What is Disinterestedness?

A Definition

Dictionary.com states that it is one who is “unbiased by personal interest or advantage; not influenced by selfish motives.” Such a person demonstrates true impartiality.

While dictionaries will claim that this word also has the same acceptations as uninterestedness, the older usage of this word and the Biblical concept never have to do with a lack of interest. Being uninterested in others and their situations is a subtle form of contempt.

Advantages of Being Disinterested

The main advantage of being disinterested is so that another can benefit from the disinterested person’s perspective and/or actions of justice and propriety.

Anyone having an interest in an outcome will tend to answer, advise or act in a way that will gravitate toward that outcome even if that outcome is not for the best for others or self.

One who practices disinterestedness will guide another or others to a proper outcome even if that outcome is not to the advantage of the disinterested person. A disinterested person has more investment in justice and propriety than in any advantage.

One person usually demonstrates disinterestedness with another person or persons, and not with self.

Self-Esteem

Disinterestedness kills all forms of self-esteem (high, low or normal). Every form of self-esteem is automatically an antagonist against humility, and is pride—and cannot be otherwise.

Low self-esteem is pride. A person with low self-esteem feels less responsibility and a greater freedom to place blame. This person feels special in a low way. The focus on self is always detrimental. Some with very low self-esteem opt for suicide, intentionally determining to destroy the image of God (though perhaps not thinking of this). Low self-esteem corresponds to low self-worth. No person is able to gauge his or her value with any accuracy. Thus, a person who claims to be able to do so is taking upon himself a characteristic permitted only to a god. That is arrogance.

High self-esteem is pride. A person with high self-esteem feels great ability to take on personal power, and feels little responsibility for damage to others. The focus on self is always detrimental. Some with very high self-esteem are cruel and even murderers, intentionally determining to destroy the image of God in others. High self-esteem corresponds to high self-worth. No person is able to gauge his or her value with any accuracy. Thus, a person who claims to be able to do so is taking upon himself a characteristic permitted only to a god. That is arrogance.

Normal self-esteem is pride. A person with normal self-esteem will view self in comparison to others. The focus on self is always detrimental. Some with normal self-esteem are inconsistently cruel and cold or kind and warm, rarely thinking in terms of responsibility and often thinking of advantage. Normal self-esteem corresponds to normal self-worth. No person is able to gauge his or her value with any accuracy. Thus, a person who claims to be able to do so is taking upon himself a characteristic permitted only to a god. That is arrogance.

The only proper esteem is directed to others:

Philippians 2:3 Nothing is through strife or vainglory. But each shall esteem another better than themselves in lowliness of mind.

A person practicing true disinterestedness will not be driven or controlled by destructive bitterness.

Diplomacy

The best diplomats must always prove disinterested in diplomacy, since the interest of the diplomat cannot interfere with the outcome. A diplomat who falters in diplomacy will be a diplomat who has a personal interest in an outcome.

Joseph in Genesis proved to be a truly disinterested slave and brother. He saved many lives. His brother Judah proved to be the opposite, having personal interests in outcomes. Having a personal interest in an outcome is the first step in justifying corruption and in overthrowing justice. Free Masonry is built on personal interest. It is an association dedicated to rescuing each other from proper justice if the situation arises.

Relationships

How does disinterestedness affect the way the disinterested person sees relationships, situations and responses? A disinterested person will value relationships with a value that is at least as great as those with personal interests, and likely even more. That person will see relationships in a way that isn’t centered on feelings, but rather on benefit, on liability, on considering more carefully the symptoms of good behaviour and bad. Intentional disinterestedness almost demands that a person focus on the details of what is occurring in a relationship and how that relationship is affecting others. Cause and effect become very important, and the outcome is very important even though the person will intentionally not sway the outcome for personal interest.

While many may see the benefit of being candid and open in a relationship, a disinterested person will consider whether candidness and direct openness is truly the best for justice, propriety, and for the relationships. That doesn’t mean that a disinterested person doesn’t speak his or her mind, but rather considers benefit, often in a manner that appears fearless. Daniel spoke disinterestedly to Nebuchadnezzar in a way that others would have been terrified to express. Daniel was not interested in his own aggrandizement. He was interested in benefit to the king.

February 18, 2009April 26, 2017

Demonic Assignments and Why They Are Not Yet Locked Up

Demonic Assignments

And Why They Are Not Yet Locked Up

1. They are messengers, and therefore deliver messages.

2. They voluntarily provide the means by which Saints are tested/tempted.

3. They have (limited) powers over certain physical elements. Some are responsible for the winds, one is over Sheol, another is sent on death assignments for the human races.

4. They function to deceive the deceived.

5. They shake up sinners, and even Saints, a few to the point of reconsidering for Truth. (Paul used this in 1 Corinthians 5:4-5.)

6. They rule among pagan rulers. They are in charge of principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, etc. They guide the governments of folks who have no love of Truth.

7. Hebrews 1:13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, “Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool”? ¹⁴Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

The demons have continuing ministerial assignments. The Greek of this text makes clearer that those who shall be heirs of salvation refer to the Israelis.

8. It is not yet time for demons to be restrained, except for those who have already been restrained. (One asked Yeshua if Yeshua will torment them before the time.)

9. They are the stars of Yehovah’s plan for the bad guys in the Tribulation. All of Revelation shows this, with the demons attacking only the bad guys.

10. The demons empower idols. Idols would be of no use without them and wouldn’t work.

11. They will be locked up once idols are permanently abolished, at the end of the Tribulation.

12. The demons who have been locked up, who “left their first estate,” will be released later to do real damage to bad guys.

February 17, 2009August 9, 2016

The Sheol – Paradise Transfer

Promise and Location of Paradise

Yeshua told the thief who turned in faith to Him that he would be in Paradise with Yeshua that same day:

Luke 23:43 And Yeshua said unto him, “I say unto thee faith! Today thou shalt be with me in Paradise!”

Yeshua spent three days and three nights in the heart of the earth as He promised:

Matthew 12:40 “For as Jonah was in the whale’s belly three days and three nights, so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.”

In order for him to be with Yeshua and be in Paradise that very same day, Paradise had to be in the heart of the earth. Yet Sheol is the heart of the earth:

Numbers 16:30 “But if Yehovah make a new thing, and the land open her mouth and swallow them with all that appertains unto them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then ye shall understand that these men have provoked Yehovah!” ³¹And it was as he had made an end of speaking all these words. And the ground clave asunder that was under them. ³²And the land opened her mouth and swallowed them and their houses and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. ³³They and all that appertained to them went down alive into Sheol. And the land closed upon them. And they perished from among the congregation.

Thus, Paradise must have been in Sheol at that time.

How did Paradise come to be in Sheol?

Paradise’s Origin

The Garden of Eden (Garden of Pleasure) was and is Paradise; the two are synonymous. See how Paradise is used to substantiate this:

Nehemiah 2:8 And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest [Paradise], that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.

Ecclesiastes 2:5 I made me gardens and orchards [Paradise], and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits.

Song of Solomon 4:13 Thy plants are an orchard [Paradise] of pomegranates with pleasant fruits, camphire, with spikenard…

Thus, paradise indicates some type of garden or an orchard.

Revelation 2:7 He that has an ear, he shall hear what the Spirit says unto the churches. I will give to him who overcomes to eat of the Tree of the Lives that is in the midst of the Paradise of God.

The Tree of Life (Tree of the Lives) is in the midst of the Paradise of God, according to the above text. It is also in the midst of the Garden of Eden. Thus, the two are synonymous.

Thus, I will next consider Eden and its role in the Bible.

Eden

Genesis 2:8 And Yehovah Elohim planted a garden eastward in Eden. And there He put the man whom He had formed.

Genesis 2:10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden. And it was parted from thence, and became to four heads.

Genesis 2:15 And Yehovah Elohim took the man. And He put him into the Garden of Eden to serve it and to guard it.

Adam was placed in this garden, in Paradise. His role was to serve and to guard it. It would respond to him with great strength if he would do these things. He instead sinned.

Genesis 3:23 Therefore Yehovah Elohim sent him forth from the Garden of Eden, to serve the soil from whence he was taken.

Genesis 3:24 So He drove out the man. And He placed Cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden, and a flaming sword that turned every way, to keep the way of the Tree of the Lives.

The Tree of the Lives was now blocked from every direction except one: faith.

Yehovah compares locations to Eden when He describes great fruitfulness:

Isaiah 51:3 For Yehovah shall comfort Zion! He will comfort all her waste places. And He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of Yehovah. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, confession and the voice of melody.

Ezekiel 36:35 And they shall say, “This land that was desolate is become like the Garden of Eden! And the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited!”

Joel 2:3 A fire devours before them, and a flame burns behind them! The land is as the Garden of Eden before them, and a desolate wilderness behind them! Indeed—and nothing shall escape them.

Yehovah speaks to the future great and violent city of Babylon (a city that will be in its former location, in Iraq) in the following text:

Ezekiel 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God.

He also speaks of the Antichrist as if the man is a great tree. He compares him to the trees in Eden:

Ezekiel 31:9 I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches so that all the trees of Eden that were in the garden of God envied him.

Once the Antichrist is sent into Sheol, the trees of Eden will be consoled:

Ezekiel 31:16 “I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall when I cast him down to Sheol with them that descend into the pit. And all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be consoled in the lower parts of the land.”

Ezekiel 31:18 “To whom art thou thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? Yet shalt thou be brought down with the trees of Eden unto the lower parts of the land! Thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude,” says Yehovah Elohim.

The above text refers to the transfer of the trees of Eden to the lower parts of the land! This is where Yehovah placed Paradise when He removed it from the surface of the earth in the days of Adam.

Eden, Verb

Hebrew has a verb for almost every word form. The verb eden in Hebrew means pleasure, delight. It is used in the following text:

Nehemiah 9:25 And they took strong cities and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, wells dug, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance. They did eat so, and were filled. And they became fat, and delighted [verb, eden] themselves in Thy great goodness.

Eden, Edna, Pleasure

The Hebrew nouns eden [masculine] and edna [feminine, and where the name Edna is derived] describe pleasure, including sexual pleasure as in the first text below:

Genesis 18:12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I am waxed old, shall I have pleasure [Edna], my lord being old also?”

2 Samuel 1:24 Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights [Adanim, plural of eden], who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel.

Psalms 36:8 They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of Thy House! And Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures [Adanim].

Jeremiah 51:34 Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon devoured me! He crushed me! He made me an empty vessel! He swallowed me up like a dragon! He filled his belly from my delicates [Adanim]! He cast me out.

Thus, Paradise, the Garden of Eden is always rightly associated with delight and pleasure.

Tree of the Lives

The Tree of Life, or better, Tree of the Lives was placed in the center of Paradise.

Genesis 2:9 And Yehovah Elohim made every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, and in the midst of the garden the Tree of the Lives and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Bad to grow out of the soil.

Genesis 3:22 And Yehovah Elohim said, “Behold, the man is become as one of us to know good and bad! And now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the Tree of the Lives, and eat, and live to Hider…

Thus, eating of the Tree of the Lives would give the eater everlasting life.

Genesis 3:24 So He drove out the man. And He placed Cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden, and a flaming sword that turned every way, to keep the way of the Tree of the Lives.

That tree had to be guarded, since a sinful man who was unrepentant could also eat, and live forever with sin.

The next set of texts refer to the feminine character known as Wisdom.

Proverbs 3:18 She is a Tree of the Lives to them that lay hold upon Her! And everyone who retains her is happy!

Anyone who lays hold upon Wisdom obtains everlasting life. Thus, She is the feminine form of Messiah Yeshua! (Yehovah is neither masculine nor feminine, but He designed the genders for our instruction. Humans of both genders are equally made in the image of God. Thus, it only makes sense that a feminine-gendered being describes another aspect of Yehovah. What radical, liberal feminists might do with this information is of no concern to me, and I suspect that it is of no concern to Yehovah. Perhaps it might be to the salvation of some of them!)

Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a Tree of the Lives. And he that acquires beings is wise!

The fruit of righteous folks is also a Tree of the Lives from which one can eat and obtain everlasting life!

Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick. And when the lust comes, it is a Tree of the Lives!

Lust is very, very strong desire. The Bible does not classify lust as automatically sinful. It refers to the type of lust before drawing conclusions. Lust for what is good and righteous is right before Yehovah. The Proverbs text above describes such a good lust; its coming also presents the Tree of the Lives, leading to everlasting life! (If this seems confusing, consider the timing of the fulfillment of this text. Once you see that it is referring to a Tribulation event, this outcome may make more sense.)

Proverbs 15:4 A healing tongue is a Tree of the Lives. But perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit!

Now, a tongue that speaks words that heal is a Tree of the Lives, and able to bring everlasting life!

Revelation 2:7 He that has an ear, he shall hear what the Spirit says unto the churches. I will give to him who overcomes to eat of the Tree of the lives that is in the midst of the Paradise of God.

The Tree of the Lives is still in the midst of the Paradise of God even at this time in the future. Thus, I always associate the physical location of that Tree with Paradise. Though other items can also be a Tree of the Lives, the actual tree remains in Paradise. It is a real tree, not a spiritual concept.

Revelation 22:2 In the midst of the street of it and on either side of the river, there was the Tree of the Lives that bore twelve manner of fruits. And she yielded her fruit every month. And the leaves of the Tree are for the servicing of the races!

