Saturday, November 29, 2008

Latest Reading

Jefferson and The Rights of Man, Volume Two of the series Jefferson andHis Time, by Dumas Malone. Little, Brown, and Company, 1951. This wasevery bit as dry as the last book I read about Jefferson by Malone butthis one threw several curves at me I haven't recovered from yet.Malone shows that Jefferson did not hold the Constitution as anenduring document but believed it should be rewritten every 19 years orat least once per generation. He believed the the earth belonged to theliving and that no way should his generation bind future generations toanything. Now that's a shocker for conservatives who hold theConstitution at the same level as the Bible itself. Very interestingand disconcerting.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Leviticus 24

1 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually.

Oil is a type of the Holy Spirit used for anointing of an individual set apart by God, for instance, a prophet in the Old Testament or any Christian after the New Testament is in force.

Exodus 29:7 Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.

1 John 2:20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.

3 Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the LORD continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations.
4 He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick before the LORD continually.

The true origin of the “eternal flame”, preceding pagan antiquity by hundreds of years.

5 And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake.
6 And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD.

Twelve cakes of bread. Here are the twelve tribes of Israel. They are laid out six and six, 66 being the number of books in the Bible.

7 And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
Frankincense represents God and is one of the three gifts given to the child, Jesus, by the wise men of the east.

8 Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant.
9 And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute.

This was to be honored forever by the Jews.

10 ¶ And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp;
11 And the Israelitish woman’s son blasphemed the name of the LORD, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses: (and his mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:)
12 And they put him in ward, that the mind of the LORD might be shewed them.
13 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
14 Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
15 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin.
16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.
17 And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death.
18 And he that killeth a beast shall make it good; beast for beast.
19 And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him;
20 Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.
21 And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death.
22 Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God.
23 And Moses spake to the children of Israel, that they should bring forth him that had cursed out of the camp, and stone him with stones. And the children of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses.

For those people who are trying to put Christians back under the law given to the Hebrews I point out the fact that you are going to have commit legal murder in the event that anyone, even a visitor from another country, were to blaspheme God, and by extension, as Christians, Jesus Christ. You will also have to commit aggravated battery by putting out the eye of someone whose violence causes an eye to be removed.

This is the Law for the nation of Israel, the Hebrews, a theocracy to be run directly by God. It will be in force again when God, the Lord Jesus Christ, physically rules from Jerusalem for a thousand years. We have a further explanation of the rules for the kingdom of heaven on earth in the Gospels.

To be a “Judaizer”, as Paul says, and to try to force Christians back under the Law, seems to be the primary motive of many “big church” priests as well as a large number of fundamentalists. The purpose seems to be to create a copy of the Hebrew priesthood, a Nicolaitanism, and force the congregant to submit to the authority of that priest, whether he be wearing the vestments of a Roman Catholic or Anglican priest or simply the ‘off the rack’ suit of a Baptist “man o’ God”.

These modern day “Judaizers” have made the church a weak, political tool and wiped out its spiritual power by looking to the government to create an imitation theocracy. When things were bad morally in the Colonial ear, the people of God prayed and God sent a revival and thousands were saved. After the revolution things were bad spiritually and people prayed and God sent a revival and thousands were saved. When Christians looked to government to take God’s place and to defeat the evil of slavery without God’s blessing, God sent a Civil War which killed hundreds of thousands. When Christians did the same thing with alcohol, God sent a World War and took away our Bibles.

As Christians become more and more interested in establishing a theocracy, a mimicry of God’s standard on earth, weak political power replaces the influence of the Holy Spirit in the church.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Leviticus 23

1 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.
3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
This is a special day of the week, the seventh day, traditionally celebrated from sundown Friday to Sundown Saturday. It is a command not repeated in the list of commandments to Christians in Romans 13 because it was a sign to the Hebrews.

Exodus 31:13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

The Sabbath represents the seventh age, corresponding to the seventh day of creation, the Lord’s day of rest which will never end but even after the millennial reign of Christ will go on forever.

4 ¶ These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.
5 In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’S passover.
6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.

Here is a distinction between Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. But later the Jews will lump the entire celebration together, referring to it as Passover.

Luke 22:1 Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.

7 In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
8 But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.

So, there are two special days during this feast, the first and the last where no work is to be done.

9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:

1Corinthians 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

1Corinthians 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.

11 And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.
12 And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD.
Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

13 And the meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin.
14 And ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor green ears, until the selfsame day that ye have brought an offering unto your God: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
15 ¶ And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.

I think, and I may have this wrong, but that this is Pentecost.

17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.
18 And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the LORD.
19 Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings.
20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest.
21 And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.
22 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.

The poor and foreigners were allowed to gather what was left over of any harvest. This was a type of welfare in the Hebrew Theocracy.

23 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
24 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
25 Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
26 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
28 And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God.
29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.
30 And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.

Verse 29, which is hard to understand, is then defined by verse 30, as is often the case. A person who is not afflicted with thoughts of his own sin and his separation from God on the day of atonement will work and ignore the sacredness of the day. Therefore, that person is to be killed. In fact, God will kill him.

31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
32 It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
33 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
34 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD.
35 On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.
36 Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein.
37 These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day:
38 Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto the LORD.

As you can see, there are several Sabbaths and there are feast days. It’s important in understanding this to look at when Christ was crucified. For instance, who many Sabbaths were in that week.

