3:24 He separates man from Himself. He goes on to make a clear distinction between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. He puts a difference between Abel's offering and Cain's offering. He removes Noach's family from the rest of the world. He drives Avraham away from Ur of the Chaldees and the worship practices of his father, Terah. In Bere'shiyt 17:11 He separates Avraham from his foreskin. In the books of Shemot (Exodus) and Vayiqera (Leviticus), He reveals what is clean and what is unclean, holy and unholy. In Shemot 11:7, He makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. In Shemot 19:5 He separates Israel from the rest of the nations, commanding them to obey Him that they might be a peculiar treasure unto Him. The Tehillot (Psalms) reveal the vast difference between Yah's ways and the ways of the nations.
In the Tanakh we see The Most High giving His instructions for life to Israel and warning them not to mix with the nations. Why? Was it the people themselves that were unclean or was it their customs, their ways, their worship, and their practices? In the Tanakh we find the contrast between The Most High's people and the nations or gentiles. In the New Testament we find the general term Greek used to represent ways contrary to Scripture. Many times, this is seen in the word the world (Yochanan (John) 1:10, Acts 17:6, Romans 12:2, Ephesians 2:2). This is because at this time the world outside of Jerusalem was still influenced by Alexander the Great's brilliant psychological tactics, not to mention his military genius. The Scriptures of the New Testament draw this contrast several times.
Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Hebrew first, and also to the Greek.
Ma'asey hashsheliyechiym (Acts) 14:1
... both of the Hebrews and also of the Greeks, believed.
1 Corinthians 1:22, 24
For the Hebrews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom. 24 But unto them who are called, both Hebrews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
Acts 19:10
And this continued for the space of two years; so that all they who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Adonai Yahashuah, both Hebrews and Greeks.
When we add these accounts to the several occasions in which Sha'ul reminds us that in the body of Yahashuah there is no difference between Hebrew and Greek, we begin to see that there was a difference. This is the very reason why Sha'ul had to teach us that there is now no difference. This will become much clearer in later lessons. Sha'ul's letters are specifically aimed at other than Semitic nations i.e., the Greeks. I might remind you that I am not referring to the country of Greece and it's inhabitants, but rather the Greeks as they represent western culture. In the same way that Babylon is symbolic of all false religion and pagan practices. The Greek or Hellenistic culture was dominating the uttermost parts of the earth at the time the New Testament was penned.
We are walking in today: Hebrew Mind vs. Greek Thought part 1
Witness word throughout the Bible: H561 'emer--utterance, speech, word, saying, promise,
command
Num 24:4 He hath said, which heard the words H561 of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
The Torah testifies...............
Deu 32:1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words H561 of
my mouth.
The prophets proclaim..................
Hos 6:5 Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words H561 of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.
The writings bear witness...........................
Psa 107:11 Because they rebelled against the words H561 of God, and contemned the counsel
of the most High:
Psa 141:6 When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; H561 for
they are sweet.
Philippians 2:5
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Maschiach Yahashuah
What kind of mind do you suppose Yahashuah had? This will be the central focus of this class. We are going to search the Book of Life to determine the great gulf fixed between the ways of the nations and the ways of The Most High. We will learn some Greek history as well as Hebrew history. I hope to show two different paths, two separate and distinct ways, of looking at life and the world around us, and how this directly influences how we look at Scripture.
There are a few things that need to be explained before we begin.
1. I will use the King James version of the Scriptures for all quotations. This is not because I believe that this translation is any more accurate than others. It is simply because most reference material is still keyed to this translation. It makes it easier to trace the etymology of words, which we will do often.
2. Most of what you will read will be in English, however some words will be in Hebrew. Special words or phrases that are part of the lesson will be transliterated or translated in the text. Names of books would be a good example. I will always use Yahashuah instead of Jesus, Sha'ul instead of Paul, Yochanan instead of John, for example. Why? Because it is the Hebrew that best represents what The Most High's intention was, not because we like to toss around some sort of highbrow priestcraft. Besides, that is what their name is!!
3. I will not give a test at the end of every lesson. More than likely, it will be every 3 or 4 lessons. Tests will be in essay type or form. I want to know that you have grasped the material and it's meaning, and that it is part of your thinking process as well. I want to know that you understand the material.