The above text demonstrates that the Tree produces real, physical fruits: twelve different types! I could not tell whether there was a different fruit for each month or whether there were twelve different fruits per month.

One tree straddles both sides of the river! It must be a large tree.

The various races will use the leaves of that tree for various forms of servicing (besides being for service) on the New Earth.

Revelation 22:14 Blessed are they that do His commandments so that they will have right to the Tree of the Lives, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

One who has come to Truth by Biblically correct faith is given the right to the Tree of the Lives, as well as entering through the gates into the city of Jerusalem.

Living Water: Waters of Lives

‘Living Water’ (waters of lives) is also associated with Paradise. The following texts consider this water.

Song of Solomon 4:15 …a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters [waters of lives], and streams from Lebanon.

Most translators thought that the phrase living water was describing running water, the motion of the water being akin to the motion of a living creature. I put no stock in this view. The waters of lives do not represent running water. The above text shows that the water provides a necessity for living plants.

The following text presents a being Who is the fountain of the waters of lives:

Jeremiah 2:13 “For my people have committed two evils. They have forsaken me the fountain of living waters [the waters of lives] and hewed them out cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water!”

This is further explained in the following text:

Jeremiah 17:13 Yehovah the Hope of Israel, all that forsake Thee shall be ashamed! And they that depart from Me shall be written in the land because they have forsaken Yehovah, the fountain of living waters [the waters of lives]!

Two beings are described in this verse. One is obviously Yehovah. The other may not be so easily discerned, so the following text will help:

John 7:38 He who believes on me, as the Scripture hath said, rivers of living water shall flow out of his belly. ³⁹(But He spoke this of the Spirit that they who believe on Him will receive. For the Holy Spirit was not yet, because Yeshua was not yet glorified.)

Thus, Yehovah is the fountain; the Spirit of Yehovah is that water of life.

Zechariah 14:8 And he shall be in that day. And living waters [waters of lives] shall go out from Jerusalem—half of them toward the former sea and half of them toward the hinder sea. He shall be in summer and in winter.

A split river will come out of the top of the Great Mount Zion during the Millennium, carrying the waters of lives. Drinking of that water will do as much good as drinking from the Rock that followed and preceded Israel in the wilderness: no good at all except for thirst, unless accompanied by faith!

John 4:10 Yeshua answered and said unto her, “If thou knew the Gift of God and who it is Who says to thee, ‘Give me to drink,’ thou would have asked from Him, and He would have given thee living water [waters of lives]!” ¹¹The woman says unto Him, “Sir, Thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. From whence then hast Thou that living water [water of lives]?” … “¹⁴Whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give him shall be a well of water springing up in him into everlasting life.”

John 7:38 He who believes on me, as the Scripture has said, rivers of living water [waters of lives] shall flow out of his belly!

The above two texts show that those waters, combined with faith, give everlasting life. Thus, the Tree of the Lives and the waters of the Lives are quite connected.

Genesis 26:19 And Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of springing water [waters of lives].

The picture of a well that is life-saving is a type of that water that is everlasting-life-saving.

The following texts consist of types. A type is a person, place, item, time or action that is real and important in itself, but pictures a person, place, item, time or action that is real and far more important. (A symbol is something that is of little value in itself, but stands for something important and/or valuable.) For now, note the centrality of the waters of lives in them:

Leviticus 14:5 And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water [waters of lives].

Leviticus 14:6 As for the living bird, he shall take it and the cedar wood and the scarlet and the hyssop, and shall immerse them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water [waters of lives].

Leviticus 14:50 And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water [waters of lives].

Leviticus 14:51 And he shall take the cedar wood and the hyssop and the scarlet and the living bird, and immerse them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water [waters of lives], and sprinkle the house seven times.

Leviticus 14:52 And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water [waters of lives], and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet.

Leviticus 15:13 And when he who has an issue is cleansed of his issue, then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing. And he shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in running water [waters of lives], and shall be clean.

Numbers 19:17 And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burned heifer of the sin-sacrifice. And running water [waters of lives] shall be put thereto in a vessel.

(Did you notice immersion in several of the texts above? They form part of the bases of the doctrines of baptisms mentioned in Hebrews 6:2.)

Revelation 21:6 And He said unto me, “It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the waters of lives.”

Thirsting, then, often precedes obtaining everlasting life!

Revelation 22:1 And he showed me a pure river of waters of lives, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him that hears say, “Come!” And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, he shall freely take the waters of lives!

Sheol

Since Paradise resided in Sheol for a length of time, considering Sheol is important.

Genesis 37:35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him. But he refused to be comforted. And he said, “For I will go down mourning unto my son into Sheol.” Thus his father wept for him.

Jacob was and is a Saint. He knew he would go to Sheol when he died. Saints (at that time) and non-saints went to Sheol, and thus were ‘gathered to their fathers’.

Genesis 42:38 And he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If mischief befall him by the way in which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol!”

Genesis 44:29 “And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol!”

Genesis 44:31 “He shall be, when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die. And thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to Sheol.”

The following text is quite unusual. Korah and all who stood with him went down alive into Sheol after the land opened. They fell thousands of miles!

Numbers 16:33 They and all that appertained to them went down alive into the Sheol. And the earth closed upon them. And they perished from among the congregation.

Deuteronomy 32:22 “For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest Sheol, and shall consume the land with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains!”

Sheol has upper and lower parts.

1 Samuel 2:6 Yehovah kills and makes alive! He brings down to Sheol, and brings up.

This speaks of resurrection; it also speaks of bringing some back to mortal life (like Lazarus, Martha’s brother, and like Ezekiel 37 describes with the dry bones event).

2 Samuel 22:6 The sorrows of Sheol compassed me about. The snares of death preceded me.

1 Kings 2:6 “Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to Sheol in peace!”

1 Kings 2:9 “Now, therefore, hold him not guiltless. For thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou ought to do unto him. But bring thou down his hoar head to Sheol with blood!”

Job 14:13 “O that Thou would hide me in Sheol, that Thou would keep me secret until Thy wrath be past, that Thou would appoint me a set time, and remember me!”

The above text demonstrates a speaker who desires to be hidden in Sheol! Please remember that this text is prophetic. It is not describing a theoretical situation, but one that will occur exactly that way. I propose that this corresponds with Ezekiel 37.

Job 17:13 “If I wait, Sheol is my house. I have made my bed in the darkness.”

Job 17:16 “They shall go down to the bars of Sheol when our rest together is in the dust.”

Sheol has bars/gates. Another text refers to this:

Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee that thou art Peter [Stone]. And I will build my Church upon this rock. And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against her!

Job 21:13 “They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to Sheol.”

Psalms 6:5 For there is no remembrance of Thee in death. Who shall confess Thee in Sheol?

The time for confessing Yehovah is past once one goes to Sheol.

Psalms 9:17 The wicked and all the nations that forget God shall be turned into Sheol.

Psalms 16:10 For Thou wilt not leave my being in Sheol. And Thou wilt not suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption.

Psalms 18:5 The sorrows of Sheol compassed me about. The snares of death preceded me.

Psalms 30:3 Yehovah, Thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol. Thou hast kept me alive, and I will not go down to the pit.

This is not referring to Yeshua. Read it carefully, and consider Ezekiel 37.

This normally brings the question of a ‘second chance.’ Everyone with basic mental faculties who lives long enough to outgrow being a baby has regular ‘second chances’ in this life. Yehovah will not give those who have died and gone to Sheol another chance. He has promised to resurrect a very large group from Sheol, however, and bring that group back to mortal life, including giving that group His Salvation. This cannot reasonably be objected, since Salvation is by His Grace, and He has the right to keep His Word. That large group is mentioned in Ezekiel 37, and is the House of Israel (previously slaughtered, leaving only the House of Judah). Since all the tribes must be present to fulfill His Word, He will prove that “neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creation shall be able to separate [the Israelis] from the love of God that is via Messiah Yeshua”.

Psalms 31:17 I will not be ashamed, Yehovah. For I called upon Thee. The wicked shall be ashamed! They shall be silent in Sheol!

The most vociferous ‘bad guys’ are silent in Sheol—that is, they are not protesting, rioting, carrying on, shouting, etc. They already know what awaits them; it is terrifying.

Psalms 49:14 They are laid in Sheol like sheep. Death shall feed on them! And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning. And their beauty shall consume in Sheol from their dwelling.

Psalms 49:15 But God will redeem my being from the power of Sheol! For He shall receive me. Selah.

This, again, speaks of an entity (like a group) who will be redeemed from the power of Sheol. It again connects to the previously quoted text:

Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee that thou art Peter [Stone]. And I will build my Church upon this rock. And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against her!

It is the Church (Congregation) of Israel.

Psalms 55:15 Death shall seize upon them! And they shall go down alive into Sheol. For wickedness is in their dwellings and among them.

Going down alive into Sheol is very unusual!

Psalms 86:13 For great is Thy Grace toward me. And Thou hast delivered my being from the lowest Sheol.

Psalms 88:3 For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws nigh unto Sheol.

Psalms 89:48 What man is he who lives, and shall not see death? Shall he deliver his being from the hand of Sheol? Selah.

Sheol is also the fallen angel whom Yehovah has given responsibility over the location!

Psalms 116:3 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of Sheol got hold upon me. I found trouble and sorrow.

Psalms 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there. If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there.

Yehovah is not absent from Sheol!

Psalms 141:7 Our bones are scattered at Sheol’s mouth as when one cuts and cleaves wood upon the land.

Proverbs 1:12 “We shall swallow them up alive as Sheol, and whole as those that go down into the pit!”

Proverbs 5:5 Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on Sheol!

Proverbs 7:27 Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.

Proverbs 9:18 But he doesn’t know that the dead are there, and that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

Proverbs 15:11 Sheol and destruction are before Yehovah; how much more then the hearts of the children of men?

Proverbs 15:24 The way of life is above to the wise that he may depart from Sheol beneath.

Proverbs 23:14 Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from Sheol.

Proverbs 27:20 Sheol and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.

The following text explains that Sheol continues to widen as newly arrived dead come into her:

Isaiah 5:14 Therefore Sheol has enlarged herself and opened her mouth without measure. And their glory and their multitude and their pomp and he who rejoices shall descend into her!

Proverbs 30:15 The horseleach has two daughters, crying, “Give!” “Give!” There are three things that are never satisfied. Indeed, four things don’t say, “It is enough”: ¹⁶Sheol and the barren womb, the land that is not filled with water and the fire that doesn’t say, “It is enough.”

Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. For there is no work nor device nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol where thou art going!

Sheol is not a place for doing work.

Song of Solomon 8:6 Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm. For love is strong as death. Jealousy is cruel as Sheol. The coals thereof are coals of fire that has a most vehement flame!

Sheol is a place of torture! This does not describe the Paradise side, however.

Isaiah 14:9 Sheol from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming to stir up the dead for thee—even all the chief ones of the land. She has raised up all the kings of the nations from their thrones.

The feminine-gendered angel Sheol again acts in the above text. This is the only angel of which I am aware to which Yehovah assigned a feminine gender. That does not mean that Sheol is a female. Hebrew assigns genders to all nouns!

Isaiah 14:11 Thy pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the noise of thy viols. The worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.

Isaiah 14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, to the sides of the pit.

Sheol is located on the sits of a huge pit. That pit makes the great gulf that divided the ‘torments’ side from the ‘Paradise’ side.

Isaiah 28:15 For ye have said, “We have made a covenant with Death, and we are at agreement with Sheol! When the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us. For we have made lies our refuge, and we hid ourselves under falsehood.

Making a covenant with Death and Sheol is making a covenant with two demons! It isn’t a wise choice.

Isaiah 28:18 And your covenant with Death shall be annulled. And your agreement with Sheol shall not stand. When the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it!

Isaiah 38:10 I said in the cutting off of my days, “I shall go to the gates of Sheol! I am deprived of the residue of my years.”

Isaiah 38:18 For Sheol cannot confess Thee. Death cannot praise Thee. They that go down into the pit cannot hope for Thy Truth.

Isaiah 57:9 And thou went to the king with ointment, and did increase thy perfumes, and did send thy messengers far off, and did debase thyself even unto Sheol!

The following text was considered early in this document. Consider again what it tells about Sheol.

Ezekiel 31:15 Thus says Yehovah Elohim, “In the day when he went down to Sheol, I caused a mourning. I covered the deep for him, and I restrained the floods thereof. And the great waters were stayed. And I caused Lebanon to mourn for him. And all the trees of the field fainted for him. ¹⁶ I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall when I cast him down to Sheol with them that descend into the pit. And all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon—all that drink water shall be consoled in the lower parts of the land! ¹⁷They also went down into Sheol with him unto them that are slain with the sword, and they who were his arm, that dwelt under his shadow in the midst of the races.”

Ezekiel 32:21 The strong among the mighty shall speak to him with them that help him out of the midst of Sheol. They are gone down. They lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword.

The above text is not referring to folks in Sheol communicating with folks on the earth’s land, but of communications within Sheol itself.

Ezekiel 32:27 And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised who are gone down to Sheol via their weapons of war. And they gave their swords under their heads. But their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.