39 Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
40 And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days.

John 12:13 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Notice how they rejoiced before Jesus Christ, who is God the Son, or God in the flesh.

41 And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
42 Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths:
43 That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
44 And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.

I believe that the Jews still celebrate this holy day.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Latest Reading

The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War by H.W. Crocker III, Regnery Publishing, 2008. This is a must read for history buffs and for all of those interested in the truth about the Civil War that ended the America of Jefferson and ushered in the America for which Hamilton yearned. This book is full of facts gleaned from many books and other sources and contains a wealth of interesing information. I recommend it for any literate person with a brain who is open to learn new things about our history.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Latest Reading

Reckless Disregard, Westmoreland v. CBS et al. & Sharon v. Time, by Renata Adler, Alfred A. Knopf Publishers, 1986. This is a very interesting study of two cases and still holds true today regarding the abuses of the media.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Leviticus 22

1 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto Aaron and to his sons, that they separate themselves from the holy things of the children of Israel, and that they profane not my holy name in those things which they hallow unto me: I am the LORD.

They were not to dishonor God in the way they worshipped Him. Can we take a clue from that?

3 Say unto them, Whosoever he be of all your seed among your generations, that goeth unto the holy things, which the children of Israel hallow unto the LORD, having his uncleanness upon him, that soul shall be cut off from my presence: I am the LORD.

Under the Law they would die, the priests, for coming to the Lord unclean. But, how many of us go to worship with unconfessed sins on us?

4 What man soever of the seed of Aaron is a leper, or hath a running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he be clean. And whoso toucheth any thing that is unclean by the dead, or a man whose seed goeth from him;
5 Or whosoever toucheth any creeping thing, whereby he may be made unclean, or a man of whom he may take uncleanness, whatsoever uncleanness he hath;
6 The soul which hath touched any such shall be unclean until even, and shall not eat of the holy things, unless he wash his flesh with water.

We wash today on a daily basis before coming to God. How?

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

How many Christians, of the ones that do pray, start out their day seeking God’s face in prayer without letting God’s word cleanse them? Do you not recite verses and read your Bible first to hear God speaking to YOU before you try to talk to HIM?

7 And when the sun is down, he shall be clean, and shall afterward eat of the holy things; because it is his food.
8 That which dieth of itself, or is torn with beasts, he shall not eat to defile himself therewith: I am the LORD.

Obviously, this has health implications whether or not they are incidental. A dead animal may be diseased as may be something killed by other animals.

9 They shall therefore keep mine ordinance, lest they bear sin for it, and die therefore, if they profane it: I the LORD do sanctify them.
10 ¶ There shall no stranger eat of the holy thing: a sojourner of the priest, or an hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing.

Foreigners, visitors, or hired servants (employees) are not to eat of that which is set apart for the Lord.

11 But if the priest buy any soul with his money, he shall eat of it, and he that is born in his house: they shall eat of his meat.

However, a purchased slave and those born in the priest’s household are free to eat of the holy food.

12 If the priest’s daughter also be married unto a stranger, she may not eat of an offering of the holy things.

If the priest’s daughter marries a foreigner she can’t eat of the holy things.

13 But if the priest’s daughter be a widow, or divorced, and have no child, and is returned unto her father’s house, as in her youth, she shall eat of her father’s meat: but there shall no stranger eat thereof.

She can eat if she goes home after being widows, divorced, and has no child to care for her.

14 And if a man eat of the holy thing unwittingly, then he shall put the fifth part thereof unto it, and shall give it unto the priest with the holy thing.
15 And they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel, which they offer unto the LORD;
16 Or suffer them to bear the iniquity of trespass, when they eat their holy things: for I the LORD do sanctify them.

These were serious issues for the Hebrews. How can modern Christians keep trying to put themselves back under the Law and then selectively choose which laws they will obey?

17 ¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
18 Speak unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel, and say unto them, Whatsoever he be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers in Israel, that will offer his oblation for all his vows, and for all his freewill offerings, which they will offer unto the LORD for a burnt offering;
19 Ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats.
20 But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you.
21 And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein.
22 Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD.
23 Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted.
24 Ye shall not offer unto the LORD that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land.
25 Neither from a stranger’s hand shall ye offer the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes be in them: they shall not be accepted for you.

By inference, how many of us, when we give something to God, is it broken or blemished or what’s left? Our time to and with God is not our first priority. Our money to God is not our first fruits but what’s left after we have used it to satisfy our own wants and needs. We are all sottish and foolish children.

26 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
27 When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat, is brought forth, then it shall be seven days under the dam; and from the eighth day and thenceforth it shall be accepted for an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

I am not smart enough to understand the purpose of this rule. Is it about mercy to the animal? I don’t know.

28 And whether it be cow or ewe, ye shall not kill it and her young both in one day.

An even more peculiar statement. Could this have something to do with mirroring something in Heaven itself?

29 And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer it at your own will.

Thanksgiving offerings must be voluntary. But we should always be thankful.

1Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

30 On the same day it shall be eaten up; ye shall leave none of it until the morrow: I am the LORD.
31 Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the LORD.
32 Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the LORD which hallow you,
33 That brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD.

These things separated the Hebrews from other people. They also glorified God and made His name known to the heathen.