Let's begin.
The Torah testifies...............
Deu 32:1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words H561 of
my mouth.
The prophets proclaim..................
Hos 6:5 Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words H561 of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.
The writings bear witness...........................
Psa 107:11 Because they rebelled against the words H561 of God, and contemned the counsel
of the most High:
Psa 141:6 When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; H561 for
they are sweet.
Philippians 2:5
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Maschiach Yahashuah
What kind of mind do you suppose Yahashuah had? This will be the central focus of this class. We are going to search the Book of Life to determine the great gulf fixed between the ways of the nations and the ways of The Most High. We will learn some Greek history as well as Hebrew history. I hope to show two different paths, two separate and distinct ways, of looking at life and the world around us, and how this directly influences how we look at Scripture.
There are a few things that need to be explained before we begin.
1. I will use the King James version of the Scriptures for all quotations. This is not because I believe that this translation is any more accurate than others. It is simply because most reference material is still keyed to this translation. It makes it easier to trace the etymology of words, which we will do often.
2. Most of what you will read will be in English, however some words will be in Hebrew. Special words or phrases that are part of the lesson will be transliterated or translated in the text. Names of books would be a good example. I will always use Yahashuah instead of Jesus, Sha'ul instead of Paul, Yochanan instead of John, for example. Why? Because it is the Hebrew that best represents what The Most High's intention was, not because we like to toss around some sort of highbrow priestcraft. Besides, that is what their name is!!
3. I will not give a test at the end of every lesson. More than likely, it will be every 3 or 4 lessons. Tests will be in essay type or form. I want to know that you have grasped the material and it's meaning, and that it is part of your thinking process as well. I want to know that you understand the material.
Let's begin.
THOUGHTS
One of the most popular books of the last ten years is entitled, "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus". It is popular because it reveals much about ourselves. In a very simple, realistic way this book shows us how different the genders are. There is a vast difference in the way men and women view the same set of circumstances, and how different our conclusions are, as well. It also teaches how those differences can be accepted and used to benefit a marriage relationship. But, as you are reading this book, you can begin to see how different the two thinking processes are. The focus of this course is much the same. Eastern thinking is not like Western thinking. The major difference between this and the gender gap is that no where in Scripture does The Most High ever desire to unite His ways with the ways of the nations. There is no way that Hebrew thinking can ever be united or combined with Greek thinking.
What are we talking about when we say Hebrew thinking or Greek thinking? Let us begin by talking about thoughts and words. Another way of describing thoughts is meaning. What is meaning? With very strict observation, you will find that in practice we use the term in two principal ways: if someone asks me the meaning of a word in another language, I give him a word in his language which best expresses the same thing as that word. You may observe that we never, therefore, know the meaning directly, but only through a symbol - a word or linguistic expression. Hence, I have no way of knowing your meaning except by the language you use to express it. I cannot possibly tell what you mean except by what you say. In other words, I, as opposed to The Most High, cannot read your mind. Being human, I am relegated to understanding thoughts and intentions by the symbols used to represent that thought or intention. That is really all that language is. When I want to express a thought I arrange letters in a certain way to form words, which also, when placed in a certain order, reveal my thoughts. Different languages use a different combination of letters and symbols to express thought. This is precisely what this course is about. We will be concerned with language or expressions that reveal thoughts about marriage, children, government, education, the nature of man, the nature of The Most High, what is right or wrong, good or bad, holy or unholy. We will see how very different the Western world views these subjects from the world in which the Scriptures was written.
One of the most popular books of the last ten years is entitled, "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus". It is popular because it reveals much about ourselves. In a very simple, realistic way this book shows us how different the genders are. There is a vast difference in the way men and women view the same set of circumstances, and how different our conclusions are, as well. It also teaches how those differences can be accepted and used to benefit a marriage relationship. But, as you are reading this book, you can begin to see how different the two thinking processes are. The focus of this course is much the same. Eastern thinking is not like Western thinking. The major difference between this and the gender gap is that no where in Scripture does The Most High ever desire to unite His ways with the ways of the nations. There is no way that Hebrew thinking can ever be united or combined with Greek thinking.