Hosea 13:14 “I will ransom them from the power of Sheol! I will redeem them from Death! Death, I will be thy plagues! Sheol, I will be thy destruction! Repentance shall be hidden from my eyes!”

The above text is part of a string of texts from which it cannot be extricated. Unless a reader takes the whole set, it will not make sense. Yehovah seems to be vacillating only because this text has been separated. Yes, He will ransom them from the power of Sheol. Yes, He will redeem them from Death. And He will turn to plague Death and to destroy Sheol. But in the meantime He will not change His mind from destroying and slaughtering Ephraim. I propose that this is describing how the dry bones slaughter took place (again, Ezekiel 37).

Amos 9:2 “Though they dig into Sheol, my hand shall take them thence! Though they climb up to the heavens, I will bring them down thence!”

Why would anyone desire to dig into Sheol? But some folks are that stupid!

Jonah 2:2 And he said, “I shouted unto Yehovah by reason of my tribulation. And He heard me! I shouted from the belly of Sheol, and Thou heard my voice!”

Jonah is prophesying regarding the same thing. Most readers think that Jonah is praying over his own situation. They have not considered that a prophet’s responsibility is to prophesy the Word of Yehovah, not his own situation. Jonah didn’t experience all the events about which he prophesied in chapter 2. He was a type, and spoke for another. The timing is also future; the events Jonah described have not yet occurred. They will, however!

Habakkuk 2:5 …indeed because he also transgresses by wine; he is a proud man and doesn’t keep at home; who enlarges his desire as Sheol, and is as Death, and cannot be satisfied; but gathers all nations unto him, and heaps all people unto him…

Of whom does this speak? Can you figure this out?

Hades

Hades and Sheol are exactly the same, and are just from two different languages.

The following texts refer to Hades:

Matthew 11:23 And thou, Capernaum, that art exalted unto the heavens, shalt be brought down to Hades! For if the mighty works that have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day!

An entire city will be brought down to Hades!

Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee that thou art Peter [Stone]. And I will build my Church upon this rock. And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against her!

That Church is the Congregation the House of Israel, as I mentioned above. Hades’ gates will not be able to prevail against her; she will ‘bust out’ when Yehovah calls her to come.

Have you rightly determined to what this rock refers? (Hint: It isn’t referring to Yeshua Himself, and it isn’t referring to Peter.)

Luke 10:15 And thou, Capernaum, that art exalted to the heavens, shalt be thrust down to Hades!

The following text describes a real event and real persons in every detail. When Yeshua said “there was,” faith in His Word insists that there really was what He describes.

Luke 16:19 There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day. ²⁰And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus who was laid at his gate, full of sores, ²¹and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. And the dogs came and licked his sores. ²²And it came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³And he lifted up his eyes in Hades, being in torments. And he sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. ²⁴And he shouted and said, “Father Abraham! Have mercy on me! And send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue! For I am tormented in this flame!” ²⁵But Abraham said, “Son, remember that thou received thy good things in thy lifetime, and likewise Lazarus bad things. But now he is consoled, and thou art tormented. ²⁶And beside all this, there is a great gulf fixed between us and you so that they who would pass from here to you cannot, and they who would come from there cannot pass to us.” ²⁷Then he said, “I pray thee therefore, father, that thou would send him to my father’s house—²⁸for I have five brethren—that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.” ²⁹Abraham says unto him, “They have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them.” ³⁰And he said, “Nay, father Abraham—but they will repent if one went unto them from the dead.” ³¹And he said unto him, “If they don’t hear Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”

This text shows several things:

Angels transported Lazarus to Abraham’s bosom, located in the Paradise-side of Hades.
Non-saints are in torments in Hades (and will continue to be in torments for the many centuries until they are judged and consigned to the Lake of Fire and Sulfur)
Non-saints could see the Saints and vice-versa in the distance.
Saints and non-saints could shout to each other.
There is water on the Paradise-side of Hades; the non-saints can see that there is water.
There is no water on the torments side.
There is a flame on the torments side that tortures the non-saints.
There is consolation only on the Paradise-side of Hades.
A great gulf separates the two sides so that none can pass to the other side.
Non-saints realize and care about their lost loved ones who have not yet come to Hades.
Persuasion of the living will not occur even if one rises from the dead to tell the living.
Saints do not have compassion on non-saints on the other side.

Acts 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my being in Hades. And Thou wilt not suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption.

To whom does ‘my’ refer in the above text? (Hint: It doesn’t refer to Messiah.)

Acts 2:31 He spoke of the resurrection of Messiah, seeing this before—that His soul was not left in Hades, and his flesh did not see corruption.

(Hint: This doesn’t change the question or the hint above!)

1 Corinthians 15:55 Death, where is thy sting? Hades, where is thy victory?

Revelation 1:18 I am He Who lives, and was dead. And behold, I am alive for evermore! Faith! And I have the keys of Hades and of Death!

Revelation 6:8 And I looked. And behold, a pale horse! And his name who sat on him was Death. And Hades followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

These two angels ride (angelic) horses! They will both do a great slaughter of non-Jewish unbelievers during the Tribulation. (How can one tell that the judgments of Revelation are not directed against Israel?)

Revelation 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead that were in him. And Death and Hades delivered up the dead that were in them. And they were judged—every man—according to their works. ¹⁴And Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

The Lake of Fire and Sulfur was originally designed only for angels; the majority of humans who will end up there had to determine to go.

Matthew 25:41 Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels!”

Gehena

Gehena is an abbreviated form of Gay-Hinnom, the Valley of Hinnom. This corresponds to Topheth:

2 Kings 23:10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom.

The following text shows what occurred in this terrible place:

2 Chronicles 28:1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign. And he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not what was right in the sight of Yehovah, like David his father. ²For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. And he also made molten images for Baalim. ³And he burned incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom. And he burned his children in the fire after the abominations of the races whom Yehovah cast out before the children of Israel.

Thus, burning children alive became a picture of Gehena, akin to the Lake of Fire and Sulfur.

The following texts refer to Gehena, and show that it is what most folks think of hell.

Matthew 5:22 “But I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the Judgment! And whosoever shall say to his brother, “Raca! [Worthless!]” shall be in danger of the Council. But whosoever shall say, “Thou fool!” shall be in danger of Gehena fire.

Matthew 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast from thee! For it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole Body should be cast into Gehena! ³⁰And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast from thee! For it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole Body should be cast into Gehena.

Matthew 10:28 And fear not them who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. But rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehena!

Matthew 18:9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast from thee. It is better for thee to enter into life with one eye rather than to be cast into Gehena fire having two eyes.

Matthew 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte. And when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of Gehena than yourselves!

Matthew 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of Gehena?

Mark 9:43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off! It is better for thee to enter into life maimed than to go into Gehena, into the fire that shall never be quenched, having two hands!

Mark 9:45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off! It is better for thee to enter into life halt than to be cast into Gehena, into the fire that never shall be quenched, having two feet!

Mark 9:47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck out! It is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than to be cast into Gehena fire having two eyes!

Luke 12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear Him Who has power to cast into Gehena after He has killed! Indeed I say unto you, fear Him!

James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity! The tongue is so among our members, so that it defiles the whole Body and sets on fire the course of nature. And it is set on fire from Gehena!

While Paradise has nothing to do with Gehena, both mystify folks in the same discussions.

Tartaros/Tartarus

One text refers to this location:

2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to Tartaros/Tartarus, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment…

This seems to be within that pit that separates the two sides of Sheol. These angels will be released later, and will participate in judgment events.

Absent from the Body

The Spirit of Yehovah through Paul explained,

2 Corinthians 5:6 Therefore we are always confident, knowing that we are absent from the Lord while we are at home in the Body. ⁷For we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the Body and to be present with the Lord!

This text indicates a change, since Saints who die no longer go to Sheol/Hades. The Lord Yehovah’s throne is in the heavens, not in Sheol/Hades. Being present with Him indicates that Saints now go to the place of His throne. The change must have occurred after Yeshua rose from the dead. The Book of the Revelation of Yeshua to John describes Saints in the heavens, not in Hades.

If the Saints are not in Hades, Paradise also is no longer there. Another text confirms this:

2 Corinthians 12:3 And I knew such a man (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell—God knows), ⁴how that he was caught up into Paradise. And he heard unspeakable words that it is not lawful for a man to utter.

The person caught up to Paradise didn’t descend to Paradise.

Paradise will finally come back to earth when Messiah comes with all His angels and with all the Saints who died (thus leaving the heavens devoid of humans and angels). The Kingdom of God/Kingdom of Heaven will be on this earth for one thousand years, and Paradise will be back—but in Israel, this time. Messiah Yeshua, Who is Wisdom, Who is the Tree of the Lives, will be in Mount Zion, so that humans won’t yet see that tree, and will still need to believe in Yeshua for Life. The Tree will be physically visible on the New Earth in Paradise, and its leaves and fruit will be useful and very good.

February 17, 2009September 8, 2016

Two-Podium Reading of Yeshua’s Birth

A Two-Podium Reading of Yeshua’s Birth

Designed for Children and Two Spotlights

1 – Left Podium

Some names and locations will be assigned their literal meanings. Bethlehem, for example, will be called House-of-Bread, and John’s name will be the Hebrew meaning of Yochanan, Yehovah-Favoured. Jesus’ name in Hebrew is Yeshua, and it means Salvation. We will call Him Yeshua or Salvation.

Dr. Lukas had a friend named Theophilus. He wrote his friend about the birth and life of Yeshua. This is the beginning of this narrative. I have sewed the Luke and Matthew texts together.

2 – Right Podium

L1:1 Forasmuch as many took in hand to draw up a narration concerning the matters that have been fully believed among us ²as they delivered to us, they having been eyewitnesses and attendants of the word from the beginning, 3it also seemed good to me to write to thee with method, having been accurately acquainted with all things from the first, most excellent Theophilus, so that thou wilt know concerning the certainty of the things of which thou wast instructed.

3 – Left Podium

Aharon lived many centuries before these events. His lineage was of the Israeli priests who alone had the right and responsibility to care for the Temple of Yehovah and the sacrifices. A course of priestly responsibilities was started before the time of the events that we are describing. Those courses were given names. One name was Avia.

4 – Right Podium

⁵There was a certain priest named Zachariah of the course of Avia in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea. And his wife is of the daughters of Aharon. And her name is Elisheva. ⁶And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of Yehovah, blameless. ⁷And there was not a child to them inasmuch as Elisheva was barren. And both were advanced in their days.

5 – Left Podium

The Temple was no place for the public to enter. It consisted of two small rooms, and only the High Priest and perhaps a worker were allowed to enter one of those rooms. The High Priest and a worker or two were allowed to enter the other room. If anyone tried to enter the Temple for any reason except those very few who had responsibilities, they would be killed. Yehovah commanded it that way. Any gatherings of the Israelis at the Temple were done outside of the main Temple building.

6 – Right Podium

⁸And he was during fulfilling his priestly service in the order of his course before God ⁹according to the custom of the priestly service. His lot was to burn incense, having entered into the Temple of Yehovah. ¹⁰And all the multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. ¹¹And a messenger of Yehovah appeared to him standing at the right of the altar of incense. ¹²And Zechariah seeing him was troubled. And fear fell upon him. ¹³But the messenger said to him,

“Don’t fear, Zechariah. For thy supplication has been heard. And thy wife Elisheva shall bear thee a son. And thou shalt call his name Yehovah-Favoured. ¹⁴And he shall be joy and exultation to thee! And many shall rejoice at his birth. ¹⁵For he shall be great in the sight of Yehovah. And he shall in no wise drink wine and strong drink. And he shall even be filled with the Spirit of the Holy-[One] from his mother’s womb. ¹⁶And he shall turn many of the children of Israel to Yehovah their God. ¹⁷And he shall go-forth before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers upon children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for Yehovah.”

¹⁸And Zechariah said to the messenger, “By what shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in her days.”

¹⁹And the messenger answering said to him, “I am Gabriel who stands in the sight of God. And I was sent to speak to thee and to announce to thee these beneficial-proclamations. ²⁰And behold, thou shalt be silent and unable to speak until the day in which these things shall take place because thou didn’t believe my words that shall be fulfilled in their season.”

²¹And the people were expecting Zechariah. And they wondered at his delaying in the Temple. ²²But having come out, he was not able speak to them. And they recognized that he had seen a vision in the Temple. And he was making signs to them, and continued dumb. ²³And he was, when the days of his service were fulfilled, he departed to his house.

7 – Left Podium

Almost all women desired to birth children. Some thought that Yehovah didn’t favour a woman who was barren. Some would even speak badly about her and would reproach her, as if it were her fault.

8 – Right Podium

²⁴And after those days Elisheva his wife conceived. And she hid herself five months, saying, ²⁵ “Thus has Yehovah done to me in the days in which He looked to take away my reproach among men.”

9 – Left Podium

Being betrothed is the same as being married. The only difference is that those who are betrothed don’t yet live together, and haven’t had sexual intercourse with each other. They are married; they are not just engaged. Only after sexual intercourse do they know one another.

10 – Right Podium

M1:18Now, the birth of the Anointed Salvation was thus. ²⁶And in the sixth month the messenger Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee whose name is Nazareth ²⁷to a virgin betrothed to a man of the house of David whose name is Yoseph. And the virgin’s name is Miriam. ²⁸And the messenger coming to her said, “Shalom, favoured-[one]! Yehovah is with thee! Thou art blessed among women!” ²⁹But she, seeing, was troubled at his word. And she was reasoning of what kind this salutation might be. ³⁰And the messenger said to her, “Don’t fear, Miriam. For thou hast found favour with God. ³¹And, behold, thou shalt conceive in the womb, and shall bring forth a son. And thou shalt call his name Salvation. ³²He shall be great! And he shall be called the Son of the Highest. And Yehovah Elohim shall give him the throne of David his father. ³³And he shall reign over the House of Jacob to Hider. And there shall be no end of his kingdom.”

11 – Left Podium

The expression, to Hider in Hebrew, means to the period of time beyond what the Bible describes. The Bible describes the period from the creation of the heavens and the land to when this planet will be burned with fire, and a new planet will be created. That period of time is revealed. The rest hides. Yehovah also hides from view so that humans can have faith. Faith isn’t necessary if everything is visible and fulfilled.

12 – Right Podium

³⁴But Miriam said to the messenger, “How shall this be since I don’t know a man?” ³⁵And the messenger answering said to her, “The Spirit of the Holy-[One] shall come upon thee. And the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also the Holy-[One] born shall be called the Son of God. ³⁶And, behold, thy kinswoman Elisheva! She has also conceived a son in her old age. And this is the sixth month to her who was called barren. ³⁷For not anything shall be impossible with God.” ³⁸And Miriam said, “Behold the slavemaiden of Yehovah. Be it to me according to thy word.” And the messenger departed from her.

13 – Left Podium

When folks would greet each other, they would usually say, “Shalom!” That word means peace, and declares that those greeting each other have no debts to each other that haven’t been paid.

The Spirit of Yehovah is called the Spirit of the Holy-[One], since He is the Spirit of the Holy One of Israel. The word holy always means owned.

14 – Right Podium

³⁹And Miriam arising in those days went into the hill country to a city of Judah with haste. ⁴⁰And she entered into the house of Zechariah. And she ‘shalomed’ Elisheva. ⁴¹And he was: as Elisheva heard the ‘shalom’ of Miriam, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elisheva was filled with the Spirit of the Holy-[One]. ⁴²And she shouted with a loud voice and said, “Thou art blessed among women! And the fruit of thy womb is blessed! ⁴³And from where is this to me—that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴For behold, as the voice of thy salutation came into my ears, the baby leaped in exultation in my womb! ⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed! For there shall be a fulfillment to the things spoken to her from Yehovah!”

⁴⁶And Miriam said, My being magnifies Yehovah, ⁴⁷And my spirit exulted in God my Saviour! ⁴⁸For He has looked upon the humiliation of His slavemaiden! For, behold, all generations will call me blessed from now-on! ⁴⁹For the Mighty-[One] has done great things to me! And His Name is holy! ⁵⁰And His Grace is to generations generations to those fearing Him! ⁵¹He wrought strength with His arm. He scattered haughty-[ones] via thought of their heart. ⁵²He put down rulers from thrones and exalted low-[ranking-ones]. ⁵³He filled hungry-[ones] with good things. And He sent-away the rich empty. ⁵⁴He helped Israel His servant to remember Grace according as He spoke to our fathers, to Avraham and to his seed to Hider!”

⁵⁶And Miriam abode with her about three months. And she returned to her house.

⁵⁷Now the time that she should child-birth was fulfilled to Elisheva. And she bore a son. ⁵⁸And the neighbours and her kinsfolk heard that Yehovah was magnifying His Grace with her. And they rejoiced with her!

⁵⁹And he was on the eighth day. They came to circumcise the little child. And they were calling him after the name of his father Zechariah. ⁶⁰And his mother answering said, “No! But he shall be called Yehovah-Favoured!”

⁶¹And they said to her, “No one is among thy kinsfolk who is called by this name!”

⁶²And they made signs to his father what he might wish him to be called. ⁶³And having asked for a writing tablet, He wrote saying, “Yehovah-Favoured is his name!” And they all wondered. ⁶⁴And his mouth immediately was opened, and his tongue. And he spoke, blessing God. ⁶⁵And fear came upon all those who dwelt around them.

And all these things were being communicated in the whole hill-country of Judaea. ⁶⁶And all who heard laid-up in their heart, saying, “What then will this little child be?”

And the hand of Yehovah was with him.

15 – Left Podium

The purpose of being filled with the Spirit of Yehovah is to be given the power to do some necessary function that would otherwise be impossible. Quoting Yehovah verbatim (that is, word for word) is impossible if the one speaking never previously heard those words. A prophet must be filled with the Spirit of Yehovah, since a true prophet always exactly quotes the testimony of Yeshua when prophesying.

A visit or visitation from Yehovah is when He directly interacts with a group (like Israel), usually to rescue or help in some way. The Hebrew text often speaks of visitations and their importance.

A ram’s horn, or in Hebrew, a Shofar, is blown like a small trumpet. The sound travels far. The sound can be used for an alarm or for gathering purposes.

16 – Right Podium

⁶⁷ And Zechariah his father was filled with the Spirit of the Holy-[One]. And he prophesied saying, ⁶⁸“Blessed is Yehovah the God of Israel! For He visited and did redemption for His people! ⁶⁹And He raised a ram’s-horn of salvation for us in the House of David His servant ⁷⁰just as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets since time began! ⁷¹Salvation is from our enemies and from the hand of all those who hate us ⁷²to fulfill Grace with our fathers and to remember His Holy Covenant, ⁷³to give us the oath that He vowed to Avraham our father, ⁷⁴being saved from the hand of our enemies. We will serve Him without fear ⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives! ⁷⁶And thou, little child, shall be called prophet of the Highest! For thou shalt go before the faces of Yehovah to prepare His ways, ⁷⁷to give knowledge of Salvation to His people in remission of their sins ⁷⁸through bowels of compassion of our God in which the Sunrise from on high has visited us ⁷⁹to shine upon those sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, to direct our feet into the way of peace.”

⁸⁰And the little child grew and was strengthened in spirit. And he was in the deserts until the day of his showing to Israel.

17 – Left Podium

Miriam and Yoseph must not have discussed what Gabriel told her. She must not have even told Yoseph that Gabriel came to her. That left Yoseph wondering how his wife had become pregnant, since he knew that he and she had not had sexual intercourse. All he knew was that she was pregnant, and she wasn’t declaring who the father was. He loved her, but he could not continue with a wife who wasn’t candid about what happened. He determined to divorce her.

He didn’t want to harm or shame her. The divorce had to be secret so that her reputation would not be tarnished by him. Others would know that she was pregnant, and would draw whatever conclusions they desired, but not by his actions.

Miriam knew that telling Yoseph would sound like a lie. She also knew that it was up to Yehovah to communicate with Yoseph so that he could again trust her. She was Yoseph’s wife, since betrothal is marriage, so she couldn’t ‘break an engagement’. She was in a terrible position, but she just waited.

18 – Right Podium

M1:18 Yeshua’s mother Miriam, having been betrothed to Yoseph, was found to be pregnant from the Spirit of the Holy-[One] before they came together. ¹⁹But Yoseph her husband secretly purposed to put her away, being righteous and not willing to publicly expose her.

²⁰And when he had pondered these things, behold a messenger of Yehovah appeared to him in a dream saying, “Yoseph son of David! Don’t fear to take to Miriam thy wife! For what is in her is owned—is begotten by the Spirit! ²¹And she shall bring forth a son. And thou shalt call His Name Salvation. For He shall save His people from their sins!” ²²Now this all came to pass that what was spoken by Yehovah through the prophet will be fulfilled, saying, ²³ “Behold the pregnant virgin! And she shall child a son. And they shall call His Name Immanuel,” which being interpreted is ‘God-With-Us.’ ²⁴And having been aroused from sleep, Yoseph did as the messenger of Yehovah had ordered him. And he took his wife. ²⁵And he didn’t know her until she brought forth her son—the firstborn.

19 – Left Podium

The Kaesar in Rome was as a prince. He ruled like a king over the Roman Empire. Registration was for taxation. Anyone among the common folk avoiding registration and taxation faced terrible consequences. The command of Kaesar Augustus included the necessity of men returning to the cities from which they originally came.

20 – Right Podium

L2:1 And he was in those days. A decree went out from Kaesar Augustus that all the inhabited-land shall be registered. ²This first registration took place when Kyrenios was governor of Syria. ³And all went to be registered—each to his own city. ⁴And Yoseph also ascended from Galilee, from the city Nazareth to Judea, to a city of David that is called House-of-Bread (because of his being of the House and family of David) ⁵to register himself with Miriam who was betrothed to him as wife, she being large-in-pregnancy.

⁶And he was in the [time] they were there: The days of her birthing were fulfilled. ⁷And she childed her first-born son. And she wrapped Him in swaddling-rags. And she laid Him in the feed-trough because there was not a place for them in the inn.

⁸And shepherds were lodging in the fields in the same region and keeping guard over their flock by night. ⁹And behold, a messenger of Yehovah stood by them. And the glory of Yehovah shined around them. And they feared a great fear.

¹⁰And the messenger said to them, “Don’t fear. For behold, I bring-a-message of great joy to you that shall be to all the people! ¹¹For a Saviour who is the Anointed-[One] of Yehovah was born to you today in the city of David! ¹²And this is the sign to you: Ye shall find a baby wrapped in swaddling-rags lying in the feed-trough.”

¹³And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly army with the messenger commending God and saying, 14 “Importance is to God in the highest! And peace is in men of good-thinking on earth!” ¹⁵And he was, as the messengers departed from them into the heavens.

And the men shepherds said to one another, “We shall indeed go-through as far as House-of-Bread! And we will see this thing that has come to pass—that Yehovah made known to us!”

¹⁶And they came, having hasted. And they found both Miriam and Yoseph, and the baby lying in the feed-trough! ¹⁷And having seen, they broadcasted concerning the saying that had been told them concerning this little child. ¹⁸And all who heard wondered concerning the things that had been spoken to them by the shepherds.

¹⁹But Miriam kept all these sayings, pondering in her heart.

²⁰And the shepherds returned, glorifying and commending God for all things that they had heard as it was said to them, and they had seen.

²¹And when eight days were fulfilled for circumcising the little child, Yoseph called His Name Salvation—that was called by the messenger before He was conceived in the womb.

21 – Left Podium

The Torah of Yehovah is the Teaching of Yehovah, also known as the Teaching of Moshe, referring to Moses. The first six books of the Bible are the Torah, the Teaching.

An Israeli woman who birthed a child would remain unclean for a specified number of days after the birth. Since she was unclean, which has nothing to do with being dirty, but instead means that she could not join in any assembly of the Israelis, and she could not touch anything without making it unclean. In other words, others would need to help and even pamper her during this period so that she wouldn’t cause them to become unclean! It was more like a vacation for her, so that she could concentrate on her newborn.

22 – Right Podium

²²And when the days for their purification according to the Teaching of Moshe were fulfilled, They brought Him to Jerusalem to present to Yehovah 23as it has been written in the Teaching of Yehovah: that every male opening a womb shall be called the property of Yehovah, ²⁴and to offer a sacrifice according to what has been said in the Teaching of Yehovah: a pair of turtledoves or two young of pigeons.

23 – Left Podium

The word Christ comes from the Greek word Christos meaning anointed one. This is the same as the word Messiah that comes from the Hebrew word Mashiakh, also meaning anointed one. Yehovah already had anointed a number of persons, like David. Anyone anointed was assigned a task that the person would successfully do. Several evil persons were also anointed, assigned to tasks and positions, and they did evil in those positions.

Yeshua is Anointed by Yehovah. His assignment was to be the sacrifice for the sin of the world, as well as being King of all kings and Lord of all lords in the future. Many in Israel desired to know the identity of Yehovah’s Messiah, since He will also save Israel from Israel’s enemies.

The Messiah was also known as the Consolation of Israel, since He would console Israel after many centuries of grief brought by Israel’s sin and the wrath of Yehovah. That consolation will come when Israel turns from sin.

24 – Right Podium

²⁵And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name is Hearkening. And this man is righteous and well-received, waiting for the Consolation of Israel. And the Spirit of the Holy-[One] was upon him. ²⁶And it was divinely communicated to him by the Spirit of the Holy-[One] that he will not see death before he will see Yehovah’s Anointed-[One]. ²⁷And he came in the Spirit into the Temple. And when the parents brought the little child Salvation so that they might do for Him according to what had become customary by the Teaching, ²⁸he also received Him into his arms. And he blessed God. And he said, 29 “Now, Master, Thou art sending Thy slave in peace according to Thy speech! ³⁰For my eyes have seen Thy Salvation ³¹Whom Thou prepared before the faces of all the peoples: ³²the Light for revelation of races, and the Importance of Thy people Israel!”

³³And Yoseph and His mother were wondering at the things that were spoken concerning Him. ³⁴And Hearkening blessed them. And he said to Miriam His mother, “Behold, this is set for the fall and arising of many in Israel, and for a sign spoken against!—³⁵and of thee also: a sword shall pierce thy being!—so that reasonings of many hearts will be revealed!”