What are we talking about when we say Hebrew thinking or Greek thinking? Let us begin by talking about thoughts and words. Another way of describing thoughts is meaning. What is meaning? With very strict observation, you will find that in practice we use the term in two principal ways: if someone asks me the meaning of a word in another language, I give him a word in his language which best expresses the same thing as that word. You may observe that we never, therefore, know the meaning directly, but only through a symbol - a word or linguistic expression. Hence, I have no way of knowing your meaning except by the language you use to express it. I cannot possibly tell what you mean except by what you say. In other words, I, as opposed to The Most High, cannot read your mind. Being human, I am relegated to understanding thoughts and intentions by the symbols used to represent that thought or intention. That is really all that language is. When I want to express a thought I arrange letters in a certain way to form words, which also, when placed in a certain order, reveal my thoughts. Different languages use a different combination of letters and symbols to express thought. This is precisely what this course is about. We will be concerned with language or expressions that reveal thoughts about marriage, children, government, education, the nature of man, the nature of The Most High, what is right or wrong, good or bad, holy or unholy. We will see how very different the Western world views these subjects from the world in which the Scriptures was written.
FROM THE BEGINNING
Bere'shiyt (Genesis) 1:1
In the beginning 'Elohiym created the heavens and the earth...
From the start we see that 'Elohiym separated. In the beginning He separates mass from spirit, visible from invisible. He then goes on to separate night from day, light from darkness, waters from waters, earth from seas, the greater light from the lesser light, beasts from humans, man from woman. In Bere'shiyt 2:9 He places two different and distinct trees in the garden. In Bere'shiyt 3:24 He separates man from Himself. He goes on to make a clear distinction between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. He puts a difference between Abel's offering and Cain's offering. He removes Noach's family from the rest of the world. He drives Avraham away from Ur of the Chaldees and the worship practices of his father, Terah. In Bere'shiyt 17:11 He separates Avraham from his foreskin. In the books of Shemot (Exodus) and Vayiqera (Leviticus), He reveals what is clean and what is unclean, holy and unholy. In Shemot 11:7, He makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. In Shemot 19:5 He separates Israel from the rest of the nations, commanding them to obey Him that they might be a peculiar treasure unto Him. The Tehillot (Psalms) reveal the vast difference between Yah's ways and the ways of the nations.
In the Tanakh we see The Most High giving His instructions for life to Israel and warning them not to mix with the nations. Why? Was it the people themselves that were unclean or was it their customs, their ways, their worship, and their practices? In the Tanakh we find the contrast between The Most High's people and the nations or gentiles. In the New Testament we find the general term Greek used to represent ways contrary to Scripture. Many times, this is seen in the word the world (Yochanan (John) 1:10, Acts 17:6, Romans 12:2, Ephesians 2:2). This is because at this time the world outside of Jerusalem was still influenced by Alexander the Great's brilliant psychological tactics, not to mention his military genius. The Scriptures of the New Testament draw this contrast several times.
Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Hebrew first, and also to the Greek.
Ma'asey hashsheliyechiym (Acts) 14:1
... both of the Hebrews and also of the Greeks, believed.
1 Corinthians 1:22, 24
For the Hebrews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom. 24 But unto them who are called, both Hebrews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
Acts 19:10
And this continued for the space of two years; so that all they who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Adonai Yahashuah, both Hebrews and Greeks.
When we add these accounts to the several occasions in which Sha'ul reminds us that in the body of Yahashuah there is no difference between Hebrew and Greek, we begin to see that there was a difference. This is the very reason why Sha'ul had to teach us that there is now no difference. This will become much clearer in later lessons. Sha'ul's letters are specifically aimed at other than Semitic nations i.e., the Greeks. I might remind you that I am not referring to the country of Greece and it's inhabitants, but rather the Greeks as they represent western culture. In the same way that Babylon is symbolic of all false religion and pagan practices. The Greek or Hellenistic culture was dominating the uttermost parts of the earth at the time the New Testament was penned.
Shema Selah what is the mind, thoughts that we are to have? https://youtu.be/oRnMA5BVVYM
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