³⁶And there was Khannah, a prophetess, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in many days, having lived seven years with a husband from her virginity. ³⁷And she is a widow of about 84 years who didn’t depart from the Temple, serving with fastings and supplications night and day. ³⁸And she positioning at the same hour confessed to Yehovah. And she spoke concerning Him to all those waiting for Redemption in Jerusalem. ³⁹And when they had completed all things according to the Teaching of Yehovah, they returned to Galilee to their city, Nazareth.

⁴⁰And the little child grew. And He became strong in spirit, being filled with wisdom. And the favour of God was upon Him.

25 – Left Podium

These astrologers read the constellations as a few read the Bible: literally. Yehovah printed His plan in the constellations, but few have learned to read. Many treat the Bible the same way as modern astrologers treat the constellations: they don’t believe it literally, and they can’t read it properly. These astrologers read and believed, fearing Yehovah the God of Israel.

They came to worship Him: that is, to prostrate (lay down flat) before Him, showing that they were His servants. Worshipping always means to lay down flat, face-down before another or before something.

26 – Right Podium

M2:1 Now Salvation, having been born in House-of-Bread of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, astrologers from the east arrived at Jerusalem ²saying, “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw His star in the sunrise. And we are come to worship Him.” ³But Herod the king was troubled, having heard, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴And having gathered together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah should be born. ⁵And they said to him, “In House-of-Bread of Judaea. For thus it has been written by the prophet: ⁶ ‘And thou House-of-Bread, land of Judah, in no wise art least among the governors of Judah. For a leader shall go forth out of thee’ who shall shepherd my People Israel.”

⁷Then Herod, having secretly called the astrologers, exacted from them the time of the appearing star. ⁸And having sent them to House-of-Bread, he said, “Having gone, exactingly-search for the little child. And when ye shall have found, bring word back to me that I also may worship him, having come.” ⁹And they departed, having heard the king.

And behold, the star that they saw in the east led-before them, until, having come, it stood over where the little child was. ¹⁰And they rejoiced an exceedingly great joy, having seen the star. ¹¹And having come into the house, they found the little child with Miriam His mother. And having fallen down, they worshipped Him. And having opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him—gold and frankincense and myrrh. ¹²And they withdrew by another way into their own country, having been admonished in a dream not to return to Herod.

¹³Now they, having withdrawn, behold an messenger of Yehovah appears in a dream to Yoseph, saying, “Having risen, take and flee into Egypt with the little child and his Mama. And be there until I tell thee. For Herod is about to seek the little child and destroy him.”

¹⁴And he, having risen, took and withdrew into Egypt with the little child and His mother by night. ¹⁵And he was there until the death of Herod so that what was spoken by Yehovah through the prophet will be fulfilled, saying, “I called to my son from Egypt.”

27 – Left Podium

These astrologers arrived about a year and a half after Yeshua’s birth. Note the age of the children that Herod will target.

28 – Right Podium

¹⁶Then Herod was greatly enraged, having seen that he was mocked by the Astrologers. And having sent, he killed all boys from two years old and under who were in House-of-Bread and in all its borders according to the time that he had accurately inquired from the Astrologers. ¹⁷Then that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying, ¹⁸ “A voice in Rama was heard: lamentation, weeping of bitternesses. Rachel is weeping concerning her sons. She is refusing to be consoled concerning her sons. For they aren’t!”

¹⁹But Herod having died, behold an messenger of Yehovah appears to Yoseph in Egypt in a dream, ²⁰saying, “Having risen, take and go into the Land of Israel with the little child and His mama. For they who were seeking the life of the little child have died.” ²¹And he, having risen, took and came into the Land of Israel with the little child and His mama. ²²But he was afraid to go there, having heard that Archelaus reigns over Judaea instead of Herod his father. And he withdrew into the parts of the Galilee, having been divinely instructed in a dream.

²³And having come, he dwelt in a city called Nazareth so that what was spoken by the prophets, that he shall be called a Nazarene, shall be fulfilled.

29 – Left Podium

We have read you the words of the events surrounding Yeshua’s birth, including the slaughter of many innocent children when Yeshua was about a year and a half old. If you are a normal hearer, you will see this as a romantic tale of events, then you will celebrate Christmas according to your family customs. You will think of three wise men from the east who arrived at baby Jesus’ manger, when the text never gives the number of astrologers, and they certainly do not arrive at the manger. You will think of Mary riding a donkey with Joseph beside her, when the text never indicates that she rode anything. You will imagine animals in the stable when no animals are mentioned. You won’t ask why Miriam placed the newborn into a feed trough. You won’t consider why gold, frankincense and myrrh, of all things, were given to them as gifts. You won’t ask how long the astrologers traveled to arrive in Israel, and in what country or countries they lived. You won’t consider how important the literal people and land of Israel are in the plan of Yehovah for all humans. If you are a normal hearer, you will only hear what you desired to hear and what you desired to imagine.

If you are a hearer with the capacity to hearken to the Word of God, however, you will ask many questions, and you will seek many answers.

We produced this for you—not so you would be entertained at this time of yearly entertainment, and not so that you would watch us read and sing, but so that you would think and ask.

Yeshua never was called Immanuel. He will be.

O come, O come Immanuel, and ransom captive Israel that lies in lonely exile here…

February 16, 2009August 9, 2016

The Timing of Messiah’s Death and the Sabbaths

The Timing of Messiah’s Death
And the Sabbaths

Re-edited March 21, 2006; corrected March 13, 2010

In order to establish on which day of the week Messiah was crucified, the following texts will used:

a) A text which states on which day Messiah arose from the dead;
b) A text which states how long Messiah was in Sheol;
c) Texts which teach the time of day when He died;
d) Texts which refer to the Sabbaths and the Passover at the time of His death.

When did Messiah Arise?

Matthew 28:1 Now late on sabbath, as it was the dusk of the next day after sabbath, Mary of Magdala and the other Mary came to look at the sepulchre. And behold, there was a great earthquake. For an angel of Yehovah, descending out of heaven, came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it! And his look was as lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And the guards trembled and became as dead men for fear of him. And the angel answering said to the women, “Fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus the crucified one. He is not here, for He is risen as he said. Come! See the place where the Lord lay! And go quickly and say to his disciples that he is risen from the dead!”

The above text gives a clue to the timing. It states that the two women came late on sabbath, as it was the dusk of the next day after sabbath. The regular Sabbath (the Friday evening to Saturday evening Sabbath) ends as the sun sets on our Saturday evening. Dusk can be as the sun is setting or it can be as the sun is rising, though we usually think of dusk as the time of the setting of the sun. This text states that it was the dusk of the next day after the Sabbath, but combining this with late on the Sabbath, makes it sundown Saturday. Combine this with the next text. Note that Messiah was already risen.

Mark 16:1 And the sabbath being past, Mary of Magdala and Mary the [mother] of James and Salome bought aromatic spices that they might come and embalm him. And they come to the sepulchre very early on the first of the week, the sun having risen. And they said to one another, “Who shall roll us away the stone out of the door of the sepulchre?” And when they looked, they see that the stone has been rolled—for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right clothed in a white robe. And they were amazed and alarmed. But he says to them, “Be not alarmed. Ye seek Yeshua the Nazarene, the crucified one. He is risen. He is not here. Behold the place where they had put him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter, He goes before you into Galilee. There ye shall see Him as He said to you.” And they went out and fled from the sepulchre. And trembling and excessive amazement possessed them. And they said nothing to any one, for they were afraid. Now when He had risen very early the first of the week, He appeared first to Mary of Magdala.

These women came after the sabbath and very early on the first of the week, the sun having risen.

Luke 23:56 And having returned, they prepared aromatic spices and ointments, and remained quiet on the sabbath according to the commandment. [Luke 24:1] But on the morrow of the sabbath, very early indeed in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the aromatic spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And when they had entered, they found not the body of the Lord Yeshua. And it came to pass, as they were in perplexity about it, that behold two men suddenly stood by them in shining raiment. And as they were filled with fear. And they bowed their faces to the ground. They said to them, “Why seek ye the Living One among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you, being yet in Galilee, saying ‘The Son of man must be delivered up into the hands of sinners and be crucified, and rise the third day’”?

They came on the morrow of the sabbath, very early indeed in the morning.

The following text shows who came:

Luke 24:10 It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary James, and others with them, which told these things unto the apostles.

Two men in shining raiment remind them of Messiah’s promise: The Son of man must be delivered up into the hands of sinners and be crucified, and rise the third day. Another text will be more specific.

Messiah rose a while before the women came, very early on the first day of the week. Since the Bible does not exaggerate, He arose on Saturday evening or Saturday night. Messiah was gone by Sunday morning.

How Long Was Messiah in Sheol?

One text above stated, The Son of man must be delivered up into the hands of sinners and be crucified, and rise the third day. This text seems to indicate that Messiah would be physically dead two days, then would rise on the third day. Another text must be considered:

Matthew 12:39 But He answered and said unto them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign. And there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the great fish’s belly, so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

Messiah declared the exact amount of time He would be in the heart of the earth (Sheol, also known as Hades in Greek), into which Korah and his rebels descended alive when the earth opened to receive them.

Jonah 1:17 Now Yehovah had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Some think that Jonah was alive during this time. (I was formerly unconvinced, and a certain Angela disagreed with me. I now see that she was right; he was alive, totally encompassed with water, like a baby in the womb.) The next text is thought provoking:

Jonah 2:1 And Jonah prayed unto Yehovah his God out of the fish’s belly. And he said, “I cried by reason of my distress unto Yehovah, and He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol cried I! Thou heardest my voice. For Thou didst cast me into the depth, into the heart of the seas, and the flood was round about me. All Thy breakers and Thy billows are gone over me. And I said, ‘I am cast out from before thine eyes!’ Yet will I look again toward thy holy temple. The waters encompassed me to the soul. The deep was round about me. The weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains. The bars of the earth [closed] upon me for ever. And Thou hast brought up my life from the pit, Yehovah my God. When my soul fainted within me, I remembered Yehovah. And my prayer came in unto Thee—Into Thy holy temple!”

One speaking in Jonah’s prophecy, went to Sheol: Out of the belly of Sheol cried I! This is not figurative language as some in unbelief might suppose. The one speaking in Jonah’s prophecy drowned, yet continued to speak, fully awake: The waters encompassed me to the soul. The deep was round about me. The weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains. The bars of the earth [closed] upon me for ever. This is underscored by, “Thou hast brought up my life from the pit, Yehovah my God. When my soul fainted within me, I remembered Yehovah.” When a soul faints within one, he has died? Yet the speaker prayed to Yehovah from Sheol, and Yehovah heard. There is no place where one can go to be out of Yehovah’s presence, as the Psalmist states,

Psalm 139:7 Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? And whither flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into the heavens, Thou art there. Or if I make my bed in Sheol, behold Thou! I take the wings of the dawn; I dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me.

Once we establish approximately when Messiah rose from the dead and how long He was in Sheol, we can figure when he was crucified.

What Time was Messiah Crucified?

Matthew 27:46 But about the ninth hour Yeshua cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?”—that is, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” And some of those who stood there, when they heard, said, “This calls for Elijah.” And immediately one of them running and getting a sponge, having filled with vinegar and fixed on a reed, gave him to drink. But the rest said, “Let be! Let us see if Elijah comes to save him!” And Yeshua, having again cried with a loud voice, gave up the ghost.

Mark 15:34 And at the ninth hour, Yeshua cried with a loud voice: “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is, being interpreted, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” And some of those who stood by, when they heard, said, “Behold he calls for Elijah.” And one, running and filling a sponge with vinegar, fixed it on a reed and gave him to drink, saying, “Let alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to take him down.” And Yeshua, having uttered a loud cry, expired.

Luke 23:44 And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Yeshua had cried with a loud voice, He said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” And having said thus, He gave up the ghost.

The zero hour is at approximately 6 a.m. Therefore the sixth hour is at noon. The ninth hour is at 3 p.m. We now should have enough information to establish the day and time of Messiah’s death after crucifixion. Below is a chart to help us establish this:

From the above, the day of Messiah’s crucifixion can be determined.

There are two more timing difficulties to be resolved. The term Sabbath is used, causing some confusion to some readers. The Sabbath is from Friday evening to Saturday evening, but also includes every Holy Day of Israel. Therefore if a Holy Day lands on Tuesday, it is still a sabbath. The Holy Days fall on different days in different years. It is possible for sabbaths to occur consecutively: one beginning Thursday evening and the next beginning on Friday evening. With this in mind, consider the following texts which refer to the Sabbaths pertinent to our topic.

Matthew 27:62 Now the next day that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, Saying, “Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, ‘He is risen from the dead!’ So the last error shall be worse than the first!” Pilate said unto them, “Ye have a watch. Go your way. Make as sure as ye can.” So they went and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone and setting a watch.

Mark 15:42 And when it was already evening, since it was [the] preparation—that is, [the day] before a sabbath, Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable councillor who also himself was awaiting the kingdom of God, coming, emboldened himself and went in to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. And Pilate wondered if he were already dead. And having called to the centurion, he inquired of him if he had long died. And when he knew from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. And having bought fine linen, having taken him down, he swathed him in the fine linen and laid him in a sepulchre which was cut out of rock. And he rolled a stone to the door of the sepulchre. And Mary of Magdala and Mary the [mother] of Joses saw where he was put. And the sabbath being past, Mary of Magdala and Mary the [mother] of James and Salome bought aromatic spices that they might come and embalm him. And very early on the first of the week, they come to the sepulchre, the sun having risen.

The two texts above refer to a day of preparation. One text states that this was the day before a sabbath. On this preparation day, Joseph of Arimathaea took Yeshua’s body down. Therefore there was a sabbath on the next day.

Luke 23:50 And behold, a man named Joseph, who was a councillor, a good man and a righteous-one (this had not assented to their counsel and deed) of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews, who also waited for the kingdom of God—he having gone to Pilate begged the body of Jesus, and having taken it down, wrapped it in fine linen and placed him in a tomb hewn in the rock where no one had ever been laid. And it was preparation day, and sabbath twilight was coming on. And women, who had come along with him out of Galilee, having followed, saw the sepulchre and how his body was placed. And having returned, they prepared aromatic spices and ointments and remained quiet on the sabbath according to the commandment. But on the morrow of the sabbath, very early indeed in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the aromatic spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.

The women purchased aromatic spices after this sabbath (the one after the day of preparation), and they prepared the spices. But they did not go to apply the spices until after the regular Sabbath day.

John 19:31 The Jews therefore, that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath—for it was [the] preparation (for the day of that sabbath was a great [day])—demanded of Pilate that their legs might be broken and they taken away. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first and of the other that had been crucified with him. But coming to Yeshua, when they saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear. And immediately there came out blood and water. And he who saw it bears witness, and his witness is true, and he knows that he says true that ye also may believe. For these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled: “Not a bone of him shall be broken.” And again another scripture says, “They shall look on him whom they pierced.” And after these things, Joseph of Arimathaea (who was a disciple of Yeshua, but secretly through fear of the Jews) demanded of Pilate that he might take the body of Yeshua. And Pilate allowed it. He came therefore and took away the body of Yeshua. And Nicodemus also, who at first came to Yeshua by night, came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. They took therefore the body of Yeshua and bound it up in linen with the spices as it is the custom with the Jews to prepare for burial. But there was a garden in the place where he had been crucified, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. There therefore, on account of the preparation of the Jews, because the tomb was near, they laid Yeshua. And on the first [day] of the week Mary of Magdala comes in early morn to the tomb while it was still dark, and sees the stone taken away from the tomb.

The above text states that the sabbath after this preparation day was a great day—that is, a High Holy Day. Therefore it was not a regular Sabbath, but the Passover Sabbath. Consider the following chart:

This chart shows the timings of the days. If we combine the charts together, this will show what took place and when (see Page 7). A few other things have been also added to clarify the events. There were two Sabbaths in one week with one day between them.

This scheme seems to fit. If this is true, the doctrine of a ‘Good Friday’ is not based on the day of Messiah’s crucifixion.

I was unable to find more accurately when Messiah rose from the dead—whether it was at 3 p.m. (approximately, depending on exactly when the ninth hour of the day is), at sunset or at some other time near to these other times. He was in Sheol for three full days and three full nights.

Was Messiah Crucified on Passover?

The texts all show that Messiah was crucified the day before Passover. He ate the Passover meal one day early. How can this be justified?

2 Chronicles 30:15 And they slaughtered the Skip-Over in the 14th to the second month. And the Priests and the Levites were calamitized. And they sanctified themselves. And they brought ascendings House of Yehovah. ¹⁶And they stood upon their standing as their justice as the Torah of Moshe man of the Elohim. The Priests are sprinkling the blood from the hand of the Levites. ¹⁷For many are in the congregation who did not sanctify themselves. And the Levites are over the slaughter of the Skip-Overs for everyone not clean, to sanctify to Yehovah. ¹⁸For a multitude of the people, many from Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun were not being rendered-clean. For they ate the Skip-Over with not as written. For Hezekiah prayed concerning them, saying, “Yehovah the Good will Cover for the sake of ¹⁹all, his heart established to research the Elohim, Yehovah, Elohim of his fathers, and not as the cleanness of the Holy-One.” ²⁰And Yehovah hearkened unto Hezekiah. And He healed the people. ²¹And the children of Israel who were are found in Jerusalem did the solemnity of the Matzahs seven of days with big happiness and praisings to Yehovah day in day, the Levites and the Priests, with instruments of strength to Yehovah. ²²And Hezekiah spoke upon the heart of all the prudent Levites, good prudence to Yehovah. And they ate the appointment seven of the days, sacrificing sacrifices of peaces and confessions to Yehovah Elohim of their fathers. ²³And they counselled, all the congregation, to do seven of another days. And they did seven of days, happiness.

If they could keep unleavened bread another seven days, Messiah could keep the Passover a day early, knowing that He would be dead before the actual Passover day could occur.

The disciples kept it according to the command on the 14th. (They were not liberal with the commands of Yehovah.) They ate it with Messiah one day early.

What about John 19:14?

John 19:12 And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, saying, “If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend! Whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar!” ¹³When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Yeshua forth. And he sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. ¹⁴And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour. And he saith unto the Jews, “Behold your King!” ¹⁵But they cried out, “Away with him!” “Away with him!” “Crucify him!” Pilate saith unto them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”

This text appears to be in direct conflict with the following texts in which Yeshua is already on the cross::

Matthew 27:45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.

Mark 15:33 And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

Luke 23:44 And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.

Another text specifies when He was crucified:

Mark 15:25 And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.

Consider the various texts in their order with hour being mentioned:

Matthew 27:45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.

Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Yeshua cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Mark 15:25 And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.

Mark 15:33 And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.

Mark 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Luke 23:44 And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.

John 19:14 And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!

The texts put together indicate the following:

From the 6th to the 9th hour (noon to 3 p.m.) there is darkness.
About the 9th hour (about 3 p.m.) Yeshua died.
They crucified Him the 3rd hour (9 a.m.).
It was the preparation of the Passover and about the 6th hour (noon) when Yeshua was still at the trial.

This can be viewed as a conflict if the reader chooses to do so. I saw this as indicating that the preparation of the Passover was occurring and the time was somewhere between 9 a.m. and noon when Yeshua was crucified. I didn’t see texts referring to the 4th or 5th hour, or to the 8th hour (though I saw the 10th hour in John 1:39 and the 7th hour in John 4:52), and I assumed that their methods of timekeeping were normally in blocks of approximately three hours. If it was between 9 and noon, it could be considered in the third hour or about the 6th hour. Thus, I took it as being around 10:30 a.m.

February 16, 2009August 9, 2016

Personality, Character, Environment

Personality, Character and Environment

with Discussions on Truth, Absolutes, Responsibilities, Morals and Ethics

Introduction

What are personality and character? How does environment affect them? How do they affect one’s environment?

Personality

Likes, dislikes, predispositions toward certain activities, forms of work, abilities, inabilities, ways of thinking, the sum of all things that gives uniqueness to any creature—these things all come under personality. Some of them sound like character, however. I will propose a distinction.

First, I will propose that personality is created—that it isn’t adjustable. It is built into a creature far before birth. Now, since I am writing from the perspective of one who believes the Bible, this isn’t unreasonable for me to propose. If a reader of this document finds such creation an outrage, I will propose that personality isn’t adjustable throughout the life of a creature. Some of its expressions will remain hidden for various periods of time, perhaps to the point of death, but personality cannot be changed.

If this is true, the personality of a two-week-old fetus is the same personality that will be seen at age 98 (if the person lives that long and isn’t comatose).

Tastes change. A child may find green beans disgusting, and the same person at age 40 may love green beans. That isn’t a change in personality, however. Liking green beans is a trait that was hidden in the young child but was uncovered by the child at a later age, having newly discovered tastes with which to discover green beans. A chemical change in the brain can make a change in tastes, but that isn’t a personality change any more than smells of foods that a person used to like now make the person sick. The personality remained the same; how the brain handled stimuli from the taste buds and smell receptors changed with new experiences.

Since I have already proposed a creation of personality, I will advance one more step: Yehovah, the God of Israel, whom I claim to be the Creator described in the Bible, is the creator of every personality in every living creature (including plants and microorganisms). Suppose with me that this is the case as I continue.

Every personality, then, is perfectly designed. No personality is flawed. Every personality has the ability to be beneficial and productive in life if the personality is given time. (One who is killed or dies in the womb wasn’t given time to demonstrate this.)

Some personalities are drawn toward numbers. Others are not, but are drawn to art. Some are drawn to strategic thinking (like great chess players) while others are drawn to music. Some love colors or design; others love counting and memorizing gravestones. Yet, every personality has an ability that is a specialty to that person holding the personality.

Those who are severely mentally retarded may show no symptoms of excellencies in abilities. That isn’t because they are not there. Many things remain yet undiscovered on this planet and in this universe. A great flaw is in assuming that what isn’t apparent isn’t there. A great tragedy of our time is the waste of great minds just because they seem inferior. Genius is often balanced by what appears to be great lacks. Idiot savants demonstrate genius along with no abilities in some areas and few in others.

Imagine how different banking would have been had numeric ‘idiot savants’ (who could do tremendous calculations much faster than calculators can still do them) been trained and hired at the banks to check and keep numerical records in the 1400s. Yehovah gave them great and very useful abilities. Were they used?

Some personalities love the sea. Some love snow. Yehovah has given great variation.

I find the idea that proteins in DNA can produce personality without any merit. If personalities were passed on, children would have the same personalities as their parents. They just don’t. They are so individual, so different one from another, that there is no explaining. Identical twins have very different personalities.

All personalities are given to benefit others. (That is another statement that I am making from the angle of faith in the Bible.) All personalities can produce what the Bible classifies as good fruit. That is why there will be a judgment. If some could never produce good fruit, they would not be judged.

Character, and Ethics and Morality Defined

While personality is built in and created, I propose that character is totally in the hands of the person. Others can attempt to change a person’s character, but only the owner can truly change this.

Character is the sum of behaviours that are ethical, moral, beneficial, harmful, constructive, destructive, good, bad, spiritual and religious in nature. Add all these things pertaining to one person, and this describes the person’s character and the person’s true characteristics.

Humans are capable of being totally inconsistent. A person can be very helpful at one moment and totally and intentionally unhelpful at the next. A person can show the highest ethics at one moment and great immorality at the next. If just a part of a person’s actions is considered, the person might be seen as very moral and kind. If another part of the same person’s actions is considered, the same person may seem as crude, vulgar, destructive and a very ‘bad apple.’ The person’s character must be the sum of all such things and not one part.

Ethics is the set of principles, rules, standards of conduct, and human duty. It is concerned with distinguishing between good and evil in the world, between right and wrong human actions, and between virtuous and non-virtuous characteristics of individuals and peoples, especially in a business, social and cultural sense.

Morality is conformity to the rules and duties of right, good, and virtuous conduct conduct pertaining to a god/God. It is concerned with the distinction between good and evil or right and wrong in terms of a god/God.

Since both ethics and morality have everything to do with right/wrong, good/evil,and virtue, they both have everything to do with a god/God. Anyone who has no god/God will have no anchor for either ethics or morality; the person will only be able to agree or disagree with others about conduct, and will hold no authority higher than human agreement as a judge and source of ethics or morality.

Character is a choice. I will not state that the God of the Bible has given each human a choice regarding character, since that isn’t true. The Biblical God of Avraham commanded humans to refrain from sin, to do right, to ‘bear good fruit.’ Where there is a command of such a nature, no choice is given. If humans ‘choose’ to do wrong, they were not given those actions as a choice; they are in violation. They have stolen a choice they were not given, and are in disobedience.

Yet, humans are made in the image of God and are given God-like abilities and characteristics. Thus, they can do good, and they can destroy. They can benefit, and they can harm. Yehovah Himself does both, but always in righteousness. Humans can do the same.

Each person who has a properly functioning mind (that is, who is not in a coma or hallucinating) can determine to live by good character. Most humans determine to be perfectly inconsistent in character. They determine to be kind when it suits them or is profitable to them, and they determine to be cold, hostile, or just harmful when they desire to respond in this way. They have reasons for the responses they portray to others. Those reasons are sometimes valid; they are often based on incomplete information, prejudices, bitterness, personal advantage, or a host of other possible bases that are not truth.

If each person is made in the image of the God of the Bible (as the Bible claims from its beginning), each person has a responsibility to properly reflect that God by doing what is right. Using the image of God to do wrong is a form of blasphemy, since that harms the reputation of that God. Bad or inconsistent character is a great insult to that God.

How Can One Change Character?

A person who has been a liar for years can determine to quit lying. A thief can determine to quit stealing. Persons can change. Such a change does not require a religious experience or a faith. Humans are made in the image of God, and therefore are given the ability to change. If folks could not change, they also would not be held responsible for what they do. If morality and ethics are replaced by instinct, there are no such things as right and wrong. Yet, curiously, even animals that are driven by instinct can be taught right and wrong through rewards and chastisement. Trained animals can know that they did well; they can also know when they did wrong. Humans are far higher, openly discussing right and wrong and knowing these concepts. Even Balaam’s ass knew right and wrong.

Right and wrong cannot exist without a god/God. Nature has no right and wrong. If there is no god/God, there is no such thing as moral or ethical right or wrong. A true atheist cannot claim that someone did him wrong, since who is to say what is right or wrong? If right and wrong are by the consent and agreement of a population, and nature has no god/God, who is to say that the majority is ‘right’? A true atheist can say at best that he didn’t like what was done to him, but he cannot claim a moral ‘high ground’ by saying that he was ‘done wrong.’

Some folks have the stupidity to claim that there is no absolute. Making such a claim is declaring an absolute: “There is absolutely no absolute.” Since that is impossible, there is an absolute. Thus, there must be Truth. Stating, “There is no Truth” would be stating a truth! That is without sense.

Truth

Since absolutes and truth both exist, morality and ethics must also exist. Yet, no person can discover Truth. (How would a person know that it was Truth that he or she discovered?) The discovery of anything must be based upon prior knowledge. If I discover oil, I must be able to identify oil. If I have never seen oil before and know nothing about it, I won’t know that I have discovered oil. I will only see a slimy black substance that is very difficult to wash off, that doesn’t have a pleasant smell, and that ruins land, food and clothing. I found something, but I won’t know what it is until I am taught what it is. The same is the case with Truth. Anyone who finds it, having nothing with which to compare it, will not know that it is Truth, and won’t know its uses.

Truth is always connected with a god/God. Only a god/God can declare Truth and can expose it for what it is. Humans learn from others, from their environments, and from nature. They cannot learn Truth by discovery, however. They must be taught Truth from other humans who were also taught Truth, and those in turn had to be taught it. All learning about Truth ultimately goes back to a god/God.

The statement, “Truth is relative,” is true—it is relative to a god/God. Every god/God is the source of Truth. Without a god/God, Truth cannot be learned. All observations in science go back to assumptions and other observations. That is why hypotheses and theories from observations are the starting points of science. Yet, the word science means knowledge. Knowledge implies truth. Thus, true science goes back to a god/God. A hypothesis is very closely akin to a guess; a theory starts out as a hypothesis, and evidence that seems to substantiate the hypothesis is gathered. When ‘enough’ evidence seems to be there, it is entitled a theory. It still is unproven, since anything truly proven is a fact, not a theory. Thus, science is based on observations and assumptions, evidences and ideas. While science means knowledge, therefore, it really isn’t knowledge at all. “What we know…” is an overstatement. “What we have observed…” is correct, and “What we hypothesize or theorize” is also correct. “We know that hydrogen gas ignited in the presence of oxygen gas produces great heat and rapid oxidation…” should instead be, “We observe that hydrogen gas ignited in the presence of oxygen gas produces great heat and rapid oxidation…” A scientist would know that a very small amount of hydrogen gas in the presence of a very small amount of oxygen gas may not produce great heat and rapid oxidation even if ignited.

Truth is always exactly that: Truth. Nothing can be called a Truth if its characteristics only occur part of the time. It is necessarily always and absolutely the case.

As I stated, only a god/God can declare and expose Truth. Only such a being that is absolute in its very nature can declare that something is a Truth. Humans can observe many things that they think are truths, but a god/God must confirm or declare it to be Truth before a human can know that it is a Truth.

This brings me back to right and wrong. Both of these are declarations of Truth. If one states, “That is wrong for you to do,” that person is declaring what that person believes to be a truth. The other person might agree or disagree, claiming that this is a matter of opinion. All things are matters of opinions if they are not based on something that transcends what humans can possibly naturally know. All faiths, religions, atheisms, moralities, ethics, etc. are just opinions if they are not based on a god/God.

If a person will determine to have a good character—one that is beneficial to others, that person will need to have an anchor for what is good. Some believe that sexually sleeping around with various women doesn’t hurt their ‘good’ character. In their views, sleeping around isn’t immoral; it is enjoyable and actually profitable for all involved. They do not concern themselves with a god/God that denounces such actions as immorality.

I use ‘god/God’ for a reason. Humans invent nearly all the gods that exist in this world. Those made-up gods are anchors for their souls, giving them strength when they need it and a hope for living. The Bible indicates that Yehovah created angels, a portion of whom rebelled, desiring His overthrow. He did not lock up the vast majority of the rebels, but has given them enough power to ‘act’ in the roles of the false gods humans devise. That is why the gods seem to work; they have demons that do many things that worshippers request. If false gods didn’t work, folks would soon abandon them. (They will not work during the Tribulation.)

If the Bible is true, only Yehovah the Gods of the Bible (intentionally plural, reflecting the Hebrew plurality of Elohim) is the True and Living God, including Yeshua Who is this God and with this God. (A true God has no problem being in more than one place at one time, and therefore can easily show Himself as a Son and a Father without conflict.) If this in turn is true, then only Yehovah/Yeshua is capable of showing and teaching Truth to a human or to humans, who are then able to teach the very same Truth to other humans.

The same problem with science occurs with Truth: how can one prove Truth? One cannot prove Truth, since the proof of Truth requires the entire view of Yehovah. He teaches Truth, but proving Truth is the same as proving that there is a God and that Yehovah is that God. Yehovah Himself has kept humans from proving these things in order for humans to live by faith. (Faith is a certainty, a conviction for the holder of it, but it cannot be proven to another.)

Curiously, humans do live in a world that portrays Truth all around it. Yehovah designed the constellations to act exactly as the Bible does, giving events in pictures so that accurate readers who read them literally can learn Truth.

All children are born with justice built in (if they are not born with impairments that keep them from functioning). They know that there is justice and injustice. Babies will strongly protest if they feel that something was taken from them that they felt they should have. They are showing sensitivity to justice at the earliest age.

Some children singe their consciences early in life. They practice cruelties to other children and animals, and lose sense of right and wrong—‘sort of.’ (If another stronger child hurts them, they are quick to protest, showing that they still know right and wrong.) Anyone who is capable of protesting what that person sees as injustice has a sense of right and wrong, since justice always has everything to do with right and wrong.

Making a character adjustment can be in either direction. A person can determine to have a good character, or can determine to form a strong and ‘bad’ character. This does not affect the personality.

If every personality is hand-created by Yehovah and gives the holder the ability to do good using it, that indicates that a judgment of that person for the way he or she used that personality is only reasonable. The person will be judged for the way the person shaped his/her character and the way the person used that personality created by God. This judgment will be of the person’s works.

Works

Works are ethical/moral responsibilities and/or actions that a person does in terms of a god/God. (Whatever is ethical or moral is always in terms of a god/God.) Works are subdivided into good works, bad works, dead works and evil works. The person might not know that this has anything to do with a god, but it always does.

Regular occupations by which one earns money for a living that do not involve ethical/moral things are not normally part of works.

Labour is a person’s occupation, often accompanied by difficulty, toil, wearisomeness, etc. The difference between works and labour is this: works have to do with ethical/moral responsibilities and/or actions, while labour is the person’s occupation. They can be one in the same, but that is not normally the case.

A person with a consistently good character will do good works. That doesn’t mean that the person believes the Bible or in the God of the Bible. Humans are well suited for doing good works regardless of faith. Thus, the person can take moral and ethical responsibility for situations and persons in life, doing what is best.

A person with an inconsistent character will sometimes do good works and will sometimes refuse to do them or will do harmful or bad works.

A person with a consistently bad character will do destructive works on a consistent basis.

All folks can change.

Environment

This is the sum of all factors external to a person including those things and forces that are and are not in the person’s control. The person did not provide most of a person’s environment.

Environments can be harmful, distracting, beneficial, enlivening, beautiful, terribly ugly, deadly, healthful, etc.

No environment ever shapes a person. The environment doesn’t have that power. An environment can kill a person. (The Chernobyl disaster shows that.) It can also give life. (Think of a beautiful garden of fruits and vegetables.) Humans can reshape their environments; no environment can shape a person. Yehovah did not design any environment to have that much power; there will be no judgment for any environment as if it is a separate entity.

When a person of very good character is set in a terrible environment, that person can shape his or her character and use his or her personality to remake the immediate environment into something good. A violent and bloody war zone is not a good environment. Yet, a field hospital in the middle of that zone where lives are saved and depression is turned to hope is an environment all its own.

Of the many children reared in the best environments, some determine to ruin their own characters for a variety of reasons. (Many reasons often involve sacrificing their characters for their ‘friends,’ compatriots of theirs who have ruined characters themselves; some involve intentionally criminalizing their characters because they are bitter against parents, against others, and always against God.)

There are children who are reared (or abandoned) in the worst environments who curiously determine to oversee their own characters to be the best and most constructive. They grow into very gracious and kind adults, having been forged in the fires of terror and harm. This makes no logical sense, yet it occurs.

Most children develop their characters to be partially beneficial, partially unwise or even very foolish. The part of their characters that they keep ‘good’ helps them have little conscience about the part of their characters that they ruin. They see justice as on a balance beam, typical of the various forms of Judaism that wrongly thinks that the God of the Bible will grade on a curve. They think that if they do more right than wrong, more good than evil, more righteousness than sin, more charitable giving than ruining others, that God will grant them life. (They will have one hell of a shock in the judgment.)

A real problem occurs with folks who have inconsistent characters. Such a character frustrates others who see that a person can do so well, and then intentionally ruins things by ‘screwing up.’ A person who can do well is far more aggravating than a person who consistently does wrong. The ‘hope’ that is placed on a person who inconsistently does right makes for great and repeated disappointment when the person does wrong, while there is little or no hope placed on one who is consistent with a bad character.

Who Can Judge Character?

Most folks do not know the status of their own character. They incorrectly see themselves. Humans are amazingly unable to judge themselves even when they can judge others with much better insight. Thus, those with bad character don’t think they are that bad in many cases. Others with good character see themselves as being flawed, and even judging themselves as having bad character because of the miscellaneous thoughts that race through their minds.

The settled person with good character doesn’t think about self-judgment like that; the person determines to do right and to benefit when possible and when beneficial (sometimes it isn’t beneficial!), and isn’t self-centered. That is a good a peaceful way to be.

The best way to determine good character is to have excellent examples of good character. Classic novelists like Jane Austen explored the issues of character throughout their novels. They wrote about folks with the best character, folks with the worst character, and folks with inconsistent character.

The Bible also explores character. A reader must read the Bible far more carefully to see this than a person who read Jane Austen, because the Bible has a different intent. One perhaps can tell that Joseph in Genesis had an excellent character, but enough fools have accused him of various things so that others might not know this. The case of Jacob is far worse. The Bible portrays Jacob’s character as only excellent, yet a consensus among many in Christianity is that he was far worse in character than his brother Esau! Again, ethics and morality are always linked to a god/God. Folks who see Jacob’s character as only good have believed the God of the Bible; those who see his character as flawed have linked their beliefs to another god that the Bible does not support. Judging character requires having a basis for that judgment. This gets back to right and wrong, and thus morality and immorality, ethics and ethical violation. These in turn hearken back to a god/God.

Responsibility Versus Rights

Many voices will speak of rights. God supposedly gave humans certain inalienable rights, like of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Had the document that contained these words been infallible, these would be human rights. Men who had no basic understanding of the Bible wrote that document, however. Had they, they wouldn’t have written these things.

Life is not an inalienable right. If it were, God could not take a life, and the death penalty would be a violation under all circumstances.

Liberty is also not an inalienable right. Joseph in the Bible lost his liberty, and was a slave for the rest of his life. No one is free, anyway. Every human is a slave to another or others. Folks want to see themselves as free, but that is because they are deluding themselves. Most are slaves to sin and to their own passions. Some are slaves to others. A very few are slaves of righteousness.

The pursuit of happiness is the worst of the three. What makes one person happy may be at the cost of misery, pain and death to another. Pursuing happiness is a truly vain pursuit.

On the other hand, there is one inalienable right: the right to do righteousness. Every person has the right to do righteousness before Yehovah. No one can be forced to do unrighteousness.

Instead of the futility of ‘rights,’ the wisdom of responsibilities is far better instruction. Every person who has matured some since birth and who can be taught should be given the privilege of responsibilities. A responsibility is an ability to respond to something needed or someone in need along with the appropriateness to respond and the inappropriateness to ignore the need.

Responsibilities arise from the most curious circumstances. Sometimes humans give other humans responsibilities. Life, however, presents some great mysteries, for responsibilities often do not arise from assignments given by humans. A person notices a child lost in a mall. The person asks the child if he is lost, and he indicates that he is. That person now becomes responsible for the welfare of that child. Who gave the assignment?

The first denial of responsibility came not from Cain, but from Cain’s father: “The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” That was a denial of responsibility. When Cain later denied responsibility for his brother, he demonstrated that he had been a good student of his evil father.

Some folks on this planet voluntarily take on responsibilities for pay. That is called working for a living. Others take on responsibilities for no pay, and with a hope of some type of reward. That is often called domestic service. Still others take on responsibilities knowing that they will probably never see a reward, but they do it because it is right. Responsibilities are usually right.

I am not referring to folks who feel responsible for things and persons over which they have no real responsibility in the areas they think they do. Such burdens are very heavy to carry. I am only considering cases where taking on responsibilities is appropriate.

A person with good character will take responsibility and will take on responsibilities. These two mean very different things, but they are quite related.

One who takes responsibility admits that he or she was the cause of something (usually bad, but sometimes good). That person is unwilling to have another carry the burden for some loss, if it is bad. Many work hard to avoid being in this position. Adam and Cain were both of that nature. A person like this will also avoid responsibilities.

One who takes on responsibilities can be beneficial. (I am not considering cases where folks arrogantly take on responsibilities that they can’t handle, and thus cause problems rather than solving them.) A person who sees a need or a void who can and does fill it in a constructive way will be beneficial. A person who avoids all responsibilities has only one real use on this earth: to be food for maggots.

Good character will always include voluntarily taking responsibility when that is appropriate, and taking on responsibilities. No person of good character avoids all responsibilities. Even persons of terrible character will take responsibilities if it will suit them. The head of a violent gang will take responsibility for members of his gang.

When a person of good character takes on responsibilities that are appropriate for that person and for the ones over whom he or she is being responsible, the personality of that person then becomes a useful tool for the success of the responsibilities. If the person’s personality includes beautiful singing and humour, those two aspects of personality will make normal and routine work in life seem almost enjoyable.

Yeshua said to the Israelis, “Ye are the salt of the earth.” Many read this, erroneously thinking that He is speaking of salt’s preserving action. The text itself declares otherwise, but readers of the Bible rarely include folks who take texts literally and who think them through. How can the Israelis be the salt of the earth? The Bible describes the Millennium during which the Israelis will be missionaries to the world, infallibly bringing the Truth of Yehovah to the races. They will work among the races, doing tasks with them while instructing them. Routine and repetitive work will be a great pleasure as they consider things of God, what He did, how He did what He said He would do, and what He will do. Thus, life will be very enjoyable for many who would otherwise find life much work without such pleasant distractions. While the Millennium will be a return to the full fruitfulness of the planet, the various races will still have work to do. Work is work, even in the Millennium. The Israelis will give tastiness to their lives as salt brings out the flavour of foods.

The Israelis are the salt of the earth right now. No matter where they go, they bring very interesting aspects to life. The foods, the dress, the traditions, the Torah—all lend to much thought for those interested in deeper considerations of life. Yet, so much of the time, “the salt has lost its savour.” The Israelis are trying to be regular folks instead of being what they are called to be, and what they will be. That will change after many centuries. The Israelis will finally see, understand, and believe. In the meantime, faith will be spotty, at best, in Israel.

An example of Good Character, Vital Personality, and Voluntarily Taking Responsibility

There were two Tamars in the Bible. (The name Tamar means palm tree!) One was a woman of great wisdom whose affect on others will continue to the End Times. The other was tragic, never able to get over the bitterness of a wrong done to her, never determining to make good where she was and with whom she was. Because of her bitterness, though it was expressed by silence, her foolish and vile brother murdered a half-brother (a vile man himself, a real swinehead), and went on in his bitterness to cause the death of thousands. Thus, we have two Tamars, two palm trees. I find the one Tamar who did excellent things to be my heroine; she proved such wisdom.

When I think of love, I think of the definition that I proposed: ‘Seeking the highest, best interest of others without regard to self.’ The best interest of a person may not appear that way at the time it is being sought.

Consider Joseph, and consider Yehovah. Joseph’s brothers hated him. While it doesn’t really matter why they hated him, the text does explain why. Joseph did nothing to deserve their hatred, but they did hate him. They therefore plotted to be rid of him. While they were plotting, having placed him naked in a dry-water well, others came, found him, took him, and sold him as a slave to Egypt. He was seventeen.

Look at the wisdom of Joseph. Being brought to Potiphar as a slave, he didn’t seek to run away. Instead, he sought to benefit. The character of this man has fascinated me. He determined to be and to do as if he loved Potiphar—to seek the highest, best interest of that man without regard to himself. The text never indicates why Joseph did this, or how he felt. It is as if Yehovah were completely cold to Joseph’s predicament, because He was. Joseph had a very important life-saving assignment, and he had to be prepared. His personal feelings about the advantages that he lost when taken from his father were not the concern of Yehovah or of the Bible. He needed to be trained for life, brought to adulthood and then very quickly to great responsibility. He had to save the entire Middle East. Yehovah had no intention of apprising him of this coming responsibility; that would have done him no good. Instead, Yehovah watched Joseph prove the excellence of his character.

Joseph worked hard as a slave. He prospered his slavemaster in all things to such a degree that his master put all things under his hand—all things except his very wife. Joseph determined to have excellent character—to prove an excellent moral and ethical standard in all things. He didn’t look for what was his own; he didn’t look for his own rights. He considered his responsibilities, and he went after them with a zeal that defied reason and logic. But then, Joseph feared Yehovah.

After slaving for Potiphar for a number of years, because he was of such good character, Mrs. Potiphar (whose husband was a eunuch, and therefore was unable to have sexual intercourse—and thus unable to gain any sexual satisfaction from Potiphar) determined to force Joseph to have sexual intercourse with her. He refused, and got away from her only by relinquishing his garment. Thus, he escaped naked, and waited for Potiphar to return. Upon his return, Mrs. Potiphar accused him of attempted rape. Now, Potiphar was no fool. He knew of Joseph’s character. Yet, being the chief executioner of Pharaoh, he was honour-bound to not overlook the accusation. He thus took Joseph, and instead of killing him, delivered him to the royal prison as if he were taking his son to the university! It was so strange. He didn’t harm Joseph; he delivered him closer to Pharaoh, though as a prisoner.

Now, in prison, Joseph again demonstrated the excellence of his character, determining only to benefit all around him, including the prison warden and guards. It wasn’t long before the warden turned care of all the prisoners to Joseph! Did Joseph miss his family and friends? He terribly missed them, but he kept his eyes on the fear of Yehovah. One Psalm declares that Joseph’s being became steel! Again, this was necessary for the vital work he had to later perform. Yet, he didn’t know this.

Joseph learned at least two vital lessons as a slave to Potiphar: he came to understand men and women in the highest positions in the land of Egypt, and he came to understand men and women who were slaves. Thus, he learned the highest and the lowest of ranks in Egypt.

Joseph learned at least two vital lessons as a prisoner: he came to understand men who were over the royal prisoners (they had to be very careful in their treatment of prisoners), and he came to understand those who were in the royal house who had been delivered to the royal prison! Thus, he learned of the lives and mindsets of the highest in rank in Egypt, and those who were the most desperate to escape. He studied them, and he benefited all with his words, his works and his wisdom. He again gained such trust that he could have easily escaped, but escape wasn’t on his mind. The fear of Yehovah was on his mind, and the determination to benefit those around him. I cannot tell you how much respect and admiration I have for this man, and how much I have for women in the Bible who proved the same character. Character is truly in the hands of the person, and not in the hands of any other.

Now, Yehovah gave Joseph the ability to interpret dreams. That finally brought him to the attention of Pharaoh who desperately needed a dream interpreted. Joseph again selflessly served this man without regard to himself. He never pleaded for his own cause. Yet, Pharaoh realized that this man had the Spirit of the Gods in him, and that he would be the best to oversee the coming famine that Potiphar’s dreams had indicated. Thus, Joseph, still a slave, was now slave to Pharaoh. He again demonstrated his excellence of character, diligently working to gather food against the coming tragic famine. In the meantime, Pharaoh honoured him by giving him a woman—the daughter of the very highest ranking of pagan priests in the land of Egypt. Joseph’s love for this woman is unmentioned in the Bible; I can tell that he loved her, and that she loved him—she loved a slave who was from a shepherding background, and thus an abomination to the Egyptians! The excellence of his character again only benefited those around him. He still missed his brothers and his father. Yet, he had work to do; and he did his work.

He later got to see his brothers and father. He had to wait so many years. Yet, he got to see them, and to benefit them! His brothers changed little in their ways, yet he benefited them with a love that just doesn’t make sense—except to a person of excellent character. Joseph died a hero of the Bible of unbelievable proportions.

I am fascinated to watch a person develop character. That person, and only that person, has power and authority over this one small area of life. No person can ever legitimately claim that environment plays a key role in character development without calling the Bible a lie. Environment has never been more than an excuse to do badly or a reason to do well. Those who have been reared in the worst environments on this planet, but who have been granted life by Yehovah, have turned out one of two ways: very bitter and filled with vile poison against Yehovah and others, or very wise and determined to do good to others (whether in faith or not). A few have determined to fear Yehovah, and have set themselves to only do right toward both man and God. They turn supposed disadvantages into advantages, for they are made in the image of God.

Yehovah Himself stated that man certainly would succeed in his plans if Yehovah didn’t stop him at the building of city and tower in Shinar. If those who determined against God would certainly succeed in the most evil of plans without Yehovah’s intervention, who or what can stop one who is determined to do good and to benefit?

Yehovah had to remove Joseph from his ‘loving and nurturing’ environment for a far greater goal—a goal that would save from starvation the very family he so greatly missed! Joseph later knew that. Perhaps he occasionally understood that while he was in Potiphar’s home and while a prisoner. He also mourned, but he always still did only what was beneficial and right for those around him.

An Address to ‘You’

Will you pursue the shiftless goal of a fun life with a minimization of responsibility and a maximization of pleasure, going from here to there, always looking for where you can have the most immediate happiness? Will you chase the illusive and worthless American dream, the pursuit of ‘happiness’? Or will you, with an attachment to the Torah, prove to be a son or daughter of Joseph, whose goal is always to benefit those with whom you are set? Will you prove to be bitter against the very parents given you by Yehovah, and thus prove to be bitter against Yehovah Himself, proving your life to be another waste of Yehovah’s time and in violation of the Torah that commands the Israelis to recognize parents as important, or will you gain steel in your being, determined to demonstrate to Yehovah that you are a daughter of the Torah, the Teaching of Yehovah, and that the life He gave you is worth so much that you will serve others to benefit them, and to save their lives? Said another way, will you prove that the love, nurturing and investment that folks placed in you was for no real value, because it made you of little worth when dealing with the very parents who brought you into the world, whom Yehovah chose to bring you into this world, or will you ‘prove your salt,’ bringing real and delightful flavour to the lives of those around you, being of such value and valour, that many will love you and look to you?

Are you certain that Yehovah didn’t send you to where you are presently located for a time of learning? You may be there for life—that is, to save lives. Will you function with the excellence of your good sense and sense of humour, or will you prove to be bitter against Yehovah in whose image you are made? Will you be a tragic figure like the one Tamar, or will you change the history of the world like the other, being of the greatest benefit? Are you a daughter of the Covenant made to Avraham, or are you just like the world?

A Summary

I have proposed that personality is created and is unchanging. Every personality is given to benefit others if it will be used in this way. Character is quite changeable, and can be beneficial, harmful, or inconsistent. Character will determine whether personality will be used to harm, to benefit or to inconsistently mix harm and benefit. Environments can be terrible, excellent, or a mixture of both. Environments have nothing to do with whether a person shapes his/her own character to be beneficial or harmful. Character and personality together are able to reshape an environment (for good or bad).

Truth, absolutes, morality and ethics can only exist if there is a god/God or gods/Gods. The very idea of a good character implies the possibility of good, and that in turn implies morality and ethics. Every religious system in the world always includes a god/God, including atheism, since every religious system defines good and bad, morality and immorality.

Responsibility and works come with character. Those who take responsibility and are responsible, and those who do beneficial works demonstrate good character as long as they are consistent in these things. The pursuit of happiness is a fool’s mission.

Everyone is a slave. No one born of a woman will ever be free; even Yehovah Himself has constraints so that He must do actions that are consistent with His character. He cannot and will not sin. Be like Him; don’t sin.

Use your personality for the benefit of others. Determine to have a consistent, good character. Reshape your environment using these so that others will desire to also have a consistent, good character. These things are your rights.

What is Disinterestedness?

A Definition

Advantages of Being Disinterested

Self-Esteem

Diplomacy

Relationships

Demonic Assignments

And Why They Are Not Yet Locked Up

The Sheol – Paradise Transfer

Promise and Location of Paradise

Paradise’s Origin

Eden

Eden, Verb

Eden, Edna, Pleasure

Tree of the Lives

Living Water: Waters of Lives

Sheol

Hades

Gehena

Tartaros/Tartarus

Absent from the Body

A Two-Podium Reading of Yeshua’s Birth

Designed for Children and Two Spotlights

1 – Left Podium

2 – Right Podium

3 – Left Podium

4 – Right Podium

5 – Left Podium

6 – Right Podium

7 – Left Podium

8 – Right Podium

9 – Left Podium

10 – Right Podium

11 – Left Podium

12 – Right Podium

13 – Left Podium

14 – Right Podium

15 – Left Podium

16 – Right Podium

17 – Left Podium

18 – Right Podium

19 – Left Podium

20 – Right Podium

21 – Left Podium

22 – Right Podium

23 – Left Podium

24 – Right Podium

25 – Left Podium

26 – Right Podium

27 – Left Podium

28 – Right Podium

29 – Left Podium

The Timing of Messiah’s Death And the Sabbaths

When did Messiah Arise?

How Long Was Messiah in Sheol?

What Time was Messiah Crucified?

Was Messiah Crucified on Passover?

What about John 19:14?

Personality, Character and Environment

with Discussions on Truth, Absolutes, Responsibilities, Morals and Ethics

Introduction

Personality

Character, and Ethics and Morality Defined

How Can One Change Character?

Truth

Works

Environment

Who Can Judge Character?

Responsibility Versus Rights

An example of Good Character, Vital Personality, and Voluntarily Taking Responsibility

An Address to ‘You’

A Summary

The Timing of Messiah’s Death
And the Sabbaths